Smorgasbord Cafe and Bookstore – New Book on the Shelves – #YA #Magic #Mystery – Bloodstone (The Curse Of Time Book 1) by M.J. Mallon | Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

Thank you so much to Sally Cronin for this wonderful promotional New Book On The Shelves post for the rebranded new edition of Bloodstone, The Curse of Time Book 1. My magical YA fantasy inspired by two amazing sculptural artworks: the Corpus Christi Chronophage clock  in Cambridge England and the magnificent crystal grotto created by Anya Gallaccio’s The Light That Pours Out of Me in Juniper Artland in Scotland.

Thanks to Sally for adding the 5 star review from Sarah Northwood.

Source: Smorgasbord Cafe and Bookstore – New Book on the Shelves – #YA #Magic #Mystery – Bloodstone (The Curse Of Time Book 1) by M.J. Mallon | Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

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The Mad Life of A Writer – Bloodstone (The Curse of Time Book 1) #newrelease republishing #YA #fantasy #holiday #woes #covid #stresses

An author’s life can get somewhat manic at times. Recently, I travelled up to Edinburgh to see my family. I was so looking forward to a break, a chance to unwind, spend time with mum, dad, my brother, friends and my MIL.

Here I am with mum and dad in the beautiful botanical gardens in Edinburgh.

Whilst on holiday the inevitable happened, I had this feeling it would. My publisher Next Chapter asked me to check all the files for publishing! And to do this within five days.

This wouldn’t have been too bad if there was one file but there were 9 in total including clear print, (which I have no clue what this is for?) epub, mobi, large print, hardback, and a range of different sizes too.

All very impressive, beautifully formatted and edited but a little voice cried out but… I’m meant to be on holiday… this will take me forever!

Forget it sucker. Writers don’t ever get holidays.

Next up, what next? My eldest daughter Natasha has been ill for a couple of days and it turns out she and her friends have covid. What? So, crank up my worry notch ten thousand paces. I couldn’t see her for 10 days – most of my holiday. She was alone in her flat in Glasgow and was running out of food. Crank up the worry notch even more. Luckily, the kind guys on reception took her online order up to her flat and left it for her by her door.

Apparently the first four days of her covid experience involved nasty coughing, temperature, vomiting and other nasties. Thank goodness she is well now.

After the fellows at Track and Trace gave her the all clear I popped over to Glasgow to see her and stayed in her student flat. That was an eye opener – I didn’t sleep for two nights. There was a fantastic reggae party going on somewhere – I wish I’d been invited – I loved reggae as a youngster! And the sea gulls were joining in too, squawking merrily. The upstairs flat were doing some kind of odd manoeuvres in the middle of the night. Natasha slept through it all – obviously used to it – exhausted post covid with ear plugs in.

Nevertheless, Natasha and I still managed to have a couple of days fun in Glasgow.

We went to Hanoi Bike Shop, a tasty Vietnamese restaurant where we tried the surprise menu with extra spice! We didn’t know what was coming but it was great and fun to try new things.

We went for a walk afterwards…

Natasha’s moving to Edinburgh (she’s starting her teaching job in August – whoop, whoop so proud to have a Secondary English teacher in the family, and delighted that my youngest daughter Georgina has been awarded her degree a 2.1 in Fashion with Business Management.)

I offered to help take some of Natasha’s endless coats and books through. My suitcase handle decided not to work all the way from her flat to the station. We missed the train by a few minutes, (no way was she able to run as she was still a bit weak after covid,) so we waited for the next one. As soon as we sat down the suitcase handle decided to pop up! I asked some advice from the train staff about the validity of my ticket and he called me pal – this is Glaswegian style for mate, like hen (which is a common colloquialism in parts of Scotland,) this brought back memories of my student days in Glasgow!

Now, here’s the thing, we are told to keep apart, mask up, etc, etc. But the train was packed! There were two young girls on board who thought showing off their perfectly applied make up counted as more imperative than wearing a mask. And there was a guy too – unmasked, but no make up – I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt perhaps he had an exemption?

So, long story short I’m back home now. Back at work. What else can happen? Oh, a small matter of losing 22 reviews on Amazon…

Republishing my debut has had its problems. Sneaky metadata and a title change has caused Amazon to treat this new edition like an all new spanking new book but without the benefit of a new book’s promotion.

And this message from BookBub: The new edition of Bloodstone (The Curse Of Time Book 1) has now been added to your profile. I want to share that previously published works are not eligible for New Releases for Less or New Release Alerts. I’m sorry about this.

Laughing hysterically! Not to worry, I’ve got this.

I like a challenge.

So, please… I’d love some help with reviews…. and you can call me whatever you want…. hen, chick, pal, whatever.

Bloodstone is available for free on kindle unlimited… and on Amazon outlets. Here’s the link:

MyBook link: http://mybook.to/bstmm
Amazon Preview Link: https://amzn.eu/iwyO8p3

UK link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bloodstone-Curse-Time-Book-1-ebook/dp/B097QZBKNY/

US Link:

Thank you to all those who are helping out with the review shenanigans. The reviews are starting to come in… And to future reviewers thank you too. Where would we be without you?

Any reviewers who would like a copy please get in touch at marjma2014@gmail.com

The impromptu blog tour will be starting in a few days time. More about that soon. If you would like to join in with hosting me on the tour let me know in the comments.

Thank you so much for these recent promotions and author interviews:

In conversation with Alex Pearl: https://booksbyalexpearl.weebly.com/m-j-mallon.html

Julie at a Little Book Problem https://alittlebookproblem.co.uk/2021/06/30/desert-island-books-with-marjorie-mallon/

It’s just as well I have a sense of humour… and am determined to make this work.

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Bloodstone: The Curse of Time Book 1 – Release!!! #YA #Fantasy #New #Release @NextChapterPB

Well, I’m absolutely delighted! Thank you to everyone who has supported me in this journey. A big thank you to all those who have believed in me, read my books, beta read for me, reviewed and encouraged me, I would not be where I am without your support.

ANNOUNCING!!

My YA Fantasy Bloodstone is now available to purchase on Amazon in kindle, (free – kindle unlimited,) and in paperback and large print edition – Thank you Next Chapter Publishing.
MyBook link:
http://mybook.to/bstmm
Amazon Preview Link: https://amzn.eu/iwyO8p3

BLURB

Fifteen-year-old Amelina Scott lives in Cambridge with her dysfunctional family, a mysterious black cat, and an unusual girl who is imprisoned within the mirrors located in her house.

When an unexpected message arrives inviting her to visit the Crystal Cottage, she sets off on a forbidden path where she encounters Ryder: a charismatic, perplexing stranger.

With the help of a magical paint set and some crystal wizard stones, can Amelina discover the truth about her family?

A unique, imaginative mystery full of magic-wielding and dark elements, Bloodstone is a riveting adventure for anyone interested in fantasy, mythology or the world of the paranormal. 

EXCERPT – PROLOGUE

Most people would call our existence strange, but this is more than that; this deserves a headline. We’re not spectacular enough to feature on the national or international news, but we warranted a column in the local newspaper headed by seven not so lucky words: Missing Father Returns After Weird Aging Phenomenon. I’m glad that our short-lived fame died and the paparazzi, (what a joke,) got bored with us. Now we can get back to the day to day living if you can call it that. We live in a typical suburb of Cambridge in an untypical house. It’s no bungalow, the floors just go on and on, and so do the rumours about us. When I say we, I mean our strange extended family comprising mature, tantrum-prone Mum, Dad (alias: old man before his time), teenage me, the most stable of us all (I think), and self-harming Esme, who isn’t my sister but might as well be. I could write a whole book devoted to her alone. Oh, and I forgot to mention our permanent house guest, Shadow, a black cat of inde‐ terminate age and parentage who arrived one day and never left. The rest of the inhabitants of our household (except perhaps for me and Shadow, although his status is open to debate) are dysfunctional, weirded-out characters.

I have to cope with a lot (and that’s an understatement), so I resort to painting, rock-and-roll, collecting crystals, and writing songs and poetry. I enjoy writing haiku, a Japanese form of poetry with three lines and some syllables to count. It soothes me. I write Tanka too; adding two longer lines at the end, which soothes me more. Each poetic puzzle I jot down serves as a clue for less afflicted folk to decipher what the hell I am talking about. So, what am I talking about? The trouble is I don’t know; I’m still muddling through. Although I expect it’s a cry for help (a yell), combined with me dissecting the details about Mum’s life, Dad’s existence and his disappearance, Esme’s imprisonment, and Shad‐ ow’s ability to appear and reappear at a moment’s notice. And that’s saying nothing about living in a house that feels like a living being! Yes, I joke to stay sane. That’s a lot to process (sorry), and it’s only a fraction, a haiku tidbit, so let’s keep it simple but poetic and start with a view.

Large print edition: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B097SLWH49/

Click the free preview above to find out more.

And don’t forget to add it to your Goodreads to read list:

It’s been a lot of hard work and no peace for the wicked!

I am busy editing the second book for release next and looking into a blog tour company to create some buzz for Bloodstone’s official release.

In the meantime, if you can help by sharing, getting the word out and reviewing, (I know many of you lovelies have already read the original edition and your reviews will hopefully be re-added soon via the powers that be at Amazon! I believe Next Chapter is in touch with them…

I will be celebrating today with my lovely daughter who has had covid but is now better and passed her quarantine.

Thank heavens, what stressful times. I hope you and your loved ones are saying safe and well.

.TTFN… (Ta Ta For Now!)

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