February 22, 2018, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story about a unicorn. It can be realistic or fantastical. Go where the prompt leads.
Respond by February 27, 2018, to be included in the compilation (published February 28). Rules are here. All writers are welcome!
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Here is my entry for the prompt, (which I love – Unicorns!) I knew instantly what to write… I had the idea engraved in these words from my Media Kit bio:
If the mood takes me I snorkel with mermaids, or sign up for idyllic holidays with the Chinese Unicorn, whose magnificent voice sings like a thousand wind chimes.
I don’t know if the Chinese Unicorn exists, or if it sings, but it’s nice to dream and to imagine! Also, I doubt if the Chinese Unicorn looks like this but it’s fun to play with Canva!
The Chinese Unicorn Sings
I swear my workday wielded ferocious tentacles and claws, stressful, busy, so many demanding blood-sucking visitors. I stole a stranger’s smile and stapled it on my face. I tried to laugh but instead I swallowed down my tears. My anxiety had cranked up a helter-skelter notch. On my journey home, I discovered a brochure with an unusual invitation: Visit The Chinese Unicorn Whose Magnificent Voice Sings Like A Thousand Wind Chimes.
I didn’t hesitate, I didn’t bother to say goodbye. When I heard the unicorn’s blissful melody, I wept. It wasn’t an interlude; it heralded the end of anxiety.
Sometimes you just have to pinch yourself. Colleen’s prompt words this week express my morning breakthrough in such a wonderful way. I’ve been writing my prologue for Book Two of The Curse of Time and I had a BREAKTHROUGH. The words flowed so effortlessly I wanted to do a happy dance. As I was beetling away writing the prologue I suddenly had an unexpected flash of inspiration. I’m going to start each new chapter – (Puzzle Piece,) with a Cinquian! Bring it on.
Wait a minute, I have no clue how to write a Cinquian. Never fear… Colleen is the Queen Bee of mentoring! She is a fabulous source of inspiration and her blog is full of useful information, so without further ado, I popped over to read up on how to write a Cinquain. I discovered there is a reverse Cinquian too. Boy, this is getting exciting! More happy dance! What a morning…
Here is a tiny excerpt (unseen until now!) about Cinquians from the first (unedited,) draft of the prologue of The Curse of Time – Book Two – Golden Healer:
I’m so stressed. My go to when I’m stressed is writing. Poetry. It’s my number one anxiety solution, a bunch of words in a tight format make me feel better. But somehow I don’t feel in the mood for Tanka. There have been too many weird changes for that. I need a new more challenging form of poetic expression. I’ve heard about Cinquian. It’s very formulaic, first line is the title, second line add two adjectives that describe the title, third line stick in three verbs that express action, fourth line are four words that shout out feeling or describe more and the fifth line takes it back to the beginning. Closure. That appeals. The fifth line is a synonym of the first line. Sounds good. If anything will take my mind off my present anxiety this will do it. I feel it in my gut. Cinquain. I like it. It sounds like a cash register. Not that I’m materialistic but I feel a Cinquian coming on. Bring it on!
So to my Cinquain. I’ve used synonyms – Quantum Leap and sign.
That last line was a struggle. I had one of those ‘can I really do this moments.’ But I like a challenge so I didn’t give up. Then I found the word. Auspicious. Oh, I do like auspicious! I hope it brings me luck. 🙂
Any feedback for this novice Cinquian writer would be gratefully received.
Date for your Diary! My paperback is due for release mid April. The pre-release blog tour begins in April with my #ABRSC club pals, followed by a release tour with Neverland Blog Tours. (Jenny Marston is also a #ABRSC member!) http://neverlandblogtours.weebly.com/
A great opportunity by Charli at Carrot Ranch Literary Community to be featured in her anthology. And the prompt is so awesome – Unicorns – how can I say no!
Welcome To Kyrosmagica! So lovely to see you Esme.
MJ: Tell us about your life Esme.
Esme: I’ve had two lives, and both are hard to understand. In my past life I appeared to be free but never experienced freedom. I felt trapped in my body and my mind didn’t feel that it fitted, like a puzzle piece trying to correspond to the wrong shape. My mind rebelled; I self-harmed. Now that I am a prisoner in the mirrors of Amelina’s house, I can’t self-harm. I can’t do anything. I’m a victim of a curse but I’m not the only victim.
MJ: Why did you self-harm?
Esme: Everyone expected me to be perfect. I couldn’t cope. The pressure kept building up and up. It was my way of dealing. My personal punch bag.
