
Thank you so much to Colleen Chesebro for reviewing my YA fantasy amongst such fabulous company – made my day! Check out these reviews for Mae Clair, Deborah Harkness and yours truly!
Thank you so much to Colleen Chesebro for reviewing my YA fantasy amongst such fabulous company – made my day! Check out these reviews for Mae Clair, Deborah Harkness and yours truly!
Thank you to John Rieber for featuring Spellbound on his blog.
I am thrilled to be a contributing author in this horror anthology with several friends including the multi-talented Robbie Cheadle.
A big welcome to my next Ghostly Writer from Plaisted Publishing House – Lynn Mullican.
Interview questions:
Bad Elements: Crystal Dragon
“Live and breathe your darkest fears!”
Bad Elements: Crystal Dragon – Synopsis
Crystal Bouchard awakens imprisoned in an underground cell with no recollection of how she got there and with no memory of her prior existence. Held against her will, her captors threaten to kill her son unless she fights to the death in the underground fighting circuit. Nicknamed “The Dragon,” she spends the next several years among werewolves and vampires.
Bad Elements: Crystal Dragon – Excerpt
After the commentator announced Kara, the crowd chanted her name. Kara entered the arena. I had to admit, I stood in awe of the woman. She was at least a foot taller than me and exceptionally muscular. I looked like a midget compared to her. Her hair was straight, black, and shoulder length. She looked like she might have been on steroids.
I would have to get the upper hand early in the fight, then go low and take her down. As Kara and I faced off, our fans screamed.
Kara threw the first punch which I was able to dodge. I sidestepped her and caught her in the rib.
She groaned and doubled over.
I moved in, grabbed her by her hair and brought my knee up into her face.
That was when she wrapped her arms around me, and tried to take me to the ground.
Instead, I ran into the wall behind me. An uppercut rocked my head back, banging it against the wall. I groaned. I took a shot to the stomach before I was able to get her off of me.
While we fought, the fans slammed each other against the bars. The commentator made the announcement for the fight to stop. We glanced up at him.
Recognizing it was for the fans to stop, we returned to our business. I rushed her, going low for the legs, and slammed her into the barrier. Even though she struck the concrete wall, she was still able to elbow me in the middle of the back.
I yelped in pain. The riot started above us again. A corpse struck the bars. The snarls and growls escalated, catching our attention as they echoed throughout the arena. Kara and I glanced at each other and then at the chaos above. The bars had been bent.
Kara stood near the barrier, trying to focus in on the crowd. Blood poured out from the bars, drenching her from head to toe. She stared at me, wide-eyed, as if she knew the inevitable. My mouth fell open. Fear set deep inside me, and from this point on everything seemed to happen in slow motion.
Kara stood frozen in place. The bars moaned beneath the massive weight, continuing to bend in multiple areas behind the steel barrier. Fearful that the bars were going to split wide open, I took a couple of steps back, ready to run.
The bars exploded throughout the arena. I threw myself to the ground and covered my head. Steel echoed off of concrete walls, rebounding around me. Two of the bars struck me in the legs. They were heavy, but not heavy enough to seriously injure me.
I glanced behind me at Kara, who had fallen to the ground with a male corpse atop her. It had been torn to shreds. I gasped in horror. Blood soaked the dirt surrounding her and the body.
She barely managed to get the man off of her and stand up when several fans jumped into the arena. I pulled myself up, watching them circle Kara. Covered in blood and guts, she gave me the look which I recognized as defeat.
She was defenseless against the lot of them.
I took one step toward them and then halted in terror. She was shredded within seconds. They devoured her, some still feeding off of her while she fell to the ground. More fans followed the others into the pit, coming towards me. Their lips curled back, revealing their elongated fangs.
I backed up, recognizing the difference between their fangs and Wayne’s. At first, I thought they were werewolves too, but their flesh was white and their eyes darker.
Then I made the connection: they were vampires.
I turned and ran straight for the open concrete door behind me, my heart pounding in my chest. I never ran so fast in my life.
Wayne stood just on the inside of the gate and yelled at me to hurry. There was no sign of Alex. My guess was that he had booked it, for he was mortal like me. He needed time advantage.
Something grazed my back. I screamed. The tiny hairs on my neck stood up. I was no match for these creatures. They were closing in on me. Wayne lurched forward and pulled me to safety behind the wall, gate and door.
