Today, I’d like to share with you a new idea I’ve had regarding Author/Blogger/Writer Spotlights. I’ve decided to blast this out on a Monday using the hashtag #MondayBlogs Bad RedHead Media – Monday Blogs – Why You Should Be Participating– I hope this is okay Rachel, @BadRedheadMedia (I’m not promoting my own book!)

I shall be offering the opportunity to guest post on M J Mallon – Kyrosmagica blog with a special theme that means so much to me –  Inspiration.

I just love this quote by Audrey Hepburn:

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!

Authors will be encouraged to write a short post considering these prompts.

1. What inspires you to write? This should be personal to you, but might include suggestions such as:  a walk in nature, overheard conversations, a new job, a travelling adventure, a trip abroad, meeting a new friend, or an old flame, art, music, books you’ve read…..  The list is inexhaustible! A strange inexplicable desire to write. Witnessing an altercation or an event, etc, etc….. I’d love to hear your experiences!
2. Inspiration to keep trying and improving even when the writing journey gets tough.
3. How to overcome writer’s block by focusing on refreshing new inspirational ideas.
4. Favourite inspirational quotes that you refer to and sites such as Brainy Quote that you find inspiring.
5. Authors and blogging friends that have your back and encourage you to keep on writing. They can be inspiring to.
6. Overcoming obstacles through writing and creativity – photography, art, and music as therapy.

The piece should be in the region of 500 – 1,250 words and can include any or all of the above prompt ideas.  I shall need accompanying promotional materials – author bio and cover reveals,  a short summary of your book/s, excerpts, links to your blog and book.

The lovely Heena Rathore will be joining in soon. She will be doing an author spotlight, on the theme inspiration with details of her Psychological Thriller Deceived, so keep a look out for that.

Alternatively, if you’d like to follow the traditional format of interview questions, or a simpler author spotlight/cover reveal I’m happy to do that to. I’m an easy going kind of gal! Do get in touch if you’re interested.

Would you like to guest post? Leave a comment below, or email me for more details: marjma2014@gmail.com

Bye for now,

My social media hang outs:

Authors/Bloggers Rainbow Support Club

Fellow Administrators of The Authors/Bloggers Rainbow Support Club: myself,

 

 

https://mjmallon.com

https://colleenchesebro.com/

http://dgkayewriter.com/

Colleen Chesebro and Debby Gies

Twitter: @marjorie_mallon and @curseof_time

Goodreads

Instagram

Facebook

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I discovered this Totally Not Serious Author Bio Generator via Helen at Journey to Ambeth, and as I like a giggle I thought I’d have a go and share it for Rachel Thompson’s @RachelintheOC,#MondayBlogs.

See if you’d like to try it out –  the more crazy and humorous the better! Her link is at the end of the post – so do visit her blog to congratulate her on coming up with this awesome idea. By the way I’m currently reading Helen’s book Oak and Mist and will be reviewing that soon, so do keep an eye out for that.

Just fill in the blanks!!!!!

(your name) was born (time, place) and grew up in (place, dimension etc) learning to (do something odd). They left (your birthplace) for (a far flung destination) where they (did something amazing). (your name) now lives in (somewhere fabulous and unusual) with their (living companions). When not writing bestselling novels, (your name) likes to (do some sort of unusual and creative hobby).

I kind of got a bit carried away with mine, it started off as a short paragraph and grew….. into a mini story… I really enjoyed this! This is about 90% true,  ha ha…… I had an unusual childhood!

My Funny Author Bio:

Marjorie Mallon was born many moons ago in the Mount Alvernia Hospital in Singapore, otherwise known as The Lion City.  She grew up in a high rise heaven scraper in a mountainous court in Hong Kong.

Her Far East stint was cut short by her crazy parents who decided that the relentless humidity, fabulous food, and endless parties were too much to bear.  They dragged her spotty soul to the frozen wasteland of Scotland. Kicking and screaming she left her exotic childhood and her much loved dog Topsy too. Relentless tears and a posh attaché briefcase made this girl a target for primary school bullies. In this new regime she was duty bound to master Scottish country dancing, haggis bashing, farting, bagpipe playing and a whole new Och Aye lingo. Some say that this Scottish coming of age convert heard tell of the root of all evil: the thing that lives in hiding beyond the ken of the kilted sporran!

As a teenager she travelled to many far flung destinations to visit her abacus wielding wayfarer dad Ronald. On one such occasion steel bands were playing Calypso music. A silver barracuda swam by. It viewed her snorkelling bikini clad body, longing to take a big bite. This began a pattern that has continued to this day. With dogs’ fangs replacing barracudas’ teeth, she returned to her mother’s birthplace, Kuching, otherwise known as cat city. Her friendly Malaysian relatives introduced her to a ferocious dog called Blackie who sniffed her frightened butt. She must have smelt pretty terrible -it was a scorcher of a day – poor Blackie whimpered and ran away! It didn’t end there……more animals became a feature of her adult life. Notably an angry female Orang-Utan chased her unfit ass out of the Malaysian jungle believing that she was a threat to her babies!