MJ: That makes me so sad. I wish I could help you.
Esme: I know you do. You feel my pain and wrote about it in your novel.
MJ: I tried to do it justice; I hope in some small way I succeeded.
Esme: You did. But can we talk about something else? This is making me anxious.
MJ: Of course, is it okay to talk about the curse? Or is that off-limits?
Esme: No, that’s okay.
MJ: Who else was a victim?
Esme: Amelina’s dad.
MJ: What about the rest of the family?
Esme: They’re trapped too but they’re not prisoners. Hey, wait a minute. They are prisoners in a way… sometimes you don’t have to be a prisoner to feel like one.
MJ: It must be a really sad story…
Esme: Yes it is, but it’s also much more. There’s light and laughter, darkness and shadows. Many magical threads tangle this story together, like many loves, and yet there are no real lovers.
MJ: It’s no romance then?
Esme: Read the beginning and you might think it’s a romance but read the end and you’ll know it’s not.
MJ: It sounds puzzling…
Esme: Yeah, it’s meant to be. Each chapter starts with a numbered puzzle piece instead of a chapter heading. Then there’s an awesome Tanka poem teaser.
This is my favourite from Puzzle Piece 12:
Think you know someone,
No, you don’t know anyone,
We’re all cheerleaders,
Carrying our false pompoms,
The mirror captures our truth.
MJ: A teaser… interesting… Are you a poetry fan?
Esme: Hey! All artistic and tortured souls love poetry.
MJ: I love poetry!
Esme: Oh! Ha Ha… That means you’re a deep thinker.
MJ: I am. Talking about deep thinking… If you had a twin, what would you say to her?
Esme: I have a twin, inside me. It’s like there are two people in my brain. One’s happy, one’s sad, a yin and yang twin…
MJ: I wish I could make you whole and happy. Perhaps I might write your freedom…
Esme: Could you? Pleeease. But make sure that you write my freedom beyond the prison of my mind. Don’t send me to the land where shadows live.
MJ:Sigh. I wish I could promise that, but I haven’t finished book two yet and I have no idea what will happen in book three!
Esme: You authors have a wicked sense of power…
MJ: Yes, it is true dear Esme. You are without a doubt the most challenging character in my book and that is why I love you so…
Esme: Ahhhhh, thank you!
I hope you will love Esme as much as I do. She might make you sad but there is a young person like her out there somewhere. Self-harm is a growing problem in our young people. Let’s not bury our heads in the sand and pretend it doesn’t exist. Speak out about mental health issues, fight to take away the stigma. Help someone you know who is suffering, it’s the little things that mean so much.
Please feel free to comment and share.
The illustrations of the Creature and Esme will appear in black and white in the paperback book due to be launched April 2018.
Creature, you are some scary dude to look at but I mustn’t let that stop me from interviewing you.
So, pull up a chair, make your skeleton comfortable….
MJ: Tell me about yourself.
The Creature: There isn’t much to tell. I don’t get out much, most of the time I’m waiting.
MJ: Waiting for what?
The Creature: For something to happen or for someone to summon me.
MJ: So you’re catatonic until someone brings you to life in a painting?
The Creature: That’s pretty much it, most of the time I’m mingling with the worms, the bugs are feasting on me, and I’m dreaming about my dreds.
MJ: Your dreds?
The Creature: When I was alive I had dreadlocks, now I’m just skin and bone. I miss my dreadlocks.
MJ: Hah! Scary dreadlock dude tell us about the cottage.
The Creature: It’s my home, sort of. It’s not a public venue, you have to be invited to visit.
MJ: Why’s that?
The Creature: The Crystal cottage is a magical, powerful place. Magical places have to be protected. Crystal Magic can be dangerous if it is used by the wrong people.
MJ: So you protect it?
The Creature: Yes and no… I am a junior caretaker of sorts… There’s a hierarchy of protection. I can’t tell you too much about the cottage, you have to read the book to find out more.
MJ: That’s fair enough. Do you live alone?
The Creature: I live with a bunch of doves and a wacky lady who shares caretaking duty with me.
MJ: Just you two?
The Creature: No, there are other beings that protect the cottage, personages, legends and the like, but I hardly ever see them.
MJ: Sounds intriguing.
The Creature: That crazy author thinks so…
MJ: That’s me! Lol..
The Creature: Stop your procrastinating, author lady. When are you going to stop twiddling your hair and write book two?
MJ: Cheeky. It takes time to write if you are working full-time.
