BIC Folks! – Announcing The 7th Annual Halloweensie Writing Contest Guidelines!!!

Susanna Hill Halloweensie writing competition.

Susanna Leonard Hill's avatarSusanna Leonard Hill

What with all that’s been going on lately, I have totally lost track of this month!

This is probably the Monday I should be posting a Short & Sweet or an Oh, Susanna! or something. . .

. . .but instead. . .

EVEN BETTER!. . .

. . .I’m announcing. . .

. . .get ready for it. . . !

The7thAnnualHALLOWEENSIECONTEST!!!!!

halloweensie-pumpkin

~ for children’s writers ~

The Contest: write a 100 word Halloween story appropriate for children (title not included in the 100 words), using the words candy corn, monster, and shadow. (Candy corn will be counted as 1 word.)  Your story can be scary, funny, or anything in…

View original post 862 more words

Colleen’s Weekly Poetry Tuesday Challenge No. 54: GHOST & HAUNT

 

 

I dream in colour,

But now everything is dark,

Where has the light gone?

Oh, cruel leafy canopy?

No green meadow, just blue thoughts.

 

A spectre haunts me,

Through the trees he drifts slowly,

I hear no weeping,

Just a tall, grey wall of sighs,

Twigs snap, and nothing changes.

© M J Mallon 2017.

Oh dear, that was sad and depressing! …. Why am I always drawn to writing such misery?  Don’t answer that!

Hope you like my Tanka’s (even if they’re sad,) and the contrasting photos I took of the trees.

To join in with Colleen’s challenge follow the link: https://colleenchesebro.com/2017/10/10/colleens-weekly-poetry-tuesday-challenge-no-54-ghost-haunt/

Bye for now, time for a smiley Sunday face! It had to be done!

unnamed

 

85978B3EEB2A2F45468E6707CEAFE70D

My social media links:
Authors/Bloggers Rainbow Support Club
Twitter: @Marjorie_Mallon  @curseof_time
Instagram
Facebook

Tumblr

 

Fellow Administrators of our Authors Bloggers Rainbow Support Club #ABRSC on Facebook, myself, my good friends Colleen Chesebro and Debby Gies. Click on Colleen’s and Debby’s photos to be directed to their awesome blogs. These ladies rock!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3rd Halloween Poem Contest – 1st Group Of Submitted Poems

The first entrants to Aurora Jean Alexander’s 3rd Halloween Poem Contest. I’m working on my entry today. These are all amazing, take a look but remember these poems are copyright to the respective authors.

aurorajeanalexander's avatarWriter's Treasure Chest

Picture courtesy of: http://preventioncdnndg.org/eco-quartier/eco-tips-for-halloween/

***********************************************************************************************

Please respect each authors’ and poets’ copyright. The rights remain with the writers. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from each of the poems author’s is strictly prohibited and violates copyright laws in the country you are reading this work in as well as in the country you are trying to re-publish this work in. – Aurora Jean Alexander

***********************************************************************************************

Let’s Shine – by Melody J. Fisher

Four fat hollow pumpkins
Gutted, carved, and lit
Staring from the steps
Of the porch where they sit

One is very frightful
Another dons a hat
The biggest one is smiling
One resembles a cat

They just sit and watch
As the world passes them by
Making observations
Before they shrivel up and dry

They sit in silent judgement
As a couple bicker and complain
Listen in discomfort
As they cause each other…

View original post 1,078 more words

#Bookreview – Not Yet Dark by Simon P. Clark

IMG_20170922_142219_887.jpg

 

Goodreads Synopsis:

15-year-olds Philippa and Danny have been best friends for years, but things are starting to change between them. Danny has a new set of friends – the rugby boys – and suddenly whispers of ‘Phil the Thrill’ start to follow Philippa around school, and she knows exactly where those rumours started.

One evening, Philippa escapes to an abandoned seaside house to clear her head, but quickly discovers that she is far from alone. Not only has Danny secretly followed her, the two of them are about to witness something that will change their lives for ever.

A mysterious Society is meeting in the house to try to summon Death, and Danny and Philippa are caught up in their dark spell. The pair manages to escape but they soon realise that they’re being followed by two children who, as they begin to talk, claim to not be human. Where do these creatures really come from? And what is that they want?

I won a copy of Not Yet Dark via a twitter competition and as soon as my copy arrived I had a very good feeling about this novel and my good feeling turned out to be intuition at its best. Yes, I’m like that sometimes!

