Coronavirus #Self-Care #Daughters #Nails #Beauty #Authors #Bloggers #Promos #Montreal #Travel #Dreams #Disturbing

Last year in May my daughters and I went to Montreal and treated ourselves to salon nail gels.

So, we thought as we’re in Lockdown why not do it this at home instead? We clubbed together to buy a gel nail set from Amazon complete with nail gel polish, base, and top coat.

Saturday 4th April we cheered ourselves up, by painting our nails.

It wasn’t quite salon luxury – I donned the necessary hygiene accessories: gloves, disinfectant wipes to clean, a fresh sheet of newspaper for each person, etc, and we were ready to go. (Don’t do this at home if anyone is ill – i.e. has a cough, sore throat or any symptoms of Coronavirus, or if you are at high risk of getting the virus, or have serious underlying health conditions.)

I pretended I was a professional! And we had a good laugh. We even joked with my hubby that he could have a go to but he declined.

When it came to my turn I chose a neon colour, I love jazzy nail shades. Inadvertently, I chose the same brightness of colour I had last year in Montreal, though the shade this time is more pink/red than pink/purple! My eldest daughter went for red and my youngest for a pink, plus she decided to paint one nail on each hand in glitter purple.

They turned out really well and took ages to do, so it’s a great way to spend time!

Poor hubby felt a bit left out. He disappeared in the garden with earphones to listen to music but when he saw our nails he said he thought they were very nice. And, he even said my longer hair, (which I normally get cut every 6 weeks,) suited me.

Later on I skyped mum and dad which really cheered me up too. My dad always says the nicest things – I think he thinks I’m perfect! Lol, so if I ever need a boost to my ego all I need is a five minute chat with him. Mum and dad are both staying fairly cheerful considering everything. Bless them.

Then…

A Frightening Dream

Last night I had the most frightening dream. I was on campus somewhere, (a mature student!) and these three young lads terrorised me, (one was only fifteen,) as I walked home one night, They taunted me with sexual innuendos and followed me all the way to my bus stop. Then they sat near me on the bus home. I was terrified that they were planning to get off at the same stop as me. By chance a friend of mine joined me on the bus, and they started chatting to her as if everything was normal. I asked her to move with me to the back of the bus, so I could tell her what happened without them hearing. She seemed a bit surprised by my request but did as I asked. As soon as we were seated I explained what had happened – how they had been suggestive, threatening and lewd. She was shocked to hear that. We were so relieved when they got off the bus before us.

If I was analysing this dream I’d say it shows the depth of my anxiety and uncertainty about life at the moment. We have no idea how long Lockdown will continue, how many people will become infected, or how many will die. It is so unsettling, upsetting and disturbing.

So, it’s even more important to focus on those things that will lift your mood and take your mind off the situation. Whatever makes you happy – whether it is pottering in the garden, drawing and painting, watching TV, reading a book, keeping fit, caring for your house plants, meditating, or painting your nails! Everything that makes you happy is so important right now.

Here are my Montreal inspired posts:

https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2019/06/16/scrummy-food-tulips-and-cocktails-food-montreal-canada-holiday-tulips/

https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2019/05/26/grafitti-murals-montreal-canada/

https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2019/06/06/notre-dame-basilica-montreal-canada-travel-holiday/

https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2019/06/11/colleens-2019-weekly-tanka-tuesday-poetry-challenge-no-131-synonymsonly/

Some links from my blogging and author friends:

A scam to be aware of via Hugh: https://hughsviewsandnews.com/2020/04/02/warning-covid-19-scam/

From my friend Ritu –

From Charli Mills at Carrot Ranch: https://keweenawnow.blogspot.com/2020/04/guest-article-keweenaw-joins-grassroots.html/

An article featuring a couple of bloggers/authors I follow: Darlene Foster, Debby Harris:Views of COVID 19 – Thailand, Mexico, Spain and Australia – https://traveltalesoflife.com/views-of-covid-19-thailand-mexico-spain-and-australia/

From Richard Dees who is in self isolation in Devon – all his daughters are in the nursing profession – one daughter is a midwife, another one is a nurse in ITU, (her husband is a consultant,) and daughter three is in her third year nursing training. Do pop over to his blog to say hello. He has some books on sale: https:///another-week-has-passed/

Natalie Ducey is offering a free download of her poetry: https://natalieducey.com/2020/04/04/the-hearts-lullaby-poetry-collection/

Last day of Anne Allen’s promo #booklovers Bargain! The Guernsey Novels Books 1-3 boxset only 99p/99c until 5/4/20 drama/love/mystery on a beautiful island https://books2read.com/TheGuernseyNovels1-3 @AnneAllen21 #guernseynovels

Stay safe, stay well, stay in!

Available for free on kindle unlimited and to buy in kindle and paperback: http://mybook.to/MrSagittarius

A HUMUNGOUS THANK YOU!

