Island of Mystery and Exile, by Diane Scott Lewis

 

St. Helena, possibly the remotest place on earth, has many myths besides being the place of final exile and death of Napoleon. Come explore the island's other tales.

A SAVAGE EXILE. If you don't like vampires, don't despair, enjoy the mystery and the unique island in the far South Atlantic. I don't get too graphic. The defeated French Emperor was exiled to St. Helen in 1815, until his death in 1821.

Vampires with Napoleon was a fantastical concept. And fun to write, even with the more 'bloody' aspects, though kept to a minimum. My heroine, Isabelle, is a maid to an arrogant countess whose husband joins Napoleon in his banishment after the battle of Waterloo in 1815. Who in his entourage can be trusted?

And what of the strange tales of a 'beast' who dwells in the mountains? Isabelle fights her attraction to Napoleon's enigmatic valet, Ali, as the secrets, and a few deaths, pile up.

"Isabelle is likable heroine, and I enjoyed watching her make the best of a bad situation. Anyone who enjoys historical romance with a paranormal twist might want to check (A Savage Exile) out."

~ Long and Short Reviews

To purchase my novels and other BWL books: BWL

Instead of beasts, an airport is the latest news from this mysterious rock situated in the far reaches of the South Atlantic Ocean. 

I'd planned to visit St. Helena when I first wrote about Napoleon, but the expense to travel there is outrageous. First, you fly into Cape town, South Africa, then wait for the Royal Mail boat to arrive, schedule iffy, and sail to Jamestown, 2,000 miles away. You must seek permission from the British government, who still owns the island. Now the airport makes it easier to travel.

Napoléon à Sainte-Hélène by François-Joseph Sandmann

Many myths surround this isolated 'volcanic fist' at the bottom of the world. One concerning Napoleon is that a hurricane swept over the island, rattling homes, ripping out trees, on the day of his death, May 5, 1821. This has since been debunked. It was actually a nice day, weather-wise.

Whenever anything goes wrong on St. Helena, people claim it's Napoleon's Curse. Rain on a parade, wind shear at the airport, any misfortune. But this seems a 20th century invention.

One story has the island's ancient tortoise, Jonathon, is so old that he actually met Napoleon. But Jonathon isn't quite that old, and he doesn't make house calls.

But vampires? The mythical creatures of St. Helena are the Moncat, a cat-like critter with pointy ears and a monkey tail. A sea serpent was reported sighted off the island in 1848 by the HMS Daedalus. A frightening beast 60 feet long. 

Of more recent sightings, a blonde mermaid, bathing near the mail ship RMS St. Helena, that serves the island. Wishful thinking. (Okay, that's my granddaughter in her mermaid costume)

The most prevailing story is about a Portuguese soldier, Fernao Lopes, who was abandoned on the deserted island in the sixteenth century for criminal activities. He endured thirty years in complete solitude. His ghost is said to still haunt the hills and caves.

Find out more about me and my writing on my website: Dianescottlewis

Diane Parkinson (Diane Scott Lewis) is a member of the Historical Novel Society and the Napoleonic Historical Society. She’s had several historical novels published. Her most recent is the Revolutionary War novel, Her Vanquished Land. 

Her upcoming novel Ghost Point, the 1950s Potomac oyster wars, love and betrayal, will be released in September.

Diane lives with her husband and one naughty dachshund in Western Pennsylvania.

Ancient Sumer or Sumeria by Katherine Pym

 

 Available at Smashwords

Amazon

 ~*~*~*~

This month my newest novel, Begotten, debuted. Considered historical-fantasy, it begins with the breakup of a planet, a gateway of sorts that transports our protagonists to a new, cleaner planet. The goddess who rules the city-state is gentler than the bull god from the old world. 

Sumer Art

But many who traveled to the new world do not want to give up their god. Elam establishes a territory where the bull reigns, which causes our protagonists grief.

