Author: cherylmahoney

I'm a book review blogger and writer. I have published four novels, The Wanderers; The Storyteller and Her Sisters; and The People the Fairies Forget; and The Lioness and the Spellspinners. All can be found on Amazon as an ebook and paperback. In my day job, I'm a Marketing Specialist. Find me on Twitter (@MarvelousTales) and GoodReads (MarvelousTales).

A Literary Tour

On By cherylmahoneyIn Ruminations3 Comments

I didn’t read as many books in September as I normally do, in part because I spent the first half of the month traveling.  Definitely worth it–but it leaves me a little short on books to review now!  So I thought for something different, I’d share a few photos from my recent travels.  There are even book connections–as the friend I went with and I like to say, it was something of a literary tour.

p1030494-copyThe Opera Garnier in Paris, besides being quite stunning in its own right, is also the home of the Phantom of the Opera.  And therefore very interesting to me!  If you’re ever there, take a tour, and see the famous chandelier.

p1030560-copyNot far away stands Notre Dame Cathedral, home to Quasimodo the Hunchback.  This was particularly fun to see as my friend and I saw a play version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame just a week before we were at the real Notre Dame!

p1030692And speaking of plays and the Phantom, one of the trip’s highest highlights was seeing The Go-Between, starring Michael Crawford.  30 years after originating the role of the Phantom, he still has a singing voice that should make any right-thinking Christine swoon!

There’s another literary connection too, as the play is based on the book of the same name.  The book is relatively obscure, but you may recognize the opening line: “The past is a foreign country.  They do things differently there.”

p1030708My favorite London literary connection is in Kensington Gardens, one-time favorite haunt and book setting of J. M. Barrie, currently home to the statue of his most famous character, Peter Pan.  And if you believe Barrie, home to the fairies as well.

p1040064I may have arranged a few photos with Barrie’s fairies in mind…  I worked on a short story involving fairies in Kensington Gardens while I was traveling.  Perhaps eventually I’ll post it here and tell you more about these two.

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Meanwhile in another part of the city, there lived a very famous detective–at least according to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  I highly recommend the museum–it’s not large and the ticket price is slightly exorbitant, but it’s worth it.

One more stop meant heading out to Stonehenge–but I have LOTS of pictures there, so I’ll save it for another day and its own post!  Have you ever been to the setting of a favorite story?  Where would you like to go?

2016 Reading Challenges – Three-Quarters Update

On By cherylmahoneyIn Ruminations3 Comments

I was on vacation half of September, and this three-quarters update snuck up on me slightly!  Fortunately, I’ve been doing a lot of challenge reading anyway…

Newbery Medal WinnersPicture
Goal: 15 Newbery Medal Winners, to bring myself to half of the total list
Host: Smiling Shelves

I continue to do better with the Newberys than I did in the first quarter, in terms of enjoying the books.  I’m also racking up large numbers of these.  It helps that they’re relatively easy reads, and also that they tend to be brilliant for audiobooks.  I try not to do anything too intense or complicated on audio (driving, you know) so children-friendly Newberys have gone well that way.

Just for fun, this quarter I thought I’d note the year of the Newberys I’ve read.  I need to work on the earliest ones still.  Maybe next quarter!

  1. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (1990)
  2. The Grey King by Susan Cooper (1976)
  3. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (2013)
  4. The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli (1950)
  5. Up a Road Slowly by Irene Hunt (1967)
  6. A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck (2001)
  7. Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo (2014)
  8. The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare (1962)
  9. Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli (1991)
  10. A Gathering of Days by Joan W. Blos (1980)
  11. Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos (2012)
  12. Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (1992)
  13. A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park (2002)
  14. Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (2000)

Parallel Universes
Goal: 12 books

I’m on track right now to exceed this goal, with so many really interesting parallel universe stories.  I’m fascinated by how different these books can be, while all being within what I thought was a fairly narrow criteria!

  1. Pivot Point by Kasie West
  2. A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray
  3. Parallel by Lauren Miller
  4. Here, There and Everywhere by Chris Roberson
  5. Maybe In Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  6. The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
  7. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North
  8. Sidewise in Time by Murray Leinster
  9. The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood
  10. A Crack in the Line by Michael Lawrence

Diversity On the Shelf
Host: The Englishist
Goal: 18 books

I did not do as well on this challenge this quarter.  But I’m still on track, and I managed a few double-challenge books by reading Newberys with minority leads.  I’m actually a little sad to be on track, though…I was hoping 18 books was a low bar, and I’m coming to the conclusion it wasn’t!

  1. Otherbound by Corrinne Duyvis (Hispanic)
  2. Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley (African-American)
  3. Stars Above by Marissa Meyer (Unspecified Asian)
  4. Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld (Indian)
  5. Written in the Stars by Aisha Saeed (Pakistani)
  6. Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere by Julie T. Lamana (African-American)
  7. Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu (Indian)
  8. Scarlett Undercover by Jennifer Latham (African-American Muslim)
  9. Bridge of Time by Lewis Buzbee (Chinese)
  10. Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline (Native American)
  11. Pioneer Girl by Bich Minh Nguyen (Vietnamese)
  12. Join by Steve Toutonghi (various)
  13. A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park (Korean)
  14. Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (African-American)

The Bardathon: Shakespeare Plays
shakespeare400Host: Samantha Lin
Goal: 5 plays read or seen (but ideally, read 5 comedies, read 5 tragedies, and watch 5 movies)

Sadly, not much Shakespeare this quarter, although while on vacation I went to see a live play at the Globe theatre…that counts double, right?  😉  I’ve exceeded my low goal, not feeling strong about my stretch goal, but will hopefully get a bit more of the Bard in before year’s end.

