M J Mallon YA Author and Poet

The Book Courtship Book Tag

Thank you to Charley from Books and Bakes 1 for tagging me to join in the Book Courtship Book Tag.

Charley has a lovely blog about books and baking, two of my favourite pastimes! I just love to read and to bake and eat yummy cakes too!

Here’s a link to Charley’s blog post about the tag: https://booksandbakes1.wordpress.com/2015/10/18/the-book-courtship-book-tag/

I’ve been super busy just recently as I’m currently been doing two read-a-thons. The first one is a Halloween themed readalong from Stripes Publishing, the #redeyereadalong and I have been reviewing all the awesome #redeye books on my blog, the current book I am reading this week is Dark Room from Tom Becker. The second readathon I’m taking part in is the Trees of Reverie readathon, and for this I’m currently reading Caroline Peckham’s Creeping Shadow. So I don’t get bored I have been doing some photography, and quote challenges too, as well as joining Instagram.

I’m feeling slightly overwhelmed so:

I will be taking a bit of a blogging break in November, to coincide with Nanowrimo, and possibly December to concentrate on my writing, and getting my manuscript Krystallos ready for publication. More about that soon……

Here’s my responses to the book tag:

Phase 1 – Initial Attraction: A book that you bought because of the cover?

I also bought The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton, (Charley did too!) as I just loved this cover so much. It caught my eye in Waterstons and I just fell in deep book cover love. I loved the book too. My review of the Miniaturist: https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2015/01/12/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-the-miniaturist-by-jessie-burton/

As well as this I loved the cover of The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell.

More about The Bone Clocks on my review: https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2014/12/08/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-the-bone-clocks-by-david-mitchell/

Phase 2 – First Impressions: A book that you got because of the summary?

The Night Circus By Erin Morgenstern.

The summary is all in capital letters and is so engaging, even though it is simplicity itself:

THE CIRCUS ARRIVES

WITHOUT WARNING

NO ANNOUNCEMENTS

PRECEDE IT …

IT IS SIMPLY THERE, WHEN YESTERDAY IT WAS NOT.

Phase 3 – Sweet Talk: A book with great writing?

There are so many authors that would fit into this “Sweet” category. Stephanie Perkins comes to mind. I loved Stephanie Perkins Anna and The French Kiss, Lola and The Boy Next Door, and Isla and The Happily Ever After. My favourite out of these three was Lola and The Boy Next Door. For some reason that I can’t quite recollect I have only reviewed two out of the three in the series, omitting to do the first which is strange but anyway here they are:

https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2014/06/09/review-of-lola-and-the-boy-next-door-stephanie-perkins/

https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2014/11/16/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-isla-and-the-happily-ever-after-by-stephanie-perkins/

Phase 4 – First Date: A first book of a series which made you want to pick up the rest of the series?

I’m a bit lazy about reading series, on the whole I tend to prefer reading standalone novels but sometimes a series really captures my full attention and then I get hooked. An example of this is undoubtedly the first book in The Old Kingdom Series by Garth Nix, Sabriel. I loved this series, which I read as part of the Hot Key Books readathon.

https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2014/12/15/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-abhorsen-by-garth-nix/

https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2014/09/23/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-garth-nixs-sabriel/

https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2014/10/17/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-garth-nixs-lirael/

Phase 5 – Late Night Phone Calls: A book that kept you up all night?

Summertime by Vanessa Lafaye would fit into this category because when I did finally get to sleep I dreamt that my bed was filled with hurricane winds! I could feel myself being lifted, and buffeted on a bed of sheets, and thrown up and down in the air. Luckily my dream carried me gently up and down as if I was on a trampoline of buffeting air!

My review of Summertime: https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2015/02/28/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-summertime-by-vanessa-lafaye/

Phase 6 – Always on my mind: A book you could not stop thinking about?

The Book Thief by Marcus Zuzak, which I read a long time ago before I started doing reviews. If you haven’t read this then go out and get a copy of this fantastic book, which is about:

A GIRL

AN ACCORDIONIST

SOME FANATICAL GERMANS

A JEWISH FIST FIGHTER

AND QUITE A LOT OF THIEVERY

and is narrated by a gruesome chap called DEATH!!!

