Reblog of an opportunity to get involved with an interview series via Sally Cronin, Smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com
The Versatile Blogger Award
Thank you so much to Scars Tears and Training Bras for nominating me for The Versatile Blogger Award. So without further ado, I’m delighted to accept this award. I do like to try to be versatile so this means a lot. Thank you too to Elizabeth Gracie https://elizabethgracie.wordpress.com for the lovely Versatile Blogger Award badge.
Here are the rules of the Versatile Blogger Award:
1- give the name link of the blogger who nominated you ( throw in a thank you if you’d like to! 🙂 )
Thank you so much to: https://scarstearsandtrainingbras.wordpress.com/2015/04/28/versatile-blog-award-and-the-creative-blogger-award-please-read-you-may-have-been-nominated/comment-page-1/#comment-749
2- share 7 facts about yourself
1. It took me a heck of a long time to pass my driving test, it’s quite embarrassing really, but I got there in the end. Now, I consider myself to be quite a good driver, but I still have terrible trouble parking.
2. I used to be very shy as a teenager, but now I am far more adventurous, even though intrinsically I am still shy at heart.
3. I like slow activities, I’m a bit of a tortoise really, so Tai Chi, Yoga, Pilates, Swimming, these are the kind of activities I enjoy. I tried running once, but ended up jogging a bit, stopped as I was panting, and then jogged some more. A curious dog started barking at me, so that was that, no more jogging. I just pretend that I’m power walking, and wear those special work-out trainers that exercise your muscles for you.
4. I love creative pastimes, writing, photography, and baking are my three favourites. I love cakes! I’d love to paint and draw but don’t have a natural talent that way. C’est dommage! But I have heard you can learn so who knows ……………..
5. I went to a Theatre Workshop one time, and learnt all about writing a play, acting and directing in it. It was a blast, and was definitely something that I wouldn’t have had the confidence to do when I was younger. It was an exhilarating, but exhausting experience. I don’t think I’m cut out to be an actress. Maybe one day I might explore writing plays but for the moment, I’m sticking to book reviewing, blogging, and writing novels.
6. I can’t cook fish, I overcook it, but I make a mean stir fry or a wicked curry. I love to cook spicy food!
7. I love the changing seasons of summer, spring, and the autumn, but I wish the winter was shorter, a day or two would be enough. I can’t stand the cold, and I hate the dark nights. I have terrible circulation in my hands, and my face puckers like the skin of an old, withered, orange. I age in the cold! I’m not joking! So, one day before my orange peel skin has become a permanent disfiguring feature, I would like to live abroad in the warmth of the sun.
3- nominate 15 blogs to do the same!
Well this was quite tricky because some bloggers who I was thinking of for this award don’t accept awards, some like https://sourcererblog.wordpress.com/ are award-neutral. Also because I have been nominated for awards before I wanted to find ‘new’ worthy blogs to nominate. On top of this there are several blogs that I was thinking of nominating, several of which are overflowing with awards, so I thought, with a few exceptions, that I’d try to focus on blogs that didn’t quite fall into these categories. This has taken me some time to deliberate.
Here is my list of Versatile bloggers, some of which are blogs that I have been lucky to discover recently.
1. Amy’s the World is A Book: https://shareandconnect.wordpress.com/
“The world is a book, and those who don’t travel only read one page.” ― Saint Augustine
2. Meredith’s musings: http://meredithlbl.com/page/2/
“Writing from the heart.”
3. The Aran Artisan: http://thearanartisan.com/
“Making a living by creating every aspect and ingredient of daily life.”
4. Precinct 1313: https://precinct1313.wordpress.com/
‘Comic books, horror movies, Video games, oh my!”
5. Mad Meandering Me: https://madmeanderingme.wordpress.com/
“Going with the flow of life.”