She still monkeys about as much as possible, would love to own a cat, or a replacement Topsy but refuses to entertain any murderous dogs, knife wielding maniacs, or over-protective monkeys.

It’s rumoured that she lives in the calm punting Venice of Cambridge, with a six foot hunk of a Rock God husband, and two enchanted daughters. These youthful babes are often seen surfing the country park lake before the soul stealing trees awaken.

Of course after such an insane upbringing her author’s mind has taken complete and utter leave of its senses and she now lives in a fantasy world where her family and complete strangers pay her millions to write all day and every day. When she’s not writing bestselling novels, she likes to eat exotic delicacies while belly dancing, and surfs to the far reaches of the moon to keep her abs trim. To chill out she practises Tai Chi and Yoga on the crest of a wave. If the adventurous mood takes her she goes snorkelling with mermaids, or signs up for idyllic holidays with Ch’i lin (or K’i lin), the Chinese Unicorn. This mythical creature radiates a myriad of extraordinary colours, and has a voice that sings like a thousand wind chimes.

She is a child of the light and the dark. Her motto is simply this: Do what you love,  stay true to your heart’s desires, remain as young at heart as you can – and  inspire others to do so too, even if it appears that the odds are stacked like black hearted shadows against you…

I loved writing this!!! It was such fun……Do have a go and don’t forget to link it back to Helen’s original post:   Helen’s Link 

Can you guess what’s true and what I’ve made up or embellished?

Bye for now,

Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx

My Links: 

Wattpad

Goodreads

Instagram

Twitter

Facebook

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It’s Monday again, and I’m doing another #MondayBlogs post, brain child of @RachelintheOC. http://badredheadmedia.com/what-is-mondayblogs-and-why-you-should-be-participating/

To inspire and motivate all of you sitting exams and tests, I’m focusing on one precious short and sweet word, Shine.I know that my youngest daughter Gina is starting her mock GCSE exams this week so this is especially for her, and all of you currently studying in schools, colleges, and universities. Gina is a clever lass who excels at course work but finds exams pretty tortuous so that’s why I’m harping on about this. if you saw last week’s #MondayBlogs post you will have seen my photo of my eldest daughter, Natasha Mallon’s artwork, this week I’m featuring another piece that she did whilst studying GCSE Art, the above leaf drawing which I have entitled:

SHINE.

One word, but that is all you need. Shine.

This sentiment is also for all those #Nanowrimo writers out there who are insanely working towards their 50,000 words, you have my admiration, respect, and awe. I’m doing a bit of editing and writing short stories quite feeble in comparison but I’ve got a bit of an excuse, well sort of. I’m starting a new job this week, the day before my birthday! So at the moment I’ve got my daughter’s mock exams, a new job, and as well as this I’m waiting for feedback from The Hilary Johnson Author Advisory Service:  http://www.hilaryjohnson.com/ regarding my manuscript. How Exciting!

Getting back to my birthday, don’t ask me how old I am I won’t tell you, I’ll let you guess…. I’m not a day over…. ????

I hope to work this new role alongside my blogging and writing but it probably does mean that my posts will not be as frequent as before. This is the moment when I sigh dramatically for emphasis. Such is life, how am I going to pay for Christmas and book marketing otherwise? Still they say Quality is better than Quantity so I do hope that I will still manage to achieve some Quality and keep you entertained.

I’m going to be super busy. Let’s face it pretending that I’m still fairly young takes up oodles of energy. Anyway I do hope that I will shine and remember to keep on top of everything! A friend of mine gave me a bit of a mobile phone tip –  she puts alarm settings in her phone to remind her to do what she needs to do, when she needs to do them, I might have to resort to this tactic so I don’t forget anything. I’ll leave off my birthday reminder, I’m not too ancient to remember it’s my own birthday!  YET !!!!

So remember to Shine, in whatever you do, achieve your very best, reach for those intellectual stars,  give those exams a bit of an almighty ninja whack in the chops!

Shine, Smash, Sock it to ’em!

And same with that #Nanowrimo writing word count, whack it into submission, you’ll have it praying for mercy, I know you can do it!!

Shine, Smash, Sock it to ’em! NANOWRIMO!!

Oh and to conclude this drawn out waffle, here’s my final thought, it’s about driving. Did that topic come as a surprise? There was a clue in the title: Drive Thru Shine. Whatever is Marje @ Kyrosmagica on about now, you might ask? What has the word drive got to do with the word shine?  Well they both kind of sound the same, well driving and shining do, and they both take you places. Driving plays such an important part in all that we do, it gives us freedom to go where we want, when we want, and how we want. The word drive is synonymous with ambition. There is no doubt in my mind that passing my driving test was one of the highlights of my life! That sounds a bit sad but it is true, I managed to finally get my driving licence after I got married, I wasn’t seventeen, I was a bit older.  But, if you happen to be sitting a driving test right now and you are a bit dreamy like me, you have my sympathy,  let’s just say driving tests, examiners and me ended up knowing each other real well. Maybe I should re-write that last sentence it sounds kind of a bit dubious!!! No matter, I like to make you laugh!

