Middibamboo Mama and Mysterious Jars

I recently purchased another copy of October Country, Ray Bradbury’s compilation of short stories, after losing my copy purchased years ago (and I mean years), wanting to reread some of the stories and derive inspiration from Bradbury’s amazing writing. Last night I read The Jar, and boy, did it remind me of why I love Bradbury. Aside from his wonderful use of descriptive language, he weaves such strange and unusual stories, leaving more to the imagination than actually telling. The Jar is, well, about a jar containing a strange substance, as described by Bradbury: one of those pale things drifting in alcohol plasma, forever dreaming and circling, with its peeled, dead eyes staring out at you and never seeing.

The protagonist, Charlie, buys the jar from a carnie because he wants attention and respect in his holler, and people begin gathering at his house to stare and wonder about what the jar contains. And as Hitchcock would agree, their imaginings are much more bizarre and frightening that the reality of the jar’s contents. The stories and memories conjured by the jar are both fantastic and tragic. One man dredged up a traumatic childhood memory after staring at the jar.  Another provided a wonderful take on the contents, as something that crawled out of the primordial swamp: That am the center of creation! That am Middibamboo Mama, from which we all come ten thousand year ago. Believe it! I have to wonder how long it took Bradbury to come up with the term Middibamboo Mama. It’s hilarious.

I won’t give the ending away. You do find out what the jar really contains, but that’s not the scariest part of the story or the beauty of The Jar or why horror movies that don’t show you the boogey man are so effective, like Blair Witch Project. You never actually see a witch and really don’t know what killed the students, if anything at all. And with writing, why withholding bits of information, never fully telling the whole story, letting the reader fill in the blanks also works. We don’t know the full story on the jar. If we did, the tale wouldn’t be as intriguing. It’s really about what Charlie does with the jar, and what the jar drives him to do that makes it a classic horror story and what makes me squirm after reading it!

Mimi Sebastian

Happy St. Patty's Day--Win a Free Book! Win Two!

 Hi all,

I thought in honor of St. Patty's Day it might be fun to give away a free copy of my YA romance HEIR TO THE UNDERWORLD which actually has some Celtic gods and legendary Irish figures in it running around causing mischief.

As a bonus, I'm also throwing in a copy of my other fantasy novel THE BEAUTY'S BEAST, which isn't related to St. Patrick's Day at all but it just released this week, and is available now at Amazon in both Kindle and paperback.

It has a werewolf. Werewolves are good, right? ;P

You can win your choice of an ecopy OR a paper copy of each book. 

US only, please. Sorry, international folks. :(

For your chance to win just drop a line in the comment thread and tell me: ancient Celtic god vs. Werewolf? Who would you rather have romancing you under the stars?

A happy St. Patty's Day to those who celebrate! To those who don't...Happy Monday! ;)

New Release MASTER OF THE OPERA!

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Master of the Opera, Act 6: Crescendo

 is out this week! The sixth and final episode of my serial novel releases this week on Thursday, March 20. A modern retelling of The Phantom of the Opera, this installment completes the cycle and brings all the mysterious and sinister threads together.

Plus, the opal ring is on the cover. *cough* Veronica Scott *cough*

You can preorder Act 6: Crescendo on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and iTunes - and pick up the other episodes at the same time!

Blurb

In the sixth and final installment of Jeffe Kennedy’s sizzling Master of the Opera, a man and a woman risk everything they’ve ever loved-for the most dangerous passion they’ve ever known. . .

Caught in a web of secrets and lies, Christy Davis has come under the suspicion of the local police. Since becoming an intern at the Sante Fe Opera House, she has witnessed strange occurences in the underground tunnels. She has heard inexplicable whispers in the shadows after midnight. And she has found the lover of her dreams in the masked man who lives down below. But after the discovery of a dead body and other sinister events, Christy realizes that her life is in danger. Two men hold her fate in their hands: Roman, the opera house’s wealthy benefactor who uses his money and power to control her. And the masked maestro known as the Master who demands her surrender and commands her pleasure with each stroke. Both want her; only one can have her...

In a rising crescendo of madness, obsession, and lust, Christy must take a chance and follow her heart-to a breathtaking climax as powerful as love itself.

Top Ten Fictional Characters I’d Like to Hang Out With

 

Pyanfar Chanur (CJ Cherryh) – Alien female cargo space ship captain. She rocks.

