My Kyrosmagica Review of The Eternals by Richard M. Ankers

the-eternals-complete

Goodreads Synopsis:

For Jean, eternity should have meant forever.

The Eternals, they are a breed apart. Born to immortality, neither human nor vampire, a dying sun is to end their race where no other could. It is to this ultimatum that Jean, the last Eternal lord, is born. Jean accepts the end once preached by his deceased parents, where others won’t, their arrogance furthering his melancholy. He would fight for the future where they, the Hierarchy, would waltz into nothingness.

But everything changes for Jean when he commits the cardinal sin: his bite takes the life of Princess Chantelle of The New Europa Alliance, whose sister will come to enthrall him. It is a deed Jean thinks has passed unnoticed; it has not. When the Britannian dandy, Sir Walter Merryweather, informs him of this, Jean runs. Aided and abetted by the irksome Merryweather, Jean stumbles from manipulated mishap into age-old conspiracies and beyond.

With the sun’s clock ticking, Jean must find time where there is none to reconcile his sordid past with the promise of new love.

Author Bio: 

Richard is a former Company Director who after winning a Gold Medal on HarperCollins’ Authonomy website gave up everything to become the writer he had always wished to be.

Richard counts himself fortunate to have been published both online and in print by such wonderful magazines as Daily Science Fiction and Devoltion Z, as well as anthologies by Third Flatiron Publishing and Leap Books.

The cumulation of his storytelling has arrived in the form of The Eternals. This is the first in a trilogy of books of the same name. The Eternals is set on our Earth in the far distant future as the sun prepares to set one final time. Neither human nor vampire, the Eternal Hierarchy look to waltz their way into oblivion. Jean, a brooding and disillusioned outcast, would have it different.  Aided and abetted by the hapless dandy Merryweather, Jean’s tale unfolds to a backdrop of love, death and deceit. With the sun’s clock ticking, Jean must find time where there is none to reconcile his sordid past with the promise of new love.

Genre: Romance, Adventure, Action, Fiction.

My review:

Well I love a good old vampire story, so I was really looking forward to reading this.  The Eternals isn’t quite a traditional vampire story. This is something else. These creatures are ‘neither human nor vampire.’

I enjoyed The Eternals – particularly the descriptive passages, (you really can tell that the author, Richard. A Ankers  is a poet too, ) which for a bit of a poetic soul like myself is absolutely wonderful.

I also really found myself chuckling along to some of the little touches of humour that liberally peppered the story. But, I did find the instant love, and some of the terms of endearment (at the beginning of the story,) between Jean, and Linka a little difficult to relate to, particularly if you consider that Jean has just lost his wife, (not much of a grieving period for our hero!) and killed Linka’s sister, Chantelle. Though, there is more to this sibling relationship between Linka and Chantelle than meets the eye……  Either way, perhaps Eternals aren’t prone to having much of an emotional attachment to their siblings.  The Eternals is exciting in parts. Particularly in the second half of the novel, the pace picks up, and the eloquence of the prose more than made up for some minor irks that I had.

Overall, I’m a great fan of beautiful prose, and without a doubt The Eternals is absolutely chocka block full of wonderfully descriptive writing, and the dialogue flows well too.

So I’d recommend The Eternals for readers who:

Appreciate a more poetic type of writing.

Who’d enjoy going on an adventure with a hero who is used to women swooning at his feet, (or even dying for his return,) – perhaps a kind of ruthless, but charming Sean Connery – James Bond of Vampires! Sean Connery always was my unchallenged favourite James Bond –  us ladies do like the charmingly rugged Scottish bad guys!

I do believe this is the first in a Trilogy so I will be interested to see how this series progresses.

I’m sharing this as part of the Terry Tyler #AugustReviews initiative, and #FridayReads to try to encourage people to read and write a review. More about that here: Terry Tyler Blog August Reviews

DISCLAIMER: “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 buying link:

UK Buying Link: http://amzn.to/2wf7t7q

My rating:

Overall rating : 4 stars.

Authors Website: Richard Ankers – The Eternals

Have you read The Eternals? Do comment if you have, I’d love to hear your opinion.

 

Bye for now,

 

312de992-fdae-4619-a140-279eec2d8b59

85978B3EEB2A2F45468E6707CEAFE70D

 

 

New book release

Today is release day for Devastation, second volume of Jane Dougherty’s Pathfinders series. She is offering free Amazon downloads of Abomination, in case (like me) you have some catching up to do. The book covers look amazing….. I can’t resist the pull of a pretty cover!!

