Peering into the past and future, author Connie Willis ranges from humorous to serious in her tales of humans, aliens, love, technology and the environment.
She has won more major awards than any other writer, with 11 Hugo Awards and seven Nebula Awards.
Her career as an author began in 1970 with the publication of "The Secret of Santa Titicaca" in the winter issue of Worlds of Fantasy. After at least seven more short stories, she and Cynthia Felice published Water Witch in 1982. She also became a full time writer in that same year.
Her first solo novel was published in 1987,Lincoln's Dreams. It won the John W Campbell Memorial Award. While Lincoln's Dreams and her time travel series, which began with Nebula and Hugo award winning "Fire Watch" (Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, February 1982), are serious works of science fiction, my favorite is Uncharted Territory (1994).
Set on a distant planet with its own indigenous people (aliens), Uncharted Territory combines elements of the Old West, modern technology, romance, ecology and sociology of both humans and Bult, their alien guide. Satirical and beautifully written, the story follows Findriddy "Fin" and Carson on their survey of the planet while Bult fines them for every conceivable transgression and shops online for more umbrellas and shower curtains. Joining them in their survey is a visiting socioexozoologist that specializes in mating rituals of Earth and alien species. At only 162 pages, the novella is a quick read, yet Willis takes you on a journey that twists your assumptions and dumps them upside down by the end of the book.
Welcome, CJ! We're so glad you could join us today!
CJ Baty lives in southwest Ohio with her very patient husband and two encouraging children. Her heart, however, lives in the mountains of Tennessee where she hopes to retire someday. The mountains have always provided her with inspiration and a soothing balm to the stresses of everyday life.
The dream of writing her own stories started in high school, but was left on the back burner of life until her son introduced her to Fan Fiction and encouraged her to give it a try. She found that her passion for telling a story was still there and writing them down to share with others was much more thrilling than she had ever expected.
One thing she has learned from life and she is often heard to say is, "You are never too old to follow your dream!"
Stiles Langberry leaves England under the dark cloud of blackmail. He resettles in America with a new name, becoming a Pinkerton Agent. His new employer sends him undercover to a brothel that serves homosexual men, where prostitutes are being murdered.
In the course of his investigation, he becomes involved with Paul, one of the prostitutes. Complicating matters, one of the suspects draws Stiles like no man before him. Stiles knows he must stop the killer before he strikes again.
BOOK TWO: HOME ON THE RANGE
Pinkerton Agent Stiles Long is sent to the Circle W Ranch to uncover who is killing the ranch's cattle. In order to discover the truth about the goings on at the ranch, Stiles has to prove to the ranchers he's more than a good-looking city slicker.
Savage Beare, the head ranch foreman, is far from happy that Stiles is there to check things out. He has secrets of his own. Stiles finds Savage incredibly good-looking, but cold and aloof. He's also a suspect. One of many.
When Stiles' best friend and partner, Lizzie Ferguson, is kidnapped, things begin to shake apart. Stiles doesn't trust anyone and he needs to find Lizzie before it's too late.
Hi, Howdy and Hello There!! My name is Donna R. Mercer and I am a writer of Romance. I know many people like to stick writers into nice little safe categories, but I hate to be put in a box. My current works that are out would fall under the category of Contemporary Romances or Romantic Suspense, but I am not just limited to that one thing. I am currently working on a Paranormal Romance Novel for a collection that is going to debut in October for Romance Collection. I am also working on Sci-fi Romance Series that will debut next year.
I live in Colorado with my slew of family and animals. I do have a website at DonnaRMercer.com where you can surf around and find out about me, but if you want to interact with me the best place to do so would be in my Facebook Group Risque Raiders. I am online all the time. But if Facebook is not your thang you can also hit me up on Twitter@MissSassy714 or InstaGram@wyldeivory. My Current Books that are out include:
Jericho: A Club Envy BWWM Romance Novel
"How could I resist her. She was everything a guy like me wanted in a woman like her. Beauty, Sexy, Intelligence and a mean right hook. She was definitely a MILF!"
