April 2014 – M J Mallon YA Author and Poet

Well how did I start writing? It was quite odd really. I used to write as a teenager. At the time I had a ginger tom cat called Chester, Mr. Popularity, everyone loved him. He liked to venture afar and we would often have to rescue him. I remember one occasion in particular, my brother and I ended up trudging through the woods, in Blackhall in Edinburgh, to pick him up from a house in the vicinity. He ended up at the most peculiar places. One time he chose to visit a house with thirteen cats! He is a tom cat with attitude!

I told you he liked company. So it seemed natural to write about cats, and I kept a diary. My dad was and still is one of my other great sources of inspiration. He has travelled extensively to the Far East, and Middle East and is a wonderful raconteur.

As far as my writing is concerned the inevitable happened. I was the typical teenager. I got distracted. I found boys, discos, parties, and my writing suffered. Somehow I didn’t pick it up again for a very long time. This is a regret. A massive regret. But what can I do? I can’t travel back in time, I don’t have a Tardis. So I just have to accept that the time is right now. You see, I’m still this young girl at heart, just stuck in an older and maybe wiser body. I have experienced more, travelled more, lived more, so hopefully that will make me a better writer.

Several events came together to ignite my desire to write again. First of all I read a lot. At the time I was reading Dorian Gray and it was definitely a novel that captured my imagination and set my mind free. Also my eldest daughter was studying GCSE Art and I took a sudden interest in art and photography. I’m not saying that I can paint or draw, though I wish I could. No, I enjoyed watching her artistic development and I enjoyed sharing ideas with her and encouraging her.

All of these influences helped me to write my first book, a children’s/YA fantasy set in Cambridge, which I have now published. The female protagonist in my novel is a teenage girl who paints a puzzle of art. But it is by no means a novel simply about Art. She expresses her sadness, and discovers her magical powers, through the medium of painting and via crystals and well the rest you will find out when you read the book. Let’s just say that a lot happens and I think that it will keep you entertained! Well I hope so anyway.

Also I know this sounds crazy but my other source of inspiration was a black cat, a throw back to Chester. I had never seen this strange black cat before and suddenly he just started appearing in our garden. There was something different about him. He appeared like a miniature panther, all glossy and splendid, looking for attention, with his mesmerising eyes, I fell under his spell. He liked to show off, he would disappear into thin air, climb to ridiculous heights, or chase his tail around the garden like a demented clown. He just had to play a part in this book too. Lets just say he has a subsidiary part to a main character, who is male, young and very interesting too, just like him. That was the beginning. Looking back I am amazed that from just a few initial thoughts my idea just seemed to grow and grow. Now my debut novel is nearly ready for the final edit. How did that happen? I couldn’t be happier in fact if I had a tail, I’m sure I would be whizzing around and around chasing it with excitement!

Update: I released my first book The Curse of Time Book 1 Bloodstone in August 26th 2017 in kindle form via Amazon. The paperback is now released too.

To buy follow this link: http://mybook.to/TheCurseofTime
Unique Selling Point: Unique, Imaginative, ‘Charming, enchanting and richly layered this is purely delightful.’

“This delightful book will appeal to teens and young adults who love stories filled with magical crystals, dark family curses, and mysteries waiting to be solved around every corner. Each chapter leads you on a journey of discovery where Amelina earns the right to use three wizard stones to reset the balance of time and finally break the curse that holds her family hostage. A captivating tale!” – Colleen M. Chesebro (Editor)

Bye for now, xxxxx

M J Mallon Author – The Curse of Time – Book 1 Bloodstone

My links:

Authors Website: https://mjmallon.com
Collaborative blog: https://sistersofthefey.wordpress.com
Twitter: @Marjorie_Mallon and @curseof_time
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Food is a major part of my life. It has been since I was little. If you come from a family like mine you would understand. Even before you have wiped the last vestiges of sleep from your eyes you are bombarded with the inevitable question. “What do you want to eat tonight?” Well the good news is whatever it is it will be amazing, because my mother is without a doubt an amazing cook.

She can make a Malaysian rendang curry that titillates your senses, and her trifle is exquisite. In fact she is such a good cook that I think that quite possibly my husband fell in love with me after he tasted my mother’s cooking!

This spring I was struck down with a sudden inability to eat what I want. Shock. It all started in the months leading up to Easter. I kept getting stomach problems, pains in the upper chest. At one point I went to the doctors fearing that I was having a heart problem. My doctor confirmed that my heart was fine so I carried on.

I travelled up to Edinburgh on the train with my two teenage daughters and seemed to be fine. Then one morning I was woken with terrible stomach pains again. I went to my parent’s doctors surgery, and met with my first obstacle, I had to fill in a temporary patient form. The receptionist looked at me sympathetically, she asked, “Is it an emergency?” I began to wonder if it was. Luckily I managed to get an appointment the very same day. I was examined by a chatty Scottish doctor who I think thought I was tippling into the whisky. My gallbladder and liver area seemed tender. Ok so the week before I had consumed more than my usual amount as we had been partying, but I am not a heavy drinker! When I returned to see him after my blood tests he prodded my liver and said, “You’ve only got one of these.” My heart sank. I forgave him his jocularity, I was even faintly amused, living in England for such a long time hadn’t made me forget the Scot’s wry sense of humour. Well if you lived up in the cold all the time you would make weird jokes too, wouldn’t you? Of course you would. Anyway, he meant well!

Well it looks likely that I had gallstones. Which I most probably have passed out of my system. I won’t dwell on this, I don’t want to put you off reading my blog. So everything should be ok now shouldn’t it? WRONG. Forget eating what I want. Enter bland, boring diet, plus no alcohol. GREAT. Let’s just hope that this settles down or disappears. This is when I really could do with a magic wand. Shame I write magical stories but can’t quite cure myself. It happens on paper but just not in real life.

Well spicy foods are off my list, plus chocolate, biscuits, cakes, puddings, coffee and tea. Oh and of course no alcohol. Is there any point in living? On the positive side, there are positives! I will most probably regain my flat stomach, a relic of the past. Also I can eat fruit. I love fruit.