So my driving shine tips would go like this:

1. Don’t ninja punch the driving instructor that will be an instant fail! Not saying that I ever did this, of course not, even though perhaps I felt like it after I found out I didn’t pass.
2. Don’t worry about no. 1 that’s just me, you’ll be fine, keep focused, pretend that you’ve already got your licence, that the examiner isn’t right there with you by your side, watching you like a hawk, waiting to slam his clip board into the dashboard for that emergency stop.
3. Whatever you do don’t let go of the all important steering wheel. That wheel is going to take you places, believe me, I’m behind it and if I (the  xxxx ? times failed driver can drive you sure can too!)
4. Don’t hit that brick wall, it really won’t impress the examiner, and it won’t make your parents too happy either, or if you happen to be a more mature learner, it won’t do much good to your bank balance!
5. Breathe, this is the first rule of thumb for any exam situation, if you forget it you might just pass out, and that is not to be recommended. Take deep comforting breaths, even if the examiner looks at you as if you are a tad odd, he’s not marking your personality quirks, he’s marking your competency.
6. Do some yoga the night before, light some aromatic candles, meditate, it really does help.

Links:

http://nanowrimo.org/

Good Luck!!! All you exam students, Nanowrimo’s, potential drivers….. Shine Ninja’s!!

Bye for now,

Shine Ninja Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx

For #MondayBlogs hastag on twitter, @RachelintheOC, I’m sharing something very close to my heart, some Good Luck Wishes.

What kind of Good luck Wishes? The kind that means that your blogging break gets forgotten for a tiny moment. I’m currently on a blogging break, but I couldn’t resist giving everyone a bit of encouragement before the forthcoming exams. My youngest daughter Georgina will be sitting her GCSE mock exams next week so studying is very much a focus of my and her attention at the moment! Believe me all this helping her with Maths is driving me a bit crazy! Maths seriously gives me a headache! So, I thought I’d try to do something a bit creative to counter the logic of Maths, to balance the right and left side of my brain! I had a bit of a dilemma as I can’t draw or paint, though I do dabble in photography, so, with that in mind I’m sharing a piece of art that I photographed, a floral piece, that my daughter Natasha Mallon did while at school studying GCSE Art.

So Good Luck to everyone studying, doing coursework and exams at schools, colleges and universities. Keep focused and positive, work hard, eat well, hydrate,  breathe and stay calm, remember it is just a short spell of hard work and then you can party and have lots of fun!

Next Monday I will be sharing another #MondayBlogs art post to inspire you to achieve your very best.

Best of Luck, keep on smiling. This applies to those doing #Nanowrimo too, Good luck, I wish I was doing it too but life at the moment is just too busy!!

Here’s my contribution to the exam timetable I’ve been getting up and cracking a few eggs in the morning, omelettes or fried egg and bacon sounds good!

Bye for now,

Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx

I’m joining in the Spooktacular Capturing History Challenge from Ed Mooney.

Here’s a link to Ed’s blog:

https://edmooneyphoto.wordpress.com/2015/10/01/spooktacular-2015/

As I’m blogging this on a Monday, this is my entry for Rachel Thompson’s #MondayBlogs too: https://twitter.com/RachelintheOC. Rachel blogs at Bad Red Head Media. http://badredheadmedia.com/

I really wanted to join in this challenge this month as I am doing a spooky stuff and nonsense theme on my blog leading up to Halloween.  By the way,  today, Monday the 26th of October is the last day to submit your photos to Ed. So if you want to join in get cracking, and email him, super pronto!!!

I was originally going to take one of those Ghost tours in Cambridge, which I still fancy doing, but then it struck me the perfect idea to post about for this Spooktacular would be the history behind the Caxton Gibbett Inn in Cambridgeshire, particularly as it features briefly in my manuscript!  This place is or shall I say was about as creepy, and unlucky, cursed if you ask me, as it gets.

The inn was located between Cambridge and St. Neots.  It is no longer standing as it burnt down in mysterious circumstances, in March 2009, when it had been trading as a Chinese restaurant, The Yim Wah House. In fact I had been there a few times for meals, as I have some friends who live out that way so I’m so glad it didn’t burn down when I was in there munching my spring rolls! Apparently fifty firefighters had their job cut out trying to stop the blaze. Anyway the Yim Wah has now relocated, I don’t blame them! Would you want to stay in residence there after that?  Shudders. No brainer.  The Yim Wah is now situated in the centre of Cambridge, good move!