Jane Dougherty's avatarJane Dougherty Writes

Today is release day for Devastation, second volume of The Pathfinders series

Devastation

If you have already read Abomination, you can buy Devastation here:

Amazon.com

Amazon. UK

If you haven’t read Abomination yet, you can download a free copy here

Amazon.com

Amazon.UK

Instagram

So you have NO EXCUSE! Obviously, I’d rather you read it too, but just a little download would be nice.

View original post

Blog Pitch Party 3: The Blog Awakens

Austin at The Return Of The Modern Philophiser is having a blog pitch party. Want to join in? ‘Course you do… I did too, so had to press the reblog button. Go on be a devil, I dare you!

Austin's avatarThe Return of the Modern Philosopher

blogs, blogging, bloggers, writing, pitch party, blog share, humor, writing, Modern PhilosopherI realized this morning, Modern Philosophers, that I’m on vacation, need a distraction, and have The House on the Hill all to myself.

Let’s have a party!

It’s been almost a year and a half since my last Blog Pitch Party, so I think today is the perfect day to revive this popular feature.

As some of you know, I’m a screenwriter.  When things are going well, I get invited to pitch meetings where producers ask me to pitch them my latest screenplays.

Basically, I need to come up with two or three sentences to sum up my entire screenplay in a way that intrigues the suits and makes them want to find the time to read it.

Off the top of my head, here’s a pitch I might make for one of my favorite screenplays:  A high school kid travels back to 1955 in a souped up DeLorean…

View original post 386 more words

Thursday Doors and Emotography Showcase: Glasgow University

untitled

Here’s the info on Thursday Doors via Norm:

Thursday Doors is a weekly feature allowing door lovers to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos from around the world. Feel free to join in on the fun by creating your own Thursday Doors post each week and then sharing it, between Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time), by using the blue link-up button below. 

Do pop over to Norm’s blog to join in the fun: Thursday Doors – Norm Frampton

If you share your post on Twitter and Instagram don’t forget to use the #ThursdayDoors.

I’ve been saving a few photos of doors because they’re real special. I discovered them on my recent trip to Glasgow. I went adventuring for the day on my own (my hubby was at The Golf Open with his pal.) I didn’t mind that one bit. It gave me a chance to do exactly what I wanted for a day!  Sounds a bit selfish but sometimes a bit of Me Time is just what we need. I had a lovely old time treating myself to  ice cream in Kelvingrove Park, watching the skate boarders, and lunching in Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. I had lots of opportunity to go…. wait for it…. door searching! There’s no chance I could have done all this with hubby in tow. He would have been tugging me away, or walking so fast (he has long legs,) that I’d miss out on all these wonderful opportunities.

Doors bring me back to my childhood, and my love for The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis. This alternative land of Narnia, reached via a wardrobe really did enthrall my young self, and developed my love of fantasy.

I’m sharing the emotion behind these doors for Claudette’s Emotography link up. Her blog can be reached via this link: https://ceeisme.com

The principal idea behind Claudette’s Emotography project is to share an emotion that your photographs evokes. For me, photos of doors in general, and these in particular make me feel free. They celebrate my freedom to do what I want!! To walk through such amazing entrances to explore, to discover new wonderful experiences, perhaps to lead me to places which I’d never have imagined, and to share my deep love of learning. Doors have such potential, they can lead you to so many amazing possibilities. Yes, I just love doors. I’m an addict! There’s no cure.

Without anymore rambling chit chat it’s time for the big reveal…… and these are big doors!

With dark mysterious attitude…

20160714_140823

Pretty stunning, that’s some door. Wouldn’t you love to walk through and explore?

I love photography, whether it’s doors, trees, people, sunsets, or places. It’s always nice to try out new things, and create new images. You may be interested to know that I’ve discovered this app called Prisma. A  tool to jazz up your photography….and share on Instagram etc…. oops another thing to get addicted too! Quick, look away!

In their words:  Be an artist! Turn your photos into awesome artworks:
– Modern art filters!
– Stunning photo effects.

The app is available on i-tunes, and google play.

I used the Transverse line filter to get this look below…

IMG_20160807_084129

 

Here’s another view of a door in the same magnificent building.. taken without any filters. I like the suggestion of light on the right side of the photo, contrasting with the dark. Yes, I have a thing about darkness/light.