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A big, gigantic, humungous thank you to Colleen Chesebro for creating this wonderful graphic header of our amazing Facebook club – Authors Bloggers Rainbow Support Club which is gathering such incredible support. We now have 173 members!!!!

I’d like to thank, hug, bear hug, the lovely Vashti Vega for producing these amazing graphics of members books and sharing them on twitter:

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I created the graphic below for the latest #ABRSC read and review – Brigid Gallacher’s 5 star review of Robbie Cheadle’sSir Chocolate and The Strawberry Cream Berries Story and Cookbook.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31378084-sir-chocolate-and-the-strawberry-cream-berries

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We now have a group on Goodreads for #ABRSC Christmas/New Year Read and Review a members book – https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/19083848-christmas-new-year-read-and-review.

I’ve just started reading an ARC of Lizzie Chantree’s Ninja School Mum for the read and review..

By the way I’ve just discovered that Lizzie is offering a wonderful prize on her blog at the moment  – A £10 Amazon voucher and a week of tweet support for your book/business/Twitter account from @Lizzie_Chantree with over 51.5K genuine followers.
Here’s how –  All you have to do to enter is to watch my book trailer in full and leave a comment on the YouTube video. You will then be entered into a prize draw. The winner will be notified a few days later. Click the ad above or this link to be taken to the YouTube video. https://lizziechantree.com/2017/12/17/prize-day/

NEWSFLASH – ARC’s of members books are now included in the read and review!!! I’m really enjoying Ninja Book Mum and will be reviewing on my blog soon. I’m so looking forward to hosting Lizzie on my blog in February 2018.

NEWSFLASHThe Curse of Time is on offer from now to Christmas…

Christmas Promotion

 

Happy reading!

Bye for now,

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My social media links: 

Check out this amazing graphic that Colleen made for our group –

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Authors Bloggers Rainbow Support Club on Facebook

Twitter: @Marjorie_Mallon and @curseof_time

Instagram

Facebook

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#ABRSC Christmas/NewYear Blog Hop Party

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Welcome to the Authors/Bloggers Rainbow Support Club Christmas/New Year Blog Hop Party. I am about to reveal the book I am reading for the Blog Hop Party –  it is….

Drum roll please…

Ninja School Mum by Lizzie Chantree… I am one of her blog tour hosts (I will be welcoming her to my blog on 3rd February,) for her launch tour with Crooked Cat Books.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ninja-School-Mum-Lizzie-Chantree/dp/1979613524/

Anyone can join in today’s party but there are a few guidelines if you want to take part in the read and review….
1. Buy a fellow member’s book. Read and review between 1st of December and 6th January and share on Amazon, Goodreads, and your blog if you have one. Link your review to your blog post party when you have completed it.
2. Share your blog post and reviews on Twitter using the hashtag #ABRSC
3. Try if possible to review someone’s book you haven’t read before or in a different genre from one you would normally read.
4. Link back to the last person who joins the party. So we have a chain effect of party goers! Don’t forget to bring music, cake and lots of cheer! Remember to include any Christmas news you wish to share.
5. You can buy and read more than one book if you want.
6. Write reviews that are fair but honest. Apply a star rating, and write as long or short a review as you wish.
7. Choose a date between 2nd December and 6th January to write your blog/review post and add it to the comments below. Select a person to review and the name of their book, add these to the comments below so we don’t get duplicate people being reviewed more than twice. One member per review. Please review #ABRSC members or honorary members (e.g. super supportive bloggers like Hugh https://hughsviewsandnews.com/.) If in doubt get in touch with me, Debby or Colleen – click on their photos below to see their blog links.
8. You may reblog other members posts on your blog if you wish, this may encourage new people to join the club which would be great!

Also I have some fantastic news to share about Debby Gies –  https://dgkayewriter.com/ book P.S. I Forgive You via twitter:

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And… Today is Debby’s launch day for her new book Twenty Years After I Do: https://dgkayewriter.com/introducing-booklaunch-twenty-years-i-do-published/

So popover to her blog and vote on Readers Choice Awards to give this lovely lady some support.

 

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Please stay a while, enjoy the Christmas ambiance… Let’s light some candles, read some books, eat some sweet treats and have mugs of hot chocolate with marshmallows!

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And for music let me point you in this musical direction…  a gem of a find via #SundayBlogShare on Big Up Your Blog: https://justanotherblogfromawoman.blog/2017/11/24/top-ten-tunes-1977/

Please feel free to leave your links below and don’t forget to say if you intend joining in the book review blog hop. Some dates to read and review are filling up so please comment with a few possible dates below.

Love ya! Many thanks, happy first day of Advent.

Bye for now,

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My social media links:
Authors/Bloggers Rainbow Support Club
Fellow Administrators of our Authors Bloggers Rainbow Support Club #ABRSC on Facebook, myself, my good friends Colleen Chesebro and Debby Gies. Click on Colleen’s and Debby’s photos to be directed to their awesome blogs. These ladies rock!