The legend of the original inn is interesting Halloween fare. Apparently three travellers were murdered by the landlord,  (who intended to steal from them.) He disposed of their poor unfortunate bodies down the pub’s well. The original gallows stood on Caxton Common, the replica gibbet was thought to have been made from the timber of a nearby cottage.

Punishment was a very public affair in those days, the murderer was hung alive in an iron gibbet from the gallows and death under these circumstances followed due to starvation, dehydration or exposure. Apparently thereafter the inn was haunted by mysterious footsteps that stopped at the well! Creepy , Ghoulish stuff or what? !! Enough to make you choke on your spring roll!  Sounds like that land may be cursed, and it is now the home of fast food restaurants. Well, on the bright side at least with fast food you’re in and out quick, surely nothing too terrible can happen to you in such a short timescale! My advice is don’t hang about and chat too much, get out of their fast!

So not exactly good joss. Perhaps not history as such, maybe more of a legend, but it does seem to me to be an area of Cambridgeshire with a creepy predisposition, and a gallows, so beware!

The story of the inn captured my interest so much that it features briefly in my manuscript Krystallos.

Here’s a short excerpt:

Amelina spoke in a hushed spooky whisper. “Talking of ghost stories did you see that Chinese restaurant that burnt down at Caxton Gibbett?  Its burnt out shell creeps me out every time I go pass it, the original inn on that site, also burnt down in the 1920’s.”

“The George Inn, yes, bit of a weird coincidence isn’t it?” said Ilaria her voice rising with excitement.

“The place was cursed. The landlord was hanged and gibbeted for murdering his guests as they slept. The room where they were killed was always intensely cold,” said Amelina, as a cold shiver ran down her spine.

“God that’s creepy, talk about gruesome,” said Joselyn, “Thanks, I’ll not sleep a wink tonight.”

“Me neither. Maybe when we’re wide awake some fit dead guy could return from his eternal slumber for a chat.  Hopefully a famous rock or pop star,” joked Ilaria.

“Now that would be cool. You know I had this amazing dream once that all the rock stars came bursting out of my posters and had a party in my house. It was a bit freaky as some of them were dead. They were rocking out until the early hours,” said Amelina as she demonstrated her favourite rock hero pose playing air guitar to the girls.

Ilaria, Joselyn and Jade looked at Amelina with wide eyed astonishment.

“God you’re crazy, Amelina, I can’t believe the things you say or do. The air guitar was awesome,” remarked Jade.

Ilaria and Joselyn laughed.

© Marjorie Mallon 2015 – aka, Kyrosmagica. All Rights Reserved. 

Hope you enjoyed my Spooktacular post, I enjoyed taking part, I’ve been planning this for ages, this baby has been waiting part finished in my draft folder and I nearly forgot to join in, that’s just typical of me. Scatty, or Loopy depends on how you take me!

Links:

http://www.cprs.co.uk/caxton.html

Bye for now, hope you enjoyed this Spooktacular story.

I’m hiding under the covers tonight just in case!

Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx

This Monday I’m doing something a little bit different for #MondayBlogs I’m exercising my word muscles with the intention of entering into Chris the Story Reading Ape’s 79 Words story challenge.

The next 79 story challenge entries will be going live soon – I’ve been a bit quick off the racing block – the shot gun hasn’t been fired just yet, so check the following link to the previous entry to find out more, and to read the previous entrants stories.

I believe when your entry is ready remember to check back with Chris for details how to enter. No cheating, wait for the shot gun!

Link:

http://thestoryreadingapeblog.com/2015/10/10/twelve-more-new-79-words-story-challenge-entrants/

79 words sounds pretty accurate, not much room for manoeuvre, I wander if I can rise to the challenge?

Well the good news is I have an idea, that’s a start. It’s funny where you find ideas, the other day I was out jogging, and being a seriously rubbish jogger (I kind of jog walk, mainly walk if I’m honest!) I don’t need much of an excuse to take any opportunity to stop and take an extended breather. So, on this particular day I saw this little shop, in the village that I’ve always been curious to go in and explore. So  I took the plunge and went in, dressed in my leggings, and trainers, goodness knows what the shop keeper must have thought!

Anyway to cut a long story short it was an Alladin’s Cave of Antiques and inspired my flash fiction Halloween themed story below:

The Halloween Brooch

Inside the shop I heard raised voices. I lunged in. The mysterious voices began to whisper. It was cramped, hardly room to move or breathe. Antiques jostled for my attention on over stacked shelves. I picked up a tiny painted brooch of a young girl crying. I heard a high pitched scream echoing, then riotous laughter. When I saw my reflection in an antique mirror, I wailed. A wrinkled granny stared back at me wearing the brooch, she cackled.

I hope you liked my creepy story!!

Bye for now.

