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.

Tanka Tuesday #sun #sea #rock #photography #poetry #challenge #Portimão: Rocks With Faces and a Crocodile!

The prompt this week is a photo challenge see above truck on beach from Terri at: https://secondwindleisure.com/about-me/

To concentrate on visual imagery and use the words, sun, sand and sea…

Rocks With Faces

Sun sand and sea rocks!

Creates faces to enjoy!

Close up they transform

Think its eerie that they do?

Let me share them all with you!

Rocks With Faces And Meet The Eerie Man!

(Freeform Poem.)

A playful rock whale surfaces,
Begging me, begging me,
Grab my make believe barnacles!

Salty tears fill a dinasaur’s eye,
Chiselled by years of unrelenting tide, Turbulent tears for all eternity.

DINOSAUR (LOOKING RIGHT)
OR SHARPED NOSED MAN (LOOKING LEFT)

Faraway a sailing boat glides along,
Unaware of the sharp nosed man,
His watery beard, lips lapping salt.

WHITE SPEC IN DISTANCE IS THE
SAILING BOAT

On the shore, a rugged cat grimaces,
His itch begs a scratch, But his stone face has no purr.

Close up the cat transforms,

Becoming a lonesome bunny,

Lost without his magician.

In front, a pyramid points to the heavens,
Upon it a sunbathing iquana stretches,
Its long tail delivering a zigzag crack.

I glance up,
an eerie mouth gapes,
its ragged jaw yelling danger.

My husband wades back.
He jumps in making waves,
And the water rushes in.

The tide creeps closer,
Pummelling the rock again,
Creating new faces.

***

A Crocodile At The Beach

Who is this fellow?

Stay back! Don’t dare come closer!

Phew, he isn’t real!

***

The above crocodile was an artistic piece of work. Looked very realistic!

To enter Colleen’s challenge:

https://wordcraftpoetry.com/2023/07/11/tankatuesday-weekly-poetry-challenge-no-328-7-11-23/?fbclid=IwAR2B-prklsitfuUc65XOr4JHN6TmC4HQqneoMURYX1LMTM1plukiXqV0C-Y

Some photos of the beach and me! Yes I do love the beach!

View at Medium.com

https://linktr.ee/mjmallonauthor/

Smorgasbord Book Promotions – Summer Book Fair 2023 – #Poetry Balroop Singh, Harmony Kent, #Flashfiction #Poetry M.J. Mallon | Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

Thank you so much to Sally for this lovely feature – summer book fair promotion for Balroop, Hamony and my collection The Hedge Witch & The Musical Poet.

From Sally’s blog:

The first book today is a collection of poetry by Balroop Singh I recommended in June 2022 Hues Of Hope: Selected Poetry

About the collection

Hues Of Hope is the collection of readers’ favorite poems from my poetry books. These poems explore the hope that lies within our heart, hope that whispers each morning to look at the horizon, hope that inspires us to look beyond the chaotic world and take the next step to vanquish the fears that try to fetter us. It promises to take us to an oasis of peace, unravels magical moments of joy, as beams of love calm our senses. It even guides us through dark alleys to show the streaks of light that shimmer through the clouds.

One of the recent reviews for the collection

Hues of Hope is a collection of poems to savor. Each descriptive verse captures aspects of the virtues of life: beauty, hope, or love. Readers travel through time and mystery and then settle into their own hearts. Singh shares herself, and that is the ultimate gift of the poems. The few lines below are from a poem called Magic of Senses. They offer a glimpse of the magic this poet creates:

Far away an emerald lake
Entwined with the horizon,
A perfect magic to touch and feel
The eternal Link that connects.

Peace and beauty knotted forever
Aspens enhance the joy of wilderness
The orchestra of wind whispers
An air of musical mirth.

Head over to read the reviews and buy the collection: Amazon US – And: Amazon UK

A selection of other books by Balroop Singh

Read the reviews and buy the books: Amazon US – and : Amazon UK – Follow Balroop : Goodreads – blog:Balroop Singh on WordPress – Twitter: @BalroopShado

Another poet that I can recommend having read all three books in this series is Harmony Kent and… Life & Soul (Book 2 in the Soul Poetry series)

About the collection

Life & Soul is the second book in the Soul Poetry Series by acclaimed author Harmony Kent.

