Otherworldly erotica... yes I'm going there.

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So... what have you been reading lately?

With titles like Taken by the T-rex, Mounted by a monster, or some such - there seems to be a plethora of 'out there' erotic reads available in the modern market - that seemingly sell very well.

I usually avoid them.

This time I didn't.

Recently, I dared to dip my toe into the murky waters of self-published erotic e-books.


You may indeed ask why, for I certainly have asked myself that same question...

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I have admittedly turned my nose up to reading these kinds of books for quite sometime. Whether it has been my literary snobbery, my distrust of self-published books or my distaste at the content - I can't be sure. So when I was first introduced Rosemary Button's Alien Games I was a little bit squeamish, a little bit embarrassed but ultimately pleasantly surprised.

It was actually rather good.

The premise is great and it's witty, strangely romantic and completely out-there in the way only a sci-fi erotica novel could be. Combine that with some decent editing, and a good story arc, and well, you have a strange, but very easy read.

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Was it sexy, you ask? Well, that depends on what you find sexy really... Some of it yes, other bits no.

Still, it's given me a great insight into why some people are devouring these books (some of which are as short as 3000 words). They're quick to read, titillating, and the ultimate in escapism.

Will I read more of them? Rosemary Button? Certainly. The other's... maybe, if I see one that tickles my fancy.

In truth I don't really know what it says about society, but the rise in short-length otherwordly erotica is certainly a fascinating phenomena and one I will be watching with interest from now on.

Mothman... you're kidding right?

Ah, no.

Mothman Statue, West Virginia

The mythological or cryptid monster known as the "Mothman" is a relatively modern phenomenon - first sighted on the 12th of November 1966, near the town of Clendenin in West Virginia. It is alleged that five men were digging a grave in the local cemetery saw a strange creature take to the air from some nearby trees.

A few days later, a couple were driving a long a road and saw what appeared to be a humanoid figure, about six foot tall with large wings folded against his back.
Many months later the same couple saw the creature again, this time on a hillside, where it spread its wings and rose into the air and followed them in the car. The creature kept pace with the car for several miles.

Yet another alleged sighting took place in Salem. The man was watching television when he heared a an odd whining sound, swiftly followed by the alarmed howl of a dog. He went outside to investigate and allegedly saw two glowing red eyes that looked similar to bicycle reflectors. He rushed inside to get his gun, but when he returned the creature was gone and so was his dog...

It is unsurprising that The Mothman became quite a cult figure, and in 2002 actor Richard Gere
played a lead role in a successful movie called "The Mothman Prophesies" - which was based on a book of the same name written in 1975.

So realistically what could the 'mothman' be? Some suggest it was a large American Crane bird, with reddish markings around its eyes that had wondered off its migration route. Other cryptozoologists and alien-fanciers suggest it is an alien.

Either way, it's fascinating to see that belief in the strange and bizarre still has its followers! Check out the video below.
http://youtu.be/a9qvZXlSJ-8

Six Line Sunday... WIPping "Big Girl"

So... amongst all the *many* other writing projects I have going on at the moment I have still been finding some time to write my latest Paranormal Romance work.

Here you go.... six lines (well actually it's a little more than six lines) of my WIP tentatively titled "Big Girl".

This scene is where our half giant heroine, Correctional Officer Eudora Splat, takes matters into her own hands to rescue her charge, the accused felon Evander "Bear" Gordon, from an attack by Human Purists.

The quiet made the temptation to look unbearable. Cautiously, he craned his neck once more around the trunk of his tree, and the scene that met his eyes belied belief. Officer Splat had torn a young tree from its roots and effectively clobbered Claver it.

The man was sprawled on the leafy wet ground, the trunk of the tree flat across his chest.

Officer Splat, stared down at the man. Her shoulder’s heaving. As if she sensed his presence, she turned. Her electric blue eyes met his, and held them a long dazzling second. Then, unexpectedly, her wide generous mouth tilted at the corners, and a delighted, cheeky smile appeared.

Bear felt his heart stutter to a halt.

I like this girl.