The Creature: You work full-time?
MJ: Yeah, I do now. I’m a receptionist, a meet and greet lady. I sit next to this security guy all day. The first thing I noticed about him is his distinctive tattoos on each hand. But, I better not go into detail in case someone accuses me of gossiping…
The Creature: Heaven forbid! Sigh… No one would know if I had a tattoo.
MJ: No, not by looking at you. Those bones don’t give much away. Did you ever have a tattoo?
The Creature: No. Never. Just me and my dreds. I bet you don’t have guys like me in your building.
MJ: No, but we do get some strange dudes. There’s this guy that looks like a vampire!
The Creature: What, black hair, cape, white skin, sharp teeth?
MJ: Yep, I reckon he packs his cape in his briefcase… Me and the security guy were talking about Transalvania and I jest not – the vampire dude walked in.
The Creature: Wow, no one would believe that! Talk about never a dull moment. I’m jealous. I’ll have to tell the worms about this…
MJ: Feel free to share. I suppose I better wrap up this interview, your worms are getting excitable and restless.
The Creature: AWWW, I was just warming up. My old decaying bones, bugs and worms take ages to warm up these days.
The Creature gets up, bends his knee joints, and scatters a family of worms at my feet. He sighs.
MJ: Ugh, keep your worms to yourself! Until the next time, dear Creature.
The Creature tries to grin but a few of his rotten teeth land on my lap.
I pick off the yucky teeth and wince.
MJ: I don’t mean to be rude but it’s time you went!
The Creature: Yeah, time to get back to scaring people. Being nice and polite is such hard work. Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
MJ: Bye, Creature, say hello to the doves for me.
Hope you enjoyed my interview with the Creature.
The wonderful portrait of The Creature has been created by talented artist Carolina Russo: https://yesterdayafter.com
Isn’t it fabulous?
It will appear in black and white in the paperback version of my book to be released April 2018 along with Carolina’s portrait of Esme which you can see below:
My Tanka is Valentine inspired today. I’ve used devotion for affection and for character I chose mould.
My hubby and I are both creative souls, he loves music so, so much! And of course, I love writing… We met many moons ago. Two many moons to tell you! We began our lives as tender, teenage sweethearts and are still going strong. Perhaps it is this creativity and passion within us that is our rock. There is room for a huge amount of love in a relationship, for each other and of course for the things that rock our lives – music and writing! Perhaps, one day we will be able to write and play music full-time, now that would be wonderful.
To join in with Colleen’s challenge follow the link:
I am an author who has been blogging for many moons at my lovely blog home Kyrosmagica: https://mjmallon.com. My interests include writing, photography, poetry, and alternative therapies. I write Fantasy YA/Paranormal novels, Horror/Ghost Short stories and micro poetry – haiku and tanka. I love to read and have written over 100 reviews: https://mjmallon.com/2015/09/28/a-z-of-my-book-reviews/
My alter ego is MJ – Mary Jane from Spiderman. I love superheroes! I was born on the 17th of November in Lion City: Singapore, (a passionate Scorpio, with the Chinese Zodiac sign a lucky rabbit,) second child and only daughter to my proud parents Paula and Ronald. I grew up in a mountainous court in the Peak District in Hong Kong with my elder brother Donald. My parents dragged me away from my exotic childhood and my much loved dog Topsy to the frozen wastelands of Scotland. In bonnie Edinburgh I mastered Scottish country dancing, and a whole new Och Aye lingo.
As a teenager I travelled to many far-flung destinations to visit my abacus wielding wayfarer dad. It’s rumoured that I now live in the Venice of Cambridge, with my six foot hunk of a Rock God husband, and my two enchanted daughters. After such an upbringing my author’s mind has taken total leave of its senses! When I’m not writing, I eat exotic delicacies while belly dancing, or surf to the far reaches of the moon. To chill out, I practise Tai Chi. If the mood takes me I snorkel with mermaids, or sign up for idyllic holidays with the Chinese Unicorn, whose magnificent voice sings like a thousand wind chimes.
Books by M J Mallon:
The Curse of Time – Book 1 – Bloodstone
Blurb:
Fifteen-year-old Amelina Scott lives in Cambridge with her dysfunctional family, a mysterious black cat, and an unusual girl who’s imprisoned within the mirrors located in her house. When an unexpected message arrives inviting her to visit the Crystal Cottage, she sets off on a forbidden pathway where she encounters Ryder, a charismatic, but perplexing stranger.
