M J Mallon YA Author and Poet

I have recently launched a book of poetry, together with fellow South African, Kim Blades. In celebration of this achievement which I have been working on for the past five years, I have decided to host a Poetry Readathon on my blog starting on 1 December 2018 and ending on 15 January 2019.

Part 1 of the Poetry Readathon will comprise of reading and reviewing poetry books. I have selected eight books below for you to choose from if you would like to participate.  You can link to my post and I will share your review on my blog and to my Facebook poetry sharing page as well as other social media.

Part 2 of the Poetry Readathon will comprise posts introducing you to some of the poetry bloggers who don’t have books but who write wonderful poetry and share it on their blogs. If you are a poetry blogger and…

Today’s the day! The Worst Noel is out for the whole world to read (and hopefully they will)!

If you subscribe to my (mostly) monthly newsletter, you may remember that I promised a behind-the-scenes look at the book, and I’ve chosen to share a couple things about the book that most people won’t know.

First, the book is dedicated to Nana. I don’t usually explain my dedications unless someone asks, but for this one I’ve decided to tell you a little bit about Nana.

My maternal grandmother, Nana passed away in 2008. She was married for almost 65 years to my grandfather (whom I posted about in 2016–you can read that post here). Christmas was her favorite holiday and so it seemed natural to dedicate this book to her. The angel who sits atop our Christmas tree every year was a gift from Nana, so it’s nice to have…

Major John McCrae .

by John McCrae, May 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Inspiration for “In Flanders Fields”

During the early days of the Second Battle of Ypres a young Canadian artillery officer, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, was killed on 2^nd May, 1915 in the gun positions near Ypres. He was a friend of…