 ©Nicola E. Sheridan 2014

I really love this story, it's the genre I love, with heaps of action and adventure. My enthusiasm for this project has been buoyed by my wonderful critique partner Loretta Hill's comments on the manuscript at our meeting last week... "That was really fun! I really love their chemistry. It's so sweet.... I'm disappointed there's none left to read!"

Which was a relief. It's always a worry when I'm loving writing something, that my readers may not... critique partners are just the best for raw honesty!

I am really trying to get this manuscript finished in a few months, and sent to my publisher as soon as I possibly can.

Have a wonderful New Year!

Searching for the Queen of Sheba

 Who is this woman - whose name crops up when we think of wealth and beauty? Where is the country of Sheba? Was she real?

Let's take a look.

According to the Bible, the Queen of Sheba came to Jerusalem to visit King Solomon "with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stones" (I Kings 10:2). "Never again came such an abundance of spices" (10:10; II Chron. 9:1–9).
 
Yet the Queen of Sheba is mentioned not only in Christian traditions, but also Jewish and Islamic traditions as well. Which one, if any is true?

Where was the country of Sheba?

Most researchers agree that Sheba is possibly the South Arabian kingdom of Saba, now known as Yemen.

 Saba had a virtual monopoly had a monopoly on frankincense. 
The city of Marib in Saba would have wealth accumulated to such an extent that the city became a byword for riches beyond belief throughout the Arab world.

Its people, the Sabeans - a group whose name bears the same etymological root as Saba - lived in South Arabia between the tenth and sixth centuries BC. Their main temple - Mahram Bilqis, or temple of the moon god (situated about three miles from the capital city of Marib) - was so famous that it remained sacred even after the collapse of the Sabean civilisation in the sixth century BC - caused by the rerouting of the spice trail. 

Saba was known by the Hebrews as Sheba, and it survives today (Saba = Sa'abia = Saudi Arabia). Reference History Files

It has also been suggested though archaeological evidence that during the10th Century BC, Ethiopia and Yemen were ruled by a single dynasty probably based in Yemen. Since the political and cultural ties between ancient Yemen and Ethiopia seem to have been strong in that era, the Queen of Sheba may have reigned over both Ethiopia and Yemen. It makes sense then that she could have been either Yemeni or Ethiopian in race.

Who was she then?

Possibility 1.

The Ethiopian Queen - Makeba 
 

Every country has an epic tale - and Ethiopia's appears to be the Kebra Nagast or "Glory of Kings." This tells the story of a queen named Makeda from the city of Axum who traveled to meet the King Solomon of Jerusalem.
The Queen stayed in Jerusalem for some months... and unsurprisingly King Solomon fell in love / lust with her.
As Makeda's visit neared its end, Solomon asked her to stay in his own, private wing of the castle.
Not wanting to offend him, she agreed, but made Solomon promise not to get frisky or fresh with her.
Solomon reluctantly agreed to her stipulation but only if Makeda agreed to one of his own. Makeda must not take anything belonging to the King, if she did, well, then then he could be as frisky and fresh as he wanted with her.

Being a wily fellow, Solomon ordered a spicy and salty dinner for her. Which she ate. That night, he placed a glass of water beside Makeda's bed. Naturally from the salty meal - she woke up thirsty, and drank it.

Upon drinking the water, Solomon entered her room and said that she'd drunk his water... and now he could do with her what he wished.

No surprise then that Makeda and Solomon had sex - and when she returned to Ethiopia, she was pregnant with his child.

In Ethiopian tradition, Solomon and Sheba's child, Emperor Menelik I, founded the Solomonid dynasty, which continued until Emperor Haile Selassie was deposed in 1974. Menelik also went to Jerusalem to meet his father, and either received as a gift (or possibly stole) the Ark of the Covenant, depending upon the version of the story. Although most Ethiopians today believe that Makeda was the biblical Queen of Sheba, many scholars give preference to a Yemeni origin, instead. Reference

Possibility 2.

The Yemeni Queen Bilqis

An important component of Yemen's claim on the Queen of Sheba is the name. We know that a great kingdom called Saba existed in Yemen during this period, and many historians believe that Saba is Sheba. There is also the Temple of Mahram Bilqis that adds weight to the argument.

