#BookReview: As Good As Gold: A dog’s life in poems

As Good as Gold: A dog’s life in poems

Goodreads Synopsis:

As engaging as a tail wag.
Celebrating the simple things in life as seen through the eyes of our old time favorite furry friends, “As Good as Gold” is a volume of poetry revealing the talent and humor we always knew our dogs possessed.
Dogs are full of questions, yet they are famed sellers of innocence especially when it comes to explaining their mishaps and often foolish effervescence through such pondering as “Why IS a Cat Not Like a Dog”, “As Brown as Chocolate”, “Silver Stars and Puppy Tail” or, best yet, “Dog or Book?”
A book with an enormous heart for readers of all ages, it includes 35 poems and haiku accompanied by expressive portraits of our canine friends. The poems are grouped in: Questions, Colors, Musings and Haiku.

* Ideal to boost you up by reading one poem at a time,
* Great conversational piece to have around on a rainy day,
* Fantastic tool to discuss colors in nature and everyday questions with your little ones,
* A gentle way to introduce children to animals’ feelings,
* Amazing picture to cheer you up.
* An ideal gift for any dog lovers!

My review

A very sweet book of poems and haiku about dogs, nature and dog’s human! It made me smile a lot. I really enjoyed the poem at the end about cats too (cats are my preferred animal but I love dogs too.) This would particularly appeal to readers who enjoy poems about animals, snowmen, Christmas, and life through the eyes of some very cute dogs. I loved the lovely photos of our furry friends in the book too.

It’s a feel good collection of doggy poetry which would be an ideal gift for Christmas.

I received a copy from the author in exchange for a fair review. All opinions are my own and unbiased.

Recommended, particularly for doggy and poetry enthusiasts!

My rating: 4 very woof woof stars.

Goodreads Author Profile:

Patricia Furstenberg is the author of Amazon Bestseller Joyful Trouble. She writes children stories about real and imaginary dogs and about animals in general. Patricia believes each creature has a story and a voice, if only we stop to listen.
Patricia came to writing though reading, her passion for books being something she inherited from her parents. “When I write, I write,” she usually says.
When she’s not writing she likes to read, listen to music, dance and bake.
One of the characters portrayed in her children stories is Pete, the yellow toy elephant. Not many know, but Pete exists and lives in Pat’s home.
This Romanian born writer is living happily with her husband, children and dogs in sunny South Africa.

Patricia Furstenberg Author Page and Blog: http://alluringcreations.co.za/wp/

Have you read As Good As Gold? Let me know in the comments.

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/

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December 2, 2018 2

Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday Poetry Challenge No. 72 Breakthrough and Movement

Sometimes you just have to pinch yourself. Colleen’s prompt words this week express my morning breakthrough in such a wonderful way. I’ve been writing my prologue for Book Two of The Curse of Time and I had a BREAKTHROUGH. The words flowed so effortlessly I wanted to do a happy dance. As I was beetling away writing the prologue I suddenly had an unexpected flash of inspiration. I’m going to start each new chapter – (Puzzle Piece,) with a Cinquian! Bring it on.

Wait a minute, I have no clue how to write a Cinquian. Never fear… Colleen is the Queen Bee of mentoring! She is a fabulous source of inspiration and her blog is full of useful information, so without further ado, I popped over to read up on how to write a Cinquain. I discovered there is a reverse Cinquian too. Boy, this is getting exciting! More happy dance! What a morning…

Here is a tiny excerpt (unseen until now!) about Cinquians from the first (unedited,) draft of the prologue of The Curse of Time – Book Two – Golden Healer:

I’m so stressed. My go to when I’m stressed is writing. Poetry. It’s my number one anxiety solution, a bunch of words in a tight format make me feel better. But somehow I don’t feel in the mood for Tanka. There have been too many weird changes for that. I need a new more challenging form of poetic expression. I’ve heard about Cinquian. It’s very formulaic, first line is the title, second line add two adjectives that describe the title, third line stick in three verbs that express action, fourth line are four words that shout out feeling or describe more and the fifth line takes it back to the beginning. Closure. That appeals. The fifth line is a synonym of the first line. Sounds good. If anything will take my mind off my present anxiety this will do it. I feel it in my gut. Cinquain. I like it. It sounds like a cash register. Not that I’m materialistic but I feel a Cinquian coming on. Bring it on!