6. Project Prose: https://projectprose.wordpress.com/2015/04/28/life-so-brief-and-short/
“Exploration through writing, photography and art”
7. Totally Inspired Mind: https://totallyinspiredpc.wordpress.com/
“Where Positive Minds Congregate”
8. Louise’s Baby Gates Down: http://babygatesdown.com/
“Gave birth. Totally transcendent. Moving on…”
9. Smriti D. Isaac’s Blog: https://smritidisaac.wordpress.com/
“Creating, collecting, and sharing thoughts and ideas. And learning along the way.”
10.Dear Kitty Some Blog: https://dearkitty1.wordpress.com
“On animals, peace and war, science, social justice, women’s issues, arts, and much more.”
11. The Belle Jar: http://bellejar.ca/
“Let me live, love and say it well in good sentences.” – Sylvia Plath
12. Almost Open Book http://almostopenbook.com/
“living one story at a time”
13. Gingers Grocery: https://ginjuh.wordpress.com/
Gingers grocery. “Come in and Browse.”
14. Cameron Karsten’s Imaginarium: https://cameronkarsten.wordpress.com/
“Exploration with Culture”
15. The Ferkel: http://theferkel.co.uk/
‘Tis funny.’
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My Friday Post – Book Beginnings and The Friday 56 Meme
BOOK BEGINNINGS by Rose City Reader: http://www.rosecityreader.com/
https://www.facebook.com/RoseCityReader
You would have searched a long time for the sort of winding lane or tranquil meadow for which England later became celebrated. There were instead miles of desolate, uncultivated land; here and there rough-hewn paths over craggy hills or bleak moorland.
THE FRIDAY 56 MEME
I came across The Friday 56 Meme via Caffeine and Books, https://caffeineandbooks42.wordpress.com/
It is a weekly meme hosted by 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.
The blaze illuminated some faces sharply, while leaving others in shadow, but after a time, Axl came to the conclusion that these people were all waiting, in a state of some anxiety, for some-one or something to emerge from the timber hall to the left of the fire.
Can you guess which book these words are from? It’s The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro, which I am currently reading for the book club I am a member of here in Cambridge, more to come about The Buried Giant soon.
Goodreads Synopsis :
You’ve long set your heart against it, Axl, I know. But it’s time now to think on it anew. There’s a journey we must go on, and no more delay…”
The Buried Giant begins as a couple set off across a troubled land of mist and rain in the hope of finding a son they have not seen in years.
Sometimes savage, often intensely moving, Kazuo Ishiguro’s first novel in nearly a decade is about lost memories, love, revenge, and war.
Author Information:
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Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge #42 Love & Last
RonovanWrites Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt Challenge #42 Love&Last
This week Ronovan Writes Haiku Prompt Challenge are the words Love and Last, here’s my two haikus for the week:
Love’s careless dreamers
So lets dream happily
Will it last who knows?
Love’s Rubik’s Cube sings
Tempting passion’s puzzling song
Jigsaw Love Pieces
© Marjorie Mallon 2015 – aka, Kyrosmagica.
Words good or bad, are my very own!
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Hope – A Story in Words and Photography
This week I am taking part in Jamie’s Week 17 Photo Challenge: Hope
Here’s the link to her blog: https://bluedaisyz.wordpress.com/
I found out about the weekly photo challenge via Melissa’s lovely blog The Aran Artisan: http://thearanartisan.com/
The photos are all taken by me in my local Country park which is looking particularly lovely at the moment, hope you enjoy them. Here’s the entrance that I use quite often, and below the photo is the beginning of my little story HOPE, inspired by these thought provoking images.
HOPE
The open gateway beckons like a warm welcome yet it sits in dappled shadows as if mocking me. My troubled thoughts are silent, yet the voice of my heart pounds, a flurry of quiet spasms grips my chest, tightening with each breath that I take. The lunchtime joggers run past, hard and fast, unaware that my breathing is competing with the pace of their laboured breaths in an unacknowledged contest.
I reach the first tiny viewing platform. The fluffy clouds float by on a gentle breeze as if trying to reassure me, doing their best to alleviate my earlier anxiety. The reflection of their inverted shapes slip into the water, a childlike candy floss creation, of delicate hope lifting my rising fear.
