Reblog of a bunch of Random Monday Funnies from Chris at the story reading ape blog. 🙂
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.
Daunted by Self-Publishing Platforms?
Self-publishing platforms reblog from Marcia Meara – originally posted on C. S. Lakin’s remarkable blog, Live, Write, Thrive
Here is a great post from C. S. Lakin’s remarkable blog, Live, Write, Thrive. If you are as daunted as I by all the venues out there for self-publishing, guest blogger Jessica Bell has some great information to share with you. Check it out. It’s a keeper, but then I think almost everything on this blog is. I’ve learned so much there, from grammar, to novel construction, to proper usage of similar words. Just everything. I highly recommend following!
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Book Review: Paris Syndrome
This just looks such a beautiful book, and it gets 5 star review from Galit at the Reading Bud, so reblogging it.
Author: Tahir ShahRelease: April 30, 2014 Series: None Genre: Fiction Edition: Kindle (Mobi) Pages: 3668 Publisher: Secretum Mundi Publishing Source: Publicist Buyithere: Amazon
Blurb
On the morning of her fifth birthday, Miki Suzuki’s aged grandfather gave her an unusual gift – the fragment of a story. The tale told of a magical realm where all the women were beautiful, dressed in the finest gowns, and where the men had the looks of movie stars. The trees were covered in ivory-white blossom all year round, and everyone was joyful and proud. This place, young Miki learned, was a city in far off Europe – a city called Paris.
The story took seed in Miki’s mind and, over twenty years, she became quite obsessed with the French capital. Having studied its history, language, and traditions, she vowed that one day she…
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#Blog Battle Time to Vote !!!!
I just voted in Rachael Ritchey’s Writing #Blog Battle. This week’s theme is Dream.
This morning I was in the deepest sleep when my alarm rang and woke me up. Reckon I was dreaming, sadly I can’t remember my dream, that’s always a shame when that happens. I love it when I can remember a dream in vivid detail. But my hair kind of had this tell-tale wild and crazy dream look, something a bit like this, without the wonderful colours.
I had to brush it a lot this morning, to calm it down, anybody would think that there had been a storm in my bed overnight! Whoa! Back to the hair colouring. Well I fancy some streaks, must get round to that soon! Summer is a fun time for streaks, what with all the natural sunlight and all. Better get a move on it’s July already……
I’m waffling a bit, but it’s a Saturday, you’re allowed to waffle on the weekend. So what about the #BlogBattle. There are many wonderful entries so much variety, something for everyone.
I found it a very difficult decision to choose. I have five favourites, and you can only choose two!
I’m sure you’d like to see the stories and vote. Here’s the link: http://rachaelritchey.com/2015/07/14/blogbattle-week-18-dream-entries-voting/
I’ve entered too! What fun. If you haven’t seen my entry for #BlogBattle then here’s your chance: https://atomic-temporary-67364188.wpcomstaging.com/2015/07/14/blog-battle-week-18-theme-dream/
The voting closes on Sunday 10 PM PDT, SUNDAY. So still lots of time to vote!
Let the battle commence!
Have a wonderful weekend.
Remember to be good, no fighting, note to self, re-do streaks in hair.
Marje @Kyrosmagica xx
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The Annual Bloggers Bash Awards – Join Us On August 1st 2015
Hoping to go to the Annual Bloggers Bash? Find out more here – reblog via Hugh @Hughviewsandviews
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The Friday 56 and Book Beginnings: The Bees Laline Paull
Last night we had a cracker of a storm here in Cambridge, England. Not kidding, I seriously thought we were going to be flooded. The thunder and rain pounded on our windows waking me up in the early hours, and flashes of wicked lightning lit up my bedroom. I sneaked out into the hallway and saw that violent short bursts of lightning lit up the driveway and revealed a serious developing puddle, pool. Of course I lay there imagining a flood, and all sorts of things. That is one of the downsides of writing you tend to have a vivid imagination that gets out of hand often! Luckily this water gathering had all dispersed by this morning. It is now a fairly decent day, no rain, no wind, nothing, like it never happened!
My chosen book this week is about bees, so my storm inspired thought is this – can you imagine what it must be like for a bee in a storm? Do bees get terrified by all that thunder and lightning like me! Or do they have some kind of sixth sense to safely hide away in their hives when storms come?
Enough chit chat about storms now let’s get started with book beginnings:
BOOK BEGINNINGS
Book Beginnings is hosted by Gilion Dumas at Rose City Reader: http://www.rosecityreader.com/
https://www.facebook.com/RoseCityReader
Her book Beginning’s post link up if you’d like to join in some bookish fun: http://www.rosecityreader.com/2015/07/book-beginning-you-know-your-way-home.html
My Chosen Book Beginning
The cell squeezed her and the air was hot and fetid. All the joints of her body burned from her frantic twisting against the walls, her head was pressed into her chest and her legs shot with cramp, but her struggles had worked – one wall felt weaker. She kicked out with all her strength and felt something crack and break. She forced and tore and bit until there was a jagged hole into fresher air beyond.