I don't know what overcame me? One look from his sexy eyes and my body was on fire. I couldn't resist his desire to extinguish it. I couldn't even do like Jamie suggest and blame it on the alcohol. All I could do was scream Jericho.
Sebastian: A Club Envy BWWM Romance Novel
Dr. Sebastian Croft is used to playing by the rules. His rules. So, what does he do when his rules say to leave the hot new doctor alone? He breaks them! After all they don't call him Dr. McHottie for no reason.
Dr. Olivia Winter always plays by the rules. Their rules. So what does she do when all the rules point to Sebastian being a thief? She breaks them! After all they don't call her Dr. Ice for no reason.
Do you have a family event coming up and don't want to her the constant nagging from your friends and relatives about the joys of wedded bliss?
Need to get people off of your back about dating. Then let the Inappropriate Date Agency help you.
We will match you with the perfect candidate to make your family leave you alone.
Our "dates" all come with a prison record of some sort and are guaranteed to make your mother cry and your father curse. They will not pass a standard background check. Our dates can act as a friend you just meet in your local bar to pretending to be your long-term boyfriend or girlfriend.
They can hit on relatives of the opposite sex while you pretend not to see anything (for a small additional fee they can hit on relatives of the same sex).
Our dates can instigate an argument in religion or politics as your needs required. Contact us at 1-800-BAD-DATE and let us help you torment your family for the holidays.
Look for future releases in both the Club Envy Series and the Inappropriate Date Agency Series. For up-to-date information follow me on Facebook or join my newsletter.
Thanks for having me and hope to hear from you soon!!
So as you may recall from my previous blog posts about my fantasy setting, Thalacia, King Argol fought many demons that roamed the landed. In the final battle, the last demon was defeated by Argol was lost and the magic crown he wore was destroyed. The gems in the crown, the Aglaril, were not harmed, just scattered and lost.
The Aglaril Cycle, my fantasy series, is all about how the gems are found once more.
Meanwhile, the elves were not happy when news of Argol’s death became known. But it wasn’t until another group of humans was encountered that internal differences among the elves began to surface.
The humans they encountered were clearly not related to the humans who had accidentally summoned the demons in the first place. But that didn’t matter to some of the elves. And it was Argol’s wife, Queen Emeriel who insisted all humans be killed to avenge Argol.
But other calmer voices called for peace and a resumption of relations with the humans.
In the end the elves split into two groups and those led by Emeriel left the elven forest and began to plot the destruction of all humans in the world.
Over the centuries that followed they were quite successful harassing and contributing to the fall of human civilizations. But when the kingdom of Thalacia was formed, things began to chance.
Would you believe that with all my talks of dragons that I
did not come to my acquaintance with them until adulthood.I knew of dragons of course. I remember
listening to the song; Puff the Magic Dragon on my little record player
hundreds of times. One thing that did attract my attention was horses (it seems
that a good many people shared this fascination with me). I was all about
horses. I loved horse books and my favorite author was Marguerite Henry and her
tales of the Chincoteague ponies, Justin Morgan Had a Horse, and of course
Black Gold. I would read these books over and over again.
I begged my father to get us a pony until he finally
relented and got us one. It was then that I realized I was fascinated with the
idea of owning a horse but not so much with actually owning a horse. Bobby, the
pony was a lot of work that I didn’t so much enjoy.
So after several years of not taking care of the pony my dad
finally gave him away. I can only hope it was to a child who would love and
care for him more than I did.
So another one of my passions was writing. Even as a young
child I remember sitting at the dining room table and pretending I owned a
greeting card company where I would come up with little sayings to put inside
the cards. Around Middle school time I began to write more. I took a creative
writing class and even thought about being a journalist only after I was
disabused of the desire to be a nurse.
Ah yes, I had many dreams as a child, not many of them came
to fruition as I learned the facts about each of my dreams, like nursing
involved blood and icky stuff that I didn’t think I could handle. I saw the
movie Jaws when it was released and had nightmares as well as fearing going to
sleep. It was then that I decided that nursing was not something I wanted to
pursue, even though it had been a dream of mine for several years. Once again I
think it was the pamphlets about nursing schools and the cute little white caps
that nurses got to wear that was the appeal instead of the actual nursing.