With the help of a magical paint set, and some crystal wizard stones she discovers the truth about a shocking curse that has destroyed her family’s happiness.
NEWS!!! THE CURSE OF TIME HAS BEEN ACQUIRED BY PUBLISHER – NEXT CHAPTER PUBLISHING. MORE DETAILS SOON.
ORIGINAL Title DETAILS:
The Curse of Time Book 1 – Bloodstone Kindle Publication date: 27th August 2017 Genre: YA/Paranormal Fantasy Pages: 237 ASIN: B074CDJPY9 Buy Book (Original Title,) updated republished version coming soon:myBook.to/TheCurseofTime
“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)
The Curse of Time – Book 1 – Bloodstone
Blurb:
Fifteen-year-old Amelina Scott lives in Cambridge with her dysfunctional family, a mysterious black cat, and an unusual girl who’s imprisoned within the mirrors located in her house. When an unexpected message arrives inviting her to visit the Crystal Cottage, she sets off on a forbidden pathway where she encounters Ryder, a charismatic, but perplexing stranger.
With the help of a magical paint set, and some crystal wizard stones she discovers the truth about a shocking curse that has destroyed her family’s happiness.
My poetry, prose and photography collection released on February 16th.
Mr. Sagittarius is available in kindle, full colour paperback and free in Amazon Kindle Unlimited.
Blurb:
Who Is Mr. Sagittarius?
And what is his connection to twin brothers, Harold and William?
When Harold dies he leaves a simple memorial request
Will his sister Annette honour it?
Or, will the magic of the garden ensure that she does.
A magical story expressed via poetry and prose with photographic images.
I am a participating author in Dan Alatorre’s anthology: Nightmareland with my story Scrabble Boy.
From the creators of the #1 bestseller The Box Under The Bed horror anthology and its #1 bestseller sequel Dark Visions, comes Nightmareland
A best-selling horror anthology with 23 stories from 14 authors.
I am a participating author in Plaisted Publishing House’s Ghostly Anthology 2019 with my short story Dexter’s Creepy Caverns.
Please note, it is showing as 99p on Amazon, which take a little longer for it to recognise its free elsewhere.
I’m contributing two poems to Plaisted Publishing House Ghostly Writers short story collection. Ghostly Romance Anthology Volume 1 is now FREE on Amazon:
I also contributed to Plaisted Publishing House Ghostly Writes Anthology 2018 with my story Ghostly Goodbye.
Ghostly Goodbye by M J Mallon
Ghostly Goodbye is a paranormal love story about a young woman called Iris who can’t get over her husband’s death. She is mourning him so much that she feels dead inside. Her husband Ed sends her a ghostly message from beyond the grave via an old forgotten garment in her wardrobe. She responds by dragging herself from her tomb-like bed and he draws back the curtain of death to visit her in a most unusual way.
Reviews needed! Please support us.
Available on Amazon, Apple, Nook, Kobo, Scribd, 24S, Playster, Indigo, Angus & Robertson, Mondadori Store: Universal Buying Link
Samantha Murdoch kindly allowed me to use the following images in my publicity and on the spine of my paperback of The Curse of Time Book 1 Bloodstone.
The Bloodstone
and images of her cat Lily (who is very like the black cat Shadow in my book, The Curse of Time.
Carolina Russo has created two wonderful portraits of my characters which feature in my paperback. Below is the full colour version, the paperback images are in black and white.
1. I wish I could be wonder woman or MJ from Spiderman
2. I adore crystals, alternative therapies, the unusual and the strange. I’m a qualified Aromatherapist, Reflexologist, (I no longer work as a therapist instead I devote my spare time to reading, writing, blogging and reviewing.)
3. Some say that I am a white witch…my blogging friends confer and have included me in the Sisters of The Fey, a writerly collaboration.
4. My husband can’t remember asking me to marry him and neither can I. He suspects I cast a spell on him!
5. I have travelled to many foreign destinations, including: Papua New Guinea, Fiji, the Caribbean, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Rome, Venice, France, Germany, Spain, Belgium and Portugal. I would love the funds to travel some more!
6. I currently work as a receptionist for a private sixth form in Cambridge. In quiet moments I observe peoples’ mannerisms, listen to snippets of gossip and dream up new story ideas.
7. I love food! Asian food and anything spicy, yum…My mother is Malaysian and my father is Scottish so I grew up with a very varied diet.
8. My motto is to do what you love! Stay true to your heart’s desires, remain young at heart, and inspire others to do so, even if the odds are stacked against you like black-hearted shadows.
