Isolation for Writers – Guest post: Willow Willers #COV1D19 #Isolation #Writers #Poetry

Hi Willow. Welcome!

I’m so happy that Willow can join me today. She is an old blogging friend, who I have met in person at several blogging bashes. An old friend in the logging world is referred to as a Blogging Sister!

So welcome Sis! When I mentioned my Writer’s In Isolation series I knew Willow would come up with something really fantastic and she has.

How do writers, creatives, artists and bookish souls cope with isolation? Is their capacity to cope different from the rest of the population? It’s an interesting question and one that fascinates me.

How is Willow coping with this enforced isolation?

Here is Willow’s answer:

I really don’t know if writers, creatives, artists and bookish souls cope any better or worse than the rest of the population.  In fact, I don’t think I am coping all that well. I seem to be busier now than ever I was before Covid19 reared its ugly head. I really find it hard to find time –  to sit down and work on my blog – and the family even though they are not living at home, they take up most of my time. If it has taught me anything, it has taught me that my blogging time must be managed, as it helps me, so it must have its place.

Marje: Indeed it should Willow. I am so glad that blogging has helped you and continues to help you cope with your current situation. It’s tough and I know you have had your share of problems. The poem which I’d like to feature today originally appeared on your blog in February and it is eerily true to life at the moment.

Willow: “I had no idea then how close to the truth it was, though I do hope the outcome is better than the one I predicted.”

Here’s Willow’s Poem:

The planet was struggling it’s true

From space it was no longer blue

It was suffering from millennia of wars and abuse

People pleaded for change, no use.

Most people tried to help Earth

They knew the planets worth.

Then came the plague

No respecter of king or knave

It cut through the ranks and top brass

No preference for age or class

It sent weak, old or young to the grave.

It emptied the streets and Malls,

Pubs, clubs and church halls.

It stopped the planes and the trains

The fat cats lost their profits and gains.

Huge nations brought to their knees

As scientists search for the keys

To the elusive cure to rid all of the bain.

Just when it could not get worse

Hate joined fear with a curse.

The people turn on each other

Neighbour, husband, wife, sister, brother.

Empty shops, no fuel they could not stand

Then all civilian movement was banned

The crops and animals died on the land.

Drones flew over head, all was scanned.

Mother Nature watched with a tear

Chaos in weeks, rebellion, extinction within a year.

*****

© Willow Willers

https://willowdot21.wordpress.com/2020/02/25/the-plague/

Bio – Willow Willers

I am the mum of three boys  all now grown and flown to live their own lives. Luckily they do keep in touch and visit often. I now have  two beautiful grandsons.

When I started this blog I had not long come home from hospital after an accident in which I broke my back, for the second time. I was in hospital for a month and had three operations.

It has taken me a long time to recover, I am still recovering but every day my body is getting stronger. It has taken a huge toll on me mentally I had to retire early on health grounds, I had to come to terms with finding out people I thought were friends were not. I had to make a new life for myself. Things I could do easily have become difficult. 

Writing poetry and prose has helped me a great deal.  I have made so many wonderful friends through blogging I think it has definitely saved my life. 

Marje: You have been through so much Willow. Bless you. You’re such a resilient, and amazing person.

Willow continues to amaze me – here are just some of her wonderful blog posts to give you a tiny flavour of who she is:

For the series What Day is It Anyway?This is part of LindaGHill’s #WDIIA :

https://willowdot21.wordpress.com/2020/04/23/what-day-is-it-anyway-monday-20th-through-to-thursday-23rd-april-2020/

Photo prompts and various other blog link ups:

https://willowdot21.wordpress.com/2020/04/20/thursday-photo-prompt-otherworldly-writephoto/

Song Lyric Sunday, Familiar Places.

https://willowdot21.wordpress.com/2020/04/20/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-april-18-2020/

Willow loves to share fabulous song videos on her blog. Here’s James Blunt… singing his beautiful heart out.

Thank you so much for being my beautiful guest Willow.

What a great poem, and a fantastic music video too. Thank you for sharing these with us.

Willow has been a great friend to me – beta reading, reviewing, encouraging, and sharing my blog tour posts like crazy! She’s a truly supportive person and has a wonderful blog.

So this is a Thank You to her for all the wonderful things she does.

Photo by Řaj Vaishnaw from Pexels

Do pop over to say hello.

Stay safe and well everyone.

