I’m thrilled to announce that I have two five star reviews for Mr. Sagittarius. Thank you to Colleen for the above review. So thrilled. And also to Ritu for her 5 star review too:
Yesterday I attended a wonderful event at Cambridge Central Library in conjunction with The Society of Childrens’ Writers and Book Illustrators: SCBWI.
I had the opportunity to hear from not one, not two, but three authors: Rosemary Hayes, Gillian McClure, and Pippa Goodhart who are all based in East Anglia and published by http://www.troikabooks.com/
Rosemary Hayes happens to be the same age as my mum and writes for young adults (11+) my preferred writing age range!
Who says we are ever too old to read, or to write YA! Never…
All of these age groups offer differing opportunities and challenges, from picture books to teens, authors have the power to capture and keep a reader’s attention.
How inspiring is that?
Gillian McClure
Gillian McClure kicked off the panel discussion by talking about her journey into writing and illustrating picture books. Her advice for picture book writers is simple: focus on seeing the world from the 2 – 6-year-old child’s point of view. Imagine what it is like to be a small person in a big world. Be aware of the things in their immediate vantage point, such as a dog on a pavement.
Begin by using a blank dummy with post-it-notes so that during the creative process you can move the words around and find their best placement.
Pay attention to pace and tone, e.g. starting and stopping to create a sense of flow. Or using two characters, one to speed up the pace and the other to slow it down. Or perhaps introduce one character to pose a question and the other to deliver an answer.
Think visually if you can and make sure that the words flow well on the page so when adults read aloud to children the experience is delightfully seamless.
For a shorter story format use minimal text and the present tense. Sometimes it is useful to use the past tense for scary scenes to bring the young reader out of the sense of immediate danger.
The ending should suggest that any underlying fears are resolved and there should be a sense of hope conveyed.
Pippa Goodhardt joined the discussion next, with her experiences of writing for MG – (7 to 9-year-olds.)
Her introduction focused on the importance of encouraging a reading habit in young children, validated by her own experience as a poor reader and writer as a child. Opportunities and the right environment can change a poor reader into an enthusiastic one, or may even encourage a poor reader to become an author as it did in Pippa’s experience.
This age group has huge potential, this is when readers are made and begin to choose their own books. There is a growing sense of independence characterised by sleepovers and the like. Characters aren’t expected to be saintly, and should be given the opportunity to explore, and have independent adventures. More serious topics can be explored, (in an imaginative and perhaps fantastical way,) but with an awareness of what is appropriate to the age of the child.
Rosemary Hayes continued the discussion with her thoughts on encouraging empathy in children and fostering reading in the teenage age group.
Twelve to fourteen-year-olds question the world around them and are sensitive and impressionable. Consider various aspects when writing for this age group e.g. Do they interact well with their peers?
Authors should be encouraged to explore more challenging, edgy content as long as this is thoughtfully done. Focus on what you care about. Be passionate, grab the readers’ attention fast or they will lose interest. Be careful about the use of language – slang and the like can become out-dated very quickly..
Don’t write down to your readers, treat them with respect, write about what inspires and intrigues you and this should in turn intrigue and inspire them.
I am thrilled to say that I am one of several SCBWI MG and YA authors and picture book illustrators at this very special event in the central library in Cambridge.
Doesn’t it sound just amazing?
If you happen to be in Cambridge on the 9th of February do pop over to the central library and say hello!
If you’re interested in finding out more about SCBWI, (a fantastic group for writers and illustrators.) Here’s a link: https://www.scbwi.org/
This week Colleen has given us total freedom with a free choice of words so I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to explore a new form of poetry too. Etheree poem…
Etheree The Etheree poem consists of ten lines of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 syllables. Etheree can also be reversed and written 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. The trick is to create a memorable message within the required format. Poets can get creative and write an Etheree with more than one verse, but the idea is to follow suit with an inverted syllable count. Reversed Etheree Syllable Count: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Double Etheree Syllable Count: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 10, 9, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
I had a wonderful walk in the Botanic Gardens in Cambridge during my lunch break and came across this beautiful tree. It was so beautiful and magical that I struggled to part with it! This Etheree is in its honour.
Yesterday I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Pembroke College with the SCBWI group – writers and illustrators. We had a fantastic time.