Some of the vampires got stuck in the small room that barricaded the corridor from the main arena. This didn’t stop them, though. They tore through the door, blowing it apart. Pieces of it flew in all directions, striking us and the walls. We ran down the corridor.
Vampires shrieked behind us, followed by unhinged metal and something heavy rebounding against the wall. Wayne and I had already passed the commentator and were coming up fast behind Alex.
The commentator screamed. I presumed the heavy object had been the door to his small office. Blood sprayed the wall next to me.
Wayne let go of me and pressed me onward, before transforming into his alternate form.
Two of the vampires jumped him while he was still in mid-transformation. He slammed them into the walls.
I screamed. He received several bites before he fully transformed. His massive body took up most of the corridor, blocking us from all of the vampires except one. I ran through the door to our right, after Alex. The one vampire who was now amongst us jumped Alex just on the other side of the door.
Alex swung the door shut and fought back. He was thrown to the ground, the vampire atop him. I jumped on the vampire’s back, wrapping my arm around its neck. The door broke into pieces around us. Wayne stormed in, still in wolf form, and bared his teeth. The creature threw me off of its back. I struck the wall behind me, my head rebounding off of it. The vampire glared at me. I thought for sure I was dead.
Wayne ran full stride at the vampire. His claws echoed off the concrete floor and drove him into a wall. Alex jumped to his feet, threw open another door, and pushed me into the dark room. Screams and other noises which I associated with being mauled escalated in the room behind us.
As we ran into the room, Alex flipped on the light switch. Wayne mutated into his human form and ran into the room after us. He slammed the door shut, separating us from the vampires.
During the course of searching for her son, she slowly begins to recollect her prior existence before her imprisonment, pushing her deeper within the fighting circuit.
Bad Elements series: Crystal Dragon, Blood for Blood & The Hybrid Unleashed – FAQ’s
Main characters:
Crystal Bouchard AKA “The Dragon” is an amnesiac victim, a martial artist, a prisoner in an immortal world. She is a fighter and a survivor, a lover and a killer. Crystal is a determined mother on a mission to find and protect her family. She is stubborn, headstrong, intelligent, and beautiful. Crystal has unwitting sarcasm to aid and jeopardize her situation no matter what position she’s been put in.
Robert Bouchard is a law enforcement officer with secrets of his own. He is driven to find his mother who has been missing for several years. He’s a young, married man with a “special” wife and three half-bred werewolf children.
Tristan Ayers is a “unique” individual with extraordinary talents and abilities. He’s a special agent investigating unethical practices within the vampire and werewolf communities. One of his current missions is a role as protector. He is rugged looking with handsome features and has multi-faceted characteristics.
Jace Templeton is a strong, powerful and rogue vampire with unethical practices and habits. He is always looking for a new project and relies on his associates for mundane tasks. He is very intelligent, cunning and forceful. He is very passionate about his new venture.
Setting – time period and locations:
The book spans approximately a five-year timeframe from mid-2007 to about 2012. Some of the locations include the forests of Payson, Flagstaff, Munds Park and Prescott, Arizona. Some of the small towns and bars are located in Payson and Flagstaff, Arizona.
Lynn’s links:
https://www.amazon.com/Lynn-Mullican/e/B0055WRN3U/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
https://www.facebook.com/Author.LynnMullican/?fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/BadElementsSeries/?fref=ts
http://lynnmullican.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/lynnmullican
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4842137.Lynn_Mullican?from_search=true
Lynn’s teaser for Ghostly Rites 2019:
Well, that was a very fascinating interview and scary teaser. Thank you Lynn for coming over to chat.
I’m really enjoying interviewing my fellow Ghostly Writers.
Do check out my previous posts:
https://mjmallon.com/2019/10/24/marywoldering-ghostlywriters-ghostlyrites2019/
https://mjmallon.com/2019/10/26/author-interview-wendy-steele-ghostlywriters-ghostlyrites2019/
https://mjmallon.com/2019/10/27/interview-mara-reitsma-ghostlywriters-plaistedpublishinghouse/
There may be one or two more… we shall see if anymore Ghostly Writers come to chat!