Enticing or what? It’s from my current read: The Bees by Laline Paull, a book about Flora 717, a bee! Not just any bee but the lowest class of bee, but does that lowliness hold Flora back? Read the book and find out more!
What about The Friday 56 too? Let’s see what page 56 of The Bees has to offer in terms of quotes.
THE FRIDAY 56 MEME
This is a weekly meme hosted by Freda at Freda’s Voice, click on the link to her blog, and the rules are pretty simple:
•Grab a book, any book.
•Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader
(If you have to improvise, that’s OK.)
•Find any sentence, (or few, just don’t spoil it).
•Post it.
•Add the url to your post on Freda’s Voice. Add the post url, not your blog url. http://www.fredasvoice.com/2015/07/the-friday-56-with-book-beginnings_16.html
It’s that simple.
The Bees
Flora raised her antennae, searching for information. It made her head hurt and she looked down. Below the landing board in the tangle of grass and nette and dock and trefoil that locked the dense wet earth, disturbing scents wove strong and strange, telling of other creatures that lived there. The green began to seethe.
Goodreads Synopsis:
The Handmaid’s Tale meets The Hunger Games in this brilliantly imagined debut.
Born into the lowest class of her society, Flora 717 is a sanitation bee, only fit to clean her orchard hive. Living to accept, obey and serve, she is prepared to sacrifice everything for her beloved holy mother, the Queen. Yet Flora has talents that are not typical of her kin. And while mutant bees are usually instantly destroyed, Flora is reassigned to feed the newborns, before becoming a forager, collecting pollen on the wing. Then she finds her way into the Queen’s inner sanctum, where she discovers secrets both sublime and ominous. Enemies roam everywhere, from the fearsome fertility police to the high priestesses who jealously guard the Hive Mind. But Flora cannot help but break the most sacred law of all, and her instinct to serve is overshadowed by a desire, as overwhelming as it is forbidden…
Laline Paull’s chilling yet ultimately triumphant novel creates a luminous world both alien and uncannily familiar. Thrilling and imaginative, The Bees is the story of a heroine who changes her destiny and her world.
Hope you like the sound of The Bees. Let me know if you’ve read or are planning to read it.
Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx
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Writer’s Quote Wednesday: Isaac Asimov
If you haven’t discovered this weekly open invitation from Colleen over at Silver Threading here’s the link: http://silverthreading.com/2015/07/15/writers-quote-wednesday-ann-patchett/
What do I have in mind for Writer’s Quote Wednesday?
Let’s see, ah this has to be the one:
“If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn’t brood. I’d type a little faster.”
― Isaac Asimov
Absolutely! It’s a bit crazy! What dedication. Get those words down fast!
Of course I do hope that none of us get the six minutes to live message but if the worse case scenario does happen then there is always the option to get typing….
What else can you possibly do in six minutes? Eat something I suppose. That would rate quite highly on my list of things to do. Sit in the sun. Another great option. Yes, what about type and eat in a sunny market stall in Malaysia? The ultimate fast food delight, freshly cooked satay, and a notebook to get down my final words. Ah, yes perfection.
Well this is the second Isaac Asimov quote that has captured my attention for Writer’s Quote Wednesday, there seems to be a bit of a pattern going on here.
I’m a bit of a fan of Isaac Asimov’s quotes! Yes most definitely.
About:
Professor Asimov is generally considered the most prolific writer of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. He has works published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey Decimal System (lacking only an entry in the 100s category of Philosophy).
Asimov is widely considered a master of the science-fiction genre and, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke, was considered one of the “Big Three” science-fiction writers during his lifetime. Asimov’s most famous work is the Foundation Series; his other major series are the Galactic Empire series and the Robot series, both of which he later tied into the same fictional universe as the Foundation Series to create a unified “future history” for his stories much like those pioneered by Robert A. Heinlein and previously produced by Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson. He penned numerous short stories, among them “Nightfall”, which in 1964 was voted by the Science Fiction Writers of America the best short science fiction story of all time, a title many still honor. He also wrote mysteries and fantasy, as well as a great amount of nonfiction. Asimov wrote the Lucky Starr series of juvenile science-fiction novels using the pen name Paul French.
Most of Asimov’s popularized science books explain scientific concepts in a historical way, going as far back as possible to a time when the science in question was at its simplest stage. He often provides nationalities, birth dates, and death dates for the scientists he mentions, as well as etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Examples include his Guide to Science, the three volume set Understanding Physics, and Asimov’s Chronology of Science and Discovery.
