I’m particularly pleased to announce that I will be having a cover reveal for This Is Lockdown soon in paperback format.
It is a shorter version (without the diaries,) with black and white photography to include Covid19 Flash Fiction, contributions from the ‘isolation writers,’ poets and creatives.
Book Description – This Is Lockdown – Paperback verison
An anthology and compilation of short stories, flash fiction, contributions from the ‘isolation writers,’ plus poetry written during the time of lockdown in the UK.
This anthology and compilation is for everyone, wherever you live in the world. We are all experiencing the impact of COVID19 and lockdown. As writers, bloggers and creatives we express our thoughts and opinions in writing: in heartfelt poetry, pieces on isolation and the impact of COVID19 and the ‘new normal.’ There are twenty eight talented contributors, including the creative NHS Mask Making Fundraising Team of Jane Horwood and Melissa Santiago Val. The contributors come from as far afield as Australia, Canada, USA and Zimbabwe, or closer to my current home in England – in Ireland, Scotland and Italy.
It is as Willow Willers, a contributor said, ‘A piece of living history.’
This extraordinary and unexpected time period will be shared with future generations one day.
Compiling and editing this anthology has given me a purpose over the period of Lockdown and for that I am grateful. The book showcases several authors and their thoughts on what it is like to experience ‘isolation’ as a writer. In the final part of the book I include my latest short story idea: a YA romance and various short pieces of poetry, and flash fiction inspired by the pandemic.
The wonderful contributing authors and creatives are many in number!
Thank you so much to each one of them for being a part of this project.
Please do visit their websites and buy their books to discover the huge variety of writing and creative talent amongst them ranging from talented short story and poetry writers to horror, fantasy, supernatural thriller, romance and memoir writing. And more!!! Plus the wonderful fundraising Community Masks 4 NHS initiative from Jane Horwood and Melissa Santiago-Val which has become Sew Positive.
There truly is something for everyone amongst this international group of writers and creatives who are based in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Italy, America and Zimbabwe.
This is a tough time for writers as it is for everyone. The arts and creative industry is under threat as are businesses worldwide.
PLEASE NOTE – The paperback does not include my personal COVID diaries originally published on the kindle. These are available to read on the kindle version of This Is Lockdown.
The kindle version of This Is Lockdown will be on a Christmas countdown deal from 13th December. So, grab your copy quickly to get the best bargain. It will be sold at a reduced price until 20th December when it will revert to its usual selling price.
The kindle of This Is Lockdown has received excellent reviews as has my poetry, prose and photography collection Mr. Sagittarius.
This Is Lockdown Kindle Purchase links – Amazon.co.uk – offer in progress:
I’m deep in complicated edits for the second in my YA fantasy series – The Curse of Time #2 Golden Healer, and they are driving me crazy! As it’s Poet’s Choice I’m going to share the opening poem and a short extract, (which still needs a final edit so please bear that in mind.)
The story opens with two dear old friends, Leanne the owner of the magical crystal cottage and Eruterac, the creature, who is the caretaker of the cottage. The below link is to Carolina Russo’s wonderful blog.
Carolina has created two amazing art portraits of my characters which you can see below – Esme the mirror girl and Eruterac the creature at: https://yesterdayafter.com/
Through a gated door leading to a herb and rose garden where two strange companions Leanne, and Eruterac the creatureshare a rare moment together.
Today,theymarvelled at the beauty and fragility of the rose petals which created a dazzling display of white, yellow, pink, and darkest crimson blooms. The delightful fragrance of roses and herbs filled the air, bursting with sweetness. In the backdrop, a quaint old cottage with shuttered windows rested as if waiting for a passing stranger to dare to cross its threshold. Within, skylights alighted on all manner of crystals as they twinkled, longing for a release from their embedded position on the walls. The ground around the cottage stirred, breaking and settling as if the cottage might be drawn back into its hiding place: the earth.
In the surrounding courtyard, there were cages and feeders for birds which hung from the trees. White doves cooed and preened themselves in bird baths.
The creature Eruterac paid no attention to the antics of these exquisite birds, instead he fidgeted as he tried to rearrange his tall skeletal frame into Leanne’s dainty, wrought iron chairs.
