News on Goddess

Learning so much as I gain progress through my Historic Fiction: So much in fact, I am really dreading the second draft, as I will have to alter many entries and facts that I only knew very little about when I first went into this project. It was expected however, and I already have an alternative path prepared for my characters that which runs in parallel with the original outline. Working with such a vast world has proven quite the task when combining fantasy with reality. Especially when you are juggling so much information around—both fact and fiction—trying to hit all of the vital bullet-points of history, while at the same time trying to successfully tell a compelling story about characters that never existed. The Witchcraze period at its worst was a time of reform, war, and economical struggle, and there were a lot of factors that played into these developments, which must be explained. Not to mention that most of what we know about ancient cultures as such comes to us from surviving texts that were written by the winners: i.e- The Christian scholars who cataloged these activities before proselytizing them all. So too is it that most of what modern-day NeoPagans practice is naught but a combination of surviving traditions, originating from many different cultures that span all across the globe. We owe most of that knowledge to the Wiccan movement, which was first brought into public light by the venerable Gerald Gardner in the early 50's, who was too himself a radical idealist, but an honorable soul nevertheless, for being so brave to take his views and beliefs as far as he had during a still dangerous time to do so. Therefore, targeting the specifics in this topic has been quite the challenge for me, especially since this is my first literature venture in years, as so it is the very first historic fiction I have ever written in my life. One day I may write a full bio on this piece, detailing the trials and tribulations I was forced to undergo in the process, because It really is quite an epic adventure recreating this world. But until then, I need to just get it done and over with, and move on to the next great-pain-in-the-ass assignment. God, I love this stuff.

Reading and writing is peace.

I have been struggling with some things lately. However, it seems that writing and or reading always takes me away from those incessantly annoying problems. Working on Goddess in Flames and reading Starhawk's Spiral Dance never ceases to quell my concerns that usually only ever cause me unnecessary stress. I have to keep working every time I'm feeling down, or just pick up a book that can remind me that everything is going to be just fine.
Anyhow!
Working on some short stories to post here on my blog. They are all centered around the world of my upcoming novel, Goddess in Flames, and will introduce you to some of the characters, and/or some of the problems that either relate, or will lead up to the events that the book is all about. Some of these stories are based on true stories, and others are just a little something to tease your interest in this project. My goal is to get you saying, "Well what happens next?"
And believe me, once you read Goddess in Flames, you will get your answers, however, these short tales will also give you a little piece of the adventure that you won't get from the book, so you might want to read them as well.
Goddess in Flames: Chronicles
a weekly series based on the upcoming novel.

Exploring the forgotten

Spent all day working on my new novel today. I am pretty excited about it thus far. The more I progress, the more I realize the breadth of the world I am trying to recreate in this piece, and it is quite the adventure. Writing about the 16th century is like exploring a whole other world, that is bound by the strangest rules. Imagine a time where simply speaking your mind could land you in a dungeon where you are to starve or freeze to death, or caught in a malign torture device designed to twist, tear, or break an individual until they are forced to confess to crimes that which they could never possibly commit. While at the same time, it is a world of beautiful forgotten natural wonders. It really is a ying and yang type of universe, but so very fascinating to me. My goal in this piece is to guide my readers through the trials and tribulations of the renaissance period, and show them the beauty of a culture that has been misconstrued for so many years by ancient political propaganda. The word Witch as we understand it today is such a vague term compared to its true meaning. From the Anglo-Saxon word Wic, which means to bend or shape, it has taken on many different forms over the centuries. Like the many shape shifters in Irish mythology, it's meaning has evolved and transformed in our minds, and now I believe we are finally returning to that magical time when it can return to its true form. Nature dweller, or one who understands the wisdom of the earth, that was its true origin. Today however, as a result of the horrendous witchcraze period, we misunderstand the word as a symbol of evil, instead of enlightenment. The same charges that were leveled against accused witches, and heritics, were used to justify the enslavement of the Africans (who were brought to the New World, supposedly to christianize them), as well as the enslavement of the Irish who worked side by side with the Africans in The early days of America. The same immoral justifications would eventually lead to the destruction of other cultures, and the wholesale genocide of Native Americans. The patriarchal powers of the world have been training their subservients to view the world as a dead machine, to which men have a god-given right to pillage and destroy for many centuries. It is that same mentality that would lead into the witchcraze and slavery. We went from, "if one is different from the majority, then we should have power over them" to "if someone or something is different, then I should fear it" when we should be thinking, "we are all apart of this living earth, and so we should take care of each other, for we are all family." This piece is about a culture that once understood that concept.
I have learned a lot be studying the work of Starhawk. If anybody is interested in learning more about these topics, I strongly recommend you checkout some of her books at your local Library.

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Location:Witch, witchcraze, pagan, book, writing, novel, Irish, Celtic, Starhawk