Then as I progress further, a darkened branch lays in wait for the unsuspecting visitor, threatening the tranquil scene. It claws reach out, a trap ready to close around its poor, unfortunate, next victim. It refuses to touch the man-made lake, nor does it rest, or disturb the seamless surface of the water. It is as if the trap-like branch is independent of any control.
The fluffy clouds now look like iceberg reflections, but even this does not seem likely, as lush green pond vegetation escape the water’s surface near them, promising a possibility, the likelihood of fresh hope. To my left I see a fragile, flowering branch.
I turn a corner and the cloud all but disappears, the sky so blue, and the scene so tranquil that I gasp in surprise.
I walk on by and find that I had been too hasty, I have been tricked, the clouds refuse to let me go. The dark approaching shadow clings to the right of my viewpoint, joining in with the clouds refusal, a reminder that all has not yet been spoken.
It stretches its shadowy fingers into my pathway creating a dappled carpet to guide me but I stand back, hesitating.
The clouds begin to spill into the water once again, their substance lost in their liquid home, they disperse like frightened suggestions. I stare at my phone as if it is an enemy. For a moment I am tempted to drop the phone into the water, to let it sink, so I do not have to confront this moment, but instead I clutch the phone to me and continue on my way.
I catch the sweet smell of flowers drifting from the sensory garden. Their aroma is light, almost imperceptible. Snatches of blue sky peek out amongst the blooms, like stolen handkerchiefs, waving, waiting for a conclusion. I continue to the Visitor’s centre, a haven full of thirsty, hungry strangers, unconcerned, and unaware, of my rising anxiety.
The stairs leading up to the viewing point are marred with the noughts and crosses of uncertain shadows, but no matter they are only playing a game to confuse me.
Then and only then do I become aware of the full view of the lake. It comes to greet me with a panorama of endless hope. Its pink and white fluffy clouds smile, reassuring me that I am not to worry, all will be well. At last, I have the courage to type in the number. It rings, and rings, and then at last my mother answers. She is not expecting me to ring right now. She tells me about her hospital appointment, “Yes, it is not the worst news, but it is not the best, I will need an operation, but thankfully my bloods do not suggest cancer.” The relief floods through me, like a thunderous waterfall, tempered by my disquiet at the word, surgery. I relax a little as I hear her next words. “The doctor asked me if I would mind having students present at the operation.” I hear a faint smile in her voice as she says, “How was I to mind when I wouldn’t even know they are there?”
Bye for now!
Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx
© Marjorie Mallon 2015 – aka, Kyrosmagica.
Words and photos, good or bad, are my very own!
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More Websites and Links for Book worms, Bloggers and Writers
Soon, on Tuesday 5th of May, there is to be a Writers’ resources evening at Cambridge Writers, the group that I am a member of, so with this in mind, I thought I would do a little warm up, and type up some helpful website links for Writers, Bloggers and Book Worms.
http://www.cambridgewriters.net/
I have been gathering the details of this list for some time so hope that it will be a useful resource.
So to kick it off my first discovery was Wasafari, who are they you might ask?
“Wasafiri is Britain’s premier magazine for international contemporary writing. Published quarterly, it has established a distinctive reputation for promoting work by new and established voices across the globe.”
Book review/Bookish sites:
Netgalley https://www.netgalley.com/
Bookbridgr http://www.bookbridgr.com/
and Lovereading.co.uk http://www.lovereading.co.uk/
Read books for free: https://storycartel.com/search
Author’s resources:
Tips for authors on how to make book trailers: https://effrosinimoss.wordpress.com/2013/12/02/tips-for-authors-book-trailer-made-easy/
Tips on writing book blurbs, they may be short but it doesn’t mean they’re easy to write! http://www.terrytyler59.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/book-blurbs-as-hard-as-writing-book.tml
How to protect yourself – editing clauses in publishing contracts. http://accrispin.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/editing-clauses-in-publishing-contracts.html
Features written by or about female writers.https://thewritesofwoman.wordpress.com/2015/02/01/in-the-media-25th-january-1st-february-2015/
Excellent website for all writerly things including author/agent interviews, writing, and self-editing advice: talltalesandshortstories.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/agent-interview-jenny-savill-at-andrew.html
“A new home for your short fiction.” http://inkins.com/
http://irenewaters19.com/2015/03/24/99-word-flash-fiction/
http://alanamunroauthor.com/about runs support a writer on google.
