Kyrosmagica Publishing – The Magical Home of Books, Writing, Poetry, Photography and Inspiration
Author: 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.
A time-traveler oversteps his boundaries in 1887. Things get out of hand quickly, and he is hanged, setting in motion a series of events from which there’s no turning back. In 1887, LeRoy McAllister is a reluctant outlaw running from a posse with nowhere to go except to the future. In 2025, Amaryllis Sanchez is a thrill-seeking rock star on the fast track, who killed her dealing boyfriend to save herself. Now, she’s running from the law and his drug stealing flunkies, and nowhere is safe. LeRoy falls hard for the rock star, thinking he can save her by taking her back with him. But when they arrive in 1887, things turn crazy fast, and soon they’re running from both the outlaws and the posse, in peril once more. They can’t go back to the future, so it looks like they’re stuck in the past. But either when, they must face forces that would either lock them up or see them dead.
My Review
Well this was nothing like I’ve read before!
A time travelling western – what fun, flitting from 1887 to 2025. Loved the characters, especially feisty Rockstar Amaryllis who does her worst to get away from Vegas drug dealer lover Claude. There’s lots of excitement, high speed chases, some love scenes, jail breaks, time travelling ripple effects, and the threat of a noose around the neck is never far away!
I also enjoyed Cowboy who she takes a shine to and Monchique, Amaryllis’s best friend, a gnarled psychic who isn’t old but sure looks it due to Werners Syndrome.
Loved the direction the ‘ending’ went with the sense there is more to come.
Highly imaginative and so entertaining! Really enjoyed.
Thank you to the author for an advanced copy. Opinions given are my own.
One step, two step 🎃 halloween monsters assemble, Stretch, shuffle, begin, Cha cha, quick step, disco, rude dancing, Welcome! Wicked🧙♀️ witches, 😈 demons, 🧛♀️ vampires, and ghostly divas. Cheer! To the discordant music of the long since and recent dead. Meet our amazing judges. From the wild side, Lou Reed, For his renowned eccentricity, David Bowie, Offering gentle criticism, and celebratory wishes, Prince. For a grungy peace, love, and empathy vibe, Kurt Cobain, What talented judges! Hip hoorah! So, play nice, no cheating, Rules… Dancers listen carefully! Witches wands are strictly forbidden, Ghosts, no fading in and out, Demons keep to the dark side, Vampires don’t eat before the competition! Judges decisions are final, The winning dance will be… Written in the unholiest blood!
20 authors bring your nightmares to life in 23 stories of ghosts, paranormal phenomenon and the horror from the dark crevasses of their minds. Stories of stalkers, both human and supernatural, possession and occult rituals, alien visitations of the strange kind, and ghostly tales that will give you goosebumps. These are the tales that will make you fear the dark. Read them at the Midnight Roost… if you dare.
Kaye Lynne Booth, Chris Barili, Christa Planko, DL Mullan, C.R. Johansson, Joseph Carrabis, Keith J. Hoskins, Mario Acevedo, M.J. Mallon, Michaele Jordan, Patty L Fletcher, Paul Kane, Roberta Eaton Cheadle, Rebecca M. Senese, Zack Ellafy, Sonia Pipkin, Denise Aparo, Robert Kostanczuk, Isabel Grey & Julie Jones
Many thanks to Kaye Lynn Booth of Writing To Be Read for this review of The Hedge Witch.
About the Book
The Hedge Witch & The Musical Poet is a collection of poetry and flash fiction celebrating the beautiful 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.
The Hedge Witch & The Musical Poet, by M J Mallon is a lovely poetic collection which forms a lyrical tale of a man found in the forest and transformed, with the help of the Hedge Witch, into the poet the forest needs him to be. This enchanting tale unravels through a combination of flash fiction and poetry which explores magical realms and celebrates the forest. The playful, happy tone makes this tale the perfect short read for a palate cleanser after a more serious story where the fate of the world is at stake, or following a deep dive into the human psyche. It’s also a light story which can be consumed within a half hour or so, if you’ve got some time to kill. I used it as both, since I read it twice.
Delightfully entertaining, Kaye gives The Hedge Witch & The Musical Poet five quills.
Amanda Ross is on a school trip to Taos, New Mexico with several of her fellow creative students. She shares a room with Cleo, an anxious classmate who insists she sees ghosts. Although Amanda is determined to prove there is no such thing, she can’t seem to shake the feeling that something or someone is watching her.
Join Amanda, Cleo and their funny friend, Caleb, as they visit a rugged and beautiful landscape where a traditional hacienda, an ancient pueblo, and a haunted and spooky hotel all hold secrets to a wild and violent past.