Bye for now, ghostly peeps.
http://mybook.to/TheCurseofTime
Social Media Links
Authors Website: https://mjmallon.com
Collaborative Blog: https://sistersofthefey.wordpress.com
Twitter: @Marjorie_Mallon and @curseof_time
#ABRSC: Authors Bloggers Rainbow Support Club on Facebook
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17064826.M_J_Mallon
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mjmallonauthor/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mjmallonauthor/
It is my great pleasure to welcome K. M. McFarland to my blog today. Fellow author, and contributing participant in this year’s Ghostly Writes Anthology:
The Thinning Veil (A short story by K. M. McFarland from Ghostly Writes Anthology 2018.)
When you make a deal with Papa, he always keeps his end of the bargain,
but you better be damn sure you’re willing to pay the price.
MEET THE AUTHOR: K. M. McFarland made her way to the Big Easy in middle school by way of Nashville, Tennessee, and the Florida beaches. She immediately became intrigued by its ambiance. Stories of Voodoo, vampires, ghosts and haunted houses have been her inspiration as well as her fascination with New Orleans’ colorful history. When she isn’t writing or roaming the French Quarter researching her next book, you will find her spending time with her family, shopping online, or marathoning a good TV series. Photography, music, art, traveling, reading, coffee, and wine are among her favorite things.
Sex, Blood, Rock ‘N’ Roll, and Vampyr by K. M. McFarland
Series: The Bloodline Series, Book 1
Release Date: January 3, 2017
K. M. McFarland, Author
Act4Publishing
New Orleans, Louisiana
act4pub@gmail.com
Website: www.kmmcfarland.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kmmvampire/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kmmvampire
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vampyralley/
Amazon Author Page: http://bit.ly/KMbooks
Rock stars, vampires, nightlife, romance, and chaos set the tone for this intriguing vampire family saga in New Orleans’ French Quarter…
When West Side’s frontman, Quinn Forrester, mysteriously vanished in 1989, the band’s lead guitarist, Jeff West, suspected foul play. With no evidence, Jeff was never able to convince the authorities. It never occurred to Jeff that Quinn was turned into a vampire that night and hid away in the dark shadows of New Orleans.
Years later, Quinn and his daughter formed a local nightclub act. Finding himself back in the public eye, ageless and immortal, Quinn reinvented himself as his son.
Twenty-five years after Quinn’s sudden departure from the band, the opening of an art gallery brings Jeff to New Orleans. A beautiful artist, Quinn’s lookalike son, a vampire tour, romance, mayhem, and a series of events lead Jeff to Quinn. Finally, face-to-face with his long lost best friend, will Jeff uncover the shocking truth in this fast-paced character driven story?
Praises for Sex, Blood, Rock ‘N’ Roll, and Vampyr:
“K.M. McFarland may have just made a big contribution to the massive amount of vampire lore and books that have been created in the wake of Anne Rice.” —Ray Simmons -Readers’ Favorite
“The title says it all…set in New Orleans, an immortal character itself.” — Bookworks
“The New Orleans setting is exciting and filled with mystery.” —Jack Magnus -Readers’ Favorite
“A horror book in the way of Twilight. McFarland does a great job in bringing the reader to a whole new area of vampires and the location she picks is perfect.” —Blood Moon Rising Magazine
Purchase Sex, Blood, Rock ‘N’ Roll, and Vampyr:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2nPYEIG
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2nl751R
Other Books by K. M. McFarland:
Song of the Vampire (The Vampyr Series, Book 1):
Praises for Sex, Blood, Rock ‘N’ Roll, and Vampyr:
“K.M. McFarland may have just made a big contribution to the massive amount of vampire lore and books that have been created in the wake of Anne Rice.” —Ray Simmons -Readers’ Favorite
“The title says it all…set in New Orleans, an immortal character itself.” — Bookworks
“The New Orleans setting is exciting and filled with mystery.” —Jack Magnus -Readers’ Favorite
“A horror book in the way of Twilight. McFarland does a great job in bringing the reader to a whole new area of vampires and the location she picks is perfect.” —Blood Moon Rising Magazine
Purchase Sex, Blood, Rock ‘N’ Roll, and Vampyr:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2nPYEIG
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2nl751R
Rock Star Quinn Forrester mysteriously vanished in 1989. His now grown up daughter, Nadia Forrester is playing a deadly game with alcohol, promiscuity, and an abusive relationship. When you’re living on the edge, reconnecting with your long lost father and discovering he is an immortal may not be such a bad thing.