Marje @ Kyrosmagica. xx

This Monday I thought I’d do a review of Frozen Charlotte for #MondayBlogs. Why not start the week with a bit of scary bookish fun…..

Goodreads Synopsis:

We’re waiting for you to come and play. Dunvegan School for Girls has been closed for many years. Converted into a family home, the teachers and students are long gone. But they left something behind…Sophie arrives at the old schoolhouse to spend the summer with her cousins. Brooding Cameron with his scarred hand, strange Lilias with a fear of bones and Piper, who seems just a bit too good to be true. And then there’s her other cousin. The girl with a room full of antique dolls. The girl that shouldn’t be there. The girl that died.

My review:

This month I joined the Stripes publishing #redeyereadalong and I’m so glad I did! Just finished reading Frozen Charlotte. This novel is very good, definitely one to devour, that’s the right word. A fast paced, exciting, and at times gruesome read.

Warning: if you have a fear of needles, dolls, knives, ghosts, freezing, drowning, burning to death, or falling of cliffs, I wouldn’t pick this up!

I don’t normally read horror, but this month I’m doing a Halloween type theme on my blog, with spooky books, poems, short stories, etc.

Sometimes it’s good to try new things!! I snatched whatever time I could find to read Frozen Charlotte during the day, this wasn’t bedtime reading for me…. That way I kept the nightmares at bay.

What did I like about it?

Lots and lots of things.

The little creepy poems in italics at the beginning of each chapter are awesome.

Such a clever idea to have a Ouija-board app, and to introduce the ghost of Rebecca that way.

The prologue sets the tone for sinister goings on engaging the reader right from the very start.

Then you have the Frozen Charlotte dolls themselves, there is nothing nice about these dolls and it makes me wonder why anyone in their right mind would have them in their house! Or wear them as a necklace! That’s asking for trouble! That’s the Scots for you, I’m not slating the Scots, I’m half Scottish, we may be a bit dour at times but we like to live dangerously!!

The characters all so well crafted.

The main protagonist, Sophie, I definitely have a soft spot for her. She’s so brave, it is almost suicidal! With one scary thing happening after another, she turns out to be quite the heroine. Respect! If it was me I’d be out of there lightning quick! But Sophie thinks of others before herself. Sophie feels particularly protective towards her youngest cousin Lilias, who has a horrendous fear of bones, knives have to be hidden, so she doesn’t cut herself, and when I say cut I really mean cut.

Jay sounds such a cute guy, a best friend who could possibly have been a love interest if his young life hadn’t been cut down right at the start.

Piper’s another favourite of mine! She starts off all sweetness, preparing food and seeming to be the perfect hostess welcoming her cousin to Scotland. But is Piper as sweet as she seems or is this all an act? You’ll have to read Frozen Charlotte to find out!

And Cameron appears to be a bit distant, and unwelcoming to Sophie when she arrives, intriguing the reader some more.

In my opinion Frozen Charlotte starts of well but becomes even more and more engaging, spooky and gruesome with each passing page…

The book ends with an epilogue, a final tease. This is one of the main strengths of this novel it teases and plays with the reader’s emotions offering apparent sweetness on one hand, and dire creepiness on the other.

My rating:

4.5 stars

My recommendation: Go read this!!! Highly recommended for readers of Horror, YA, Paranormal, Dark, Thriller, Mystery.

Have you read Frozen Charlotte? Do leave a comment I’d love to hear from you.

Bye for now,

Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx

My I Love Books A-Z of my Book Reviews on my blog. While I was up in Edinburgh my  wise owl of a brother suggested that it would be a good idea to have an awesome A – Z list.  Yes this is a terrific idea, but it’s taken me ages to compile! Thanks Donald!!! Siblings huh! Only kidding, I appreciate your input. To date I’ve done 103 reviews, (I’m losing count,) if you include my Goodreads reviews too. Well, I never, somehow I didn’t realise that I’d written that many. Maybe I have a twin who has written reviews too?  Gosh, she’s been busy. I  feel quite faint. My twin is hyper, or maybe she has a special magic wand to conjure up reviews. Pass me the smelling salts. I should have done an A-Z right at the beginning, that twin of mine is hyperactive, but she isn’t very organised! Ack.

So my wise old owl tip for new bloggers is don’t delay, do an A-Z of your reviews right at the beginning, it saves you a lot of time and hassle in the long run…..

Do to the ever-growing number of reviews…. I have now split the list into two sections authors surnames: A – M, which you’ll find in this blog post, and an N-Z.

The N- Z List can now be found here: Reviews N – Z

Some of the reviews featured below I wrote a long time ago when this blogging/reviewing lark was new to me and some I’ve written not too long ago. There are a range of genres to choose from, broadly ranging from YA, to Historical Fiction, Crime, Asian Literature, Paranormal, Magic, Literary Fiction, and Science Fiction.