This beautiful collection of over fifty poems will take the reader through the highs and lows of everyday life via contemporary poetry in a range of styles and themes. Within these pages, you will find reflections on the Lonely Soul, the Seeking Soul, Brief Soul, Friendly Soul, and the Loving Soul—states of mind and living and longing we each experience over the course of a life.

Life & Soul offers something for lovers of poetry from all walks of life.

One of the reviews for the collection

ADG 5.0 out of 5 stars As good as the first Reviewed in the United Kingdom

This second installment of Slices of Soul is just as thought provoking and insightful as the first offering, with some wonderful prose and feeling created within its pages. I felt the authors sense of loneliness and struggle, as well as betrayal, and I liked the journey towards hope and love in the later stages. It was also intriguing reading the short autobiographical segment where we really get to know what defines the author. Strong poems for me were Wild and Free, Still Laundry to Get Done and The Group, and I loved the phrase ‘My favourite hello my hardest goodbye my whole reason why’.

This short collection is quick to read but also one to take your time with. The Zen influences and personal touches are what made it stand out for me.

Head over to read the reviews and buy new collection : Universal Link

A small selection of other books by Harmony Kent

Read the reviews and buy the books: Amazon UK – And : Amazon US – Follow Harmony:Goodreads – Website:Harmony Kent – Twitter: @Harmony_Kent

The final book today is another I can highly recommend. The flash fiction and poetry collection The Hedge Witch & The Musical Poet by M.J. Mallon.

Source: Smorgasbord Book Promotions – Summer Book Fair 2023 – #Poetry Balroop Singh, Harmony Kent, #Flashfiction #Poetry M.J. Mallon | Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

About the collection

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 trouble 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: The Forest Weeps, The Forest King, Raindrops and Childhood Dreams, The Woodland Treasures, Winter Woodland Moon, Child Me.

One of the reviews for the collection

D.L. Finn 5.0 out of 5 stars If you love poetry, magic, and forest this collection is for you! Reviewed in the United States

A unique and beautifully written collection of poetry and fiction weaved magically together. I love trees and nature, so a forest setting pulled me right in. Section one starts off with “The Hedge Witch & The Musical Poet.” A whimsical tale of an injured man, Dale, found by a magical woman, Fern, who takes him in to heal. It was great to see a couple more poetic pieces continue this sweet journey. Section two offered poetry based on some famous poems. The beautiful imagery captivated me throughout this book.

I appreciated all the poetry and prose, especially “The Hedge Witch & The Musical Poet” but here are more favorites, “Rock of Mine,” “The Forest King,” and “The Scorched Tree.” It was great to see a couple of samples that I enjoyed from “Mr. Sagittarius Poetry and Prose” included. If you love poetry and flash fiction, especially the forest and magic, this is a collection you won’t want to miss. I plan to add the print version to my bookshelves so I can keep enjoying it.

Head over to read the reviews and buy the book: Amazon UK – And:Amazon US

Read the reviews and buy the books:Amazon US –And: Amazon UK – Website: M.J. Mallon – Goodreads: Goodreads – Twitter: @Marjorie_Mallon

#TankaTuesday Weekly #Poetry Challenge #Trees #Reed #Celtic #Astrology #Abhanga #Manchester #Travel #Humour

This week Colleen asked us to check out this blog to find out what kind of tree we are! Being a huge nature and tree fan I couldn’t resist!

Here’s the link. https://onetreeplanted.org/pages/what-kind-of-tree-are-you

Outcome: I am apparently a REED, The inquisitor – a secret keeper who digs to discover the real meaning and truth of things. And guess what… I love a good story!

REED – THE INQUISITOR

OCTOBER 28 – NOVEMBER 24

Recently, I was in Manchester visiting my daughter, travelling around the city on trams, happily eavesdropping. Yes, I admit it, being nosy is one of my favourite pastimes!

On one tram, a group of young men were chatting about their late night. One said, “I hope you are not going to bend me like a pretzel again tonight like last night…”

Ha ha! Well, let’s just say, my author’s imagination was doing crazy somersaults imagining what he meant by this! It seems to be an acrobatic thing… tiktok, google and see. And has some sexual connotations?

I have written another poem which I intend to include in a poetry collection I’m currently working on with a sensual/love/humour theme. More about that later… It’s in early draft stages at the moment.