Buy Link: http://amzn.to/2meK3d9
Under a Bourbon Street Moon (The Vampyr Series, Book 2):
Country singer Amber Rose arrives in New Orleans from Nashville hoping to reconnect with former rock star Quinn Forrester whom she has learned is her biological father. But there are a lot of things she doesn’t know about her father, and she soon finds herself caught up in a world of vampires, ghosts, and Voodoo.
Buy Link: http://amzn.to/2n0Reop
Masquerade (The Vampyr Series, Book 3):
Quinn Forrester has his hands full dealing with a new romance, his vampire daughter, his mortal daughter who sees dead people, his spiritually connected vampire ex-girlfriend who is her mentor and his not so dearly departed ex-wife that just won’t stay dead. Is his mansion big enough? Being undead can get complicated.
Buy Link: http://amzn.to/2nPUAYS
Author Q & A:
What made you choose to write in the paranormal genre?
I live in New Orleans and I have always been fascinated with the New Orleans legends of vampires and ghosts. Our city was built on a swamp, so we don’t bury our dead. Instead, they are interred above ground so we won’t meet up with them in the next hard rain. Our cemeteries are tourist attractions, but there’s something romantic about them. Voodoo is also a part of our culture whether we believe or not. Our history is colorful and intriguing. If you walk down Bourbon Street on any day/night of the week, you can see how easily vampires could blend in. But in this age of technology, vampires would have to be able to blend in with humans and play nice with them. That idea was the beginning of the Vampyr series.
What is your favorite paranormal creature and why?
I would have to say vampires. I started reading Anne Rice novels when The Vampire Lestat was first published, and Lestat is responsible for my obsession with vampires. My vampire novels also feature ghost stories so vampires followed by ghosts.
Anything specific you want to tell your readers?
Yes. Thank you for your support. Thank you for reading. Your kind reviews and words make it all worthwhile. I write to entertain, so when someone reads my work and feels entertained, it makes me happy. Thank you.
PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release:
A New Orleans author’s new book receives a warm literary welcome.
Readers’ Favorite announces the review of the Fiction – Paranormal book “Sex, Blood, Rock ‘N’ Roll, and Vampyr” by K. M. McFarland, currently available at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MQPJ9TS.
Readers’ Favorite is one of the largest book review and award contest sites on the Internet. They have earned the respect of renowned publishers like Random House, Simon & Schuster, and Harper Collins, and have received the “Best Websites for Authors” and “Honoring Excellence” awards from the Association of Independent Authors. They are also fully accredited by the BBB (A+ rating), which is a rarity among Book Review and Book Award Contest companies.
“Reviewed By Ray Simmons for Readers’ Favorite
Some time in 1975 or 1976, Ila Bosarge gave me a copy of Interview With The Vampire, written by some author I had never heard of called Anne Rice. I wasn’t too keen on reading it because I’m not into horror so much. But I was into Ila. She was and is one of the great friends of my life and she was a very smart girl so I read the book. It changed my perspective on vampires. I think it changed the world’s perception of vampires. Bram Stoker might have written the book on vampires, but Anne Rice rewrote it. K.M. McFarland may have just made a big contribution to the massive amount of vampire lore and books that have been created in the wake of Anne Rice. Some of these I have read, some of them I just can’t get into. I got into Sex, Blood, Rock ‘N’ Roll, and Vampyr. I look forward to seeing more of The Bloodline Trilogy series.
I love that Sex, Blood, Rock ‘N’ Roll, and Vampyr takes place in New Orleans. It is the perfect setting for a vampire story and, since I grew up a two-hour drive away, I am intimately familiar with the city. I like K.M. McFarland’s take on vampire lore. Every writer has a different approach and I like hers. I like her characters. Lestat might have been a very interesting vampire, but he was sometimes difficult to like. I like Quinn. I like his family. Family is something Lestat could never get right. It seems to me that without a functional family, being immortal would become a chore. The writing is good. The plot works, and the vampires are fashionable and friendly. If you are in the market for a new vampire book, try this one.”
You can learn more about K. M. McFarland and “Sex, Blood, Rock ‘N’ Roll, and Vampyr” at https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/sex-blood-rock-n-roll-and-vampyr where you can read reviews and the author’s biography, as well as connect with the author directly or through their website and social media pages.