Collaborative Grouphttps://www.facebook.com/pg/5SpiritualSisters/

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April 4: Flash Fiction Challenge

This is my entry for Charli Mill’s Flash Fiction Challenge.

It’s a short paragraph from my YA/paranormal book The Curse of Time Book 1 Bloodstone.

When I saw that the nature of the prompt was about fire – I thought why not… I hope Charli doesn’t mind… it just seemed to fit so well.

The fire raged, and a ring of flames circled the card, avoiding it as if it contained the deadly plague. The sand timer ran out. The fire burnt down leaving its mark on the card with black singed edges.

I felt a chill creep up my spine. When I searched Dad’s face for some clue to his strange behaviour, I reeled back, struck by the sight of a dull emptiness in his eyes. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from his face. I thought I spotted a weird reflection in his eyes, maybe a bug…

It’s funny how cutting this paragraph down to 99 words gives the story a totally different edge to it. It ends on quite a funny note with the ‘maybe a bug,’ ending but in reality, it is far from funny. 

Just in case this little piece of writing intrigues you… and you want to find out more about the bug…

Buy Book: myBook.to/TheCurseofTime

Unique Selling Point: Unique, Imaginative, ‘Charming, enchanting and richly layered this is purely delightful.’

“This delightful book will appeal to teens and young adults who love stories filled with magical crystals, dark family curses, and mysteries waiting to be solved around every corner. Each chapter leads you on a journey of discovery where Amelina earns the right to use three wizard stones to reset the balance of time and finally break the curse that holds her family hostage. A captivating tale!” – Colleen M. Chesebro (Editor)

Social Media Links

Authors Websitehttps://mjmallon.com
Collaborative Bloghttps://sistersofthefey.wordpress.com
Twitter: @Marjorie_Mallon and @curseof_time
#ABRSC: Authors Bloggers Rainbow Support Club on Facebook
Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17064826.M_J_Mallon

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mjmallonauthor/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mjmallonauthor/

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To enter Charli Mill’s flash fiction challenge please follow the link: https://carrotranch.com/2019/04/04/april-4-flash-fiction-challenge/

 

Bye for now, happy writing!

 

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#ABRSC Christmas/New Year Blog Hop Party December 1st!!!

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I will be hosting a Christmas/New Year Blog Hop Party December 1st where I will be revealing the book I have chosen to buy, read and review as my Christmas present to a fellow author and club member of the #ABRSC.

Please consider joining the #ABRSC group, it has grown and is a wonderfully supportive  club full of resources for authors/bloggers and reviewers. I am so proud of the group and the wonderful members. We currently have 164 members!

Here are the party guidelines:

1. Buy a fellow member’s book. Read and review between 1st of December and 6th January and share on Amazon, Goodreads, and your blog if you have one. Link your review to your blog post party when you have completed it.
2. Share your blog post and reviews on Twitter using the hashtag #ABRSC
3. Try if possible to review someone’s book you haven’t read before or in a different genre from one you would normally read.
4. Link back to the last person who joins the party. So we have a chain effect of party goers! Don’t forget to bring music, cake and lots of cheer! Remember to include any Christmas news you wish to share.
5. You can buy and read more than one book if you want.
6. Write reviews that are fair but honest. Apply a star rating, and write as long or short a review as you wish.
7. Choose a date between 2nd December and 6th January to write your blog post and add it to the comments below. Select a person to review and the name of their book, add these to the comments below so we don’t get duplicate people being reviewed more than twice. One member per review. Only review #ABRSC members. If in doubt get in touch with me, Debby or  Colleen.
8. You may reblog other members posts on your blog if you wish, this may encourage new people to join the club which would be great!

Hope you will consider joining in the blog hop party, I think it will be a fun way to start of Christmas advent.

Bye for now,

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My social media links:

Authors/Bloggers Rainbow Support Club

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!

Twitter: @Marjorie_Mallon and @curseof_time

Instagram

Facebook

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#Read about Guest Pre-published #Writer / #Author Sacha Black

If there is ever a moment when you wonder who to follow in blogging land – never fret I have the answer! (And so does Chris at The Story Reading Blog. ) Who am I talking about? Our very own Blogger’s Bash organiser, one of the stupendous gang of four: Sacha Black. Her blog is awesome, full of amazing writing tips. Do follow her you won’t regret it. 🙂

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Pert bums, Make up, Fake Tan and Hair extensions

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Here’s my take on Colleen’s #WQWWC writing challenge. The theme this week is:  Rebirth. Silver Threading WQW: Rebirth

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‘Once you reach a certain age you’re either slowly dying or slowly being reborn. I want to choose the latter.’ Marianne Williamson.