The list includes my rating, from 3 to 5 stars –  please bear in mind that I don’t read and rate books that I don’t enjoy – Life is too short for that!  So please don’t bombard me with requests to do reviews. I just tend to choose what I want to read, I’m a bit of a fussy old owl that way. Unless you’re willing to pay me a ton of money then I would be more than happy to oblige! As well as this I’ve added type of genre, star rating, etc…

At the end of the list there are a few special interest books too.

Also I’m on Goodreads. There you will find books that I’ve rated/reviewed some of which do not feature  on this blog, yet, so do take a look at my Goodreads account too: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/20419289-marje-mallon

Please do let me know if any of the links don’t work, …..

My Reviews On Kyrosmagica:

Isabel Allende. Daughter of Fortune. 4.5 stars. Genre: Historical Fiction.  https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2014/06/09/my-review-of-daughter-of-fortune-by-isabel-allende/

Richard. M Ankers. The Eternals. 4 stars. Genre: Romance, Adventure, Fiction. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2016/08/19/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-the-eternals-by-richard-m-ankers/

Jay Asher. Thirteen Reasons Why. 4 stars. Genre: YA, Realistic Fiction, Teen, Fiction. https://mjmallon.com/2017/07/22/my-review-of-thirteen-reasons-why/

Sarah Ayoub. The Yearbook Commitee. 4 stars. Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance. The Yearbook Committee

Judith Barrow. Living In The Shadows. 4 stars. Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2016/02/11/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-living-in-the-shadows/

Alex Bell. Frozen Charlotte. 4.5 stars. Genre: Horror, YA, Paranormal. Read in the #redeyereadalong by Stripes Publishing in October 2015: https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2015/10/05/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-frozen-charlotte-by-alex-bell/

Tom Becker. Dark Room. 4.5 stars. Genre: Horror, YA. Read in the #redeyereadalong by Stripes Publishing in October 2015:https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2015/10/29/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-dark-room-by-tom-becker/

Robin Benway. Emmy & Oliver. 4 stars. Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2016/05/10/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-emmy-oliver/

Sacha Black. 13 Steps to Evil – How to Craft Superbad Villains. 5 stars. Genre: Writing Resource. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2017/06/01/my-review-of-13-steps-to-evil-how-to-craft-superbad-villians-by-sacha-black/

Martha Brockenbrough. The Game of Love and Death. 4.5 stars. Genre: Historical Fiction. YA. Fantasy. Romance. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2016/03/13/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-the-game-of-love-and-death/

Jessie Burton. The Miniaturist. 4 stars. Genre: Historical Fiction.  https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2015/01/12/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-the-miniaturist-by-jessie-burton/

Gail Carriger. Soulless. 4 stars. Genre: Fantasy, steampunk, historical fiction, Werewolf, Vampire, Mystery.  https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2016/10/18/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-soulless-by-gail-carriger/

Colleen Chesebro. The Heart Stone Chronicles. The Swamp Fairy. 5 stars. Genre: Magical, Fairies, Adventure, YA, Middle Grade. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2017/01/15/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-the-heart-stone-chronicles-book-1-the-swamp-fairy-by-colleen-chesebro/

Simon Cheshire. Flesh and Blood. 3.75 stars. Genre: YA, Horror. Read in the #redeyereadalong by Stripes Publishing in October 2015. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2015/10/16/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-flesh-and-blood-by-simon-cheshire/

Cat Clarke. The Lost and The Found. 5 stars. Genre: YA, Contemporary, Mystery. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2015/09/08/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-the-lost-and-the-found-cat-Clarke/

Jim Crace. Harvest. 4 stars. Genre: Fiction/Historical Fiction. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2014/05/26/my-review-of-harvest-by-jim-crace/

Graeme Cumming. Ravens Gathering. 4 stars. Genre: Thriller, Mystery.https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2016/04/21/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-ravens-gathering/

Jane Dougherty. Abomination. 4 stars: Genre: Post-Apocalyptic YA. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2016/11/05/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-abomination-by-jane-dougherty/

Kat Ellis. Blackfin Sky. 3.75 stars. Genre: YA, Mystery, Fantasy, Paranormal. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2015/09/05/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-blackfin-sky-by-kat-ellis/

Tan Twan Eng. The Gift Of Rain. 5 stars. Genre: Historical Fiction/Asian Literature. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2015/04/13/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-the-gift-of-rain-by-tan-twan-eng/

Anne Frank. The Diary of A Young Girl. 4 stars. Genre: Non-Fiction, History, WW2, Holocaust, Autobiography. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2014/09/09/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-anne-franks-diary/

Robert Galbraith, J.K. Rowling. The Cuckoo’s Calling. Cormoran Strike #1.   4 stars. Genre: Mystery, Fiction, Crime. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2014/05/11/my-review-of-the-cuckoos-calling/

Sally Green. Half Bad. 3.75 stars. Genre: Fantasy, YA, Paranormal, Witches.  https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2014/07/15/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-half-bad-by-sally-green/