Twitter: @Marjorie_Mallon and @curseof_time
Instagram
Facebook

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#ABRSC Christmas/New Year Blog Hop Party December 1st!!!

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I will be hosting a Christmas/New Year Blog Hop Party December 1st where I will be revealing the book I have chosen to buy, read and review as my Christmas present to a fellow author and club member of the #ABRSC.

Please consider joining the #ABRSC group, it has grown and is a wonderfully supportive  club full of resources for authors/bloggers and reviewers. I am so proud of the group and the wonderful members. We currently have 164 members!

Here are the party guidelines:

1. Buy a fellow member’s book. Read and review between 1st of December and 6th January and share on Amazon, Goodreads, and your blog if you have one. Link your review to your blog post party when you have completed it.
2. Share your blog post and reviews on Twitter using the hashtag #ABRSC
3. Try if possible to review someone’s book you haven’t read before or in a different genre from one you would normally read.
4. Link back to the last person who joins the party. So we have a chain effect of party goers! Don’t forget to bring music, cake and lots of cheer! Remember to include any Christmas news you wish to share.
5. You can buy and read more than one book if you want.
6. Write reviews that are fair but honest. Apply a star rating, and write as long or short a review as you wish.
7. Choose a date between 2nd December and 6th January to write your blog post and add it to the comments below. Select a person to review and the name of their book, add these to the comments below so we don’t get duplicate people being reviewed more than twice. One member per review. Only review #ABRSC members. If in doubt get in touch with me, Debby or  Colleen.
8. You may reblog other members posts on your blog if you wish, this may encourage new people to join the club which would be great!

Hope you will consider joining in the blog hop party, I think it will be a fun way to start of Christmas advent.

Bye for now,

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My social media links:

Authors/Bloggers Rainbow Support Club

Fellow Administrators of our Authors Bloggers Rainbow Support Club #ABRSC on Facebook, myself, my good friends Colleen Chesebro and Debby Gies. Click on Colleen’s and Debby’s photos to be directed to their awesome blogs. These ladies rock!

Twitter: @Marjorie_Mallon and @curseof_time

Instagram

Facebook

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#SundayBlogShare Authors Bloggers Rainbow Support Club #ABRSC

 

The Authors Bloggers Rainbow Support Club #ABRSC has gone from strength to strength. I founded this Facebook group on 26th of February 2017 nearly six months ago, (goodness how time flies.)

This is the first post: https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2017/02/26/authorsbloggers-rainbow-support-club/

Just recently I was astonished to discover that we have over 150 members!!!

We have an amazing team of bloggers who add content everyday and I’d just like to thank them for being so active on the page.

Here are some of the wonderful,  informative links that have been shared of late…

Some informative information via Belinda Miller https://belindamiller.me/I spend a lot of time on marketing my children’s books. One thing I do is produce videos. Since I have worked with some fabulous illustrators, I have blessed with an abundance of illustrations. Two of my favorite apps are: Animoto and Ripl. Check them out. There’s another app, Lumyer, that can be used to enhance, add elements to cover art. I use that, too. Hope this gives you some great ideas! PSA — very addictive.

Via fellow Administrator of the club, Colleen Chesebro  who suggested some design service alternatives which are similiar to Canva: https://crello.com/home/

Via fellow Administrator – Debby Gies – D G Kaye Writer

Via Richard Ankers – Articles and tips for writers – http://www.liternauts.com/articles-for-writers/

Also, I have linked our group to three other Facebook groups which I’d recommend joining too:

To give you an indication of the benefits of joining The Author Helper. Here is one example. Recently, I enquired about  international sales and setting up international author pages.  I had help from:

Ben Zackheim who suggested – Fiberead which translates and distributes internationally.   https://fiberead.com/auth/login

Debby Gies suggested this useful link: Setting up your international author pages by William Cook

Drue Hoffman said that –  France, Japan & Germany also have Author Central pages and put up a graphic which suggested that the UK and the UK are the biggies in the e-book market. 

