Tag: writing

Media Kit: Do What You Love Fragility of Your Flame #poems #photography #flashfiction #new #book #release #writingcommunity #poetrycommunity #mediakit #paperback

Blurb

Do What You Love Fragility of Your Flame Poems, Photography & Flash Fiction is a personal poetry collection celebrating how the fates may have a part in all that we do.

With special poems and short reflective moments inspired by family, flowers and nature, love, scrumptious morsels, places I’ve visited, lived and intend to live in, the friendships and hopes I have for the future.

The overarching theme is to live a life well lived… And to do what you love.

float along with me

create clouds of sweetest joy

to do what you love

hold fate’s hand as we venture

near and far on life’s journey

Release Date: 25th November 2022, able to preorder via the following links.

ARC Reviews:

Oct 29, 2022 Ritu Bhathal  5 stars

Oh what a lovely book, filled with poetic gems and beautiful prose!
I enjoy reading MJ Mallon’s poetic fiction, where she ties poetry with prose, and have read several of her previous books written similarly.
Do What You Love is almost autobiographical in a sense that she has taken her memories and written them in poetic form, and the fictional, almost fantastical element is where she meets the three sisters of fate through her journey of reminiscences, and they talk about her different memories.
It’s not linear, but no conversation ever is, is it? Memories jump from the more recent to the older ones as they come tumbling into your mind.
I felt a keen connection to the poems about her daughters, and the autumn trees. Autumn is one of my favourite seasons.
A lovely book with a personal touch. 

 see review

Oct 31, 2022 S.C. Skillman  5 stars

Shelves: inspirational

I’ve read this author’s work before: young adult novels, poetry and flash fiction, and I love her imaginative handling of the magical, the phantasmagorical and surreal. This short book is no exception to the quality of MJ Mallon’s output. I found her exploration of her past life captivating.

We may consider that the inclusion of often very personal material in a compilation of this sort would make it difficult for the outside reader to find a way in. This is not true at all of MJ Mallon’s poetry and prose: in many places, I related so much to what she writes, especially about a daughter ‘flying the nest’ to a faraway country. I particularly loved the device MJ Mallon uses to draw all this together: she presents it as a conversation with Atropos, one of the three Fates in Greek mythology: the Morai.

Atropos presides over the past. I thought this worked extremely well as a central metaphor. It had me googling the three Fates, and reading all about them: Clotho, who spins the threads of life, guardian of the present; Lachesis, who measures the length of life with her measuring rod, and is guardian of the future: and Atropos, who is the guardian of fate and destiny, and who chooses the manner of death by snipping the threads of an individual’s life.

MJ Mallon has had a fascinating and varied life experience: born in Singapore, she spent her childhood in Hong Kong and her teens in Edinburgh. She now lives in Cambridge. Every culture she has lived in, I believe, has influenced her imagination, her interests and her approach as a writer. In this book, we find a compilation of words and images which draw us in: poignant, sensitive, delicate, playful, as she opens up for us her past and present relationships, the places she has loved and spent time in, and her thoughts and feelings about it all.

A highly recommended book for you.

see review

Buy Links Do What You Love:

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BKLC9DYY/

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/What-You-love-Fragility-Photography-ebook/dp/B0BKLC9DYY/

Amazon Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/What-You-love-Fragility-Photography-ebook/dp/B0BKLC9DYY/

Reviews/Features:

S C Skillman:

Book Review: ‘Do What You Love – Fragility of Your Flame’ by MJ Mallon

Sally Cronin:

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2022/11/05/smorgasbord-book-reviews-photography-poetry-flash-do-what-you-love-fragility-of-your-flame-poems-photography-and-flash-fiction-by-m-j-mallon/

Willow:

A review of Marjorie Mallon’s new book. Do What You Love .
Sunday Book #Review and Book Launch #Promotion – Do What You Love by Marjorie Mallon – #NewRelease

And also available in paperback with full colour photography.

I am thrilled to say that two of my poetry collections, (Mr. Sagittarius Poetry and Prose and Lockdown Innit,) have been requested by prestigious libraries in the UK: The British Library, The Bodleian Library Oxford University, the Cambridge University Library, National Library of Scotland, National Library of Wales and Trinity College Dublin for Legal Deposit.