Frodo Baggins – Hobbit from  Lord of the Ring

Jarlaxle- Charismatic Dark Elf from R.A. Salvatore Drizzt series

Batman – Duh, why not? Hot guy in a bat suit.

Obiwan – Duh, jedi. LOL

Dmitri – Vampire from Nalini Singh’s Archangel series. He just has all the qualities I love about vampires.

Anita Blake -  heroine from LK Hamilton

Peder – He’s an omega wolf shifter from my Eorthe series. Sexy and shy is great combination.

Harry Dredsen – Kickass wizard. Enough said.

Illium aka Bluebell—Angel from Nalini Singh’s Archangel series. He has blue wings. 

Myths & Legends of Childbirth in Ancient Egypt

VS sez: Pulled this post from the Archives, since Magic of the Nile is now available and this post was about events in that book. Somewhat updated and added a quick excerpt!

"Repay your mother for all her care. Give her as much bread as she needs, and carry her as she carried you, for you were a heavy burden to her. “ So says the Papyrus of a scribe named Ani, from 1250 BCE.

I’ve just published  my latest paranormal romance set in Ancient Egypt in 1535 BCE and there’s a childbirth scene. Children were very important to the Egyptians and of course there were many beliefs and legends surrounding the act of giving birth.  Fragmented, surviving papyri give remedies for pregnancy tests, infertility cures, contraception and obtaining answers to the always popular question “how do I know the sex of my unborn child?” Physicians of the day were almost never involved in labor and delivery – it was all left to the women of the household or the village, and the ever present gods and goddesses.

Egyptian myths have a great many variations, which works well for me as a novelist, because I can pick and choose to fit my story. I have the goddesses Hathor and Tawaret attending the birth of the baby in Magic of the Nile, but there is historical support for my selection, including a famous carving at the Temple of Hathor in Dendera which shows these two goddesses assisting a woman as she gives birth. Hathor was the beautiful Great One often shown with the head of a cow, or as a woman with cow’s horns, and she was regarded as the goddess of domestic bliss. Tawaret was the Hippo Goddess, although she had the feet of a lioness and the back of a crocodile. She was also regarded as a goddess of fertility and childbirth in part because female hippos were so protective of their young.

A woman often gave birth in a specially constructed pavilion or bower, sometimes in a special spot on the roof of her home, shaded to be cooler. Many of the depictions of birth show the use of “birthing bricks”, which were specially made for the pregnant woman to squat or stand on during the final stage of delivery. The women assisting her (or the goddesses if she was very lucky) stood on either side, providing support and something to push against. The birth bricks were considered so important they even had their own goddess, Meskhenet.  This important figure was sometimes depicted as a woman and at other times as a brick with a woman's head, adorned with a cow's uterus. She also breathed the child’s ka (one part of the individual’s soul) into them at birth.

One popular folk tale from thousands of years ago had the poor mother deliver triplets and after each son was born, Meskhenet appeared to say he would become king of Egypt! And the next baby born would become king of Egypt. And then the third boy will be king of Egypt too! The poor, confused parents...but in fact, each of these boys did become Pharaoh for a time, succeeding each other on the throne, according to the legends. Rather an amusing mental picture – sort of like some modern TV commercials where the nurses keep bringing the poor Dad another baby…

Childbirth could go wrong in so many ways in that era, and newborn babies were regarded as being fragile as the young sun (which was reborn every day). It’s no wonder that a rich tradition of special prayers, remedies and attentive goddesses developed to comfort the mothers in labor.

Here's the scene partway through the novel, where the mother-to-be and her female relatives have a luncheon:

Her older sister Paratiti, who’d been chosen by Sobek years ago to be Tyema’s guardian until she took over the temple, arrived from her home in the village one day late in the eighth month, by prearrangement bringing her daughters and the wives of her sons, as well as a gaggle of girl children. The group ate lunch with Tyema in the temple’s private gardens, laughing and chattering in the shade of towering palms and fragrant acacias. The older ones talked about when their babies had been born, exchanging funny stories and teasing each other. Tyema sat in the midst of her extended family, marveling at what a strange feeling it was to be with them all, but the impending birth of her child gave them common ground. She felt relaxed, unworried, since they were in her home and she was the hostess. In control. The baby moved and kicked just enough to remind her the two of them were in this together, and after all the entire gathering was in Tyema’s honor, organized by Paratiti. Some of the women had brought embroidered swaddling clothes for the baby and there was one big parcel they refused to let her open. It had taken two of them to carry the basket from the donkey cart at the front gate to the garden where the lunch was being held.