Please support the following upcoming activities mentioned on #ABRSC if you can:

Charli Mills at her welcoming Carrot ranch are having a right all blogging knees up in October – Carrot Ranch New Barns Raised At The Ranch

Colleen Chesebro  is having an October Spectacular  with Author Guest Posts. This sounds such fun, I love halloween! So keep an eye out for that. Colleen shared this link too:  https://buildbookbuzz.com/quirky-october-holidays-offer-book-promotion-possibilities/

Some of my recent finds:

https://book-publicist.com/2017/03/10/35-top-book-awards-for-authors-in-2016/

http://writerunboxed.com/2017/08/25/your-publicity-timeline-is-there-a-best-month-to-publish-your-book/

http://digitalbooktoday.com/join-our-team/maximize-your-kdp-select-free-days/

Recently, I had the good fortune to be a guest on the #LisaBurtonShow. My interview: Lisa Interviews My Character Esme

I was curious about the poster art that Craig used. Here’s a link to the fabulous artist on Deviant Art:  https://artbrosean.deviantart.com/art/Lisa-Walks-like-an-Egyptian-705536763

And I can’t remember whether I found this via rainbow or not but it might come in useful to someone…. if you want to enter at some point… https://www.tckpublishing.com/2017-readers-choice-awards/

Also there was a recent discussion kicked off by Colleen Chesebro about collaborations, which I am a big fan of.  This became an on-line brainstorming session!!! Many #ABRSC got involved in this particular topic and we hope to have a Xmas collaborative event with this in mind. So stay tuned!

Before I go I’d love to share this lovely human interest story from Ritu, which is bound to put a smile on your face: https://butismileanyway.com/2017/09/14/i-love-our-oldies/

There are so many lovely bloggers and authors who participate in #ABRSC. Sadly, I haven’t mentioned them all due to time constraints but please take this as a huge thank you to each and every one of you for helping make #ABRSC such a fun, engaging place to share ideas, and help each other.

If you’d like to join the #ABRSC please do. Comment below. Let me know if you have any questions about the club, add your links to posts of interest, chat, come say hello.

Bye for now,

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My social media links:

Authors/Bloggers Rainbow Support Club on Facebook
Twitter: @curseof_time

Instagram

Facebook

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Fellow Administrators of our Authors Bloggers Rainbow Support Club #ABRSC on Facebook, myself, my good friends Colleen Chesebro and Debby Gies. Click on Colleen’s and Debby’s photos to be directed to their awesome blogs. These ladies rock!

 

Authors/Bloggers Rainbow Support Club

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“Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.”
― Maya Angelou, Letter to My Daughter

Today, I’d like to introduce you to a few members of my Rainbow Support Club: Geoff Le PardLisa W. Tetting,  Galit Balli and Wendy Anne Darling.

Authors/Bloggers Rainbow Support Club is a friendly group on Facebook for authors, bloggers and book reviewers. The club endeavours to create a wonderful community, a place to make friends, and to foster meaningful, helpful connections with like-minded people.

Geoff LePard:

Geoff blogs at TanGental: https://geofflepard.com/

He is a thoroughly decent chap, a friendly, amusing bloke whose blog I urge you to follow. He is also a top dog in the Annual Bloggers Bash in London – next event – Saturday 9th June 2018 – one of the current gang of four organisers – enough said. He’s a writer of wit, a keen flash fiction enthusiast, a course junkie, (Arvon, MA at Sheffield Hallam, etc,) dog enthusiast, walker, (that follows,) gardener, and has written four novels. One of which  – Dead Flies and Sherry Trifle – I have read and reviewed, with a title like that how could I not!

My Review of Dead Flies and Sherry Trifle by Geoff LePard

Lisa W Tetting:

Author, Blogger, Poet, Writer of #LoveRotica.

L. Loren is a former call center supervisor currently based in Greenville, SC with her loving and supportive husband.

Growing up the youngest of seven in a small town in North Carolina, she embraced her love of reading which helped to develop her imagination.

Her desire to write lay dormant for years until she found the courage to look within and her passion could no longer be ignored.

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B01MSTKUBI

http://llorenwriter.wordpress.com

http://facebook.com/l.lorenwriter

http://goodreads.com/lloren

http://pinterest.com/rebirthoflisa
http://twitter.com/rebirthoflisa

Galit Balli:

Next up on my introductions list is member Galit Balli who blogs at Coffee and Notes.

Galit is ‘a writer of Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, YA, Science Fiction as well as a blogger, book reviewer, a declared coffee addict, a gamer and an avid reader.

Apart from writing and reading, She loves to stay creative and sketch, doodle, play video games (mostly gw2), Watch Dr. Who and spend time with my Husband and her dog Menta (Mint).’

Definitely a blog recommendation. She is a lovely friendly lass, I have been following her for quite some time.

 

Wendy Anne Darling.

In Wendy’s words: ‘If it involved creativity, Wendy was into it.’ Wendy has a lovely blog – The Dragon’s Lair: https://wendyannedarling.wordpress.com/

She blogs about topics dear to my heart: writing, dragons, magic & myths.

To find out more about her own book design business: https://wendyannedarling.wordpress.com/bookxeedo-book-covers/

Wendy will be designing my book cover! I’m so excited to see the final version. Can’t wait.

If you are interested in finding out more about the Authors/Bloggers Rainbow Support Club, please do get in touch via my social media links below, or by leaving a comment.

The club is growing, we now have 107 members and are looking forward to welcoming more.