Does Cleo really see ghosts? Can Amanda escape the eerie wind that follows her everywhere? Perhaps The Day of the Dead will reveal the mysteries of Taos in this latest adventure of Amanda’s travels.
My review
Amanda in New Mexico Ghosts In The Wind
It’s always fun to read an Amanda adventure. This one is set in the mountains, in Taos in New Mexico. I’ve read several in the series now and can recommend. This was a lovely halloween and anytime read for kids and educational too. In this book the other two main characters are Caleb, a cute, jokey boy, and Cleo who is afraid of ghosts. Amanda is our intrepid explorer who writes for kidblog. I particularly enjoyed the sections on The Day of The Dead, wild west characters, and the spooky bits! The ending had a nice uplifting touch which made me smile.
It’s always a joy to go travelling with Amanda!
Highly recommended for kids and sure their adults will enjoy too!
Read via Kindle unlimited
My rating: 5 stars
Author Bio
Growing up on a ranch near Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada, Darlene Foster dreamt of writing, traveling the world, and meeting interesting people. She also believed in making her dreams come true. It’s no surprise she’s now the award-winning author of Amanda Travels, a children’s adventure series featuring a spunky twelve-year-old who loves to travel to unique places. Readers of all ages enjoy following Amanda as she unravels one mystery after another. When not traveling herself, Darlene divides her time between the west coast of Canada and the Costa Blanca, Spain with her husband and entertaining rescue dogs, Dot and Lia. http://www.darlenefoster.ca
Greed led them in. Destitution kept them there. Adam and Becky Hargreaves stumble upon a foreboding gothic-style property in the secluded Spanish countryside, and believe they’ve found the ideal business opportunity. But shortly after moving in with Nerea, their truculent teenager, Melissa, their baby daughter, and Rose, Becky’s infirm mother, a series of disturbing events shatter their dreams of success.
When ghostly orbs and manifestations of the dead roam the corridors threatening their business and their lives, steadfast Adam refuses to believe their home is possessed. As he withdraws from his family, Becky and her sparring stepdaughter Nerea must learn to work together to solve the ulcerating secret lying in the dark heart of the house before history repeats itself.
What happened all those years ago during Franco’s regime? Why are so many spirits of young children still wandering the halls of the retreat? And who or what evil being is keeping them there?
As rivers of blood run deep within the bowels of the property, the family finds themselves entangled in an age-old promise with the devil. Who can they trust? How can they discover what happened in the blood-chilling past before time runs out?
Only one family member will make it out alive. Who can outwit the black soul and his disciples lying in wait inside the walls of Raven’s Retreat?
This was a engrossing read from start to finish. Creepy, well plotted and intriguing too. Perfect for the Halloween season and for everyone who likes a good creepy and at times blood curdling story. It was darker than I expected and twisted in places too. So not a read for the faint-hearted. Expect creepy house, ghost, coven, sacrificial practices, care home wierdness, witch covens, and sexual scenes in keeping with the imaginative plotline. Excellent storytelling from Michelle E. Northwood. I’ve read her memoir Fishnets in The Far East which couldn’t be more different, shows great versatility as an author.
My rating 5 stars. Recommended read but check the trigger ⚠️ warnings.
Many thanks to the author for an ARC.
Buying Link:
Author Bio
Michele has a First Class Honours Degree in Modern languages, (English and Spanish) and also studied for a Master’s in Highschool Education. She currently lives in Spain, where she runs an English Teaching Academy. Michele shares her home with her Spanish husband, her dog, two cats and two terrapins. (Yes, she’s slowly building an ark!)
In her past life …. (okay, when she was a young woman,) she worked as a professional dancer, magician and fire-eater who toured the world for over twenty years in theatre, musicals and circus. During that time, she was in the Guinness Book of Records for being part of the world´s largest Human mobile, and worked as a contortionist with the Circus of Horrors as their first “Girl inside a bottle”. She has rubbed shoulders with Sting, Chris de Burg, David Copperfield, Claudia Schiffer and Maurice Gibb from the Bee Gees. She has also worked as a knife throwers assistant, assisted a midget in his balancing act, and took part in the finale of a Scorpions concert.
The author’s debut novel, ‘Fishnets in the Far East: A Dancer’s Diary in Korea’ has won two literary competitions. The sequel: “Fishnets and Fire-eating” has just been released, and the third book in the Fishnet series is due out soon.
Michele is concerned about climate change, the abundance of plastic pollution, and hates the way man-unkind treats the other species that inhabit this beautiful planet we are slowly destroying. Michele loves living in the countryside with views of the sea and likes nothing better than to sit on the terrace at the end of the day, look up at the stars and contemplate.