So to my Cinquain. I’ve used synonyms – Quantum Leap and sign.

That last line was a struggle. I had one of those ‘can I really do this moments.’ But I like a challenge so I didn’t give up. Then I found the word. Auspicious. Oh, I do like auspicious! I hope it brings me luck. 🙂

Any feedback for this novice Cinquian writer would be gratefully received.

https://colleenchesebro.com/2018/02/20/colleens-weekly-tanka-tuesday-poetry-challenge-no-72-breakthrough-movement-snyonymsonly/

Bye for now you lovely peeps,

Date for your Diary! My paperback is due for release mid April. The pre-release blog tour begins in April with my #ABRSC club pals, followed by a release tour with Neverland Blog Tours. (Jenny Marston is also a #ABRSC member!) http://neverlandblogtours.weebly.com/

My Social Media:
Authors Website: https://mjmallon.com
Collaborative blog: https://sistersofthefey.wordpress.com
Twitter: @Marjorie_Mallon and @curseof_time
Our Facebook Authors/Bloggers Support Group:

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/
Tumblr: http://mjmallonauthor.tumblr.com/

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February 25, 2018 16

Colleen’s Weekly #Poetry Challenge # 36 – HAPPY & SAD

This week’s prompt words are Happy and Sad, very appropriate given the situation in the world at the moment. It seems that humanity is doomed to live in a state of happiness one minute and sadness the next. So, to try to lift our spirits I’d like to share with you some happy photos from Strawberry Fair.

Our friends Richard and Catherine…

and my husband David and I….

There are also some videos on my Instagram:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Marjorie Mallon (@mjmallonauthor)

My husband, and our friends were probably the oldest dudes in the music tent joining in the fun! But, the youngsters didn’t seem to mind, everyone was just having fun, forgetting their troubles.

To join in with Colleen’s poetry challenge follow the link: https://colleenchesebro.com/2017/06/06/colleens-weekly-poetry-challenge-36-happy-sad/

Bye for now, much love…

My social media hang outs:
My New Facebook club : Authors/Bloggers Rainbow Support Club

Twitter: @marjorie_mallon

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June 8, 2017 3

#SundayBlogShare: Happy Mother’s Day Vibes

Hi Everyone.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY. HOPE YOU HAVE AN AWESOME DAY.

This mother’s been playing around with a new theme. I’d love to hear what you think of it. Do let me know if you like it.

I took the header photo at Cromer this New Year and somehow the image ended up looking more like a painting than a photograph so I thought I’d feature it on my blog. The jumping image above is from Pixabay, and seems a fitting image for my Sunday message today: Those happiness vibes are on their way, jump for joy, Summer’s coming!

The lovely Suzie from Suzie Speaks https://suzie81speaks.com/ has a wonderful Sunday Hastag: #SundayBlogShare, on her twitter account @SundayBlogShare.

I will be following this #SundayBlogShare with a three day three quote challenge from Heena http://heenarathorep.com/ which will also be on the theme of happiness.. more about that soon.

My #SundayBlogShare is all about the many aspects of life that make me happy.

In no particular order:

Sunshine. Yes those rays awaken me out of my winter grumpiness. I just love you Mr. Sunshine. I’m not a winter person so when Spring arrives I sigh in relief, at last the Summer’s coming…
Beaches and the sea. I’ve always had a fondness for swimming, and beaches. This stems from childhood – I’d always be swimming, splashing around in an outdoor tropical pool, or a beach somewhere. I grew up in Hong Kong. My dad ‘s not your typical run of the mill Scot, he hates the cold weather so he did the unthinkable, he escaped abroad, and married my mother, a Malaysian lady many years his junior. Rascal! He’s always been a wanderer, in fact if he had been born today perhaps he’d have had his own travel blog! That’s a thought. A lot of my friends thought I had such a lucky time of it going to visit my dad in far off places, but I missed him when he was away. To name a few of the exotic destinations he’s worked in: The Middle East, Far East, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Caribbean, Africa, Senegal, Hong Kong… you get the idea.. Quite the adventurer..
Eating. Yes I love my grub, be it savoury or sweet, spicy, asian, or good old-fashioned shepherd’s pie.. I love it all. I might have a skinny body but my little rounded tummy proves it.
Family. Are so important to me my daughters are such a light in my life. I am so proud of them both, they’ve grown up to be such wonderful young women. I’ve been with my hubby since I was a teenager, can you believe that? Young love, it is the strongest, most passionate kind! The extended family are my rock too. I feel very blessed and fortunate to have such a lovely, close-knit family. We might not be perfect but we are always there for each other.
Mum. Being a mum is great and having a great mum is awesome. We mothers deserve a huge pat on the back.
Friends. Where would we be without our pals? Pretty lonely and miserable I’d say. My network of buddies include those I’ve known for too many years that I’d to care to admit to, friends I’ve met in Cambridge, and pals I’ve met through social media. You’re all fabulous.. Love you all.
Edinburgh. I love visiting Edinburgh – my old home town, that definitely makes me happy. My mum, dad, brother, and in-laws are still there, as are my old school pals! So it’s always nice to go back and see everyone. I particularly love to go up during the Edinburgh Book Festival, and The International Festival, which are both in August.
Books. I adore reading, how those printed words transport you to a very special place, stirring up your emotions, making you laugh, cry or shout in protest. There’s nothing that makes me happier than reading a particularly sad book!
Writing. Of course this would have to appear on my happiness list. The writing part gives me great joy as I create, but I have to say the editing is an altogether different experience, it is a troublesome kettle of unwieldy fish!
Theatre. Film. Dance. I love going to the theatre, and to dance shows. So whenever I can, I take the opportunity to go. Both of my daughters are keen too, my youngest is a dancer and my eldest has always been fond of drama. Each August I always make a bee-line for the Edinburgh International Festival. I’d love to go to the cinema more often – this is on my to do list – when I pop along I enjoy it so much.
Art. Photography. I love art, and photography. I’m not an artist, but I appreciate the value and beauty of artistic endeavours so much. I have developed quite an interest in photography which I hope to explore more in the future.
Cats. I love cats, but sadly I don’t own one, my husband is allegedly allergic… it’s a shame really. I could just see myself as one of those writers with my cute muse the cat.. I can see all my imaginery instagram photos… perhaps I could borrow one? Any offers? A black cat would be good, or a cool ginger one with bags of character…
Travelling. I love to travel to widen my horizons, though recently this has been difficult due to lack of funds.. !! Ah, having an eldest daughter at University has really cut into the household budget in a very nasty way.
Baking. I’m not really a savoury cook, unless it’s curries, or stir fries, those I can happily do. My hubby is better at roasts, meat and fish dishes. I tend to be more of a sweet cook. I love my puddings, cakes and biscuits…
Being a bit silly. I think I missed the ‘How To Be A Grown Up Workshop,’ so I’m still prone to being somewhat teenage-like at times. Personally I think that’s an asset if you want to be a children’s author. So no problems there.
Alternative Therapies. I have a fondness for aromatherapy oils, reflexology, and all those weird and wonderful therapies out there. I am also curious about the Zodiac, and the Chinese Zodiac too….
Crystals. I love crystals. The colours, different shapes and properties of crystals fascinate me.
Blogging. Goodness me I can’t believe I nearly forget to mention that! That would be remiss of me. Yes, I love blogging. It’s such a wonderful way to make friends with like-minded people from all over the world to share thoughts, feelings and observations. It’s the best.
Haiku. I’ve discovered that I love writing Haiku… If it wasn’t for my blog I’d never of thought of writing haiku. I’m so glad I did.
Jewellery. Another love of mine… how could I have left it to last? My favourites are earrings and bracelets. They can be costume jewellery, or more expensive, it doesn’t matter as long as they catch my eye! I hope I might be getting some little pieces for Mother’s Day.
Chilling. Relaxing and doing things my own sweet way makes me happy. I’m not one to rush through life, though I do hop about a bit.. My Chinese Zodiac sign is the rabbit!

This post has been waiting patiently for me to write in response to an earlier ditty that I did about the things that annoy me: https://mjmallon.com/2016/02/10/one-liner-wednesday-you-piece-of-chicken/

Oops I have to confess that my moans outweigh my happy vibes! That doesn’t sound good…..Life is all about balance, so there you have it the Yin and the Yang of my happy dragon is somewhat overpowered by my stroppy, ferocious, dragon!

Perhaps you’d like to join in and do a Yin and a Yang post too about what makes you happy and what makes you sad and/or stroppy!

Have a very Happy Sunday everyone, and a Happy Mother’s Day too! I’m going out later for a coffee/lunch with my daughter… what are you all doing?