‘Marianne Williamson is an internationally acclaimed spiritual author and lecturer’:  Marianne Williamson’s website

Marianne Williamson’s quote sums up how I feel about it too. The older I get the more I want to go on an adventure! There is nothing that I want to do more than to write, to explore a new landscape of my dreams, to be reborn as a Bloggers Basher and have fun!! Just in case you have no idea what I’m talking about and think this is some new sort of cult, here’s the link to my post about the Bloggers Bash in London on the 11th of June: My Take on The Bloggers Bash

Now, a few people have mentioned that they are suffering from a touch of the Blogger’s Bash blues after the event, so this is for us BB bloggers, and anyone who is or has ever experienced a touch of the blues ….to try to cheer us up with a bit of a giggle…. ENJOY!

I love to eavesdrop. It’s a compulsory and addictive occupation if you’re a writer. Trains are great for this. On the way to the Blogger’s Bash on Saturday I just couldn’t help myself. The  urge came over me to tune in. It was desperate. I tried to stop but it just wasn’t possible. The train was very crowded. There wasn’t a seat available for me to plant my derriere so I surrendered to my deep-seated curiosity. Two young men were standing next to me. Inevitably their conversation touched on the topic of girls, and then veered in an unexpected, and ahem… amusing direction.

NOTE: This is a bit of a departure from my usual children’s writing!! It’s good to try new ideas… I had so much fun writing this!

(The speech below is of course my embellished version of events …..!!!)

Pert Bums, Make up, Fake Tan, and Hair Extensions.

‘Jenny’s pretty.’

‘Yeah but she’s all make up, fake tan, and hair extensions.’

‘Got a fit body though.’

‘Can’t argue with that.. hope it’s real. Real or not, the thought of her makes me tingle…’

‘Calm down mate… sounds like you’ve got too much of that testosterone buzzing round your body… Have you … oh can’t say that …. I’ll get nicked for indecent behaviour …’

‘Ha Ha! That would be so like you… ‘

‘True, you got me!… Let’s leave the coppers for now..the very thought of them makes me sweat…. even though I’m innocent..  I swear. Let’s keep this on the straight and narrow. Been to the gym recently, released the T word?’

‘T word.. oh not a cuppa, you mean a tipple of Testosterone? No. No gym, no footie, nothing, none of the other, either!’

‘No wonder you’re bloody drooling mate.’

‘I’m panting!’

‘You better get on top of it, tame it, work it out, and, um… I hate to say this mate but something dear to you,  is holding you back.’

‘What’s that?’

‘Your behind,derrière, bum, butt, buttocks! It’s em… how do I say this? It’s not quite what it used to be.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Your posterior used to be pretty pert!’

There’s a moment’s silence….

‘You got me there.. It did didn’t it? It was well toned, and admired,’ he laughed, ommiting a half laugh, turning round to observe his once firm bum.

‘A cracker of a bum… your cheeks made me giddy with jealousy!’

‘Ah…. that’s tragic. My bum’s lost its way .. You’re right I better get down to that gym super pronto, or my ass fan club will be a forgotten fiction!’

A wistful expression lingered on his face. His mate gave him a sympathetic look. With those parting words they left the train. Leaving behind a captivated audience that longed for more..

© Marjorie Mallon 2016 – aka, Kyrosmagica. All Rights Reserved.

Sigh.. my entertainment ended. This was far better than any soap opera. Lots of seats became available and I sat down, planting my posterior down. I brushed my hair, and applied a bit of lipstick, no fake tan, or hair extensions, I’d like to add. Oh well.. I was still on my way to the Bloggers Bash, lots more excitement and fun to come!

What I find so amusing about this extraordinary experience is the openness with which these two young men spoke. Were they discussing this in public for attention? Were they just having a laugh? Let’s consider the reactions that they received. No one on the train laughed, or openly smiled. Talk about stiff upper lip. We were all holding it in, squeezing our toned bums even though no doubt a little smile was playing on our lips. Perhaps we had a little twinkle in our eyes. But no one said a word. Instead each and every one of us had a bit of a silent giggle. Well I did anyway..!

Have you ever heard an amusing or astonishing conversation while travelling?