Asimov was a long-time member and Vice President of Mensa International, albeit reluctantly; he described some members of that organization as “brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs” He took more joy in being president of the American Humanist Association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov’s Science Fiction, a Brooklyn, NY elementary school, and two different Isaac Asimov Awards are named in his honor. (Via Goodreads)
Hope you like my chosen quote for Writer’s Quote Wednesday. What would you do if you only had a few minutes left on this earth?
Bye for now…… Remember each and every six minutes is precious…. Enjoy.
Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx
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Getting Wet At Niagara Falls
Just had to reblog this! My friend Diane at D Dominik Wickles Romance has revisited Niagara Falls for her anniversary. How wonderful. What a romantic setting.
Niagara Falls is still the Honeymoon capital of the world. It can be very romantic huddling in rain coats feeling the spray of falling water. My husband and I were among the many couples getting wet at Niagara Falls.
My last post was on the newer trends in wedding wear (read it here) so keeping with that wedding theme, I’ve decided to report on my own anniversary trip.
Thirty years ago, my newly wedding husband and I drove to Niagara Falls for our week-long honeymoon.
Niagara Falls has always fascinated me, even as a child. I could watch that water go over any one of the three falls for hours. Such power, such force – it’s mesmerizing.
Apparently, many people feel as I do about the lure of the water. Fifteen people have ‘taken the plunge’ over the falls, most have survived but a few have not. The first, and most famous…
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Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Prompt Challenge Guide & Mad
RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #53 Guide & Mad
What could this weeks Haiku poetry prompt challenge from Ronovan Writes be?
Ah the two words are Guide and Mad.
So what will I make of the prompt words guide and mad, could someone be driving me mad? Or are they guiding me to do something that I really should pay attention to? I don’t always listen, especially if I’m being coerced into doing something I don’t enjoy. Particularly if that unwelcome activity is taking me away from my writing! Ah, how dreadful. How could you ask me to abandon my blogging! Sacre bleu! Especially when I’m helping someone learn how to use WordPress. I’m spreading the word, doing my best to nurture another blogging hero.
Alright now you’re probably thinking what in heavens is she going on about?
Is she mad? Possibly a little!
I’ve been helping my sister in law set up her blog and well a certain someone wasn’t too pleased that I wasn’t doing what they wanted me to do. Ah, you can see my predicament, you can never please everyone can you? Least of all your nearest and dearest.
So with that in mind, here’s a little confession. Moi, I can be a very stubborn individual, a total rascal! Oh La La!!!
So this haiku is inspired by my stubborn spirit. I’m a Scorpio after all. I’m quiet on the surface, easy going, but underneath it all I have a saved up unexpected sting in my tail that comes out to play when you least expect it! Oh well it had to happen sooner or later. I’ve had this blog for over a year now, it was about time I told you about the real me. Warts and all. Sting and all. Tail and all.
Enough’s enough. I suppose I’ll have to be a good lass tomorrow but today I can do whatever I like!!! So I’m writing two posts to be published this week. Tee Hee!!!
Don’t tell anyone will you? I love secrets.
Ring, Ring, Don’t Call Me
Ring, Ring, Don’t Call Me.
You can guide but don’t change me
Your mad I’m Scorpio
My final Haiku is based on a real life event apparently kids were sneaking onto my dad’s golf course and picking magic mushrooms! Whatever next! This golfer looks very disgusted doesn’t he? He’d say something like this: “Magic Mushrooms, shocking! Why can’t they take up a healthy activity like golf? If I hadn’t seen this wicked magic mushroom picking with my own straight to the pin golfer’s eyes I’d would have to conclude that I’d been on the MM’s myself.”
Magic Mushrooms Heist
A guide to catch them
Mad kids on fairway mischief
Magic mushrooms heist
© Marjorie Mallon 2015 – aka, Kyrosmagica. All Rights Reserved.
Words good or bad, are my very own!
Thanks for stopping by, hope you found this weeks haiku entertaining. I seem to have particularly enjoyed them! Stay clear of those Magic Mushrooms folks, and try to be good, not a stubborn, rascal of a Scorpio like me!
If you want to find out more about joining in this wonderful weekly blogging activity then click this link: https://ronovanwrites.wordpress.com/2015/07/13/ronovanwrites-weekly-haiku-poetry-prompt-challenge-53-guide-mad/
Do leave a comment I’d love to hear from you.
Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx
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Let it go
Reblog from Meanings and Musings of this poignant song Let It Go by James Bay.
When I heard this poignant song, these thoughts assaulted me. The idea of difference, and uniqueness… At what point do we accept irreconcilable nature? At what point do we decide, enough is enough? At what point do we own ourselves, both light and shadow? At what point do we stand our ground and reclaim ourselves? When do we set free? When will we trust? When will we honour the spirit and human? Do we take action in love or fear?
Do we love enough to let go?
All this delusion in our heads
Is gonna bring us to our knees
…
So come on let it go
Just let it be
– FlorenceT
© 2015 Copyright reserved. The author asserts her moral and legal rights over this work.
M J Mallon YA Author and Poet 