Of course when I met my husband while still in high school
and fell in love most of my dreams were put aside for the thought of being
married to him and raising a family. It wasn’t until we were many years into
our marriage that I took up my writing again and that even came after another
of what I thought had been a childhood dream was quashed. Still no dragons
entered my life.
It wasn’t until about sixteen years ago that the first of my
dragons came on the scene. The first one Tatsu has turned out to be not such a
nice dragon, but not long after Myrria came along and my fascination with
dragons blossomed.
When I think about the sense of wonder and the attitude that
comes with it, I think with my dragons and my writing I have been able to
resurrect some of those feelings. My books are a testament to that wonder. I am
ecstatic that I have been able to return to those childhood dreams and make
them a part of my adulthood.
And I still love horses and like to ride, but having one to
own is not a desire. Someone else can do the owning. Nursing is definitely no
longer a dream, but I have spent thirty nine years nursing and nurturing my
children and my grandchildren. So even though I don’t have the cute cap (which
I don’t think many nurses wear nowadays) nursing is another dream that came
true, just not in the way I first thought it would.
In my humble opinion those childhood dreams that we all have
are the fuel that warms our adult lives and even though they may not appear to
come true, in some form or another they do come to fruition.
So don’t ignore those horses and dragons, those greeting
card games or even the nursing dreams. Instead encourage them, feed them, let
them grow, because you never know what they will blossom into.
Jesus wasn't betrayed by an enemy. He was betrayed by a friend. As was King Arthur. That is how the story goes anyway.
Mordred, the noblest of knights, betrayed his King and in doing so, he brought down a kingdom. But that is not all. Mordred was not just a Knight of Camelot. He was of royal blood.
Mordred was the son of Morgause - Arthur's sister -but there is debate as to who his father was. Some say his father was Morgauses' husband, King Lot of Orkney, which would make Gawain his brother. While others say he was Arthur's illegitimate son, begot with his sister. Either way, he had royal blood running in his veins. So how did Arthur and Mordred find themselves leading opposing armies on that fateful day in Camlann?
The earliest known reference to the Battle of Camlann can be found in the Annales Cambriae. The Annales of Cambriae is a chronicle that dates back to the 10th Century. It was compelled sometime between 960 - 970AD in Dyfed, Wales. The Annales Cambriae dates the Battle of Camlann in the year 537 AD. And this is what it says...
"The strife of Camlann, in which Arthur and Medraut fell."
Although they cannot be counted as a primary source, they do however draw on older stories - probably verbal - of the telling of this great battle. If you have not already noticed, the quote above says nothing about Arthur fighting Mordred at Camlann. It states that both men fell (died) at Camlann. Mordred was one of Arthur's most loyal knights, therefore it would make sense that they died together because they fought together. Which begs the question, how did Mordred become the villain of the tale?
Sir Mordred by H. J. Ford (1902)
In 1136, Geoffrey of Monmouth penned The History of the Kings of Britain. It is Monmouth who suggests that it was Mordred, who was left in charge of Camelot while Arthur crossed the channel to rage war on Emperor Lucius of Rome. It is Monmouth who states that Mordred saw this as an opportunity to take Arthur's throne. It is Monmouth who states that Mordred not only took the kingdom but also forced Guinevere to marry him. It is Monmouth who states that Mordred and Arthur met at Camlann.
And we believed him.
The ancient Welsh texts were the first to associate Mordred with Camlann.But Monmouth's casting of Mordred as the villain was soon accepted as the truth and others expanded upon this story making Mordred something of an Anti-Christ - or an Anti-Arthur.
Time passes, and the story changes. Lancelot enters the tale, and some of Mordred's villainous activities are passed on to Lancelot - such as the affair with Guinevere.