Jenny Han. To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before. 5 Stars. Genre: Contemporary, YA, Romance. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2014/08/18/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-to-all-the-boys-ive-loved-before/

Pauline C Harris. Puppet. 3 stars. Genre: YA, Fantasy, Fairytale Retelling. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2014/10/24/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-puppet-by-pauline-c-harris/

Matt Haig. Echo Boy. The latter part of this review contains spoilers. BE WARNED!!!! 4.75 stars. Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Dystopia. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2014/05/21/my-review-of-matt-haigs-echo-boy-for-net-galley-2/

Ruth Hatfield. The Book of Storms Trilogy, Book 1: The Book of Storms. 4 stars. Genre: Fantasy, Middle Grade. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2014/11/10/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-the-book-of-storms-by-ruth-hatfield/

Ruth Hatfield. The Book of Storms Trilogy, Book 2: The Colour of Darkness. Genre: Fantasy, Middle Grade. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2017/01/05/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-the-colour-of-darkness-by-ruth-hatfield/

Ruth Hatfield. The Book of Storms Trilogy, Book 3: The Book of Shadows: Genre: Fantasy, Middle Grade. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2017/01/07/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-the-book-of-shadows-by-ruth-hatfield/

Rachel Hawkins. Rebel Belle. 4 stars. Genre: YA, Fantasy, Romance. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2014/07/24/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-rebel-belle-by-rachel-Hawkins/

Emma Healey. Elizabeth is Missing. 4 stars. Genre: Mystery, Fiction, Memory Loss, Aging:  https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2015/07/24/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-elizabeth-is-missing-by-emma-healey/

Ronovan Hester. P. S. Bartlett. Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling. 4.5 stars. Genre: Historical Fiction, Pirate. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2016/06/04/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-amber-wakes/

Joe Hill. Horns. 4.5 stars. Genre: Horror, Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2016/11/12/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-horns-by-joe-hill/

Colleen Hoover. Maybe Someday. 4.5 stars. Genre: New Adult, Romance, Contemporary. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2015/03/11/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-maybe-someday-by-colleen-hoover/

Anthony Horowitz. The House of Silk. A Sherlock Holmes Novel. 4.5 stars. Genre: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Detective. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2015/02/09/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-the-house-of-silk-by-anthony-horowitz/

Kazuo Ishiguro. The Buried Giant. 4 stars. Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fiction. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2015/05/11/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-the-buried-giant-by-kazuo-ishiguro/

Jonas Jonasson. The Hundred Year Old Man That Climbed Out Of A Window And Disappeared. 5 Stars. Genre: Fiction, Humour, Contemporary, Scandinavian Literature. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2016/01/19/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-the-hundred-year-old-man-who-climbed-out-of-the-window-and-disappeared/

Helen Jones. Oak and Mist, Book 1 in The Ambeth Chronicles. 4 stars. Genre: Fantasy, YA. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2016/05/23/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-oak-and-mist/

Maureen Johnson. The Name of The Star. 4 stars. Genre: YA, Mystery, Paranormal. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2015/04/14/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-the-name-of-the-star-by-maureen-Johnson/

Hiromi Kawakami. Strange Weather in Toyko. 5 stars. Genre: Asian, Japanese Literature.https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2014/06/07/review-of-strange-weather-in-tokyo-hiromi-kawakami/

Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner. These Broken Stars. 4 stars. Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Romance. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2015/02/21/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-these-broken-stars-by-amie-kaufman-and-meagan-spooner/

Stephen King. The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. 4.5 stars. Genre: Horror, Short Stories, Thriller, Mystery, Fantasy, etc… https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2015/12/22/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-bazaar-of-bad-dreams-by-stephen-king/

Stephen King. Revival. 4 stars. Genre: Horror, Thriller, Mystery. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2016/07/31/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-stephen-kings-revival/

Mary Kubica. A Good Girl. 3.75 stars. Genre: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2014/08/15/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-a-good-girl-by-mary-kubica/

Vanessa LaFaye. Summertime. 5 stars. Genre : Historical Fiction. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2015/02/28/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-summertime-by-vanessa-lafaye/

Geoff LePard. Dead Flies And Sherry Trifle. Genre: Humour, Coming of Age Story. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2016/08/05/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-dead-flies-and-sherry-trifle/

E Lockhart. We were Liars.  4.5 stars. Genre: YA, Contemporary, Mystery. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2015/03/15/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-we-were-liars-by-e-lockhart/

Tahereh Mafi. Shatter Me. 3.75 stars. Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Dystopia. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2014/05/22/review-of-shatter-me-by-tahereh-mafi/

Graham Marks. Bad Bones. 3 stars. Genre: YA, Horror.Read in the #redeyereadalong by Stripes Publishing October 2015. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2015/10/24/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-bad-bones-by-graham-marks/