  1. Much Ado About Nothing (Joss Whedon production)
  2. Comedy of Errors (read)
  3. Comedy of Errors (BBC production)
  4. Measure for Measure (read)
  5. A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1996 production)
  6. Coriolanus (Gerard Butler production)
  7. A Midsummer Night’s Dream (live performance at the Globe)

Carl’s Seasonal “Challenges”: Readers Imbibing Peril somehow began three weeks ago when I wasn’t paying attention…  Focused on horror, this one never fit my reading interests as well as the others, and I’m sitting it out this fall.  Back onto these with the Sci Fi challenge in a few months!

With just a few months left in the year and lots of non-reading things planned for that time (NaNoWriMo, anyone?) I’m still feeling pretty good about my reading goals.  A few more reads at the end of the year and goals are looking pretty attainable.  And after ten parallel universe novels, I’m still really looking forward to reading more… 😉

How has your reading been going for 2016? Are you pursuing challenges?  How are they going?

Classic Review: Writing Magic by Gail Carson Levine

On By cherylmahoneyIn ReviewsLeave a comment

With my new book coming out soon and NaNoWriMo just two weeks after that, it seemed an appropriate time to revisit one of my favorite books about writing.  It isn’t my biggest influence, but it’s one of the best for bringing together a LOT of writing concepts in a fun and accessible way.  Something of a young adult nonfiction book, but recommended for any age too!

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If I had read Writing Magic by Gail Carson Levine when I was twelve, I think it would have changed my life.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t published until I was several years past twelve, and I didn’t read it until I was in college.  But it was still an excellent read then.

Writing Magic, as you may have guessed, is a book about writing, by one of my favorite authors.  I reviewed her best-known book, Ella Enchanted, early on in this blog.  Writing Magic is a wonderful book for kids who want to write.  It’s filled with good advice of all sorts: save what you write; jot down ideas; pay attention to details; make your characters suffer sometimes.  She covers coming up with ideas, writing the actual story, and working through revisions.  The book discusses practical things like the best way to write dialogue, and discusses why you might feel inspired to write to begin with.  And there are writing prompts at the end of every chapter.

This is a great book on writing, and I think it would also be a lot of fun for anyone who has read Levine’s novels–at least, it was for me!  She illustrates writing lessons with examples from her own books–not only by plucking scenes out of the published books, but also sharing pieces of earlier drafts, or talking about what a story started out looking like, and how her ideas changed along the way.  I love knowing the story behind the story. Continue reading “Classic Review: Writing Magic by Gail Carson Levine” →

Novel News: Behind the Covers (or Scenes)

On By cherylmahoneyIn Novel News2 Comments

My next novel, The Lioness and the Spellspinners, is due out in less than a month!  God willing and all goes well, of course. 🙂  Today I thought it would be fun to share a bit of the behind the scenes on the final stages of publishing prep.

I always order a print proof copy a couple months before my planned release date.  I do my final round of edits in the paper copy, and by reading through it I can spot any weird formatting when it goes to paper.  Also, I’m never sure what the cover is going to look like until I can see the physical version.  This time, that proved especially important.  I knew I had a dark cover, but it had never looked as dark as it did in my first proof copy…

p1040116Some significant lightening later, my second copy looked much more like the cover has been looking on every computer screen and print-out I’ve done.  And hopefully Karina looks less evil!  I still wouldn’t want to mess with her, but the aim was for fierce, not fear-inspiring…

I like seeing inside books (I mean, the formatting, not just the words…) so here are two more pictures from behind the covers.  Get your own copy and see the other pages on October 14th! 🙂

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Book Review(s): Bud, Not Buddy and A Single Shard

On By cherylmahoneyIn Historical Fiction, Reviews2 Comments

I don’t set out to read thematically-similar Newbery winners in a row, but sometimes it happens.  Today, two books about orphan boys looking for a place to belong.  Both good–but I think I’d better read one with a heroine next!

Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

Set during the Great Depression, Bud is a ten year old orphan, bouncing from orphanages and foster homes ever since his mother died when he was six.  When things go badly at another foster home, he seizes the opportunity to run away–and to travel in search of his father, based on slim evidence and personal conviction about who his father might be.

This is a book that’s made by its main character.  Bud is a tough kid, but not as tough or grown-up as he thinks he is.  He has a fierce streak of independence, but he also has impeccable manners, a good heart, and a nice sense of humor that lightens what could have been a very grim book.  It also helps that he mostly meets good people.  Not everyone, and rough things happen, but mostly people are at a minimum well-meaning (if not always effective). Continue reading “Book Review(s): Bud, Not Buddy and A Single Shard” →