The Magic and Mayhem of Words

Auf Wiedersehen

2008-01-22T21:31:00.000-08:00

Which I hope will be very soon. As Carolan mentioned, the Fantasy & Enchantment blog will soon merge with Beyond the Veil, where some really good fantasies lurk.

It's been a pleasure writing for you these past months, and I want to assure you the posts and links you've found useful won't disappear. A number of us will be posting our contributions on various journals. My blogs will soon find a home on MySpace page.

Meanwhile, I'm wracking my brain for ways to cause trouble in my new home. Just because we're changing venues doesn't mean we're changing all that much. ;-)

Cheers and and thanks for everything,

Jean Marie

Changes Are Afoot!

2008-01-19T01:58:00.000-08:00

Starting Feb. 1, this blog and the Samhain paranormal authors will be joining forces into one fabulous paranormal- and fantasy-oriented blog. So if you come here to visit after Feb. 1 and are wondering where everyone is, we're Beyond The Veil. :)

Writing: Skill or Art?

2008-01-15T05:29:00.000-08:00

Recently, I read a comment by the wife of a very prominent SF/F writer who has now become a writer in her own right. She said something to the effect that she decided to write when she realized that "writing was more of a learned skill than an art."

I say: WHAT???

While writing requires a great deal of learning and skill, I still tend to believe it is much more an art form than a skill. I admit, I was a little insulted by this woman's viewpoint. For her, it might work to learn the "skill" of writing because with her last name, the book contracts are thick on the ground, but for an unknown, there has to be something to differentiate our writing from the thousands of other manuscripts. There has to be some spark of creativity that catches an editor's eye.

Am I wrong?

Was Shakespeare merely a technician and not a bona fide artist? Tolkein? Tolstoy? I tell you, her comment REALLY hit me the wrong way.

Eager to hear what others think...

Bianca D'Arc

Come over to The D'Arc Side... www.biancadarc.com

PS - I'll be starting to post "The Craft" entries on my blog starting in a few weeks, so look for the writing kittens! I just borrowed the graphic for today, since it fit so nicely. ;-)

My first release! :)

2008-01-08T04:07:00.000-08:00

Boomerang Love isn't a fantasy but it is my very own first release! I'm so thrilled!

Boomerang Love- a short story -is an contemporary romance with a Red Hot/erotic heat level set in Australia.

http://samhainpublishing.com/authors/melissa-lopez

Until later~
Mel

New Release: Beaudry's Ghost

2008-01-04T12:55:00.000-08:00

My paranormal romance Beaudry's Ghost is now available FOR SALE! (Oh, sorry, did I just scream that out loud?)

You may ask, "Why is she so excited about this book?" I'll tell you. (Yes, I'm channeling Tevye.)

Beaudry is the book of my heart. "The One" for which I became a writer. It combines everything I love - romance, history, legends, ghost stories, North Carolina, and the sea. Did I mention romance? Writing it was like an out-of-body experience. I remember staying up until the wee hours writing, then re-reading my work the next day and wondering "My god, who wrote that?" (In a good way!)

Back in its original incarnation as a Dreams Unlimited then an LTDBooks release, the book won some pretty nice awards and garnered a 4-star review and Reviewers Choice nomination from Romantic Times. Still, when Samhain picked it up, I leaped at the chance to revisit the story, revise and expand it, make it an even better book based on the skills I've gained over the years.

For me, words are fluid things that can almost always be improved upon. I'm an editor in real life, but that doesn't mean I don't depend on my Samhain editor Lindsey McGurk when it comes to my stories! I freely acknowledge I'm my own worst editor. LOL

I'm normally pretty calm when a book comes out, but Lindsey can attest I was a near basket case at one point during the editing process. Like I said, this is the book of my heart, and I felt acutely that this is my last chance to get it right and do these amazing characters justice.

Their voices in my head aren't keeping me up at night any more, so I hope that means I accomplished my goal! :)

Beaudry's Ghost was born of my deep North Carolina heritage. I mean, who couldn't grow up hearing stories on your grandmother's darkened front porch, immersed in the history, legends and lore of of a place, and not have something come out of it later in life? It either messes with your head, or you become a writer. LOL

I'm off to get pre-surgery bloodwork. Nothing big, just fixing up my left foot a bit. Great timing, eh? Release a book, have surgery! But I figured if I didn't do it now, I won't be in any kind of shape for RT Pittsburgh in April. I saw my friend Rosemary Laurey once navigate an RT on crutches, and it wasn't fun! On the other hand, I could just set up camp in the bar and let everyone come to ME for a change!

Popping the champagne,
Carolan
www.carolanivey.com

The Spark of Fantasy Within a Child...

2008-01-02T00:01:00.000-08:00

When I was a child, it was all about glitter. Loved the glitter. Glitter, glitter everywhere. Henceforth, I LOVED movies such as Labyrinth and Legend, chock full of the glittery goodness. And - what a shock - these movies were fantasy. Perhaps this is where my love for fantasy lit within me. Could it be this childhood whimsical love of glitter is what hooked me on magic, castles, and dragons?

Other movies solidified my new-found love. The Last Unicorn. The Neverending Story. The Princess Bride (while not magical in plot, it still counts as a "fairy tale", and by proxy, a "fantasy").

After watching these movies, I knew I wanted to read fantasy books. I cut my teeth on Terry Brooks' "Shannara" series. I no longer follow those books, but I read the first three, The Sword of Shannara, The Elfstones of Shannara, & The Wishsong of Shannara. I then picked up David Eddings' "Belgariad" series from my school library in Jr. High.

I didn't actually try out C.S. Lewis until later on in childhood, after a friend of mine recommended them. After I read them, we both searched high and low for Narnia. We never found it. :( But these books and movies all served a purpose. They created a fantasy author.

Sure, I write many other genres, but fantasy was my first love, truth be told. I've always wanted to write romantic stories, and I felt the fantasy genre was light on the LUV. :P Sure, characters got together and had a mention of a courtship, but we never got to *see* the good stuff. That's when I decided to write my own.

One of the reasons for this post is that I truly believe we need to keep fantasy alive in the hearts of our children. Who knows who the next great fantasy author will be? With fantasy movies such as Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Stardust being made, I can only hope the spark that once lit within me will also light within my children and young ones around the globe.

We all deserve a little magic now and then, a little hope of good defeating evil - despite the odds, and a fantastic world to lose ourselves in.

If you haven't read a fantasy novel in awhile, pick one up. If you haven't watched a fantasy movie in a while, watch one. If you're like me, you'll be enveloped in the nostalgia of a time when anything was possible, when magic was mysterious and glitter made everything all the more wonderous.

~~Becka
http://www.rebeccagoings.com/

(Interesting fact: David Eddings' Belgariad probably influenced me the most when writing my own fantasy series, The Legends of Mynos. I fell in love with his world, how he portrayed magic, and the entire mythos he'd created. It wasn't until I was an adult that I learned Mr. Eddings lives in Carson City, NV, the very city I grew up in and read all his books. I could have passed the man in the grocery store and never have known. Could that be a sign I was destined to write my own fantasies one day? Perhaps it was merely coincedence. Or perhaps... it was meant to be...)

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T09:06:00.001-08:00

Wow. How did I get so lucky as to have the first post of 2008? Lots happened last year and I know this next year will be even better! So here's a little graphical wish...

Bianca

www.biancadarc.com

No Unibrows, Please!

2007-12-29T20:33:00.001-08:00

"Hogmanay" is a Scots word which means "the last day of the year." The date is actually Dec. 31, but the celebration carries through the night to Jan. 1, also known as "Ne'erday." And if you're going to be in Scotland, you might as well keep partying, because Jan. 2 is a bank holiday!

There are many traditions associated with Hogmanay, not the least of which is "first footing." This is the first person to set foot across your threshhold after the stroke of midnight, often bearing gifts and best wishes for the new year. From Scotsman.com:

On the stroke of midnight it is still common for houses to be "first footed" by a tall, handsome stranger bearing gifts. Although the first-footer is seldom a stranger, it is preferable that he is dark. This harks back to days of Viking invaders when a fair-haired man knocking at your door was more likely to inspire terror than pleasure.

Until quite recently the first-footer was subject to a rather rigorous code of looks. Out-of-date now, there was a time when a first-footer should not be flat-footed, cross-eyed or have their eyebrows meeting (thought to denote the evil eye).

I'll be offline for a few days, visiting family. So Happy Hogmanay, and may your first-footer be tall, dark, handsome, and two-browed!

Slan,
Carolan

The Most Dangerous Gift

2007-12-26T10:49:00.000-08:00

Forget the Red Ryder BB gun guaranteed to "put your eye out kid". The Christmas gifts you have to watch out for are the ones that leave your eyes wide open.

On the first day of this Christmas, the Darling Spouse Person gave to me a copy of Stork Club, Ralph Blumenthal's account of the club that defined New York nightlife from the 1930s to the '60s. Better yet, in the p. 19 photograph of the club's Cub Room, the tall, lanky guy in the back of the picture looks a lot like my dad.

I grew up listening to Dad's stories of working at "the Stork" in the late 1930s and early '40s--of Hemingway's brawls, of stocking Walter Winchell's apartment with booze, of owner Sherman Billingsley's "calesthenics" with Ethel Merman in "the Gym". Dad said he started at the club switchboard with Victor Mature. Gertrude Stein loved them both so much she asked them to try out for the role of the spear carrier in her (then) new play. Dad blew it off. He wanted to make his career in the club business. But the role propelled Mature to stardom. Well, it got him cast in a lot of bad movies, at any rate.

Over the years, the DSP heard these stories so often, he could recite them by rote. So he was delighted to find a comprehensive history of the Stork Club complete with a juicy bibliography and lots of first-person anecdotes.

There was just one problem. The stories in the book seemed to run at a tangent to the ones we knew from my dad. Walter and Ethel and Damon Runyon were there. George Raft acted the part of the tough guy gangster my dad said he was. But Victor Mature and Gertrude Stein were nowhere to be found.

The DSP was apologetic. I was suspicious. In the early 1990s, I'd successfully pitched a book proposal based on my dad's Korean War experiences only to be forced to withdraw it. It turned out my dad borrowed some of his favorite war stories from movies and newspaper reports. To this day, I thank my writing stars I found out before the contracts were cut.

I hit the web. The weakest link in the story was Gertrude Stein. Somehow she didn't seem the type to go ga-ga for a couple of big strapping guys. Face it, Alice B. Toklas they weren't.

I quickly discovered Gerty Gerty Stein so rarely visited the U.S. during the '30s and '40s, her lone book tour, begun in October 1934, made national headlines. But there was no way my dad could've connected with her at the Stork Club while she was on the 1934 tour. He was still toiling away in a Lackawanna, NY, high school until the spring of 1935. I've got the diploma, pictures and clippings to prove it. In addition, the only Gertrude Stein stage production around in the late 1930s/early 1940s was Dr. Faustus Lights the Lights, an avant-garde opera generally performed as a stage play. Hmmm, an opera so out there it can't be sung... Victor Mature was famous for doing anything for a laugh (witness Head), but my dad? I don't think so.

Plus, I couldn't find a whiff of a hint of a suggestion anywhere in Mature's Wikipedia entry, his IMDB bio or his major fan site of any connection to Gertrude Stein. Gertrude Lawrence, whose 1941 production of Lady in the Dark marked his Broadway debut (in pink leotards and a leopard loincloth, no less), yes. Gertrude Stein? Never.

Okay, so maybe my dad or I screwed up the name. Thirty years had passed from the time Dad worked in the Stork Club to the time he began telling me the stories, and there were grounds for confusion. After all, they were both Gertrudes, they were both short, and even though Gertrude Lawrence did frequent the Stork and adored a "big beautiful hunk of man", she was rumored to have enjoyed a lesbian adventure or two.

But as far as I can tell, Victor Mature was one Hollywood actor who never ever got anywhere near New York, much less the Stork Club, until after he was a star. He left his home in Louisville, KY, for California in 1935 and stayed there until he had several movies under his pelt--er, belt, including the infamous One Million B.C.

So how did he work his way into my dad's Stork Club stories--and why?

It couldn't have been to impress me. When I was growing up, I didn't know jack and cared even less about the celebrity names sprinkled through dad's stories. Gertrude Stein might as well have been Gertrude Lawrence for all I knew. The Broadway and movie stars he talked about were all old enough to be my grandparents. Many were already dead. He was my dad and, by definition marvelous, and it was kinda cool that he worked in a nightclub and knew people who used to be people. But that was it.

I don't think they served a professional purpose either. After the draft caught up with him in 1942, Dad went Army all the way. Affiliations, no matter how past tense, with a former bootlegger perennially in hot water with the unions weren't exactly the sort of thing to advance a career in military hospital administration.

Another weird thing is how much truth was mixed in with the blarney. Dad did work at the Stork. When I was growing up, the priest who got him the job--Father Vincent Donovan, brother of the founder of the C.I.A. (for somebody weaned on James Bond movies, The Avengers and Man from U.N.C.L.E. reruns, that defined cool)--visited us whenever he got the chance.

I can also verify Dad also rose to a fairly high position in the club hierarchy (though for obvious reasons I'm no longer certain he was the "celebrity manager" he claimed to be). As late as the 1980s, Dad's Rhode Island cousins still talked about the hand-tailored suits he bequeathed them when he left for boot camp. Billingsley paid well, but then as now, you had to be very close to the top of the food chain to afford a bespokee suit, much less a full wardrobe with custom-tailored shirts to match.

Maybe the tall tales had something to do with Dad's never-realised ambition to write. The brutal realities of his early life forced him to abandon his dreams of writing The Great American Novel long before he ever landed on the Stork's doorstep. But there was nothing to stop him from fictionalizing his own life, as pointless as the effort seems to me now.

With Dad and Mom both dead, I'll probably never know his reasons. But that won't stop me from turning over rocks and chasing down any promise of insight to support my guesses. It's what writers do.

Besides, in many ways, the quest is its own reward. It speaks directly to the development of myths and legends. For example, there's a lot of talk in connection with the hero stories of the ancient Greeks and the tales of King Arthur about the validity of oral tradition. Supposedly, culturally important stories can be accurately handed down from one generation to the next without benefit of pen, paper or pixels.

My and the SDP's experience with the details of my dad's stories (barring the whole Gertrude thing, of course) suggests they can. But what if the stories or the details are themselves nothing but fabrications? Suddenly we're in that very interesting place where history and fantasy collide.

Back in late 1930s New York with Tallulah Bankhead and Orson Welles ("of the Abbey Theatre, Dublin" not!), gangsters, spies and restaurateurs. Now if my plot hamsters can just figure out how to squeeze a dragon into the subway, I'm in business.

Cheers and grins,

Jean Marie

Father Winter's Solstice Tale

2007-12-22T07:45:00.000-08:00

Many thanks to my friend Nancie Baden for giving me permission to share this lovely poem with you. Happy holidays, everyone!

Father Winter's Solstice Tale

'Tis the eve before Solstice in the evergreen woods
Not a creature is stirring, not even the Druids
Mistletoe has been sickled from the great holy tree.
Magic sprigs hung o'er doors to ward off folk wee.

Fearsome Goddess Cailleach has transformed every bower
This crone of cold stark Wintertime has stolen every flower
The villagers in fear and awe are as hidden as the light
But lo the hour is drawing close to have their Solstice Night

As day breaks on the mountaintop of frozen land so dire
Druid priests and priestesses are readying for fire
Great logs of ash are dressed in finest thistle, bay and sage.
Carried to the fields below, as bonfires they shall rage.

Children venture out of doors with wreaths of pine and ivy
And hazelnuts and fruit with cloves and singing carols lively.
Fragrances do waft on high of wassail, meat, and spice cake.
The vigilant can now rejoice as sacred King Sun does wake.

Seasons' wheel has slowly moved, the longest night does fade
The warmth returns and life renews at every hill and glade.
At Yule as icy hearts now thaw in flames of holy rebirth
Father wishes us a Good Sabbat and peace to all on our Earth

Copyright 2006-2007 Nancie Baden, All Rights Reserved. Posted with permission.

Happy Solstice!

2007-12-21T12:16:00.001-08:00

From Newgrange.com:

For the first time ever, the 2007 Winter Solstice illumination of the passage and chamber at Newgrange will be streamed live on the internet.

The webcast and an exhibition at the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre celebrates the 40th Anniversary of the re-discovery of the Winter Solstice Phenomenon at Newgrange by Professor O’Kelly in 1967.

The Winter Solstice event from inside the chamber at Newgrange will be broadcast on the mornings of Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd December 2007. If conditions are good the rising sun will illuminate the passage and chamber between 8:58am and 9:15am GMT (Greenwich Mean Time).

To view the webcast click on the Heritage Ireland website.

Edit: I watched the webcast and it is wonderful! They had perfect weather. The entire show is about an hour long, and sunrise occurs about 20 minutes in.

Happy Holidays from Bianca!

2007-12-18T07:38:00.001-08:00

Just a quick post today to say Happy Holidays! My newest book came out a week or so ago, called Sweeter Than Wine. Thanks to all of you who've read it already! I'm already working on my next release and a few other projects besides. Things are a little crazier than usual around here lately, so forgive me for the abbreviated post. I just wanted to come in and wish you all the best.

Bianca

http://www.biancadarc.com/

On the Second Blog of Christmas

2007-12-11T23:57:00.000-08:00

The Fantasy & Enchantment Blog gives you two little mysteries in a single package.

Once a year in Abbots Bromley, a little village in England's West Midlands, twelve dancers set out from the St. Nicholas Church. Six of them carry reindeer antlers--three racks of black horns and three racks of white. The other six are stock figures from pantomime--Maid Marion (always played by a man in a dress), Hobby Horse, Fool, a boy with a bow and arrow (Cupid?), a boy with a triangle and a musician.

The twelve follow a fourteen-mile circuit from the church to Blithfield Hall and back again. At various sites along the way they stop to perform a winding circle dance. Finally, around 8 p.m., the dancers return the horns to the church and stay for Compline.

Mystery One is the is the origin of the dance. One theory says it originated in 1226 when the local lord granted certain villagers the right to hunt on his land. (This was a very big deal in the Middle Ages, as any fan of any version of Robin Hood can tell you.) But the year and the date of the original performance is subject to dispute. One group associates it with Barthelmy Fair (aka Bartholomew Fair), held in late August or early September, depending on your choice of calendar. Another tradition says it was originally performed at Christmas, which makes a lot of sense if St. Nicholas and reindeer equals Yule.

Mystery Two concerns the horns themselves. Radiocarbon dating puts their age at around 1065 A.D., about two hundred years before the grant but long after reindeer had disappeared from the England. They were probably imported from Scandanavia, but that doesn't explain why.

And if that doesn't get your plot bunnies hopping, you might try feeding them a couple of these links:

Wikipedia

Abbots Bromley Web Site

Abbots Bromley Horn Dance (created by one of the dancers)

Happy writing!

Shapeshifters in Romance Fiction

2007-12-04T16:19:00.000-08:00

Picking up where I left off last time, today I'm contemplating the current popularity of shapeshifters in romance fiction. Last time I blogged here, we discussed werewolves, but now I'm expanding the topic to include all kinds of shapeshifters. While werewolves are probably the most common and popular in romance fiction right now, there's a lot of interest in other kinds of shifters as well. I, myself, have written dragon shifters (in The Ice Dragon and Prince of Spies) and will introduce my first cat shifter in Sweeter Than Wine, due out in ebook on March 11th (in print next year).

Here's what Wiki says about shapeshifters: "Shapeshifting is a common theme in folklore, as well as in science fiction and fantasy. In its broadest sense, it is a change in the physical form or shape of a person or animal...shapeshifting involves physical changes such as alterations of age, gender, race, or general appearance or changes between human form and that of an animal, plant, or inanimate object...Shapeshifting may be used as a plot device, as when Puss In Boots tricks the ogre into changing into a mouse so he may eat him; it may also include a symbolic significance, as when the Beast's transformation at the end of Beauty and the Beast indicates Beauty's ability to accept him despite his appearance."

I don't think I've ever gone quite that far, though Lana's discovery of Roland's ability to shift from dragon to human form in The Ice Dragon does come as a bit of a surprise to her. ;-) I think it's intriguing to find out there's more to the person or animal one meets at the beginning of a novel. And the way those new revelations play into the story make it interesting and fantastical. Of late, I've really been enjoying writing a series of cat shifters.

For some reason, cat shifters fire the imagination and make one think immediately of the pleasures of the flesh. Cats are sinuous, slinky and sexy, where wolves seem tough, mighty and all alpha. Cats on the other hand, have cunning, stealth, soft fur and a very sexy way of moving. Seems natural we romance writers would take them to our hearts and turn them into heroes and heroines in our flights of fantasy.

Check out my upcoming book, Sweeter Than Wine on December 11th for a look at my version of a very sexy cat shifter. ;-) In the meantime, what's your favorite form of shapeshifter, other than wolves? Dragons? Cats? Snakes? Sea creatures? What's your take?

Thirteen Random Birthday Thoughts About Writing…

2007-11-29T08:50:00.000-08:00

…and life in general. It’s my birthday. I’m allowed! :)

1. There’s no great mystery to being a writer. A writer applies the seat of her pants to the seat of her chair, and writes.

2. First drafts are not the time to be careful. First drafts are designed to let you glop it all out, get the voices out of your head, unleash whatever beast that’s hounding you to get the story down on paper. It’s meant to be messy. Roll in it! Get your hands dirty!

3. Write every day. Even if all you can write is “I don’t know what to write,” do it. Over and over again. Fill pages with it. Eventually your brain will get bored and want to write something else.

4. Waiting for your muse to inspire you, IMHO, is just nuts. You want to be a writer? Siddown and get started. Your muse will just have to eat dust until it catches up with you.

5. Read. Widely and often. Never stop learning.

6. Observe.

7. Listen.

8. Don’t be afraid to try out any story idea. 100 pages that don’t pan out are still 100 pages of learning experience you never would have had if you hadn’t tried.

