Hi everyone, please welcome to the blog M J Mallon, a fellow Next Chapter novelist and poet.
M J Mallon is the author of YA sword and sorcery series, Curse of Time, of which book one, Bloodstone, and book two, Golden Healer, have been published. She has also penned several poetry collections. To find out more about M J Mallon and her work, head to her website: https://mjmallon.com
About ten years ago when I started blogging at my eclectic blog home: https://mjmallon.com. At the time, I was living in Cambridge, England, and had close connections to Edinburgh, Scotland.
For my debut novel, Bloodstone, I developed a fascinating idea for a trilogy, which became The Curse of Time series. It was inspired by two sculptural artworks, the Chronophage clocks designed by esteemed inventor, Dr John C Taylor, OBE, and Jupiter Artland’s crystal grotto, designed by Anya Gallaccio – The Light Pours out of Me – exhibited during August 12 to December 2, 2012. (Jupiter Artland is located in Wilkieston, near Edinburgh, Scotland.)
What’s your latest project about?
I’m currently working on the third book in the Curse of Time series. It’s a young adult fantasy sword and sorcery novel, with the original cast of characters plus a few more. The Dragon Chronophage escarpment – the third of the sculptural clock creatures – comes alive in this trilogy, along with strange beings such as Eruterac’s living dead army, the return of the Grasshopper, the Mythological Fly, (sometimes known as the Midsummer fly) and the creepy coffin fairies. The story partially takes place in the Land of Shadows, and the battle scenes occur in Edinburgh. It’s at about 40,000 words now, still in the development stage.
To read the full interview head over to Kathryn’s blog or read on Substack:
Exactly what is the big deal with book reviews?Currently, the reader’s attention is constantly being competed with via a wide range of printed or electronic format works. In this vast context, there may be no way to overstate how powerful, effective, and essential book reviews are – for both the reader and the author. Through these assessments, the readers are given a flavour of the narrative in front of them, additionally serving as gateways to the world of good books. On the other hand, the writers regard reviews as crucial for discoverability, marketing, and boosting their book sales.This little book of personal thoughts is more of a guide than a forensic approach.
My Review
Find Your Next Best Read!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 January 2025
The Booklet of First Hand Reads by Dan Costinas.
It’s somewhat unusual reviewing a book of book recommendations but that’s what I’ll try to do!
Dan loves reading. That’s obvious and his favourite reads are eclectic in taste ranging from:
1. The Bard William Shakespeare himself.
2. Poetry
3. Gothic literary masterpieces & Bestsellers
4. Engaging Travel & Expatriate tales
5. Crime & Thrillers, Psychological Fiction, Murder Mystery Puzzle Book
The Mess of US in currently on preorder and releases February 14th, Buy Link below.
Book overview
“Dear World, so, obviously we made a mess of it. Inevitably. Otherwise I wouldn’t be writing to you again, would I?”What do you do when the man who beat your boyfriend into a coma is about to be released from prison? What do you do when that man is your boyfriend’s older brother who wants to make amends?Now a couple, Lou and Joe are struggling to get over the traumatic events of two years ago. When Joe’s brother Leon is released from prison, they must decide if either of them are able to forgive and forget what he did.Meanwhile, an unexpected pregnancy throws their lives into chaos and when tragedy reawakens Lou’s self-destructive tendencies, she faces losing everything they have built. Can she fight her body image demons once again? Can either of them trust Leon? As Joe and Lou try to decide whether bad people can truly change, they are about to have one mess of a summer.
MyReview
The Mess Of Us
I had the pleasure of reading this brilliant tale twice as an early reader. This is the sequel to The Mess of Me which I loved too.
This is a moving young adult story written in a diary style to their baby whilst eighteen-year-old Lou is pregnant with Joe’s baby.
Lou hates putting on weight. She discovers she is pregnant and the family rally around to support the young couple. I loved the emotionally moving scenes with Lou supporting Joe when he is reunited with his vicious brother. And how Joe came to terms with grief and how Lou grew up in the process. She began to understand the reasons why Joe’s druggie brother believed in the way he did. And, surprisingly, he entrusts her with a secret she must keep.
