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).

Writing Wednesday + Reflections on the Phantom’s Name

On By cherylmahoneyIn Writing1 Comment

I’ve been remiss in my Writing Wednesday posts recently, in part because there hasn’t been a lot to say week to week!  I spent all of April reviewing and doing light revisions on The Princess Beyond the Thorns, mostly to the effect of realizing that it is, in fact, probably two books, not one.  This has a way of happening to me…considering my Phantom trilogy was supposed to be one book to begin with too.  Fortunately I figured things out much earlier in the process this time around.  I expect to spend the rest of May continuing on those revision efforts.

My main focus has been shifting over towards getting the word out about my upcoming novel release, The Guardian of the Opera: Nocturne.  Have I mentioned it’s coming out June 5th? 🙂  And videos.  I seem to be making a lot of videos lately.

So today, instead of a writing excerpt, have a video.  It’s Phantom-focused, not surprisingly, discussing not just the (sometimes complicated) background of the Phantom’s name, but also some ways I used (or didn’t use) his name very intentionally in my book.  Enjoy!

Video Book Review: Star Wars – The Thrawn Trilogy

On By cherylmahoneyIn Reviews, Science Fiction2 Comments

Happy Star Wars Day, and May the Fourth be with you!  I may be a Trekkie, but I enjoy a good Star Wars book too, and today I’m offering a video review of what I think are the best: The Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn.  Celebrate Star Wars Day by watching my review below!

 

Pre-Order The Guardian of the Opera: Nocturne Today!

On By cherylmahoneyIn Novel News4 Comments

I am so pleased to announce that my next book Nocturne (The Guardian of the Opera, Book 1) is now available for Kindle pre-order.

Order your copy now

The book will release on June 5th, and will also be available in paperback and hardback.  I will, of course, be posting to remind you. 😉

Here’s a bit about the book, just in case you’ve missed all that rambling I’ve been doing about it for the last several years…!

Set against the backdrop of 1880s Paris and the stunning Opera Garnier, The Guardian of the Opera: Nocturne brings you the familiar tale from a different direction. Meg Giry met the Phantom once when she was twelve years old, a new ballet dancer lost in the Opera’s maze. Years later, when an Angel of Music offers singing lessons to her best friend Christine Daaé, Meg is sure she knows what’s actually happening. But as strange events unfold and the pieces stop adding up, Meg has to wonder if she truly understands the Phantom—or Christine.

Erik is a man of many talents and many masks, and the one covering his face may be the least concealing. The opera house is his kingdom and his refuge, where he stalks through the shadows as the Phantom of the Opera, watching over all that occurs. He never intended to fall in love; when he does, it launches him into a new symphony he’s certain can only end in heartbreak.

I can’t wait to share this story with all of you!

The Many Versions of the Phantom of the Opera (Part Two)

On By cherylmahoneyIn Phantom Challenge3 Comments

I posted last week about different versions of the Phantom of the Opera, from Gaston Leroux to Andrew Lloyd Webber – which only brought us up to the late 1980s.  Today I’m sharing Part Two of a trip through my Phantom collection, exploring just some of the many versions that came after Webber’s play.  It really changed things in the Phantom world – and there are far more versions after it than before!

Click here if you missed Part One, and see below for Part Two with a stack of more recent Phantom of the Opera stories, including Susan Kay, Terry Pratchett, and not one but two novels where the Phantom meets Sherlock Holmes.

Mini-Book Reviews: What I’ve Been Reading Lately

On By cherylmahoneyIn Reviews3 Comments

I’ve been meaning to get more book reviews up recently, but…it doesn’t seem to be happening!  The world is weird right now, and apparently my blogging is going to be weird too.  So today I decided that if videos are what I seem to be achieving right now, I may as well do a kind of video book review overview too.  So here’s a round-up of what I’ve been reading lately, and how the present pandemic is impacting my choices – less dystopia, more Star Trek!