A Personal Touch: A Little Promotion

Hello, I'm Charley. And sometimes I write books.

However, I am not the only human being blessed with two thumbs and a keyboard - and I have had the pleasure of getting to know a great number of enormously talented and really delightful people in my time on the web and beyond.

They write, too. And they're good at it.

Writing is, for the most part, a solitary sort of passtime, and one can, I think, become a little too buried in one's own work. Sometimes, when slouching onward through the great reams of blank pages that make a wonderful metaphor for life at large, it's nice to raise one's head and take a look about, to appreciate the work of those scribbling away alongside you.

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FAUXPOCALYPSE: A Collection of Short Fiction about the End of The World That Wasn't (featuring Alexandrina Brandt)
If you ask me, that title alone could launch a thousand reasons to buy this book. The premise, born of the non-appeareance of the many Raptures, Ragnaroks and other Things Doom Related, is as creative as it is full of potential for marvellous tales.

Short stories, as I have discovered, are a marvellously helpful aid to the sanity of one who needs a fun break in the middle of a week that's biting down hard from both ends.

I ordered my copy of Fauxpocalypse yesterday. I cannot wait to get my hands on it.

{link goes to Amazon UK, but the book is also available from a US platform. Paperback and Kindle available}

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Crossroads Poetry (by Miriam Joy)
My lovely co-author strikes again. Not only is she disgustingly productive, organised, and scornful of my pathetic attempts at convincing musicianship, but she's also a stunningly good poet.

I had the priviledge of being a beta-reader for this collection, so you might say I've a little bit of a personal bias on this front. On the other hand, from that perspective, I can also confirm that this collection is incredible. Honest, raw, beautifully expressed, and with a deeply personal theme at its heart, Crossroads Poetry is gorgeous. Even if you're not into poetry, I would really recommend it. It's punchy, powerful, and goes straight to the heart of every theme within it.

My personal favourite is 'Urban Angels'. Or maybe 'The Gendering of Death'. And no, that's not just for the awesome titles, either.

Still uncertain? Well. Here's a final piece of proof for you: check out the reviews! T'aint often an unknown poet gets away with two 5 star reviews in the first weeks of self-publication!

{link goes to Amazon UK, but the book is available across all Amazon platforms. Kindle only}

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The Harvest Pageant (by Cathryn Leigh)
This sweet little piece has been hovering around the internet for a while now as the first (and, as far as I can tell, only, so far) installment of a series of childrens' stories to be published on a digital platform.

The Harvest Pagent is a fable, telling at once the story of a kingdom's major festival, and the story of the young boy who will one day grow up to continue its legacy. It's short, sweet, and really rather charming. If you've got kids or younger relatives in need of something to read, or fancy something simple and sweet for yourself, it's definitely worth a look.

{link goes to Amazon US. Sadly the book does not appear to be available on other platforms. Kindle only}

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That's all from me for this week! Feel free to further investigate any and all of the links I have posted here, and see for yourself the awesome that lies within. I'll be back again next week!

~ Charley R

The Fires of Mount Mallory's

For those still concerned, I can confirm that the move to Wordpress will not be happening any time soon.

The reason, for once, is not my own crippling laziness. It is, in fact, the work of the school internet and its dislike of certain blogging platforms. To illustrate: in order to check up on the posts of those I do follow on Wordpress, I have to first go to a Blogger blog, bypass the filter for Blogger, then go to another blog to bypass for the forums and blogs category, and then I follow the link to the Wordpress blog . . . and have to bypass another block in order to view it in its correct format, because otherwise everything from titles to sidebar graphics is put through the mother of all blenders.

So, no fear, I'll not be departing from the shores of Blogger any time soon. Come again in the summer, when I will probably be found wandering the skyline in fits of existential wonder, and I may give it a think again.

In other news, St Mallory's Forever! continues to make progress! And that's where you come in.

Would any of you be willing to spare a guest post for Miriam and I to pop by? We're not just there for promotional purposes, of course - we're pretty flexible with what we'll write about, either collaboratively or on our own - but with publication drawing ever nearer, we'd love a chance to reach out and say to people "Look, we wrote a book!"

I like to think we might even be vaguely inspiring, and most probably rather entertaining. So, do let me know if you'd be willing to open up a slot for us to come and spread our ecstatic fits of book-fuelled bouncing!

One last thing before I go - I really, really, want to show you this. It's the pinnacle of my Maths-based achievement. It's also an exhibit of some of my finest scary laughter.

~ Charley R

St Mallory's Forever! - Official Promo Video

Video compiled by Miriam Joy

Special thanks from me to my not-so-little brother, for his valiant attempts at impersonating a tripod.