Promotion Free Kindle Offer: The Hedge Witch & The Musical Poet #free #kindle #offer #poetry #nature #flashfiction

Free Kindle Book Promotion – Tuesday, August 29, 2023, 12:00 AM PDT until Thursday, August 31, 2023, 11:59 PM PDT

Synopsis

The Hedge Witch & The Musical Poet is a collection of poetry and flash fiction celebrating the beauty and the vulnerability of the forest kingdom. It begins with the poetic tale of the kind-hearted Hedge Witch, Fern, who discovers an injured stranger in desperate need of her woodland spells and magic.The sweet pairing learn from each other and through Fern’s guidance, Devin embraces the power of magic to leave behind his troubled past to become The Musical Poet.

Poetry/flash fiction titles in section one of the collection include: The Hedge Witch & The Musical Poet, Rain Forest Love, A Forest Baby Boy, A Forest Baby Girl, A Modern Witch, Rock of Mine, Chester Don & I, The Network of Trees, More Trees Not Less, Two Boys Watching War, Mum Climbing Trees, Let’s Play, The Scorched Tree, Owl’s Holiday Home, A Man’s Holiday Home, A Child’s Excitement, The Teddy In The Woods, Run! The Organutans, All Hallow’s Eve Candy Girl The Forest Bash, Dreaming At Halloween, A Face on Bark, Golden Willow Tree, Rainbow – Parasol of Light, Lollipop Sunshine Tree,

In Section two I pay tribute to the following poets:Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Evangeline, Ruby Archer, King Forest, Bliss Carman, Woodland Rain, Emily Dickinson, Who Robbed the Woods, Rupert Blake, Stopping by The Woods on A Winter Evening,Oscar Wilde, In the Forest.With my poetry inspired by their works:The Forest Weeps, The Forest King, Raindrops and Childhood Dreams, The Woodland Treasures, Winter Woodland Moon, Child Me.

A 5 star review to tempt you from Kim Rigby:

I’m a big fan of Marjorie Mallon’s poetry and flash fiction, and The Hedge Witch & The Musical Poet doesn’t disappoint. Clearly, the author is a Dendrophile (like me!) and the early part of the book builds a picture of a magical forest. There is a pervading lament, a cry for a bygone era, a desire to return to lost times that is mournful yet beautiful. Later poems, such as All Hallows Eve Candy Girl are marvellously imaginative, with clever alliteration. There is also a certain poignancy in two poems that feature the author’s parents, which I found immensely touching.
Overall, a stunning collection. Highly recommended!

Kim’s website: Website: https://kimrigby.com/

A 5 star review to tempt you more from Rosemary Mairs!

An enchanting collection of poetry and short fiction about the natural world and mankind’s relationship with it. I especially liked the title piece, which epitomises a longing I have, to live a simple pared back life in harmony with nature. I love trees, marvel at their beauty and splendour, and the author’s similar appreciation comes across in these pages, is apparent in the vivid imagery in poems such ‘Winter Woodland Moon’. Forest destruction and the effects of global warming are lamented in ‘The Network of Trees’ and ‘The Scorched Tree’.

There is a haunting, melancholic tone to several of the poems, such as ‘A Face on Bark’. One describes an old ruin, in which a vase on a table is “filled with muddy water where fresh flowers once bloomed”. My favourite is ‘A Modern Witch’, who “often sits alone in whimsy, in crowded places, remembering ancient times”.

I shall revisit this collection, can picture myself doing so in summertime, at my favourite spot, sitting beneath the horse chestnut in my garden, its magnificent canopy overhead, sunlight filtering through the leaves, savouring this magical ode to trees.

Rosemary Mairs website: https://rosemarymairs.com/

The kindle offer is on from…

Tuesday, August 29, 2023, 12:00 AM PDT

Thursday, August 31, 2023, 11:59 PM PDT

Links:

The Hedge Witch And The Musical Poet https://books2read.com/u/mv1OeV

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61376179-the-hedge-witch-the-musical-poet

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August 29, 2023 0

Audiobook Review: Children of Paradise by Camilla Grudova #audiobook #review #childrenofparadise

Synopsis

“Grudova is Angela Carter’s natural inheritor. Her style is effortlessly spare and wonderfully seductive. Read her! Love her! She is sincerely strange.” —Nicola Barker, author, Darkmans

Following Grudova’s critically acclaimed collection The Doll’s Alphabet , this surreal, discomforting debut novel charts the fates of a ragtag group of cinema workers who are spat out by corporate takeover.

When Holly applies for a job at the Paradise – one of the city’s oldest cinemas, squashed into the ground floor of a block of flats – she thinks it will be like any other shift work. She cleans toilets, sweeps popcorn, avoids the belligerent old owner, Iris, and is ignored by her aloof but tight-knit colleagues who seem as much a part of the building as its fraying carpets and endless dirt. Dreadful, lonely weeks pass while she longs for their approval, a silent voyeur.