A statue – Figure in a Shelter – by Henry Moore caught my eye and I wrote a short piece of flash fiction using it as inspiration. So today I thought I’d share with you the photos and flash fiction plus a Tanka too.
For Green I used greenery and devilry for magic.
This ended up very Dr Who like!
Behold a statue,
What devilry can this be?
A woman captured,
Fooled by the lush greenery,
Buckled, damaged by a child.
A statue dominated the landscape of green, lush perfection. Two halves beckoned to her to approach. She hesitated, unsure. Captured within she imagined that a triangle of light fell on the woman within enveloping her hunched over body. But she couldn’t see her expression. She didn’t smile, frown or speak. It was as if a terrible freak of nature had broken the woman’s heart and left her mute.
One side of the statue curled inwards pointing an accusing, gnarled finger. It resembled a walnut cracked – its hard exterior broken and lost without its other significant half.
The missing part curved into a perfect mould with no sharp edges or broken pieces. Its womb-like space quivered dancing away from her – out of reach.
She sighed.
She felt a hand grip her fingertips. A child’s hand, small, urgent. The voice of this hand spoke to her. ‘Come on!’
It was her four-year-old niece urging her to move away from the statue to come and play.
This small person reminded her that she was needed. Wanted. She felt a tug and another and another.
She gazed at her niece’s playful grey eyes and saw the truth. Tiny freckles speckled across her face like displaced rays of sunshine.
‘This is for you,’ she said.
It was a sunflower. Such a beautiful gift, but wilted.
The woman cried.
‘Why are you crying, Aunty?’ asked the little girl.
The statue murmured. The two halves moved inwards to caress the woman.
Buy Paperback Book link: http://mybook.to/TheCurseofTime
Unique Selling Point: Unique, Imaginative, ‘Charming, enchanting and richly layered this is purely delightful.’
“This delightful book will appeal to teens and young adults who love stories filled with magical crystals, dark family curses, and mysteries waiting to be solved around every corner. Each chapter leads you on a journey of discovery where Amelina earns the right to use three wizard stones to reset the balance of time and finally break the curse that holds her family hostage. A captivating tale!” – Colleen M. Chesebro (Editor)
I’ve been so busy of late trying to find a new job – I was meant to be starting a new contract just after the bloggers bash in London – but found my proposed terms of the new employment unacceptable which is a story in itself! When I read through the company pack it seemed that perhaps they might have a rat problem, asbestos on site and random drug testing – so that didn’t appeal! Lol. I decided not to accept that role. So, it’s been time-consuming trying to find another job.
In the meantime I’ve been taking my mind off the horrendous hassle of job hunting by writing book reviews, creating a mobi/epub copy of Book One for reviewers (SO REVIEWERS IF YOU’D LIKE A COPY DON’T BE SHY!) and working on Book Two in the Curse of Time series – The Golden Healer – which is currently standing at a rough draft of about 50,000 words.
Lots still to do in The Curse of Time Series. I’m starting to think about the potential for a powerful dragon – a volcanic stirrer of passions in Book Three!
It is my intention that Book Three will feature the Dragon Chronopage designed by Dr John C Taylor OBE who I had the pleasure of meeting in September 2017 with Tina Fotherby.
Buy Book link: http://mybook.to/TheCurseofTime
Unique Selling Point: Unique, Imaginative, ‘Charming, enchanting and richly layered this is purely delightful.’
“This delightful book will appeal to teens and young adults who love stories filled with magical crystals, dark family curses, and mysteries waiting to be solved around every corner. Each chapter leads you on a journey of discovery where Amelina earns the right to use three wizard stones to reset the balance of time and finally break the curse that holds her family hostage.
A captivating tale!” – Colleen M. Chesebro (Editor)
I am an author who has been blogging for many moons at my lovely blog home Kyrosmagica: https://mjmallon.com. My interests include writing, photography, poetry, and alternative therapies. I write Fantasy YA/Paranormal novels, Horror/Ghost Short stories and micro poetry – haiku and tanka. I love to read and have written over 100 reviews: https://mjmallon.com/2015/09/28/a-z-of-my-book-reviews/
My alter ego is MJ – Mary Jane from Spiderman. I love superheroes! I was born on the 17th of November in Lion City: Singapore, (a passionate Scorpio, with the Chinese Zodiac sign a lucky rabbit,) second child and only daughter to my proud parents Paula and Ronald. I grew up in a mountainous court in the Peak District in Hong Kong with my elder brother Donald. My parents dragged me away from my exotic childhood and my much loved dog Topsy to the frozen wastelands of Scotland. In bonnie Edinburgh I mastered Scottish country dancing, and a whole new Och Aye lingo.