Fellow Administrators of the club are my good friends : Colleen Chesebro and Debby Gies.  Do pop over to their blogs to say hello and to find out more about the club from their perspective.

Bye for now,

 

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Authors/Bloggers Rainbow Support Club

Twitter: @marjorie_mallon and @curseof_time

Goodreads

Instagram

Facebook

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Authors/Bloggers Rainbow Support Club – News and New Members

 

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Fabulous News!!! Colleen Chesebro and Debby Gies have joined me as marvellous group Administrators of the Authors/Bloggers Rainbow Support Club.

I’m so thrilled to have Colleen and Debby helping me.

I’ve had some questions regarding the Facebook club, so to answer these I’ve decided to write a sort of statement of club intention….

What is the Authors/Bloggers Rainbow Support Club?

Don’t worry folks, it is not a cult! LOL…

It’s a friendly community of authors/bloggers/book reviewers working together to support each other in a multitude of ways – e.g. by writing or sharing reviews, highlighting author spotlights/book launches/interviews, and posting writing/poetry/blogging tips, or tips about writing reviews, or discussing general topics of interest.

DON’T FEEL THAT YOU HAVE TO DO ALL OF THESE!!!! LOL!!

Also I hope that it will be a place that you can ask for help and advice if you need it. Writing can be isolating so feel free to find some writing chums here. Just join in, as and when you can, or would like to. Any content about books is really welcome whether it is pretty pictures of books you’ve read, or libraries you’ve visited, etc. Also occasionally do feel free to post news to tell your blogging friends what you are up to. Especially, if you’ve just published a book, won a prize, been nominated for a award, or you’ve been somewhere creative, interesting, or exciting! Recently, I posted my British Museum photos which I had uploaded using Ripl, which I thought might be of interest to fellow Instagram enthusiasts.

IF THERE IS ANYTHING ELSE YOU HOPE TO GAIN FROM THE GROUP PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

Members can add your own blog posts to the members page, (email me, or Colleen, or comment below, if you want to become a member: marjma2014@gmail.com, or colleenchesebro3@gmail.com) and do feel free to share, like and comment on your friends posts too.

Who runs the group?

Currently little old me, and Colleen Chesebro, and Debby Gies.

Also we have quite a few new members!! Yippee….

First up, is….

Lizzie Chantree

Lizzie is pretty much woman extraordinaire as far as I can see. I’ve just had the delight of welcoming Lizzie recently for an Author’s Spotlight on my blog: Author’s Spotlight: Lizzie Chantree

Bio:

Lizzie is an enthusiastic inventor, businesswoman and artist. She founded her first company at the age of 17 and has been creating products and driving her family mad ever since.

Lizzie appeared on Sky News, ITV Lunchtime News, This Morning, The Big Breakfast, BBC’s Worldwide Radio Service, amongst others for becoming one of Fair Play London’s Female Innovators for her invention, Runaway Spray. Runaway Spray is a ‘ladder’ stop spray for stockings and tights, which has been on sale for over fifteen years. She has also developed a range of greetings cards and puzzle books for children with phonics and short stories inside to encourage independent writing skills in children.

Lizzie lives in Essex, with her gorgeous husband, two bouncy children and a very unusual dog. In between the school run and baking cakes (or burning them!), she sits in her rooftop studio daydreaming about gaps in the market and how she can fill them. Babe Driven is her first novel and she has written two other novels, Love’s Child and Finding Gina. Lizzie is currently writing her forth novel.
Twitter: @Lizzie_Chantree
Facebook: Facebook.com/LizzieChantree
Email: liz@chantree.com
Blog: LizzieChantree.com

Debbie Harris

Debbie’s blog is a visual delight, as soon as you step in you feel as if you are immersed in a land of wonder. Just like Lizzie, she sounds like a wonder woman:

I am Debbie – I am a wife; mother; daughter; sister; friend; blogger; reader; runner; walker; cyclist; Rail Trail enthusiast; traveller; Rotarian; Whovian; teacher.

And now I’m a retiree!!  Very early retirement!

I’ve been called a humming bird on speed and WonderWomanDebs. There are stories there believe me!!

Debbie has a page on her blog where she lists all the books she’s read and she’s broken them down into years under the main menu.

https://debs-world.com/books-ive-read/

Debbie loves reading, travel, family, photographing, running, cycling and blogging at debs-world.com.

She tries her hand at most things, poetry, flash fiction, even a children’s story: https://debs-world.com/2016/06/05/big-debbies-purple-boots/

Debbie participates in a book club but doesn’t always like the books she is given but she reads them anyway and learns a lot from the discussion. I couldn’t agree more – broadening your reading is such a fabulous adventure!

Debbie’s twitter: @wonderwomandebz

Goodreads: Debbie Harris

Marsha Ingrao

Marsha is a retired school teacher who loves to blog about books, travel, photography, blogging and writing tips.