The friends grow up, life changes.
Lou and Joe are both so likeable you just want to give them both a warm hug. Especially Joe! He’s a rare kind of boy.
Lou’s friend Marianne is the opposite. She is about as toxic as you can get! But she has a vulnerability too which was always there.
There is a softening, compassionate edge to this story which doesn’t excuse villians but reveals they can be damaged too.
Highly recommended for YA readers and anyone who loves stories about growing up.
My rating 4 🌟
Chantelle Atkins was born and raised in Dorset, England and still resides there now with her husband, four children, and multiple pets.
She is addicted to reading, writing, and music and writes for both the young adult and adult genres.
Her fiction is described as gritty, edgy and compelling. Her debut Young Adult novel The Mess Of Me deals with eating disorders, self-harm, fractured families and first love.
Her second novel, The Boy With The Thorn In His Side follows the musical journey of a young boy attempting to escape his brutal home life and has now been developed into a 5 book series.
She is also the author of This Is Nowhere and award-winning dystopian, The Tree Of Rebels, plus a collection of short stories related to her novels called Bird People and Other Stories.
The award-winning Elliot Pie’s Guide To Human Nature was released in October 2018.
A Song For Bill Robinson was the first in YA trilogy titled Holds End, followed by Emily’s Baby and The Search For Summer. Recently, she has co-authored the Fortune’s Well YA trilogy with Sim Alec Sansford. The Day The Earth Turned YA series is her latest release before this.
Set during World War II, an unforgettable historical novel about love, war, family, and loyalty told in in the voices of two women, generations apart, who find themselves connected by a mysterious and valuable bottle of wine stolen by the Nazis.
1942. Seven-year-old Martine hides in an armoire when the Nazis come to take her father away. Pinned to her dress is a note with her aunt’s address in Paris, and in her arms, a bottle of wine she has been instructed to look after if something happened to her papa. When they are finally gone, the terrified young girl drops the bottle and runs to a neighbor, who puts her on a train to Paris.
But when Martine arrives in the city, her aunt is nowhere to be found. Without a place to go, the girl wanders the streets and eventually falls asleep on the doorstep of Hotel Drouot, where Sister Ada finds her and takes her to the abbey, and watches over her.
1990. Charlotte, a commercial airline pilot, attends an auction with her boyfriend Henri at Hotel Drouot, now the oldest auction house in Paris. Successfully bidding on a box of wine saved from the German occupation during the Second World War, Henri gives Charlotte a seemingly inferior bottle he finds inside the box. Cleaning the label, Charlotte makes a shocking discovery that sends her on a quest to find the origins of this unusual—and very valuable—bottle of wine, a quest that will take her back fifty years into the past. . . .
A powerful tale of love, war, and family, The French Winemaker’s Daughter is an emotionally resonant tale of two women whose fates are intertwined across time. Loretta Ellsworth’s evocative and poignant page-turner will linger in the heart, and make you think about luck, connection, and the meaning of loyalty.
Loretta earned a master’s degree in Writing for Children from Hamline University. She’s the author of four young adult novels: THE SHROUDING WOMAN, a Rebecca Caudill nominee; IN SEARCH OF MOCKINGBIRD, which won the Midwest Bookseller’s Choice Honor Award, was a Teen’s Top Ten finalist, an IRA Notable, and was named to the New York Library’s List of Books for the Teen Age; IN A HEARTBEAT, which was named a spring Midwest Connection’s Pick and an ALA Notable; and UNFORGETTABLE, which was a Kirkus Pick of the Month. Her debut adult novel STARS OVER CLEAR LAKE, was published by St. Martin’s Press in 2017. Her debut picture book, Tangle-Knot, will be published by Page Street Kids in 2023.
A former Spanish teacher, she lives with her family in Minnesota.