As a teenager I travelled to many far-flung destinations to visit my abacus wielding wayfarer dad. It’s rumoured that I now live in the Venice of Cambridge, with my six foot hunk of a Rock God husband, and my two enchanted daughters. After such an upbringing my author’s mind has taken total leave of its senses! When I’m not writing, I eat exotic delicacies while belly dancing, or surf to the far reaches of the moon. To chill out, I practise Tai Chi. If the mood takes me I snorkel with mermaids, or sign up for idyllic holidays with the Chinese Unicorn, whose magnificent voice sings like a thousand wind chimes.
Books by M J Mallon:
The Curse of Time – Book 1 – Bloodstone
Blurb:
Fifteen-year-old Amelina Scott lives in Cambridge with her dysfunctional family, a mysterious black cat, and an unusual girl who’s imprisoned within the mirrors located in her house. When an unexpected message arrives inviting her to visit the Crystal Cottage, she sets off on a forbidden pathway where she encounters Ryder, a charismatic, but perplexing stranger.
With the help of a magical paint set, and some crystal wizard stones she discovers the truth about a shocking curse that has destroyed her family’s happiness.
Title: The Curse of Time Book 1 – Bloodstone Kindle Publication date: 27th August 2017 Genre: YA/Paranormal Fantasy Pages: 237 ASIN: B074CDJPY9 Buy Book:myBook.to/TheCurseofTime
Unique Selling Point: Unique, Imaginative, ‘Charming, enchanting and richly layered this is purely delightful.’
“This delightful book will appeal to teens and young adults who love stories filled with magical crystals, dark family curses, and mysteries waiting to be solved around every corner. Each chapter leads you on a journey of discovery where Amelina earns the right to use three wizard stones to reset the balance of time and finally break the curse that holds her family hostage. A captivating tale!” – Colleen M. Chesebro (Editor)
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More reviews:
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My poetry, prose and photography collection released on February 16th.
Mr. Sagittarius is available in kindle, full colour paperback and free in Amazon Kindle Unlimited.
Blurb:
Who Is Mr. Sagittarius?
And what is his connection to twin brothers, Harold and William?
When Harold dies he leaves a simple memorial request
Will his sister Annette honour it?
Or, will the magic of the garden ensure that she does.
A magical story expressed via poetry and prose with photographic images.
I am a participating author in Dan Alatorre’s anthology: Nightmareland with my story Scrabble Boy.
From the creators of the #1 bestseller The Box Under The Bed horror anthology and its #1 bestseller sequel Dark Visions, comes Nightmareland
A best-selling horror anthology with 23 stories from 14 authors.
I am a participating author in Plaisted Publishing House’s Ghostly Anthology 2019 with my short story Dexter’s Creepy Caverns.
Please note, it is showing as 99p on Amazon, which take a little longer for it to recognise its free elsewhere.
I’m contributing two poems to Plaisted Publishing House Ghostly Writers short story collection. Ghostly Romance Anthology Volume 1 is now FREE on Amazon:
I also contributed to Plaisted Publishing House Ghostly Writes Anthology 2018 with my story Ghostly Goodbye.
Ghostly Goodbye by M J Mallon
Ghostly Goodbye is a paranormal love story about a young woman called Iris who can’t get over her husband’s death. She is mourning him so much that she feels dead inside. Her husband Ed sends her a ghostly message from beyond the grave via an old forgotten garment in her wardrobe. She responds by dragging herself from her tomb-like bed and he draws back the curtain of death to visit her in a most unusual way.
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Reviews needed! Please support us.
Available on Amazon, Apple, Nook, Kobo, Scribd, 24S, Playster, Indigo, Angus & Robertson, Mondadori Store: Universal Buying Link
Samantha Murdoch kindly allowed me to use the following images in my publicity and on the spine of my paperback of The Curse of Time Book 1 Bloodstone.
