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).

Blog Hop: Gathering for Book Discussion

On By cherylmahoneyIn Blog Hop3 Comments

book blogger hopThis week’s Book Blogger Hop question: If you are in a book club, where do you meet? A restaurant, someone’s home, the library?

I am in a book club!  We’re a pretty laid-back one, we read a variety of books, and usually the conversation turns towards Star Wars at some point.  One of my favorite conversations?  A semi-serious one about the best weapon to use against zombies, and the decision was for lightsabers.  Clearly, I know awesome people. 🙂

I’ve been in this book club for…long enough that I’ve lost track.  I think about four years?  Currently we meet at a restaurant on a Monday night, for dinner and book discussion.  Over the years we’ve also done coffee shops and parks, which both worked pretty well too (well, the parks are only good some parts of the year…)  The public location is nice when we want to encourage new people to join, and we’ve never had problems with loud venues–or being too loud ourselves.

I’m also in a writing group, and we meet weekly at a pizza place.

Anyone else in a book club?  How do you handle meetings?

Author Event: Book Signing!

On By cherylmahoneyIn Novel News3 Comments

A few weeks ago, I was very honored to have my first book signing!  Collaborating with two author friends, we held a signing at a local book store.

All three of us had a fantastic time, and it was so great to see all the people who came out to support and buy books.  We had a busy store and very happy authors. 🙂

And of course I brought a camera! Continue reading “Author Event: Book Signing!” →

Back from Fairylands

On By cherylmahoneyIn Ruminations1 Comment

oncetimenine400Summer is beginning, and that means an end to the springtime Once Upon a Time reading “challenge.”  A couple weeks ago, actually…but I have a somewhat belated wrap-up post today!

This is always a laid-back challenge, and I have been particularly laid-back about it this year…because I started a new job at almost the same time the challenge began!  A good problem, but still distracting…

I started well with reviews, but dropped off more recently.  Here’s the break-down on fantasy reading over the past three months.

Even if I couldn’t focus as much as I like this year, I always love this challenge!  Did you participate this year?  What did you read that you enjoyed?

Quotable Neil Gaiman

On By cherylmahoneyIn Ruminations1 Comment

“[I] never [know] how to talk about what I do. If I could talk about it, I would not have to do it. I make art, sometimes I make true art, and sometimes it fills the empty places in my life. Some of them. Not all.”

– Neil Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Book Review: Loose Changeling

On By cherylmahoneyIn Fantasy, Reviews2 Comments

How can you lose with this premise?  Nicole always thought she was normal, until she catches her husband in bed with another woman, and in a fit of anger–turns the other woman into a mouse.  And that’s only the beginning of Loose Changeling by A. G. Stewart.  So, a disclaimer: I’m friends with the author, a member of my writing group.  But that really just means that I have a fuller appreciation for what an amazing writer she is!

So after the mouse incident, Nicole finds out that she’s a Changeling, a member of the Fey raised by humans–the only Changeling, since Changelings were banned more than a thousand years ago.  Nicole is plunged into Fey politics, a lot of monsters want to kill her, she can only use her magic when her soon-to-be-ex husband is in the room to make her angry enough, and her only guide through it all is a Fey bodyguard who is distractingly attractive and, even more problematic, keeps getting caught in lie after omission after half-truth.  All she really wants to do is go back to her desk job, where all her office supplies are perfectly lined up and the world makes sense.

This is a fast-paced, exciting book with a lot of twists that held my interest with never a falter.  There are some exciting battles and confrontations, but the book is just as engaging when Nicole is learning magical abilities or trying to process the emotional roller coaster she’s going through.  It’s a nice balance of action, character development and, as I always appreciate, dots of humor here and there too. Continue reading “Book Review: Loose Changeling” →