8a. Don’t be afraid. Period. I mean it. Just stop it right now. :)

9. All reviews are good. Really. So what if a reviewer hated your book. Did they spell your name right? Then it’s a good review.

10. On the other hand, learn to put aside your emotional attachment to your manuscript, and listen to constructive criticism. Your editor is on your side!

11. You’ll never make story perfect. There will always be a typo, a flaw, something accidentally left hanging. It’s possible to revise the life out of a story. Learn to let it go. (This is one I’m still working on—note the claw marks on my manuscripts where my editor had to tear them out of my hands!)

12. You will never please everyone. Write for yourself first, the markets second. Make the market follow YOU.

13. Learn to love your Shadow Self. She is the part of you that makes you—and your stories—fully human.

~Carolan
www.carolanivey.com
Now available: Wildish Things

More Thursday Thirteens!

Monkeys...Why Did It Have To Be Monkeys?

2007-11-28T01:12:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I wonder why people call what I write “fantasy”. The world out there is a lot stranger than anything my pitiful imagination could dream up.

For example, the current crime wave in northeast India has local police at a loss. Not because they don’t know the culprits behind the rash of home break-ins, and the thefts of mobile phones and soft drinks. They do. The problem is what to do with the the crooks. The laws on the books don’t apply to monkeys.

Yes, you read that right. Monkeys. Monkeys who slap around their pursuers and mug tourists for their eyeglasses. You could even call them murderers. The deputy mayor of Delhi fell to his death when a gang of monkeys jumped him on his balcony.

I suspect Indian law enforcement officials secretly wish they were dealing with a real gang. At least with a human gang you could identify the perps from their tats. Monkeys don't give police sketch artists a heck of a lot to work with. When the description for all the suspects comes down to “hairy”, how do you tell the good monkeys from the bad? And even if you did, there's not a lot you could do about it. The Hindu religion considers all monkeys sacred to the monkey god Hanuman. So the military solution is absolutely out.

My plot hamsters are wearing out their wheels on this one, folks. In my head, the monkeys aren’t sacred--at least not to Hanuman. They’re his minions. I’ll figure out why mobile phones are such a hot item later. The death of deputy mayor was either a tragic error or the result of something a lot more complicated than accident. The glasses are no problem. Hanuman broke his, and the tourist’s happened to be almost the right prescription. After all, it’s not like he can visit the optometrist.

Or can he? He’s a god after all. Who knows what forms he could take? He might even be kinda cute. And his ability to super-size his tail…

No, don’t go there. Stick to the plot. Why couldn’t Hanuman go to a doctor?

Maybe it has something to do with the fossil of an eight-foot-long sea scorpion discovered in Germany not long ago. In theory, Hanuman should be okay with that. Scorpions are part of Shiva’s bag of tricks, and Hanuman is one of Shiva’s many incarnations.

Wait, I’d better tread very carefully here. The way my plot hamsters work, they’ll have Hanuman conspiring to pump up the world’s oxygen levels to create an army of giant bugs. Worse yet, the cockroaches will probably develop some kind of rudimentary intelligence and strike out on their own--“strike” being the operative word here. Oh, ugh!

But bad as that scenario is, it can’t compare to something I saw for real in the Crystal City Underground Monday afternoon.

The Boeing Company has apparently decided it isn’t enough to be the world’s largest manufacturer of airplanes. After all, the market for their products is so limited. Only governments, multi-national corporations and a few select gazillionaires can ever hope to find a Boeing under their giant redwood Christmas tree. To be truly successful these days, a company’s gotta merchandise. Forget “A chicken in every pot”. That’s so Twentieth Century. Make it an airplane. Then you’ve really got something.

So they did. Sort of. John and Jane Everyperson can now purchase models of Boeing planes and other memorabilia through the Boeing Store web site, various traveling stores and over a dozen fixed locations in the US. The Crystal City, Virginia, store opened last week.

That’s not the scary part. I admit I never felt the need to take home a souvenir of the countless hours I've spent hurtling across the stratosphere in pressurized tin cans operating on physical laws so abstruse they might as well be magic. I’m usually so pathetically grateful to arrive at my destination with body parts and luggage intact, I bow down in the direction of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and kiss the concrete until my insides stop shaking. Afterwards, my goal is to get as far away from anything resembling a flying machine until my return trip forces me to defy the laws of gravity yet again. But hey, if people feel compelled to take home a mini-plane or a logo-emblazoned pen or even a rolling briefcase like the pilots use, far be it from me to criticize.

No, the scary part was the store’s centerpiece: a big, red, fully functional airline seat just like the ones inside a Boeing jet.

The horror! My left eye started to twitch and my head began jerk convulsively as I stared at the monstrosity. Forget waterboarding, airplane seats qualify as the most prevalent form of torture in the civilized world. No one is safe, either. First class, business class, steerage--I mean, economy class--it doesn’t matter. They strap us in and we’re trapped between the infinitely reclining seat in front of us and the rock hard headrest behind. Bands of roaming tray tables strive to bisect us and repeatedly slam against our unsuspecting thighs.

Worse yet, I seemed to be the only one to understand the nature of the evil in our midst. Grown men climbed all over the awful thing like it was some kind of forty-something playground. Hello, Mr. Middle-aged Executive. The Comfy Chair is not your friend. Sitting in it could kill you. It will suck you into the maw between its nubbly red cushions and never let you go.

But nobody cared. Mine was the voice crying in the wilderness--well, gibbering to myself while the Crystal City lunch crowd steered as far away from me as the limited space allowed.

Monster scorpions, sentient cockroaches and an army of evil airline seats together in a fiendish plot conceived by the simian brain of a Hindu god with an infinite number of primates with opposable thumbs at his disposal...

The weird part is it’s so close to reality it almost doesn’t count as fiction. But please, let's keep that our little secret. The plot hamsters think they're being so original, and it really doesn't do to upset them. The results could be downright ugly. Remember, myopic monkey gods and gargantuan sea scorpions are their idea of a good thing.

Cheers,

Jean Marie

Do wishes come true?

2007-11-27T08:25:00.000-08:00

I know we all have those moments in life where something we've wanted or needed finally comes to pass. The contract, the baby, the house, the milestones by which we often measure our lives.

And I have to wonder...how many of us really believe those wishes come true by some magic of karma, or how much of us believe that it's simply a matter of hard work to accomplish a goal?

For example:
Hubby and I are expecting baby #4 in March. Granted, we were obviously doing That Activity which leads to a child's birth. (and that's as close as I'm ever getting to talking about my sex life on this blog, thankeemuch.) However, we'd been not-preventing childbirth since August...and found out we were pregnant the following July. It'd never taken that long before. So how much does little4 have to thank 'fate' for his/her existence...or does he/she just have to be grateful hubby and I hadn't stopped...well...yknow.

The contract for a book...how much do we say "oh thank goodness I got in front of such-and-such editor, because she loved it and accepted it and took it." (fate). And how much do we say "well, I subbed 900 stories in a year, one of them was BOUND to be accepted. (working hard pays off.)

I guess I fall between the two camps. I like to think that working hard produces the karma which results in good things. What do you think?

Beowulf:

2007-11-26T13:43:00.000-08:00

How many of us read Beowulf in high school?

Not me. I remember I read In Cold Blood and To Kill a Mockingbird. And more importantly I remember Shanna by Katherine E. Woodiwis. My senior literature teacher was a romance reader and thankfully shared her love for the genre with me!

My twins both read Beowulf this year and Nick wanted to see the film. I can’t say how closely the film was adapted from the classic. But Beowulf was a very good action/adventure fantasy. The animation was great! And the drama…such woes! There was plenty of swordplay, monster-slaying and a naked Angelina Jolie. Which I'm sure was the real reason Nick wanted to see it.

Basic plot Beowulf arrives to save the day. He takes out the monster Grendel. the beast's ruthlessly seductive mother, uses any means possible to ensure revenge.

The highlight of the show for me was when we walked outside. My barely 19 year old son looked at me. “I can’t believe Beowolf did that.”

“What? Slept with the gorgeous demoness Angelina?” I stared in surprise.

“Well, yeah. He was supposed to be the hero and he had it bad for the blond.”

I came away from the film a happy mom! And a satisfied movie goer.

Until later~
Mel

How far would your hero go?

2007-11-24T16:31:00.000-08:00

I've been graced with my first (probably of many) upper respiratory crud of the winter season. *sigh* So as my decongestant wears off and before I take another one and zone out, I figgered I'd better post while I'm semi-coherent. [grin]

"Red Haired Girl From The Bog" by Patricia Monaghan is a book I keep going back to whenever I just want to disappear from this world and retreat into her engrossing search for the Goddess.

The section of the book that fell open today yielded a little nugget of legend that "spoke" to me, meaning it will probably become my next erotic novella.

The tale tells of the god of metalworkers, Goibniu, who was so busy at his forge he had no time to keep track of the sacred cow Glas as she ranged the countryside freely giving her bounty to the people. He found a herdsman named Fin and set the young man the task. The caveat - Fin had to track the never-resting cow 24/7, never any time to sleep. Well, you can imagine what eventually happens! Fin stopped for a little shut-eye, and a greedy man, Balor, stole the Glas for himself.

Under threat of death, Fin set out to retrieve the Glas for his master. On his search he came across a tall tower containing a lovely maiden. (What, don't all towers contain lovey maidens?) The maiden, Eithne, was imprisoned there because the Druids had predicted that she would someday kill her own father. The father? Yep, Balor.

So, as any lonely, red-blooded son of Ireland on a quest would do, he killed two birds with one stone. Dressing as a woman, he disguised himself as one of Eithne's handmaidens and gained access to the tower. He seduced Eithne and lived as her handmaiden until she bore his child, getting himself both a lover and getting the Glas back for his master.

So what's that old saying about "why pay for the cow when you can get the milk for free"? :) Looks to me like Fin willingly paid dearly for both!

Have a good week,
Carolan
www.carolanivey.com

Creature Feature: Werewolves in Romance Fiction

2007-11-20T09:14:00.000-08:00

What is the mystique of werewolves? When I was growing up, they were scary creatures from old movies that would tear you to pieces and howl at the full moon. But today they've morphed (pun intended) into something more... romantic heroes who turn shaggy every once in a while. A pet, guard dog, and husband in one - what a time saver!

Here's what Wiki has to say about the topic: "Werewolves, also known as lycanthropes, are mythological or folkloric people with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or wolflike creature, either purposely, by using magic, or after being placed under a curse. The medieval chronicler Gervase of Tilbury associated the transformation with the appearance of the full moon; however, there is evidence that the association existed among the Ancient Greeks, appearing in the writings of Petronius. This concept was rarely associated with the werewolf until the idea was picked up by fiction writers."

Yeah, I'm guilty of being one of the "fiction writers" who have "picked up" on the werewolf phenomenon. I've also read a lot of werewolf and shapeshifter romance books by my contemporaries and there are subtle differences in the characterization of the affliction between one author and another, particularly in the way the shifters change. Some authors have the change be total, from human to wolf. Some go from human to some weird wolf-like creature, like the werewolves in most of those old movies.

In my case, I have given my characters the ability to shift from human to wolf, but they can sort of pause in the middle to that half-formed creature that has the strength and senses of the wolf and the ability to talk and walk upright like a human. Of course, I didn't make it easy for them to do it. ;-) (The details are in my book, Lords of the Were.)

So what's the allure of the werewolf? Is the idea of magic made flesh? Is it the wildness of the untamed wolf mixing with our domesticated lives - spicing it up a bit, if you will? Is it the return of the Alpha Male and the desire for his dominance - if only in our escapist fantasies? I really don't know, but I suspect it might be a little of all three and some other things I haven't thought of besides. What's your opinion?

Thirteen Pieces of Music to Get Your Fantasy Groove On

2007-11-14T14:44:00.000-08:00

Sometimes the best fantasies have an instrumental track. Sometimes they have no words at all.

1. Rimsky-Korsakov, Sheherazade

2. Azam Ali, “In Other Worlds”

3. Cruxshadows, “Ariadne”

4. Cream, “Tales of Brave Ulysses”

5. Enya, “The Celts”

6. Fleetwood Mac, “Riannon”

7. Loreena McKennit, “The Bonny Swans”

8. Jethro Tull, “Mayhem Maybe”

9. Sting, “Synchronicity II”

10. Yoko Kanno, “Magic Sweets”

11. Jefferson Airplane, “White Rabbit”

12. Steve Vai, “Asian Sky”

13. Voltaire, “Zombie Prostitute”

Sleep is a good thing

2007-11-13T05:02:00.000-08:00

Having been woken every. twenty. minutes. last night, I'm a little obsessed with sleep. And the lack thereof. And...because I haven't slept...my mind's doing weird and wonderful things. Like so:

Do you write when you're tired? I don't just mean 'sleepy', I mean..barely able to keep my eyes open tired.
Do you read when you're that tired?
Do you prefer to read/write in the morning, or late at night? (and are you a Morning Person?)
How often do you read about people sleeping in books, unless they're a) attacked by bad guys or b) have a prophetic kind of dream?

And the question I really want to know...

Have you ever read a book where the main character has been deprived of sleep for so long that they simply can't think properly? And if so...what book is it?

Because I've got to say, I haven't slept since Thursday night. Not properly, anyway. And it makes me punchy. (It also makes me try to pour my kettle into my toaster while making breakfast, too.) And I'd love to read a writer who can capture that whole feeling.

And now...it's time for either more caffeine...or a nap...

Wildish Things

2007-11-10T09:49:00.000-08:00

I had nearly finished my novella for the Love & Lore anthology before I came up with a title. I mean, it had one, but it didn't feel right. But titles have a way of plopping into your lap when you least expect it.

For this one, it was a rainy afternoon where I had carved out a bit of time to catch up on some non-fiction books I was partway through. In this case it was Patricia Monaghan's "Red Haired Girl from the Bog." I was reading along about her experiences as an American on an extended stay in Ireland, and I ran across a phrase where she was saying that in the past, a woman like her would have been referred to as a "wildish thing."

Plop.

I'll treat you with the prologue to Wildish Things, now available in eBook and in print from Samhain Publishing. Enjoy!

---

The Hag turned over onto her pendulous belly in order to warm her craggy back under the near-midsummer sun.

Earlier in the day a pesky bulldozer had approached one of her favorite wells, but she had taken care of that problem with no more effort than it took to sneeze. One well-aimed glob of snot had glommed up the machine’s engine and sent its muttering human driver in search of a tow truck. Her work was done for the day.

Yet she found she could not relax and soak up the Irish sun in peace. Her breasts were turgid with unspent sexual energy, her legs restless and rubbing against unsatisfying stone. It had been too long since she’d had a man. Centuries. Of old, few were strong enough to withstand her appetite for more than a few minutes. These days, even the few who remembered her name spoke it timidly.

Bollixless creatures, these new men were.

She heard a noise overhead. Head turned to the side, pillowed on a mountain, she opened an eye to peer at one of the silver-winged beasts and its snow-white vapor trail. These days, few people scratched her back with their traveling feet, muttering prayers for safe passage in hopes the Hag would let them pass unharmed. Oh no, it was all smooth wheels and shiny wings. People with things plugged into their ears so they couldn’t hear themselves think, much less hear the cry of a bird, the splash of a salmon in the river, or the very heartbeat of the land as the seasons turned.

Her sounds.

Something about the silver object flying overhead tickled the Hag’s attention. She rolled to her back, cracked open the other eye, watery gaze following its path. She expanded her nostrils and took a sniff. Overhead, the silver bird hit what the pilots thought was a random air pocket. Below, the Hag closed her eyes and sorted through the scents in her nose.

Ah. She smiled and stretched. A woman rode that bird, one who was ready. A wildish thing. She may not yet know it, but soon she would understand. Like the Hag, all she needed was a man. One strong enough to fulfill her every desire without cracking under the onslaught of a woman’s true power.

The Hag shook her mossy hair out of her rheumy eyes, opened her full lips, and called.

Satisfied that events would now unfold as they should, the Hag spread her bare arms and legs wide to the sun.

And awaited her pleasure.

Copyright 2007 Carolan Ivey, All Rights Reserved
www.carolanivey.com

Hmm... Forgot It Was My Day to Blog... :P

2007-11-07T20:33:00.000-08:00

Yeah, yeah, I got the reminder email that it was my day and everything, but I've been pulled in a bajillion different directions lately, that it kind of slipped my mind until I was able to take a breather this evening. *sigh*

So, I'm going to ask a question of you, something I've often wondered.

Why are most fantasy settings in a Medieval-esque world? Even my own books are patterned after this. Swords, princesses, castles. What is it about that particular "knight in shining armor" flavor? Why not pyramids and pharoahs? What's wrong with feudal Japan? Or perhaps Vikings and such?

Is it because all of those other cultures had their own set "rules"? Was it because Medieval England (and/or Europe) might have actually believed in magic and dragons at one time? (ie. King George & the Dragon, etc.) Is it the myth of Merlin and King Arthur that did it? The magic and enchantment... Was it the bards and minstrels who sang songs of noble dragon-slayers and the beautiful women who won their hearts?

Is our perception of the "fantasy world" because we (Americans) came from England (Europe)? If the Egyptians had discovered America, say, would we be telling fantasy stories of fell beasts with human heads and animal bodies? (or vice/versa?)

And why haven't these communities advanced in technology? If they have magic that will do this or that for them, you'd think they'd invent some kind of magical cars/trains/guns/etc. Perhaps that would be too close to steampunk, or adding some sci-fi into your fantasy.

But these are the questions I ask myself. LOL Anyone else wonder these things?

~~Becka
http://www.rebeccagoings.com/

New Cover & New Ideas...

2007-11-06T00:55:00.000-08:00

It's November crunch time again. The time of year when I always seem to bite off more than I can chew. This year, I'm doing not one, but TWO writing challenges - NaNoWriMo and 70 Days of Sweat. So far, I have little actual word count to show for this month because of edits. I've been working dilligently on my upcoming paranormal/fantasy release, Sweeter Than Wine. It has a sexy werecougar, a vamp couple, a fey knight and some magic users lobbing fireballs around. Lots of fun! But I haven't done much new writing and that always makes me cranky.

Like a dragon with a stone stuck under one of its scales, I've been itching to get to something new for a while now. I've decided what - I just have to get the time to actually work on it. I'll give you a little hint: it's a new dragon series, set in a different part of the same world as my Dragon Knights series. This new series will be a little more heavily epic fantasy - with romance, of course - but I'm thinking a tiny bit less explicit. Maybe. I still haven't quite decided yet, but I'm definitely enchanted with this new part of the dragon world.

In the meantime, I'm still glowing about my new cover. So please forgive me for posting it here for your perusal. I just got the cover 2 days ago, so it's still shiny, sparkly new in my eyes and I'm beginning to really dig it! ;-) Oh, and I'll post info about my upcoming fey holiday short story, coming in December, next time. I promise. :-)

Bianca

Come over to the D'Arc side... www.biancadarc.com

Love & Lore Anthology has been released!

2007-11-01T05:09:00.000-07:00

The Love & Lore Celtic anthology is now available for sale from SamhainPublishing.com!

Blurb:
Journey to the heart of Celtic legend.

Samhain is pleased to celebrate its second anniversary with three novellas that will lure you into the labyrinth of Celtic myth and legend.

In WILDISH THINGS, Carolan Ivey brings together an artist who is wounded in both body and spirit, and a sexy Irish bad boy on a Harley. Their whirlwind fling across Ireland takes a dangerous turn when their sexual chemistry awakens the deadly lust of an ancient goddess.

Gia Dawn’s offering of A FAIRY SPECIAL GIFT has it all: A woman who can see fairies and wishes she couldn’t, and a man who promises to help her with her “problem”-for the price of a kiss. Stir in the Celtic god Lugh who wants the woman for himself, rowdy flock of untamed pixies, and a pining Banshee in need of a makeover, and let’s just say there aren’t enough fairy traps in the world to control the chaos.

The HEART OF THE SEA beckons in Sela Carsen’s take on the Selkie legend. When a woman accidentally falls into the sea and turns into a seal, the man she loves believes her drowned. Seven years later, she rescues him from a shipwreck and for one blissful night, she returns to her human form. But only for a night. Can true love overcome the Selkie curse?

Warning: This book contains graphic language, explicit sex, mild bondage, wildly unpredictable gods and goddesses, unruly fairies, wet Selkies, and loads of fun.

Each novella is also available separately as an eBook.

www.carolanivey.com
www.giadawn.com
www.selacarsen.com

Halloween contest!

2007-10-28T06:41:00.000-07:00

I'm taking part in a Halloween contest hosted by my pal Sam Cheever. We're giving away a great "trick or treat" gift bag! Take a look!

http://melissa-lopez.com/contest.html

Good luck to all those who enter!
~Mel

The Thinning Veil

2007-10-26T18:41:00.000-07:00

I adore shows like Ghosthunters. It's got its cheesy moments, but I can't seem to get enough of it.

But I've discovered that I can't watch it when I'm alone in the house late at night! Now, my people are from North Carolina, a species that lives comfortably cheek by jowl with some of the the scariest legends and folklore on earth, so it's hard for me to admit that certain things about Ghosthunters (which is like cotton candy compared to some of stories I grew up with) still gives me the heebies.

It's not the sightings, it's not the dark rooms. It's the EVP recordings - Electronic Voice Phenomena. Voices that live far below the range of human hearing, but when played back on a special machine, you hear what sounds like spirits trying to communicate with the living.

I'm not sure if these things are staged or not, but it's still creepy creepy creepy to hear a whisper, a sigh, a cry. I have to turn on all the lights in the house, and only turn them off as I retreat to my bedroom for the night.

I'm even afraid to glance in a mirror!

This time of year it seems to be worse, this sense that the veil is thin and anything could pop out at me when I least expect it. The dogs bark more when they're outside at night. The sound of a squirrel skittering around in my attic brings me bolt up right in bed. I leave the radio on so I won't hear the tree branches tapping the upstairs windows in the wind.

I make up stories in my head to distract me. This year I'm lucky to have an outlet for these stories - the Halloween round robin story on my other group blog, Beyond the Veil! We'll be giving away a collection of free short stories on Halloween.