So, for now, this is the tame version of Bend it Like a Pretzel… The Clue On The Tram.. A Reed, Pretzels and Lads.

Abhanga are written in any number of 4-line stanzas with 6-6-6-4 syllables each. L2 and L3 rhyme. The end rhyme scheme is abbc. Don’t forget to title your poem.

The Clue on The Tram… A Reed, Pretzels and Lads

Hey! Want to… guess my tree?

It’s bound to be a reed

Of course it is, indeed!

Count on it dear!

***

I confess, so obsessed,

Eavesdropping is my thrill,

I always crave my fill,

Give it to me!

***

Now, let me say, how odd,

Whatever can that mean?

Crazy! Is this a dream?

Or a new fad?

***

Bend it like a pretzel…

What an odd phrase to use!

Could it be from Youtube?

No! Manchester.

***

Lads after a night out,

Mind boggles twists and turns,

Drunken schenanigans,

Loose talk ears prick,

***

I can’t help it, love it!

More gossip, let’s indulge,

Cool stories, let them bulge.

More, let’s write more!

To join in the challenge:

https://wordcraftpoetry.com/2023/07/04/tankatuesday-weekly-poetry-challenge-no-327-7-4-2023/

Enjoy these pics of Manchester…

Of trees and forests…

Here is one of my collections devoted to trees and magic!

Blog Tour Review: I Remember Everything #blogtour #review #reincarnation #psychologicalthriller @RichardDockett1

Blog Tour I Remember Everything by Richard Dee

Blurb

It’s the big question. Where do we go, when it’s all over?
What happens to our unfinished business?
At 20:08, Detective Ian Gisbon is murdered.
At the same instant as he dies, on the other side of the country, Suzan Halford is born.
Nobody could have guessed that locked in her head is the key to unmasking Ian’s killer.
All Suzan has to do is grow up and remember it.
Before she’s aware of her knowledge, a chance discovery sets an unstoppable chain of events in motion, and Suzan’s life spirals out of control.

What’s happening is impossible, it’s destroying her family. And driving her crazy.

There’s only one person she can turn to, the only one who can help. But they’ve been gone for years. Finding them will mean that justice can finally be done.

How the story came about

The whole thing came from my childhood, as do so many of my ideas. As an only child, although I had friends, I was on my own a lot. I had an imaginary friend, who I used to talk to when nobody else was around. My parents knew and while they didn’t discourage me, they never let me get away with blaming them for anything naughty that I might have done. I lost touch with them as I grew up, I guess that I didn’t need them anymore.

Without giving too much away, the whole idea for the novel comes from that part of my childhood, enhanced for dramatic effect with a few twists and turns.

And a short extract.

I was shaking when I woke, in my room, in the dark. The dream had felt so real, as if I had been there, on that night. The scary thing was that it felt like I had been seeing things through the eyes of the man in the picture. I knew he was a policeman, my waking mind told me that my dream must have been brought on by seeing the newspaper in the box and reading about him in the article. My imagination had made a story up and the dream was my subconscious mind acting it out.

I lay in bed and shook; I could feel myself sweating and suddenly felt cold.

I guess I must have shouted something as I woke; the door crashed open, making me jump again and my mother came rushing into the room.

“Suzan, are you alright?” she shouted, her voice full of concern. She lay on the bed and hugged me. “You called out, you’re sweating,” she said. “Do you feel ill?”

“I’m OK, Mum,” I said. “It was just a bad dream.”

She stroked my hair. “Poor you, do you want to talk about it?”

The idea of going through it all again scared me. “No, I’m OK now.”

“Well, if you need us, you know where we are.”

She hugged me for a moment, kissed my head and went back to her bedroom. I could hear a muttered conversation, my father asking what the matter was, my mother’s reassurance that it was just a nightmare.

I was almost frightened to go back to sleep, the power of the mind to make a story out of a picture on a scrap of paper had amazed and frightened me. But I must have, the next thing I remembered was the sun shining on my face through a gap in the curtains and the smell of bacon frying.

Book Review

Great idea, very inventive story, don’t think I’ve ever read anything quite like it before! Characters are intriguing.

I’ve been privileged to read a number of Richard’s novels and there are a great variety ranging from crime capers, fantasy, sci-fi, etc, whatever he writes I am always impressed by his breadth of imagination and great character building.