Writers links via no wasted ink. http://nowastedink.com/2015/03/02/no-wasted-ink-writers-links-161/
https://tycobbsteeth.wordpress.com/2015/03/27/book-marketing-tools-1/
“World Literary Cafe is a multi-faceted community that promotes everyone in the literary realm, from readers to authors, editors, reviewers, and author services.” http://worldliterarycafe.com/content/support-wlc-authors
A book about writing, funding, crowd-sourcing, editing, sales, file conversion, guerrilla marketing, social media, blogging, and reviewers via Jan Moran writes. http://www.janmoranwrites.com/2012/12/30/book-review-ape-by-guy-kawasaki-and-shawn-welch-for-authors-publishers-and-entrepreneurs/
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement. http://thestoryreadingapeblog.com/2015/03/03/congratulations-authors-one-battle-won-against-copyright-infringement-update/
Writer’s advisory services
There are a lot out there but which to recommend? I’ve heard good things about these two:
Hilary Johnson Authors Advisory service http://www.hilaryjohnson.com/index.html
Cornerstones who have their very own publishing house http://threeharespublishing.com/#latest-work, and have written a self help guide, Write a blockbuster and get it published, authored jointly by Helen Corner and Lee Weatherly, “it offers not simply a guide to writing a novel, but an introduction to writing a plot-based, action-focused blockbuster.” http://cornerstones.co.uk/
Poetry Enthusiasts:
I’ve just recently rediscovered my love of poetry and with this in mind I would highly recommend joining in with Ron’s Weekly Haiku prompt challenge. It’s fun, and gets the old creative juices flowing on a weekly basis and that can only be a good thing! Ron has an excellent blog overflowing with all sorts of interesting articles so he’s certainly one to follow.
Haiku prompt challenge: https://ronovanwrites.wordpress.com/category/haiku-prompt-challenge/
Wikihow to write a Haiku poem. http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Haiku-Poem
What is Haiku, and how to write it. http://toyomasu.com/haiku/
Here’s his helpful link about merging blogs: https://ronovanwrites.wordpress.com/2015/03/23/how-merge-blogs/
Artists and Illustrators:
Marketing resources for artists. http://artistmarketingresources.com/about/
Using Corel suite instead of Adobe for illustrators: http://oreosandspiltmilk.com/2015/02/17/food-illustration-ramen/
Finding Agents and Publishers
Switch your torch light on, don your spy costume, now on to the nasty business of finding agents, and publishers. This is when life becomes complicated, the writing is easy in comparison, I know I’m in this process and it seems to be a never ending slog of decisions, (which is utterly painful for someone like me who tends to be indecisive,) waiting, trying again, waiting. So with that in mind here are some resources to help my fellow wannabe authors out there who may be struggling like me to find a publisher or an agent. Never fear, help is at hand. Good luck!
List of agents and editors.
https://loutreleaven.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/uk-literary-agents-for-childrens-books/
https://mswlparagraph.wordpress.com/agents-editors/
The Writer’s and Artists’s Yearbook is a must have ISBN 9781408192450. They have an excellent site: https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/
Another way to approach agents is to meet them in person. There are many events which are organised with this in mind, conferences, workshops and talks are all good opportunities to meet agents and tell them about your story, so have a look for those – locally in the UK there is the Norwich Writers Centre http://www.writerscentrenorwich.org.uk/ and plenty will come up from a google search on the internet.