I've also been immersed in final edits for - of all things - a ghost romance coming Jan. 4, 2008 from Samhain Publishing, "Beaudry's Ghost".

AND ramping up for the Nov. 1 release of Wildish Things, part of the Love & Lore anthology from Samhain Publishing. Gia Dawn, Sela Carsen and I will be list moms on Nov. 1 at the Samhain Cafe. Much fun will be had, a full day of excerpts, contests and general mayhem. Faeries be afoot, so you never know what's going to pop out at you! Hope to see you there!

(Image from http://shisa.ukzn.ac.za/)

Comedy? Tonight.

2007-10-23T22:46:00.000-07:00

Twenty years ago, my dad developed an aortic aneurism. Hopelessly devoted to Mom, he ignored the symptoms while he nursed her through pneumonia. By the time he went into surgery, it was a life or death situation.

From the moment my dad was diagnosed until he was back on his feet, my reading habits underwent a radical shift. Suddenly, I couldn't handle the cutting edge literary fiction or nervy thrillers. I read one writer and one writer only: Georgette Heyer. For weeks, I read nothing but books I'd read in high school--Faro's Daughter, False Colours, Sylvester, Behold Here's Poison, Footsteps in the Dark...

Fast forward to the last two weeks, when I was tending Mom during what proved to be her final illness. What was I reading as I rubbed her hand, pretending not to cry as she struggled for breath? Smoke and Ashes by Tanya Huff.

The two writers might seem miles apart, but the differences are all external. The same things that drew me to Heyer--snappy dialogue, solid worldbuilding, big-hearted humor, romance and the all-important happy ending--also shine in Huff's writing. The characters face challenges, danger and intrigue, but you know the people you care about most will come out okay. It's a series, after all. They have to!

Life doesn't give you those kind of assurances. In fact, it's a terminal condition. Unless there's more to the fantasies I write than I realize, none of us get out of here alive.

The deeper my understanding of that truth grows, the more I crave the magic of fantasy and romance. I remember how embarrassed I was when Dad got sick. I felt like such a fraud--a pretend grown-up hiding behind a kid's books. Real grown-ups read epics and important fiction where everybody dies.

I know better now.

With that in mind, I want to share my own version of a Samhain blessing to all our readers--and to my fellow bloggers slogging through all the muck real life throws at us. It's not a prayer, exactly. It's a quote from one of my all-time favorite characters, Pseudolus, the lying-est, sloppiest, cheating-est slave in all Rome. Hey, who better to know what's important as we race to another shiny new year?

No royal curse.

No Trojan Horse.

And there's a happy ending, of course.

Goodness and badness,

Man in his madness.

This time it all turns out all right.

Tragedy tomorrow.

Comedy.

Comedy?

Comedy tonight.*

*From "Comedy Tonight", A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, music and book by Stephen Sondheim

Fantasy with your Romance? or Romance with your fantasy?

2007-10-23T06:32:00.000-07:00

I've been wondering about this lately. In my own reading preferences, I have to say, I prefer a little romance with my fantasy, instead of the other way around. The more sumptuous the worldbuilding, the more intricate the plot...the less demand I'm going to put on the writer to flesh out the romance. I can catch on from subtle nuances when two characters are going to get together. In fact, I can remember reading a few books where there was no real reason to think the characters would get together...but it seemed only right that they would.

And lately...I've read a few books where the romance is so obvious, so..."beat me over the head with it" that I wonder if I'm just a big ole cynic. I mean...bodyparts are moistening, and hearts are thumping...on page three.

So I have to say I like me some romance with my fantasy, but gimme the plot, the good v. evil, the magic, mayhem, and decadence of it all (and my all important happily ever after) and it's all good.

But what about you, dear readers? Do you want Romance-Fantasy, or Fantasy-Romance?

All Fantasy is not Romance, But All Romance is Fantasy

2007-10-17T09:38:00.000-07:00

My DH thinks I'm crazy for writing romance. Often he makes fun of me because I don't touch any other genres when I want to read. "How can you read that stuff?" he asks me. Well, because I love the fantasy. This doesn't mean every romance is filled with dragons and unicorns, but that it's women's fiction, or rather, women's fantasy.

We might not actually want to have an Alpha male in our lives, but we sure do love to fantasize about it, about the take-charge, annoying man who can make us pull our hair out while crying out in ecstasy at the same time. :P We love being taken away to a different place, or a different time, to read about the trials and tribulations of two people falling in love.

What my DH doesn't understand is the draw of romance. He's called it everything from uber cheesefest to woman porn. Perhaps it is. But that doesn't deter me from wanting to read it. I don't read romance for the sex scenes. They're definately a bonus, but I love the aw factor, the stirring emotions, the excitement of "new love". It's a welcome change from the humdrum world of my boring, every day life.

So in that way, I get to go on fantastic journeys and be swept off my feet by billionaire Greek tycoons. :P How often does that happen to a housewife from Hillsboro, Oregon?

~~Becka
Sexy. Sensual. Seductive, without an ounce of cheese (DH's tagline edit lol)
http://www.RebeccaGoings.com

Spooks, Magic & Writing Goals

2007-10-16T09:57:00.000-07:00

Ah, Autumn... my favorite time of year! The harvest is on, crisp apples, yummy veggies and the air is growing colder, but not quite frigid yet. It's snuggle time and time to find my Winter clothes and warm blankets. And for some of us, time to think about the year past and make plans for the new cycle to come.

I've been clearing away a lot of my old projects in preparation for starting fresh in November. I'm finishing up some things that need finishing and plotting out plans for new directions come next month. One of the tools I'm using to help with this is the 70 Days of Sweat writing challenge. The idea is to write between 750-1200 words each day for the next 70 days. I write very fast, but not every day and sometimes I go weeks without writing a thing. Not a good habit for a professional writer.

The challenge started yesterday and already I'm ahead of the goal, which is just great. There's a certain accountability that spurs one on when competing against yourself. If you want to keep up with my progress, I've put a tracking meter on my blog and will be posting little tidbits from my WIPs there as I go along.

I'll be working on multiple manuscripts (as I always do) from fantasy, to sci fi, and back again. Some contracted, some just in their beginning stages of development. But here's a little about two of the contracted projects waiting for me to finish working on them (because they release this December!):

- My holiday short story "Solstice Dreams" from Whiskey Creek Press Torrid -
Two elves searching the northern wilderness. One light. One dark. Forbidden to each other, yet drawn by the same yearning for... something. They seek the Jolly Old Elf, to learn his secrets, but neither can find him, until they find each other.

- My vamp/were menage paranormal novel, "Sweeter Than Wine" from Samhain -
An abused woman has the power to unite werefolk, fey and vampire against an evil that would see them all dead—if she can learn to love again.

So spooks and magic are in the air for me... how about you?

Bianca
Website: http://biancadarc.com/
NEW Blog: http://biancadarc.com/blog/

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall...

2007-10-13T01:07:00.000-07:00

October. The temperature is dropping, along with the leaves, the hemlines of pants, and the humidity. Thank god, the humidity. I am, after all, a fragile flower and I melt in heat and humidity.

But the falling humidity means my skin starts to look like the Wicked Witch of the Northwest (Ohio). Which means it's time to dip into my arsenal of cold weather skin care products - oils, body butters, the white cotton gloves. Yes friends, I am turning into my grandmother. Hand cream and gloves - an over-40s gal's best friends. But did you ever read the label on one of those tubs? Can you pronounce half the names? Not me.

So here lately I've gone in search of my inner Kitchen Witch, looking for ways to incorporate more organic foods and other products into my life. And that includes skin care I can whip up in my home cauldron. Er, mixing bowl.

Here's a recipe for an organic pumpkin mask I've found that purportedly eases dry skin, shrinks your pores, and leaves skin soft. And at my age I'm not above throwing in a spell or two to make me look a few years younger!

Organic Pumpkin Mask
About 1 cup diced organic pumpkin, peeled (use the leftover pieces from carving your jack-o-lantern)
1/2 medium organic apple, peeled and cored
1 Tb. honey
1 or 2 Tb. organic goat's milk
2 drops lemon essential oil

Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Blend until thick and smooth, adding more pumpkin if the consistency is too thin. Spread a generous layer on freshly cleansed face, avoiding eye area. Fend off the cat, dog and/or your significant other from licking your face for 15 minutes. Rinse off with warm water and apply your favorite moisturizer. Repeat once or twice a week. Store leftover mask in refrigerator for up to one week.

Source: Caroline Bourke, beautysecretsworld.com

Wildish Things, available Nov. 1 from samhainpublishing.com.

Magic Math by Dayna

2007-10-09T06:05:00.000-07:00

My husband and I recently added a puppy to the mix of things at our already insane house. A week later, I found out I was (am) pregnant with our fourth child. It's been a rollercoaster.

I have a manuscript I've been sending to agents, and I hit a wall one morning. "I can't send this. I'm going to have a baby...how on earth can I get an agent NOW? I don't know if I'll ever be able to write again once little4 gets here." Of course, all this angst finds its way into my writing, which I'm hoping is a good thing.

So, instead of worrying about it too much, I decided to break my life down into some Magic Math:

A heightened sense of smell + a beagle = nausea.
Nausea + morning = no coffee
No coffee + Dayna = problems.

Three kids + beagle + one more coming = fear.
Fear + writing = dark stories
Dark stories + faeries = twisted fun.

If pregnancy = cravings, and cravings = irrational yet acceptable...
Dayna's cravings = Pringles for breakfast.

So, do some magic math of your own and give us a rundown on your life today.

Unicorns

2007-10-03T00:01:00.000-07:00

You know what I want? I want fantasy of the "Legend" kind. When I was a kid, I ADORED pegasus' and unicorns. I had many fantasia-esque pictures like the one above on my walls. One of my favorite movies as a kid was "The Last Unicorn" with the Red Bull (before it became an energy drink), and I even have that movie on DVD. :P It was on the cheapo rack.

But in our romance nowadays, we see fantasy elves, fairies, dragons... Where are the unicorns? Where are the pegasus...es? (Seriously, what IS the plural of "pegasus?")

There is an author (can't think of her name right now) who wrote a series about winged centaurs. I haven't read it, but I seriously want to. That looks awesome.

I guess I just want something different. And no, right now, I'm not going to write it myself. I have WAAY too many projects going on to fit something like this in. Perhaps "someday", I might try my hand, but the point of this post is to challenge all you writers and hopefuls to think outside the fantasy box. What is something that NO ONE ELSE is doing?

Seriously, I think perhaps unicorns and pegasus' are it. Imagine a Narnia-esque world, where animals talk and glitter abounds (because I love glitter, just go with it lol) and magical creatures appear to save the world... Whatever it is, they don't have to be a "shifter". Can't we just have a unicorn be a unicorn?

This is why I love rich, new fantasy worlds, because they challenge us to think outside the "norm" of castles, dragons, wizards. Even I myself am "guilty" of this kind of fantasy world. But I want to see someone shake things up a bit. Because seriously, who wouldn't want to read a fantasy story about perhaps an army of unicorn or pegasus' warriors kicking the ass of some Big Bad? :)

~~Becka

http://www.RebeccaGoings.com

Update on the Magical Worlds of Bianca D'Arc

2007-10-02T07:46:00.000-07:00

I've been very busy since my trip South. First, I caught a nasty flu bug and have been sick for about two weeks, but getting better every day. Second, I've been writing some new stuff in a couple of different worlds - my contemporary paranormal world and a new contemporary urban fantasy setting that I hope to pitch to one of the larger "New York" publishers this Fall.

I've also been dabbling with fairies. Well, editing in the fey realm at least. I'm happy to report that everything's on track for a pre-Christmas release of a short story I wrote last year about this time called Solstice Dreams. It's the tale of a High Court Sidhe Knight and his forbidden love for a Dark Fey Sorceress. They're both on a quest to find the jolly old elf who lives near the North Pole, but neither can find him until they find love.

It's a short, sweet, hot tale about forbidden fey love and a shared quest that becomes not-so-important in the face of passion. It will be coming out from Whiskey Creek Press Torrid - my first publication with them - in December. We're editing it now. It'll be Volume 7 of their Celtic Love Knots series and my story will be in with one by Barri Bryan.

Aside from my fey folk, my dragons are doing very well indeed. I came back from my trip to find that Prince of Spies had been released in paperback and was bopping around the Fantasy, Futuristic and Ghost Top 100 Best Seller List on Amazon.com. Yay! For some odd reason, it's also listed on the Contemporary Top 100 Best Seller List, which is great, but kinda weird too, since this book is set in a medieval-ish fantasy world. LOL.

In other dragon news, Wings of Change tops the MBAM Best Seller List and I couldn't be happier! Thanks to everyone who's already bought the novella and especially to those who've let me know how they liked it! I'm working feverishly on FireDrake, the next Dragon Knights novel, which should be out in ebook formats next May.

So I've been kept really busy with dragons, fey and other magical creatures. I hope some of you will come see me at the booksignings I have lined up for every weekend this month. I'll be signing at the New Jersey Romance Writers Conference book fair on October 6th at the Woodbridge Sheraton. The following weekend, I'll be signging at the Borders in Middletown, NY, and the weekend after that, I'll be at the Borders in Marlborough, MA. Details are on my website, so please come out and see me if you're in the area!

Ogham Reading

2007-09-30T12:21:00.000-07:00

Hey folks,

Sorry I missed my post yesterday! I was off playing with my friends at the annual Central Ohio Fiction Writers conference, and didn't have web access until today.

I'm also working on a final sweep of a manuscript before sending it off the line editor, and being the obsessive-compulsive writer that I am, I'm determined to make it as clean as possible before emailing it.

This is sort of like tidying up your house before the cleaning lady gets there. Unnecessary, but you just can't help it.

So after reading Gia's excellent Friday post, I remembered there's also a free Celtic Ogham reading site out there called Voice of the Woods. It's pretty similar to Gia's link, but you type in your question.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

We Who Are About To Rewrite Salute You

2007-09-26T02:19:00.000-07:00

I’m back in the Rewrite Room of the Damned, and it’s all Diane Whiteside’s fault. Recently she volunteered to look over my current work in progress, Highway from Hell, a retelling of the Orpheus myth from Eurydice’s point of view. Greater love hath no writer than this, that she will lay down her critique for her friends.

Of course, this meant I actually had to pay attention to the crit. To make things worse—er, better—er, way scarier, Diane phrased her remarks so much like Teri Smith, my late writing partner, it lifted the hairs on the back of my neck.

“You’ve got a great character in Eurydice,” Diane said. “You’re right in there with her, feeling everything she feels, right from the start. But your readers will be coming to this from the point of view of Orpheus. Everything they've ever read has always been about him. Your challenge will be to show what Eurydice is fighting for. Is it the sex? Is it the lifestyle? Why would she go through this kind of hell to get back together with him?”

Although she didn’t get to write as much of the story as she (and I) would’ve liked, Teri helped me develop the plot for Highway. She hated Orpheus. She thought he was pond scum, and she fought me tooth and nail every time I tried to give him a redeeming feature.

But at the same time, like Diane, Teri never lost sight of the image our version of the story was going up against. Orpheus, the poet. Orpheus, the doomed and driven lover. Orpheus in Hercules, the Legendary Journeys, and Xena, Warrior Princess.

Diane’s critique also reminded me of comments I’d received from three beta readers who, unlike me, didn’t spend their teenage years in a purple fan girl haze looking for raspberry berets in the second hand store. These beta readers couldn’t understand why Eurydice got involved with Orpheus in the first place. He’s a demanding, narcissistic snot.

Well, duh. He’s also the sexiest, demanding, narcissistic snot on two legs, with a voice that makes trees dance and goddesses wail. Just hanging with him turns you into one of the cool kids. Living with him means you never have to wait in line. Bouncers and Line Nazis fall over themselves ushering you behind the velvet rope. Maitre des seat you at the best table in the restaurant, even though you don’t have a reservation and the place is booked until the next millennium. Whatever you wear, it’s in this minute. Cartier and Tiffany’s beg you to wear their bling. The hottest designers fawn over you and send you next season’s shoes wrapped in hand-printed tissue paper.

And everybody on earth is pea green jealous of the very air you breathe. Even the old farts who say they aren’t. They’re just so bitter they’re lying through their teeth.

It doesn’t hurt that so many hit lyrics come down to: “You do me wrong, but still I’m crazy about you.”

It’s part of the package. It’s expected.

Just like it’s expected Orpheus will act like a hero.

Oh.

Oh *bleep*! I gotta write that in, don’t I?

Diane’s critique and my response to it also highlight another aspect of the writing process we writers tend to overlook. We don’t always speak the same language as our readers, even when we think we’re all working in English.

Those three readers were telling me the same thing Diane did. But when they said it, all I heard was: “Orpheus is a jerk, and Eurydice was Too Stupid To Live for getting involved with him.”

Well, she was stupid for getting involved with him. But music junkies like me couldn’t imagine a young woman not falling for the glamour Orpheus represents. To us it’s a perfectly understandable stupidity. We’d commit it ourselves—if only someone would give us half a chance.

But my challenge as a writer isn’t just to play to that particular choir. I need to convey that glamour, that sense of earthy divinity rock fans invest in their idols, to the people who didn’t grow up with my passions or my expectations. Otherwise, they won’t get the story. It’ll be nothing more than a race of pretty words to “The End”. I bleed too much in my stories to settle for that.

###

(Lyrics from "Ain't That Peculiar" by Smokey Robinson, Marvin Tarplin, Robert Rogers and Warren Moore)

Remember This Movie?

2007-09-19T16:41:00.000-07:00

Ever watch a movie trailer and hear that ONE song and wonder where the heck it came from? Do you remember watching this movie when it came out 11 years ago? Did you ever think this movied kicked ass because it had an awesome intelligent dragon?

This clip from YouTube gives me chills. I fashioned Mynos after Draco. If you watch closely, you'll notice a few moves Draco does that I had Mynos do in the Legends of Mynos books from Samhain Publishing. Breathing fire down a straight line... Balls of fire from his nostrils...

Dragonheart is one of my all-time favorite movies. Not necessarily because it's such a wonderful plot, but because of the inspiration it sparked in me for my fantasy romance series. I really wish they would make more movies about intelligent dragons like Draco, who could maybe wield magic and shape-shift like Mynos.

Watch this clip and get chills, y'all. Oh, and that music you always wondered about? Yeah, it's part of the Dragonheart soundtrack, one of the best and well-known movie soundtracks ever, in my opinion, of course.

~~Becka
http://www.RebeccaGoings.com/
http://www.samhainpublishing.com/authors/rebecca-goings

Dragons, Dragons, Everywhere!

2007-09-18T05:19:00.000-07:00

I don't know if I posted this here yet... My editor went above and beyond the call of duty and created a GREAT video for the I Dream of Dragons anthology, of which my story, Wings of Change, is part.

The anthology will be in print next May, but all five stories are available right now as individual ebooks. Thanks to all of you who've helped put Wings of Change on the Best Seller List over at MyBookstoreAndMore.com! :)

In other news, I spent last weekend at Lora Leigh's Reader Appreciation Weekend (RAW) and had a blast! I met a lot of readers and some of my favorite authors, including Lora herself, Lorie O'Clare, Christine Feehan, and a whole bunch more! I'm still recovering from the sleep deprevation (LOL), but I had a really great time and enjoyed meeting everyone. Watch my official blog next week for a contest where I'll be giving away a T-shirt and some other goodies from the event. :)

Urban fantasy: Who’s your favorite?

2007-09-17T09:17:00.000-07:00

I’ve recently learned my Netherworld series kicking off with Dark Sentinel in March will be listed under paranormal romance since it’s considered a catch all.

My goal for each story is to provide a HEA...so it’s not quite considered urban fantasy. Although, the leads change with each story in the series there will be certain characters who put in an appearance in each story. So, I’m going to cross genre market the series because fundamentally Netherworld is dark urban fantasy.

Dark fantasy, often a euphemism for horror with supernatural or fantastic elements or else fantasy with disturbing or horrific elements, can be bold tales of fantasy featuring discovery.

Urban fantasy, "contemporary" fantasy, is set in the city, often dealing with shamanism, the New Age, and/or Amerind (or other minority) cultures in today's world. Urban fantasy focuses on the human condition and magic realism.

Here are a few of my favorite urban fantasy authors.
Kelley Armstrong
http://www.kelleyarmstrong.com/
Kim Harrison
http://www.kimharrison.net/
Charlaine Harris
http://www.charlaineharris.com/
Jim Butcher
http://www.jim-butcher.com/

Who are some of your favorites?

Until later~
Mel

"Love & Lore" Celtic Anthology Book Trailer

2007-09-15T05:16:00.000-07:00

Enjoy!

Click here for a closeup of my gorgeous cover.

Thursday Thirteen: 13 DragonCon Pics

2007-09-11T14:26:00.000-07:00

After teasing you with all the good stuff to see and do at DragonCon 2007, you didn’t think I would just leave you hanging did you?

Well, yes, I am that mean. But you’re in luck. Becka, Bianca, Carolan, Dayna and Gia threatened to track me down and beat me with their books if I didn’t come back with pics. (They’re so mean!)

I didn’t manage to snag any photos of the celebs I mentioned in my last post unless you count a very badly focused shot of somebody who might be James Marsters toting a “Stunt Kisser” sign across the Buffy Horror Picture Show on Friday night, August 31. Was he or wasn’t he? Only the cast member playing Buffy knows for sure. All I can say is she took an awfully long time to come up for air. :D

1. Dragons were everywhere, of course. But to my mind one of the best was this Chinese parade dragon in the Exhibit Hall.

2. Costumes ranged from twin Goth cabaret chicks to Stargate System Lords. But this Medusa was one of my favorites. I particularly like what she did with her snakes.

3. Since its inauguration in 2002, the Saturday morning DragonCon parade has become one of everyone’s favorite events. It opens with bagpipes and ends with Stormtroopers. In between you can find representatives of everyone’s favorite fantasies—including those of the participants. Shown here are some of the folks who drum and dance at the nightly Drum Circles. Leading the contingent is Joshua, whose dancing has graced the DragonCon Masquerade for two years running. Dina, a fellow Masquerader, can be seen in the second row. She’s the one wearing a jacket over a brown top and playing zills.