9. I studied Communication Studies at University, (marketing, media studies, public relations, etc.) My degree is coming in mighty handy now.
10. I love cats but don’t own one (my husband and daughter are allergic,) so I adopted a virtual black cat called Lily who looks like my black cat character Shadow in my book: https://mjmallon.com/2017/05/17/shadow-welcomes-lily-the-cat-to-kyrosmagica/
11. I have so many writing projects and so little time! I am a writing butterfly so this pains me greatly!
12. I am an original! I have been to every single Bloggers Bash until now. http://sachablack.co.uk/annual-bloggers-bash/
13. I have met the inventor of The Corpus Christi Chronophage clock – Dr John C Taylor, OBE who kindly gave me permission to use his images in my book. http://www.johnctaylor.com/the-chronophage/
14. I enjoy interviewing my fictional characters on my blog. Currently you can meet
Shadow: https://mjmallon.com/2017/05/11/my-interview-with-shadow-a-black-cat-character-with-a-past/
Amelina: https://mjmallon.com/2017/08/20/mj-interviews-amelina-the-curse-of-time-bloodstone-sundayblogshare/
Today, I am delighted to share with you my latest collaboration with artist Carolina Russo, who has created a brilliant new portrait of the Creature, Eruterac, in my paperback novel, The Curse of Time – Book 1 – Bloodstone to be released April 2018.
Below is the full colour portrait of Esme:
Both the Creature and Esme the mirror girl will feature in black and white in my paperback release scheduled for April 2018. At present, the kindle version is NOT ILLUSTRATED.
I am sure you will agree that they are wonderful portraits. Carolina has taken my written words and captured the essence of both characters brilliantly. What an extraordinarily talented lady! I am so thrilled. They will enhance my paperback beautifully. It is fitting that these beautiful illustrations should be included in the soon to be released paperback considering that one of the themes of the novel is art coming alive!
To see more of Carolina’s wonderful work please visit her social media:
Carolina Russo is a contemporary artist, designer and illustrator living in California. Born and raised in Italy where she studied Art and Design. A self-taught watercolour artist, her style of work has developed through an on-going interest in painting, drawing, sketching and exploring mediums. Her work is inspired by her love for nature. Her creative world combines elements of classic art, surrealism and fantasy. Her creativity extends to Digital Art, Jewellery Design, Photography and Poetry.
I am so happy, do comment below and share in my happiness! xx
Since I have been writing and blogging there have been so many cases of serendipity, discovering like-minded souls who share similar interests. My lovely friend Colleen Chesebro, fellow writer, chief sister, (blog originator,) at The Sisters of the Fey, loves crystals, fairies and all things magical. Colleen helped me enormously with my manuscript The Curse of Time. She went way beyond a beta read and I am so indebted to her for her kindness, helping me achieve my dream to publish my first book.
Carolina Russo who blogs at Yesterday After (my illustrator,) also has a crystal connection! She makes crystal jewellery and has created two wonderful pieces of art to illustrate my book, which I will be sharing in a special feature on my next blog post on my main blog – https://mjmallon.com so keep an eye out for that!
And the lovely Samantha Murdoch, who loves cats and crystals kindly emailed me lots of photos of her beautiful black cat Lily to promote my cat character Shadow, as well as an image of the Bloodstone which graces the spine of the paperback.
My friend Wendy Anne Darling had a magical challenge too, to transform Dr John C Taylor’s brilliant images of the Corpus Christi Clock into a magnificent book cover. She did a fantastic job. Do pop over to Wendy’s blog, and check out her book design service.
Oh, and did I mention that Dr John C Taylor, OBE, inventor of the Corpus Christi Chronopage clock is a keen geologist, loves crystals and of course clocks too…
Such is the power of serendipity! Would you believe it?
I truly believe that The Curse of Time and all these wonderful connections were meant to be.
Have you ever had a similar experience, when everything came together in such a magical and mysterious way?
A tried and tested spell from Adele Marie Park, blogging at our writing collaboration, The Sisters of The Fey. Please pop over to our sister blog to see what we are all up to. 🙂
Carolina Russo is a contemporary artist, designer and illustrator living in California. Born and raised in Italy where she studied Art and Design. A self-taught watercolour artist, her style of work has developed through an on-going interest in painting, drawing, sketching and exploring mediums. Her work is inspired by her love for nature. Her creative world combines elements of classic art, surrealism and fantasy. Her creativity extends to Digital Art, Jewellery Design, Photography and Poetry.