If you would like to contact Michele, she can be found at:
Claire Winters is heartbroken when her husband of many years says he’s found a new love and wants a divorce. While having a pity party with her best friend, Jade, they come up with a daring idea. Together, they construct a Voodoo doll and with the help of several bottles of wine, create a ceremony to bring the same heartbreak to Daniel Winters as he brought to Claire. But do they go too far? You decide!
MJ’ Book Reviews
A short halloween quick and enjoyable read about revenge and the mistakes and shortcomings we have as humans. Any action born out of revenge ain’t going to be a good choice! Not scary more relationship based with voodoo element. Thought the ending was a fun twist. I think the story could be interpreted in different ways but my take was her guilt manifesting.
My rating 4 stars.
Recommended for those who like to celebrate this season but don’t want to read a book which is full of gore, or is too scary.
Jan Sikes is also featured on Robbie Cheadle’s blog. Robbie is sharing a review for Voodoo or Destiny and Ghostly Interference:
I’ve been an avid reader all my life. I can still remember the excitement that surged through me the first time I realized I could decipher words. There’s nothing I love more than losing myself in a story.
Oddly enough, I never had any ambition to be a writer. But I wound up in mid-life with a story that begged to be told. Not just any story, but a true story that rivaled any fiction creation. Through fictitious characters, the tale came to life in an intricately woven tale that encompasses four books. Not satisfied to stop with the books, I released music CDs of original music to match the time period of each story segment. In conclusion, to bring the story full circle, I published a book of poetry and art. I was done.
Wrong!
The story ideas keep coming, and I don’t intend to turn off the creative fountain.
I love all things metaphysical and often include those aspects in my stories.
I am a member of the Author’s Marketing Guild, The Writer’s League of Texas, Story Empire, and the Paranormal Writer’s Guild. I am an avid fan of Texas music and grandmother of five beautiful souls. I reside in North Texas.
Giveaway A chance to win a free digital copy of Midnight Roost at every stop. Just leave a comment to show your support for the tour, the anthology, and all of the fantastic authors.
Welcome Sonia Pipkin
Inspiration for “Once Upon a Time” I wrote this short story while I was attending Western Colorado University, during a short forms course. I love the idea of combining a fairytale with unexpected horror and that was my inspiration.
About Author Sonia Pipkin Sonia Pipkin graduated from Western Colorado University with an M.F.A. in creative writing with a concentration in genre fiction. She lives in Colorado where she is a freelance writer and is currently attending Colorado State University working toward an M.A. TESOL certificate. Her current project is a linked short story anthology that focuses on women injustice. Instagram: @writersoniav Facebook: Sonia Valladares
Roberta Eaton Cheadle is a South African writer and poet specialising in historical, paranormal, and horror novels and short stories. She is an avid reader in these genres and her writing has been influenced by famous authors, including Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe, Amor Towles, Stephen Crane, Enrich Maria Remarque, George Orwell, Stephen King, and Colleen McCullough. Roberta has short stories and poems in several anthologies and has two published novels: * Through the Nethergate, a historical supernatural fantasy; and * A Ghost and His Gold, a historical paranormal novel set in South Africa. Roberta has eleven children’s books published under the name Robbie Cheadle. Roberta was educated at the University of South Africa, where she achieved a Bachelor of Accounting Science in 1996 and an Honours Bachelor of Accounting Science in 1997. She was admitted as a member of The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants in 2000. Roberta has worked in corporate finance from 2001 until the present date and has written seven publications relating to investing in Africa. She has won several awards over her 20-year career in the category of Transactional Support Services. Roberta Eaton Cheadle is a contributor to every short fiction anthology WordCrafter Press has ever put out, as well as co-editor for the Poetry Treasures anthology series. Roberta contributed the winning story, “The Bite”, in the 2022 WordCrafter Short Fiction Contest and Visions anthology, as well as being a contributor to all WordCrafter Press anthologies and co-editor for the Poetry Treasures anthology series.
About Midnight Roost
20 authors bring your nightmares to life in 23 stories of ghosts, paranormal phenomenon, and the horror from the dark crevasses of their minds. Stories of stalkers, both human and supernatural, possession and occult rituals, alien visitations of the strange kind, and ghostly tales that will give you goosebumps. These are the tales that will make you fear the dark. Read them at the Midnight Roost… if you dare.
Kaye Lynne Booth, Chris Barili, Christa Planko, DL Mullan, C.R. Johansson, Joseph Carrabis, Keith J. Hoskins, Mario Acevedo, M.J. Mallon, Michaele Jordan, Patty L Fletcher, Paul Kane, Roberta Eaton Cheadle, Rebecca M. Senese, Zack Ellafy, Sonia Pipkin, Denise Aparo, Robert Kostanczuk, Isabel Grey & Julie Jones.