4. If you think most of my fantasies involve fit guys, you’re right. Here’s the DragonCon Spartans. The tans were fake. The bods weren’t.

5. Writers parade too. This year, Sherrilyn Kenyon (centered, carrying the fan) temporarily abandoned the conference rooms and Exhibit Hall to lead the characters of her Dark Hunter novels onto the streets. I can’t help wondering how the sun-phobic Dark Hunters felt about that.

6. I included this just so you’d know what a dangerous writer you’re dealing with. I’m front and center in this scurvy crew of scalliwags, otherwise known as the crew of the good ship DragonCon Press Room: (top row from left) Randi, Leigh, Phyl, Mark and Dorie; (front row from left) me and Dave (a.k.a. Silent Bob). Although I no longer attend DragonCon with the sole intent of snagging interviews, the con’s media liaison staff lets me play dress-up with them. Maybe it’s my winning personality—or maybe it’s my way with weapons. Dave, true to his Masquerade alter ego, never uttered a peep, despite the angle of my sword.
7. I didn’t stay long enough at the Masquerade to photograph the prize-winning “Wallace and Grommet” team. (Things to do. Parties to crash.) But like Masquerade MC Kari Byron (far left) of Mythbusters, I was charmed by this hookah-smoking caterpillar. The fabric costume was entirely handmade—and worn by the seamstress who created it.

8. DragonCon is many festivals rolled into one. In addition to the gaming, media guests, movies and writers, it boasts several live concerts every night. This year the musical options ranged from perennial favorites Emerald Rose and Voltaire to newcomers (to DragonCon) Lost Boys and Last Dance. But for me, the musical highlight is always the Cruxshadows show following the Masquerade. Lead singer Rogue (pictured here in a rare moment of stillness) is the only person I know who can rock the Trojan War.

9. In addition to the Masquerade and concerts, Sunday night’s entertainment included a Pirate Gathering and a Secret Room rave with a pirate theme. The Ball featured live music from Three Quarter Ale and (reportedly) Voltaire, but I got better pictures from the Secret Room’s Pirate Rave. Where else could you see a guy in a kilt dancing with a Boxtrooper?

10. After the parties were…more parties. With bartenders who delivered. The big guy on the left carried his bar in a backpack, dispensing parrot-colored libations via a small hose.

11. Ruth Glick (Rebecca York) preceded me in the autograph area Monday afternoon. Unlike the media stars, bestselling writers like Ruth, Terry Brooks, John Ringo and DragonCon 2007 Guest of Honor David Weber sign and pose for free.

12. An unadvertised benefit of the DragonCon autographing sessions—for the writers that is. Joshua came to talk to psychic Chip Coffey and paranormal investigator Patty Starr, whose autograph session coincided with mine. But he graciously agreed to be photographed with swords…and me. You know, it’s hard to look endangered when you’re grinning like an idiot.

13. For me, this is always the saddest part of my annual DragonCon adventure—packing up and going home. Good thing there’s next year.

These and more shots can be found at my Flickr page. Eventually I'll caption them too. 'Til next year!

9-11

2007-09-11T11:46:00.000-07:00

I have to admit I groaned when I saw I was slated to blog today. Who wants to write something on the memorial of the most devestating event in recent American history? And yet, here I am. First I'm going to say to all those who lost friends or family in 9-11, our hearts go out to you all.

And then I'm going to talk about post-apocalyptic fantasy. One of the best and most popular examples is Stephen King's The Stand. Good v. evil in a world all but destroyed by plague. I read this when I was a teenager, and the world was very different then. Although the idea of the world ending was terrifying, and plausible, it was a rather distant possibility.

The world I live in now, just a dozen years later, is very different. And the idea of a world-altering catastrophe isn't all that much of a stretch. In fact, there are a lot of different ways it might happen. Imagine how it might happen! Imagine how you'd live without all the modern day conveniences. Imagine if things you once believed were only urban legends found their way into the new reality.

How terrifying.

Yet, it's also what gets fantasy writer's motors running ;)

So, with all that in mind...do readers want to read P-A fantasy? Do writers want to write it? Or is it just too scary?

Special: I Dream of Dragons Anthology

2007-09-09T09:36:00.000-07:00

On September 11, five dragon stories will release as ebooks from Samhain Publishing. One of them is mine - Wings of Change - with the lovely cover you see on the left.

What you may not yet be aware of, is that all five of these stories will also release in print as part of a 2-volume anthology in the Spring. The anthologies will be called I Dream of Dragons I and II, and they will have two different covers (see below).

Wings of Change is one of my Dragon Knights stories and acts as a sort of bridge between the first series of Dragon Knights, which told the love stories of a mother and her three daughters, and the next set of books. Wings of Change picks up with new characters, introduces new magical creatures and will lead to a new series of Dragon Knights stories focusing more on the men. Mmmmm. ;-)

Here's the blurb for Wings of Change:

One young woman could be the miracle that heals a dying dragon—and unites a family with her love.

Lucia, born a lady in a foreign land, now waits tables for her keep. When she sees Sir Reynor wasting away, she storms the Castle Lair seeking help for the dying dragon. What she finds is a dashing rogue, a mighty dragoness, and a contrite knight who blames himself for his dragon partner’s injury.

Marcus is enchanted by the foreign beauty and intrigued by her mission. Few women will go near dragons and fewer still can communicate with them. Marcus recognizes Lucia for the treasure she is and knows she is meant for him…and for Kaden.

Kaden is wracked with guilt over the injury that has grounded the dragon—possibly forever. He knows Lucia is special, and he wants her. Lucia just might be the missing piece they all need to form a family. But with Reynor unable to fly, how can any of them be happy?

To make this family whole, they need a miracle. And love—the greatest miracle of all.

My partners in crime for the anthology (volume I) are Summer Devon and Marie Harte. I'm fans of both those ladies and can't wait to see what they've come up with in the dragon realm!

Bianca
Website: www.biancadarc.com
NEW Blog: http://biancadarc.com/blog/

Becka's World Building Workshop ~ Post #7

2007-09-05T22:33:00.000-07:00

A little late in coming, but here nonetheless. This is the LAST post of my World Building Workshop. I know it's been a long few weeks, but I hope you guys got something out of it... :P Here are the links to the other posts just in case you missed them:

World Building Workshop Post #1

World Building Workshop Post #2

World Building Workshop Post #3

World Building Workshop Post #4

World Building Workshop Post #5 & #6

~*~*~*~

TECHNOLOGY, MAGIC, AND OTHER ODDS AND ENDS

Okay, now that you have most of your world in place, and even an easy way to quickly think of names, now is the time to get down to the nitty gritty with regards to details.

First of all, we'll start with technology. How advanced is yourworld? Are they truly a Medieval society with swords and crossbows? Or is there gunpowder? Steam engines?

What about a Sci-Fi world? Do they have lazer-blasters? Ion-cannons? Aside from weapons, what kind of medical technology do they possess? Tricorder-type things? Nanosites? Or just your good ol' water & bandages?

Is magic present on your world? If so, can everyone do it? Or only certain races? Is it an inherent trait or do you need items to do magical things? If there are magical items in your world such as a glowing sword or pendant of invisibility, write out exactly what their powers are. Maybe even write some powers that your characters don't know about. Makes it fun when they use a magical item and it does something totally unexpected!

Other odds & ends would include fleshing out your cities, deciding what's a large Mecca and what's a small hamlet. What is life like in those cities? Can anyone buy magical items or are they only for the rich and famous?

Once you have the little details fleshed out, then you are ready to begin writing in your world. There are some things you can make up as you go, so don't feel as if you can't write if you don't know everything there is to know about your world. I've learned that sometimes, it can be a lot of fun for the writer if you don't know what's beyond those mountains. If your characters don't either, then hey, that's an avenue that can be explored along with them.

Sometimes impromptu world building such as that can be great, just don't forget to jot down notes on what you make up. You don't want to forget it!

~~Becka

Crature Feature: Cat Shifters

2007-09-04T00:19:00.000-07:00

Cat shapeshifters offer a unique and interesting opportunity for fantasy writers. First, there are so many kinds of big cats to play with and so many of them are related to various degrees.

In the genus Panthera, for example, are the lion, tiger, leopard and jaguar. These are the only big cats able to roar and are sometimes distinguished as the "great cats" to differentiate them from other big cats who like the cheetah, snow leopard, clouded leopard, and cougar. Another little distinction is that the babies of the great cats are called cubs, while the babies of the other big cats are called kittens. (More on all of this minutiae can be found in the Wiki entry.)

The creature I find most interesting is the cougar. Bigger than the jaguar, but not considered a "great cat" it goes by many names and roams most of the Americas. Also called Puma or Mountain Lion, these cats are huge and very efficient predators. They learn and adapt to their environment and the kinds of prey they find there. I saw a show on Animal Planet the other day on bighorn sheep in the Canadian wilderness. It turns out that scientists were able to discover that one particular cougar in the area had learned how to efficiently hunt the bighorn lambs and for the last two years of the cougar's life, it ate almost nothing but mutton and put a big dent in the local bighorn population. But another cougar wasn't as smart. It fell to its death off the rocky slopes while chasing a bighorn lamb and both were found dead at the bottom, killed by the fall. So it takes a sure-footed cougar to even attempt to hunt those kings of the mountain in their rocky, dangerous domain.

In my own writing, I've created a few different big cat shapeshifters. The one you'll be able to read first is Matt Redstone, a character from my upcoming novel, Sweeter Than Wine. He's a cougar and has the cunning, speed and agility of the cat, even in human form. He's also really sexy, just like the cat. ;-) In my little world, he's the youngest of a group of cougar-shifter brothers and I plan to feature each of them in upcoming works. I'm also working on an urban fantasy world, inhabited by leopard and tiger shifters, as well as Others. More on that, when news becomes available.

For now, I continue my research in to the ways these big cats are related and the fantasy of how to make them purrrrrrrrr.

Bianca
Website: www.biancadarc.com
NEW Blog: http://biancadarc.com/blog/

Creature Feature: Arkan Sonney

2007-08-31T02:00:00.000-07:00

Heeeere piggy piggy!

Today's Creature Feature is the Manx arkan sonney ("lucky piggy" in English), a magical, long-haired pig or hedgehog-like creature that's white with red ears.

(If you read enough legends and lore of northern Europe, you'll find many magical creatures are described as white with red ears - cows, pigs, dogs, etc. Why that is, I'm not sure, but I'll look into it.)

The arkan sonney can shapeshift - sort of. It can change its size but not its shape. If you can catch it - which is almost impossible - it is said it will bring you good luck. Well, heck, if you had everyone chasing after you in hopes of gaining fame and fortune, wouldn't you become a master escape artist, too? :)

Congrats to our Rebecca Goings!!

2007-08-28T14:19:00.000-07:00

Available now from SamhainPublishing.com!

13 Reasons I Can't Wait For Dragon*Con

2007-08-22T22:33:00.000-07:00

Eight more days to my favorite summer camp for wayward adults: Atlanta’s DragonCon. Yes, I’m counting the minutes. Here’s why:

13. The superior eye candy—James Marsters, Kevin Sorbo, Michael Shanks... (Oh yeah, they've got girls too—Vanessa Angel, Claudia Black, Lexa Doig, Gigi Edgley. Will they do?)

12. The chance to meet fellow Samhain writer Ally Blue.

11. More costumes per capita than anywhere in Georgia.

10. Concerts featuring the Cruxshadows, Emerald Rose, the Brobdignagian Bards, Voltaire and many, many more.

9. The DragonCon Parade.

8. Panels featuring fabulous writers like Kevin Anderson, Bob Asprin, Peter Beagle, Terry Brooks, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Jody Lynn Nye and Margaret Weis.

7. Panels featuring meeeeeeee.

6. The Pirate Ball.

5. Going to the Pirate Ball in costume with the rest of the Press Room scalliwags.

4. Swordplay demonstrations by the Crossed Swords.

3. The Iron Artist face-off between Bill Stout and Tara McPherson.

2. The irresistible temptations of the Art Show, Exhibit Hall and Dealers Room.

1. Have I mentioned James Marsters and the Cruxshadows?

See you there!

See more Thursday Thirteens here!

In The Gloaming - Pre-Order on Amazon

2007-08-18T03:45:00.000-07:00

My trade paperback anthology, IN THE GLOAMING, is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com! This anthology contains the print version of my novella, ABHAINN'S KISS, along with two other stories by J.C Wilder and Isabo Kelly.

Blurb:

Her peaceful world shattered, she has only days to fulfill her destiny. She must defy a curse that dooms her to hide from the sun, and take her rightful place in the Great Circle on the Isle of Avalon. Only Abhainn can restore the balance of Dark and Light, and heal the rift between humans and Fae. That’s a tall order for a one fragile Faery.

Michael Craig is on a quest of his own, one grounded in cold, hard reality. Fairy tales? They’re for children and dreamers. But when he rescues Abhainn from certain death with an accidental kiss, he finds himself thrown into a very different reality. One he’s reluctant to accept, even as it unfolds before his eyes. Only one thing holds him there—Abhainn will die without him.

Abhainn’s life depends on Michael’s kiss, his sword arm…and his ability to believe.

Excerpt:

He grabbed his shirt and pulled it on without buttoning it. He was halfway to the caravan door before he realized the taste on his tongue wasn’t just part of the dream. She must have kissed him in his sleep before slipping out. Still, she had no business being out there alone, no matter how many friendly Fae surrounded them.

The familiar tinkle of her laughter drifted in through the caravan’s half open door. He stepped quietly outside and settled on the driver’s seat to watch the scene before him. The horse, unhitched, grazed nearby; Eoth lay draped across its back, sound asleep. Michael’s gaze swept the stone-littered meadow, and at last he found her.

She sat on a boulder, legs folded beneath her, arms thrown wide. Unabashedly naked as the day she’d been born. His groin tightened as, unobserved, he let his gaze pass over her body. Tiny as she was, there was no doubt that Abby was a full-grown woman, all slender curves and high, firm breasts. The morning light glowed on her pale skin, so fair as to be translucent, traced with river-maps of blue veins, flawless from the tips of her toes to the delicate points of her ears.

All around her flitted a cloud of tiny, winged Fae, who tended to her as if she were a queen in waiting. Which, he realized suddenly, she was. As the last of her kind, she by default was the Queen of the Asrai.

Humming like a swarm of honeybees, the Faeries combed and braided her white-gold hair, washed a smudge of dirt from her nose, handed her damp handfuls of moss with which she cleaned herself, rubbing it over her skin—all her skin—in slow, sensual delight.

More Faeries brought her sips of water and a sticky substance that looked like nectar, cupped in spring flowers. She tipped her head back and accepted their offerings on her tongue, smiling and licking her lips after each taste, catching stray droplets on her fingers and licking them, too.

The ache in his groin hardened into a painful knot. Blood pounded in his ears so hard that for a second he couldn’t trust himself to move. Despite the lust that roared through his veins, he remained conscious of the delicacy of her small, fragile body. She’s like porcelain. Like one wrong touch could break her.

Yet for that second, he understood what had driven Blaen of CraighMhor to risk everything for one night with a Fae.

And he lost it all, Michael reminded himself.

As if she sensed his eyes upon her, she turned her head and looked at him. She blinked once, slowly, and the smile on her face grew brighter. She held out her hand.

Abruptly, the attending Faeries screeched and scattered. Only one stayed, hovering above and just behind her golden head. Its buzzing grew into a snarl, and before Michael’s eyes it changed from a thimble-sized thing to a fox. It bared its fangs and bunched its muscles to spring at Abby’s unprotected back.

With a sickening lurch that took him back to his combat days in the Marines, time slowed to a crawl. Every detail of the scene sprang into sharp relief. Before Michael could do more than shout a warning, Abby’s face went blank.

Then, as the fox sprang, she changed into a statue of clear, hard ice.

The fox yowled in frustration as it clawed and bit at the back of her neck, but managing no more than a few superficial scratches.

Michael took advantage of the time she had given him by lunging into the caravan to retrieve the rusted sword. He lay hands on his rucksack and threw himself out of the caravan, pulling the sword out and dropping the bag on the ground as he ran, spilling the contents.

He sprinted the few yards that separated him from Abby, a hoarse cry in his throat and the sword raised to strike. The fox saw him coming, issued a series of short, harsh barks, then shapeshifted again.

Michael found himself looking up into the face of what could only be described as a vampire-like woman, complete with glistening fangs and black wings sprouting from her shoulders. With a hiss she flew at him, driving him back. He let her come, knowing it would draw the creature away from Abby.

“Come on, come on, bitch! What ya got? Come on!” he growled, goading her with the sword.

The vampiress closed in, and with moves too quick to see, she knocked the sword away then hit him square in the center of the chest with the leading edge of a black, leathery wing. Michael caught his heels on the rucksack and landed on his back, flinging his arms wide to break the fall.

His hand fell on his grandmother’s precious stone, which must have rolled out of the rucksack when he’d dropped it.

Wrapping his fingers around it, he waited, heart speeding to dangerous levels as the vampiress closed within striking distance. Waited, sweating, until her hot breath blistered his face, until he could count the veins in her bulging eyes. Then he swung at her head.

Instead of spurting blood, the broken skin on the side of the creature’s face erupted with huge horseflies the size of golf balls. In moments, the thing had completely dissolved into a cloud of the droning black bugs. Abby’s attending Faeries chased them all away, leaving the morning eerily quiet, as if nothing amiss had happened at all.

Panting, Michael hauled himself to his feet.

“Well done.”

He spun and found a tall, Tolkienesque elf lounging against the side of the caravan, idly examining his fingernails, longbow thrown casually over one shoulder.

Michael relaxed and straightened. “Thanks for the help,” he said dryly.

The elf raised an eyebrow, as if he were actually offended. “You did well enough on your own. Had you needed it, I would have intervened. The Lady chose well.” With that, the elf sauntered away into the trees.

“I will never get used to these people,” he muttered, turning toward Abby as thunder rolled overhead.

Abhainn still hadn’t changed back from the block of ice. It was a perfect replica, captured just as she had been sitting on the rock.

He crouched by the rock, afraid to touch her. “Abhainn. Abby, can you hear me?”
Huge, fat raindrops began to splat the ground.

Maybe she can’t change back.

His mind kicked into gear, looking for a way to keep her from melting and running in rivulets down the side of the rock. But as the first drops of rain struck her head, she shifted back into normal form and fell, shivering and blue with cold, into his arms.

“Jesus, you scared me, woman,” he said, gathering her closer, rubbing her arms. The bare skin under his hands felt like the ice from which she’d just shifted. He quickly lifted her hair to examine the back of her neck. Relief flooded through him. Her skin remained unbroken.

“I…I…knew not…I c-c-could do that,” she managed through clattering teeth. “I-I-I sensed the Mei was behind me and-d-d it j-just happened!” Then, incredibly, she began to laugh. “I wonder…w-w-what else I can do?”

Before he could stop it, anger flared white hot in his chest. How could she laugh? She had come within a hair’s breadth of death, and yet she laughed!

Shaking, not trusting himself to speak, he scooped her up in his arms and strode toward the caravan.

“Mícheál?” she gasped between giggles and shudders of cold. “W-what is it?”

“The fate of your people depends on you,” he gritted out. “And you sit there laughing when your quest almost came to nothing.”

She leaned back in his arms, her laughter fading to a gentle smile. “But it did not,” she said simply. “I have you to protect me. All is well. And I have found that I have powers I knew not I had. Why not enjoy the moment?”

He stopped dead in his tacks, light rain tapping on his head. He had no answer for her.

“Mícheál,” she said gently.

He shook his head, surprised at his inability to speak, jaw clenched tight. She could have died. She could have…

“Mícheál.” This time her lips touched his ear.

At the touch of her breath on his skin, he drew her to him tighter still, buried his face in her hair, inhaling the fresh-rain scent of her. He could find no words to say other than her name.