Thomas Malory who penned Le Morte d'Arthur sticks with tradition and casts Mordred as the villain but this time there is a slight twist to the tale. In Malory's version, Mordred believes that Arthur is dead, slain by Lancelot. Mordred, with parliaments consent, is crowned King and when he hears that Arthur is alive he does take his army to meet him. But this begs the question, why would the Knights follow Mordred instead of Arthur. Malory gives us a clue..
"...with Arthur was none other life but war
and strife, and with Sir Mordred was great joy and bliss."
An interesting idea indeed.
In the Lancelot-Grail Cycle, Mordred is succeeded by his sons. The sons, like their father, had treachery running through their veins. In the older text, it is Constantine who tracks the brothers down and kills them. In later versions, it is Lancelot and Bors.
But the extent of Mordred's treachery does not end there.
"...him who, at one blow, had chest and shadow / shattered by Arthur's hand..."
(Canto XXXII)
This quote is from Dante's Inferno. If you seek Mordred you will find him in the lowest circle of Hell - a place set aside for traitors.
“I can't ignore what I saw. Gaius, Mordred is destined to play a part in Arthur's death.”
BBC adaptation of Merlin 2008 - 2012
Mordred is cast as a magically Druid boy in the BBC show Merlin (2008 - 2012). He becomes a Knight of Camelot and has no notion of treachery until his beloved is sentenced to death. Ironically, if Merlin had accepted Mordred as a source of good, then Arthur would never have died - but hey, what kind of story would that have made?
Mordred became the villain, but maybe he was not so evil as we have been led to believe.
The great mythical Turul bird of prey is one of the most important symbols of the Hungarians. The origins of the Turul legendry go way back to prehistoric Hungarian past. It is the relic of the ancient Hungarian faith, the embodier of the powers above and the monarchic sovereignty, the national symbol of the providence and guidelines. It is the ancient symbol of national identity.
It represents God's power and will. The Turul was seen as the ancestor of Atilla, and it was also the symbol of the Huns. The Hungarian Turul is often represented carrying the flaming Sword of God.
A Hungarian legend tells the story of Emese, wife of Ügyek the descendant of Atilla, who once had a dream in which a Turul appeared to her. In this dream, a crystal-clear stream started to flow from her, and as it moved Westward, it grew into a mighty river. This dream represented her symbolic impregnation by the Turul, and meant that she would give birth to a line of great rulers. Emese later gave birth to Álmos, who was the father of Árpád, the great leader of the Magyars and founder of Hungary. This story reaffirms the Hun-Magyar kinship, and the knowledge that the Magyars reconquered Hungary as their rightful inheritance from Atilla's great Hun Empire.
Turul eagle near Buda Royal Palace entrance gate in Budapest, Hungary — Photo by panama7
There were 3 large Turul statues, each with a wingspan of 15 meters, in Greater Hungary (before the country had its borders reconfigured by the Treaty of Trianon). The last of the three stands on a mountain near Tatabánya, Hungary, but the other two were destroyed. It is the largest bird statue in Europe and the largest bronze statue in Central Europe. There remain at least 195 Turul statues in Hungary, as well as 48 in Romania (32 in Transylvania and 16 in Partium), 8 in Slovakia, 7 in Serbia, 5 in Ukraine, 1 in Austria. One of the most recently erected, as of 29 September 2012, on St. Michael the Archangel's Day, is in Hungary's Ópusztaszer National Heritage Park.
Some of the Kingdom of Hungary postage stamps issued after 1900 feature the Turul.
I lit the sacred candles infused with herbs and then placed them in a silver candle holder on a small round table. The ancient wooden male and female figurines holding hands stood between the candles, with our delicately carved Turul bird with a crown on its head and a sword in its talons. The Falcon held widely stretched wings over the figurines as if protecting them.