I blog on two sites. The first one I started as an experiment 5 years ago after I retired from education. This is my travel, community activities and photo challenge blog primarily. https://tchistorygal.net/

My other blog is where I use my experience as a teacher, writers, and administrator to help new and hobby bloggers, writers and photographers with tips and longer articles. Both blogs started out as an experiment, and have blossomed from there. This one is my experiment in monetizing as well as helping people from my mistakes as I branch out! http://marshajustwrites.com/

Hi, my name is Marsha Ingrao and I created Always Write for us. You and me! Together learning.

If you know everything there is to know about blogging, writing, and photography, you will hate this blog! If you want to share what you know and learn from others, come on in.

Grab a cuppa coffee and sit down and visit. Blogging is my hobby, my experiment, my life changer. Welcome! Maybe, like me, blogging is your hobby. Or maybe you write books or are an amateur photographer. Join the party.’

I was very impressed recently upon discovering this excellent article written by Marsha about writing professional book reviews: Always Writes – Marsha’s advice on writing top book reviews

Marsha’s twitter : @MarshaIngrao

Adele Marie Clerk

Adele is  a ‘writer of horror/fantasy/urban/wordbuilding all those nice things which mean I get to use my imagination.’ Adele has just been nominated as a contestant in The Next Great Horror Writer Contest. Her bio on her blog reads, “Horror invaded my life and I devoured everything it threw at me. Stephen King, Ramsay Campbell, Anne Rice and Clive Barker. Horror holds my hand tightly. I can’t escape and I don’t want to. I write to scare. The monster under the bed is my reality. Welcome to my world.”

On her blog’s about me page she describes herself thus:

I’m Adele Marie Park a writer. Simple.....what? I`ve got my muse in my ear telling me I have to write more than just that. Okay….sighs.

Im originally from Rousay. An island in the Orkney which is rich in folklore and legends. I learned these legends and folklore from the cradle lol. I write about folklore but with a modern or faerie themed twist. I am also passionate about horror. I love vampires and grew up with the Hammer Horror version before cutting my teeth…pardon the pun…on Buffy and Angel.

So…I write urban fantasy, folklore fantasy urban or otherwise, horror and apocalyptic fiction. I like to write character-driven fiction and I hope that somewhere someone reading my work will gain an insight into themselves from it. That is not meant to sound all egotistical, I gained many insights into myself through reading others work and still do.

I am happily married. We live in a very happy house, a mad house but a happy one.

Adele Marie Park’s blog

Adele’s Twitter: @Binky567

Sacha Black

Sacha’s blog is a delight – full of writing tips,  art, and her weekly wonders. Sacha is the founder of the Bloggers Bash, a fabulous annual event held in London: Sacha Black’s blog, which I have had the pleasure of attending twice since its inception in August 2015.

These two short paragraphs sum up Sacha’s love of writing in the most wonderful way: Sacha was always meant to write, she was the girl who spent her lunch break tucked away in the corner of the school library, head buried in a pile of books, pencil in hand, weaving stories on the page. But she grew up, stumbled and fell forgetting her dream and then spent a while lost in a dark and twisted place.

Then, one day she sat in front of her laptop and started to write. She remembered that all she’d ever wanted to do was write stories in far away places filled with curious creatures and magical happenings. Characters started to talk to her, fill her brain with incessant chatter and demanded their stories be told. And so, The Netherworld was created, and Eden’s story began.

Sacha is currently in the process of editing two novels: Keepers, the first book in a planned trilogy, and Adultland. More about that here: Sacha Black – Novels

Sacha also has a non-fiction book entitled 13 Steps to Evil, ‘the ultimate guide to crafting Villains,’ which will be released in 2017.

http://sachablack.co.uk/

Sacha’s twitter: @sacha_black

Lorinda J. Taylor

Lorinda’s (also known as TermiteWriter in cyberspace) is a retired librarian who worked in academic libraries as a cataloger and now lives in Colorado Springs, CO.  Besides an M.L.S, she has a B.A. and an M.A. in English, and some work toward a Ph.D.  As a child, she was always making up imaginary worlds, but she didn’t start writing fantasy until she read “Lord of the Rings” in 1969 and discovered that even serious scholars like J.R.R. Tolkien can continue to create such worlds far into their adult lives. In the early days she attempted unsuccessfully to get published, and then family considerations forced her to take a hiatus from writing from 1983 until 2000. Since then, she has self-published twelve books, mostly science fiction or a science fiction/fantasy hybrid, all with a literary slant.  Her books deal with future history, psychological subjects (one of the most interesting alien environments is the human mind), and first contacts, including the adventures of a species of giant intelligent termites who relive Earth myths.  She has a special interest in constructing languages for her extraterrestrials to speak.  She has published the first part of The Man Who Found Birds among the Stars, a fictional biography of the spaceship Captain who first made contact with extraterrestrials in the 28th century, and she is continuing to work on additional volumes (it’s epic length!)