Readers’ Favorite LLC
Media Relations
Louisville, KY 40202
800-RF-REVIEW
support@readersfavorite.com
https://readersfavorite.com
I’m so thrilled to be discovering new and exciting authors via this anthology. I love vampire stories!
Please support all the amazing authors involved in the Ghostly Writes Anthology. More about that here: https://mjmallon.com/2018/10/27/ghostly-writes-anthology-2018/
Halloween is fast approaching. Enjoy! There are a fair few Halloween blog parties going on… Why not visit Donna at Yadadarcyyada and Sally Cronin…
https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/10/26/the-more-the-scarier/
The Ghostly Goodbye by M J Mallon
The 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.
Buy Book: myBook.to/TheCurseofTime
Social Media Links:
Authors Media Kit: https://mjmallon.com/2018/02/13/media-kit/
Collaborative Blog: https://sistersofthefey.wordpress.com
Twitter: @Marjorie_Mallon and @curseof_time
#ABRSC: Authors Bloggers Rainbow Support Club on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1829166787333493/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17064826.M_J_Mallon
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mjmallonauthor/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mjmallonauthor/
Here’s my entry for Colleen’s weekly poetry challenge.
It’s been ages since I’ve been able to take part due to long working hours, etc, but seeing as it is nearly Halloween I couldn’t resist! For Haunt I chose lair, and for spell I decided upon trick.
Hope you enjoyed my Tanka….
THIS IS THE PRE-ORDER LINK…WE ARE HOPING THE BOOK WILL BE FREE VIA AMAZON WITH IN A WEEK OF PUBLICATION.
MEANWHILE IT WILL BE FREE ON THE 31ST OCTOBER ON NOOK, KOBO, APPLE, TOLINO etc.
This week the prompt words are eerie and costume but there’s a catch, Colleen has asked us to use synonyms.
To join in Colleen’s challenge follow the link: https://colleenchesebro.com/2017/10/24/colleens-weekly-poetry-tuesday-challenge-eerie-costume/
Here is a relevant passage from my novel The Curse of Time – Book 1 – Bloodstone to set the tone for the poetry.
I sensed a change in the dream when a strange creature appeared. His body and features fused together with rotten flesh, matted mud, skin, and protruding bones. The creature did not speak. His silent presence terrified me, and I shivered.
The beast stood motionless and pointed a bony finger at the ground. Fear clenched at my heart. A flood of messages bombarded my brain. Warning signals went off suggesting a multitude of horrible intentions that the creature may have in store for me.
A tremor shook my body, and my teeth chattered. My ears rang with the sound of the earth cracking below my feet. It meant that I had left it too late to run. My eyes fell downwards as the world tilted on its axis, and the realisation came to me that the only way out was via a slide which suddenly appeared at my feet.
With one glance, I could tell the slide had a definite beginning but no visible end. I placed a tentative step onto the slide. The minute I touched it I knew no time for fear. I swallowed hard and plunged into the darkness, sliding into oblivion. Every emotion I possessed had compressed into mere seconds – a momentary adrenalin rush. Sensations continued like the aftermath of the wildest rollercoaster ride. Fuelled by fear, it sent my senses reeling, the ultimate blood pounding, stomach churning thrill.
I slipped down the slide and landed onto a stone floor, yet it cushioned my landing, like a silky feather down quilt. No longer afraid of the shadows, I felt welcomed, at home. With wide-eyed astonishment, I took in the magnificent interior of the Crystal Cottage. Gems, in a myriad of welcoming shades, purple Amethyst, white Quartz, red Jade, blue Topaz, covered the walls. A riot of colours reflected in the facets of the crystals which welcomed me with their brightness. This magnificent display promised more, luminous lights twinkled and burst forth from each separate gem in a firework-like extravaganza. I gasped. My breath caught in my throat, and I glanced down at my hands. They were sparkling as if they had touched an enormous glitter ball. A crystalline light bounced off the walls of the cottage, finding a resting place on my face. The brilliant light caressed me.
My heart filled with wonder at this miraculous event and I wished the exquisiteness of the moment would last forever. I willed this spectacle to carry on, and on, but the glowing display tapered off. The colours became darker, and glimmers of the crystals’ bright lights darkened to a menacing black, then lightened to a grey, washed-out colour, before turning a muddy brown.
