Writer’s journey – How did it all happen?

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,Β 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 toΒ  write about cats,Β  and I kept a diary.Β My dad was and still is one of my other great sources of inspiration.Β  He hasΒ travelled extensively to the Far East, and Middle EastΒ andΒ is a wonderful raconteur.

As far as my writing is concerned the inevitable happened. Β I was the typical teenager.Β IΒ 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.Β  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.Β  At the time I was reading Dorian Gray and it was definitely a novel that captured my imagination and set my mindΒ 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. SheΒ expresses her sadness, and discovers her magical powers, through the medium of paintingΒ and via crystals and well the rest you will find out when you read the book. Let’s just say thatΒ a lot happensΒ and I think that it will keep you entertained!Β  Well I hope so anyway.

Also I know this sounds crazy but my other source of inspiration was a black cat, a Β throw back to Chester.Β Β I had never seen this strange black catΒ before and suddenly he just started appearing in our garden. There was something different about him. He appearedΒ  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 wouldΒ disappear into thin air, climb to ridiculous heights, or chaseΒ his tail aroundΒ the garden like a demented clown.Β 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 thatΒ from just a few initial thoughts my idea just seemed to grow and grow. NowΒ my debut novel is nearlyΒ 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: IΒ  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. This has since been updated and republished by Next Chapter Publishing.

Unique Selling Point: Unique, Imaginative, β€˜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 1Β  Bloodstone

My links:Β 

Authors Website: https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com

Twitter: @Marjorie_Mallon and @curseof_time
Founder of Facebook – #ABRSC Authors/Bloggers Support Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1829166787333493/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17064826.M_J_Mallon
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mjmallonauthor/
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Marje @ Kyrosmagica

Hi. Welcome to my blog: M J Mallon - Kyrosmagica Publishing. A blog about magic, books, writing, laughter, and much more! I'm a YA fantasy author, poet and reviewer. My first YA fantasy novel The Curse of Time - Book 1 - Bloodstone is set in Cambridge and Book 2 - Golden Healer is now out too. As well as this, I have contributed to several anthologies, created my own with some amazing international writers, bloggers and creatives during the pandemic: This Is Lockdown and written two poetry collections: Lockdown Innit Poems About Absurdity & Mr. Sagittarius Poetry and Prose. I write book reviews on my blog and on Goodreads, book bub and on my bookstagram. I have a penchant for travel and have relatives in far flung places, Australia, Malaysia, and Singapore, (my birthplace.) I grew up in in Bonnie Scotland, in Edinburgh, and now live in Cambridge. I love sunny, hot places, particularly Rome, Venice, Portugal, Barcelona, and I forgot to mention the sun drenched beaches of the Caribbean, how could I? I am lucky to have been blessed with two lovely daughters and a husband who I fondly refer to in this blog as my black sheep. Family joke! With my passion for travel, culture, beautiful beaches, good food, books, theatre, writing, and humour, I hope to keep you entertained. I'm loving every minute of this creative journey, please join me.

271 thoughts on “Writer’s journey – How did it all happen?”

  5. Well, this is an interesting read, Marje. I decided to dig deep into your blog’s archive and I’m so pleased I did because, here, I see the beginnings of ‘The Curse Of Time.’ It’s told me how it all began and I can almost see the whole journey and that finishing post (which I hope will be in Nov 2016).
    Lovely to read about how writing has interacted in your life. If you find that TARDIS, then please let me know because, like you, I’d go back and get serious about my writing many years before I knuckled down and started to.

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    1. Yes it is a big regret, and I’m struggling to find that Tardis! I keep encouraging my daughter to write – she has plans to be a novellist too! Luckily she has oodles of time to accomplish her goals. I better hurry up, or she’ll get there before me!

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  8. I’m a cat lover too. Once my dog Lilly lost her puppy. My baby brother found her a baby kitten. She was so happy adopted the kitten right away. She milked the kitten as if it was her own puppy! But you know something? when that kitten grew up, he did know how to cover it wastes. He could climb up to the tree, but didn’t know how to get down. Many times my brother had to climb up the tree to get him down. Once we found him crying so hard on the roof. My poor brother had to borrow a ladder from our neighbour to take him down! My mother said it’s because his mother was a dog.

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  10. That’s funny – a cat also played a part in my first story about a million years ago. They can be fun characters. Your book sounds interesting – I love the idea of magic happening through a painting.

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  21. Hello! What a wonderful story of your path to writing! I found your blog and your book by chance when looking for author and book blogs. As a writer working on my first book myself, your path rings very true. I wrote a lot as a child and at school, but unfortunately like can get in the way sometimes. I am now making a concerted effort to carve out some time for my passion. I will grab a copy of your book when I have cleared my current reading backlog! πŸ™‚

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  22. Thank you for sharing your story. I know how you feel about coming back to writing and wishing to some degree you’d been here all along. In the end at least you did. And it’s true, you’re wiser and more experienced now and have much more to offer your writing. Good for you for taking that step and doing it and publishing your work. Keep it up!

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