Leanne sat opposite him. Except for the tulle layers of her silken gown, her tiny frame appeared lost in the chair. She tilted her head with an air of grandeur as if she was about to join a garden party frequented by the finest royalty, or perhaps the Gods themselves.
Eruterac had no such attire, except for his knitted rasta cap with sun-cured palm leaves which covered his matted dreadlocks.
His needs were a thing of the past, for now his concerns were reduced to the worms that crawled across his bony frame. He held one such wrigging creature inches from the gap where his mouth used to be and edged forward dangling it in front of Leanne’s nose.
“Dinner,” he joked as he bobbed his skeletal head.
Leanne shuddered. “No worms, thanks, dearest creature. Caviar for me!” She picked up her finest china teapot and poured the liquid into a cup. It flowed slowly, twinkling with a myriad of brilliant colours. When it filled the cup, it turned the colour Leanne expected. She’d thought of green tea and magical green tea it was.
Eruterac choked and spluttered on clods of earth as he laughed. “That’s foul. Green tea, how can you drink such muck?”
“Easy. I do so with a smile, unlike … poor you! I see worms continue to ooze gunk where your dear mouth used to be,” replied Leanne, reaching forward to pat Eruterac on his skeletal shoulder.
They rested for a moment, her gentle hand on his bones.
“I’ll try not to drink such delicacies!” replied Eruterac, cracking his bones for a joke.
“Wise fellow. Forgive me for changing the subject but your new hat is very fetching! I’s so brown and earthy with that Chiastolite death crystal, completed by that black cross embellishing the cap’s centre.”
“Indeed, it’s a dark beauty, like an honourable death,” he said, his skeletal arm reached up to touch the crystal on his hat.
“Take heart, dear Creature, forget about death, and being bound to this cottage. Let us rejoice in the simple pleasures of life which we take for granted…” Leanne pointed at their sublime surroundings.
Eruterac sighed. ”Yes, there are times when amidst such tranquillity and beauty that I forget everything.”
A white dove landed on Leanne’s slender shoulder, she turned and smiled. But the dove thought better of it and alighted on the Creature’s hat. It pecked away at the worms making the creature smile.
“They know who provides them with a constant dinner of worms. And who’s boss.”
“Huh! A boss? You? That Chiastolite’s making you big-headed. Oh, my days! The protectors, you, and my dearest doves are all that I and my dear cottage need… But, I mustn’t forget, I have news to impart – the midsummer fly is up to his tricks.”
“Where’s that stinking fly been to this time?” asked Eruterac, leaning forward, sending worms tumbling towards Leanne’s teacup. Her eyes grew wide as she placed a protective hand over the top but a few swift worms landed in the saucer. She swiped them away.
More to come, there is a mention of the bloodstone in the latter part of this opening chapter, find out more when the book is complete. It continues to be my most challenging writing project, so it may be a while. Be patient with me dear readers.
Any feedback would be greatly received.
While I am editing book two here is the link to the first book in the YA fantasy series The Curse of Time #1 Bloodstone, the blurb and some review quotes.
Fifteen-year-old Amelina Scott lives in Cambridge with her dysfunctional family, a mysterious black cat, and an unusual girl who’s imprisoned within the mirrors located in her house. When an unexpected message arrives inviting her to visit the Crystal Cottage, she sets off on a forbidden pathway where she encounters Ryder, a charismatic, but perplexing stranger.
With the help of a magical paint set, and some crystal wizard stones she discovers the truth about a shocking curse that has destroyed her family’s happiness.
“This delightful book will appeal to teens and young adults who love stories filled with magical crystals, dark family curses, and mysteries waiting to be solved around every corner. Each chapter leads you on a journey of discovery where Amelina earns the right to use three wizard stones to reset the balance of time and finally break the curse that holds her family hostage. A captivating tale!” – Colleen M. Chesebro (Editor)
The Crapsey cinquain is a five-line, non-rhyming poem featuring a syllable structure of 2/4/6/8/2. Choose words that create drama which builds into the fourth line. Remember, the turn occurs on line five, the most important line. This is where you change your focus away from the drama in some interesting way. Surprise your readers!
This week, Kat Myrman, from Like Mercury Colliding, selected the words:
Imagine & Gratitude
So, I decided to write about my recent walk in the botanical gardens in Cambridge. It was a glorious autumn day which filled my spirit full of imagination and gratitude. There is a small area which is normally for school children only but this has been opened to the public.