All her books may be found at:

Amazon http://amzn.to/u9bYWa

Amazon UK http://amzn.to/KdNtR1

Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/TermiteWriter

Barnes & Noble http://bit.ly/1Lz1NRQ

She has two blogs, mostly inactive these days.

www.termitewriter.blogspot.com (Rumination of a Remembrancer, covering general topics and material on The Termite Queen and The Man Who Found Birds among the Stars, plus information on my Mythmaker syster)

www.termitespeaker.blogspot.com (The Labors of Ki’shto’ba Huge-Head, covering that series plus information on myth in literature)

Her twitter handle is @TermiteWriter

Teagan Genevieve

Bio:

I’m Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene and I write fantasy fiction.  This blog is mostly limited to writing and related topics.  It began as part of my “grand experiment” in indie publishing.
 
By day I’m a career professional, a technical editor and writer in the information technology (IT) field.  That’s my “real” job.  Of course I’d love to be able to put a roof over my head just blogging and writing novels!
Although I was born in the southeast (USA), I call the desert southwest home.  I left those enchanting lands for a major east coast city.  Now my goal, wish, and desperate dream is to move to either the southwest, or a small city with a milder climate.
Here’s a link to all the information about my books:  About Teagan’s Books  It includes my debut novel, an urban fantasy called Atonement, Tennessee. (https://www.amazon.com/Atonement-Tennessee-Teagan-Geneviene-ebook/dp/B00HGSVA8A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1490288789&sr=8-1&keywords=Atonement%2C+Tennessee )
At my blog, Teagan’s Books (https://teagansbooks.com/ ) I do a variety of things.  You’ll see posts on writing process, snippets from my novels, and short stories that are usually taken from the “universes” of one of my books.
It was originally a “pantser” serial, driven by random “things” sent by readers of my blog. It was absolutely spontaneously written.  
I went on to do four more serials in that manner.  Some time this spring I will publish the second serial, Murder at the Bijou, Three Ingredients-I.  That one is a culinary mystery!  Here’s a blog post where I introduce the characters:

 

Well that’s it for this members post…….. I’m too shattered to do anymore as I have a bit of a cold this week….

 

I will be featuring the next bunch of members next time: Geoff LePard, Galit Balli,  Wendy Anne Darling, Daniel Rumanos, , Annette Rochelle AbenLaurie Peterson Oien and Cynthia T. LunaShehanne Moore.

Our group page is growing: Authors/Bloggers Rainbow Support Club

 

So do come and join the club!

Bye for now,

 

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Revive Old Posts Bloggers Link Up

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Today I’d like to step back in time and look at my very first post on this blog:

Writer’s Journey How Did It All Happen?

What magical ingredients made me become a blogger/writer? I think if I was doing a  sum it would be a strange black cat, plus a book: (Dorian Gray,) add some thoughts about art and lots and lots of reading. No minus equations allowed, creativity always involves a stack of pluses and no negativity!

Recently my eldest daughter asked me for some old photos of her when she was little for a project she is currently doing for University. So I opened my large oriental camphor wood chest and we had a lovely time searching through many photos. I came across a really cute photo of my cat Chester when he was a tiny, adorable kitten, and I was a mere slip of a girl. I realised that my very first post on this blog is missing a very important ingredient. What could that be? An easy answer – some delightful old photos of my much-loved cat Chester. He was such a magnificent fellow, and I loved him very much, so let me share them with you….

Me with Chester, looking all energetic!!!

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Here he is exploring interesting little hiding places:

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And he had an inquisitive nature:

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This is how magnificent he was when he grew up! This photo doesn’t quite do him justice, he really was a handsome fellow, with striking markings and a character to match.

 

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If you’d like to join in with my bloggers monthly link up, please draw attention to your old posts  by writing a short blog post as I have done and then add your links to the comment field of this post. If you wish you may use the photo at the top of this post as your blog post header. All link up posts will go up on the second Thursday of the month, and join in whenever you want. No pressure!

Also if you wish you can link your posts to a popular hastag  #Throwback Thursday #THT or if you’re posting on a Friday #FBF #FlashbackFriday. These are great link ups for old photos, or memorabilia…

More about that here: Lifewire – Throwback Thursday

Shake out your old posts and give them a new lease of life.

Bye for now from less energetic grown up me!!!

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Kyrosmagica Xmas Ice Skating Party!!!

 Welcome………

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THE PARTIES NOW OVER BUT FEEL FREE TO STOP BY AND LEAVE YOUR LINKS, ETC, IN THE COMMENTS BELOW…….

Let’s have a big splash, a veritable Mad Hatters Xmas  Party…. Invite masses of bloggers over to share cake, music, their links and stories. Wait a minute, it’s a bit cold for swimming… so let’s pop over to Winter Wonderland.