I really enjoyed this YA novel so much. The ending was so gripping that I’ve rated this 5 stars. Strong points – amazing dialogue that carried the story so well. Little touches of humour that made me smile. A well written, engaging paranormal/fantasy/magical story with four great characters.  Just the type of novel that appeals to me.

Highly recommended.

Details  of  Simon P. Clark’s previous novel, Eren, (which I haven’t read,) from Amazon:

‘Sure to appeal to older readers with a taste for the dark side, and probably to adults as well . . . This is an impressive debut from young author Simon P. Clark, who doesn’t shy away from pushing his story to its darkest reaches. The ending will leave you shell-shocked’ (Independent on Eren)

Book Description
Beautifully written, dark and magical, Simon P. Clark’s next book after his debut, Eren, combines fantasy with reality to tell the story of two school friends who find themselves caught up in a dangerous spell after they witness a mysterious society summoning Death itself.

Authors website: http://www.simonpclark.com/

DISCLAIMER: “As of 13th September 2017 we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.”
My opinions are my own and any reviews on this site have not been swayed or altered in any way by monetary compensation, or by the offer of a free book in exchange for a review.

Amazon UK Kindle Buying Link: http://amzn.to/2xCVBfX

Amazon UK Paperback Buying Link: http://amzn.to/2kNEvGk

 

Have you read Not Yet Dark? Please comment below and let me know.

Bye for now,

 

Bitmoji hittin the books

My social media links:
Authors Bloggers Rainbow Support Club – Facebook
Twitter:  @Marjorie_Mallon @curseof_time
Instagram/
Facebook

Tumblr

 

Fellow Administrators of our Authors Bloggers Rainbow Support Club #ABRSC on Facebook, myself, my good friends Colleen Chesebro and Debby Gies. Click on Colleen’s and Debby’s photos to be directed to their awesome blogs. These ladies rock!

 

 

#MentalHealthAwarenessDay

We had Olivia Remes visit our work today for #MentalHealthAwarenessDay. Olivia is a  PhD candidate at the Cambridge Institute of Public Health.  She gave a talk about mental health focussing on anxiety, depression and compulsive obsessive disorder. Unfortunately,  I wasn’t able to record today’s talk so instead I thought I’d share the above link I found on twitter.

Also this article is very interesting: Naked Scientists – Is Social Media Affecting Mental Health. I do believe there is a lot of truth in this, we need to switch off our phones at bedtime – the constant sound of them beeping in the night cannot be good for us! I always leave mine well out of earshot! But, the younger generation are particularly prone to doing this. SWITCH OFF YOUR MOBILES AT BEDTIME!!!!

You can read Olivia’s other articles here: https://www.cam.ac.uk/people/olivia-remes

What do you think? Is the overuse of social media damaging our mental health? Are we in danger of becoming depressed by all the hyped up positivity we see on Facebook?

Please comment below, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

 

My Review of Curse of Time Book One Bloodstone

Thrilled to receive a 5 star review of my novel The Curse of Time Book 1 Bloodstone. Take a look….

Adele Marie's avatarAdeleMariePark Author

From the beginning, I was drawn into the main character, Amelina’s world.

It is quickly established that Amelina’s world is not like other girls her age.

I can’t say more than that as I don’t want to give spoilers away.

Amelina is written so well. There is a part of her that all of us will recognise and emphasise with. At that awkward age where nothing fits and at the same time you feel as if you can conquer the world.

Darkness creeps in slowly in the form of Ryder who at first seems the answer to all Amelina desires, or is he?

The circle of friends she has are all different personalities but they fit together like a circle.

The description of each girl is short but gives us an immediate picture of their personality.

Then there are Amelina’s parents, her growing power and the strange invitation.

I give…

View original post 92 more words

Flash Fiction Prompt for Hurricane Relief #Flash4Storms #SundayBlogShare

flash4storms-sig

 

Here’s how you join in on Sarah Brentyn’s #Flash4 Storms #LemonSharkCharity.

1. Write a piece of flash fiction in 50 words or less with the theme: Help
(This can be any sort of assistance, support, encouragement, or a story of someone or something that needs help. You do not need to use the prompt word. Be creative! It can be 50 words, 15 words…even a six-word story. Anything goes provided it is prose up to 50 words. It doesn’t have to be sunshine and rainbows but keep it PG and friendly.)
2. Add a new post on your blog with your flash fiction and the hashtag #Flash4Storms in the title
3. Link to this post: https://sarahbrentyn.wordpress.com/2017/10/01/flash-fiction-prompt-for-hurricane-relief-flash4storms/
4. Leave a comment  on the above ink to your post so Sarah knows you’ve participated
5. Help spread the word on social media with the hashtags:
#Flash4Storms
#LemonSharkCharity

Sarah Brentyn  will donate $1 to hurricane relief for every flash that is posted (up to $50).