Why did I choose Sumer? It has a lovely history, which is documented in thousands of unearthed clay tablets. It is considered the cradle of civilization that laid between the confluences of the Tigris & Euphrates Rivers. The Garden of Eden has its origins there, along the Gabon River which is now extinct. 

Sumer Life

Sumer established writing, the wheel, a code of ethics. They believed in resurrection. They had a flood, a Moses. Their temple structure dealt with the sacred and the administrative, which is more like our corporate structure than any other current organization. Men had their specific jobs, for which they set down their daily duties which would be added to others’. Then they would be compiled into weekly, monthly, and at year’s end, annual compilation that the governor would address, then sign with his seal of office.

Their firsts for which mankind has benefited (from ancient.eu): 

Sumer Life

“The first schools, legal precedent, a ‘Farmer’s Almanac’, Cosmology, proverbs and sayings, documented domestication of animals, agricultural techniques, time, religion, mathematics, and among others, medical practices (including dentistry).”

The Sumerians were an amazing people, their culture on an equal note as our own. I had to write of the people and its society, an opportunity too good to pass up. 

Excerpt: 

Chapter One

Day of the Cataclysm

A battered reed basket under her arm, Luna stopped her headlong run to market when she reached the temple square. A bas-relief of the bull-god filled the edifice’s façade, the vivid colors dulled by the constant barrage of heat. Once surrounded by a beautiful garden, the remains of withered flowers slumped onto the parched earth. Blackened trees stretched their stark branches toward a metallic sky.

Couples with infants in their arms silently queued at the temple’s great bronze doors. At short intervals, priests admitted a pair as the rest shuffled forward. The smell of burned spices wafted from the vast building before the doors clanged shut.

A flock of birds burst from the garden’s skeletal tree canopy. In distorted chaos, they squawked and flew into each other. Feathers rained onto granite stones worn thin by worshippers.

The ground rolled beneath Luna’s feet. She spread her legs for balance as mews of fear rippled in the hot air. Gasping with terror the earth would break apart, sweat trickled in her heavy black hair, plaited in a mound of thin ropes. She searched for something to hold onto when the rumbles ceased.

Deadly earthquakes came with more frequency, several per day, each stronger than the last. This morning’s had rattled the kitchen with clay pots falling off shelves. Hot coals bounced from the stone oven and rolled across the floor, scorching a table leg.

An agitated couple in the queue caught her attention. The woman held an infant while the man paced in a small circle. They wore the same usekhs as Luna, beads of turquoise and amethyst that draped to the shoulders. The collars showed they were slaves in the same large household as Luna, yet she did not know them.

Sumer Art

~*~*~*~*~

Many thanks to:

Ancient History Encyclopedia: https://tinyurl.com/y5pnbu64

Depositphotos.com

An AWOL Character Returns

See all my historical novels @

http://julietwaldron.com/books.htm

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My first novel, one where the main character moved into my head and literally would not be let me alone, not to sleep, not for work, or even to quietly clean my house. Nanina talked and talked and talked for six months straight and I had to stay up half of every night typing like crazy just to get it all down. Miss Gottlieb's story of love, of magic, of music and of madness set me on the full time writer's path some forty (!!) years ago.  

Sometimes, after starting out with a rush and talking away like crazy, a character can decide to take a holiday--sometimes permanently. Actually, this is more like "going AWOL" for the hapless author, who may have a book contract to complete. This is one of the hazard's of being the kind of writer who is working their way through a planned series of linked stories. I once was far more "prolific" --the favorite description of all all agents who are shopping a writer to an editor--but my own little well of inspiration dried up about a year ago.

I believed I was done--written out. Instead of mourning or getting bent out of shape, I've been trying to Zen my way through the absence. After all so many years of story telling, there was certainly a sense of loss, but I was determined not to brood or feel sorry for myself, but simply to take a "wait and see" attitude. 

Recently, however, I've received cage rattling, from not one, but from two characters, the leads in two quite different unfinished novels. One is pure, unadulterated romance (Aphrodite help me!). The other is Zauberkraft Green, which was supposed to be the third story in my "Magic" series. As the name suggests, these are historical novels with a fantasy flare, stories which cross a lot of genres, from Gothic to Adventure to Horror and Romance. 