In horror, I could feel the skin on my face puckering like an orange peel stripped of all moisture. My body shivered, and I shook. I stirred in my sleep, suspended in the haze of the dream. I struggled to remain, not wanting to leave the beauty and comfort of the Crystal Cottage. So, I remained, floating in the abyss, fearful but longing to find out more.
© M J Mallon 2017. All Rights Reserved
The Creature
His ensemble reeks,
Of graves, and forgotten things,
An unearthly vibe,
Matted hair, and worms for flesh,
Beside such crystal splendour.
Oh how I love the creature! Love all my characters! Hope you enjoyed the passage and the tanka. If you’d like to read more or buy a copy of The Curse of Time – book 1 – Bloodstone here’s the link:
I am currently working hard on the paperback and hope that it will be ready for launch by the end of November/beginning of December.
Wish me luck!
Bye for now,
My social media links:
Authors/Bloggers Rainbow Support Club
Twitter: @Marjorie_Mallon and @curseof_time
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!
This is for all of you have come under the threat of the spam monster. It has been quite a problem recently for several bloggers, our well intentioned comments not appearing on blogs…. So I wrote this little poem with that and Halloween in mind.
The Spam Monster
It’s all hallows eve,
You’ve no time for a pet peeve,
The wretched spam monster making curds,
Of your well thought out words.
He insidiously turns your comments into mush,
Sweeps them all away with a hot-wired brush,
He’s all wires and circuitry,
His gadgetry puts you into purgatory.
But, don’t fret, don’t worry, help is at hand,
The Happiness Engineers Askimet band,
Party together, they’ll help you out.
No need to storm, stamp, and shout!
Stick your perky pumpkin by your computer,
Light it with a ferocious candle to neuter,
That bloody spam monster with his big hooter,
Mr snooty, snotty, snooper.
© Marjorie Mallon 2016 – aka, Kyrosmagica. All Rights Reserved.
If you need any help with this problem Hugh has written a great post how to contact the Askimet engineers – here’s the link: Hughs Views And News: What To Do If your Comments Are Ending Up in Spam Folders
Bye for now,
Hope you liked the silly poem!
It’s been a busy first week of bloody blogging so here’s a handy summary in case you missed anything. Wouldn’t want that would we!? (Titles link to the posts) Horror October Week 1 (1st – 7th) Welcome to Horror October 2016 Flash Fiction Battle – Vote Now Review: Revisiting An English Ghost Story Review: […]
via #HorrorOctober 2016: Week 1 Round-up — Lipsyy Lost & Found
Reblog via Lipsyy, sadly I am too busy doing final edits, and have just started a new job, so will be mainly sharing reblogs of my favourite posts in October.
No, this isn’t an invitation to a Halloween party on my blog, not quite! Tee hee nearly fooled you didn’t I?
But it is a celebration of sorts, a Happy Halloween, and a bunch of stuff and nonsense that I’d like to share with you. So keep on reading – there are details about a couple of Halloween parties at the end of this post!!!
It’s also to let you know that I will be going on a blogging break in early November and to wish you a Happy Halloween.
Now here come’s the exciting part, I’ve got a secret to share with you.
I just love secrets don’t you?
I’m taking the plunge and entering the 1st Halloween-Poem Contest
on ‘Writer’s Treasure Chest’.
My poem:
The Alternative All Hallows’ Eve Bash!
It’s all Hallow’s Eve time for the party to begin,
Witches, vampires, spooks and demons of the night,
Come and join in this annual spectacular delight,
Bring your entry ticket, a glut of gruesome grisliness.
No glowing Jack O’Lanterns are permitted here,
No pretty Halloween plump pumpkins,
Our team of half dead bouncers search for sweets,
Ejecting sickly sweet cheerfulness with ferocious frowns.
Vampires savour red goblets of the purist human blood,
Witches devour human brains a spicy savoury delicacy,
Ghostly ghouls can’t ingest or digest. Oh what a shame!
Instead the smell of rotten candles fills their one time bellies.
Demons sit together in a clique,
They consume a spirit that no one dares to seek,
Their poker hot glances burn into your soul,
No one dares to join them, its too Lucifer hot!
The party’s over way too soon there is clearing up to do,
The kindly ghosts are left to pick up,
They wail boo hoo,
A ghost’s ghoulish life is over before it has begun!