Phase 7 – Getting Physical: A book which you love the way it feels?

The Song Of Achilles by Madeline Miller, loved this, it’s gold embossed cover is so textured!! Great feels for this one, fantastic read too! Go and get a copy!

My review: https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2015/05/16/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-the-song-of-achilles-by-madeline-miller/

Phase 8 – Meeting the parents: A book which you would recommend to your family and friends?

The Italian Chapel by Philip Paris, just loved this book, and recommended it to my mum and dad, and some friends too! Such a lovely book, so heart warming and inspiring, if you haven’t read it then you must remedy that fast.

My review: https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2014/07/04/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-the-italian-chapel-by-philip-paris/

Phase 9 – Thinking about the future: A book or series you know you will re read many times in the future?

The Brandon Sanderson’s series, these are just so awesome, if I had a lot of spare time I’d love to read and re-read these as they have so much going for them. Brandon Sanderson has a wicked imagination. I’ve read The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) and The Well of Ascension (Mistborn # 2.) I’ve reviewed Mistborn #1 on this blog:

The Final Empire. Mistborn: https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2015/01/31/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-mistborn-by-brandon-sanderson/

Phase 10 – Share the love: Who do you tag?

I would like to tag lots and lots of you lovely book bloggers so here goes:

http://novelreveries.com/

https://ireadnovels.wordpress.com/

http://heenarathorep.com/

http://www.mybookishlife.com/

https://scatterbooker.wordpress.com/

https://heatherreviews.wordpress.com

https://lipsyy.wordpress.com/.com/

https://stephaniesbookreviews.wordpress.com/

http://mylittlebookblog.com/

http://jennyinneverland.com/

http://aloverofbooks.wordpress.com/

http://booksaredelicious.com/

http://theprettybooks.wordpress.com.

http://amandasnoseinabook.wordpress.com/

http://cleopatralovesbooks.wordpress.com

https://bibliomad.wordpress.com/

https://katnisspotterbooklover.wordpress.com/

If I’ve left anyone out don’t be shy join in please do, the more the merrier!

Hope you enjoyed reading my Book Courtship Tag post! Have you read any of the books in my post?

Oh, and by the way I am now on Instagram if you’d like to follow me there too: https://instagram.com/kyrosmagica/

Bye for now,

Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx

Spooktacular 2015: The Gallows at The Caxton Gibbett Inn

I’m joining in the Spooktacular Capturing History Challenge from Ed Mooney.

Here’s a link to Ed’s blog:

https://edmooneyphoto.wordpress.com/2015/10/01/spooktacular-2015/

As I’m blogging this on a Monday, this is my entry for Rachel Thompson’s #MondayBlogs too: https://twitter.com/RachelintheOC. Rachel blogs at Bad Red Head Media. http://badredheadmedia.com/

I really wanted to join in this challenge this month as I am doing a spooky stuff and nonsense theme on my blog leading up to Halloween. By the way, today, Monday the 26th of October is the last day to submit your photos to Ed. So if you want to join in get cracking, and email him, super pronto!!!

I was originally going to take one of those Ghost tours in Cambridge, which I still fancy doing, but then it struck me the perfect idea to post about for this Spooktacular would be the history behind the Caxton Gibbett Inn in Cambridgeshire, particularly as it features briefly in my manuscript! This place is or shall I say was about as creepy, and unlucky, cursed if you ask me, as it gets.

The inn was located between Cambridge and St. Neots. It is no longer standing as it burnt down in mysterious circumstances, in March 2009, when it had been trading as a Chinese restaurant, The Yim Wah House. In fact I had been there a few times for meals, as I have some friends who live out that way so I’m so glad it didn’t burn down when I was in there munching my spring rolls! Apparently fifty firefighters had their job cut out trying to stop the blaze. Anyway the Yim Wah has now relocated, I don’t blame them! Would you want to stay in residence there after that? Shudders. No brainer. The Yim Wah is now situated in the centre of Cambridge, good move!

The legend of the original inn is interesting Halloween fare. Apparently three travellers were murdered by the landlord, (who intended to steal from them.) He disposed of their poor unfortunate bodies down the pub’s well. The original gallows stood on Caxton Common, the replica gibbet was thought to have been made from the timber of a nearby cottage.