This is so different! Imagine the trauma when you realise you are not dead, but are stuck in the mind of newborn baby girl!

This is a murder mystery crime thriller extraordinaire! Detective Ian Gisbon knows who the killer is but how can he convey this? Cry? Scream?

It is frustrating, to be a part of this other person’s life and she is female… so he remains in her head for years… growing and shaping her as she gets older. Hoping one day to bring justice.

Great read, which I beta read. Fabulous.

Here are the links for Amazon sales and the Goodreads page.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104367193-i-remember-everything

https://mybook.to/I_Remember_Everything

About Me.

Richard Dee is from Brixham in Devon. Leaving school at 16 he briefly worked in a supermarket, then he went to sea and travelled the world in the Merchant Navy, qualifying as a Master Mariner in 1986.

He has also worked as an Insurance Surveyor, Lockmaster, Harbourmaster and Ships Pilot, taking over 3,500 vessels up and down the Thames, passing through the estuary, the Thames Barrier and Tower Bridge.

Since the publication of his first Science Fiction novel, Freefall, in 2013, Richard has written another eighteen novels, a textbook and a selection of short stories. He has been featured in several anthologies, including 1066 Turned Upside Down and Tales from Deepest Darkest Devon.

He writes Science Fiction and Steampunk adventures and also chronicles the exploits of reluctant amateur detective Andorra Pett.

Richard is married with three adult children and five grandchildren.

He can be found at https://richarddeescifi.co.uk and contacted at richarddeescifi@gmail.com

#TankaTuesday Weekly #Poetry Challenge No. 324, 6/13/2023 #Eagle #Poetry

Eagle soars above

Blue skies and hills his domain

Watch him for a while

Be part of his sacred truth

Honour him by flying free

Eagle Symbolism and Meaning and the Eagle Spirit Animal

Eagle freely roams

Master of the vast blue skies

Hope expands on wings

Bravery to be admired

Such foresight he carries far

My paperback poetry and prose books are currently on offer for a limited time: https://atomic-temporary-67364188.wpcomstaging.com/2023/06/16/paperback-offer-poetry-compilations-nature-family-memoir-offer-poetrycommunity-bookreviewers/

https://wordcraftpoetry.com/2023/06/13/tankatuesday-weekly-poetry-challenge-no-324-6-13-2023/

See my recent travel posts:

https://atomic-temporary-67364188.wpcomstaging.com/2023/06/08/tanka-tuesday-spedlins-castle-spedlins-castle-scotland-poetry-tanka/

https://atomic-temporary-67364188.wpcomstaging.com/2023/06/12/travel-diary-june-2023-aveiro-travel-aveiro-city-portugal-moliceiro/

https://atomic-temporary-67364188.wpcomstaging.com/2023/06/08/travel-diary-june-2023-coimbra-portugal-coimbra-city-travel-botanicalgardens-university-trees-bambooforest/

Book Review: Straight As A Jalebi #romance #lgbt #new #release #series @ritubhathal

Congratulations to the lovely Ritu Bhathal for the highly anticipated release of her latest book! ❤️

BLURB

This is a delightful male-male sweet romance. Sunny is just adorable and Milan is the perfect guy for him! I raced through this book in one highly enjoyable weekend. -Bestselling author Jeevani Charika

Who knew that an innocent trip to India in the year 2000 would have such an impact on his life?

Sunny had only gone as a chaperone for his sister and her best friend and to attend to a few business matters.

He’d ended up with a deal that would change the shape of his professional future and possibly his personal one too.

Battling the pressures of marriage by his family isn’t Sunny’s only fight, as he finds his feelings for a certain ‘friend’ may be more than just friendship.

But how can he tell anyone how he truly feels?
Because the road to love isn’t always straight…

Ritu Bhathal is a fresh, new, and much-needed voice for British Asian fiction.

Straight As a Jalebi is Book 2 in the Rishtay Series, following the Gill family in the new millennium.

Book 3 Due out in 2024.

My review

Ritu Bhathal’s latest novel Straight As a Jalebi tackles arranged Sikh marriages, the divide between attitudes of the older and younger generation, the difficulty of M/M and other religious denomination relationships, as well as the bigotry of some family members and the wider community in the UK and abroad to gay relationships.