SCBWI do some, too. Who are SCBWI? They are The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators: https://www.scbwi.org/ The Writers and Artists also hold events: https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/events, the next hook an agent event is in London, in June: https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/events/how-to-hook-an-agent-children-s-fiction
http://www.sharonbayliss.com/2012/04/list-of-publishers-seeking-submissions.html
How to pitch to publishers: http://www.karentyrrell.com/pitch-publishers/
http://www.davidficklingbooks.com/Submissions.php – David Fickling Books are opening up submissions in a competition type style event from May 5th to May 19th.
Self Publishing:
Guide to self publishing and promoting, click on the tab on the top left section of author E. Rawls blog, there are all sorts of writing tips too as well as haikus, book reviews, blog hops, author interviews. https://rawlse.wordpress.com/
Marketing:
http://www.derekhaines.ch/justpublishing/does-twitter-sell-ebooks/
Increase your blog traffic: http://www.molly-greene.com/increase-blog-traffic-subscribers-8-tips/
THIS BLOG claims no credit for any images posted on this site unless otherwise noted. Images on this blog are copyright to its respectful owners. If there is an image appearing on this blog that belongs to you and you do not wish for it to appear on this site, please contact or e-mail me with a link to said image and it will be promptly removed.
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My Kyrosmagica Review of The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson
Goodreads synopsis:
Two boys. Two secrets.
David Piper has always been an outsider. His parents think he’s gay. The school bully thinks he’s a freak. Only his two best friends know the real truth – David wants to be a girl.
On the first day at his new school Leo Denton has one goal – to be invisible. Attracting the attention of the most beautiful girl in year eleven is definitely not part of that plan.
When Leo stands up for David in a fight, an unlikely friendship forms. But things are about to get messy. Because at Eden Park School secrets have a funny habit of not staying secret for long…
Cambridge Literary Festival
I am so pleased that I decided to go to hear Lisa Williamson at the Cambridge Literary Festival talking about The Art of Being Normal. If I hadn’t maybe I would not have discovered her book and that would have been a terrible shame. It was a fascinating talk, and I met her briefly afterwards at her book signing. More details of this are on this blog under the heading Author Interviews and Talks, April 19th, 2015, so do please take a look.
My review:
This is without any doubt one of my favourite books. It made me cry, it made me smile, it made me laugh, it made me frown, it made me want to punch Harry the school bully when he calls David “freak show.” Thank goodness Lisa Williamson gave David the guts to demonstrate that he isn’t a complete pushover. He retaliates calling Harry’s girlfriend “Bubble Brain.” Way to go!
A veritable rainbow of emotions flickered through me as I read The Art of Being Normal. I love the main characters in the book, David and Leo. All the subsidiary characters are exceptionally well crafted and believable too.
Lisa Williamson does an amazing job of creating a sense of the warmth and cosiness in David’s family life which is then artfully contrasted with Leo’s “dilapidated” council estate, in Cloverdale. The two boys develop an unlikely, and in Leo’s sense unwilling relationship. At first Leo is reluctant to get involved with anyone, this is his way of coping, his self-protection mechanism. We learn that he has been expelled from Cloverdale school. When Leo’s sister mentions the word “normal” he goes into an internal verbal tirade. Here’s some short quotes from the tirade: “I’ve spent my whole life being told I’m the complete opposite of ‘normal’. “Normal. I say it over and over again as I pace up and down…”
Cloverdale has such a “hard” reputation that all the kids at his new “posh” school Eden Park think he is a tough nut. But this is just a veneer, Leo has a secret, and so has David, and ultimately this is what will draw the two of them together.
The secrets in Eden Park School, and in the lives of these two families are poised on a precarious precipice edge, waiting for that moment when they cannot be contained any more and have to be released into the world. Of course when David reveals his true self, the effect is potent, painful, irreversible and life changing.