Add the book to your TBR: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63114445-do-what-you-love

The cover of the paperback and kindle have been designed by Colleen Chesebro who has a new service for authors which I can highly recommend. Colleen also designed the interior and cover of The Hedge Witch And The Musical Poet.

https://unicorncatspubservices.wordpress.com/my-services

Portfolio:
https://unicorncatspubservices.wordpress.com/portfolio

https://wordcraftpoetry.com/unicorn-cats-publishing-services/

Other poetry/flash fiction collections:

Kyrosmagica Publishing

The Hedge Witch And The Musical Poet

https://books2read.com/u/mv1OeV

Mr. Sagittarius Poetry and Prose

http://mybook.to/MrSagittarius

Anthology – This Is Lockdown, (poetry, diaries and flash fiction – kindle)

http://mybook.to/Thisislockdown

Poetry during Lockdown – Lockdown Innit

http://mybook.to/Lockdowninnit

Poetry also features in my highly acclaimed YA Fantasy series.  Each chapter begins with a short poem. The Curse of Time Book 1 Bloodstone and Book 2 Golden Healer are published by Next Chapter Publishing.

https://www.nextchapter.pub/books/bloodstone

https://www.nextchapter.pub/books/golden-healer

https://www.nextchapter.pub/authors/mj-mallon

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Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Guest Post – I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now! #Family #Travel #Writing by M.J. Mallon | Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

Thank you so much to Sally for this wonderful feature about my family inspirations for I wish I knew Then What I Know Now… and review of my latest poetry and flash fiction book The Hedge Witch And The Musical Poet on her blog…

I am sure like me, there have been times when you have wondered what difference might have been made to your life, if your younger self had been gifted with the experience and knowledge you have ac…

Source: Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Guest Post – I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now! #Family #Travel #Writing by M.J. Mallon | Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

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NEW Release: “Word Craft: Prose & Poetry, The Art of Crafting Syllabic Poetry” | 🌸Word Craft Prose & Poetry🌸

My good friend, and sis Colleen Chesebro has some wonderful news!! Her new book Word Craft Prose and Poetry is out in kindle! Such a huge accomplishment. I know that Colleen has worked so hard on this. It is a huge poetry community endeavour and she includes so many of her community’s poems as examples in the book.

I’m thrilled that my Garland #Cinquain poem about a copse of trees is included!

Over to Colleen…

In her words: I’m honored to share with you the Ebook release of “Word Craft: Prose & Poetry, The Art of Crafting Syllabic Poetry.” Are you ready to learn how to craft Japanese and American…

Are you ready to learn how to craft Japanese and American poetry? Consider this book the first step on your journey to learning the basics of how to craft syllabic poetry. Inside, you will discover many new forms, syllable combinations, and interpretations of the different Japanese and American forms and structures of haiku, senryu, haiga, tanka, renga/solo renga, gogyohka, haibun, tanka prose, the cinquain, and its variations, Etheree, nonet, and shadorma poetry.

So… what are you waiting for? Let’s craft syllabic poetry together!

Amazon.com

My review:

Word Craft: Prose & Poetry: The Art of Crafting Syllabic Poetry by Colleen M. Chesebro

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is a comprehensive guide covering both American and Japanese poetry including Haiku, Senryu, Haiga, Tanka, Gogyohka, Haibun, Renga, Crapsey Cinquain Etheree, Nonet, Shadorma, and variations, as well as examples of all the forms and recaps to refresh the memory too.

It is written in such a way that it is easy to understand and get the most from.

The Art of Crafting Syllabic Poetry begins with an introduction to how Colleen’s journey began – her poetry community, and goes on to discuss definitions of “meter, syllable, and stresses,” and the hard work required to find your creative soul. She suggests ways to encourage creativity, and talks about figurative language too.

It is clear that author Colleen Chesebro has put her heart and soul into this guide and loves helping others to be the best poets they can be. She runs a wonderful community of poets with weekly prompts, (which again must be an incredible amount of work,) and is now expanding her repertoire to include online submissions to her poetry venture with poet JulesPaige. Colleen is also a co-editor of “Word Weaving, a Word Craft Journal of Syllabic Verse,” at wordweavingpoetryjournal.com more about that below in her Bio.

What an incredible amount of work, dedication and research has gone into this book and into everything that Colleen Chesebro does.

It is a wonderful resource for both new students of poetry to learn and to refer to whilst writing poetry and for old hands, (such as me,) to jog our memories and to avoid making careless mistakes about the forms!

There is a bibliography at the end with the names/links/detail of all the poets who have contributed to the anthology. I’m delighted that my #Garland #Cinquain poem is included amongst this section along with so many awesome contributions from poetry community members.

My recommendation: This is a fabulous book, and one that Colleen Chesebro should be very proud of.

5 stars. I’ll be buying a paperback to use as a resource.