If you have I’d love to hear all about it. Go on… admit it I bet you love to eavesdrop too!

Have a lovely day, keep smiling..

Just finishing with my new Bitmoji hope you like it!

 

Bye for now,

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Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx

 

My fun (totally not serious but nevertheless 90% true,) author bio on Wattpad – Link below.

Marjorie Mallon was born in Lion City: Singapore. She grew up in a mountainous court in Hong Kong. Her crazy parents dragged her  spotty soul away from her exotic childhood and her much loved dog Topsy to the frozen wastelands of Scotland. There she mastered Scottish country dancing, haggis bashing, bagpipe playing and a whole new Och Aye lingo. 
As a teenager she travelled to many far flung destinations to visit her abacus wielding wayfarer dad. On one such occasion a  barracuda swam by. It stopped to view her  bikini clad body, longing to take a big bite. With dogs' fangs replacing barracudas' teeth, she returned to her mother's birthplace: Kuching, Cat City. There, Blackie, a black-hearted dog sniffed her frightened butt, whimpered and ran away! Shortly after this extraordinary event 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, would love to own a cat, or a replacement Topsy but refuses to entertain  murderous dogs, or over-protective monkeys.
It's rumoured that she lives in the Venice of Cambridge, with her six foot hunk of a Rock God husband, and her two enchanted daughters. 
After such an upbringing her author's mind has taken total leave of its senses. When she's not writing, she eats exotic delicacies while belly dancing, or surfs to the far reaches of the moon. To chill out she practises Tai Chi and Yoga on the crest of a wave. If the mood takes her she goes snorkelling with mermaids, or signs up for idyllic holidays with the Chinese Unicorn, whose magnificent voice 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 young at heart, and  inspire others to do so, even if it appears that the odds are stacked like black hearted shadows against you...

 

My Links: 

Wattpad

Goodreads

Instagram

Twitter

Facebook

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More Websites and Links for Book worms, Bloggers and Writers

 

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Soon, on Tuesday 5th of May, there is to be a Writers’ resources evening at Cambridge Writers,  the group that I am a member of, so with this in mind, I thought I would do a little warm up, and type up some helpful website links for Writers, Bloggers and Book Worms.

http://www.cambridgewriters.net/

I have been gathering the details of this list for some time so hope that it will be a useful resource.

So to kick it off my first discovery was Wasafari, who are they you might ask?
“Wasafiri is Britain’s premier magazine for international contemporary writing. Published quarterly, it has established a distinctive reputation for promoting work by new and established voices across the globe.”

 

Book review/Bookish sites:

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Netgalley https://www.netgalley.com/

Bookbridgr http://www.bookbridgr.com/

and Lovereading.co.uk http://www.lovereading.co.uk/

Read books for free: https://storycartel.com/search

 

Author’s resources:

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Tips for authors on how to make book trailers: https://effrosinimoss.wordpress.com/2013/12/02/tips-for-authors-book-trailer-made-easy/

Tips on writing book blurbs, they may be short but it doesn’t mean they’re easy to write!  http://www.terrytyler59.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/book-blurbs-as-hard-as-writing-book.tml

How to protect yourself – editing clauses in publishing contracts. http://accrispin.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/editing-clauses-in-publishing-contracts.html

Features written by or about female writers.https://thewritesofwoman.wordpress.com/2015/02/01/in-the-media-25th-january-1st-february-2015/

Excellent website for all writerly things including author/agent interviews, writing, and self-editing advice: talltalesandshortstories.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/agent-interview-jenny-savill-at-andrew.html

“A new home for your short fiction.” http://inkins.com/

http://irenewaters19.com/2015/03/24/99-word-flash-fiction/

http://alanamunroauthor.com/about  runs support a writer on google.