I was raised on writing rough drafts and making sense of them later. This was taught to me by Jane Resh-Thomas in small classes in her Minneapolis living room, where she dispensed her wisdom to all of us who eagerly made copious notes. One thing she taught us was the concept of ‘writing behind your own back’. It’s the meat of the story, underneath the plot and characters. During the process of writing, things come to you without you knowing what they mean, or why they’re part of the story. But that’s often the important part. It’s what the story has to do with you, and every story has something to do with you as the writer, even when you don’t see it at first.
And we don’t see it. Not at first. When Kate DiCamillo wrote her book The Tiger Rising, one of the characters has a terrible rash on his legs. She said, “I wrote that book and re-wrote and re-wrote it and Rob’s rash was always present, front and center. And it wasn’t until after the book was done, that I remembered my own eczema, how it bedeviled me as a kid (not that I had forgotten the eczema, only that I hadn’t connected it with Rob’s eczema). I didn’t know what I was writing about, but I was writing about my heart.”
During the revision process, it’s important to ask ourselves why we’re writing a particular story, to recognize what we’re really writing about even when we think it’s something else. When writing The French Winemaker’s Daughter, I concentrated at first on the mystery of a rare and valuable wine bottle, one that spurs pilot Charlotte to search for the owner fifty years later. It wasn’t until after several revisions that I started to see a connection to my own life. My father spent time in Japan during WWII, and amid some of the things he brought back was a small delicate handkerchief decorated with a picture of a red sun and Japanese writing. I found out after his death that it was called a Good Luck Flag, filled with messages of love and support from the family of a soldier going into battle. I wondered what happened to the soldier who’d carried this, the story behind the flag we had owned all these years, and if his family could be located. Although I found out it might be almost impossible to find the family now (he had a common last name), it was suggested that the flag belonged in a museum. It made me wonder what we owe others, especially those who have lost so much during the war? And I realized that my book was searching for a way to bring restitution for my family for owning what we’d assumed was a common handkerchief all those years, but may have been an important piece of someone else’s life.
When examining your story, look for how it’s connected to you, the writer, and don’t be surprised that it’s something you tried to keep secret and buried. But it will reveal itself, and in doing so, will help us as writers to write our truths and reveal the themes of our books.
Tour Schedule
Mon. 12-16: Writing to be Read – Opening day – Interview
Tues. 12-17: Carla Reads – Guest Post
Wed. 12-18: Kyrosmagica – Guest Post
Thurs. 12-19: Book Places – Guest Post
Fri. 12-20: Writing to be Read – Closing day – Book Review
They kept hearing, “When will we celebrate your good news?”
The perfect partner, the perfect job, mostly perfect in-laws.
Bali and Kiran had it all. Except for that baby.
After a few years of marriage, the natural step of starting a family beckoned, but nothing was simple or natural.
Constant whispers, superstitions, and rumours cause havoc in what was a solid relationship, and Kiran struggles to face the possibility that her dream may not come true.
Pregnancies and babies all around her. Why not hers? All she can say is, “It’s in God’s Hands.”
Book Review – In God’s Hands
This is book 3 in the Rishtay series. I’ve read Marriage Unarranged and Straight As A Jalebi and can highly recommend all three books.
I enjoyed reconnecting with the characters again. The third book in the series is an emotional read focusing on childless couples struggling to conceive and to carry a baby to term.
In God’s Hands is written in a moving and knowledgeable way from the author’s own experiences.
With mentions of cultural aspects and the pressure (especially from mother-in-law’s and ‘aunties,’) for married couples to produce a child.
One can’t help but root for Kiran and Bali!
In this human interest and family centred novel relationships between husband and wife, friends, family, and the wider community are explored.
I was a little surprised at the emotional distance between Kiran and her mother. I didn’t find her character was mentioned much. Instead, Kiran’s relationship with her father-in-law, Daddy-Ji, is the one that shone throughout. He is level-headed, sensible and kind. I really liked his character! Such a sweet man. Her mother-in-law, Mummy-Ji, is intolerable at the beginning and then suppressed revelations are shared which make a difference.