Finally, as the temple servants brought plates of honeyed cakes and figs at the end of the meal, Paratiti gestured at the oversized basket. “Bring the gift now.”

Her daughters hauled the sturdy container to Tyema, setting it on the ground next to her. Smiling, she said, “I can’t imagine what this might be.” Lifting off the lid, she set it aside and removed the top layer of straw packing. Below the straw she found a fine pair of birthing bricks, smooth, freshly painted in white, with stunning portraits of the goddesses Hathor and Tawaret drawn on the sides in turquoise, gold and red. Protective spells were inked in black hieratic. Tyema sat with a brick in either hand, examining the art.

“Do you like them? I made the bricks myself,” Paratiti said anxiously. “I said blessings to Hathor as I mixed the mud and straw in the brick-making forms.”

“And we had the best artisan in the village do the paintings,” Tyema’s favorite niece, Renebti, added. “He wouldn’t take payment since it was for you.”

“I—I don’t know what to say,” Tyema stammered. “I’m touched.”

“I hope your god won’t mind, but birthing a child is a female mystery and he isn’t known for involvement with such things. His crocodiles come from eggs after all. We were afraid you wouldn’t have proper bricks here when the time comes.” Paratiti gestured at the temple behind the garden.

Magic of the Nile Available Now at Amazon   Barnes & Noble  All Romance eBooks Other eBook retailers coming soon!

Just for fun - Here’s a Kay Perry video for her single “Dark Horse,” which gives another take on “magic of the Nile”!

)

New Release MAGIC OF THE NILE!

When I wrote my first novel in the Gods of Egypt series for Carina Press, Priestess of the Nile, my wonderful Editor Alison kept asking to see more of the little sister, Tyema, who I think I barely mentioned in the early drafts. So I took Alison's sage advice and gave the girl a larger role in the events although that book is primarily about her older sister Merys and her romance with the Crocodile God Sobek.

Well thank goodness I listened to Alison because over time I kept thinking back to Tyema and where I'd left her at the end of Priestess and wondering how the rest of her life had gone. And what the lingering effects of the ordeal she suffers in Priestess might be...and then one day, I just knew - Tyema's story HAD to be the next one I wrote. I'm self publishing the series now, which is fun and challenging, and Magic of the Nile is my first direct sequel. The events in Magic take place approximately 15 years after the end of the earlier novel.

But now I'm already asking myself well, what happens to the Tyema's niece, Renebti....I foresee another sequel LOL.

Here's the story for Magic of the Nile:

After a childhood spent scorned and ignored by her family because of her crippled foot, Tyema was magically healed then installed as the High Priestess of his temple by Sobek the Crocodile God. But Tyema is still haunted by her memories, scarred by the abuse she endured. Despite Sobek’s protection, as an adult she’s become a near recluse inside the temple grounds…

Until Captain Sahure arrives in her remote town, sent from Thebes on an urgent mission for Pharaoh, requiring High Priestess Tyema’s help. From that moment on, her quiet, safe life is upended in ways she never could have expected.

But after a whirlwind romance with Sahure, the two part as Pharaoh orders him to undertake another assignment on Egypt’s dangerous frontier, far from Tyema’s remote town.

Heart-broken, Tyema is ready to return to her life of loneliness, official duties and, now, regret. But the Crocodile God has other plans for his priestess: she must uncover the sorcerer who threatens Pharaoh’s life with black magic. Soon enough, Tyema finds herself thrown into the chaos of Pharoah’s court, neck deep in intrigue and danger. Just when she thinks she can’t take the pressures of a very public court life and her secret investigation for the Crocodile God any longer, Sahure re-enters the scene.

But is her former love there to help or to hinder? Can they resolve their differences and work together to find the dark sorcerer who threatens Pharaoh and Egypt? Will the love between a proud warrior and a shy priestess lead them to a future together?

Available at Amazon  Barnes & Noble  All Romance eBooks  

Winter Blah Busters

Regardless of where you live this year it seems Ole Man Winter visited in full force. I have had so many days of ‘polar vortex’ weather, I checked the backyard for polar bears before letting the dog out. I also know the day in and day out of this winter has taken it’s toll on many of us. So I thought I’d share one of my favorite winter busters that we have enjoyed throughout the years.