                           

Zauberkraft Green's main character is Charlize, who is the grandchild of Caterina, who is the heroine of the strongly romance-inflected Zauberkraft Red. Charlize is also the niece of Goran, Caterina's first born son and the shape-shifting hero of Zauberkraft Black. 

Typically--at least, what I'd come to expect from Charlize after we became acquainted--was a lot of ADHD precocious chatter, even a certain bitchiness. Then, just as suddenly as she had begun, her voice vanished from my head. 

I'm beginning to think she didn't want  to talk too much about the things that frightened and threatened her, because, hell, what I do know about those elements of the story frighten me too. However, all of a sudden, right about the dark of the moon a few days ago, Charlize began to speak  again. This blog is a kind of celebration that she's taken it upon herself to reappear and (maybe) finish the darn story.

Or at least, I hope so! I don't want to go on too long about her reappearance or gloat. As everyone who writes, or aspires to, knows, these gifts from the Spring of the Muses must not be taken for granted.  A lot of work and even more concentration will be necessary to turn whatever odds and ends she shares into the spooky journey I hope that Zauberkraft Green will eventually be. 

BTW, all three of these novels are Regencies, even if the first two have a European setting instead of the traditional Lyme Regis or Bath. Young teen Charlize, however, has been adopted by an Englishman, a kindly gentleman who has made an honest woman of her beautiful mother and moved them all to London, so here they are at least, proper Regency people, living where they are supposed to: in the UK. 

Wish me luck! I'm sure I'll need it.


~~Juliet Waldron
(Happily hearing voices in her head again!)

See all my historical novels @

http://julietwaldron.com/books.htm

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Fantasy fans at the Phoenix Comicon - by Vijaya Schartz

A hit at the Phoenix Comicon

DAMSEL OF THE HAWK

Curse of the Lost Isle Book 7

by Vijaya Schartz

https://amzn.com/B01CH93SNM

If you like Sci-fi and fantasy, you are probably a geek, and you are not alone. On June 2-5, over 90,000 people braved the 115-degree heat to attend the 2016 Phoenix Comicon, and discover their inner geek. And it was worth it. The city had to close some roads for the block parties, and the heavy construction on 7th Street made traffic a nightmare, but that did not stop the fans.

I attended as an exhibitor, signing my novels at a small table with my author friend in geekdom, Linda Andrews. This was our third Phoenix Comicon together, and it has been the best so far. We were ensconced between two booths with tall displays of graphic art, with the artist selling on one side, and another drawing caricatures as your favorite character. For four days, we watched the crowd, many in full costumes, cruise by our modest display. Many of the vendors sold costumes, wigs, light sabers, and all the geeky paraphernalia you can only find in specialized shops and at Comicon. And among all these convention goers, there were readers. Some only stopped to admire the covers, but others actually liked to read good sci-fi or fantasy books.

You meet some interesting characters, some funny, and some scary. I particularly liked these two:

Fans could take selfies with their favorite DC character in authentic costume, there were contests for the largest group of the same character Cosplay. Fans attended panels with their favorite sci-fi movie stars. Everyone had a blast. This is heaven for gamers, artists, writers, readers, and fans.

I was honored to be singled out by a famous Cosplay character, the best in his trade, a local celebrity in full costume, impersonating "Ex Excessive." I love the concept as well as the costume. Who wouldn't fall for these gorgeous black wings. He is local, his name is Trevor Gahona, and he gave me one of his roses. You can see it as a red dot of color on my table. Here is one of his official pictures in costume taken at the convention. What did I tell you?

In other words, I had a fantastic Phoenix Comicon, and I'll be back next year for sure. This event is a highlight of the year. I loved it. Hope to see you there next year.

Vijaya Schartz, author

Blasters, Swords, Romance with a Kick

http://www.vijayaschartz.com

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