A lovely cultural personal and touching read. ❤️
My rating 4 stars
Abouttheauthor
Ritu Bhathal was born in Birmingham in the mid-1970s to migrant parents, hailing from Kenya but with Indian origin. This colourful background has been a constant source of inspiration to her.
From childhood, she always enjoyed reading. This love of books is credited to her mother. The joy of reading spurred her on to become creative in her writing, from fiction to poetry. Winning little writing competitions at school and locally encouraged her to continue writing.
As a wife, mother, daughter, sister, and teacher, she has drawn on inspiration from many avenues to create the poems that she writes.A qualified teacher, having studied at Kingston University, she now deals with classes of children as a sideline to her writing!
Ritu also writes a blog, http://www.butismileanyway.com, a mixture of life and creativity, thoughts and opinions, which was awarded first place in the Best Overall Blog category at the 2017 Annual Bloggers Bash Awards, and Best Book Blog in 2019.
Ritu is happily married and living in Kent, with her Hubby Dearest, and two children, not forgetting the fur baby Sonu Singh.
Congratulations to author D. L. Finn on her latest release, Sounds In The Silence. I really enjoyed!
Book Overview
A dual timeline where murder has consequences forty years later for the living—and the deceased.Maria and Logan Davis stumbled upon the perfect old house by a secluded lake—a prime candidate for their dream inn. They knew a renovation was involved but didn’t expect a persistent ghost that pleaded to be found. Determined, Maria delved into the mystery, only to uncover a haunting love story and murder from the Roaring Twenties. Yet, the young couple’s curiosity shifts to fear when they realize someone is taking a dangerous interest in their barn. With time ticking away, they must unravel the secrets of their home’s past before it’s too late.
My Review
This is such a heart warming mysterious story with romantic, and ghostly elements.
A trapped ghost Helen is unable to get her message about her husband Charles across to the new owners of the inn, Logan and Maria. Terrible past events happened. She fears for Logan and Maria’s safety and wants justice to prevail so she can find happiness in the afterlife.
I really enjoyed this tale. The premise for the story is fantastic. It is told in a dual time style between the 1920’s, (mention of bible bashing and condemnation of drinking during prohibition,) and the 1960’s. The characters both human and furry… (there are two dogs and two cats too,) are well drawn out and the good guys are ones you can root for and sympathise with.
The initial ghost discovery wasn’t as eerie as I expected but the ghost is a friendly one.
It is quite exciting in parts with grim discoveries, a mysterious letter and gun shots firing!
Highly recommended for readers of mysteries, ghost tales with a romantic element running throughout the narrative.
D. L. Finn is an independent California local who encourages everyone to embrace their inner child. She was born and raised in the foggy Bay Area, but in 1990 she relocated with her husband, kids, dogs, and cats to Nevada City, in the Sierra foothills. She immersed herself in reading all types of books but especially loved romance, horror, and fantasy. She always treasured creating her own reality on paper. Finally, surrounded by towering pines, oaks, and cedars, her creativity was nurtured until it bloomed. Her creations include children’s books, adult fiction, and poetry. She continues on her adventure with an open invitation to all readers to join her.
Behind Closed Doors is personal poetry from author and poet Robbie Cheadle. It is a great getting to know the author poetry collection.
There is much to admire. One gets a sense of her struggle to achieve tranquility given her great dedication and work ethic in the poem ‘Achieving Tranquillity.’
‘Do You Want It Enough,’ speaks of an authorly desire for fame and acknowledgement. And ‘The Corporate Hunt,’ about the work jungle back stabbing culture for supremacy. Life choices, inspiration and purpose are the topics in ‘Making A Splash.’
‘A fabricated world,’ has a serious element in its musings.
There are also lovely light-hearted touches as in, ‘Can You See The Butterflies.’
There are also lockdown poems, tankas, haikus, limericks and poems aptly illustrated with photos of her undoubted cake making skills. I enjoyed the metaphorical poems about the differences between her and her husband. Relatable, as my hubby and are also so different!