 

This is my flash fiction story for #Flash4Storms #LemonSharkCharity.

H is for Hurricane

H is for Hurricane. I knew it was coming. E is for Evacuation. I should have, but didn’t. C is for crying. Terrified, I had made the worst decision. R is relief, my family survived. D is for dog. A glimmer of hope. M is for Me, alive and thankful.

I wish this could be the outcome for all those in the path of hurricanes but sadly this is not the case… I know  bloggers like Marcia Meara were caught up in the effects of hurricanes. In her case Irma pounded her poor house and she was terrified at what might happen. Luckily, the damage though extensive didn’t include any loss of life. Life is indeed precious, our possessions can be replaced, our loved ones can’t.
Here’s Marcia’s latest blog post about the damage to her garage and cars which gives you some indication of the aftermath and destruction caused by  hurricanes: https://marciamearawrites.com/2017/10/06/one-giant-step-for-vankind-hurricaneirma/

 

Fifty words, that’s all we could write. I hope I managed to capture a sense of uncertainty, fear and hope in my short paragraph of flash fiction.

Bye for now,

bitmoji1999601555

 

85978B3EEB2A2F45468E6707CEAFE70D

I now have two 5 star reviews on Amazon for my book!!!!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Curse-Time-Book-Bloodstone-ebook/dp/B074CDJPY9/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1507316179&sr=8-1&keywords=the+curse+of+time

 

My social media links:
Authors/Bloggers Rainbow Support Club #ABRSC
Twitter:  @Marjorie_Mallon @curseof_time
Instagram
Facebook
Tumblr

 

Fellow Administrators of our Authors Bloggers Rainbow Support Club #ABRSC on Facebook, myself, my good friends Colleen Chesebro and Debby Gies. Click on Colleen’s and Debby’s photos to be directed to their awesome blogs. These ladies rock!

 

 

Horror October 2017: Week 1 Wrap-Up #HO17

Lipsyy Horror October. Follow the link to find out more if you dare!

lipsyy's avatarLipsyy Lost & Found

HorrorOct2017

Well, that’s week 1 of my horror-themed month over and done with. It was a great week!
If you missed anything, do not fret, here is a handy summary.

Horror October Week 1

Welcome to Horror October 2017 (coming up)

Flash Fiction Battle:

ffb2017

Vote now!

Story Prompt Revealed

30 Days of Horror:

30daysofhorror

Day #1: The Last Days of Jack Sparks

Day #2: The Dark Net

Day #3: Under the Dome

Day #4: The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter

Day #5: A Head Full of Ghosts

Day #6: The Crow Girl

Revisiting Self-made Man by Poppy Z. Brite

selfmade

This Week in Books 04.10.17

icon-twibHO

Mother! Film Review

motherposter

Posts from around the blogosphere

Zombie Books Giveaway & Interview with Author: TD Ricketts – Dab of Darkness

Ghosts: A Short Story – Marie McWilliams.com

Blog Tour: Black Bird of the Gallows – Between the Pages

Halloween Read-A-Thon – Wonderless Reviews

October Fright: Seven…

View original post 9 more words

Be my guest? Guest posts

Sue Vincent is offering guest posts on her blog. If you wish you can write a piece about Elusive Realities…

Sue Vincent's avatarSue Vincent's Daily Echo

wordcloud2

Would you like to write a guest post and be featured on this blog?

If you are a writer, artist or photographer…If you have a poem, story or memoirs to share… If you have a book to promote, a character to introduce, an exhibition or event to publicise… If you have advice for writers, artists or bloggers…


Why not be my guest?

I don’t bite and I don’t charge.


Elusive Realities

I am also hoping that more people will share their true experiences with those elusive realities that hover on the edge of perception.

You can find a list HERE of all the contributions so far to this series.

If you have had a strange experience or encounter that you would like to share, please get in touch.

I am not looking for sensationalism or fictional tales… but in light of the response to some recent posts, I think it…

View original post 119 more words

The Bloggers Bash 2018

The next bloggers bash is May 19th… not long to go and Geoff has managed to find a very lovely looking pub for a venue. How’s about that? Exciting times ahead folks, put the date in your diary!