View all my reviews

Source: NEW Release: “Word Craft: Prose & Poetry, The Art of Crafting Syllabic Poetry” | 🌸Word Craft Prose & Poetry🌸

More news! Today Colleen’s poetry submission window opens for her new word weaving journal. Pop over to her blog to find out the theme: https://wordweavingpoetryjournal.com/2021/05/15/announcing-the-theme-for-the-1st-word-weaving-poetry-journal/

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#Bookreview – This is Lockdown by M.J. Mallon – Robbie’s inspiration

Thank you to Robbie Cheadle for this thoughtful review of This Is Lockdown for Rosie’s Book Review Team. I truly appreciate her taking the time to read and review.

Source: #Bookreview – This is Lockdown by M.J. Mallon – Robbie’s inspiration

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Author Interview with M J Mallon: 5 questions about Book Writing Process & Mindset » Huma Zuellah Ahmed

Thank you to Huma for this author interview.

Pop over to her blog to discover my answers to these five engaging questions:

#1 Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?

#2 Do you view writing as a kind of spiritual practice?

#3 What, in your opinion, are the most important elements of good writing?

#4 Does writing energize or exhaust you?

#5 What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?

Source: Author Interview with M J Mallon: 5 questions about Book Writing Process & Mindset » Huma Zuellah Ahmed

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Saddle Up Saloon; Linin’ Up At the Mic « Carrot Ranch Literary Community

I enjoy taking part in 5 at the Mic @ Charli Mills Carrot Ranch Literary Community. It’s a great way to gain experience of reading your writing aloud! It’s a bit embarrassing too – you see all your flaws, etc, etc, and weird mannerisms! But, no matter… I can live with that.

The videos feature Ellen Best, D. Avery, Anne Goodwin, Paula Moyer, Susan Spitulnik, Bill Engelson, myself and Susan Budig.

Source: Saddle Up Saloon; Linin’ Up At the Mic « Carrot Ranch Literary Community

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Flash Fiction: Carrot Ranch Literary Community #Flash #Fiction #Challenge

September 10: Flash Fiction Challenge

Live Author Talk

Those bloody motorbikes can’t they stop! 1 A.M. no chance I’ll get any sleep. Tomorrow’s the live show. Never done this before. What will it be like? I’ll soon know. Introverted writers, tonight at 9 p.m. I’ll talk live. Bound to be a problem with the connection. We’ll get there… I did it! I listen, damn, I can’t see my weird mannerisms, but I can hear them. Perhaps I should have had some water instead of that glass of wine, stupid faux pas, one or two!


On Saturday evening I participated in my first Facebook live interview with horror and fantasy indie author A. F. Stewart’s Between The Pages Book Chat. I’m sharing it here so that others can see that even if you are daunted, (terrified) by the idea of speaking live, you can still give it a go. Looking back at the recording there are things I wish I’d said and some I wish I hadn’t said, or repeated as much! It’s funny how we waffle… or I do anyway. Still, if you don’t try, you don’t learn and improve. It’s not perfect but the main thing is I tried. I’m giving myself brownie points for that!

And wondering if I seriously need a haircut! Looking like a lock down woman…

I’ve also been participating in Carrot Ranch Community 5 at the Mic, which is a grand opportunity to share your writing to an audience, in a safe space. You can start by being an audience and then move on to reading your work.

More about that here:

At the Carrot Ranch blog you can also listen to Ellen Best, Anne Goodwin, Paula Moyer, and Bill Engleson: https://carrotranch.com/2020/09/06/saddle-up-saloon-one-shy-of-a-six-pac-at-the-mic/

So, how you feel about participating in live recordings. Have you tried? Does it make you want to hide?

Authors Website: https://mjmallon.com
Authors Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/M-J-Mallon/e/B074CGNK4L
Twitter: @Marjorie_Mallon and @curseof_time Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mjmallonauthor/
#ABRSC: Authors Bloggers Rainbow Support Club on Facebook
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17064826.M_J_Mallon BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/m-j-mallon Collaborative Group: https://www.facebook.com/pg/5SpiritualSisters/

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How To Write A Short Story – a video tutorial – Dan Alatorre

This is an excellent video tutorial from Dan Alatorre. He reads from his introductory story in the forthcoming anthology Spellbound and discusses the story processes that he employs to create mystery, ambiance, vitality and atmosphere.

What do you include when you write a short story? What does it mean to show and not tell? How much setting is appropriate, or description? These and other writing tips are here in this 53 minute vi…

Source: How To Write A Short Story – a video tutorial – Dan Alatorre

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