The Bloodstone
and images of her cat Lily (who is very like the black cat Shadow in my book, The Curse of Time.
Carolina Russo has created two wonderful portraits of my characters which feature in my paperback. Below is the full colour version, the paperback images are in black and white.
1. I wish I could be wonder woman or MJ from Spiderman
2. I adore crystals, alternative therapies, the unusual and the strange. I’m a qualified Aromatherapist, Reflexologist, (I no longer work as a therapist instead I devote my spare time to reading, writing, blogging and reviewing.)
3. Some say that I am a white witch…my blogging friends confer and have included me in the Sisters of The Fey, a writerly collaboration.
4. My husband can’t remember asking me to marry him and neither can I. He suspects I cast a spell on him!
5. I have travelled to many foreign destinations, including: Papua New Guinea, Fiji, the Caribbean, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Rome, Venice, France, Germany, Spain, Belgium and Portugal. I would love the funds to travel some more!
6. I currently work as a receptionist for a private sixth form in Cambridge. In quiet moments I observe peoples’ mannerisms, listen to snippets of gossip and dream up new story ideas.
7. I love food! Asian food and anything spicy, yum…My mother is Malaysian and my father is Scottish so I grew up with a very varied diet.
8. My motto is to do what you love! Stay true to your heart’s desires, remain young at heart, and inspire others to do so, even if the odds are stacked against you like black-hearted shadows.
9. I studied Communication Studies at University, (marketing, media studies, public relations, etc.) My degree is coming in mighty handy now.
10. I love cats but don’t own one (my husband and daughter are allergic,) so I adopted a virtual black cat called Lily who looks like my black cat character Shadow in my book: https://mjmallon.com/2017/05/17/shadow-welcomes-lily-the-cat-to-kyrosmagica/
11. I have so many writing projects and so little time! I am a writing butterfly so this pains me greatly!
12. I am an original! I have been to every single Bloggers Bash until now. http://sachablack.co.uk/annual-bloggers-bash/
13. I have met the inventor of The Corpus Christi Chronophage clock – Dr John C Taylor, OBE who kindly gave me permission to use his images in my book. http://www.johnctaylor.com/the-chronophage/
14. I enjoy interviewing my fictional characters on my blog. Currently you can meet
Shadow: https://mjmallon.com/2017/05/11/my-interview-with-shadow-a-black-cat-character-with-a-past/
Amelina: https://mjmallon.com/2017/08/20/mj-interviews-amelina-the-curse-of-time-bloodstone-sundayblogshare/
Today, I have some wonderful news for you, my kindle book is on promotional offer. The kindle countdown deal starts today. So hurry, get the best price reduction today!!!
“This delightful book will appeal to teens and young adults who love stories filled with magical crystals, dark family curses, and mysteries waiting to be solved around every corner. Each chapter leads you on a journey of discovery where Amelina earns the right to use three wizard stones to reset the balance of time and finally break the curse that holds her family hostage. A captivating tale!” – Colleen M. Chesebro (Editor)
And my first 5 star review on Amazon!!!!
This special offer is to celebrate my wedding anniversary this week. Hubby and I were married on the 26th of September many moons ago!
Here are some old photos of us in our prime!
A bit blurry I know, but they were taken a long time ago. It was our first skiing holiday together in Verbier, Switzerland. My husband is a keen skiier and is always happiest if he is about to launch himself at full throttle down a ski slope. I’d rather pat a horse! I didn’t have much luck with skiiing, but I am determined, I persevered and went for years. I stopped skiing after I fell off the edge of a pathway and had to be rescued by my ski instructor. But my husband still goes every year and loves it.
I so admire those who ski and participate in adventurous pursuits. I love the majesty and beauty of the mountains and I must confess I find a man in ski gear mighty handsome !
To order your kindle copy of The Curse of Time click the links below to be directed to Amazon. Go on I dare you!!!!
At last! It’s my launch party today for my kindle e-book and I can’t believe it – I am beyond thrilled.
Welcome!
Come in and let me share with you some news.
I’ve been keeping a very special piece of art tucked away to reveal to you today!
It’s a wonderful portrait that Carolina Russo of Yesterday After created for me of my character Esme.
