Thursday Doors and Emotography Showcase: Glasgow University

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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…

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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…

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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.

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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.

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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..

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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!

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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!

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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

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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,

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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!!

Writespiration : The Non-Binary Prom

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I’m taking part in Sacha Black’s Writespiration writing prompt. https://sachablack.co.uk/2016/07/27/writespiration-93-underwater-ballroom/

Here’s what Sacha asked us to do this week:

Your challenge this week is to set a piece of flash fiction under water. Write a story in less than 200 words. Paste in the comments or use a pingback and submit before 7th August.

I couldn’t wait to write this, the prompt was just so perfect. I love the idea of setting the flash under water… What could I do with this? I decided to play with the prompt  a bit placing the main character’s emotion under water rather than actually setting the flash fiction under water.

I won’t say anymore about this until the end of the flash other than to say this is not a subject that I’ve ever written about on my blog before. Or even thought that about much until recently….

So I am a bit nervous sharing this piece of flash:

The Non-Binary Prom

I’m underwater, or I might as well be. The sun’s shining but I can’t feel it on my back. All I can hear is everyone whispering, a waterfall of gushing laughter presses against me.  Ed swims through and signs my tee-shirt. Nobody else comes near. I have my back to him but it doesn’t stop me from imagining his face creasing into a confident surfer I know who I am smile. He scribbles something, and his mates laugh. I tear my tee-shirt off, exposing my ripped body, and tiny almost bikini top. He’s written girl and then crossed it out and written boy with this ugly question mark.

‘What you wearing to prom, Les?’ he asks. He’s laughing, because he knows that I can’t make up my mind whether to wear a suit and tie, or a fucking dress.

Non-binary. That’s me. I’m not on the prissy Prom committee but if I was I’d plan an underwater ball with us all swimming, skinny dipping, no clothes, no fancy ball gowns, nowhere to write mean things. Just floating, tattooed skin, splashing I’m human. That’s who we really are. What’s inside counts but Ed can’t see that.  He’s drowning in binary.

© Marjorie Mallon 2016 – aka, Kyrosmagica. All Rights Reserved.

 

The idea for The Non-Binary Prom piece of flash came from several recent events.

Firstly, my daughter’s T-shirt signing, (last day at secondary school,) and the big event of the year – her prom. She absolutely loved dressing up, wearing the fancy dress, high heels, getting her make up done….. and it was lovely. But …. a person who identifies as non-binary would have a different experience. (Any non-binary people reading this do comment below.. I would be interested in hearing your opinion on events such as Prom.)

Also,  we’ve been talking about gender issues at home – a friend of my eldest daughter is non-binary. I have to say when my daughter first told me about her friend I found this really hard to comprehend. How can someone not identify as either male or a female? OK, I can see why someone might think of themselves as male but be in a female body and vice versa, but non-binary is much more fluid and its very fluidity makes it much more difficult to understand. So that gave me the idea to link it with being underwater pushing against a tide of same aged pupils who are secure in their birth gender and don’t understand you.

Then, quite by chance I came across a Vegan blog entitled Cooking on A Boot Strap – Self Love Stew written by Mx. Jack Monroe who is non-binary. As an aside the Self Love Stew recipe looked delicious, so I decided to check out Jack’s blog some more. Curious, (writers always are!) I read through Jack’s account.. I Have Something To Tell You

Jack’s account is so well written that I began to understand a little more about what it means to be non-binary. I’ve always considered myself to be a very open minded caring sort of person so that got me thinking… and that got me attempting to write from the point of view of a non-binary individual for the above piece of flash. Not sure I did it justice… Let me know what you think.

Hope my piece of flash got you thinking too… Are you, or do you know someone who is non-binary?

Do comment. I’d love to hear your thoughts on gender issues.

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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

 

 

 

The Most Cherished @ #CBF2016

I meant to join in The Cherished Blogfest this year but what with job hunting, book editing, etc, I haven’t been able to find the time. Then I came across this wonderful post from Peter Nena. A must see Reblog. What more fitting item can you cherish – the book that saves you from death. This is to give thought to all those on the brink of contemplating suicide. I pray you find that special moment that saves you and your family and friends from tragedy, irreversable loss, and pain. Words are indeed life. Where would we be without them?

Happy Birthday Bloggers Bash

Hugh from Hugh’s Views and News has some news that he’s desperate to share with us, (even though he’s on a bloggers break.) The Bloggers Bash is one years old! If you’d like to join in with the next event keep your eyes out for posts like these…. This bash is growing, gaining momentum, be a part of it! Watch this baby grow. Happy Birthday Bloggers Bash!