Marcia Meara. Swamp Ghosts. 4 stars. Genre: Romance, Mystery, Thriller. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2014/07/04/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-swamp-ghosts-by-marcia-meara/

William Meikle. The Exiled. 4 stars. Genre: Horror, Fantasy, Mystery. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2014/06/12/review-of-the-exiled-by-william-meikle/

Madeline Miller. The Song Of Achilles. 5 stars. Genre: Historical Fiction, Mythology. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2015/05/16/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-the-song-of-achilles-by-madeline-miller/

Eimear McBride. A Girl is A Half Formed Thing.  3 stars. Genre: Fiction, Contemporary, Irish Literature. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2014/11/24/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-a-girl-is-a-half-formed-thing-by-eimear-McBride/

David Mitchell. The Bone Clocks. 4.5 stars. Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction. Literary Fiction. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2014/12/08/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-the-bone-clocks-by-david-Mitchell/

Lou Morgan. Sleepless. 4 stars. Read in the #redeyereadalong by Stripes Publishing October 2015. Genre: YA, Horror. https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2015/10/09/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-sleepless-by-lou-morgan/

Jojo Moyes. Me Before You. 4.5 Stars. Genre: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary/Chick Lit: https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2016/02/28/my-kyrosmagica-review-of-me-before-you-by-jojo-moyes/

Hope you find this long list useful.

My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/20419289-marje-mallon

Bye for now, I’m chilling out, feeling on top of the world!! Snooze time…..

Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx

A new term begins, a bit like the branches of this beautiful tree it proposes many opportunities but also separates too.  We are now back to our little group of three and I expect it will take some getting used to again.

The journey to Brighton on Saturday luckily wasn’t fraught with too many issues. We arrived on the seafront, but found that we couldn’t locate the venue to pick up my daughter’s keys!  We asked a local taxi driver but she didn’t seem to have a clue so we turned the car around and managed to work it out ourselves. The weather was so blustery, as I left the car, my hair was blown all over the place, and somehow the force of the wind managed to undo my necklace! Luckily I noticed and saved it from being stolen by the wind. I walked in with my daughter and she presented her form only to be told that she needed ID to pick up her keys! Back out into the wind again, no sign of my husband or our car, he’d gone to do a loop around as this area is strictly double yellow lines, no parking allowed. So we waited, and waited, and waited. By this time I was needing the toilet! At last he reappeared, we went back armed with her ID. Problem solved. Or was it? The door wouldn’t open. UGH. Luckily we spied one of the housing advisors and she opened it for us. At last my daughter was presented with a key! Success. Off we went.

Now this is when events became even more entertaining, remember we are in Brighton and in Brighton all sorts of funny things happen, I kid you not. On the way up the hill to her new abode, which by the way is a cute terraced house, with a garden, we saw a bunch of students pushing an enormous wheeled crate up the hill, full of a truck load of moving in stuff, there even happened to be a TV in there! This made me laugh, typical students!  I remember once my other half and his then student pals lifted a cooker through the streets of Edinburgh up to their flat too! How times have changed, nowadays students are much more sophisticated, and inventive, none of this brawn, just brain, a wheeled crate is much more enterprising. Anyway, I do hope that they managed to get up the hill okay! After saying our goodbyes, wonder of wonders, an even stranger sight caught my eye. We were stuck at a junction waiting to turn right, the bus on the road ahead stopped, a man hobbled out on his crutches and popped into the off licence for his weekly supply of alcohol, the bus waited patiently and he hobbled back on with his stash at the ready! I’ve never seen that anywhere else in the world, that’s for sure. A Brighton speciality bus service, methinks….

So back to this tree, I sat underneath it in a pub in Blackheath, in London, with my youngest daughter and as I looked up I stared at its magnificent splendour. It must be one of the most striking trees I’ve ever seen. It was lit up with fairy lights, and its branches curved and twisted, in a dramatic fashion, as if it was saying look at me.  If it could speak I’m sure it would say, “Aren’t I the most poetic tree you’ve ever seen?”

That tree summed up how I feel about my daughter going into her second year at University, and my youngest starting her GCSE’s. This is going to be some year! They will have so many opportunities, and diverse paths that they might follow which will lead them in many directions, and if they work hard the sky’s the limit for what they might achieve. I do hope my eldest daughter has a bundle of fun, makes lots of new friends, and embraces each and every opportunity with a happy heart, and that my youngest daughter will have a wonderful year with much success, happiness, and fun too. There is the prom to look forward to, I know she will love this! A new dress, shoes, makeup and hair, that will put a smile on her face after all that hard work. As for me, I may have a touch of the new term blues but I’ll be okay, the leaves of that wise old tree whispered and told me so!

Are you suffering from the new term blues too? Do you have a child who has just left the nest to go to University? Do feel free to comment and share I’d love to hear from you.

Bye for now.

Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx