Congratulations to Denise on the launch of Sounds In The Silence. It is on my kindle and can’t wait to get to it soon!
A dual timeline where murder has consequences forty years later for the living—and the deceased.
Maria and Logan Davis stumbled upon the perfect old house by a secluded lake—a prime candidate for their dream inn. They knew a renovation was involved but didn’t expect a persistent ghost that pleaded to be found. Determined, Maria delved into the mystery, only to uncover a haunting love story and murder from the Roaring Twenties. Yet, the young couple’s curiosity shifts to fear when they realize someone is taking a dangerous interest in their barn. With time ticking away, they must unravel the secrets of their home’s past before it’s too late.
Straight-laced Rose loves books, swimming and the folk choir. So when her gregarious best friend arrives home from a ten year around-the-world trip, her safe, comfortable existence is thrown into disarray.
Rose is persuaded to take on the role of Matron of Honour, but not for a traditional church the ceremony is to take to take place on a Mediterranean beach. She is promised sun, sea, sand and a rousing good time.
But how will she cope with her fear of flying, mosquitoes, men, and everything else that takes her out of her comfort zone? Will she survive a ten day holiday with an over-excited bride to be, a bossy bridesmaid and a moody, enigmatic best man?
Take a dip in the ocean and relax in the sun with Julia Sutton’s ‘Cocktails, Wedding Bells and Summer Madness’ – a dazzling summer romance that combines love, laughter and friendship.
Book Review
Listened to on audible.
What a lovely heartwarming romance with family, sunshine abroad, holiday elements. I loved the character of Rose whose life seems somewhat dull and passing her by until her old best friend from school, Shelley comes back to the UK with three hunky Australian brothers: Harry, (Shelley’s fiance) Finn, and the quieter more mysterious Tom.
It’s light-hearted and funny in parts.
I loved the character of Rose’s outspoken granny and how Rose faces her fears to becomes a changed, more confident woman.Rose’s relationship with Tom deepens whilst they are all away in Majorca but she’s warned off him.
What secrets is he hiding? And who is he really? Will their romance blossom, or fizz out. And what about her old flame Jeremy?
Highly recommended for romance/women’s fiction readers.
Poetic Treasures Within. Open the coverand you will discoverPoetry Treasures from the guests onRobbie Cheadle’s 2023 “Treasuring Poetry”blog serieson Writing to be Read. Included are poetic gems from: Andrew McDowell, Robbie Cheadle, Patricia Furstenberg, Marcia Meara, Luanne Castle, D.L. Finn, Emily Gmitter, Kaye Lynne Booth, Selma Martin, Merril D. Smith, Frank Prem, and Colleen Chesebro.
Book Review
Excellent collection of international poets. With different styles but all coming together beautifully.
Highly recommended for nature poetry lovers like me!
Nicely illustrated with pencil sketches from Andrew McDowell and wonderful range of poet’s own photography to complement the poetry too.
All are brilliant but my favourite poems include:
New Fallen Snow, Rough Stones, The Sea Hawk, Andrew McDowell
The Huntress, Autumn Stage, Robbie Cheadle
Autumn Pantoum, Indeterminate in Autumn, Lost In the Moors, A Ladybird on A Doodled Daisy, Patricia Furstenberg
On The River, Star Gazing, Showers, Ambush, Marcia Meara
Forever, Uncrossing The Strait Of Georgia, How The Earth Loves Us, Luanne Castle
The Island, A Sunny Day, D.L Finn,
Wounded Bird, Seasons For All Senses, Emily Gmitter
Prairie Dog, The Cherry Tree, To Be ACat, Kaye Lynn Booth
Remember The Geese, Springtime Anniversary, Not-Fiction Fiction (Of course it could happen, The Bridge Home Selma Martin,
January Sunrise, Trinity, The Eagle, Merril D Smith
Follow that Light, Grey (Begone,) Frank Prem
Yellow Spring (Double Ennead) The Song Of The Seasons, Colleen Chesebro.
I am delighted to announce that I have been featured in November issue of Portugal’s Tomorrow Magazine. Many thanks to Dan Costinas for interviewing me about my poetry prose memoir collection Do What You Love.
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.
Also Dan has released a book too… which is also featured in this issue.
More about that and a special giveaway for Dan’s book mentioned on Facebook, I’ve added the link below the review!
I’ve finished Dan Costinas’s new release ! The Last Folio.
My review:
One gets a sense of Dan Costinas’s great love of Shakespeare’s dramas, comedies and tragedies in this 400th anniversary work of essays to commemorate the publication of Shakespeare’s first folio.
Costinas reminises about his first introduction to Shakespeare:
“I clearly remember, like it happened yesterday, my first contact with the Plays: I was ten years old and I was completely captivated almost three hours watching Ariel, Ceres, Iris, Juno, Caliban, and their magical story on the stage.”
Costinas writes with flair, knowledge, humour, and enthusiasm bringing Shakespeare’s undoubted dramatic skill to the modern reader. So many Shakespearean topics are still pertinent today: fortune hunters, love, hatred, jealousy, seduction, the war of the sexes, adultery, absurd foolishness, mankind’s flaws, power, the common man, battles, court life, etc.
Costinas also discusses (within the Shakespearean context,) topics such as racism, homophobia, misogyny, and antisemitism and his opinion on how Shakespeare viewed women. A debate I found particularly interesting.
This book is for those who enjoy Shakespeare, literature, philosophical discussion and history. And it is evident, his intention to encourage Shakespeare to be read and enjoyed by future generations, with this easily understood insight into the bard and his remarkable works.