Punishment was a very public affair in those days, the murderer was hung alive in an iron gibbet from the gallows and death under these circumstances followed due to starvation, dehydration or exposure. Apparently thereafter the inn was haunted by mysterious footsteps that stopped at the well! Creepy , Ghoulish stuff or what? !! Enough to make you choke on your spring roll! Sounds like that land may be cursed, and it is now the home of fast food restaurants. Well, on the bright side at least with fast food you’re in and out quick, surely nothing too terrible can happen to you in such a short timescale! My advice is don’t hang about and chat too much, get out of their fast!

So not exactly good joss. Perhaps not history as such, maybe more of a legend, but it does seem to me to be an area of Cambridgeshire with a creepy predisposition, and a gallows, so beware!

The story of the inn captured my interest so much that it features briefly in my manuscript Krystallos.

Here’s a short excerpt:

Amelina spoke in a hushed spooky whisper. “Talking of ghost stories did you see that Chinese restaurant that burnt down at Caxton Gibbett? Its burnt out shell creeps me out every time I go pass it, the original inn on that site, also burnt down in the 1920’s.”

“The George Inn, yes, bit of a weird coincidence isn’t it?” said Ilaria her voice rising with excitement.

“The place was cursed. The landlord was hanged and gibbeted for murdering his guests as they slept. The room where they were killed was always intensely cold,” said Amelina, as a cold shiver ran down her spine.

“God that’s creepy, talk about gruesome,” said Joselyn, “Thanks, I’ll not sleep a wink tonight.”

“Me neither. Maybe when we’re wide awake some fit dead guy could return from his eternal slumber for a chat. Hopefully a famous rock or pop star,” joked Ilaria.

“Now that would be cool. You know I had this amazing dream once that all the rock stars came bursting out of my posters and had a party in my house. It was a bit freaky as some of them were dead. They were rocking out until the early hours,” said Amelina as she demonstrated her favourite rock hero pose playing air guitar to the girls.

Ilaria, Joselyn and Jade looked at Amelina with wide eyed astonishment.

“God you’re crazy, Amelina, I can’t believe the things you say or do. The air guitar was awesome,” remarked Jade.

Ilaria and Joselyn laughed.

Hope you enjoyed my Spooktacular post, I enjoyed taking part, I’ve been planning this for ages, this baby has been waiting part finished in my draft folder and I nearly forgot to join in, that’s just typical of me. Scatty, or Loopy depends on how you take me!

Links:

http://www.cprs.co.uk/caxton.html

Bye for now, hope you enjoyed this Spooktacular story.

I’m hiding under the covers tonight just in case!

Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx

Spooktacular 2015

Spooktacular challenge by edmooney last day to email your photography, for this challenge.

Ed Mooney Photography

Today is the first day of October, which marks the countdown to my absolute favourite time of the year, Samhain/Halloween. For the last couple of years, my Ruinhunting activities tend to die off during the month, mainly due to poor weather and access to many of the sites that I visit. But I keep my blog going with an assortment of the otherworld and Halloween Themed posts. The Bram Stoker Festival has featured these past two years along with Irish based tales concerning Gaelic Mythology and Supernatural customs and Traditions such as An Púca, the faerie Ghost, the Bean-sidhe an Irish harbinger of Sorrow , An Dullahan, the real Headless Horseman, Dearg-Due, an ancient Irish Vampire and the Wizard Earl of Kilkea Castle to name but a few.

An Púca

So this year got me thinking, with the success of the Capturing History Challenge, I thought, Why…

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#Redeyereadalong: Dark Room by Tom Becker

As you’ll know if you saw my previous post re: Bad Bones, I’m joining in the #readeyereadalong: The Red Eye series of books from Stripes Publishing, this event runs from September 28th to October 31st and is hosted on Goodreads.

There are five scary titles to get you in the mood for Halloween!

Frozen Charlotte, Sleepless, Flesh and Blood, Bad Bones, and Dark Room.

Dark Room is the next scary book I’ll be reading for the #RedEye readalong from:

26th October 2015 – 31st October 2015

Wait a minute – 26th October, that’s today. Can it really be the final week? How time flies when you’re having fun.

It is the final book in the readalong!!!! Dark Room by Tom Becker.

It’s been a blast such eerie, scary excitement all the way, there’s never been a dull moment.

Here’s the Goodreads Synopsis of Dark Room:

When Darla and her feckless dad, Hopper, move to Saffron Hills, Darla hopes it’ll be a new start for the both of them. But she stands no chance of fitting in with the image-obsessed in-crowd at her new school. Then one of her classmates is brutally killed when taking a photo of herself. A murder Darla herself predicted in a bloody vision. When more teens die in a similar fashion it appears that a serial killer is on the loose – the ‘Selfie Slayer’. Darla alone is convinced that the murderer might not be flesh and blood.

A fellow WordPress blogger Heather is running the goodreads readalong with Michelle Toy from Tales of Yesterday blog. There are lots of fun activities on their blogs so do check them out:

http://talesofyesterday.co.uk/2015/09/tales-post-red-eye-read-along-october-2015/

https://heatherreviews.wordpress.com/

Have you read Dark Room? Do you dare to? Let me know if you have!

Bye for now,

Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx

Camera Lucida: Metal

It’s #12 Challenge from Julia at My Red Page and this week’s photography challenge is metal.

Here’s a link to Julia’s post : https://myredpage.wordpress.com/2015/10/16/camera-lucida-metal/

I decided to take a photo of one of my favourite metal candle holders in the evening, all lit up, and it was interesting how the shadows around made interesting patterns.

I’ve done some other metal photography in previous posts, here’s a link to these too:

The Kelpies: https://atomic-temporary-67364188.wpcomstaging.com/2015/08/28/edinburgh-festival-the-kelpies-sculptures/

The metal structure in the ceiling of the Grafton Shopping Centre, Cambridge. https://atomic-temporary-67364188.wpcomstaging.com/2015/10/08/instagram-kyrosmagica-style/

Hope you like them. You can see more of my photography on my Instagram account here’s the link:

https://instagram.com/kyrosmagica/

Bye for Now,

Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx

My Kyrosmagica Review of Bad Bones by Graham Marks

Goodreads Synopsis:

Some things are best left buried. Gabe is feeling the pressure. His family has money troubles, he’s hardly talking to his dad, plus lowlife Benny is on his case. Needing some space to think, he heads off into the hills surrounding LA. And he suddenly stumbles across a secret that will change everything. A shallow grave. Gabe doesn’t think twice about taking the gold bracelet he finds buried there. Even from the clutches of skeletal hands. But he has no idea what he’s awakening…A chilling new story in the Red Eye series.

This is the fourth book I’ve read in the #redeyereadalong, from Stripes Publishing. I have to say they have all been different, and quite engaging in their own way. So what’s my take on them wicked old Bad Bones?

My review:

Bad Bones starts off with Gabe getting himself in deep water by finding a grave and raiding the skeleton taking a very expensive looking gold bracelet. This seems like an answer to his prayers, a way for him to be able to help his family who are in financial difficulty, but instead he finds himself getting deeper and deeper into a nightmare scenario of growing proportions. He starts getting followed around by owls, cayotes and a creepy guy. Soon he realises that his actions have led him and unsuspecting bystanders and friends into grave danger. Excuse the pun! To add to his troubles he tries hard to avoid getting involved with low life Benny, and his dodgy money making schemes, but doesn’t manage to succeed. The only silver lining in this hellish scenario is his developing relationship with Stella, and his pal Anton who obviously cares for him and literally does have his back. I enjoyed his little sister Remy too. The scene in which his sister inadvertently gets involved and Gabe goes into big brother panic mode is one of my favourite parts of the book.

The humour is a bit of a double edged sword in Bad Bones because at times this distracts from the potential scary/creepiness of the storyline. This is particularly true with the character of Rafael who comes across as being a bit over the top, an almost stereotypical baddy. Somehow I just couldn’t take Rafael seriously, at times he just seemed to be verging on ridiculousness.

Of all the characters the main protagonist Gabe is the most well defined, a regular kid who wants to make things better for his family. He tries his best to do what’s right. Stella, the love interest in the novel seems a bit too goodie goodie to be true. What girl would hang around under such circumstances? Does she love to live dangerously or perhaps have some kind of a death wish? As far as Stella is concerned I kept on expecting some kind of plot twist but that never happened. I was really hoping that she was the baddy’s sidekick but no such luck! She’s a bit too good to be true. Anton, Gabe’s best friend appears in various cameo roles predominantly at the beginning of the novel and then at the end. He seems very noble, and worthy of the title best friend, but his part in the story possibly could have been developed more. The other character that deserves a mention is Father Simon, Father Simon is pretty cool, he reminded me of the cool dude that married me!! Kind of has hidden aspects to his character does Father Simon, he even possesses a firearm, now that’s all I’m going to say about him!

So mixed feelings about Bad Bones. Had me giggling, enjoying the M & M moments, imagining tucking into those chocolate peanuts before fighting off evil. But, if you enjoy being scared out of your skin and bones then this one is not that scary compared with the other #redeye books that I’ve read up to now. There are moments of scariness but it is more like a sort of Scooby Doo of the Horror book world, which suited me quite well as I’m a bit of a wimp but probably wouldn’t be as popular with the die hard horror fans. So a good choice for novice horror readers who perhaps want a laugh, some fun, likeable characters and a touch of horror thrown in for good measure.

My rating:

3 stars.

If Rafael had been portrayed as a more scary character this book would have climbed the star levels, but as it is, it stays at around the 3 star level.

Have you read Bad Bones or any of the other books in the #redeye series from Stripes Publishing? If so, please do comment and let me know what you think.

Links:

http://grahammarks.net/

http://talesofyesterday.co.uk/2015/09/tales-post-red-eye-read-along-october-2015/

http://talesofyesterday.co.uk/2015/05/qa-with-graham-marks/

doyareadme.tumblr.com

Bye for now,

Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx

Help me Choose Musiville’s Cover

Help Nicholas Rossis choose a book cover for Musiville.

Nicholas C. Rossis

When I revealed Musiville’s book cover the other day, you were all so sweet about it and seemed to enjoy it. However, John Howell’s comment about how he liked Pandiano made me think.

You see, that problem I’m having is that Maraceros, the protagonist, is not book cover material, as he looks like a misshapen smudge when small. That’s why I picked Trumpephant instead.

The options I have, as I see it, are:

Use Maraceros, ignoring the smudge factor.
Use any photogenic, animal for the cover – say Trumpephant or Pandiano.
Use a number of animals to highlight the “village” thing.

So, please allow me to present these options in all their glory. Any feedback will be much appreciated!

To help you vote, here’s a small poll:

View original post

3 Day Quote Challenge: Day 3

I have been tagged by Janice who blogs at On the land to participate in the ‘3 Days, 3 Quotes Challenge’.

Many thanks to Janice for inviting me to participate in this challenge. I have thoroughly enjoyed taking part.

Janice blogs about our world and how important it is to care and nourish it: Caring About Our World; Reflecting About Life. She hopes to encourage us to move towards a cleaner, more sustainable future and away from the worst consequences of climate change.

If you pop over to Janice’s blog you will get a sense of just how passionately she feels about this wonderful world in which we live: https://ontheland.wordpress.com/2015/10/14/3-days-3-quotes-challenge-thich-nhat-hanh-love-letter-to-the-earth-bewow-writers-quote-Wednesday/

The rules for the 3 Days, 3 Quotes Challenge:

1. Thank the blogger, who nominated you.

2. Share one new quote on three consecutive days on your blog. They can be from anywhere, anyone, or anything that inspires you… Which means, it can be from yourself, too!

3. On each of the three days, nominate 3 more bloggers to carry on this mission impossible endeavor (if they dare!).

So for my final day I’m considering a much sought after emotion: happiness.

What is happiness? Can I attempt to write a quote about happiness, in a few select words?

Here’s my quote:

Happiness is simply beautiful unforgettable moments captured and shared with like minded individuals, family and friends, a life truly lived.

Perhaps it is easy to see why I have used the word shared in my quote, because as humans we have a need to love and to be loved. But why would I consider adding captured? My answer lies in the very fleeting nature of life itself, and the fact that life is often interrupted by outside influences which bombard, confuse and distract us. So we have to capture those wonderful fleeting experiences while we can!

In those moments when I am doing Tai Chi, I can sometimes drift into a state of blissful harmony. It is a shared moment, as the hall is full of other people doing Tai Chi too. Unfortunately it doesn’t always happen, if I am feeling particularly stressed before I start a class it can be difficult to achieve. Equally it can be extremely hard to master if I have drank too much stimulating coffee beforehand too! But sometimes I do manage to get into the Tai Chi zone. When this happens it is marvellous but it can have unexpected effects. Sometimes I am so relaxed after Tai Chi that I find it difficult to return to focusing on the everyday things that I need to do! The other day I was reversing out of the car park after a Tai Chi session and I nearly had an accident, I didn’t notice the car behind me backing out! So perhaps, taking a moment to re-focus is a good idea after Tai Chi, as it works on a much deeper level than normal exercise, if you do it right! I’ve been practising Tai Chi for eight years, and I am now at Continuing level. Often I find myself wanting to fall asleep after two hours of Tai Chi, it must be my bodies way of saying it wants to shut down and re-balance itself. This is also true if you go for an Aromatherapy massage, or a holistic treatment, often you feel in need of a pampering rest afterwards, and a big glass or two of detoxing water doesn’t go a amiss.

Given that it is increasingly difficult to turn off and relax in this modern world in which we find ourselves, we could all benefit enormously from finding some personal way of capturing those quiet moments of reflection and Tai Chi is my way of doing that, a bit of walking meditation if you like, a dance of the soul. A difficult dance of the soul to learn, there are one hundred and eight moves but when you do master it, it’s well worth the effort! But for everyone their quiet meditation, or blissful moment can be different, as individuals we must all find our own dance of the soul that is perfect for us.

Coming full circle is my next question.

What inspired this post? It all began with Gandhi’s simple but thought provoking quote about the nature of happiness:

Happiness is when what you think,

what you say,

and what you do are in harmony.

Gandhi

Happiness is not fame and fortune, popularity, or materialism it is simply being a much simpler person, stripping back expectations perhaps, and living in harmony.

So to finish the 3 day 3 quote challenge I’ve written a humorous haiku inspired by Gandhi’s words:

My nominees:

For the last day I’m not going to nominate anyone in particular. I’m going to break the rules a bit, because I went to Tai Chi yesterday and I slept like a log, so I’m still in fuzzy brain mode and sometimes rules can be a bit restrictive! Anyone who would like to take part, please do join in!

Or just come and chat and tell us your perfect way to find a moment’s happiness.

Hope you liked my final day’s quote and my haiku too!!

Bye for now,

Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx

3 Day 3 Quote Challenge: Day 2

I have been tagged by Janice who blogs at On the land to participate in the ‘3 Days, 3 Quotes Challenge’. Many thanks to Janice for inviting me to participate in this challenge. Janice blogs about our world and how important it is to care and nourish it: Caring About Our World; Reflecting About Life. She hopes to encourage us to move towards a cleaner, more sustainable future and away from the worst consequences of climate change.

Here’s a link to her awesome blog: https://ontheland.wordpress.com/2015/10/14/3-days-3-quotes-challenge-thich-nhat-hanh-love-letter-to-the-earth-bewow-writers-quote-Wednesday/

The rules for the 3 Days, 3 Quotes Challenge:

1. Thank the blogger, who nominated you.

2. Share one new quote on three consecutive days on your blog. They can be from anywhere, anyone, or anything that inspires you… Which means, it can be from yourself, too!

3. On each of the three days, nominate 3 more bloggers to carry on this mission impossible endeavor (if they dare!).

So my quote today is about love. I decided to edit one of my photos of this pathway in a park and add this fabulous quote from Maya Angelou that caught my eye, its simple message is so humorous and true!!

Love is like a virus.

It can happen to anybody at any time.

Maya Angelou

Love is a bit of a pathway, a route you either choose to take or not, so that’s why I chose this particular photo to go with Maya Angelou’s quote.

I’ve added more photography on my Instagram account now, do pop by and see: https://instagram.com/kyrosmagica/

If I had to write a haiku about love it would go something like this:

Here are my nominees if you’d like to take part!

My nominees:

http://cindyknoke.com/

http://www.mybookishlife.com/

https://booksandbakes1.wordpress.com/

Hope you enjoyed today’s quote, and my buzzy bee haiku, try not to catch a nasty love virus unless you want to!!

Bye for now,

Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx

3 Days 3 Quotes Challenge, Writer’s Quote Wednesday and BeWoW

I have been tagged by Janice who blogs at On the land to participate in the ‘3 Days, 3 Quotes Challenge’. Many thanks to Janice for inviting me to participate in this fun challenge. Janice blogs about our world and how important it is to care and nourish it: Caring About Our World; Reflecting About Life. She hopes to encourage us to move towards a cleaner, more sustainable future and away from the worst consequences of climate change.

Here’s a link to her blog, do pop over and support this wonderful world we live in by visiting her blog: https://ontheland.wordpress.com/

The rules for the 3 Days, 3 Quotes Challenge:

1. Thank the blogger, who nominated you.

2. Share one new quote on three consecutive days on your blog. They can be from anywhere, anyone, or anything that inspires you… Which means, it can be from yourself, too!

3. On each of the three days, nominate 3 more bloggers to carry on this mission impossible endeavor (if they dare!).

I’ve decided to join in three activities in one blog post this Wednesday:

Janice’s 3 day 3 quote challenge: https://ontheland.wordpress.com/2015/10/14/3-days-3-quotes-challenge-thich-nhat-hanh-love-letter-to-the-earth-bewow-writers-quote-wednesday/

Colleen’s Writer’s Quote Wednesday. An open invitation to join in some quote sharing fun: http://silverthreading.com/2015/10/21/writers-quote-wednesday-the-winds-of-change-rumi/

Ronovan’s BeWoW, in which he suggests we consider what brings cheer to our lives, his prompt is ” A Cheer Full Life, ” and he quotes Thomas Carlyle, so do take a look at his blog and see this wonderfully inspiring quote. What cheers me up is staying as young at heart for as long as possible, so that’s my BeWoW suggestion, whatever you do don’t turn into a grumpy old misery guts! Resist it! Do whatever it takes to keep yourself fit, happy and healthy. Be Wonderful This Wednesday, and Thursday, and Friday, keep it up for as long as you can! https://ronovanwrites.wordpress.com/2015/10/20/bewow-writers-quote-wednesday-is-tomorrow/

so with all these challenges I had to come up with something new so what better way than to have a go at writing my own quote? So with autumn in mind I came up with us, words only:

I am in the autumn of my life, winter is still to come. In my final season I will resist approaching age. The shell of my body will crumple, but I will continue to live with a full heart. Wrinkles will be a snapshot of life’s colourful memories forever imprinted in the crisp reds, yellows and golds of the leaves of time.

Marje @ Kyrosmagica.

My autumnal quote on the theme of getting older has been inspired by the following Mark Twain quote:

“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”

What a gem!

Mark Twain’s quote sums up how I feel. We should try to respond to the aging process by fighting against getting older, embracing each day with a happy heart and don’t spend too much time worrying, just be thankful that you are living, loving, and breathing in the beauty of each new day in this wonderful world that we live in. Not everyone is as fortunate, so enjoy those birthdays, even if they seem to be coming faster than they used to !! One day I hope to be one of those grannies who still thinks that everyone fancies her, who stands up on the swings, and lives life to the full. Yes I’m going to be an embarrassingly cheerful, unstoppable Grannie!!!

I hope so anyway…… Just like my mother in law, she’s always been full of life and I do admire that about her. She’s 89, and still going strong. Oh, and my Great Grandfather was still walking miles at the ripe old age of 90, and flirting with the ladies, and my dad is still pretty fit and he is in his eighties! So I’m modelling my future on these inspiring elderly characters. I have plans to be a glamorous Grannie! Just not anytime soon….

My nominees to take part in the 3 day 3 quote Challenge, if they would like to are:

http://dreambigdreamoften.co/

http://michelleclementsjames.com/

http://crazychinesefamily.com/

I hope you liked my quotes. Please do feel free to comment.

Bye for now,

Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx

I will be taking a bit of a blogging break in November, to coincide with Nanowrimo, and possibly December to concentrate on my writing, and getting my manuscript Krystallos ready for publication. More about that soon……

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Marje @ Kyrosmagica.

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