What are your impressions of Esme? The tears in her eyes convey her sadness but the golden hair of the mysterious girl facing her (no spoilers!) is bright and vibrant, suggesting hope. Carolina has done an amazing job, I can’t thank her enough for all her hard work in creating this stunning artwork for me. Collaborations makes me so happy. That is why I love writing and blogging so much. I would never have ‘met’ Carolina otherwise. It’s so wonderful to be able to collaborate with talented and creative individuals like Carolina who live so far away.
Isn’t that beyond awesome? I am speechless. Dr John C. Taylor has been so generous, allowing me to use images of his incredible creation The Corpus Christi Chronopage on my social media and my book cover.
I am very fortunate to have such a creative younger daughter, Georgina who has done an amazing job of photographing two models depicting my two main characters – Amelina, and Ryder.
Amelina – modelled by Elise Hackney
Ryder – modelled by Joseph English.
I have had the joy of collaborating with https://samanthamurdochblog.wordpress.com/ Samantha happens to have a black cat supermodel Lily who looks just like the black cat Shadow in my book.
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Isn’t Lily amazing?
Samantha loves crystals and so do I! Her son Alex Marlowe took this stunning photo of a Bloodstone crystal that features on the spine of my paperback (the paperback is still to be released.)
I can’t thank my good friend Colleen Chesebro enough for all her kindness. She started off beta reading and then took me under her fairy wings to do a full scale edit. Thanks also to my beta readers – blogging friend Graeme Cumming – first draft beta reader and my eldest daughter Natasha Mallon for all her help too.
Below are the links to the kindle e-book – The Curse of Time – #1 Bloodstone.
If you’d like to leave a review, I’d be thrilled if you would.
A big thank you to all my lovely friends who have featured me on their blogs leading up to the book launch and those who will be featuring me, thereafter. Your support and help mean so much.
This is a perfect poetry prompt for me as I love to explore shadows and light in my writing.
Here’s an extract from The Curse of Time – Book 1 – Bloodstone followed by my Tanka.
The evening descended, and darkness filled my room. I couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned, but the stagnant dead air in the house tightened around my neck choking me. I slipped out of bed and opened a window. It made no difference. Feeling anxious, I noticed a deep sensation of dread forcing its way into my soul.
I often heard strange grumbling voices and laboured breathing coming from the walls of our silent house, speaking in unison, ‘Cursed house, dreadful misfortune.’ Tonight, no difference awaited me. Those weird sounds seemed to reverberate from the cramped attic room at the top of the house, right down to the ground floor. The hexagonal hallway grumbled as I heard six whispered voices that unified into one loud, persistent groan that amplified, filling the hall with the same repeated words.
I wrestled with alternating tiredness and wakefulness, pushing the sounds away, I fell into a deep sleep. I dreamed. A vision formed and I could see the pathway ahead lay deserted, not a soul in sight. The dead of night beckoned, and an eerie silence magnified every rustle and quadrupled every whisper in the breeze. The gentle sound of trickling water soothed my disturbed senses, but I couldn’t find the source. I fought a strange feeling that someone followed me. Yet, when I glanced over my shoulder, no one seemed to be there. No footprints, no churned-up earth, nothing. I walked faster, but my steps lagged, like a clock pendulum moving back and forth on a predetermined journey, yet moving in slow motion.
As my dream continued, the whispering winds grew louder. I forced myself to turn around and confront my growing fear. I saw the shadow of a man, and he was following me. Disconcerted, I tried to run and stumbled; as if this shadowy man’s long limbs were reaching forward to trip me up. Just when I couldn’t take another step, the winds stopped. The shadow revealed itself in a flash of light and vanished. My eyes blinked, captivated by blue-black hair, but I couldn’t see his face. I stood transfixed by a bright light followed by an immediate darkness.
Book reviews by a girl named Jen. Jen Watches posted weekly. Follow me on Instagram @booksbyjen or Twitter @booksbyjen1. If you have any book suggestions, requests, or questions email me at booksbyjenblog@gmail.com
Book reviews by a girl named Jen. Jen Watches posted weekly. Follow me on Instagram @booksbyjen or Twitter @booksbyjen1. If you have any book suggestions, requests, or questions email me at booksbyjenblog@gmail.com