I took various photos. I particularly loved this lovely writers throne which I shared on my Instagram…
I’m pleased to announce that I am a contributing author in Claire Plaisted‘s Ghostly Rites Anthology 2020 with my story: – No. 1 Coven Lane.
I’m thrilled that my good friend Colleen Chesebro, (The Changeling, and Samhain’s Song – Poem,) and Adele Marie Park, (Tommy,) are also contributing to this anthology this year too! Along with Cathy Lee Chopping, (Catfish,) C Weave-Lane, (All Hallows Eve,) Elizabeth Green, (The Faebell Ring,) Mary R. Woldering, (Night Route,) Mara Reitsma (The Mind’s Eye,) Wendy Steele (Sweeter Than You,) Michael Lynes, (The Trick,) Karen J Mossman, (Terror at the Office) and poetry – His Breaking Mind by Natan Annabell-Hanson.
Ghostly Rites Anthology 2020 Media Kit
BLURB
A book of Eleven short fiction Halloween stories, some based on fact. Along with two poems.
This year’s Ghostly Rites Crew are: Natan Annabell-Hansen, Colleen Chesebro, Cathy-Lee Chopping, Mary Woldering, Mara Reitsma, Elizabeth Green, Wendy Steele, Michael Lynes, M J Mallon, C Weave-Lane, Karen J Mossman, and Adele Marie Park.
The Stories are written in the English Language and Grammar of where they live.
Margo is an old, lonely lady, who lives next door to No. 1 Coven Lane. Everyone in the neighbourhood has heard about Margo’s weird next-door neighbours, Anita and Frank. Their daughter Freda is home from university paying them a visit. One day, they waylay Margo whilst she is out walking with Prudence, a fine pedigree cat. It is clear from their conversation that Margo’s memory is not what it used to be. But is this a ruse? Or is the old lady much more crafty and wicked than she seems?
Author Bios
Colleen M. Chesebro is an American Novelist & Poet who loves crafting paranormal fantasy and magical realism, cross-genre fiction, syllabic poetry, and creative nonfiction. She loves all things magical, which may mean she is experiencing her second childhood—or not. That part of her life hasn’t been decided yet.
A few years ago, a mystical experience led her to renew her passion for writing poetry and storytelling. Colleen sponsors a weekly Syllabic Poetry Challenge, called Tanka Tuesday, on her blog where participants learn how to write traditional and current forms of haiku, senryu, haiga, tanka, gogyohka, tanka prose, renga, haibun, cinquain, Etheree, nonet, and shadorma poetry.
Colleen’s syllabic poetry has appeared in the Auroras & Blossoms Poetry Journal, and several other publications. She’s also won numerous awards for her flash fiction.
Colleen is a Sister of the Fey, where she pursues a pagan path through her writing. She lives in the Sonoran Desert near Phoenix, Arizona with her husband and black cat, Freyja. When she is not writing, she is reading. She also loves gardening and crocheting old-fashioned doilies into works of art.
Fantasy and horror writer, Adele Marie Park originally hails from the Orkney islands. Rousay is a small, but archaeological important island, dubbed “The Egypt of The North.”
The oral tradition of passing down stories fired the young Adele’s imagination with tales of trolls, faeries, sea monsters, witches, ghosts, and seals who could change into humans.
The landscape of the island fascinated her as moorland hills swept down through green fields to the shores of secluded beaches, where black volcanic rocks might be a troll or a sleeping giant.
Reading the Hobbit at an early age inspired her and in her teens she turned to Stephen King, James Herbert, Anne Rice and Storm Constantine to appease a mind hungry to delve into the paranormal.
Throughout her life she never gave up writing but it was an ongoing medical condition which forced her to give up work that began her passion to publish her writing for others to read.
Genres may come and go, but Adele’s writing encompasses a solidity which does not change; the overcoming of obstacles in one’s life, love, death, grief and pain all infused with those supernatural elements that one sees out the corner of the eye or feels when one is alone in the house at night and a floorboard creaks.
To connect with Adele, and learn more about her work visit these sites:
M J Mallon – My alter ego is MJ – Mary Jane from Spiderman. I love superheros!
