Amanda in Alberta: The Writing on the Stone (10 page)

Also by Darlene Foster

Amanda Ross is an average twelve year old Canadian girl. So what is she doing thousands of kilometres from home in the United Arab Emirates? It's her own fault really, she wished for adventure and travel when she blew out those candles on her last birthday cake. Little did she know that a whole different world awaited her on the other side of the globe, one full of intrigue, mystery and folklore. A world with a beautiful princess, a dangerous desert and wonderful friends.

Join Amanda on her first adventure as she discovers the secrets behind The Perfume Flask.

Amanda Jane Ross is certainly becoming a world traveller; she's now in sunny Spain with her friend Leah. While there, she encounters a mysterious young girl who looks eerily like the girl in a famous painting she saw in a Madrid museum. Even weirder, the girl keeps showing up wherever Amanda finds herself - Madrid, the remote mountains of rural Spain, the beaches on the Mediterranean Sea, a lively fiesta and the busy streets of Barcelona. Amanda wants to help this sweet, young girl and her beloved pony escape the clutches of a mean horse-dealer. Come with Amanda on her next adventure as she attempts to unravel the mystery behind the Girl in the Painting.

Amanda Ross is in England taking in all the sights. She gets lost in the maze at Hampton Court, does some shopping at Harrods, meets the ravens in the Tower of London, explores Windsor Castle, and rides the London Eye. When she discovers a vintage book is missing from a collection, she is determined to find out who stole it. Amanda befriends a pair of tough teenagers from the streets of London, an elderly bookshop owner, and a big, friendly, clever, Maine Coon cat named Rupert. Follow Amanda through cobblestone streets, medieval castles, and underground tunnels in her quest to find the missing novel!

I would like to thank everyone involved in making this book come to be. My critique partners, Cyndy Greeno, Marion Iberg, Yvonne Pont and Sheila MacArthur who provided encouragement, honest feedback, brutal editing and some good laughs. I will be forever indebted to all of you. To my talented and wise publisher, Michelle Halket of Central Avenue Publishing who designs the perfect covers for my books and provides the motivation to continue; thanks for believing in me and my Amanda stories.

Thanks to the good folks at the Bar U Ranch who spent time with me; sharing stories and providing a perfect setting for part of the book. A great big thank you goes to my grandson Jesse who was my research assistant during our travels around southern Alberta. He pointed out things I would have missed.

I would like to thank Hope Johnson (1916 – 2010), who fuelled my interest in palaeontology and the rich history of Alberta many years ago. I based my character of Great Aunt Mary loosely on this remarkable woman I was honoured to have known.

I want to acknowledge my parents and my great big wonderful Alberta family, for providing me with an amazing childhood full of love and fond memories. I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart.

The anonymous poem found in the deserted house can be seen at the Medicine Hat Museum.

The word tipi and tepee are interchangeable. I used the spelling commonly used at each location Amanda visited.

Although the places in this story are real, the people are created from my imagination.

About The Author

Darlene Foster is an employment counsellor, an ESL tutor for children, a wife, mother and grandmother. She loves travel, shoes, cooking, reading, sewing, chocolate, music, the beach and making new friends. Her 13 year old grandson called her “super-mega-as-woman-supreme”. She was brought up on a ranch near Medicine Hat, Alberta, where she dreamt of travelling the world and meeting interesting people. She lives on the west coast of BC with her husband Paul and their black cat, Monkey.

Her website is darlenefoster.ca.