So first things first – provisions –  I’m  off to Cambridge market to get some nibbles…. I better wrap up warm, it looks cold out there. I’m just starting to recover from a bit of a nasty illness. No worry, I’m sure some hot jacket potatoes, olives, tasty bread, cheeses, fruit, and whatever else takes my fancy, will warm me up and make me feel much better. Don’t worry, I promise not to eat it all!

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Now with that done,  phew these bags are heavy. How are we going to get to Winter Wonderland? We could walk but that would be boring, and Kyrosmagica doesn’t do boring. So, let’s go ….

Via Rudolf’s magical golden sleigh of course. One sleigh?

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No of course not… Rudolf has an army of reindeers and sleighs to take us there. This one is just a mini version stationed at the Grand Arcade in Cambridge. One twirl of my Kyrosmagica wand and we are all set. See those presents? There is one for each of you, just open and see what’s inside. Pop your present on your lap, and let’s hop aboard….

This is your Christmas Link Up Party,  have fun, share links but please try to….

  • Skate.

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I haven’t been for ages…… Every Saturday I (teenage me!) used to go to Murrayfield Ice rink in Edinburgh. Grab your skates, no one will fall, I promise. In fact Kyrosmagica’s Wonderland skates are magical, so everyone, even me will be able to do all sorts of fancy footwork! Wherever you go you will leave a trail of magical golden ice in your wake. Isn’t that just so cool?

  • Hugh @ Hugh’s Views and News is bringing some mince pies…  There is mulled wine too, and party food a plenty, so tuck in, drink, and be merry!
  • Leave at least one comment – what you say is entirely up to you  – write a short poem,  don a party hat, bring your crackers,  tell your worst Christmas jokes, play your favourite Yuletide music, do whatever you fancy.
  • Share your stories, or if Christmas isn’t your favourite time of year you have my permission to be a total humbug, ignore the other guests and fall asleep in a corner. Who is our resident Scrooge? Hey, confess!! But snoring isn’t compulsory. Keep the music and the snoring down, we don’t want to upset anybody!
  • Let us know what Christmas books you are reading… I’m currently reading Mistletoe And Murder, A Murder Most Unladylike Mystery by Robin Stevens which is set in Cambridge.

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Thereafter, I will be diving into Hugh’s Glimpses – his recently released short story collection.

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More about that here: Kyrosmagica Awesome Author Interviews : Hugh. W. Roberts

  • What else? Do encourage gate crashers, the hostess may be in and out so you can ask who you want. Bring your dog and cat, if you want, but please keep them off the ice. This is an open house. Yes, you heard right, you can leave your links too if you’d like to. Oh, before I go I better remember to share some posts to get the conversation going. Perhaps this one for future reference – Natalie @ There She Goes – Xmas Cake Recipe.

This is the mix…..

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The cake…. as it came out the oven…

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  • Dress up in your finest, it’s nearly Christmas !! Or if you can’t manage that, show us your quirky Christmas jumpers, ties, or earrings. Tell us what unusual presents you’ve bought. This year I bought a lovely amber jewellery set from fellow blogger Irene Irene Design 2011 for my mum – (mum isn’t very internet savvy so I know I can put this up and not worry about her seeing it before Christmas!)

 

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  • Somebody better sing, definitely not me, it wouldn’t be recommended. Find someone willing, or suitably inebriated amongst the guests.
  • Have fun – talk amongst yourselves, have a glass or two of bubbly,  an obligatory piece of Christmas cake which I have lovingly prepared for you dusted with my special recipe of magical sugar dust and don’t forget to stand under the inspiration mistletoe. One kiss and all your stories, (for authors,) and dreams, (for normal folk,)  LOL will come true…

 

Happy Christmas Wishes.

Bye for now,

Much love,

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#Read about Guest Pre-published #Writer / #Author Sacha Black

If there is ever a moment when you wonder who to follow in blogging land – never fret I have the answer! (And so does Chris at The Story Reading Blog. ) Who am I talking about? Our very own Blogger’s Bash organiser, one of the stupendous gang of four: Sacha Black. Her blog is awesome, full of amazing writing tips. Do follow her you won’t regret it. 🙂

Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

Sacha 01My name is Sacha Black. I am, like many of you, an aspiring author. But I am also mother to a one year old, a wife and full time worker bee. I am currently also a student at the Writers Bureau, and a qualified Nail Technician. So I really struggle to find the time to squeeze in writing. Which is one of the reasons I blog. It forces me to write. But it also enables me to draw together a series of really useful writing tools, which I take pride in sharing.

The aim of my blog is to share with fellow writers, bloggers, novelists, authors and any interested parties all the knowledge and tools I am gaining on my journey to being published.

Sacha 03I write short stories, flash fiction occasionally poetry, but my true passion lies in writing novels. I am currently 53K into my first one, and…

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