On the 17th of November I was born, in Lion City: Singapore, (a passionate Scorpio, with the Chinese Zodiac sign a lucky rabbit.) My early childhood was spent in Hong Kong. During my teen years, my parents returned to my father’s birthplace, Edinburgh, where I spent many happy years. As a teenager, I travelled to many far-flung destinations. It’s rumoured that I now live in the Venice of Cambridge, with my six-foot hunk of a Rock God husband. My two enchanted daughters have almost flown the nest, but often return with a cheery smile to greet me.
During the day, I work in an international sixth form with students from around the world. I’m the meet and greet lady who welcomes them to their new college and issues them with late slips when they don’t get to their lessons on time!
I write YA fantasy, paranormal, horror/supernatural short stories, flash fiction and short form poetry. More recently, I have produced and compiled an anthology/compilation set during the early stages of COVID-19 entitled This Is Lockdown.
I’ve been blogging for many moons at my blog home Kyrosmagica, which means Crystal Magic. From time to time I write articles celebrating the spiritual realm, inspiration and my love of nature, crystals and all things magical, mystical, and mysterious.
Born in New Zealand, Cathy-Lee Chopping was raised in a low socio-economic area until her parents sold all their worldly possessions and moved her and her sisters to Perth, Western Australia in 1995. For as long as she can remember, Cathy-Lee has been writing short stories, from tales of a childs imagination, to the angst of teenage heartbreak, to fan-fiction featuring characters from her favourite movies and television shows. She was first published in “Love from the Other Side”, a Ghostly Writes publication in 2017, and has since been featured in six anthologies with Plaisted Publishing House. Cathy-Lee has plans for an anthology of her own, for release in early 2021, and is working towards finishing her first full length fantasy novel. Cathy-Lee enjoys fun outings with her young family, playing video games with her eldest son, and reality television shows.
Cathy-Lee has a Facebook page, where she is beginning to build her online community. Pop by and visit sometime and follow for future projects.
C Weave-Lane resides in a cottage in Perth W.A. by
the Swan River and Wetlands with her cats Salem, Dumbledore and Storm the pup. It is here she combines her loves of Nature walking, reading and creating Magical stories with hints of the Past
Elizabeth Green has always wanted to be a published author, and recently made that dream come true. Her parents never told her not to be a writer; instead they would hand her a pen, and tell her if she intended to be an author, she might want to actually write something. They were correct.
She loves mystery, mythology, folklore, and magic, and incorporates those elements in her stories. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology, with minors in Geology and Ancient History. Elizabeth is a trained Severe Weather spotter, and a member of the SkyWarn network of tornado spotters. There is nothing she likes better than a good thunderstorm, and living in Indiana she gets to enjoy a lot of them.
Elizabeth is a voracious reader across multiple genres, both fiction and nonfiction. She loves to cook, and is an avid gardener. Her other hobbies and interests include sewing, knitting, and many forms of needlecrafts. She collects fossils, and is a serious caffeine lover. She is also a certified SCUBA diver, but has not been diving in far too long; her dream is to dive in the ocean instead of midwestern quarries. She loves to travel.
This is Elizabeth’s third published short story. She is currently at work on a novella that will be published by the end of 2020, the first in a series of darker fairy tales. In the works are two historical novels, and a fantasy series involving Egyptology, angry mummies, and more than one good curse.
Mary R. Woldering is an author, artisan, art historian, madwoman, visionary and devoted wife to Dr. Jackie F. Woldering, mother of Ruth and Thom and grandmother of five. She lives in Mentor, Ohio.
Karen J Mossman lives on the beautiful island of Anglesey, just off the north Wales coast. She lives with her husband of over forty years and their two dogs. Karen is an avid reader and a book blogger.
Visit her website where you can see and experience her love of stories – www.karenjmossman.com
Mara Reitsma has been interviewed on Kyrosmagica here is the link:
I thought I’d write a nonet to celebrate my hubby and I ‘s anniversary. We had a lovely day together yesterday. So this is for us! We’ve stood the test of time and been married for 33 years! Imagine… He isn’t one for social media, so I rarely post photos of him, so instead here is a lovely pic I found on pexels.
This challenge explores Ekphrastic writing inspired by visual art (photographs). Lisa Thompson, from last month’s challenge, has provided the photo for this month’s challenge.
Image credit:Unsplash, and the photographer is Wolfgang Hasselmann
The tea gossips begin. A line black marks my whereabouts