The skies let loose with a torrent of rain.
~~~
Pre-order on Amazon.com.

Becka's World Building Workshop ~ Post #5 & #6

2007-08-15T08:18:00.000-07:00

Hey there, gang. I'm posting two World Building Workshops today because I missed the last one, as I was pretty sick. :( Therefore, today, you get a twofer! :D Stay tuned! My next blog day will be the final installment of my seven-part series!

If you have missed the other installments, here are the linkies:

World Building Workshop Post #1

World Building Workshop Post #2

World Building Workshop Post #3

World Building Workshop Post #4

~*~*~*~

#5
HISTORY OF YOUR WORLD

Now that you have all the foundations in place, it's time to think of a history for your world. Now this can be as detailed or as sketchy as you want it to be depending on your story. Perhaps the inhabitants of your world *don't* know the history, in cases like Waterworld or Mad Max or what have you.

But a good history will make your world come alive, as you can add little details, maybe give magical items a history. If there's a pendant of invisibility or whatever, who made it? Who owned it? And what was it used for, good or evil? Think of leaders names, past and present. Maybe a lineage for a monarchy. Who was the first king?

Are there any heroes in your world? Tales of men overcoming all odds? Folk tales about mythical creatures such as the unicorn or dragon? If there are no unicorns on your world but there's folk tales about them, did they exist? Do they still? What happened to them so long ago to wipe them out? Or why do they now live in hiding?

These are all details you can jot down in a good history. And sometimes as you write your story, you can think of more history to go with your world, so it doesn't have to *all* be thought of at once. I know some of you might be thinking *whew!* :D

But these ideas can build a more believable world for your characters to live in. Just because you might not necessarily write about this information, YOU have it in case you need it to better understand your world, or perhaps understand the motivation behind your characters.

That should get you started on thinking of your own unique history. Just keep asking yourself the "what if" questions, and it will come. :)

~*~*~*~

#6
IDEAS FOR NAMES

A lot of times when I get stumped on thinking of a name, I combine words. Literally. Like one of my city's names is "Tabrinth". I named it that because at the time, I had a cat named "Tabitha" and I'd just recently watched the movie "Labyrinth". Hehe. Not really rocket science, is it! HAHA! But you might be able to do something similar.

Look in the phone book and combine names you find there for unique first names or surnames. Think of it this way. I just looked across my desk, and I saw a pencil and my printer. Combine them, and I have the name "Penter". Now, if I change up the spelling, Pinter, Pynter, Pentyr, Pintyr, Pintar, Pyntar... You get the idea. That could be a name for a creature, a city, a hero, a king...

But from “pencil” and “printer”, I can also get Cilrin, Enin, Terpen, Rinen, Cipri, & Ilrin.

Let’s see if I can do that again… Okay, again on my desk, I see a novel and a camera. Novera, Ovelca, Velmer, Merano, Lera, Cavel, Elcam, Rael… It’s really fun to do, and you can even come up with more words by scrambling the letters as well, not just pulling them from the words and adding them together.

But see how that works? It's what I do, and I've been complimented on my names more than once. Not only that, but I’ve never really been stumped for a name in my world. I guess it's my secret! :P

Good luck on your own names!

~~Becka
http://www.RebeccaGoings.com/

My example of Lyndaria comes from my fantasy/romance novels The Legends of Mynos, currently published at http://www.SamhainPublishing.com.

My book is out.

2007-08-14T07:23:00.000-07:00

I'm babbling about this everywhere, too. I'm going to try to put a new spin on it for you lovely readers here at FaE, but really, this is just more of me freaking out and realising My Book...is OUT! Like you could buy it. Right now! (if you were so inclined, and I rather hope you are :)

But what I realised today was that I've felt rather in limbo waiting for this book to release. I mean, I call myself a Samhain author...but I had no book out. It was in edits, it had a cover, (which is effing gorgeous)...and yet...I just kept waiting for Crissy or Angie to notice me there and go "Huh? You?! Get out!" (not that they would. They're nice people, or so I see when I'm peering at them hoping they don't notice me)

Today, though, my book is out. And I've signed contracts for my second book! So they're stuck with me now :) And I finally feel like...I'm THERE. Not that all of the other 200 Samhain authors would know who the heck I am or anything...but at least I'm starting to sort of carve out my little niche.

It's a good feeling. To be somewhere good things are happening, with some really great people, and to feel Part of It All. I'm a happy camper today :)

Now, feel free to go buy my book ;)

Thursday Thirteen: 13 Mythical Dogs

2007-08-09T10:32:00.000-07:00

I go this idea from another TT about Mystical Cats! :) Enjoy!

1. Coyote - the Trickster in Native American lore

2. Cerberus - Greek/Roman three-headed guadian of the entrance to the underworld

3. Gram - Norse mythology

4. Eqyptians, Aztecs believed dogs guided souls to the afterlife

5. Fighting dogs of Hecate

6. Black Dog - Appears in many mythological canons including England, Scotland, Ireland, across Europe and elsewhere. In general, it is a large creature with a long black shaggy coat and bright fiery eyes; a harbinger of death.

7. Ce Sith/Cir Seth - A fairy hound found in the western Scottish Isles. It was the size of a two-year-old cow, and green in color. The cir sith had a long tail which was usually coiled on its back, sometimes braided like the straw rug of a pack-saddle. It was kept as watchdog in the fairy knowe, but did occasionally run loose. It moved swiftly, making a noise like a galloping horse, leaving huge footprints. It trailed travelers, barked three times, and at the third it overtook its prey and pulled him down. http://www.skell.org/explore/mythad.htm

8. Devil's Dandy Dogs - A pack of fire-breathing black hounds found in Cornwall. They had bright fiery eyes, and followed the devil over lonely moors on stormy nights. If they captured humans they tore them apart limb by limb. The only know way to deter these monsters was for a man to pray sincerely. http://www.skell.org/explore/mythad.htm

9. Gabriel Hounds - A spirit hound which hunted high in the air. It could be heard yelping overhead during violent storms. To hear these yelps was a presage of death.

10. Qiqirn - in Inuit mythology, a large, bald dog spirit. It is a frightening beast, but also skittish and foolish. Men and dogs run from it, and it runs from men and dogs. It has hair on its feet, ear, mouth and the tip of its tail. When people approach it, they suffer fits. One way to scare it away is to shout its name.

11. Bran - Fionn Mac Cumhail's hound

12. Laelaps - Greek mythological dog who never failed to catch what he hunted.

13. Fenris - wolf offspring of Loki and Angrboda in Norse mythology

Click here for other Thursday 13s!

Seriously, Dayna, It's All Good

2007-08-09T01:31:00.000-07:00

Our very own Dayna Hart’s first novella for Samhain Publishing, “Go Between”, will hit the web in less than a week. She’s bouncing off walls. One of the blog buds asked if she had any fingernails yet, and Dayna shot back, “Nails? Forget nails, I’m down to the joints.”

I was no help at all, of course. I tried to think of a single thing that could possibly be bad about having a new ebook release (with a great cover, no less) and failed utterly. I’ve said it before, and I think the time has come to say it again in public: it’s all good. Really.

Publishing is a lot like cooking spaghetti. A publisher works up a business model and hires editors, who buy stories they like which fit the publisher’s specs. Over the course of a year, the editors buy lots of stories. (Samhain alone publishes between five and ten novels and novellas a week.) They boil ‘em up--er, edit them, throw them at the wall--I mean, the reading public and applaud when something sticks.

Sometimes it’s serendipity. The right book hits at the right time, and an unknown author turns into J.K. Rowling. More often the progress is a slow build. Each book attracts two fans, who tell two of their friends about the next book, and so on and so on. Hard as it is to wait this one out, this scenario can be just as rewarding as the overnight sensation. Consider Nora Roberts’ career.
In either case, there aren’t any short cuts. Promotion helps, but it’s only to a point. Yes, these days reclusive writers are the exception as opposed to the rule. Yes, chats, excerpts, ads and convention appearances help. Signings and contests too--though to a much lesser extent. (I once ran a contest which had fewer participants than it did prizes. I never even shipped the grand prize. The winner neglected to provide a snail mail address.) But realistically, without a massive budget, there are only so many people a writer can reach.

Even a big budget is no guarantee of sales. To increase the return on their investment, New York publishers promote the heck out of all the titles they paid big advances for. But an ad in The New York Times won’t make a bestseller out of the literary equivalent of a sow’s ear. As the editor of a review site for eight years, I know for a fact the objects of some of the most expensive saturation ad campaigns of the past ten years sank without a trace.

Reviews help a little. Ahem, ALL reviews help a little. The most fascinating thing about the process is bad reviews help as much as good ones. I track the sales of With Nine You Get Vanyr through Publishers Marketplace, and every time a review appears, there’s a visible jump in sales.

In late July, I noticed a bump in sales and couldn’t figure it out. Sunday morning, for the first time in about two months, I decided to Google for reviews. Lo and behold, on July 21, just before my sales started to rise, Raph Koster panned Vanyr as a Mary Sue. He even said it was like watching a “trainwreck” (sic). That’s the nicest thing he could've done for me. Seriously. Within five days, my Amazon sales tripled. The sad part is he’ll never believe my thank you note.

I also discovered something far better for the ego, if not for the pocketbook. Vanyr has been added to the New England Science Fiction Association’s database of recursive science fiction.

I didn’t know what recursive science fiction was either until I rummaged around the site. The short version is SF or fantasy which uses SF/fantasy fandom or any other element of science fiction or fantasy literature or related media as a major plot point. WooHoo, I’m part of a catalogued sub-genre, along with people like Mercedes Lackey, Fritz Leiber, Sharyn McCrumb, Fred Saberhagen, James Tiptree and Roger Zelazny.

Like I said, Dayna, it’s all good.

Prince of Spies - Available for Pre-Order!

2007-08-07T09:37:00.000-07:00

Prince of Spies

ISBN-10: 1599984253
ISBN-13: 978-1599984254

Prince Nico is a cunning master of stealth, but can he master a maiden’s fragile heart?

Book Four of the ongoing Dragon Knights series, but works well on its own, this is a dragon shapeshifter tale of magic, intrigue and spellbinding love.

Pre-Order NOW from Amazon.com

If you pre-order, email me and I’ll send you a signed book plate, book marks and other promo items by mail, FREE. Just send email to: BIANCADARC at GMAIL.COM with the subject line “PRE-ORDER”, your mailing address. If you’d like the book plate personalized, please specify the name you want on it.

Bianca
Website: www.biancadarc.com
NEW Blog: http://biancadarc.com/blog/

New contract!

2007-08-06T16:17:00.000-07:00

I’m excited to announce I contracted a fantasy to Ellora’s Cave!

Cursed by Moonlight is a Werewolf tale on an ancient Earth like setting.

I’ve written the classic warlike/peaceful premise; with proof the warlike side isn’t all bad while the peaceful side isn’t all peace and light. My hero Alric’s people are driven by conquest while my heroine Caasi’s by magic.

Cursed by Moonlight blurb teaser:

Alric, cursed to live as a werewolf, wants Caasi.

Caasi wants to save Alric from the beast within him.

But hunting his own feral brother only convinces Alric of how desperate his situation is. Can they find a way to be together when they face not only mortal danger but the superstitions of their people?

Until later~
Mel

Creature Feature: The Glaistig

2007-08-04T06:20:00.000-07:00

The Glaistig is a Faery creature from Scottish folklore, and an interesting one at that (to me, anyway!) because of her complexity.

She can be either benevolent or malevolent, depending on her mood. On one hand, she is known to be a protectress of domestic animals, like horses and cattle. She even watches over children while mothers milk the cows and fathers tend the herds.

In gratitude - and to keep her content - the local townsfolk would pour out an offering of milk into a hollowed-out stone for her to drink. She's not big on practical jokes, however; one legend tells of a local teenage boy who poured boiling milk into the stone, burning the Glaistig. Needless to say, she moved on to antoher village.

Other legends depict the Glaistig as a mortal woman who became a Faery after begging the Fae to make her one. She dedicated herself to watching over her village's cattle, until a farmer greatly offended her. At which time she took to using her beauty and beguiling voice to throw travellers off the path, or lure men into dark caves where she would drink their blood.

It just goes to show, hell hath no fury like a Glaistig scorned! :)

Have a great weekend!

Souce: Wikipedia

Creature Feature: Selkies

2007-07-31T14:59:00.000-07:00

Selkies are a mythological race of seals who shed their skin to take human form. According to one website, they are gentle creatures, with the ability to transform from seals into beautiful, lithe humans. Some tales say they could transform only once a year, usually Midsummer's Eve, while others state it could be “every ninth night” or “every seventh stream”.

One thing common in most of the legends is the power of their seal skins. If the skins were stolen or lost, the selkie could never return to the sea. The hansome selkie males were blamed for a lot of dallying about with mortal maids and were said to be very handsome indeed. Selkie women were often the tragic figures of trickery where a mortal man would steal her seal skin and force her to marry him. Often those legends ended sadly when one of her children would return the stolen skin and either return with her to the sea or stay with the human father on land forevermore.

Either way, selkies in human form were said to be beautiful and almost irresistable to the opposite sex. Maybe that's why there have been a few romance novels with selkie heroes of late. Writers looking for new kinds of shapeshifters to write about have rediscovered the selkie and all the magic they possess.

Thirteen Ways to Leave Your Fantasy Lover

2007-07-26T00:01:00.000-07:00

Thirteen Ways to Leave Your Fantasy Lover

This is a public service announcement for all fantasy and paranormal romance heroines and heroes. We realize you believe you’ve found your Happily Ever After with the (insert supernatural species here) of your wildest dreams. However, we at the Paranormal Extended Romance Protection Society (PERPS, for short) know that not all human/other relationships perform as advertised. (If they did, we wouldn’t have sequels, now would we?)

With that in mind, the governing bodies of PERPS prepared the following handy guide for ending unwonted relationships with a person or persons of Otherworld origins:

1. Vampire - Stake the heart. (The wooden kind is best. Steak on the heart only makes them more amorous.)

2. Werewolf - Shoot with silver. (A sterling dinner fork may be used as a projectile, but make sure the tines are pointed away from you. Do not use knives, except per 5. below. The blades are invariably cold steel.)

3. Selkie - Burn the pelt. (The order is crucial here. Pelting with Burns will only compound the problem. Robert will want to write a poem about it, and George is simply too nice.)

4. Angel - Tear off wings. (Practice on flies and work your way up.)

5. Fairy/Elf - Cold iron on the pillow. (Preferably the skillet you used to bash the fae’s head in.)

6. Devil - Douse with holy water. (Bathtubs with tile surrounds are ideal for containing the combustion but require large quantities of blessed water for optimum performance--which can be difficult to procure beforehand, given this subject’s well-deserved reputation for paranoia.)

7. Dragonslayer - Feed to dragon. (Serve raw.)

8. Enchanted Beast - Trash the rose garden. (If you choose to pursue a chemical solution, avoid commercial preparations that target only the weeds.)

9. Dragon - Feed him/her a fire extinguisher. (Also serve raw.)

10. Merman - Surround the bed with dehumidifiers. (Remove all moisturizers from vicinity beforehand.)

11. Frog Prince - Introduce him to the cook. (A nice butter sauce is always a good choice.)

12. Gold-spinning Dwarf - Announce his/her on The View. (Remember to obtain free samples for producers and hosts before filming.)

13. Change the Locks - The governing bodies of PERPS neglected this critical step. That’s why they’re bodies…
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Judging Books By Their Covers

2007-07-24T22:39:00.000-07:00

What do editors talk about when nobody’s around? If they’re anything like Paula Guran (editor of Juno Books) and me (former editor of Crescent Blues) they talk art, specifically cover art.

Granted, with any kind of fiction, the words between the covers ultimately determine whether a book rises up the bestseller charts, falls into the remainder bins or hangs around forever to plague generations of defenseless high school students. But it takes years to become a classic on word of mouth and only an instant for a buyer to pick up or discard a book based on visual impressions.

A good cover provides a snapshot of the contents. Dragons and pointy-eared types typify high fantasy. Urban fantasy covers come in dark blues, grays and reds -- with a generous dash of man titty or bun-age if they’re shooting for the erotic market. Other genres show their colors in similar ways. Who can forget the cartoon-style covers used on a decade’s worth of comic romances? Cozy mystery covers feature pets or inviting interiors, while thrillers showcase empty street scenes with lots of shadows.

A striking cover draws the reader’s eye, inviting the reader to pick up the book, check out the back cover, maybe scan a few pages. In the absence of a major review or personal recommendation, the lure of the cover is a book’s single most important selling point. Michael Whelan’s art, for example, is credited with boosting more than a few writers’ careers. Rowena’s art is closely associated with Anne McCaffrey. Charles De Lint and Jacqueline Carey both benefited from cover art by John Jude Palencar. Stephanie Pui-Moon Law’s covers helped make visual sense of the complex world Catherine Asaro created in her Aronsdale romantic fantasies. Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman swear by Larry Elmore.

Covers are a major selling point for booksellers too -- and they’re even pickier than readers. Their cover commandments come down to a list of no-s. No white covers -- they get dirty too fast. No step-backs or cut-outs -- they tear. No sealed packaging -- people won’t buy the book once the cellophane’s torn. A bad cover (by their definition) won’t necessarily prevent a bookseller from ordering a book. But it will work against re-orders and increase the number of returns -- something writers and publishers would really like to prevent.

Covers do more than just define a book, however. They also make an important statement about the publisher. A professional looking cover equates in readers’, booksellers’ and distributors’ eyes to a professional publisher. Nothing -- not even bad editing -- says “amateur” as fast as the dead mannequin stare of an un-retouched Poser(TM) image.

At the American Library Association conference Paula and I were congratulating ourselves on having lucked out in the cover department. Timothy Lantz has done fabulous work for Juno, while Samhain Publishing artist Anne Cain gave With Nine You Get Vanyr a cover equally attractive to men and women. This is the second time I’ve been blessed with cover magic. My nonfiction book, Illumina: The Art of J.P. Targete, featured J.P. Targete's fabulous painting of a woman turning into a cat. Women take one look at the cover and immediately want to know where they can buy the model’s dress. Men want to buy the model a drink. But regardless of gender, once somebody sees the cover, the book is halfway to the cash register.

Not only that, the way J.P. finessed the transformation of woman to cat became a model for the metamorphoses in Vanyr. For me, that’s the best part of the whole deal. Cover and book become part of a larger conversation between writers, artists and our audiences. Inspiration flows in all directions. Artists draw from our word paintings and, in turn, give us ideas for more stories, which hopefully inspire readers and viewers to become creators themselves.

J.P. saw this firsthand when Ace Books commissioned him to paint the cover for Douglas Niles’ The Circle at Center, the first book in Doug’s Seven Circles Trilogy. J.P. took the guidelines provided by Ace’s art department and created a luminous, magical landscape people by the non-human races described in the publisher’s material. The cover was an instant hit and won him a Chesley, the highest award presented by the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists.

There was just one (not really) problem. Aside from the woman who is the painting’s focus, Doug didn’t recognize any of his characters in the creatures J.P. painted. But he liked J.P.’s critters so well, he used them as the basis of a new race, which played a key role in the final book of the trilogy.

Now that’s what I call a positive feedback loop.

[P.S. The lovely painting, which I can't seem to figure out a way to write a cutline for is Shared Dreams, (c) Anne Cain, 2007, coming soon to the WardSmith web site. But you saw it here first.]

Torc's Salvation Win

2007-07-22T22:46:00.000-07:00

My co-written author ego, Melany Logen, won 3rd place in the futuristic/sci-fi/fantasy category of the 2006 Passionate Plume for Torc's Salvation.

Congrats to all the winners and finalists in the 2006 Passionate Plume! *Tosses colored confetti*

Until later~
Mel

EEEEK!

2007-07-21T08:17:00.001-07:00

In the middle of chapter 4 of "HP and the Deathly Hallows", my laptop beeped at me.

It was a reminder that I was supposed to blog today! Uh... [glancing regretfully at the book, which already holds the imprints of my clutching fingers on the cover]

Christine Norris has a lovely post over on the Beyond the Veil blog today, and expresses my feelings about the books much better than I could.

How dorky is my family about these books? Um, well, I, my daughter and my husband each have our own copies. In the past we bought one copy and passed it around. Not this time!

Last night was kind of bittersweet. As we stood in line at Meijer's (a big grocery/discount store chain) with three carts of groceries worth $30 each - we got a dicount on the book if we bought groceries - it was a lot less fun than past HP releases. Although the store had a party, a cake, a costume contest, etc., it wasn't the same.

In the little town where we used to live, we had an independent bookstore on the quaint town square that threw a big party with every release. It would close early that day in anticipation of re-opening at midnight. I, my daughter, and her three closest friends (I call them my auxiliary daughters) always set up camp at some ungodly early hour, like 7 p.m., right outside the front door.

For three straight HP releases, we were first in line. We spent our time cautiously sampling Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans (actually, soap isn't half bad), handing out samples of warm butterbeer to other people who showed up (I found a recipe - disgusting), waving at truck drivers who honked, dancing, playing HP board games, listening to the HP movie soundtrack on my van's stereo, watching the movies on someone's laptop, and running across the street to get coffee and hot chocolate.

We would press our noses against the bookstore's decorated front window, dark except for a single candle which illuminated the waiting stack of books. So close, so far away!

This is the miracle of JK Rowling's books. For any other book release, would multiple generations of families have come together to party and celebrate like this? Does any other book series in recent memory have the ability to provide a common ground for families to come together. Who can watch a mother and her normally-sullen teenage children discuss the books with equal excitement, and not realize what miracle this is?

OK, enough of this. I really must get back to reading now... my daughter is already a hundred pages ahead of me!

Becka's World Building Workshop ~ Post #4

2007-07-18T08:23:00.000-07:00

This is part FOUR of my SEVEN part World Building Workshop. This series will be posted every two weeks. If you've missed the previous issues, here are the links to them:

World Building Workshop Post #1

World Building Workshop Post #2

World Building Workshop Post #3

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CROPS AND CREATURES

For those making a Sci-fi world, this section might not be as important to you, but you might want to read along regardless.

In your world, you might want to create unique crops or creatures. You might have orchards of white apples or elves and fairies. Do unicorns exist? Dragons? Orcs? Goblins? What about other strange creatures? How about extremely large birds? Harpies?

Maybe you could have mutants as well. Could centaurs be the product of magic gone awry? For those doing a Sci-Fi, you could have mutant people or maybe even creatures in the same way the movie "Total Recall" had. Remember because they were breathing tainted air they became mutants? Has that happened on your isolated lunar colony?

Now the fun with this section is if one of your characters somehow get sucked from our present day world into this strange new fantasy world you've created. How would someone react to seeing a faun for the first time?