20160714_140549

Here’s how it turned out with Prisma…. see how addictive this can be!! I went a bit crazy and used the candy filter to get this colourful effect …  What fun! A door with a sweet touch.

IMG_20160807_084938

See what I mean – these doors are so incredible aren’t they? Imagine stepping through these magnificent entrances into a world of learning. I really envy students at Glasgow University! Oh, if only I had a time machine with a cracking door to travel back to my student years….

Still never say never, maybe one day I’ll have enough cash to do an M.A in Creative Writing. Now, that would be something!

Next time I will be sharing some Edinburgh doors…. Being an Edinburgh girl, (I spent my teenage years in Edinburgh,) It’d be remiss of me not to! Edinburgh tends to be a bit posh so expect something pretty classy.

Hope you enjoyed my post for Norm’s Thursday Doors, and Claudette’s Emotography project.

Bye for now. Oh, before I go perhaps you’d like to check out my previous Glasgow photography posts.

Here’s the links in case you’re interested:

Glasgow Inspiring City Award

Glasgow University, Hogwarts and Kelvingrove Park

Here’s me and my imaginary cat signing off for a bit of Me Time.. imaginary cat you say, why? My husband and youngest daughter are allergic –  so no real cats for me.. sigh..

312de992-fdae-4619-a140-279eec2d8b59

85978B3EEB2A2F45468E6707CEAFE70D

My fun (totally not serious but nevertheless 90% true,) author bio on Wattpad – Link below.

Marjorie Mallon was born in Lion City: Singapore. She grew up in a mountainous court in Hong Kong. Her crazy parents dragged her  spotty soul away from her exotic childhood and her much loved dog Topsy to the frozen wastelands of Scotland. There she mastered Scottish country dancing, haggis bashing, bagpipe playing and a whole new Och Aye lingo. 
As a teenager she travelled to many far flung destinations to visit her abacus wielding wayfarer dad. On one such occasion a  barracuda swam by. It stopped to view her  bikini clad body, longing to take a big bite. With dogs' fangs replacing barracudas' teeth, she returned to her mother's birthplace: Kuching, Cat City. There, Blackie, a black-hearted dog sniffed her frightened butt, whimpered and ran away! Shortly after this extraordinary event an angry female Orang-Utan chased her unfit ass out of the Malaysian jungle believing that she was a threat to her babies! She still monkeys about, would love to own a cat, or a replacement Topsy but refuses to entertain  murderous dogs, or over-protective monkeys.
It's rumoured that she lives in the Venice of Cambridge, with her six foot hunk of a Rock God husband, and her two enchanted daughters. 
After such an upbringing her author's mind has taken total leave of its senses. When she's not writing, she eats exotic delicacies while belly dancing, or surfs to the far reaches of the moon. To chill out she practises Tai Chi and Yoga on the crest of a wave. If the mood takes her she goes snorkelling with mermaids, or signs up for idyllic holidays with the Chinese Unicorn, whose magnificent voice sings like a thousand wind chimes. 

She is a child of the light and the dark. Her motto is simply this: Do what you love,  stay true to your heart's desires, remain young at heart, and  inspire others to do so, even if it appears that the odds are stacked like black hearted shadows against you...

 

My Links: 

Wattpad

Goodreads

Instagram

Twitter

Facebook

Sayonara Hitori by Taemin

Guest Post written  by Natasha Mallon  

Lee Taemin is a Korean idol from one of KPOP’s biggest groups SHINee which debuted in 2008 with ‘Replay’. They have gone from cute-pop bops to synthesizer melodies which have dabbled in house/techno. Currently, they are working on a new comeback after the success of their 2015 album release ‘Odd Eye’ and ‘Married to the Music’.

Lee Taemin is a vocalist/dancer/visual of SHINee and is their youngest member at the age of 23. In 2014, Taemin released his first ever solo debut with songs like ‘Ace’ and ‘Danger’ which successfully changed his cute image into a whole new persona. In his music video ‘Danger’, Taemin is seen with piercings and heavy eye make-up and array of different outfits. After his 2014 release, Taemin also released his second solo album Press It. Longer in length, Taemin worked with artists such as Bruno Mars to create and produce this ten track album. As well as this, Taemin has released songs in Japanese, his most recent album ‘Sayonara Hitori’ takes on a whole different kind of genre, many of the songs sounding like the OST (Opening Sound Track) of any fantasy anime. The video for ‘Sayonara Hitori’ deals with themes of light and dark, the fear of our own shadow. It is a stunning video, switching from beautiful scenes of mountains and valleys illuminated by a giant full moon to scenes of destruction — of volcanoes and war. The wardrobe changes in the video also reflects this, as Taemin is seen in silk clothing in one scene, and all in black in another. Taemin’s success in Japan is quite evident, and I will be looking forward to the music that he releases in the near (and distant future).

