I subscribe to Rachel’s newsletter, so the moment this series went live, I knew about it. The first book is free on all platforms, and though I had it and had bought the second installment as an ebook, I decided to buy the complete paperback as a Christmas present last year (along with other books …
It’s a new month, which means it’s time for another posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. There is this wonderful writer’s resource I stumbled upon last year and enjoyed just as much this year. The first online writing and publishing conference dedicated to women, the Women in Publishing Summit is a FREE 5-day online conference, …
Celebrating the release of Tortured Tales, I’m sharing a couple of book club questions. Book club questions Tortured Tales Did you like the allusions to Elsa’s heritage? Did you enjoy the adventure in the sea? What did you think of the link between the two mountains? What were your thoughts on encountering the Fae on …
Z is for Zany. zany adjective amusingly unconventional and idiosyncratic (Oxford English Dictionary) There’s this peculiar little creature from folklore that caught my fancy. He goes by two names. Yet no-one can disagree that he’s quite gross. Grogoch or Phynnodderee is the name of this Faery. The folklore attached to his origins is quite sad… …
Y is for Yule. Yule n archaic term for Christmas Oxford English Dictionary The Yule season is a time of rebirth and joy. But there are darker stories in folklore; creatures that make even the delinquents behave. Krampus is one of those creatures. Folklore Christmas in Ritual and Tradition by Clement A. Miles [1912] On …
X is for X-Factor. No matter the name or how you spell it, the Fates are everywhere and in every culture. Folklore The Poetic Edda “Norns are figures of fate who may be present at a child’s birth, prophesying his future, as in the First Poem of Helgi Hundingsbani. As determiners of fate, the norns are …
W is for Witch. Witches and magic have equally enthralled and repelled over the millennia. They’ve been part of the stories we tell, the movies and TV shows we watch and the novels we read (and write). Folklore English Fairy and Other Folk Tales by Edwin Sidney Hartland [1890] WITCH AND HARE AN old witch, …
V is for Valkyries. Valkyries are one of my favourite groups of women from ancient times. Folklore The Children of Odin by Padraic Colum [1920] AGAINST the time when the riders of Muspelheim, with the Giants and the evil powers of the Underworld, would bring on battle, Odin All-Father was preparing a host of defenders …
U is for Ululate. ululate v howl or wail as an expression of strong emotion Oxford English Dictionary Hyenas, those giggling beasts, freaked me out in The Lion King when I was just a little girl. I got over it. And then I learned of the Werehyena. Folklore The Magicality of the Hyena: Beliefs and Practices in …
T is for Thin Places. Thin Places and the Other Side are linked. Sometimes just by existing (crossroads, cemeteries, etc.) and sometimes through sacred days (Samhain, Beltane, etc.) If modern and ancient folklore can be believed, Samhain is the time when our world and the Other Side are the closest to being one. In BBC’s Merlin, …
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