I also read and enjoyed the first book in this series: Marriage Unarranged.

Straight As A Jalebi continues the tale with the familiar characters of Sunny, (the older brother,) Milan, (the flamboyant fashion designer,) Aashti, Arjun, Kiran, Bali, (the younger hot-headed brother ) as well as new additions: Harpreet and Priya. The latter parts of the book with Harpreet and other characters are really touching. I really liked the development of her character. In fact, I enjoyed the female inventiveness and kindness demonstrated by women trying to find solutions to Milan and Sunny’s predicament.

Straight As A Jalebi gives insight into the older generations’ attitudes, obsession and customs associated with marrying off their much loved children personified in Mummy-ji and Daddy-ji and the aunties!

In a similiar way to the first book, Marriage Unarranged, Straight As A Jalebi has many cultural references which I enjoyed.

The ending tied up book two well and introduced the reader to more to come with a taster of book three at the end. It can be read as a standalone, but the series is best read in sequence.

I certainly enjoyed this quick dialogue led read. It felt like you were part of a fascinating conversation!

The ending and Milan’s character were somewhat subdued to what I had expected!

Perhaps Ritu Bhathal intends to reveal more of Sunny and Milan’s story in book three. I hope so! It’s my gut feeling that the author wanted to show another dimension to Milan’s persona with a more personal, still flamboyant but less overtly so, to reveal a more authentic side to his character. I better say no more for fear of spoiling this novel!

Overall, a highly recommended read for romance fans and the LGBTQ community with a cultural detail in the backdrop which is sure to entice.

My rating 5 stars

Author Bio

Ritu Bhathal was born in Birmingham in the mid-1970s to migrant parents, hailing from Kenya but with Indian origin. This colourful background has been a constant source of inspiration to her.

From childhood, she always enjoyed reading. This love of books is credited to her mother. The joy of reading spurred her on to become creative in her writing, from fiction to poetry. Winning little writing competitions at school and locally encouraged her to continue writing.

As a wife, mother, daughter, sister, and teacher, she has drawn on inspiration from many avenues to create the poems that she writes.

A qualified teacher, having studied at Kingston University, she now deals with classes of children as a sideline to her writing!

Ritu also writes a blog, http://www.butismileanyway.com, a mixture of life and creativity, thoughts and opinions, which was awarded first place in the Best Overall Blog category at the 2017 Annual Bloggers Bash Awards, and Best Book Blog in 2019.

Ritu is happily married and living in Kent, with her Hubby Dearest, and two children, not forgetting the fur baby Sonu Singh.

Ritu’s blogs:

https://ritubhathal.com/

https://butismileanyway.com/

https://linktr.ee/mjmallonauthor/

Paperback Offer #poetry #compilations #nature #family #memoir #offer #poetrycommunity #bookreviewers

As many of you will know Amazon is putting up the printing costs of paperbacks from 20th June therefore the cost to the author will be going up too. So for a few days, I am offering some of my poetry and anthology collections published under my Kyrosmagica imprint at reduced price at Amazon UK, and in most cases in Amazon US.

As an alternative, all of these books are also available in kindle and for free in kindle unlimited. If you are a book reviewer and would like a complimentary copy of any of the books mentioned do get in touch by leaving a comment.

Do What You Love – (offer applies only to kindle unlimited now)

Do What You Love is a personal poetry collection celebrating how the fates may have a part in all that we do.
With special poems and short reflective moments inspired by family, flowers and nature, love, scrumptious morsels, places I’ve visited, lived and intend to live in, the friendships and hopes I have for the future.

The overarching theme is to live a life well lived… And to do what you love.

float along with me
create clouds of sweetest joy
to do what you love
hold fate’s hand as we venture

“A small and perfectly formed collection about finding your way in life. ” Linda’s Book Blog

“M.J. Mallon lives and loves creativity in all forms, this collection brings it all together and it was really enlightening and a nice little slice of escapism.” Sim S

“Whatever she writes there is always a touch of magic ,” Adele Park

“In this book, we find a compilation of words and images which draw us in: poignant, sensitive, delicate, playful, as she opens up for us her past and present relationships, the places she has loved and spent time in, and her thoughts and feelings about it all.” Sheila

“Do What You Love” is a beautiful collection of words and photos that invite the reader into Ms. Mallon’s life. D L Finn

The Hedge Witch & The Musical Poet

The Hedge Witch & The Musical Poet is a collection of poetry and short pieces of 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 trouble 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:
The Forest Weeps, The Forest King, Raindrops and Childhood Dreams, The Woodland Treasures, Winter Woodland Moon, Child Me.