My favourite poems in the collection are ‘Stars In Her Eyes,’ about the magic we will leave behind with our fantastical words. Beautiful. And ‘He Walks Away,’ about her son becoming independent. Again so relatable, though in my case daughters!
Highly recommended. An unusual thoughtful book for poetry readers.
My rating 5 stars
Author Bio
Robbie Cheadle has published fourteen children’s books and three poetry books.
Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.
Robbie also has two novels published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.
The eleven Sir Chocolate children’s picture books, co-authored by Robbie and Michael Cheadle, are written in sweet, short rhymes which are easy for young children to follow and are illustrated with pictures of delicious cakes and cake decorations.
Each book also includes simple recipes or biscuit art directions which children can make under adult supervision.
Robbie’s blog includes recipes, fondant and cake artwork, poetry, and book reviews.
Thank you so much to Sally Cronin for featuring myself and fellow authors, Robbie Cheadle, Judith Barrow, Jan Sikes and Fiona Tarr on her review roundup.
Reviews as below!
The first review this month was for Robbie Cheadle, Square Peg in a Round Hole: Poetry, Art & Creativity.
Sally’s review for the collection May 8th 2024
The author is a talented artist moving from her exquisite fondant art to wonderful charcoal and watercolours of Africa’s wildlife and plants. You immediately feel her connection to nature and in this collection of poetry and micro-fiction that connection is strengthened.
As you move through the sections of the collection you are invited into the lives of a family not only at one with nature but also one that has undergone significant challenges, particularly with health. It takes resilience as a mother to watch your children go through multiple operations and more recently her parent’s and husband’s health.
Robbie Cheadle also has a senior executive role that means her time management skills are highly honed. Corporate life can be complex and this comes across in her section on her work and striking a life balance.
There are some wonderful photographic contributions from Wayne Barnes of Tofino Photography whose wildlife images are accompanied by some lovely syllabic poetry catching not just the beauty but humour too.
Also contributing is her son Michael who has co-written the children’s books focused on the adventures in a fondant world. His poetry shows a maturity and depth of emotion and reflected his vision of a world from a health and environmental perspective. Very profound and thought provoking.
This is a collection that requires careful reading and should be enjoyed at a leisurely pace rather than read in one sitting. I have no particular favourites as each poem and image deserve reflection and respect.
The next review was for Her Covered Bones: An Australian Outback Crime Thriller (Opal Fields Book 6) by Fiona Tarr…
Sally’s review for the book May 11th 2024.
This has been an excellent series that has kept readers engaged over the five books so far. I was eager to discover the truth behind the overarching mysteries behind Jenny William’s cousin reasons for going missing ten years before, and the murder of her boyfriend Nick’s father.
This book picks up shortly after the last one finished and this times the discovery of bones is closer to home, as far as Jenny is concerned too close to home. Just how involved are her cousin and aunt with the murders and why have the rest of her family been keeping secrets. As she works hard to discover how involved they might be, she begins to feel her ongoing relationship with Nick will suffer.
Most of the main characters come together in an effort to resolve this mystery once and for all and a new character arrives to lead the investigation Detective Dawn Graves who stirs up the rest of the team with her approach.
As always there is plenty of action and revelations to keep the reader guessing as to the truth behind the murders, and it is a very satisfactory end to the series.
The author promises more from Jenny Williams in the future, but in the meantime is focussed on a new series featuring Detective Dawn Graves which I look forward to.
The next recommended book is by Judith Barrow... Live and Let: Tales of a Pembrokeshire Holiday Let
Sally’s review for the book May 15th 2024
This is a wonderful short book filled with treasures. The author takes us on a poignant journey through her teen years, marriage and growing family to set the scene for the highly entertaining stories of taking paying guests.
Having lovingly restored a neglected house in Pembrokeshire and wanting to add to the family income, a flat is created on the side of their home and over a number of years an assortment of guests take up residence during the summer season.
Some are clearly remembered with fondness, but others stand out for a variety of reasons and not always in the best light. Whilst laughing at the accounts of the antics these visitors got up to, it must have been extremely stressful to have to deal with them in person. The author has a lovely way of bringing these episodes to life and I would love to have been a fly on the wall.