Create creatures and plant life to thrive in your world and put them in regions on your terrain map. Perhaps your white apples only grow in a small isolated orchard high in the mountains. Now why are these apples special? Because they provide long life to any who eat them. So they would probably be in high demand at the royal court, right?

Well, you can see where the imagination might run away with you on that. But go with it! Whatever creatures or plant life you create can be easily written into the history of your world which is one of the upcoming topics I'm planning on talking about later on.What makes your world unique? Is it filled with magical creatures? Mutants? Strange creatures that might 'almost' look like our own terrestrial animals?

Believe it or not, once you have this outlined, a history is much easier to write, as you can weave the creatures into the background of your world. You can weave folk tales around the unicorns that live in the forest. Legends surrounding the elusive white apple. :)

You never know. So be fruitful and multiply! :)

~~Becka

Fair Folk

2007-07-17T05:14:00.000-07:00

Did our ancestors call these mythological creatures "fair" because they were beautiful or because our ancestors were begging them to be fair in their dealings? That's kind of a tricky question that popped up while I was doing some research for my next Dragon Knights novel. Perhaps I'm sheltered, but I always thought the term "Fair Folk" was simply another name for elves, fairies, and the like. I thought it had something to do with their reputed beauty, or maybe their complexion - which might be a holdover from Tolkein's elves in my mind.

I've come to find that the term might actually be a bit more sinister in nature than I believed. By naming them "fair," perhaps our ancestors were employing a bit of wishful thinking. They hoped calling them "fair" would make them deal fairly with the human population. There are so many legends about changling babies and fey folk playing tricks on humanity, this explanation of the name bears some thought.

Still, I think I'd rather live in my little Polyanna world and believe the word "fair" refers to their coloring and/or countenance. In my books, at least, that's the way I'm going to take it. You heard it here first - and it's something of a spoiler - the next Dragon Knights novel, FireDrake, will feature a race of magical warriors known as the Fair Folk. Mine will be easy on the eyes and lethal - a fascinating combination. As to how they deal with humanity? Whether it's "fair" or not, remains to be seen...

From Sanbao to Sinbad: China’s Contribution to the Arabian Nights

2007-07-10T21:57:00.000-07:00

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck and lays eggs like a duck, why do some people insist on telling you it’s a turkey?

No, this isn’t a political rant. I post very few of those, and never here. This has to do with my love-hate relationship with academia, specifically academic tunnel-vision. For every scholar like Adrienne Mayor, who actually reads what ancient and medieval writers wrote, there seem to be a thousand who are more interested in pedantry than possibility.

Case in point: Sinbad--he of the Seven Voyages, not the stand-up comedian.

Everybody knows the basic outline of Sinbad’s story. Starting from nothing, a young man becomes a wealthy and respected merchant after seven fabulous voyages take him to the ends of the earth--with a lot of stops for gold, girls and monsters along the way.

The accounts of the individual voyages show a variety of influences, from Greek mythology to Islamic theology garbled accounts of African and Asian fauna. But according to all “serious” scholars, the origin of the name Sinbad and why he had seven voyages (and not three or nine or fifteen like other Arabian Nights’ tales) is “lost in the mists of time”.

Of course, doesn’t stop scholars from trying to sell etymologies based on the old name of the Indus River, the Persian word for “region” and lots of specious Sanskrit. Not to mention lengthy articles on the mystical significance of the number seven. (Lesson to remember: whenever a scholar drags out the Sanskrit and numeric symbolism, run. He or she is trying to sell you the post-doctoral equivalent of land in the Florida swamps.)

This is where the duck quacks in. In 2005, “China’s Great Armada”, a National Geographic article by Frank Viviano, suggested the great Ming Dynasty admiral Zheng He might have been one of the prototypes for the character of Sinbad.

At first the idea seems absurd. Then the facts roll in. Despite the name (which was given to him by a grateful emperor after he reached adulthood), Zheng He was not Chinese. He was a Central Asian Muslim captured and enslaved as a child by the Chinese army, who rose on his own merits to become one of the principal advisors of Emperor Yongle.

Zheng He’s main claim to fame are the seven voyages he undertook in his emperor’s service, voyages which sent him--like Sinbad--to the fabulous lands of Sumatra, Java, India, Ceylon and East Africa. These voyages were designed to “show the flag” and obtain treasure through trade and diplomatic maneuvering, not conquest. The main object of the sixth voyage, for example, was to secure that rare and most fantastical animal, the ultimate harbinger of peace and prosperity in Chinese folklore of the time, a.k.a. the giraffe.

Zheng He also used the voyages to spread Chinese culture in all its stunning diversity. He commissioned statues of Buddha and the Taoist goddess of the sea. He served as a benefactor to Chinese Muslims, settling large communities in major ports of call along all his routes. His adventures so captivated so many people he remained a folk hero to Chinese communities throughout Asia even after he slipped from the rolls of most official histories. You couldn’t ask for a more fertile breeding ground for legends and tall tales. Think of all the other popular heroes you never read about in school--Robin Hood and King Arthur, for example.

But oddly enough--other than the fact he made seven voyages--the best, most telling connection to Sinbad is Zheng He’s original name. In Pinyin, the simplified Chinese phonetic alphabet, it is rendered "Ma Sanbao".

Roll “Sanbao” around your mouth a couple times. Next, imagine a transcontinental game of telephone, where everybody’s doing their best to repeat the same word but nobody has quite the same set of phonics.

The idea that over time names slip and slide into something which only faintly resembles the original is a well-known literary phenomenon. It’s one of the things that make it so difficult to parse out the historical bases of the Arthurian legends. For example, one of the few touchstones of Dark Age British history is the man Gildas and Bede call Ambrosius Aurelianus. He plays a major role in all the Arthurian legends, but unless you understand how the early Welsh mangled--er, transmitted Latin names, you might night recognize him. They call him “Emrys”.

Sanbao. Sinbad. Starts to look a lot better, doesn’t it?

But…but…Sinbad lives in Baghdad during the time of the great caliph Haroun al-Rashid! So does nearly everyone else in the Arabian Nights--including characters based on real people who lived in entirely different centuries. The Baghdad of Haroun al-Rashid was the Camelot of the medieval Arabian world. If it was fantasy, it had to be set there. No other place or time would do.

What about the roc and the Cyclops mentioned in Sinbad’s Third Voyage? I didn’t say Zheng He was the only model for Sinbad, just that he’s the most compelling and provides the best historical precedent for the Seven Voyage structure.

The great compendiums of folklore and legendary material--such as the Arabian Nights, the Brothers Grimm and the Matter of Britain--seldom derive from a single literary or oral source. They are the distillations of popular culture. The stories they encompass are constantly evolving and moving back and forth between literary and oral traditions.

Terri Windling’s "Folkroots" feature in the August 2007 Realms of Fantasy shows how this plays out in the story of Rapunzel. In the 19th century, the Brothers Grimm presented the story as a German folk tale. But in fact, the current form of the story derives from “Persinette”, an adult fairy tale written by Charlotte-Rose de la Force in late 17th century Paris.

According to Daniel Beaumont, the same forces were at work in the creation of the Arabian Nights. His introduction to Slave of Desire: Sex, Death, and Love in the 1001 Arabian Nights cites several examples of fables being transformed into fictions which are later quoted as “true events”, which happened to someone with a distant connection to the writer. (Urban legends, anyone? There really isn’t anything new anywhere under the sun.)

In addition, the story of Sinbad’s Seven Voyages doesn't appear to have been part of the earliest versions of the Arabian Nights. Most importantly for the Ma Sanbao/Sinbad connection, it doesn’t appear in the 14th century manuscript which leading Arabian Nights' scholars consider the definitive medieval version of the collection.

But then few of the best stories do. Certainly not the ones (like the story of Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp) which display a distinct Chinese connection. Those stories don’t appear in Arabian Nights’ manuscripts until the 16th or 17th centuries--more than enough time for storytellers to embroider the original source material almost beyond recognition.

So why is it only the non-academic writers who admit the connection? Why does the theory appear to have no credibility among serious academics? Where is the scholar--or student or demented amateur with way too much time on their hands--to run all the tantalizing bits of evidence to the ground? Won’t somebody please take up the challenge of identifying all the ingredients in the glorious stew, how Zheng He’s treasure fleet--complete with concubines and Chinese marines--took a left turn at some medieval Arabic version of Albuquerque and wound up sailing with Odysseus?

I want to read it, dang it. I don’t want to have to go out there and write it myself.

Though the part about the Chinese marines and the concubines shows definite promise. Maybe on the island that’s also a whale…

Additional references (from Wikipedia):

Arabian Nights

Sinbad

Zheng He

Balancing writing with life?

2007-07-09T16:06:00.000-07:00

Now, I must admit completing stories is where discipline comes in. Over the years I've gotten into a groove. If I'm at the computer...75% of the time I'm trying to write. The other 25% I'm dealing with e-mail, promotion, blogging, critiquing, or checking out what's going on in my groups. If I'm not dealing with writing I'm not in my computer chair.

For sometime now, I've been writing with goals and unless a writing project gets shuffled around I stick to them for the most part. I have two goal buddies. Mechele Armstrong http://mechelearmstrong.com/ and Rebecca Airies http://www.rebeccaairies.net/ . Once a week we check in to announce our goals and then we tell one another how we did on them. If we don't make the goal, we explain why. I sometimes feel more obligated reporting into them. I've gotten a lot out of my goal buddies We cheer one another on, and encourage one another when it's needed.

I'm one of those writers who works around the needs of others. Some days I can be in and out and back into my chair several times during a session trying to get some word count down. I have four children and two parents I police. So, finding writing time isn't easy, but I manage around my family. My husband is a huge help, especially when he knows I'm under a deadline or have edits. I couldn't write without his support.

What's your schedule? Do you have a routine or simply plug along?

Until later~
Mel
http://melissa-lopez.com/

Mexican Witches

2007-07-07T00:01:00.000-07:00

Hi! I’m Margo Lukas and I’m subbing for Carolan today. I hope she’s having fun doing what she’s doing, because I’m spending the day in 90 degree weather selling Gatorade at a livestock show! Ugh.

I’m a fellow author over at Samhain and my book Half Moon Rising came out in ebook this past March and will be out in print in October. But enough about me…

This is a bizarre video I found that supposedly shows a witch circling a Mexican cemetery. It’s crazy. http://www.neatorama.com/2007/07/04/witch-caught-on-video-terrorizing-mexican-town

It’s at a site called “Neatorama”. Of course it’s going to be good!

I’m doing some preliminary research on an upcoming book and here are some things I found out about Mexican witches:

They are mostly men, but there are some women.
They practice one of these types of magic: white, red (the good ones) or black (the bad one).
Good witches heal.
They can’t wear gold.
They can’t get married, but they are allowed to have as many girlfriends/boyfriends as they want.
Tuesdays and Fridays are the best days to cast spells.
Their roots go back to both Mayan and Aztec lore.

I’m not sure if all that will find its way into my book, but it’s interesting stuff to read. Sela Ward did an interesting blog on Central American myths on Beyond the Veil. If you liked this post you might want to check it out.

Happy Saturday and best of luck to the legions of people getting married on this luckiest of days :)
~Margo

Becka's World Building Workshop ~ Post #3

2007-07-03T23:05:00.000-07:00

This is part THREE of my SEVEN part World Building Workshop. This series will be posted every two weeks. If you missed the previous issues, here are the links to them:

World Building Workshop Post #2

World Building Workshop Post #1

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ECONOMY, TRADE, & MONEY

Once you have your world's name, your government, your terrain, and map all planned out, its time to think of your economy. I'm not necessarily talking about stocks and all the good stuff going on at Wall Street, although you are certainly welcome to implement that idea if you want to.

I'm simply talking about where does your country get it's goods? Do the local farmers supply fruits and grain? Do your spices come from overseas? How do goods travel from town to town? Are there trains in your world? Magical portals? Advanced "Star Trek" technology such as "beaming" and whatnot?

What kind of money system do you have in your world? Paper dollars or just coins? While this might not enter into your story too much, it's still a good idea to think about this, as you can add it in for extra "flavor" to bring a “unique-ness” to your story, or you can make mention of it.

In my world, they only have coins. Copper, silver, and gold. Ten copper = one silver. Ten silver = one gold.

These coins are known as "ladies", a term I *coined* (pun intended haha) after I thought that the face of Lyndaria's first queen was embossed on them. So they are copper ladies, silver ladies, and gold ladies. But think of money in our world. We have dollars, pounds, pesos, Euros... So to make your money system unique and believable, try to think of something similar. You could even do something akin to credit cards, which would make sense in a Sci-fi.

Once your trade routes and money are established, then we're going to move on to fleshing out your world a bit. So tell us all what your thoughts are for money in your world and we'll move on in a little while! :)

~~Becka

My example of Lyndaria comes from my fantasy/romance novels The Legends of Mynos, currently published at http://www.SamhainPublishing.com.

Fourth of July & Fantasy?

2007-07-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the Fourth of July, and so I feel the need to go just a little off-topic and wander through some of the mythology that has arisen around the founding of our country. One of the ideas made popular by recent works of fiction is that Freemasonry played a pivotal role in the birth of the United States. I have an interest in this because my own dear ol' dad is a Master Mason and we've always talked about the various Masonic symbols that crop up in everyday life - like the all-seeing eye on the dollar bill, for example. I also saw a really interesting engraving of George Washington on exhibit during a recent visit to the New York Public Library where our first President was shown surrounded by Masonic symbols, wearing his apron. Fascinating stuff!

But it's really hard for us to know in this day and age just how much of an impact Masonry had on the founders of our country. Like the mythology surrounding the Knights Templar, it's intriguing for those of us who write fiction, but it's a fine line between fiction and fact.

One interesting site I found stated: "Benjamin Franklin was a Freemason whose unique socializing skills included attending gatherings of the English Hell Fire Club, a secret society focused on sex, pornography and politics." (Darn, talk of the Hell Fire Club gives me ideas! But I digress.) ;-) So, according to legend, one of our best-known founding fathers was not only a pious Freemason and serious student of the sciences, but also a bit of a bad boy. Interesting. (Thanks to the Unencyclopedia for the hilarious image.)

Now I have to admit to not having read the Da Vinci Code. Mea culpa. I figure I'll catch the movie when it hits cable. (LOL) But I did read Two Crowns for America by Katherine Kurtz a long time ago. She's not the first, nor the last I'm sure, to intermix real history with interesting ideas that came from the writer's imagination. I think some of the best fantasy mixes real history - or ideas from it - with fantastical ideas straight out of the imagination. Hence the success of things like the Da Vinci Code, Kurtz's Adept series (which I love) and so many other works of fiction.

So in that spirit, Happy Birthday America!

13 Scottish Myths and Legends

2007-06-28T01:38:00.000-07:00

Thirteen Scottish Myths and Legends

1. Black Donald - the devil - who cannot disguise his cloven feet.
2. Boobrie - water-bird of the Scottish Highlands.
3. Brownie - good-natured, invisible brown elves or household goblins. The younger version of the "Girl Guides" in Britain at least, are called "Brownies" for that very reason!
4. Clootie - another Scottish name for the Devil. The name comes from cloot, meaning one division of a cleft hoof.
5. Fachan - one leg, one arm and one eye.
6. Fionn - Scottish/Pictish magician, warrior and poet.
7. Ghillie Dhu - a solitary Scottish elf.
8. Kelpie - a water devil.
9. Lothian - Lothian traditionally takes its name from King Lot and father of Mordred.
10. Monster of Loch Ness - mythical? Surely not.... First seen by St Columba in 565 a.d.
11. Red Cap - lives on the Scottish Border in ancient ruins of castles.
12. Scotia - a goddess but frequently portrayed as an old hag!
13. Selkie - a marine creature in the shape of a seal.
14. Shellycoat - a Scottish bogeyman who haunts the rivers and streams. He is covered with shells, which rattle when he moves.
15. Sidhe the Gaelic name for fairies in both Ireland and the Highlands of Scotland.

Okay, so there's 15. Sue me. :)

Rampant Scotalnd

Trade Show Magic

2007-06-26T21:06:00.000-07:00

Long ago in a continent far, far away, my mother took me to the Frankfurt Book Fair. For a greedy reader like me, it was Hell. All those miles and aisles of books spread out before me like water, water everywhere and nary a tome for sale.

I couldn't believe it. I couldn't understand it. And I drove my mother crazy whining, "But why can't we buy them?"

Her explanations of "floor samples" and "demonstration copies", which could be ordered (in bulk) but not owned because they hadn't been printed yet, didn't make sense. How could the books not be printed yet? They were there, on the shelves, printed and bound and everything.

She might've had an easier time trying to explain the principles behind quantum physics. Or magic, because her explanation turned the books into fairy gifts, phantom objects made of twigs and leaves, which only appeared to be real. Why else would apparently rational grown-ups pay the business-suited sharpers running the booths fantastic sums in Deutschmarks and dollars, then walk away empty-handed--and happy about it? The people paying the money must be under some kind of magic spell. They'd been deceived into buying something that didn't exist because, as everyone kept telling me over and over, none of the books on the shelves were for sale. Still, the salespeople seemed to be making a heck of a lot of money selling the books that didn't exist and weren't for sale.

I pondered this for a few minutes. Mom relaxed. She should've known better. Nothing is potentially more hazardous to a parent's position in the world than a thoughtful child.

After I'd been quiet so long my mom forgot why I'd been fussing in the first place, I opined loudly, in both English and German, this completely legal shell game was infinitely better than the ones my uncles took me to see in Atlantic City and I wanted a piece of it now. Fortunately for both of us, one of the booksellers came to Mom’s rescue by bribing me--er, presenting me a beautifully illustrated book on the Maori. I didn't know the Maori from beans, but the pictures were gorgeous enough to distract me from my pursuit of ultimate riches through the sale of books that didn’t exist and weren’t for sale.

Instead a new monster took up residence in my warped little brain. It whispered in my mind's ear the magic words that make all the women in my family sit up and take notice--and were probably the reason my mom finagled her way into a closed trade show in the first place.

Free Stuff, the monster cooed.

I've been a trade show junkie ever since.

This year, thanks to my brand spanking new RWA Published Author Network membership, I got the opportunity sign copies of With Nine You Get Vanyr at the American Library Association's (ALA's) annual conference. The conference, which ran from June 23-26, was held in the Washington DC Convention Center, home to last year's Book Expo America (BEA).

Although the center's conference rooms were all booked and the center's three-block-long exhibit space was filled to capacity, the ALA conference gave off a very different vibe than BEA's desperate marketing frenzy. Partially it was the lay-out. Aisles were wider. People cruising the displays had the option of strolling, stopping for a chat or snagging a soft pretzel from one of the carts making the rounds.

Google, Ingram, Demco and a few other tech service outfits mounted expansive displays, but they were the exceptions. Publisher stalls were smaller and simpler than they'd been at the 2006 BEA. Simon and Schuster, for example, occupied only a quarter of a single aisle. Harlequin's booth didn't take up too much more floor space than some of the stalls occupied by the independent presses. Inviting arrangements of reading chairs and whimsically upholstered children's furniture (care to recline in a padded notebook?) interrupted the booths at convenient intervals.

But the more relaxed atmosphere owed a lot to the crowd. As Wildside publisher Sean Wallace said, "ALA is all about readers."

The attending librarians came to look at books, not just for their libraries but also for themselves. The publishers sought to oblige them. There were some giveaways, but not enough to stress about. Most of the books and educational DVDs were for sale at half price or less to anyone attending the show (even stray Vanyr signers). Or free after a certain time on the last day.

Books and DVDs weren't the only things for sale either. I saw South American knits and marbled scarves, writer-themed umbrellas, hand cream, jewelry and the ever-popular book bags--which sold despite the fact that a lot of exhibitors were giving them away.

A purveyor of traditional music CDs and DVDs brought in a country fiddler to serenade the crowd. I caught up with the fiddler as he was launching into a reel. A little boy no older than four stood at the man's feet. The child stared, enraptured, as the fiddle dipped and swayed in the fiddler's hands. Music spilled from the strings in sparkling, almost visible, waves.

When the reel spun to rest and the small crowd's applause broke the spell, the little boy blinked and jerked his head like someone waking from a charmed sleep. Watching the child's reactions, I understood why people said the Devil was a fiddler. The little boy was enthralled as surely as anyone captured by a sorcerer's magic spell.

We tend to dismiss fantasy as an escape, the outgrowth of super-heated imaginations inalterably opposed to the boring world of monthly bills, interchangeable offices, annoying bosses and rush hour traffic. How can the extraordinary possibly co-exist with the cash register? Yet there in the middle of book sales and CD racks, right in front of who knows how many rational, responsible, tax-paying grown-ups, a fiddler bewitched a child--and the rest of us right along with him.

Not only that, they were selling those books that didn't exist too. I was standing in the booth when it happened, just like I did in Germany all those years ago.

Who says fairy gifts aren't real?

What's your fantasy?

2007-06-26T06:10:00.000-07:00

Noooooooooooo!! DON'T start posting yet! I don't mean THAT kind of fantasy!
*whew*

First, open this link in a new tab or a new window so you can refer to it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_subgenres

Now! What's your fantasy?
*glowers at the smart aleck who is still typing 'two women, one bed, and silk scarves'*
Not. That. Fantasy!

There are some 19 different fantasy subgenres listed at Wikipedia. And I'm wondering, what's your favourite? What books do you have in the genre which you love? Why do you like that one?
Yes, I'm being nosey today :)

Summer Solstice Creature Feature

2007-06-22T13:13:00.000-07:00

Blessings of Alban Hefin, Midsummer, Litha, Summer Solstice, to Everyone in the Northern Hemisphere!

Blessings of Alban Arthan, Midwinter, Yule, Winter Solstice, to Everyone in the Southern Hemisphere!

As we bask in the warm sunlight of the longest day of the year, amid the green and growing things of summer, it's almost a shock to realize that after today the light will begin dying. The Oak King has reached the height of his strength, but even now the Holly King is stirring, beginning to stalk the Oak King in his quest to rule over the long dark winter. The endless cycle of birth and death continues.

The Holly King and Oak King are the twin faces of the Horned God, each ruling over the dark and light halves of the year. They are in a perpetual duel for the favor of the Goddess, and each ritually dies at the end of his season. But neither one is truly dead, he merely withdraws for six months, some say to Caer Arianrhod, the Castle of the ever-turning Silver Wheel. This is the enchanted realm of the Goddess Arianrhod where the god must wait and learn before being born again.

