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About this Book

“A Piece of Living History!” 

This anthology and compilation is for everyone wherever you live in the world. We are all experiencing the impact of COVID19 and lockdown. As writers, bloggers and creatives we express our thoughts and opinions in writing: in heartfelt poetry, pieces on isolation and the impact of COVID19 and the ‘new normal.’ There are twenty-eight talented contributors, including the creative NHS Mask Making Fundraising Team of Jane Horwood and Melissa Santiago Val. The contributors come from as far afield as Australia, Canada, USA and Zimbabwe, or closer to my current home in England – in Ireland, Scotland and Italy.

It is as Willow Willers, a contributor said, ‘A piece of living history.’ 

This extraordinary and unexpected time period will be shared with future generations one day. 

Compiling and editing this anthology has given me a purpose over the period of Lockdown and for that I am grateful. 

It is an anthology and compilation of diaries, short stories, poetry and flash fiction set during extraordinary times. This Is Lockdown is written from many perspectives, including a writer’s perspective highlighting the day-to-day life and struggles experienced during such an uncertain and frightening time. It also gives a glimpse into the blogging, writing world. The book showcases several authors and their thoughts on what it is like to experience ‘isolation’ as a writer. I discuss the handling of the pandemic and my opinion about what might happen next. In the final part of the book I share my latest short story: a YA romance set post lockdown along with poetry, and flash fiction inspired by the pandemic.

Goodreads Quotes:

“When people look back on the events of 2020, books like this will assume a great importance. They will remind us of all the little things that we took for granted and were suddenly gone.”

“MJ Mallon begins this heartening book with a stunning foreword to mark the times that are sure to become part of a testament of our times in history on the 2020 global pandemic Covid19 that has rocked our collective world.”

“I was fortunate to have an opportunity to read an early copy of this book and was delighted to see the author putting this collection out into the world. A highly recommended read that I imagine readers of the future looking to”’

“’It’s a privilege to be a small part of this book as one of the ‘isolation writers.’ It feels like contributing to a little piece of history for the future. Fascinating to read all the thoughts and musings and feel that none of us were ever really alone.”

The full list of contributors: Richard Dee, (Sci Fi , Steampunk, Amateur Detective author,) Catherine Fearns, (Amazon Bestselling Author of Police Procedural/Mysteries and Music Journalist,) Lynn Fraser, (Author,) Jackie Carreira, (Writer, musician, designer and aspiring philosopher,) Willow Willers, (Poet and Writer,) Sharon Marchisello, (Murder Mystery, Financial non-fiction author,) Fi Phillips ,(Author, Copy Editor,) Jeannie Wycherley, (Dark stories, Suspense, Horror,) Chantelle Atkins, (Urban Fiction, Teen/YA,) Tracie Barton-Barrett, (Speaker/Author,) Peter Taylor-Gooby, (Crime, Love Stories, Political Fiction,) Ritu Bhathal, (Chick Lit, Romance, Poet,) Alice May , (Author, Artist and Speaker,) Miriam Owen, (Blogger, Doctoral Researcher,) Drew Neary and Ceri Williams (Ghost Horror, Supernatural,) Katherine Mezzacappa, (Historical Fiction/Romance,) Sally Cronin, (Huge supporter of indie community/Blogger/Author) D G Kaye, (Memoirist/NonFiction,) Adele Marie Park, (Fantasy, Horror, Urban fantasy,) Marian Wood, (Blogger, Poet and Writer.) Samantha Murdoch, (Writer, Blogger,) Beaton Mabaso (Blogger, African storyteller,) Frank Prem (Poet, Author) Anne Goodwin (Author, Book Blogger) Sherri Matthews (Writer, Photographer, Blogger,) Jane Horwood and Melissa Santiago-Val – Community Masks for The NHS .

Amazon.com

MY RECOMMENDATION

M J Mallon has outdone herself by writing a memoir of her time in lockdown in England while the Covid-19 Virus held the rest of the world hostage (and still does). Partially written in the form of a diary and called the “COVID 19 diaries,” Mallon shares the daily activities of her family during the crises. She doesn’t sugarcoat their concern for the safety of their family—she tells it like it is.

In a historical context, Mallon also shares the U. K. numbers of those infected and those who have succumbed to this terrible disease, along with a few political opinions of her own. There is a poignancy to her words that touches us all no matter where we live, as we stand united in fear against a little-understood disease.

“We are all in this together,” truly becomes the mantra for the collection as the book expands to include an extraordinary collection of writers from the author’s writing community, who also share how the virus changed their lives. The honesty and sincerity of these authors deeply touched me. I connected to their experiences because as an empathic writer, I shared many of the same feelings, doubts, and concerns.

The second half of the collection features short stories, flash fiction and poetry written by the author during this troublesome time.

In the years to come, I hope the author’s story, “Stay at Home,” serves as a testament to the unusual times we lived through. The story carries a “family-trigger warning” as it portrays one man’s struggle to survive the virus. Its truth is as haunting as the rest of the book.

MY RATING

*I follow the Amazon Rating System*

About the Author

I am a diverse author who blogs at: https://mjmallon.com. My interests include writing, poetry, photography, and alternative therapies. My favourite genres to write are: Fantasy YA, Paranormal, Ghost and Horror Stories and I love writing various forms of poetry and micro poetry – haiku and Tanka and flash fiction. 

I am proud to be included in the best-selling horror anthology Nightmareland which received best seller status with best-selling author Dan Alatorre at the helm.

It is one of my greatest pleasures to read and I have written over 100 reviews: https://mjmallon.com/2015/09/28/a-z-of-my-book-reviews/

I write collaborative articles celebrating the spiritual realm and love of nature and all things magical, mystical, and mysterious. 

My alter ego is MJ – Mary Jane from Spiderman. I love superheros! I was born on the 17th of November in Lion City: Singapore, (a passionate Scorpio, with the Chinese Zodiac sign a lucky rabbit,) second child and only daughter to m parents Paula and Ronald. I grew up in a mountainous court in the Peak District in Hong Kong with my elder brother Donald.

As a teenager, I travelled to many far-flung destinations. It’s rumoured that I now live in the Venice of Cambridge, with my six-foot hunk of a Rock God husband, and my two enchanted daughters. 

When I’m not writing, I eat exotic delicacies while belly dancing, or surf to the far reaches of the moon. To chill out, I practise Tai Chi. If the mood takes me I snorkel with mermaids, or sign up for idyllic holidays with the Chinese Unicorn, whose magnificent voice sings like a thousand wind chimes.

I am a member of two professional writing bodies: the Society of Children’s Writers and Book Illustrators – SCBWI and Cambridge Writers.

How to Connect with the Author

Authors Website: https://mjmallon.com
Collaborative Blog: https://sistersofthefey.wordpress.com
Twitter: @Marjorie_Mallon and @curseof_time
#ABRSC: Authors Bloggers Rainbow Support Club on Facebook
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17064826.M_J_Mallon

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mjmallonauthor/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mjmallonauthor/

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