A Beware of the Ides of March party….

Have guest or family members dress up in Roman costumes.

Serve wine/grape juice with Roman snacks (figs, cheese, etc.)

For younger guest board games like Clue, 221 B Baker Street, or Mystery Mansion are ideal.

For an older crowd there are some great role-playing murder mystery games (here is on site to check out ~ http://www.mymysteryparty.com/adult.html?gclid=CL7UwLeni70CFYdFMgodvjIA2Q)

If game playing isn’t your thing watch the movie Ides of March with George Clooney or one of the movie versions of Julius Caesar

We have done this as an adult party and as a family event and enjoyed it both ways.

What are some of your favorite ways to beat the winter blahs?

Refilling the well

I have to refill my creative well faster.

As deadlines become stricter and tighter I'm finding that I don't have the same down time as I used to when I first started writing.

Suddenly, this has really become a full time job.

I've always treated writing as my career, but I never really sat down and wrote a set number of words a day. I'm a BAD procrastinator.

Between projects finishing I would take a lot of down time.

Now, I don't have that luxury. I get maybe one or two days at tops. I usually try to binge read and it's stuff I've read before.

For example, during this time off I finished reading the RITA entries I got and I also re-read Connie Mason's Tears Like Rain series which includes Tears Like Rain, Wind Rider and Sierra.

Connie Mason was my first introduction to the big bodice ripper romances from the 80's. I read her stuff and it takes me back to being a tween and hiding under my covers to read them. I had to hide them from my mother.

There's something comforting about them.

I also watched some TV. Grey's Anatomy came back on and The Little Couple. Also movie binges are fun too.

Only, I have to get that creative well filled faster. Pinterest has been helping as I build character boards.

This is the book I just finished.

So, are there any tips you can give me for refilling your creative well? What do you do?

Take a Walk on the Fevered Side: New Fevered Hearts

Meet Jason Kane. The third son, the secretive one, the keeper of lies—he’s driven by personal demons he can’t outrun. A man on a mission, he wants what he can never have.

When the spirit fever struck a town, a village, or an outpost, it left few—if any—

survivors. The white man blamed the Indian, saying they used their mojo on them.  The Indians blamed the white man for angering the spirits.  The survivors knew it didn’t matter.  The Fevered were forever changed.

Threats overshadow everything they are trying to build…

Jason’s always been the outsider, the one with dreams and aspirations to leave Dorado. Rising from the ashes is bittersweet, but he keeps his grief private. His enemies know where he is and his family wishes he was gone, so he throws himself into building the town they love even as his heart remains decimated.

She left to pursue a dream and returns to a nightmare.

Olivia Stark grew up in Dorado, the town darling despite the severe handicap of blindness. When Jed Kane offered to pay for her admission and expenses at a special school for the blind back east, her parents sent her away. The four years gone from Dorado were a struggle, but nothing can compare to returning home to find everyone—everything—she knew in ashes.

Conspiracy, controversy, and craving block him at every turn.

When Olivia arrives in the half-built town, Jason’s world turns upside down. Her grief rends his soul, but he rejects her lest anyone discover what she means to him. Desperate to send her away, he’s not prepared for her steadfast refusal. Olivia’s waited for Jason most of her life and she won’t leave him now.

His desire. Her determination. Their destiny.

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Excerpt Below

Spring Fling

In the worlds of the paranormal, the old myths and legends come to life. Selkies, vampires, and dragons walk the streets. The rules of stories make up the rules of the universe—the stars control fate, the phases of the moon determine people’s shapes and moods.

It stands to reason that the seasons would have similar effects and that their stories would also be told. There are so many lovely myths tied to the turning of the wheel of the year. After such a long winter, we’re looking forward to Spring, to the renewal of things and to the possibility of new growth.

Spring is one of the most notorious, naughty, sexy times of the year. Even the most chaste of cultures draw on symbols of fertility for their Spring celebrations. In the worlds of the paranormal, then, is there a Maypole at Rockefeller Center? Are fertility pastries sold in the marketplace? Does one have to make sure the Easter Bunny doesn’t cross one’s path?

Are your paranormal favourites touched by the seasons? Does Spring Fever infect your werewolves and drive them mad with desire? There are so many possibilities. It’s important not to neglect our most ancient traditions—especially when they give us leave to have our heroes dance naked, drape garlands of flowers around each other, and make love under the full moon.

Until next time,
—Anah & Dianne