Source: Earth Witchery

Summer Solstice Recipe

ORANGE HONEY BUTTER

2 Tablespoons Grated Orange Rind
3 Tablespoons Powdered Sugar
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
1 Tablespoon honey

Combine the orange rind, powdered sugar, butter and honey in a small bowl and blend until well mixed. Chill slightly and serve with scones or biscuits. Recipe courtesy Red Deer & Elenya.

Ellora's Cavemen: Seasons of Seduction II (Viking's Pledge by Melany Logen)

2007-06-21T14:18:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited!

Mista is terrified of her master, the warrior Raynor. Yet he has never touched her in any way, only offered her his protection. When he returns from a six-month voyage, however, his lust is uncontrollable—and Mista finds him irresistible. But a slave is not a suitable wife for a warrior, and her longing for her native Ireland is more than she can bear.

Raynor will give her anything, including her freedom. As the time approaches for her to return to her homeland, though, Mista realizes she might have given up the only home she knows—or wants.

Check it out!

Melissa

Thirteen Fantasy Cliches

2007-06-21T05:58:00.000-07:00

13 Fantasy Clichés

By now, we’ve all read a fantasy novel (I hope) at some point in our lives. Perhaps you can relate to some of these clichés we’ve all come to know and love-- clichés that have now become staples to the genre.
1.) At some point during the story, the characters will either meet and/or discuss battle tactics in a tavern.
2.) This tavern will also have an inn attached so the characters can stay the night.
3.) Hero/heroine grows up in a tavern/inn.
4.) Mysterious, dark riders will show up to heighten tension.
5.) Hero/heroine’s family will be killed, thus forcing them on a life-threatening adventure.
6.) Hero/heroine is already an orphan, thus forcing them on a life-threatening adventure.
7.) The unlikeliest, poorest, or least experienced person will become the hero/heroine of the story, and the fate of the world is in their hands.
8.) The fantasy plot will be nothing less than total annihilation to king and country if the hero/heroine should fail their mission.
9.) There’s usually only one last dragon left in the world, one last wizard who knows the secret magics, or one last person who can wield the Mighty Uber Sword of Destiny.
10.) Elves will somehow be involved.
11.) Hero/heroine will go through some hellish ordeals throughout their plot, and will no longer be the fun-loving happy-go-lucky character of Chapter One.
12.) In fact, hero/heroine will become pensive and moody and wish things could go back to the way they were.
13.) At the end of the story, hero/heroine will either BE royalty, or so highly revered they might as well be royalty.

And there you have it. Thirteen clichés of the fantasy genre, whether it be straight fantasy, or fantasy romance. :)
~~Becka
http://www.RebeccaGoings.com

Becka's World Building Workshop ~ Post #2

2007-06-20T08:09:00.000-07:00

This is the second post of an ongoing 7-part series. The first post can be found at:

http://fantasyandenchantment.blogspot.com/2007/06/beckas-world-building-workshop-post-1.html

~*~*~

WBW Post #2

TERRAIN AND MAPS

After you name your world and think of it's government (you don't need to go into details right now, just decide if it's a monarchy, a democracy, a dictatorship, etc...), then you need to think of the terrain.

One of the easiest things to do for this exercise is to literally draw yourself a map. Now, since no one else is going to see this map, you don't have to worry about it being artistically perfect. :) All you want to do is lay out mountain ranges, rivers, oceans, lakes, and maybe the locations of some cities.

Now you can name these as you go, our you can name them at a later date, but terrain can give you some wonderful ideas on your world's history, as well as trade routes and port cities.

In my world's terrain, I have two mountain ranges, one set is called The King's Mountains and the other set is called The Mountains of the Night. They are also known as The Dragon's Death Mountains. Now, my second mountain range has two names due to some local folklore, which you can think of later when we cover your world's history. But for right now, I want to give you some ideas of what I've done.

There's a road in Lyndaria called the Merchant Road, the main road that leads goods from the coast inland to other cities, branching out in all directions. The castle sits on the top of high cliffs that overlook the pounding waves of the Silver Sea.

Names of my cities include:

Marynville
Stollinshire
Winterborne
Breckenwood
Tabrinth
Korenth
Krey

You get the idea. Names of cities don't have to be all that spectacular. Some of the cities named above are actually small villages. So you can decide whether they are large cities or small hamlets. I also have a few lakes and rivers dotting the landscape. You're going to want to plot out your world so you can better understand distances between two points if your characters decide to travel and also to know where they are going.

Don't worry about naming your terrain at the moment unless you want to. I know some people are horrified at the thought of naming even their H and h! lol But just do a sketch of your world's terrain so you can better understand your world and invent a history and customs and peoples. Names can come later.

So bust out the blank paper and colored pencils and start coloring! Decide where you want your terrain to go and then we can move on to the next step!

~~Becka
http://www.rebeccagoings.com/

My example of Lyndaria comes from my fantasy/romance novels The Legends of Mynos, currently published at http://www.SamhainPublishing.com.

Urban Fantasy Anyone?

2007-06-19T01:30:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's just me, but I have a really hard time categorizing my own writing. I've been thinking lately about what constitutes the subset of fantasy known loosely as Urban Fantasy. I looked up the term and found a somewhat weak Wiki entry as well as an amusing entry that lays it out like this:

"The Inaccurate yet Simple Definition: A fantasy story set on "modern" Earth."

I can buy that - to a point. For some reason, I've always associated a "dark" feeling with Urban Fantasy as well. I'm not sure if it's entirely accurate with the way other folks perceive the genre, and I'm not entirely sure if a story has to be dark to qualify as Urban Fantasy, but it's a feeling I have. Am I far off the mark?

Nevertheless, I'm working on a few stories that just might qualify as Urban Fantasy. That's what started this whole analysis. See, in order to pitch a book to an editor or agent, you really have to know how to describe it. I am THE WORST at figuring out what genres/styles my writing fits into because I'm just too close to it to be objective.

So here's a question - would you consider a story with werecreatures and magic, set in the contemporary world to be Urban Fantasy or paranormal, and how in the world does one distinguish the two? I'm really curious to hear other people's thoughts on this as I try to reason it out myself.

Thursday Thirteen: Magical Cats

2007-06-13T17:57:00.000-07:00

1. Puss in Boots

2. Dick Whittington’s Cat

3. The Catbus in Hayao Miyazaki’s movie My Neighbor Totoro

4. Maneki Neko, the Japanese lucky cat with an upraised paw

5. The Norse goddess Freyja’s nine, horse-sized winged cats, which draw her chariot

6. Aslan the Lion in C.S. Lewis’s Narnia stories

7. Yoruichi Shihouin, ex-commander of the Shinigami special forces in the anime Bleach

8. Austin in Tanya Huff’s Keeper’s Chronicles trilogy

9. The Cheshire Cat in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland

10. Cait Sidhe, the cat spirit of the Scottish Highlands

11. Solembum in Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance Trilogy

12. The Cat in the Hat in Dr. Seuss’s stories

13. And the most magical of all…your cat.

Who Says You Can't Teach An Old Myth New Tricks

2007-06-12T22:22:00.000-07:00

Move over Indiana Jones, I’ve found a new hero. Only Adrienne Mayor isn’t the kind of hero who slays monsters. Instead, she brings them to life, overturning a lot of what we thought we knew about the ancient Greece and Rome along the way.

Most modern historians and students of mythology dismissed the fabulous creatures described by Homer and other ancient writers as the products of overheated imaginations, too much wine or bad grain. At best, they were considered metaphors for whirlpools or thunderstorms or other natural phenomena the ancients probably understood almost as well as the average non-scientific American.

Mayor, like Heinrich Schliemann (the discoverer of Troy) before her, took a different tack. She wondered if the legends might be telling it straight. The accounts of giant bones uncovered at the sites of legendary battles during the height of the Greek and Roman eras were too numerous, too full of detail and simply too boring to dismiss. The same applied to reports of the remains of gigantic heroes venerated at ancient temples.

Then there was the peculiar depiction of “The Monster of Troy” on a Corinthian vase painted around 550 B.C. Most of the vase is decorated in the beautiful, stylized black on red figures familiar to lovers of classical Greek art. In comparison, the “monster” is white and ungainly, and hangs at an odd angle from its supposed lair. Mayor wondered if, instead of a living creature emerging from a cave, it might be an early depiction of a fossilized skull embedded in a cliff face.

To test her theories, Mayor tracked down the scant remains of the temple caches. Working with paleontologists who specialize in mainland Greece and islands of the Aegean Sea, she developed a model of what kinds of fossils the ancients might have found. She also identified some of the places where they would’ve found them--places which remain rich sources of fossils even today.

Mayor realized the fossils of prehistoric mammals found on a number of Greek islands could be mistaken for the remains of misshapen, bipedal giants. After all, one mammalian thigh bone--or spine or rib or hip bone--looks pretty much like another, regardless of size. The skulls of mammoths and mastodons don’t have eyes in the front. They boast a single center-front opening where the trunk would be attached in a living animal. If you tilt the skull so the pits where the tusks are attached become the “jawline” and assemble the rest of the skeleton as if it walked on two feet, you’ve got a perfect model for Homer’s monstrous, one-eyed Cyclops.

In addition, Mayor’s research uncovered connections between ancient descriptions of griffins and the remains of Protoceratops dinosaurs discovered by ancient gold prospectors in central Asia. The Monster of Troy turned out to be a rendering of a large prehistoric mammal’s skull so exact modern paleontologists had no trouble identifying the species.

What makes Mayor’s odyssey through Greek mythology even more strange and wonderful is her background. She isn’t an archaeologist or anthropologist or even a paleontologist. She’s a late-blooming folklorist who worked most of her professional life as a printmaker and copy editor. She doesn’t have any advanced degrees and didn’t even consider writing a book until she was over fifty. Yet she’s now a visiting scholar at Stanford University with publication credits most tenured professors would envy. She’s even got her very own episode of the History Channel’s History’s Mysteries, "Ancient Monster Hunters".

Talk about a role model for the ages. Mayors is living my favorite Robert Browning line: “The best is yet be.” Not to mention sending my plot bunnies into overdrive.

For more information, check out:

Adrienne Mayor's Stanford Page

Adrienne Mayor's Home Page

Adrienne Mayor's Wiki

New York Times Feature on Adrienne Mayor

I seriously have no words

2007-06-12T09:08:00.000-07:00

This is my fabulous new cover, created for me by the fabulous Anne Cain.

Movie sleuth:

2007-06-11T11:45:00.000-07:00

Romantictimes has a section called book sleuth. So, today I’m going to make use of your great minds. I’m on a mission to discover a title of a movie I once saw years ago on television with my dh. We both enjoyed it, but neither of us retained the title.

All I can really remember is the story plot contained a romance! There was magic and a curse, both elements of a fantasy. The setting was ancient, or possibly medieval. Oh, a big clue I hope will jog some memories…one of the couple suffered a curse of being an eagle or falcon.

Can you help me with the title? And please share with us one of your favorite fantasy movies?

Until later~
Mel

Quiz Fun: What Fantasy Character Are You?

2007-06-09T00:49:00.000-07:00

I ended up being Gandalf! It figures that I'm the old, crinkly wizard instead of the young and beautiful Arwen, or the powerful and mysterious Galadriel. LOL

"A wandering spirit caring for a multitude of just concerns, you are an instrumental power in many of the causes around you."

And so am I, very dangerous: more dangerous than anything you will ever meet, unless you are brought alive before the seat of the Dark Lord.

Click on the picture to take the quiz!

13 reasons it'd be fun to be an evil witch

2007-06-06T18:04:00.000-07:00

Nope, I'm not. Really. I'm NOT! Stop laughing ;)

Ok. Here are 13 reasons it'd be fun to be the (stereotypical) bad gal instead of the sweet heroine in a fantasy book.

13. You don't have to be a virgin like the heroine does.
12. When people piss you off, you can turn them into frogs.
11. You get some truly kickass dialogue. (usually offset by some really cheesy dialogue, but we're looking at the positive side of things here.)
10. Usually there's some prophecy to warn you of danger coming, so you should be able to get out of its way.
9. You're beautiful. And really, who doesn't want to be one of the Pretty Girls, at least for a little while?
8. Children are afraid of you. (I'm guessing this would make your neighbourhood the quietest one in the world.)
7. You have henchmen. Sure, they're usually ugly kiss-asses, but seriously, who couldn't use a henchman when the toilet clogs or some 'sweet little virgin' comes to dethrone you.
6. UNLIMITED POWER! (This really should count for two reasons. I mean, c'mon, who wouldn't want to fly or read minds or...something!)
5. When you're evil, your conscience doesn't keep you up at night. (take THAT Jiminy Cricket)
4. Hot evil men to 'join forces' with.
3. Everyone knows your name.
2. You can ride a broom. (*picks minds out of the gutter* you dirty thangs!)
1. Being an Evil Witch, you have the freedom to say whatever you want, to whoever you want. And really, that's a power I'd love to have. ;)

Becka's World Building Workshop ~ Post #1

2007-06-06T14:16:00.000-07:00

WBW Post #1

For the next few weeks on my blog days here (every two weeks) on the Fantasy and Enchantment blog, I'm going to be running a feature called Becka's World Building Workshop. There are seven "classes" in all, and I'll be labeling each post with their number and linking back to them so you can find them with ease. Hope you enjoy the workshop!

~*~*~*~

For those of you who might be building a fantasy world or a sci-fi world, or even a world of your own creation for your books, this will be a tremendous help in building up your world and making it "real" for the reader. Even if you do not use all the information you think of in your book, it helps to flesh out your world to the Nth degree, so you know what you're talking about. Believe me, readers "know" when the author isn't "feelin' it". :)

If you would like to follow along and build your world with the workshop, feel free! You can post comments and give updates on how you're doing. :)

We'll be touching on a few of these topics, and we might spend more time on some than others, but we'll give at least a little time to each. We'll start out slow at first and then delve into other aspects as we go along. I'll also be giving you a little homework with each subject for those who'd like to jump in and make their world as we go. It's not going to be too hard, so don't sweat it,
really!

Don't worry, you don't have to do the world building exercises that I lay out if you don't want, but if you do, you can report what you've come up with and share it with us.

We're going to cover:

• Your country or world's name
• You world's history
• Leaders of your country, kings or politicians (hierarchy)
• Your money system (economy, trade, & currency)
• Mountains, valleys, & rivers (terrain & maps)
• Crops & Agriculture
• Races of creatures and customs (culture)

I hope you guys like this idea. :) I held a workshop on world-building once, and people found it informative then. I thought you guys would like some tips as well. I'll be posting some more articles on it as time goes by. :)

Let's get started!

The first thing you should do with your world is name it. This name can be completely made up or based off of something else such as mythology or folktales.

This is probably the easiest part of building a world. I know some of you might be lamenting the thought of naming your world right off the bat, but a good, solid name may give you ideas for your hierarcy and history.

To give my world as a reference, I'll be telling you bits and pieces about it over the course of this workshop. Using it as an example, you might better understand the creation of your own.

My world is known as "Lyndaria". I decided to base it loosly off of Medieval England. With that as a base, I created a line of kings and knights, along with a castle and titled lords, but there is also an element of magic. You may not choose this for yourself, especially if you are into sci-fi, but now is the time to decide what you want to create.

"High fantasy" is a term often used to describe magical worlds such as mine that resemble Medieval times. These worlds are usually heavy with magical influence and have many magical weapons and talismans that can be used by the characters. But you can create anything, from an ice planet to an alternate reality if say, the British had won the Revolutionary War.

You want to think about a feasible name for your world, something that will fit within the setting. If you are writing fantasy, you want your world's name to sound fantastic. Likewise, a Sci-fi world might have a name that fits with our current naming system of planets and moons.

For example, my fantasy world is called "Lyndaria" as I've stated above. Other names from popular fantasies are Xanth, Middle Earth, & Narnia. Sci-fi worlds could be Aphrodite, Pandora, or Hera, keeping with mythological names of gods & goddesses. Other names of Sci-fi worlds from fiction include Arrakis, Abados, & Chulak.

Once your world is named, then think of how you want it ruled. Is it ruled by a king? A president? A dictator? What is the chain of command on your world? Do you have titled lords? Politicians?

When you figure out those two things, then the history of your world should come soon after. But we'll talk about that more in depth in another article. For now, I want you to name your world and chose your hierarcy, whether you are going to base it off of an earth culture either past or present or make up your own system of government.

Once that foundation is laid, then we can move on to the other aspects of world building. Once you think of your name and government, post them here if you'd like. Don't worry about names of leaders and such, as that can be worried about later. Right now, we just want the basic building blocks.

If any of you have questions about naming your world or chosing a government, feel free to post them in this thread as well.

:)

~~Becka

My example of Lyndaria comes from my fantasy/romance novels The Legends of Mynos, currently published at http://www.SamhainPublishing.com.

Creature Feature: Nessie

2007-06-05T08:18:00.000-07:00

The Loch Ness Monster... Nessie... A phantom, long-necked creature rising out of the mists of a dark Scottish lake. Creepy, right?

Many stories have been told over the centuries and many theories exist as to whether or not Nessie really lives deep in the cold waters of Loch Ness.

Some speculate Nessie could be an elasmosaurus, a kind of plesiosaur, or a decendant thereof. They were thought to have become extinct at the same time as most dinosaurs. They were aquatic reptiles with long necks and bodies up to 46 feet long, according to fossil evidence.

Could there be a last lingering few of these creatures living deep in the waters of Loch Ness? It's a tantalizing mystery to ponder. So tell me, do you believe in Nessie?

Bianca D'Arc
Come over to the D'Arc side... www.biancadarc.com

Quick and Easy Post :)

2007-06-04T06:40:00.001-07:00

I decided today to start a new story in the next few weeks...and I'm using all of you for Market Research :)

So, if you could have a magic ability, or a combination of up to THREE...what would you pick?

Examples include:
ability to fly, telepathy, empathy, telekinesis...
The ability to light a fire with a single thought? To dematerialize and appear somewhere else?

Inquiring (mindblocked) minds want to know :)

Thirteen Celtic Animal Allies

2007-05-31T07:06:00.000-07:00

Thirteen Celtic Animal Allies

The following list gives many of the animals known to the Celts and told of in their legends and myths. (Note: This is cross-posted in my blog.)

1. Adder (snake) - Associated with wisdom, reincarnation, and cunning. The Druids carried an amulet called gloine nathair (serpent glass). In the Scottish Highlands, the adder symbolized the Cailleach's power.

2. Badger - This animal is unyielding in the face of danger and is noted for its tenacity and courage. The badger will teach you to fight for your rights and defend your spiritual ideasYou drank a bottle of pop and not a soda.

3. Bear - The bear was noted for its strength and stamina. It can help you find balance and harmony in your life, and the strength to do what is necessary.

4. Wolf - The wolf is a cunning, intelligent creature, capable of out-thinking hunters. It can teach you how to read the signs of Nature in everything, how to pass by danger invisibly, how to outwit those who wish you harm, and how to fight when needed. Sometimes the world, seen on a journey, will lead you to a spiritual teacher and guide.

5. Butterfly - Many cultures cal butterflies the souls of the dead and the keepers of power. They will teach you to free yourself form self-imposed restrictions and to look at problems with greater clarity.

6. Cat - The cat is a strong protector, especially when facing a confrontational situation.

7. Crane - The crane, with its colors of black, white, and red, was a Moon bird, sacred to the Triple Goddess. Magic, shamanic travel, learning and keeping secrets, reaching deeper mysteries and truths.

8. Crow - This animal is to treated with care. Along with the raven, the crow is a symbol of conflict and death, an ill-omen associated with such Goddess as Macha, Badb, and the Morrigan. It was also considered to be skillful, cunning, single-minded, and a bringer of knowledge. It is of value when trickery is needed. It also teaches you to learn from the past, but not hold onto it.

9. Deer - THe deer represents keen scent, grace swiftness, and gentleness. There are ways of reaching your goals other than force.

10. Dragon - The dragon symbolized the power of the Elements, especially that of the Earth, but also of the treasure of the subconscious mind.

11. Hare (rabbit) - Associated with transformation, the receiving of hidden teachings, and intuitive messages.

12. Salmon - The salmon teaches you how to get in touch with ancestral knowledge and put it to practical use.

13. Wren - A sacred bird to the Druids, its musical notes were used for divination. As with many other birds, the wren was considered a messenger from the deities.

Source: Joelle's Sacred Grove

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
1. Dog's Eye View 2. Christina's Shoebox 3. Samantha Lucas 4. Amanda Young 5. Jenny's Wandering Thoughts 6. Off the Wall Thoughts 7.

Writing fantasy: A question for you.

2007-05-28T15:24:00.000-07:00

I love writing fantasy, and I’m always looking for helpful books and links. So, I’d love for you to share with us some of your favorite research books, and site links. Do you have anything special on names, concepts, mythology, characterization…etc? A book you pick up time and again for help? An Internet link you’re constantly clicking through to do research?

Until later~
Mel

The Forgotten One

2007-05-25T12:53:00.000-07:00

For writers, everything is fair game when it comes to research. It's been said that there are really only 12 basic plot lines, and every one's been done a bajillion times over. So, in search of that unique twist or irresistable hook, writers wait, watch, and read for that nugget of research that will set a story in motion.

For me, it's usually an obscure, nearly forgotten factoid buried in a dusty book or archived article that piques my interest. A one-liner about a faery that melts into a puddle of water should it get caught in a shaft of sunlight. An tiny reference to a minor civil war skirmish that took place on the most haunted coastline in America. A statement uttered by an angel "expert" that had me raising my eyebrow and muttering, "Oh really? But what if..."

The spark that lit the fuse for my upcoming novella "Wildish Things" came while I was reading Patricia Monaghan's "The Red Haired Girl from the Bog." She mentioned a goddess so old that no one remembers her name, or even what rituals were used to worship her. In Irish/Scottish folklore she is known simply as "The Cailleach", a word which has no real translation. She is thought to be old, the oldest of all goddesses. Possibly the mother of all goddesses. Her bones are the rocks; the plants and trees, her skin; her blood, the water.

And I got to thinking, what must life be like for this goddess? So much age, so much power - and the ability to scare the snot out of anyone. What would happen if one day she got tired of being bored and lonely, and decided to stir up a little trouble?

So, to do my little bit to make sure no one forgets her completely, I wrote "Wildish Things." Hopefully she will like my offering well enough to keep her meddling fingers out of MY life! Although, come to think of it, this old broad might be fun to lift a pint with.

Slainte,
Carolan
WILDISH THINGS, coming in eBook and trade paperback Nov. 1 from SamhainPublishing.com

