Animals and their Powers in Fantasy

Today is the first day of the A to Z Challenge lasting all through April. Bloggers who are participating post a new letter each day except Sundays. To go to the main webpage for the challenge click HERE. This is a blog hop and there are over a thousand participants. I know, because I'm number 1390! What a great way to meet new friends.



I chose Fantasy as my theme for the challenge. For the letter A I chose Animals and their Powers in Fantasy.

Very early on, mankind recognized the powers of the animals that shared the earth, and the ability to "talk to the animals" became a basic skill of shamans and magicians worldwide. Many tribes, peoples and societies trace their origins to a totem animal, often associated with a god, and hold that animal sacred. Animal powers are invoked through dances imitating their movements and musical intruments imitating their cries.
Acquiring an animal guide of familiar is important in many kinds of magic and spiritualism. The Native American sought his animal guide during a vision quest while alone in the wilderness, or on a spiritual journey assisted by hallucinogenic drugs, such as peyote. Western magicians gained the aid of a familiar through meditation and invocation, wearing masks and practicing shape-shifting.

Examples:

Bear: power, adaptability, knowledge of the healing power of herbs, brings balance and harmony on the astral plane.

Cat: a strong protector, seer of spirits, independent and self-assured, seeking for hidden information, shape-shifter, sacred to Egyptian goddesses Bast and Pasht.

Eagle: connection to the Creator, divine spirit, wisdom, swiftness, keen sight.

Hummingbird: messenger, able to stop time, happiness, love.

Owl: wisdom, truth, patience, keen sight, guide to the underworld, clairvoyance.

A to Z April Challenge Coming!

The A to Z April Challenge is almost upon us! Make sure that you're signed up HERE to be a participant in the month long blog hop. Each day, except Sunday, we'll be posting with a new letter of the alphabet. So choose what you'd like to post about, I'm doing fantasy, and get ready.

There are over 1000 participants so far. I know because I'm number 1390. I got started a little late. But there's still time to sign up if you want to join in the fun. We'll be meeting a lot of new people and sharing with each other. Make sure to keep your posts short so people can read and comment.

I hope to see you there!

The Puzzle Box Is On Amazon!

My new e-book The Puzzle Box, Book 2, Dragon Stone Trilogy is up on Amazon for those of you who prefer it to Smashwords. You can go HERE to the book page at Amazon. For those that would like to go to Smashwords, you can click HERE. Enjoy the fantasy and adventure of this exciting book!

The Puzzle Box

Book 2

Dragon Stone Trilogy

A mad chase through the kingdom of Mar involves sabotage, kidnapping and murder, before Ari’s stolen puzzle box finds its way to its rightful owner, a dragon from the Northern Country. Now Ari must do the dragon’s bidding in order to save Mar from an evil sorcerer who has come from another timeline to wreak havoc in the land. Will Ari have the courage and strength to stand up and fight? His experience in the Feast of Games, a battle of swordplay and skill, will send the sorcerer fleeing when his magic is overpowered. But Ari must face his worst rival, the King’s son, on the battlefield of the Feast of Games. The dragon accompanies him to the Games, where he watches as Ari accepts the challenge of a battle to the death. Can Ari survive his opponent while the angry sorcerer spins his web?

The Puzzle Box Now Available!

I'm happy to announce that The Puzzle Box, Book 2 of the Dragon Stone Trilogy is now available on Smashwords and in two days on Amazon. This is the second book in my trilogy that starts with Call of the Dragon, which has had an enthusiastic response. You can get your ebook copy from Smashwords HERE.

The Puzzle Box

A mad chase through the kingdom of Mar involves sabotage, kidnapping and murder, before Ari’s stolen puzzle box finds its way to its rightful owner, a dragon from the Northern Country. Now Ari must do the dragon’s bidding in order to save Mar from an evil sorcerer who has come from another timeline to wreak havoc in the land. Will Ari have the courage and strength to stand up and fight? His experience in the Feast of Games, a battle of swordplay and skill, will send the sorcerer fleeing when his magic is overpowered. But Ari must face his worst rival, the King’s son, on the battlefield of the Feast of Games. The dragon accompanies him to the Games, where he watches as Ari accepts the challenge of a battle to the death. Can Ari survive his opponent while the angry sorcerer spins his web?

Cover Reveal for The Puzzle Box

Here is the cover for my new book The Puzzle Box. This is the second book in my Dragon Stone Trilogy and will be published on Smashwords and Amazon at the end of March.

The Puzzle Box

A fascinating old puzzle box is found by Ari, an apprentice to the King’s sword maker. The King claims ownership of the box, after hearing of its existence from a traveling magician. But the box gets stolen before Ari can return it to the King. There is a mad chase through the kingdom of Mar, with sabotage, kidnapping and murder, before the box finds its way to its rightful owner, a dragon from the Northern Country. Now Ari must do the dragon’s bidding in order to save Mar from an evil sorcerer who has come from another timeline to wreak havoc in the land. Will Ari have the courage and strength to stand up and fight? His experience in the Feast of Games, a battle of swordplay and skill, will send the sorcerer fleeing when his magic is overpowered. But then Ari must face his worst rival, the King’s son, on the battle field of the Games to regain his honor. The dragon, who has befriended him, accompanies him to the Feast of Games, where he watches as Ari accepts the challenge of a battle to the death.

Writer's Courage...

Recently I finished a short story aimed at being submitted in a contest that would create some exciting exposure for me. I found myself editing and picking at the manuscript over and over until I began to wonder what was bothering me about it. Suddenly I realized that there wasn't anything wrong with the story, I had edited it enough. It was my fear that was holding me back.

Writers need courage to expose themselves in their stories. Without it, they will pick away at their stories, editing and editing, never jumping over the fence into publication. Without courage, a writer can't delve to the depths of any story and flesh out the characters.

I'm taking my own advice and am submitting my story. Even if it is rejected, I know that I have done my best and will enjoy the excitement of the chase. With all the work I did on the story, it would be a waste not to submit it and get the experience from the competition.

Good luck to all you writers. Develop your courage and continue to engage in all those exciting submissions. We develop courage as we continue to stick our necks out there and hope for the best.

Responsibility and Integrity

This post is for the Insecure Writer's Support Group, hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh. The members post on the first Wednesday of the month and can visit other members on the website HERE.

I'm waiting to publish the next book in my Dragon Stone Trilogy, The Puzzle Box Book 2. What am I waiting on? A broken promise. The artist doing my book cover was supposed to have the cover finished in December, but has become unreliable. Now I'm faced with either hoping she'll finish or finding a new artist.

Responsibility and integrity are paramount when you deal with other people. I've always believed this and have demanded it of myself. When I encounter situations where people make promises and then break them, I am tempted to grab the person by their shoulders and shake some sense into them. But that can't solve the problem.

Each person has to decide for themselves whether or not they want to present a clean, professional image, or appear lazy and irresponsible. Perhaps in a perfect world we would all be professional, but I have to accept the fact that there are people out there in cyberland that have no conscience. I do leave room for unfortunate happenstances in people's lives and in those instances, the person should contact their parties and advise them immediately. But when people disappear when they have trouble, how is a person to know what's happening?

All that said, I guess you can tell that I'm feeling let down and taken by this artist. Live and learn was what my mother used to say. And so I will, a little older and wiser.

Visit other IWSG members HERE.