 

Writers links via no wasted ink. http://nowastedink.com/2015/03/02/no-wasted-ink-writers-links-161/

https://tycobbsteeth.wordpress.com/2015/03/27/book-marketing-tools-1/

“World Literary Cafe is  a multi-faceted community that promotes everyone in the literary realm, from readers to authors, editors, reviewers, and author services.” http://worldliterarycafe.com/content/support-wlc-authors

A book about writing, funding, crowd-sourcing, editing, sales, file conversion, guerrilla marketing, social media, blogging, and reviewers via Jan Moran writes. http://www.janmoranwrites.com/2012/12/30/book-review-ape-by-guy-kawasaki-and-shawn-welch-for-authors-publishers-and-entrepreneurs/

https://awomanswisdom.wordpress.com/2015/03/16/just-finished-writing-your-first-book-dont-publish-it-yet/

 

Copyright infringement

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Copyright infringement. http://thestoryreadingapeblog.com/2015/03/03/congratulations-authors-one-battle-won-against-copyright-infringement-update/

 

Writer’s advisory services

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There are a lot out there but which to recommend? I’ve heard good things about these two:

Hilary Johnson Authors Advisory service  http://www.hilaryjohnson.com/index.html

Cornerstones who have their very own publishing house http://threeharespublishing.com/#latest-work, and have written a self help guide, Write a blockbuster and get it published, authored jointly by Helen Corner and Lee Weatherly, “it offers not simply a guide to writing a novel, but an introduction to writing a plot-based, action-focused blockbuster.” http://cornerstones.co.uk/

 

Poetry Enthusiasts:

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I’ve just recently rediscovered my love of poetry and with this in mind I would highly recommend joining in with Ron’s Weekly Haiku prompt challenge. It’s fun, and gets the old creative juices flowing on a weekly basis and that can only be a good thing! Ron has an excellent blog overflowing with all sorts of interesting articles so he’s certainly one to follow.

Haiku prompt challenge: https://ronovanwrites.wordpress.com/category/haiku-prompt-challenge/

Wikihow to write a Haiku poem. http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Haiku-Poem

What is Haiku, and how to write it. http://toyomasu.com/haiku/

Here’s his helpful link about merging blogs: https://ronovanwrites.wordpress.com/2015/03/23/how-merge-blogs/

Artists and Illustrators:

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Chihuly Glass pixabay.com

 

Marketing resources for artists. http://artistmarketingresources.com/about/

Using Corel suite instead of Adobe for illustrators: http://oreosandspiltmilk.com/2015/02/17/food-illustration-ramen/

 

Finding Agents and Publishers

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Switch your torch light on, don your spy costume, now on to the nasty business of finding agents, and publishers. This is when life becomes complicated, the writing is easy in comparison, I know I’m in this process and it seems to be a never ending slog of decisions, (which is utterly painful for someone like me who tends to be indecisive,) waiting, trying again, waiting. So with that in mind here are some resources to help my fellow wannabe authors out there who may be struggling like me to find a publisher or an agent. Never fear, help is at hand. Good luck!

List of agents and editors.

https://loutreleaven.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/uk-literary-agents-for-childrens-books/

https://loutreleaven.wordpress.com/2010/07/21/childrens-publishers-accepting-unsolicited-manuscripts/

https://mswlparagraph.wordpress.com/agents-editors/

The Writer’s and Artists’s Yearbook is a must have ISBN 9781408192450. They have an excellent site: https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/ 

Another way to approach agents is to meet them in person. There are many events which are organised with this in mind, conferences, workshops and talks are all good opportunities to meet agents and tell them about your story, so have a look for those – locally in the UK there is the Norwich Writers Centre http://www.writerscentrenorwich.org.uk/ and plenty will come up from a google search on the internet.

SCBWI do some, too.  Who are SCBWI?  They are The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators: https://www.scbwi.org/ The Writers and Artists also hold events: https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/events, the next hook an agent event is in London, in June: https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/events/how-to-hook-an-agent-children-s-fiction

http://www.sharonbayliss.com/2012/04/list-of-publishers-seeking-submissions.html

How to pitch to publishers: http://www.karentyrrell.com/pitch-publishers/

http://www.davidficklingbooks.com/Submissions.php – David Fickling Books are opening up submissions in a competition type style event from May 5th to May 19th.

 

Self Publishing:

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Guide to self publishing and promoting, click on the tab on the top left section of author E. Rawls blog, there are all sorts of writing tips too as well as haikus, book reviews, blog hops, author interviews. https://rawlse.wordpress.com/

 

Marketing:

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http://www.derekhaines.ch/justpublishing/does-twitter-sell-ebooks/

Increase your blog traffic: http://www.molly-greene.com/increase-blog-traffic-subscribers-8-tips/ 

 

THIS BLOG claims no credit for any images posted on this site unless otherwise noted. Images on this blog are copyright to its respectful owners. If there is an image appearing on this blog that belongs to you and you do not wish for it to appear on this site, please contact or e-mail me with a link to said image and it will be promptly removed.

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