Thirteen Reasons a Man is Like a Book...and vice versa

2007-05-24T05:08:00.000-07:00

Warning: do not read if you're offended by sexual innuendo. (ok, who laughed?! ;) )

Thirteen reasons a man is like a book...and vice versa

Sometimes you have to sneak a peek at what's under the wrapping before you bring it home
Some of them you'll want to introduce your family to.
Some of them you'll hide under your bed :)
Some of them you remember fondly
Some you don't.
There's one you'll go through a few times, wondering if it's as good as you remember (or as bad.)
There's a special one for everyone (but you may have to try a few before you find it.)
Sometimes all you want is to crawl under the sheets with one
A good one will make you want to do it again.
Sometimes, you'll find yourself drawn to one you'd never have imagined liking.
There's always one that is nothing like you expected from its cover
Some blurbs are bigger than others.
Some blurbs are better

Heroes and Villains

2007-05-23T00:38:00.000-07:00

As writing partners, Teri Smith and I agreed on lots of things, including the deep dark secret of writing fantasy adventure--there’s a very thin separating the good guys from the bad. Where we didn’t always agree was where to draw the line.

Some things were no-brainers. For example, Alan Shore (Boston Legal): good. Jack Bauer (24): bad. But things got a little more complicated when we started writing Highway from Hell, the novel about Eurydice and Orpheus we were working on when she died.

We didn’t disagree on the villain of the piece. No question, it was Orpheus. Sure he was sex on a stick and had a voice that could make trees walk and rocks, well, rock. But he dumped his wife almost as soon as he married her to hang out with his posse. When she died after being bitten by a snake while running away from a gang of stalkers (a gang that included Orpheus’s step-brother Aristaeus, no less) Orpheus neglected to show for the funeral. Then, several weeks later, in a frenzy of grief which seems to have more to do with emo than actual emotion, he announced he was going to drag her back from her after life. Whether she wanted him to or not.

To a certain extent, it’s a good thing I had to do the heavy lifting on Highway from Hell right from the start--and not because Teri wouldn’t live to see it finished. Teri loathed Orpheus. From the myths, she knew he couldn’t keep it in his pants. He was determined to have his way at all costs--and threw major tantrums when things didn’t work out the way he wanted. He didn’t care about anyone’s needs but his own. In short, he combined the worst qualities of her first husband and every celebrity wannabe she’d ever had the misfortune to run into working for Crescent Blues.

I conceded Orpheus was all that and a bag of Doritos. But on the plus side, he never broke any laws, and he had a really messed up childhood.

When he was a little kid people thought he was the son of Apollo and the muse Calliope. In other words, they thought he was an immortal big cheese growing up and kowtowed accordingly--never a good child-rearing strategy. But the god life disappeared in an instant when Hercules killed Orpheus’s brother Linus. Suddenly Orpheus was just another bastard mortal kid of a very promiscuous muse. No one would give him the time of day…until he turned his magical voice into a force they couldn’t ignore.

That didn’t make him a good person. But I understood where how he could get bent by the circumstances. Plus, I confess a sneaking admiration for his semi-divine selfishness. I wish I could ignore other people’s needs every now and then. It would sure make it easier to be creative, and there’s a lot to be said for my husband’s belief that no one ever rose to the top without routinely indulging their inner two-year-old.

To my mind, it was Eurydice’s job to stand up for herself. At least, we’ve got no legendary evidence Orpheus physically abused her.

No, the abuser, the killer of classical mythology was the same person who murdered his music teacher for correcting his technique: Hercules. Hercules killed the teenaged Linus. It’s no good saying--as Teri did, loudly and often--Hercules didn’t know his own strength. Face it, Hercules made headlines by strangling snakes in his cradle. This was before his first birthday. By the time he hit puberty he was killing lions. He soon graduated to hydras, demon birds, amazons, friends, enemies, wives, children (repeatedly), sea monsters, giants, kings, commoners…

Which isn’t to say Teri and I disagreed about everything regarding Hercules. We agreed he was a man whose democratic principles were ahead of his time.

He’d kill anything.

That comment was guaranteed to set Teri on the warpath. Fueled by a righteous passion for all things Kevin Sorbo, she’d invariably throw something at me. “Hercules wasn’t like that. He didn’t mean to kill his wife and children. He didn’t know what he was doing. He was probably poisoned. They had mind-altering drugs back then too, you know.”

“Really?” I’d drawl. “I think O.J. Simpson said something similar on his car phone when he was driving around L.A. after his wife bought it.”

It’s a good thing I’ve always had decent reflexes. Teri wore size twelve shoes, and she wasn’t afraid to use them, especially on me. But things always settled down when she remembered I wouldn’t stand still long enough for her to hit me. Our writing compromise was equally pragmatic. She wouldn’t try to make Orpheus’s dialogue sound like something her ex would say as long as I didn’t snark on Hercules, the Legendary Journeys and Xena, Warrior Princess too much. After all, all those fans (and potential fantasy readers) think Hercules is a hero.

Romantics and rock stars think Orpheus is a hero too. But if you step back from the dust thrown up by their spin doctors and look beyond the glamour of their star turns, neither Orpheus nor Hercules come across terribly well. Not to put too fine a point on it, they acted like skunks.

They weren’t the only ones. Theseus--the same guy we can blame for convincing Hercules not to commit suicide after Linus’s death--tried to kidnap Helen of Troy and marry the goddess Persephone after she set up housekeeping with Hades. And he showed no qualms about leaving his co-conspirator behind when he lucked into a Get-Out-Of-Hell-Free pass. Bet they didn’t tell you about that when they were feeding you the standard, ahem, bull about Theseus and the Minotaur.

Jason, the leader of the Argonauts, was no prize either. He was totally cool with Medea killing her inconvenient relatives--and his--in the name of the Golden Fleece. But when the opportunity came to wed a sweet young heiress came along, suddenly he was scared of his killer wife.

I could cite a lot more examples too. The classical myths are full of bad things done by people the writers describe as good guys. Not to mention a host of bad guys whose major crime appears to be they lost a popularity contest somewhere along the line. Like Hades, for example.

Teri and I always agreed on Hades. For us, the line between good and bad in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, the earliest version of the story of Persephone and Hades, is crystal clear.

Hades: good. Demeter: rotten to the Kore!

The Magic of Between

2007-05-22T00:04:00.000-07:00

A doorway.
Midnight.
Twilight.

The one thing these have in common: they are all 'betweens'. Between one space and another, one time and another. Between light and dark. These have long been associated with magic; the idea being while you're between two things, you're not in either.

If I stand in the doorway between my living room and kitchen, I'm in neither room, and both, at the same time. The idea is, if you can find the right 'between', you can straddle the line dividing two worlds, that of magic, and that of 'reality'. Able to see both, but you wouldn't truly be IN either world.

Why is it this theory has grabbed hold of me so tightly? I think because the possibilities are endless. Once you start looking for a between, they're everywhere. Once I got the concept of not being part of either room, and extrapolate it to 'not being part of either world'...the idea of being a ghost took on true terror for me. You're...un-tethered.

But it also leaves a lot of room to explore, too. What is between light and dark? Shadows? But aren't they something all their own? So what, then, would be between the shadows and light...In my stories, it tends to be a warrior-figure, someone who battles the darkness and shadows from overtaking the light. But my mind doesn't work like everyone else's, and I'm mostly okay with that ;)

See if you can come up with a between I haven't listed (there are thousands)...If you have time today, stand in a doorway, and enjoy that threshold, that feeling of being disjointed. (It's especially nice if you have family in one of the rooms you can join after this experiment :) )

Girl Power Times Three

2007-05-16T21:42:00.000-07:00

courtesy of Jean Marie Ward

If numbers have power, three qualifies as the 800-pound gorilla in the middle of the room. Everybody knows about the Three Kings and the Three Stooges--not to mention “Three strikes, you’re out”. But did you know it’s a power number for women--especially sisters? And these are women you don’t want to mess with.

Three Sisters (play by Chekov)
Three Graces (Greek & Roman Mythology)
Three Sisters (corn, beans and squash--the three main food crops of the Native American tribes in New England, which can be grown together for the benefit of all)
Three Sisters Islands (three islands in the Potomac River near Washington, DC)
Three Norns (Norse mythology)
The Three Sisters (three Irish rivers, all arising in the mountains of County Tipperary, which flow into the sea in the same bay southwest of Waterford)
Three Fates (Greek & Roman Mythology)
Drei Schwestern (a group of three mountains forming a natural boundary between Lichtenstein and Austria)
Three Witches (Shakespeare’s Macbeth)
Three Sisters (a single mountain with three peaks near Fernie in British Columbia)
Three Furies (Greek & Roman Mythology)
Three Gorgons (Greek & Roman Mythology)
Tri Sestry (a volcano in the Kuril Islands in Russia)

The Dragons of Lyndaria

2007-05-16T09:15:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love dragons? If you're a lover of fantasy, chances are you love dragons as well. I adore dragons. In fact, I have a fantasy romance series called "The Legends of Mynos" at Samhain Publishing. The first two books are available now in eBook, and you can find out more about them here:

http://www.samhainpublishing.com/authors/rebecca-goings

I love this series, and the BIG reason is because of the dragonlore. While it's true, my fantasies might not bring anything "new" to the table, I like to think my dragonlore is what makes them unique. Dragons are very complicated beings in my world. Very intelligent, very ancient, very astute magic users. I'm currently writing the third book in this series, THE WOLVERINE AND THE FLAME, and even now, the dragons of my world are still revealing things to me.

Things I've learned from the dragons of Lyndaria:

They have a heirarchy. It's not a dragon free-for-all.

They don't hoard jewels. My dragons have better things to do. lol

Depending on their color, they have different temperments.

They can shift into humans, yet they don't look quite human, still bearing the coloring of their scales on their skin and in their hair, with slits for pupils.

The fire they breathe isn't "normal" flame. It's a magical flame with special properties.

If they are consecrated after they die, the dragon's body will turn into "pure magic", becoming a gem the color of their scales. This gem is a "blank slate" to be enchanted with any power the wielder sees fit, thus becoming a powerful magical talisman.

This is just some of the things I've learned from my dragons. Their relationships are almost as complicated as the main characters. I love my dragons. In fact, Mynos is my favorite character out of all my books. He's ancient, wise, benevolent, and yet, still playful. He's the "glue" that holds my series together, and he ignited my love of dragons.

If you get a chance, I hope you get to know Mynos as well. In fact, he has a gift for you: a free read. Come and fly with him in the skies of Lyndaria. You won't be disappointed.

http://www.rebeccagoings.com/TheCrystalOfMynos.pdf

~~Becka
http://www.RebeccaGoings.com

Creature Feature: D'Arc Royal Black Dragons

2007-05-15T12:15:00.000-07:00

I was recently asked what makes the dragons I write about different from others and thought I'd answer the question here, in a "Creature Feature." Hope that's okay with you all. ;-)

In the Dragon Knights series, there are many varieties and hues of dragon, but the only black dragons in existence are the Royal Blacks. They are the shapeshifters - the beings of noble blood born and sworn to protect both humanity and dragonkind.

They rule with an understanding born of the fact they are both human and dragon. The founder of their line, Draneth the Wise, intended it just that way, so the dragons and humans could live in harmony and work together to protect their land and people against the forces of evil.

In my Dragon Knights series, the time has come when this partnership will be tested utterly. The last of the wizards have returned to continue their war against each other, using humans and other creatures like the venemous skiths as pawns in their deadly game. King Roland, Prince Nico, and their brothers will lead both the dragons and people of their land into battle... and beyond.

I hope that answers at least some of the questions about the Royal Blacks. I'll probably have to do another post sometime on the wild Northern Ice Dragons and some of the other creatures unique to my world. So what do you all think? :-)

Bianca D'Arc
Come over to the D'Arc side... www.biancadarc.com

A favorite genre of mine is…

2007-05-14T10:18:00.000-07:00

ancient fantasy. This genre is an alternate history, usually with magic or some element of the fantastic or predated history. Arthurian legends fall under this concept. The myths and folklore of the ancient civilizations, such as Byzantium, the Celts, the Americas, or the Middle East make good backdrops for ancient fantasy tales.

I’m thrilled to be working on two ancient fantasy worlds.

One is a shapeshifter tale that spins an alternate history of the ancient Romy. Of course there’s the added dose of magic. I’ve forever been fascinated with this culture. And have been studying the people since I started dabbling in writing. I’m under committed deadline to Ellroa’s Cave for the first installment titled Serving the Beast. And have my fingers crossed I get to grow the series.

The other is a dragon story that I’m equally fond of. This one weaves a tale among the ancient Celts.

What is your favorite ancient culture? Or ancient fantasy romance?

Until later~
Mel

Creature Feature: The Grugach

2007-05-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

The name “Grugach” comes from an old Irish word which can mean hairy or long-haired, but it is also applied to goblins, enchanters, wizards and fairies. However, it is most often described as a helpful spirit similar in some ways to the brownie, both in the Highlands of Scotland and in Ulster, where it is known as the Grogan. Described as short, hairy, with broad shoulders and great strength, it is famed as a hard worker.

The Ulster Grogan generally appear as naked, hairy little men about 4 feet tall. In the Highlands, the Grugach may be well dressed and watch over cattle. Some Highland stories describe the Grugach as a fairy woman dressed in green with long golden air, who may appear as either beautiful or as worn and haggard. She would sometimes enter houses dripping wet and ask to dry herself by the fire. Male Highland Grugachs could be handsome youths, but for the most part they were described as naked and shaggy.

Elsewhere in Scottish tradition, the Grugach is a more fearsome and frightening creature, playing tricks on mortals and displaying magical powers. One Celtic legend tells of a piratical Grugach who talks a poor fisherman into giving up his son for a year and a day, promising to educate the lad and return him a wise man. The fisherman agrees, and a year later the boy is returned home. But the fisherman is tricked into letting the Grugach have the boy for another year and a day. Worse, this time he forgets to make the Grugach promise to actually return his son home. (Sound like a certain pirate we all know and love? Hmm?)

Sources:
- Elemental Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures, by John and Caitlin Matthews
- SacredTexts.com

Shifters Through the Ages

2007-05-09T00:43:00.000-07:00

Change is magic. Magic is change--and we can’t get enough of it. The shift can be as mundane as the sleight of hand which changes a magician’s handkerchief into a bouquet of silk flowers or as extreme as a transformation from man to dragon and back again.

Samhain Publishing’s recent open call for stories about cat shifters only reinforces the point. Voluntary shapeshifters are a staple of epic and urban fantasy. Even Dracula did his bit (pun intended), transforming on occasion from man to mist, wolf and bat.

This fascination with shapeshifters has a long literary history. In classical mythology, the gods routinely take the shape of other people to pursue their affairs. Zeus, the head of the Greek pantheon, was the pro from Dover when it came to pretending to be someone else to achieve his amorous goals. At one point he even turned himself into the goddess Artemis to get close to Callisto, the female object of his then current affections.

He wasn’t the only one. Britain’s King Arthur owes his existence to a human variation on this ploy. His mother Ygraine claimed she only slept with Uther Pendragon--while she was still married to his rival Gorlois--because she thought she was sleeping with her husband. And people bought it too.

To be fair, they also accepted it when Danae said Zeus impregnated her in the form of a shower of gold. At least the grown-ups did. I suspect her son Perseus had a lot harder time of it. Can you imagine trying to explain to your buds that your absent dad was “a golden shower”? Is it any surprise the kid grew up tough? I bet they called him “Percy” too.

More familiar--and undoubtedly more attractive--to today’s readers of shapeshifter romances are Zeus’s other guises. On various occasions, he transformed into an eagle, a swan and a bull. His brother Poseidon took the form of a horse and a ram.

Our culture’s somewhat disapproving view of these transformations is colored by modern notions of morality. The Greeks and Romans, however, didn’t apply the same standards to their gods they applied to themselves.

To a large degree, Zeus and Poseidon owed their position at the top of the divine food chain to their extraordinary potency. Their ability to sire offspring in a multitude of forms was seen as a reflection of their ability to ensure the fertility of the land and the sea. In contrast, their brother Hades, the lord of the dead, displayed no transformative power. He achieved his ends through stealth (he possessed a helmet which allowed him to turn invisible) and brute force. He also sired no children.

The animals Zeus and Poseidon chose for their transformations were significant too. Horses, cattle and sheep were the “noble” animals which formed the basis of civilization as the Greeks and Romans understood it. The horse offered mobility and a strategic advantage on ancient battlefields. Cattle drove plows, fertilized fields and provided the finest meat. Sheep provided clothing and meat.

The birds reflected Graeco-Roman political and spiritual aspirations. Eagles make their nests in the highest crags--mountains like Olympus, the gods’ supposed home. In addition, the eagle’s ferocity provided a compelling symbol of military might. Rome made the eagle its emblem, and for over four hundred years small figures of eagles topped all legionary flags. Swans were seen as symbols of personal nobility and sacrifice because they were believed to mate for life.

In contrast, the wolves and big cats beloved of urban fantasies were shunned in classical mythology. The Greek werewolf myth is a cautionary tale about Lycaon, a lawless tyrant with no respect for god or man. Lycaon attempted trick the gods into eating human flesh. Some sources said he served them his dismembered son at a banquet in their honor. Others claimed he sacrificed a child on one of Zeus’s altars. For his crimes, Zeus transformed Lycaon and his sons into wolves--the symbol of everything destructive to Greek civilization.

This curse further threatened anyone who participated in the rituals held at Lycaon’s altar. The affected person could only regain their humanity if they abstained from eating human flesh for a period of nine years--something the Greeks obviously considered beyond a wolf’s ability. No self-respecting Greek hero was ever suckled by a she-wolf, for example. That was left to the Romans, who everyone knew were just a toga (and a few thousand legions) away from being barbarians themselves.

Lycaon’s daughter escaped being transformed into a wolf, because she was a companion (or priestess) of Artemis and presumably not a party to her father’s atrocities. But that didn’t mean she got off scot-free.

Lycaon’s daughter was the same Callisto Zeus wooed in the guise of Artemis. This little adventure didn’t set well with either Artemis (who felt Callisto belonged to her) or Zeus’s wife Hera (who felt the same way about Zeus). So Zeus transformed Callisto into a bear, ostensibly for her protection. But you got to wonder about that when both Hera and Artemis immediately declared open season on bears and shot her dead.

The moral of Callisto’s story is it didn’t pay to transform into a wolf, bear, big cat or any other large predator in classical mythology. Most medieval legends cast them as villains or victims too, presumably for the same reasons the Greeks did. Wolves, bears, wild boars and lynxes were agents of chaos. They killed people and destroyed livestock. They were also the totems of the barbarian tribes--from the Picts and Scoti to Viking berserkers--who pillaged and plundered the struggling outposts of Christian civilization.

The one notable exception can be found in Marie de France’s poem Bisclavret. Bisclavret is a French nobleman who turns into a wolf three days a week. Seeking to take a lover, his unfaithful wife traps him in wolf form. But virtue (and vice) will out, and she is foiled when the wolf is befriended by the king. Bisclavret, however, is a remarkably passive hero. Other than behaving in a manner atypical of a wolf (he doesn’t humans for the most part) he takes no action on his own behalf. He’s a victim in the sense he can’t save himself. That job is left to the king and his ministers.

It took the Industrial Revolution to make heroes of predatory shapeshifters. In part this was because they posed no longer much of a threat. Wolves had been eradicated from most of civilized Europe and North America. Lions and tigers and bears (oh my!) represented a danger only if they escaped from a zoo.

The allure of Dracula probably helped. So did the folk tales collected by the Brothers Grimm and others in the nineteenth century, which portrayed various wild animals as potential helpers of the hero. My personal favorite was “Tsarevitch Ivan, the Fire Bird and the Gray Wolf”, in which the rather dim Ivan succeeds in winning the matched set of princess and kingdom entirely due to the cunning of the wolf, who turns out to be an enchanted prince.

I always thought the wolf prince’s bride would have a lot more fun than Ivan’s trophy wife. Certainly she’d never be bored. From the number of sexy werewolves, dragons and other predatory shifters currently occupying bookstore shelves, it appears a lot of people agree with me.

Panel discussions at several recent conventions suggest there may be other factors at work as well. Predatory shapeshifters don’t have to play by the rules of polite society. They can get away with all the Uber Alpha Male behavior most romance heroes abandoned sometime in the 1990s, simply because they can overpower any human butt-kicking chick. This makes the heroine’s ultimate victory through the power of love that much more delicious.

I agree there’s something intensely satisfying about watching “The bigger they come, the harder they fall” play out in a well-written story. Part of it is the natural desire to see right vanquish might. But I also think part of the attraction of these shifters is their comforting badness. Face it, the cities we live in and the worlds we create in our fantasies tend to be very scary places. Who would you want guarding your back when the flit hits the shan--a nice noble swan, a wolf with a trickster’s brain or a dragon who can reduce the villains to crispy critters?

Then there’s the magic of the change itself. If our heroes and heroines represent what we wish to be, what do all these shapeshifter stories say about us? Could they represent our desire to transform physically ourselves--perhaps laying the groundwork for the day when genetic manipulation becomes a real possibility? Or are they metaphors for a spiritual transformation? Or both?

I couldn’t begin to say. I’m having too much fun watching the writing magicians pull rabbits--and wolves and tigers and dragons--from their storytelling hats. And I don’t plan to stop anytime soon.

Creature Feature: The Gulon

2007-05-08T09:47:00.000-07:00

OK, folks, this next one is not for the faint of heart. If nothing else, you’ll get an idea how deeply juvenile my sense of humor can be!

Today’s creature is the Gulon, a monster with rather disgusting habits found in the folklore of Sweden.

It is described as looking somewhere between a lion and a hyena with a fox’s tail and long, razor-sharp claws. It lives mainly on carrion. If that’s not disgusting enough, wait’ll you hear about its eating habits.

Its general modus operandi is to eat until it is painfully full, body swollen and distended. The only way it can, er, ease its pain is to find two trees that grow close together. It squeezes itself between the narrow gap, thus forcing out the buildup of gases from its body and enabling it to feed again.

Yeah, that’s right. It eats until it’s bloated. Then it makes itself fart in order to keep eating.

Though its flesh is never eaten (jeez, I wonder why?), its blood was said to have aphrodisiac properties and was sometimes served, mixed with honey, at weddings.

Yum.

Sources:
- Elemental Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures, by John and Caitlin Matthews
- Wikipedia.com