Please check Taemin and SHINee out!

unnamed

Hope you liked my eldest daughter’s guest post. She’s absolutely obsessed with Korean K-Pop, and likes to share her love with others. She urged me to watch this video – she said that it reminded her of the themes of dark/light in my manuscript The Curse Of Time. I’m very flattered that she thought so. The video really is stunning. 

Do you like Korean K-Pop? Do comment I’d love to hear from you. 

Happy Friday  – I hope you have a lovely weekend. 

Bye for now, Sayonara!

unnamed

 

85978B3EEB2A2F45468E6707CEAFE70D

My fun (totally not serious but nevertheless 90% true,) author bio on Wattpad – Link below.

Marjorie Mallon was born in Lion City: Singapore. She grew up in a mountainous court in Hong Kong. Her crazy parents dragged her  spotty soul away from her exotic childhood and her much loved dog Topsy to the frozen wastelands of Scotland. There she mastered Scottish country dancing, haggis bashing, bagpipe playing and a whole new Och Aye lingo. 
As a teenager she travelled to many far flung destinations to visit her abacus wielding wayfarer dad. On one such occasion a  barracuda swam by. It stopped to view her  bikini clad body, longing to take a big bite. With dogs' fangs replacing barracudas' teeth, she returned to her mother's birthplace: Kuching, Cat City. There, Blackie, a black-hearted dog sniffed her frightened butt, whimpered and ran away! Shortly after this extraordinary event an angry female Orang-Utan chased her unfit ass out of the Malaysian jungle believing that she was a threat to her babies! She still monkeys about, would love to own a cat, or a replacement Topsy but refuses to entertain  murderous dogs, or over-protective monkeys.
It's rumoured that she lives in the Venice of Cambridge, with her six foot hunk of a Rock God husband, and her two enchanted daughters. 
After such an upbringing her author's mind has taken total leave of its senses. When she's not writing, she eats exotic delicacies while belly dancing, or surfs to the far reaches of the moon. To chill out she practises Tai Chi and Yoga on the crest of a wave. If the mood takes her she goes snorkelling with mermaids, or signs up for idyllic holidays with the Chinese Unicorn, whose magnificent voice sings like a thousand wind chimes. 

She is a child of the light and the dark. Her motto is simply this: Do what you love,  stay true to your heart's desires, remain young at heart, and  inspire others to do so, even if it appears that the odds are stacked like black hearted shadows against you...

 

My Links: 

Wattpad

Goodreads

Instagram

Twitter

Facebook

 

 

 

 

Markets For Writers

This week’s market has an excellent prompt; as soon as I saw it, all sorts of ideas came bursting into my mind. Brilliant Flash Fiction’s prompt is ‘It came in the mail’. He…

Source: Markets For Writers

LGBTQIAP+ Books By and About People who Identify as LGBTQIAP+

This is very obviously a work in progress and a massively incomplete list, but if you’re looking for books both by and about people who openly identify as LGBTQIAP+, writing within their own orient…

Source: LGBTQIAP+ Books By and About People who Identify as LGBTQIAP+

10 Things I wish I’d known before writing a trilogy

Great post from author Dylan Hearn on writing trilogies. As I’ve been told my manuscript has potential to be developed into a series this interested me. A must see reblog.

Dylan Hearn's avatarSuffolk Scribblings

Three Covers

With the publication of Genesis Redux only a handful of days away, I thought I’d share with you some of the things I’ve learned over the past four years of writing the Transcendence Trilogy. Here are my top ten:

1 It’s better if each book works as a stand alone story

There is nothing wrong in writing a trilogy which has to be read in order. Some of my favourite books were written that way. If you tried reading The Two Towers before The Fellowship of the Ring, you’d be totally lost. But as an indie author, you need to maximise the opportunity of each book launch.