These temporary lettings gave way to the arrival of a beloved aunt whose declining memory made from some heartwarming and also heartbreaking moments.
To round off a very satisfactory read, there is a short story about another house, another family facing challenges which ends with a twist.
I read Live and Let in one sitting and I am sure that anyone picking up the book will do the same. Highly recommended.
The latest collecton from Marjorie Mallon and my advance review for the book. Shh, Purely Poetry: Sensual, Love and Relationship Poems. On Pre-order June 2nd.
Sally’s advance review for the book May 18th 2024
Love in the romantic sense is a heady complex combination of physical and emotional attraction to another, sometimes bordering on the obsessive that completely takes over to the point of shutting out everything around you. Senses are heightened bringing a new perspective to the most mundane of activities, sights and sounds.
The author captures the depth of this sensual awakening and also the changes it brings to our lives in her poetry. The poems start slowly taking the reader through courtship into full blown relationships highlighting the highs and the lows along the way. The path of true love is not always smooth and as well as passion, one needs forgiveness and compassion.
This is a collection about love and relationships but also celebrates sensuality and whilst I don’t read erotica, this collection is a gentle reminder of the beauty that can exist between two individuals within a passionate relationship. There is a flow and softness that follows the cycle of love and passion..
As always with this author nature and humour also mingle with the more serious business of finding and expressing love. As a small taste of what is to come if you read this collection here is the opening verses to the first section in the collection: Love Is Fuel
Breakfast Nibbles
Avocado spread on toast, Like her bikini, green, shiny, lush, Skimpy but oh so satisfying!
Full breakfast, or bacon roll? Depends on afters… Your place or mine?
Head over to pre-order the collection for June 2nd: Amazon UK – And: Amazon US
And Sally’s final review this month was for the latest release by Jan Sikes… a world war two romance – A Beggar’s Bargain.
Sally’s review for the book May 25th 2024
A lovely heartwarming story of two young people who have lost so much and have little hope that their lives will change any time soon. Set just after WWII, times are hard, especially when drought and lack of work is being faced by millions.
For Laykin Martin having returned from the war to find his family farm has been left devastated following his parent’s death, and Sara Beth whose affluent father has his own plans, an unexpected turn of events throws them together to face an uncertain future.
The author always creates interesting and engaging characters and slowly over the story other down on their luck waifs and strays find their way into their home as they rebuild their lives. They expect hard work but not the kindness of others or how their own relationship will develop.
There are some devils in their lives who are determined to bring their hopes crashing down and it is a race against time for both crops and the safety of those they have come to consider familly.
It is a book I found hard to put down and read in one sitting and I thoroughly enjoyed being part of the journey of two young people determined to prove to themselves and to those who might doubt their decisions, that there is hope and love to be found.
Thank you so much to Richard Dee for this early book review and feature for my latest release due out 2nd June.
REVIEW
Well, where do I start?The author paints a picture in every poem, cleverly intermixing themes and providing a running commentary on aspects of love as part of life.With sections called LOVE IS FUEL, THE SUMMER & WINTER OF LOVE, LOST LOVE/DISCOVERING LOVE, LOVE, LIFE, WAR & FORGIVENESS, STRANGERS IN LOVE, QUIRKY! and SENSUAL SIGHS, there really is something for every mood, every stage of love, seduction and sensuality.The wordplay is deft and draws on powerful imagery, like this, from Breakfast Nibbles,Avocado spread on toast,Like her bikini, green, shiny,lush,Skimpy but oh so satisfying!or this, from Punk Music Babe,bold eyes blink in shadows,saucy salmon pink arch of eyebrows,her unrealluscious lookexcites me.There are so many other great examples, but I can’t show them all. Get a copy, you won’t be disappointed.This volume is recommended for anyone who likes to be taken on an exploration of the beauty, joy and exhilaration that can be found in relationships.
M J Mallon YA Author and Poet 