The demon’s faces’ crease in a smouldering, bittersweet, smirk,
The vampires lick their lips, breaking into a blood-curdling smile,
And the witches cackle with ripples of raucous relish,
While Beelzebub bouncers pick up the ghosts and shake ‘em for fun.
Next year’s party committee is set!
A year from now a Hallibaloo of a Halloween bash is on its way!
Don’t forget, don’t be late!
Creepy Cameras at the ready, Blood, Cold, Shiver, Fire, Flash!
© Marjorie Mallon 2015 – aka, Kyrosmagica. All Rights Reserved.
Here’s the details:
Every author and poet are invited to participate and deliver a “Halloween-Poem” to my email address: aurorajean.alexander@aol.com, together with their picture.
There are a few rules to follow:
1.Your poem needs a Halloween theme.
2.Your poem needs a minimum of 99 words.
3.Your poem has to be delivered to my email address until Halloween, October 31, 2015, 9 pm Eastern Time.
4.Please avoid violence, bad language, and sexual content within the poems. It would be disqualified.
More about the contest and how to enter here: https://aurorajalexander.wordpress.com/2015/10/20/1st-halloween-poem-contest/
The Next Bloggers Bash is set for 11 June 2016 – I went to this year’s Bloggers Bash in August, so a bit of a poetic joke there! Not saying all of us bloggers are a bunch of witches, and devils, but ……. somehow the idea just grabbed me!!
Before I forget there are some Halloween parties going on today, a couple of bloggers are having a share your posts kind of parties today, lovely idea.
The lovely Suzie Speaks has written an excellent post about how to host a blog party: http://suzie81speaks.com/2015/10/27/how-to-host-a-blog-party/
and extended her invitation to you to join her in her Halloween Blog party: http://suzie81speaks.com/2015/10/31/halloween-blog-party/
Also there is an invitation to join in a Witch’s tea party at author Kirsten Weiss’s ParaYourNormal blog: https://parayournormal.wordpress.com/2015/10/31/witchs-teablog-party-2/
What fun, I think I’ll go as a …………. witch!! I have a very fetching red velvet witch’s hat.. and a red and black dress, or perhaps a black one, decisions, decisions…… plus some blood red lipstick perhaps?
Oh, and in case you missed my run down on all my Halloween activities, here’s the link to that.
There is something for everyone, photography, quotes, stories, haiku, poetry, book reviews, you name it: https://mjmallon.com/2015/10/31/happy-halloween-2/
Just recently I went to see Wicked at the Apollo Theatre in London, it was fantastic! I’d go as the Wicked Witch but I don’t have enough green face paint so best to keep things simple!!
Hope you like my poem, do comment I’d love to hear your views.
Have a very Happy Halloween, from your friendly good witch Marje!
Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx
Happy Halloween!!!
To celebrate I’d thought I’d share with you some of the challenges and my favourite blogging activities I have done this October highlighting my Halloween Themed posts in case you’ve missed them:
So let’s start off with some photography challenges. I’ve recently joined Instagram https://instagram.com/kyrosmagica/ as has my friend and fellow blogger Hugh over at Hugh’s Views and News.
Hugh wanted to see what lurks in the shadows: http://hughsviewsandnews.com/2015/10/24/hughs-photo-challenge-week-3-what-lurks-in-the-shadows/
Here’s my contribution for Hugh’s What Lurks in The Shadow’s Photo Challenge:
https://mjmallon.com/2015/10/28/hughs-photo-challenge-week-3-what-lurks-in-the-shadows/
I also had a go at Ed Mooney’s Capturing History Spooktacular Challenge: https://edmooneyphoto.wordpress.com/2015/10/01/spooktacular-2015/
https://mjmallon.com/2015/10/26/spooktacular-2015-the-gallows-at-the-caxton-gibbett-inn/
Shadows even managed to sneak there way into my submission for Julia’s Camera Lucinda Photography Challenge, I kind of stretched my interpretation of the challenge, it was meant to be metal and rust so I cheated a bit! The guitar strings were a bit old and rusty! The shadows weren’t too spooky but I wanted to include this in this post to do a shout out for Julia’s challenge. It’s fun to join in.