So when she finally gains the trust of this cryptic band of oddballs, Holly transforms from silent drudge to rebellious insider and gradually she too becomes part of the Paradise – unearthing its secrets, learning its history and haunting its corridors after hours with the other ushers. It is no surprise when violence strikes, tempers change and the group, eyes still affixed to the screen, starts to rapidly go awry…

My Review

I listened to this on audible. My audiobook short review:

Dark humour cinematic tale

It’s unlike anything I’ve listened to before. Weird, disturbing, claustrophobic, wildly imaginative, sordid, cinematic.

Full review:

It’s unlike anything I have heard, or read before. It’s dark humour set in a dingy cinema, narrated by a female employee who tells the tale of the ailing Paradise. The misfit employees who work there live and breathe films. Their lives play out within the cinema’s walls and even when they do meet outside in a similar manner they watch films too. There is no escaping! The tale has a claustrophobic aspect to it as there is no release from the cinematic aspect of their lives. There are sexual encounters, grotesque happenings and even deaths in the cinema. Also there are some stunningly imaginative passages. All the characters who inhabit the cinema, (both the misfit employees and the cinema goers,) are at times sordid, disgusting and grotesque. So, this won’t be for everyone!

Triggers/other aspects: sex, filth, unwanted pregnancy.

A difficult one to rate. I don’t think I will forget it in a hurry. Did I like it? In truth, I wouldn’t have chosen to read this normally but it was book club pick at Edinburgh Stockbridge book club so I gave it a go. On the whole, I did. I appreciated it for being different, for its wild imagination, and strange weirdness.

My rating 4 stars.

Author Bio

Camilla Grudova lives in Edinburgh, Scotland. She holds a degree in art history and German from McGill University, Montreal. Her fiction has appeared in the White Review and Granta.

Grudova originally posted stories on her Tumblr blog before being spotted by an editor from The White Review.

Her story, “Waxy” (Granta 136), was nominated for a British Fantasy Award for short fiction and won the Shirley Jackson Award for best novelette.

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16282088.Camilla_Grudova

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August 29, 2023 2

Book Review: Bloodstone | Writing to be Read #ya #fantasy #thecurseoftime #series #mentalhealthawareness @GodsAngel1

Thank you so much to Kaye Lynn Booth for her wonderful review of Bloodstone.

Source: Book Review: Bloodstone | Writing to be Read

About the Book

Book Cover: A clock
Text: Bloodstone: The Curse of Time Book 1, M.J. Mallon

I didn’t think my life could get weirder, but I was wrong…

Fifteen-year-old Amelina Scott lives in Cambridge with her dysfunctional family, a mysterious black cat, and an unusual girl who is 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 path where she encounters Ryder: a charismatic, perplexing stranger.
With the help of a magical paint set and some crystal wizard stones, can Amelina discover the truth about her family?
A unique, imaginative mystery full of magic-wielding and dark elements, Bloodstone is a riveting adventure for anyone interested in fantasy, mythology or the world of the paranormal.

TRIGGER WARNING: this book contains mention of self-harm, mental health issues and alludes to the potential dangers of sexual attraction, which may trigger younger/sensitive readers.INSPIRED BY: The World Famous Corpus Christi Chronophage Clock, created by Dr. John C Taylor, OBE, and artist Anya Gallaccio’s Crystal Grotto, in Juniper Artland, Scotland.

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Bloodstone-Paranormal-Fantasy-Adventure-Curse-ebook/dp/B097QZBKNY

Kaye Lynn Booth’s Review

Bloodstone is Book 1 in M.J. Mallon’s The Curse of Time series. I’m not sure what I expected when Ipicked up this book. I’m a sucker for time-travel stories, and the subject of time and parallel worlds perplex me, so I suppose I expected something along those lines given the clock on the cover and the series title. But that is not at all what this book is. But, Bloodstone may be just as enchanting.This tale is a young adult novel dealing with the issues of a fifteen-year-old girl who has a very strange life. While her home life may be disfunctional, other parts of her life are magical in this delightful tale of magical realism. Things happen which may seem odd or unusual, but they seem to be everyday occurances in the fantastical world which Mallon has created.The result is a paranormal fantasy that deals with real adolecent issues like friends and boyfriends, peer pressure, depression, self-harm, and betrayal, in a manor that raises awareness, and still entertains.Another unexpected touch the author offers up in this story is a syllabic poem as the heading of each chapter, which offers a hint to the events in the chapter to come. I found this to be a clever way to clue readers in and creative way to add to the magicalfeel of the story.A refreshing surprise, Bloodstone captured my attention and my heart. I give it five quills.

___________________________________________________________________Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review here.

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August 23, 2023 8

Poetry promotions #free #kindle #poetry #deals Do What You Love, Mr. Sagittarius Poetry & Prose

The following poetry and prose collections are on free kindle offer from 17th to 19th August.

