About the Author

This is obviously not me.  This is my cat, Lucky, who gets to be my public face, unless and until I decide to put a picture of myself up.  Lucky is half Siamese and half Tabby (a Siamabby?), with a sweet disposition, a loud meow, pretty blue eyes, and a reasonably marvelous tail.

I am, naturally, human.  I’m in my early twenties, born, raised and living in California.  I’m a graduate of the University of San Francisco, where I was an English major, writing emphasis.  One of my professors told us that an English major “prepares you for nothing specifically and everything generally.”  So far, I think he was right.

By day, I’m a marketing associate at UniversalGiving™.  We connect people to the top opportunities to give or volunteer all over the world.  I also write for the team blog, PhilanthroPost.

By night and on weekends, I’m an aspiring novelist.  And whenever I have a spare moment, I read marvelous tales.

So if you put together a love of reading (especially young adult novels), a passion for writing, and social media knowledge by way of my marketing job, the natural result is…this blog.

I read fiction because I see no reason to live only in this world when there are a thousand others to choose from.  I love talking about those other worlds, and if you get me started on some of my favorites, the conversation can go on indefinitely.  A few favorite fandoms include Star Trek, Pirates of the Caribbean (and Johnny Depp!) and The Phantom of the Opera.  I love old movies and my favorite singer is Michael Crawford (original Phantom in London and on Broadway, but his other CDs are fantastic too).  Favorite authors (more below) are L.M. Montgomery and Edgar Rice Burroughs, neither of whom wrote young adult fantasy.  Favorite fantasy authors include J.M. Barrie, Tamora Pierce and Diana Wynne Jones.  And, of course, there’s always Mr. Shakespeare (who I do believe was the man from Stratford).

If you’d like to discuss any of the above topics at length, feel free to write to me!  Or if you’d like to comment on something you read on my blog…or if you’d like to suggest a book to review…or if you know an agent who represents first-time novelists…you can write to me at cherylmahoney42@gmail.com

And now, a more extensive list of favorite authors and the tales they tell.  I’ve listed at least one popular book next to each author.

L. M. Montgomery (known for Anne of Green Gables, though my favorite is The Blue Castle)

Edgar Rice Burroughs (known for Tarzan, though my favorite is his Mars series)

J. M. Barrie (known for Peter Pan…and it’s a toss-up between Peter and The Little White Bird)

L. Frank Baum (The Wizard of Oz)

P.L. Travers (Mary Poppins)

E. Nesbit (Five Children and It)

Diana Wynne Jones (Howl’s Moving Castle and the Chrestomanci series)

Tamora Pierce (The Song of the Lioness quartet)

Gail Carson Levine (Ella Enchanted)

Patricia C. Wrede (The Enchanted Forest Chronicles)

Geraldine McCaughrean (The White Darkness)

William Shakespeare (Hamlet)

Terry Pratchett (The Discworld series, and I particularly enjoy Sam Vimes)

Susan Kay’s Phantom

Star Trek: First Frontier by Diane Carey and Dr. James I. Kirkland

Star Trek: Prime Directive by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens

And that, of course, only scratches the surface…