The statues had been in my family for centuries, they were small, and had a deep, warm brown color. The rich, shiny brown hue came from the hot herbal tea Elza poured over the statues every morning, as my ancestors had done for generations. Beside the statues was an ancient, dark leather-bound book. Its permanent place was on the Prayer table, and every Hun family had one. I had leafed through our book many times. The first few pages remained empty to me, but the rest of the book contained my ancestor’s names and achievements, written in ancient handwriting. Mom had said when I asked her about the empty pages, “The Book will reveal all its secrets to you, but only when you when you reach the age of maturity.” I wondered if I were ready; I was entering into Hun adulthood after all, so I made a mental note to check the book the next day, after prayer time.
Elza wrapped the ceremonial shawl over my shoulders as I took a deep breath and held my hands above the table. I began the prayer by reading the Hun writing, carved into the leather cover of the book of my ancestors. Following the ancient traditions, we prayed as a family in the morning to the First Mother and Father, and we prayed to the Creator at night, in solitude.
Mother and Father leading in unity,
Protected by the Turul for eternity,
Guide my soul and keep my body healthy.
Test my courage and try my patience,
Let me prove I have endurance.
Let compassion always guide me,
Make me wise to help the needy.
Challenge me on my daily journey,
And give me the strength to prove I’m worthy.
Closing my eyes, I held my hands in silence over the table for a minute and embraced the serene feeling I always had while saying the prayer. Warm energy flooded my insides, and I experienced a deep connection to something powerful, majestic and welcoming.
Ilona resigns to live the simple life of a small-town
doctor, but her
life goes into a tailspin on her birthday. She finds out she was
born into a secretive, ancient clan still hidden among us. She starts to
develop unusual powers which she finds exciting as well as frightening.
She can slow time and heal with her touch, but how and why?
She struggles to
find answers, but those who try to reveal the clan secrets are severely
punished.
A menacing man is following her and wants to kill
her. Who is he?
More life struggles continue to plague her. After being
thrust into a world of clan mysteries, obscure traditions, and beliefs, her
life is drastically changing.
She must seek out and stop Mora’s evil plan. Punished by the
ancestors long ago, Mora has waited centuries for the chance to reunite with
her beloved Joland and to gain power over the Hunor clan. Revenge has kept her alive for over
1600 years.
Ilona must search for the mysterious Destiny Box that holds
a message from her Ancestors while she attempts to sort out her feelings
for the men in her life.
The spirits of the clan come to Ilona’s aid with
answers to the clan’s secrets and the key to helping her maintain her sanity
amidst the fear of danger lurking everywhere as she tries to succeed.
She must activate her Chameleon ability and obtain unimaginable
powers. The clan Leaders and Elders are worried knowing that she can use
her growing powers for absolute good or absolute evil. But they have no choice,
they’re powerless against Mora and must place their trust in Ilona.
With the help of the clan’s Time Bender, her journey will take her back in time to when her
people lived as nomads, to the castles of the 14th century as they
struggle to overcome the obstacles in their path due to the evils of
Mora.
Ilona finds her Destiny Box where the ancestors reveal what
she must do—but it does not come without cost.
She must ensure the birth of the Chosen Child in the 4th century in order to save the
future of the Hunor Clan.
Will Ilona succeed in saving the child? Will she accept her
destiny?
“This is so different from the usual fare churned out by ordinary writers.” -Valerie Byron
“The characters felt real, and the secrets are alluring. You will get hooked in right away.” -Brenda Barry
“Szabo introduces readers to a fascinating world of ancient rights conducted by a secret order.” -J.E. Rogers
Mythology and Folklore: Part One By Erika M Szabo The Turul Bird by Erika M Szabo Picture credit: https://www.deviantart.com/tag/turul The great mythical Turul bird of prey is one of the most important symbols of the Hungarians. The origins of the Turul legendry go way back to prehistoric Hungarian past. I...
Although the series is not a history book, I used bits of historical facts in the story, and the Turul bird and the Sacred Sword are important part of Hun mythology.
Brilliant post, Erika! I loved learning about the Turul Bird! Your heritage is a rich one, that is for sure. Thank you for sharing traditions and beliefs with us.
I'm fascinated by the rich legacy of legendary creatures and peoples of the world. Thank you for sharing the Turul bird and a snippet of your epic fantasy!
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