Bye for now,

Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx

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March 6, 2016 13

3 Day Quote Challenge: Day 3

I have been tagged by Janice who blogs at On the land to participate in the ‘3 Days, 3 Quotes Challenge’.

Many thanks to Janice for inviting me to participate in this challenge. I have thoroughly enjoyed taking part.

Janice blogs about our world and how important it is to care and nourish it: Caring About Our World; Reflecting About Life. She hopes to encourage us to move towards a cleaner, more sustainable future and away from the worst consequences of climate change.

If you pop over to Janice’s blog you will get a sense of just how passionately she feels about this wonderful world in which we live: https://ontheland.wordpress.com/2015/10/14/3-days-3-quotes-challenge-thich-nhat-hanh-love-letter-to-the-earth-bewow-writers-quote-Wednesday/

The rules for the 3 Days, 3 Quotes Challenge:

1. Thank the blogger, who nominated you.

2. Share one new quote on three consecutive days on your blog. They can be from anywhere, anyone, or anything that inspires you… Which means, it can be from yourself, too!

3. On each of the three days, nominate 3 more bloggers to carry on this mission impossible endeavor (if they dare!).

So for my final day I’m considering a much sought after emotion: happiness.

What is happiness? Can I attempt to write a quote about happiness, in a few select words?

Here’s my quote:

Happiness is simply beautiful unforgettable moments captured and shared with like minded individuals, family and friends, a life truly lived.

Perhaps it is easy to see why I have used the word shared in my quote, because as humans we have a need to love and to be loved. But why would I consider adding captured? My answer lies in the very fleeting nature of life itself, and the fact that life is often interrupted by outside influences which bombard, confuse and distract us. So we have to capture those wonderful fleeting experiences while we can!

In those moments when I am doing Tai Chi, I can sometimes drift into a state of blissful harmony. It is a shared moment, as the hall is full of other people doing Tai Chi too. Unfortunately it doesn’t always happen, if I am feeling particularly stressed before I start a class it can be difficult to achieve. Equally it can be extremely hard to master if I have drank too much stimulating coffee beforehand too! But sometimes I do manage to get into the Tai Chi zone. When this happens it is marvellous but it can have unexpected effects. Sometimes I am so relaxed after Tai Chi that I find it difficult to return to focusing on the everyday things that I need to do! The other day I was reversing out of the car park after a Tai Chi session and I nearly had an accident, I didn’t notice the car behind me backing out! So perhaps, taking a moment to re-focus is a good idea after Tai Chi, as it works on a much deeper level than normal exercise, if you do it right! I’ve been practising Tai Chi for eight years, and I am now at Continuing level. Often I find myself wanting to fall asleep after two hours of Tai Chi, it must be my bodies way of saying it wants to shut down and re-balance itself. This is also true if you go for an Aromatherapy massage, or a holistic treatment, often you feel in need of a pampering rest afterwards, and a big glass or two of detoxing water doesn’t go a amiss.

Given that it is increasingly difficult to turn off and relax in this modern world in which we find ourselves, we could all benefit enormously from finding some personal way of capturing those quiet moments of reflection and Tai Chi is my way of doing that, a bit of walking meditation if you like, a dance of the soul. A difficult dance of the soul to learn, there are one hundred and eight moves but when you do master it, it’s well worth the effort! But for everyone their quiet meditation, or blissful moment can be different, as individuals we must all find our own dance of the soul that is perfect for us.

Coming full circle is my next question.

What inspired this post? It all began with Gandhi’s simple but thought provoking quote about the nature of happiness:

Happiness is when what you think,

what you say,

and what you do are in harmony.

Gandhi

Happiness is not fame and fortune, popularity, or materialism it is simply being a much simpler person, stripping back expectations perhaps, and living in harmony.

So to finish the 3 day 3 quote challenge I’ve written a humorous haiku inspired by Gandhi’s words:

My nominees:

For the last day I’m not going to nominate anyone in particular. I’m going to break the rules a bit, because I went to Tai Chi yesterday and I slept like a log, so I’m still in fuzzy brain mode and sometimes rules can be a bit restrictive! Anyone who would like to take part, please do join in!

Or just come and chat and tell us your perfect way to find a moment’s happiness.

Hope you liked my final day’s quote and my haiku too!!

Bye for now,

Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx

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October 23, 2015 7