Review Quotes:

“This is a poetry and flash fiction collection seeped in nature and illustrates the love the author has for the environment, particular the forests.” Sally Cronin

“A beautiful book inspired by, and a nod to, the mystical and the natural world around us.” Ritu Bhathal.

“A magical collection of poems and prose. My daughter recommended this book, and I wasn’t disappointed. The author’s appreciation of nature, particularly trees shone through, which together with the beautiful writing made this a wonderful read. I was sorry to reach the last page.” Bookworm

“This is a lovely book, I was sad when I turned over and realised I’d reached the end.
This is a haunting serenade to trees, wistful and serene.
A little book to capture the beauty of nature and the essence of forests.” Happy Reader

Mr. Sagittarius Poetry & Prose

Twin brothers Harold and William love the magic of the natural world.

When Harold dies he leaves a simple memorial request.

Will his brother William and his sister Annette honour it?

Or, will the garden work its magic to ensure that they do.

A magical story expressed via an original compilation of poetry and prose with photographic images.

#Poetry #Prose #Photography #NaturalWorld #Trees #Magic #Spirit #Animals #CircleofLife #Humour #Halloween #Cats #Buddha

“This is an exquisite collection of poetry, prose and photos reflecting upon the joy, comfort and peace that is to be found in the natural world and in a beautiful garden. ” Sheila

“Mr. Sagittarius” is a wonderful collection of poetry, prose, and pictures weaved into a magical story. D L Finn

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. Robbie Cheadle

Lockdown Innit

A poetry collection of eighteen poems about life’s absurdities and frustrations during lockdown. Wherever you live in this world, this is for you. Expect humour, a dollop of banter and ridiculous rants here and there. Amongst other delights, witness the strange antics of a swan posing by a bin and two statuesque horses appearing like arc deco pieces in a field. Check out the violin player on a tightrope, or the cheeky unmentionables wafting in the lockdown breeze! This is the second book I’ve written during COVID-19. The first, This Is Lockdown, is an anthology and compilation of poetry, and contributions from international authors set during the first lockdown and is available in two formats – kindle (my diaries, poetry and short stories, and contributions from international authors,) and a shorter paperback version in black and white (with poetry, short stories and contributions.)

Lockdown innit is a wonderful collection of predominantly free verse poetry on all kinds of themes experienced during the author’s third lockdown. I am sure many of the pieces will resonate with readers who have also experienced humanities frustrating behaviours during this pandemic.
Reader for life

An intricate mix of observations from the author about how the pandemic has brought change. Some welcome, some not so much. A thought provoking read. A short book and quick read. The content is about the author’s thoughts on lockdown and how it affected her and others around her. Well written poetry and a book I’d recommend to others. Lizzie Chantree

In this collection of poems, MJ Mallon has given us a wry series of vignettes of our society during a very strange year in history; it reminded me in part of theatre of the absurd, and she carries it out with an admirable lightness of touch. She conveys the folly, the irritability, the absurdity of people’s behaviour, along with a feeling of being lost and adrift. Sheila

I loved the poems, they captured the spirit of the times, the vagaries of human behaviour, the poignant signs of a society in change. There are some beautiful observations of what has become the new normal. R Dockett

I hope you will enjoy some of these poetry collections.

All my published works can be found at my Amazon page:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/M-J-Mallon/e/B074CGNK4L/

My Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mjmallonauthor

And if you are an audiobook enthusiast both my YA fantasy books Bloodstone and Golden Healer are now available to listen to on audible. Follow the linktree above for all my buying links.

BOOK REVIEW: Days End Fortune’s Well #book #review #supernatural #series @chanatkins

Synopsis

All things must come to an end…

With the Organisation hot on their trail and their powers growing stronger by the day; JJ Carson and Darcie Duffield are more determined than ever to save Fortune’s Well from the looming darkness.