This is without doubt a remarkable debut from Lisa Williamson. As soon as I started reading The art of Being Normal I was struck by the voice of the novel. The reader becomes immersed in Lisa’s words because I do believe that Lisa really cares about Transgender kids and this empathy shines out in her writing. When I reached the halfway mark I wondered if the novel had more to give, would it progress at the same pace or would it turn up a notch or two? Well I wasn’t disappointed, the narrative cranked up and the revelations, particularly David’s, were such tear jerkers. Yes I was crying like a baby! His family’s response was just so heart-warming, you just have to read this book! Leo’s family life had an unexpected revelation about his mother too that I just didn’t see coming. David’s best friends Essie and Felix, are such a cute couple and I love how they do everything they can to make David feel special.
The art of being normal tackles so many issues that are not just solely relatable to the experience of Transgender kids, bullying, friendship, family, life’s difficulties growing up, and life’s hard knocks, these are all there for everyone to relate to.
The writing is so spot on, the dialogue is so natural, the settings are interesting and novel. I particularly enjoyed how Lisa Williamson set some of the scenes of the book in a disused swimming pool, culminating “in the very first Alternative Eden Park Christmas Ball,” the liberating but heart-breaking trip to Tripton-on-Sea, the wonderful time in Tripton’s bingo hall and pub these were just some of the many highlights for me.
My rating:
A 5 star read. Highly recommended for readers of Young Adult, Contemporary, and Glbt.
Favourite quote:
“Besides,” Dad says, “who wants to be normal anyway? Fancy that on your gravestone. ” Here lies so-and-so. They were entirely normal.”
I smile. But I can tell he’s putting on a brave face with all the fake jolliness. It reminds me of when his mum died and he was all lively and together at the wake, making jokes and filling up everyone’s drinks, and later I overheard him crying alone in the bathroom.”
Have you read The Art of Being Normal? Do comment I’d love to hear from you.
Bye for now,
Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx
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How To Edit Before You Submit Your Manuscript To An Editor
Excellent advice about editing your manuscript from A Knife and A Quill.
Rodney Jones, author of The Sun, The Moon, and Maybe the Trains (Red Adept Publishing)
As is true with anything, editing skills improve with experience. The first novel I wrote, I read over about twenty times, changing this word and that, cleaning, tightening, strengthening sentences and paragraphs until I arrived at a point where I thought it was ready to send out. I took the route of seeking an agent. I sent out a couple dozen queries and sample chapters, and in return received an equal number of impersonal rejections. I went back to my MS, took a hard, critical look at it, concluded that the entire plot structure was wrong, so then reorganized it, did another dozen read-through-edits, resubmitted it to a different group of agents and was rewarded with more rejection. I continued this process, spending close…
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Quote of the Day: Dumbledore
Fantastic Quote of The Day. Reblogged via The Midnight Station.
Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if one remembers to turn on the light – Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter, J.K.Rowling)
(Image: Pinterest)
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Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Challenge #41
RonovanWrites Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt Challenge #41 Want&Tatters
Another fine prompt from Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku prompt challenge.
This time I thought I’d dedicate my Haiku to the 150th Anniversary of The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland so here goes:
Bronze Alice
Bronze New York Alice
She wants Wonderland dreaming
Dreams tatter like cards
For some reason I found this week’s haiku especially hard, the words wants and tatters were alluding me somewhat but anyway had a go. Tried my best.
© Marjorie Mallon 2015 – aka, Kyrosmagica.
Words good or bad, are my very own!
Links:
http://www.centralparknyc.org/things-to-see-and-do/attractions/alice-in-wonderland.html
http://lewiscarrollresources.net/2015/
Fantastic illustrations on this site: http://www.150alice.com/about/
THIS BLOG claims no credit for any images posted on this site unless otherwise noted. Images on this blog are copyright to its respectful owners. If there is an image appearing on this blog that belongs to you and you do not wish for it to appear on this site, please contact or e-mail me with a link to said image and it will be promptly removed.
M J Mallon YA Author and Poet 