Here’s the link to Julia’s challenge: https://myredpage.wordpress.com/2015/10/16/camera-lucida-metal/
https://mjmallon.com/2015/10/25/camera-lucida-metal/
Some writing contests, and challenges captured my interest:
The 5th Annual Halloweensie Writing Contest, this one sounded cute so how could I say no? I found it on Susannahill’s blog: http://susannahill.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/the-5th-annual-halloweensie-writing.html
Here’s my entry: https://mjmallon.com/2015/10/27/the-5th-annual-halloweensie-writing-contest-aahhhrrrooooooooo/
The 79 Word Story challenge from Chris at The Story Reading Ape:
http://thestoryreadingapeblog.com/2015/10/18/more-new-79-words-story-challenge-entrants/
I went for a jog and wrote about a Halloween brooch. My mind works in mysterious ways! https://mjmallon.com/2015/10/12/79-words-story-the-halloween-brooch/
Rachael Ritchey’s Blog Battle Writing Challenge, a weekly fun place to hang out and do blog battle : http://rachaelritchey.com/blogbattle/
Here’s a couple of my Blog Battle stories:
A paranormal lakeside story about a hidden scar: https://mjmallon.com/2015/10/13/blogbattle-the-scar/
A paranormal/fantasy story inspired by the blood moon: https://mjmallon.com/2015/09/29/blog-battle-blood-moon-a-rip-of-a-ride/
I love to join in Ronovan Writes Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge:
https://ronovanwrites.wordpress.com/category/haiku-prompt-challenge/
The prompt words that Ron came up with in that particular week were Tide and Flesh and they just seemed to fit the bill so well!
https://mjmallon.com/2015/10/03/ronovan-writes-haiku-poetry-prompt-challenge-64-tide-and-flesh/
I’ve been taking part in the #redeyereadalong of horror YA books by Stripes publishing. This wonderful event has been run by two book bloggers, Chelle at Tales of Yesterday Blog and Heather at Heather reviews:
http://talesofyesterday.co.uk/2015/09/tales-post-red-eye-read-along-october-2015/ https://heatherreviews.wordpress.com/2015/10/27/redeyereadalong-qa-with-tom-becker/
Here are my #redeyereadalong posts:
https://mjmallon.com/2015/10/26/redeyereadalong-dark-room-by-tom-becker/
https://mjmallon.com/2015/10/29/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-dark-room-by-tom-becker/
https://mjmallon.com/2015/10/24/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-bad-bones-by-graham-marks/
https://mjmallon.com/2015/10/19/redeyereadalong-bad-bones-by-graham-marks/
https://mjmallon.com/2015/10/16/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-flesh-and-blood-by-simon-cheshire/
https://mjmallon.com/2015/10/10/redeye-readalong-flesh-and-blood-by-simon-cheshire/
https://mjmallon.com/2015/10/09/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-sleepless-by-lou-morgan/
https://mjmallon.com/2015/10/06/redeyereadalong-sleepless-by-lou-morgan/
https://mjmallon.com/2015/09/30/read-eye-readalong-frozen-charlotte/
https://mjmallon.com/2015/10/05/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-frozen-charlotte-by-alex-bell/
Do check out Colleen’s wonderful blog, Silver Threading, and her open invitation to join writer’s Quote Wednesday: http://silverthreading.com/2015/10/28/writers-quote-wednesday-a-silver-quote-2/
For Colleen’s Writer’s Quote Wednesday I had a go at some Halloween Quotations: https://mjmallon.com/2015/10/07/writers-quote-wednesday-halloween/
My Halloween stuff and Autumn nonsense post, amongst other things celebrated some of the wonderful blogs who enjoy Halloween:
https://mjmallon.com/2015/10/04/halloween-stuff-and-autumn-nonsense/
Also I just finished reading Caroline Peckham’s Creeping Shadow, a pre-release ARC and have just done a quick review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1417107616
Phew!! I have been busy. Don’t expect me to keep this up, or I may just turn into a shadow of my former self!
Oh and with all this blogging I had my best day for likes on October 27th, thank you all so much for liking and commenting on my posts. :))))
Newsflash: I’m having a well earned blogging break soon in early November, probably starting in the first week, and extending for all of November to do some much neglected writing, and I will be making some decisions about the publication of my manuscript Krystallos. More about that to come….
So bye for now.
I hope you have a very happy fun filled Halloween!
From your magical good witch Marje @ Kyrosmagica !! xx