But when history threatens to repeat itself, and an unseen foe is watching their every move, who will make the ultimate sacrifice to save them all and bring about the end of days?

Days End is the highly anticipated conclusion to the Fortune’s Well trilogy.

My review

The third book in the Fortune’s Well series by Chantelle Atkins and Sim Sansford. I really enjoyed Days End, as I did the other two books in the series. Days End wrapped up the storyline in a convincing, emotional and exciting way. The ending of book three was superb. I really liked what they did with JJ’s character and the build up to this!

You’ll appreciate this if you like stories that are focused primarily on two main characters, Darcie and JJ, written by two authors who gel well together. The chapters alternate between these two main protagonists in first person pov.

The beginning is a little slower than previous books in the series.

I liked the message this book gives: that you will do anything for the person you love. That’s powerful. That’s this books raison d’etre. That’s my take on it, anyway.

It’s a great supernatural young adult series which I have enjoyed reading throughout and can recommend. It’s best to start with book 1 to get the full picture, but if needed this can be read as a standalone.

Highly recommended. There is a teaser at the end Tales from Fortune Well… so perhaps they have plans to write more with these two characters. I hope so!

Author Websites

https://www.simalecsansford.com/ And: https://chantelleatkins.com/

Buying Link:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0C3498JR6/ref=dbs_a_def_awm_bibl_vppi_i0

https://linktr.ee/mjmallonauthor/

Travel Diary June 2023: Aveiro #travel #Aveiro #City #Portugal #moliceiro

We took the train to Aveiro from Coimbra. It was a lovely place to spend a day. Aveiro has a Venice of Portugal feel with these brightly coloured boats, moliceiro, which have similiarities to Venetian gondolas. The boats were originally used to transport and collect a type of seaweed, moliço, which was used as a fertiliser.

This is where we bought our tickets but they can also be booked online.

People on the bridges like to wave as you pass by

This close up shows the ribbons tied to the bridges like padlocks as gestures of love in other cities! These are pretty and bring colour and life. In that respect, I prefer them to the padlocks!😍

Due to time restraints we also took a taxi to the beach. Here I am at Praia de Vagueira. It was further along than anticipated and turned out we should have gone to Praia de Costa Nova! Next time perhaps…

I really enjoyed our day trip to Aveiro. Such a lovely place to visit. I was impressed by the energy and enthusiasm of the moliceiro guide who spoke four languages. Puts up Brits to shame. But… I am learning Portuguese!

Até logo!

https://linktr.ee/mjmallonauthor/

#TankaTuesday Weekly #Poetry Challenge No. 323, 6/6/2023: Spedlins Castle #spedlins #castle #Scotland #poetry #tanka #travel

I had the great fortune to stay at Spedlins Castle in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland with hubby and friends in July 2022 for a old mates University reunion. This is without a doubt, a stunning place, definitely, a location to inspire colour poetry! Actually, I think this would be a wonderful location for a writer’s retreat.

For my 1st poem, I chose the colour Green and prompt word, Earth Magic.

Green topiaries, lawns,
A garden of earth magic, 
Old friends reunite,
Curious nooks and crannies, 
Confessions and ghosts.

My next poem is inspired by an open white window, (see below,) and the ghost, ‘James ‘Dunty’ Porteous who was the miller for the Village of Milhousebridge and delivered bread to the Baronet, Sir Alexander Jardine, at Spedlins Tower. James was well known for his quarrelsome nature,’ he was purported to be trapped under the staircase trap door at Spedlins Castle! Do not fear, the ghost has apparently long since been exorcised! Nevertheless, I do sense some unusual happenings at Spedlins… That’s it charm! Watch out for bats, white stone geese and creepy goings on.

You can read more about poor Dunty here: https://ghosts.fandom.com/wiki/Spedlins_Tower

White window ajar,
Tranquil scene that time forgets, 
Cruel dungeon's trapdoor,
Abandoned man, peace broken,
Confessions and ghost stories.

And my next poem is inspired by this beautiful single yellow flower on a tree…


Spedlins fairytale,
Blushing photos, lover's art,
Single yellow bud,
Clarity, sunshine and joy,
Brushstrokes, love, lush green spaces.

Here’s a photo of the steep staircase… thank goodness for comfy shoes and that rope to hold onto. We weren’t sleeping up on the highest floor but some of our friends were!