Midnight Roost can be downloaded via most distributors through Books2Read:
Tuesday – October 17 – M J Mallon (Reading) & Christa Planko (Interview & Guest Post)– Undawnted
Wednesday – October 18 – Chris Barili (Guest Post) & Paul Kane (Guest Post) – Patty’s Worlds
Thursday – October 19 – Julie Jones (Reading) & Keith Hoskins (Guest Post) – Robbie’s Inspiration
Friday – October 20 – Michaele Jordan (Reading) & Mario Acevedo (Guest Post) – Writing to be Read
Saturday – October 21 – Patty Fletcher (Guest Post) & DL Mullan (Guest Post & Video) – Roberta Writes
Sunday – October 22 – Sonia Pipkin (Guest Post) & Roberta Eaton Cheadle (Reading) – Kyrosmagica Publishing
Monday – October 23 – Closing Post –Denise Aparo (Reading) & other stories – Writing to be Read
Thanks to D L Mullan for this feature, 17th October with myself reading from my story the Cull, and an author interview with fellow contributor, Christa:
20 authors bring your nightmares to life in 23 stories of ghosts, paranormal phenomenon and the horror from the dark crevasses of their minds. Stories of stalkers, both human and supernatural, possession and occult rituals, alien visitations of the strange kind, and ghostly tales that will give you goosebumps. These are the tales that will make you fear the dark. Read them at the Midnight Roost… if you dare.
Kaye Lynne Booth, Chris Barili, Christa Planko, DL Mullan, C.R. Johansson, Joseph Carrabis, Keith J. Hoskins, Mario Acevedo, M.J. Mallon, Michaele Jordan, Patty L Fletcher, Paul Kane, Roberta Eaton Cheadle, Rebecca M. Senese, Zack Ellafy, Sonia Pipkin, Denise Aparo, Robert Kostanczuk, Isabel Grey & Julie Jones
Thank you so much to fellow author and poet Balroop Singh for this lovely review of The Hedge Witch. So delighted with her 5 star review!
The Hedge Witch & The Musical Poet is a marvelous collection of stories and poems that have been inspired from personal experiences of Mallon. Many characters in this book have a magical connection with Mother Nature.The compassion of the robin, the deer, the willow tree and the girl in the forest has been beautifully captured in ‘The Hedge Witch & The Musical Poet.’ In sharp contrast is ‘The Network of Trees,’ which highlights the apathy of people toward the forests, as “new houses are needed, so we must make way!”
‘Rock of Mine’ and Chester, Don & I evoke lovely memories of childhood. ‘Let’s Play’ makes a subtle appeal to children to come back to the forest to play in the natural surroundings. M.J. has a knack of telling stories through wonderful imagery and poetry.
‘So inspiring, so heartfelt … the way Donna writes is beyond beautiful.’ Lisa Snowdon
Uplifting inspiration from the Sunday Times bestselling author of I Wish I Knew
Wild Hope is Donna Ashworth’s powerful new collection of wisdom to help us find hope, peace, self-acceptance and inspiration on the days we feel worn down, helpless or sad. Written with love and understanding, Donna reminds us that amidst our daily struggles and constant outpourings of bad news we have so much to hope for, and that every one of us can play a part, big or small, in making the world a better place.
With poems such as ‘That Thing You Do’, ‘Through the Wringer’ and ‘Rope Ladder’, Donna helps us to remember that most people in this world are good, and that acts of kindness and love within our individual spheres of influence, however small, all contribute to a better future. She also gently guides us, no matter how busy or overburdened we may be, to practice better self-care and self-acceptance.
Hope exists when nothing else can. On the darkest of days Wild Hope will help you find more light.
My review
Wild Hope leaves no hopeful stone unturned! There are so many poems in this collection and each one is so special. Donna’s poetry is simple to understand, and relatable. The considered topics are dear to my heart, such as: mother and daughter love, being proud of you, living life to the full, seizing each day, being who you are and living with nature, and the moon and the planets. Finding joy in the simple but memorable moments of life. There is an abundance of positivity, love, compassion, understanding and humour in this collection. At a time when we all need a boost so much!
It’s the kind of poetry you could dip into whenever you feel the need. Or if, perhaps you are going through a particularly difficult time. The poems on grief, women and growing older were positive, and illuminating. I’m sure they would be a much needed anchor to those in need.
This is a real mood booster would highly recommend!
Thank you to the author and Netgalley for a copy which I read freely. All opinions are my own.
M J Mallon YA Author and Poet 