M J Mallon’s ‘The Cull’ in WordCrafter Press’ Midnight Roost Anthology

October 13, 2023

I asked fellow Midnight Roost anthology contributors to share some things about themselves prior to publication and those generous enough to do so will be appearing here for the next week or so.

Each entry gives a taste of their contribution, a little about them, how to contact them, how their story came about, and definitely a link to Midnight Roost (which you should purchase because it would make each and every one of us happy.
you do want to make us happy, don’t you?
i mean, considering what we wrote, you want us to know you’re a good person, right?).

Let’s start with a Hallowe’en-themed introduction to the anthology as a whole:

M J’s contribution is The Cull. Here’s the opening:

Adrian studied his self-portrait, a medium black charcoal piece set against a white
background, turning it this way and that as if trying to understand it. As he stared, the more
disturbing it became. Its painted charcoal mouth startled him by opening wide, its tongue
swelled. It spat, twisting and turning on the page, becoming a spectre of rage.
He yelled. “Stop that! You diabolical, twisted abomination…”
Adrian brought the edge of his hand down hard against the portrait, erasing half of his face in a fury of frustration.

How the story came about:
I wrote this short story whilst working in a Sixth Form College for international students in Cambridge. I was required to have GDPR training at work. Whilst focusing on the finer details (which were quite boring,) I began to imagine what would happen if people were subjected to a computer generated cull… That’s how this story came into being! In my experience, ideas for stories can derive from all sorts of different sources: conversations, visual stimuli, artwork, and even the most mundane day-to-day work tasks can be an inspiration!

About M J Mallon:
M J Mallon was born in Lion city, Singapore, a passionate Scorpio with the Chinese Zodiac sign of a lucky rabbit. MJ spent her early childhood in Hong Kong and her teen years in Edinburgh, enthralled by her parents’ stories of living and working overseas. Her experiences sparked her current desire to travel and see the wonders of the world from her two favourite places, Edinburgh and Portugal. She often returns to her old home, Cambridge, which is the inspiration for her YA Fantasy series, The Curse of Time.
Standing by the world famous Corpus Christi Clock in Cambridge, watching it in awe, she ponders what might happen next!
MJ loves to write magical stories, sprinkling them with a liberal dollop of extraordinarily imaginative magic!
Next Chapter Publishing YA fantasy series: Bloodstone – The Curse of Time Book 1
And the 2nd in the series: Golden Healer – The Curse of Time Book 2
MJ’s writing credits are varied: paranormal, best-selling horror, supernatural short stories, flash fiction, poetry, pandemic inspired poetry and best-selling anthologies. Poetry/flash collections include Lockdown Innit, Mr. Sagittarius Poetry & Prose, The Hedge Witch And The Musical Poet and Do What You Love!
Her eclectic blog shares her love of reading, reviewing, writing, poetry, photography and travel.
VISIT MJ’s SOCIAL MEDIA SITES