Do What You Love. Mr. Sagittarius Poetry & Prose.

The free kindle promotion is on from Thursday, August 17, 2023, 12:00 AM PDT until Saturday, August 19, 2023, 11:59 PM PDT

Download It Now:

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BKLC9DYY/

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/What-You-love-Fragility-Photography-ebook/dp/B0BKLC9DYY/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63114445-do-what-you-love

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/do-what-you-love-fragility-of-your-flame-poems-photography-and-flash-fiction-by-m-j-mallon

Media Kit: Do What You Love Fragility of Your Flame #poems #photography #flashfiction #new #book #release #writingcommunity #poetrycommunity #mediakit #paperback

Thank you to Smitha for this recent review: https://smithavpennings.com/2023/05/22/book-review-do-what-you-love-by-mj-mallon/

A quick read that will make you want to write, too!

Do What You Love by MJ Mallon is a quick read of 58 pages. It’s a sweet reminder to live life, look back to see how far you’ve come, appreciate all that’s got you this far and look forward to the future.

I could read the book in an hour and a half’s time. I’m sure it’ll take others lesser time, but that’s its USP. You feel good at the end of it that you’ve completed a book, which will most certainly make you look back and ahead at your own life. Who knows, it might even turn you into a writer and make you come out with a book of your own similar to MJ Mallon’s book. It definitely made me want to.
The author begins the book with an explanation of ‘The Fates’. As per Greek mythology, the three sisters of fate were personified as three old women who spin the thread of human destiny- Clotho (Spinner), Lachesis (Allotter), and Atropos (Inflexible). The author says, ‘The usual interpretation of the fates is harsh with the eldest Atropos choosing the manner of death by cutting the threads of an individual’s life with her dreaded shears’, ‘Clotho spinning the threads of life on her spindle’, and Lachesis, the allotter, measuring the length of life. However, the author has used artistic license and made them ‘friendly, jovial creatures’ who have a conversation with her. I found this manner of narration novel and refreshing.

And many thanks to Dan Costinas, contributor to Tomorrow Magazine, a great supporter of authors, who I have had the pleasure of connecting with via my Portugal travels. He has kindly read and reviewed Do What You Love. I appreciate his 5 star review! “A Perfectly balanced florilegium of verse, photos and other inscriptions!”

Dan runs many facebook groups including:

Authors for the Algarve: https://www.facebook.com/groups/3522447591319276

Authors for Hispania: https://www.facebook.com/groups/7012396018786814/

Dan Costinas

Mr. Sagittarius

Buy it Now: http://mybook.to/MrSagittarius
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51004313-mr-sagittarius
https://www.bookbub.com/books/mr-sagittarius-poetry-and-prose-by-m-j-mallon

Thank you to Patricia Furstenberg for this recent 5 star review:

An interesting read.
The author takes us into a magical world through a tale about two aged siblings, confronted with the grief brought by their departed brother.
Their chat takes place on a bench under the Golden Weeping Willow tree-where nature reveals messages.
Mr Sagittarius unravels as a book full of pleasing poems and short stories. Appealing photographs highlight them.
This is a book that lovers of poetry, mystery, and whimsy will enjoy.

Patricia’s blog: http://alluringcreations.co.za/wp

A 5 star review from Robbie Cheadle:

Mr Sagittarius is a beautiful collection of poems and short stories, set in the lovely gardens of Cambridge and linked by the visits and experiences of a family of twin brothers and their younger sister.

The story starts with William visiting the weeping willow tree in the garden, a place that was special to his twin brother, Harold, who has recently passed away. William sees Harold’s spirit in a dragonfly that he chats to and finds solace in their one-sided communication.

This is a few lines from a poem about the dragonfly:
“Ancient, sweet fellow
Sacred magic bestower,
Change tumbling on fragile wings.”

When William returns home, he has an altercation with his sister, Annette. During their spat Annette reveals that she has always felt left out and overlooked by her twin brothers. This revelation leads to William and Annette becoming closer and visiting the garden together. Not long after, William passes on and Annette is left alone. She visits the garden and communicates with the spirits of both her brothers over the course of the rest of her long life.

The visits of the siblings to the garden are captured in lovely verse. This is an example I really enjoyed:
“I dream in colour
But now everything is dark
Where has the light gone?
Oh, cruel leafy canopy,
No green meadow, just blue thoughts.”

My favourite of the short stories was The Old Man of Snow and The Snow Snake. This is a story about making good choices in life and rejecting greed. I enjoyed the tale and the descriptive writing.

Mr Sagittarius is a gorgeous book full of delightfully depictive poems and short stories and decorated with striking photographs. This is a book that lovers of poetry, mystery, and wonder will love.

Media Kit: Mr. Sagittarius #poetry #prose #photography

The free kindle promotion is on from Thursday, August 17, 2023, 12:00 AM PDT until Saturday, August 19, 2023, 11:59 PM PDT

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August 17, 2023 8