Highly recommended. Well done, Mr. Costinas. 5 stars
I believe that Dan is offering free deluxe hardcover copies for the first reviews, up to 50 free copies in total. More about this via this FB link which states:
The first 50 reviewers will be granted one deluxe-illustrated-signed hardcover copy of the book in the 26th of April 2024. See below for details of the giveaway as this is via Authors for Hispania, contact Dan Costinas for more information, via FB.
I didn’t think my life could get weirder, but I was wrong…
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.
TRIGGER WARNING: this book contains mention of self-harm, mental health issues and alludes to the potential dangers of sexual attraction, which may trigger younger/sensitive readers.INSPIRED BY: The World Famous Corpus Christi Chronophage Clock, created by Dr. John C Taylor, OBE, and artist Anya Gallaccio’s Crystal Grotto, in Juniper Artland, Scotland.
Bloodstone is Book 1 in M.J. Mallon’s The Curse of Time series. I’m not sure what I expected when Ipicked up this book. I’m a sucker for time-travel stories, and the subject of time and parallel worlds perplex me, so I suppose I expected something along those lines given the clock on the cover and the series title. But that is not at all what this book is. But, Bloodstone may be just as enchanting.This tale is a young adult novel dealing with the issues of a fifteen-year-old girl who has a very strange life. While her home life may be disfunctional, other parts of her life are magical in this delightful tale of magical realism. Things happen which may seem odd or unusual, but they seem to be everyday occurances in the fantastical world which Mallon has created.The result is a paranormal fantasy that deals with real adolecent issues like friends and boyfriends, peer pressure, depression, self-harm, and betrayal, in a manor that raises awareness, and still entertains.Another unexpected touch the author offers up in this story is a syllabic poem as the heading of each chapter, which offers a hint to the events in the chapter to come. I found this to be a clever way to clue readers in and creative way to add to the magicalfeel of the story.A refreshing surprise, Bloodstone captured my attention and my heart. I give it five quills.
___________________________________________________________________Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review here.
Many thanks to writing team Anita Dawes and Jay Marie for this wonderful new review for book 2 in The Curse of Time series. So delighted!
This YA fantasy series is available to read in multiple formats and audiobook too!
The review:
Not having read the first book in this series, (something I am now doing) I was delighted to meet so many interesting characters.
Ryder, such an unusually sexy and mesmerising young man. Right up until the last chapter, I could not decide is he was truly good or bad.
Amelina captured my heart, so determined to be strong and clever enough to beat the dark forces.
And poor Esme, trapped in the mirror, helpless to help Amelina.
This delightful story is full of incredible moments, all brilliantly portrayed and described. I have always believed in magic, and it was wonderful to see it explored in such a lovely way.
I also loved the reference to the magic of painting, with paint brushes that can sing and dance, and paintings that can change.
Golden Healer is a wonderfully cinematic experience, an edge of your seat drama and full of the magic of your childhood. I wholeheartedly recommend reading it, as it will restore the magic in your heart and soul…
Do pop over to their blog to read the post on full and discovermore about this writing duo.
There is an amazing giveaway currently running on my Instagram and other social media accounts to win lots of amazing books. Including the first book in my YA Fantasy series Bloodstone.
As a special bonus… if you use the link you’ll receive after you sign up, you can share the giveaway! Why would you want to do this? Because if you refer your friends to enter the contest, you’ll actually INCREASE your chances of winning (just one friend referred will quadruple your chances). And, who doesn’t love more books?
Follow these authors on Instagram and like and share their giveaway posts:
Bloodstone is part one of a two part series with more spin off stories to come. It is available in kindle, paperback hardback and audiobook. Book 2 Golden Healer is to be released in audiobook soon.
BLURB
I didn’t think my life could get weirder, but I was wrong…
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.
TRIGGER WARNING: this book contains mention of self-harm, mental health issues and alludes to the potential dangers of sexual attraction, which may trigger younger/sensitive readers.
Please support my review efforts by following my bookstagram:
Thank you so much to fabulous author Chantelle Atkins for inviting me to her blog for an author interview about my latest release Do What You Love. We talk about my inspirations, favourite types of poetry, and what I am working on next.
In the blog she also shares her review. Here is a short review quote from that:
“As other reviewers have said, this is an overwhelmingly sweet and positive collection that will not fail to make you smile during these tough times.”
Chantelle
Do pop over to her blog to read at source and while you are there find out more about Chantelle and her range of books too.
Happy thanksgiving to all my friends in the US. No turkey here but perhaps I can offer you a freshly brewed coffee from Seville.
This week’s prompt seemed particularly apt as I just bought myself a treat with my birthday money. It was my birthday on the 17th November… I tend to keep this much to myself nowadays. We went away to Seville for a few days holiday and I absolutely loved it. What a wonderful city.
I didn’t buy the new scarf there. Hubby isn’t a big fan of shopping… But I did manage to get him to spend a little bit of time shopping – he bought me some lovely new clothes for my birthday.
Now… the new scarf, is from Tavira in Portugal and it is very colourful! But, this prompt asked for a story to be told in poetry about a grey scarf so I thought why not! Give it a go…
Anyway, the poem isn’t true to life as I have no intention of casting my new scarf aside but a little artistic licence is allowed…
On a whim I bought a colourful scarf Like Joseph’s technicolor dreamcoat It brings me nightmares and trouble! My siblings are so jealous So, I cast it aside I buy a grey scarf No one sees me I sleep well It brings Joy
Me and my grey scarf have such adventures Settling around my neck with ease We paint the world in brilliance Nothing is ever drab now There is colour in dark Fountains of rainbows And no more sighs Light in shade Sunshine Songs
Tomorrow is the launch day for my new poetry, flash fiction and photograph collection. Excited for that! If you’d like to wish me a belated happy birthday I’d love it if you bought a copy of my new book.
M J Mallon YA Author and Poet 