The one thing I’d change if I started my trilogy over again is to make each book work as a stand alone novel. As the first book, Second Chance works on its own. I’ve been told Absent Souls works as a stand alone novel, although it…

View original post 1,568 more words

My Kyrosmagica Review of Dead Flies And Sherry Trifle

WP_20160726_001

 

Goodreads Synopsis:

It’s summer 1976 and hotter than Hades
Harry Spittle, nineteen, is home from university, aiming to earn some money to go on holiday and maybe get laid. He expects he will be bored rigid, but the appearance of old family friend, Charlie Jepson, his psychopathic son, Claude, and predatory wife Monica changes that. As his parents’ marriage implodes, Harry’s problems mount; before he knows it he’s in debt up to his ears and dealing in drugs. Things go from bad to worse when he is stabbed. He needs money fast, but now his job is at risk, his sister is in trouble and he has discovered a family secret that could destroy all he holds dear. The only way out appears to require that Harry joins forces with the local criminal mastermind. Can Harry survive to see out the summer? Can he save his family? Can he regain some credibility and self-respect? Most importantly will he finally get laid?

My review:

Thank you to Geoff LePard for providing me a signed copy of Dead Flies And Sherry Trifle in exchange for an honest review.

I am reviewing this as part of  Make August An Amazon Review Month

This is a laugh… and that pleases me enormously. I love to laugh. It’s a little-hearted, coming of age story which will undoubtedly relate to you – if you’re a teenager – or will take you space hopping back to your teenage years if you’re a bit older….Boing Boing. C’est Moi!

I didn’t work in a hotel as a teenager but I did have a spell where I worked in my local hairdressers. Let’s just say that I met some colourful characters, who took great pleasure in taking me out for a drink at the local pub after work, ha ha!! Vodka, was their tipple. So Harry Spittle’s work colleagues and his University enemy Stephen McNoble, ( who has serious anger issues,) really don’t seem so far from reality for me! Neither does the drug taking… but that’s another story.  The cardboard girlfriend Amanda… well I never! Can’t say I’ve ever come across that kind of companionship before. But, yes, I was quite a wild teenager… the quiet ones are always the ones to watch out for. Don’t show my mum this review!

If you’re female and reading Dead Flies And Sherry Trifle you’ll find yourself crawling into the deepest recesses of a teenage boy’s brain – his name is Harry Spittle –  and the experience will enlighten, amuse, and engulf you with what it means to ‘want to get laid.’ The main character is somewhat obsessed with a certain part of his body! Which probably accounts for about 99% of the male population below the age of 21… and a huge proportion of those above 21 too!! But, like all well rounded characters he does have some redeeming features too.  He does love his Grandmother! And he isn’t too bad a brother to his poor sister when she gets into a spot of bother.

Be prepared for cheeky sexual references… hopeless fails,  madcap behaviour, family life, a mystery, and a few rough diamonds!

I discovered my teenage daughter sneaking a peak at Dead Flies And Sherry Trifle – ahem… Now, I’m worried. She just accepted a part-time waitressing job at Cambridge university… EEK, who will she meet? This book brings on serious anxiety, it should carry a health warning! It’s a fast, easy, entertaining read with a diverse range of characters to keep you interested. Flies do play a tiny part. Buzz buzz. Trifle is my favourite pudding. The title is just about as nutty as the contents.

My only slight bugbear had to be with the revelation about Harry Spittle’s sister. This part of the story seemed to get engulfed by all the other shenanigans and her mother and father didn’t quite respond in the way in which I thought they would.

My recommendation – read if you like to take life and all its weird foibles a trifling unseriously.

Authors Website: https://geofflepard.com/

 

My rating

4 stars.

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/2h6btAf

Amazon UK Paperback buying link: http://amzn.to/2jtfDDg

 

Bye for now,

bitmoji923642549

85978B3EEB2A2F45468E6707CEAFE70D

 

MAKE AUGUST Write An Amazon Review Month by @TerryTyler4 #AmazonReviews #Amreading

August 2016 is Write An Amazon Review month. Spread the word lots of bloggers are getting involved. This idea to encourage others to write a review originated from Rosie Amber. Terry Tyler joined in encouraging this initiative. So let’s share, reblog, and get reading!! Writing a review doesn’t have to be a chore, write a few words or a lot it’s up to you. But remember to be honest, and fair. The book might appear faceless but there is an author behind each novel who has worked incredibly hard and poured their soul into each and every word. Exposing your love for words is a scary and brave act, authors deserve a little help and admiration for what they do! Get reviewing!!