Blogger Spotlight: Samantha Murdoch

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I discovered blogger Samantha Murdoch in a particularly unconventional way.

I was looking for a cat to do a bit of modelling for my black cat character in The Curse of Time, and I put out a call for help on Facebook. I received a few replies, not that many, but then I suppose it did seem a bit of an odd request. LOL !!! Then a ever so helpful blogging friend of mine, Gary Jefferies  who blogs at Fiction is Food put me in touch with Samantha: https://samanthamurdochblog.wordpress.com

Not only did Samantha have a black cat but she has two! Plus several other cats too, so if you are a cat lover, (like I am,)  she’s definitely a blogger to follow.  Then, to my delight I discovered that she wrote about crystals. How perfect is that? I love crystals too! My manuscript, (which I intend to publish this year) : The Curse of Time – Book 1 – The Bloodstone has several themes: light, represented by crystals, darkness, suggested by shadows, and a nasty old curse.. etc.

Getting back to the black cat discussion …. The only slight problem with our stunning cat models Lily and Tooty  is their gender. They are both females! Whereas, the cat character in my book is male… This I can’t change… Never mind… that isn’t a big problem!

Of the two cats, Lily looks just like what I imagine my character Shadow looks like – very panther like! Let me introduce you to Lily…. isn’t she a beautiful cat?

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This is Lily with a very artistic shadow! She’s a natural model, look how she stays so still for the camera.

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And Lily with her eyes closed, looking very chilled! Love how the light falls on her fur giving it a white glow.

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This is my favourite of Lily  looking very regal! Look at those eyes, and that glossy fur!

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This is Tooty – Don’t they look similar?

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Here’s Tooty on the move, her shadow is following…

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One way and then another…

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Finally, Tooty staying still… looking quite thoughtful.  What an interesting background.. Great photo! Mesmerising…

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Photographs courtesy of Alex Marlowe (Samantha’s son.)

Thank you so much to Samantha and Alex for allowing me to use these images of Lily and Tooty on my social media. I really do appreciate it, and a big thank you to Gary for introducing me to Samantha.

Please do pop over to Samantha’s blog to appreciate all her lovely cats, and crystals. And visit Gary’s blog too – Gary is such a helpful and friendly blogger, who likes to write, and also blogs about kindness: Fiction Is Food Kindness Challenge Sign Up

You do get a sense of Samantha’s love for cats, and crystals in the following links:

Samantha Murdoch: Danburite and Darling Cats

And her feelings about spiders….

Samantha Murdoch: Moonstone and Meanderings, Spiders Part 4

And some wonderful poetry too!

Samantha Murdoch: Wanderer

Hope you enjoyed my Blogger Spotlight. I shall be continuing to do Author and Blogger Spotlights fairly regularly.

I will be sharing the wonderful photos of Lily and Tooty on twitter, Facebook, and my Instagram account later in the week. So keep a look out for them.

Before I go let me just say – I do find black cats very fascinating…

Black cats rule!

Many thanks to Samantha, Alex, and Gary for all being so kind, and to Lily and Tooty for being so fabulous.

Bye for now,

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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.

43 thoughts on “Blogger Spotlight: Samantha Murdoch”

  3. Thank you! What very kind words 🙂 I’m so pleased you like Lily and that she’s suitable…she agrees…black cats, particularly her, are indeed fabulous! :)x

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  7. Thank for the mention Marje, that was very generous when all I did was point you at my good friend Samantha. Really pleased you hooked up with her too as you have so much in common 😊

    Also good you said I write about kindness too, which, of course, is true, but you might have warned then I also write horror, psychological thrillers and fantasy fiction too lol. Wonderful post and looking forward to your book release too 😊

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    1. Ha Ha! I like to give people a few surprises… they’ll nip over to your blog expecting kindness and get a touch of horror, psychological thrillers, and fantasy too! I’m a bit wicked that way.. You’re very welcome for the mention, and you’re very modest, if it wasn’t for you, I might have never come across Samantha. Thanks so much. 🙂

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      1. Be even more in a few months…I’m thinking about the A to Z challenge if I can come up with a theme, kindness in May and books somewhere around all that! Really pleased you hooked up with her blog too. She was the first person that sprang to mind after your FB post. I think I’d literally just read her post…must be some sort of synergy or mystical events going on. 🤔

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      5. I’ve one manuscript ready and proofed, one about to complete on first draft and another waiting to be edited. Those who have read the finished one are all extremely positive about it…my problem is I have no idea where to publish it. It’s become a procrastination point! However, this year is going to be where I start pushing it out. Any advice welcome 😱

        Liked by 1 person

      6. Hi Gary, sounds like you have quite a lot going on there… sound a bit like me!!! As to the procrastination, know the feeling. Best thing to try first off is fire it out to publishers who are accepting unsolicited manuscripts, (check their websites,) and to agents too. Good luck. Or go the self-publishing route, like I am. 🙂

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      7. Amazing coincidences….should have picked up on this much earlier and rallied support! I’ve kind if concluded that too. So thanks for the validation. Re self publishing is yours via something like Smashwords?

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      9. My apologies, I assumed you had arrived at the end point ready to go!! I’ve got accounts with several indie outlets including CreateSpace. I keep looking at IngramSpark purely because of their wholesale distribution network and POD. Their printers are lightning source which is one of the biggest book printers out there. However, I think first time round it’s probably in need of more skills than I have at present. Also, and this might sound weird, have a look at the Mills and Boon website. There are submission links to romance (obviously) and an imprint service accepting all genres for ebooks. The overarching publisher is Harlequin who run Mills and Boon too. They have now been acquired by Harper Collins, although they have kept the Harlequin name running. I only mention it because you access not only Amazon, but also massive ebook players and, in the case of Ingram, a huge distribution network. Both have UK operations too….not sure if any of that helps or muddies the water even more lol

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      10. Thanks for that Gary, all very useful information. I still have a way to go…. but I feel so much more confident now that I have Colleen editing it for me. She has been so much help, a true diamond, without her I would still be floundering about.

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      11. Actually I’m looking to increase my contacts list. Is she a friend or a pro editor? I’ve got a good proofer that I use, but not found a similar editorial service yet and I so prefer recommendations rather than risk taking lol. If you do check those out I’d appreciate your take on them too

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      13. Isn’t that the best way to make friends these days! Oddly that’s how I found my proofreader too! I shall go have an explore right now!! Will try not to blame you for me visiting 😜

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      15. Hang about….I’m already following her blog. Recognised it as soon as I dropped in lol…early onset dementia in action…or maybe I bumped my head yesterday and have amnesia…although I can’t remember if I did or not 🤔

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