The...

Indulgently Phantom

It began with a post on the Phantom of the Opera (PotO) Facebook page.

Which led to the question, What would happen if Tim Burton did Phantom...

Outstanding DevientArt by  Muirin007
Follow that link for more Burtony PotO.

Which then begs the question, what if it were manga?

PersonA ~Opera Za no Kaijin~

Or steampunked?

Or horsified (erm)...

DeviantArt by xXDamselFlyXx

Dragged back to its roots.

Rendered as classic art.

Christine & Erik by Anne Bachelier

Art Nouveau.

DeviantArt by ZhdaNN

Or Disney.... as if I would!

Blood and Roses by Stephanie Piro

At the end of the day, you gotta have fun with it, right?

Phantom of the OPRAH by Muirin007

Heck, Yes by Muirin007

Musical Interlude: Lemon Jelly

Sweet Tooth

Image from A Day to Remember

And so the book tour continues, this time with an exclusive guest post I wrote for Beth Fish's blog, titled Sweet Tooth. I talk about the special sweets and treats mentioned in Those Rosy Hours. 

There is such a sensual link between food and thought. Hot, spicy dishes to rouse our temper, wine to loosen our tongues, and sugar to sweeten our hearts...

I provide some recipes and links to tutorials for anyone who'd like to have a go at recreating the flavours of Persia. Though go easy on the Halva - I can eat myself sick on that stuff.

I've been lucky in that the last couple of blogs haven't been star raters, which makes them more pleasant to appear on. It's nice to have the book featured without getting a thumbs-up or thumbs-down at the end. 

Beth is still to review it, I think. The guest post was an appetiser. But it seemed to go down well with Booksie's Blog:

Woolley has written a dark historical novel that is full of intrigue, cruelty and revenge.  It poses the question about what one would do for love and whether love is possible or whether it will always be haunted by the spectre of betrayal.  This book is written for readers of historical fiction, fantasy and horror. 

Don't think I'll ever get used to people referring to me by my last name. It's like all authors are members of a football team or something, hanging out in the locker room: "Oi, Woolley!"

Part and parcel of the game, I suppose.

Four down, nine to go... nine and a half, possibly ten if Beth's not through with me yet... 

Bit of a breather. Next one's not out until 11th.

Marketing Rosy Hours: Get a Review Copy

Image by Babak Fatholahi

There's an excellent article written by my publisher all about the challenges of marketing my 'tiny little tyrant'.

If you run a review blog, you can ask for a review copy. There's a link at the bottom of that article.

Second blog review on the blog tour came in yesterday:

There are some books that in spite of reading synopses and promotional materials seem to defy all expectation.

Read the full review at No More Grumpy Bookseller. Another chance to win a copy there, internationally.

Q&As

Just to mention a couple of interviews I've done recently. One for the prestigious Riffle Books: 

Riffle Backstory: Q&A With Those Rosy Hours At Mazandaran Author Marion Grace Woolley

And one with Pagan Writers Community.

If you'd like to know more about me, my writing and Rosy Hours, those are good places to start.

My Room

MY ROOM TRAILER 2014 TRIP#05 from MY ROOM PHOTOS on Vimeo.

I was at the airport at midnight waving off my couchsurfer. John stayed with me for a week, before heading up north to Gisenyi and circling back for a couple of nights. He was flying off to South Africa to see family before going on to Madagascar. 

He's been travelling the world for the past five years shooting his project My Room: Portrait of a Generation. After winning a big photography prize, and with some sponsorship behind him, he's been photographing the rooms of 18-30 year olds around the world, contrasting poverty, culture and 'cool'. Article all about it here.

Africa is his last continent before he wraps up the project and publishes his collection of photos and stories. 

It was a real pleasure to meet him. I've always taken in couchsurfers when I've had the space, and I've met some lovely people. Always nice when you can help somebody who is undertaking a personal project, knowing you've been a small part of something.

Me On My Way To Work
Taken By John