 Islamic folklore holds that the Sabean queen's name was Bilqis.
According to Surah 27 of the Qu'ran, Queen Bilqis and her people worshipped a Moon god rather than adhering to Abrahamaic monotheist beliefs.

In the Qu'ranic verses, it it said that King Solomon sent her a letter inviting her to worship his God. Bilqis  was offended and feared that the Jewish king would invade her country. To this end Bilqis decided to visit Jerusalem and question him more about his faith.
In the Qu'ran's version of the story, Solomon enlisted the help of a djinn or genie to help impress her. He ordered the djinn to transport Bilqis's throne from her castle in Sheba to Solomon's in Jerusalem - all in the blinking of an eye.
Understandably, Bilqis was so impressed by this that she converted to Solomon's religion.

Unlike in the Ethiopian epic, the Islamic version does not in anyway suggest a romantic involvement between Solomon and Bilqis.

Is there any archaeological evidence of Bilqis, Makeda or the Queen of Sheba?

2000 - Canadian researchers recommenced studies of the Mahram Bilqis (Temple of the Moon God) in Yemen, which is believed to have been frequented by the Queen of Sheba.  "The sanctuary is packed with artifacts, pottery, artwork and inscriptions, opening a new door to the ancient civilizations of southern

Arabia," says Glanzman. "We've probably excavated less than one per cent of the site, with many of its treasures still buried far beneath the sands. This is the largest and one of the most important pre-Islamic sanctuary sites in Arabia." Reference
The excavation was started in 1951 but halted due to political unrest.
The site contains evidence of animal sacrifices and pottery.

 In 2008 - German archaeologists in the town of Axum in Ethiopia claimed to have discovered the Queen of Sheba's Palace. The remains of the palace were discovered under a more recent palace of a Christian King. Allegedly during this dig, they also found an altar - which allegedly once held The Ark of the Covenant. Ethiopian tradition has long since claimed that the Ark, which contained the stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written, were smuggled into Ethiopia by Menelik - the Queen's son. It is said that The Queen of Sheba's son returned to Sirius (star constellation) worship after her death, and there is evidence of bull sacrifice around the altar.

In 2012 - British archaeologists claim to have found the Queen of Sheba's mines - or rather ancient gold mines that provided wealth to the country of Sheba. The mines are marked by a 20ft stone slab that bare the mark of the Sabeans - a crescent moon and sun.

2014 - Visitors to Nigeria are able to make a pilgrimage to the Queen of Sheba's Tomb.
In the south western jungle of Nigeria in an area known as Oke -Eiri is allegedly the Queen of Sheba's final resting place. Local tradition in the area states that tomb belonged to a very wealthy, wise widow called Bilikisu Sungo.

It was at her request that her slaves to built an eredo monument for her remembrance. The monument was rediscovered in 1994 by Patrick Darling, a British Geographer. According to local legend the Queen of Sheba left her own lands and ruled over the smaller 1,400 km territory in Nigeria until her death.

Whether the palace, mines or tomb, are really linked to the true Queen of Sheba, is questionable. Yet, she remains a fascinating historical figure, and one I'm certain many would love to uncover the truth about.

A wee rant about e-book piracy....

A sad fact is, I bet if I tag this post 'free download e-book', it will get more traffic.

 Did you know, within one day of being released A Warlord's Lady had already been posted on a pirate website?

There is no such thing as a free-download ebook for an author. 

Unless done by a publisher for promotional reasons, not many authors simply give away their hard earned books.

It's wrong to download pirated e-books.

Why? 

 Aren't e-books are cheap anyway? Surely the author isn't going to miss $3.99?

Ah, yeah... Trust me, most will.

 

Despite what most people think, your average authors do not earn huge amounts for their efforts (and writing a book does take a bit of effort!).  If you do hit it big that's great, but chances are you'll just get a a nice spike in your sales... for a while, (it could be hours, it could be days, weeks or years) but eventually you'll see your book ranking drop and begin to languish... and as it does your royalty statements dwindle to embarrassing I-can't-even-buy-a-coffee-with-this levels.

Over the years, particularly as a debut author back in 2011, I had utterly dismal royalty statements. I'm talking about less than $10 for a three months of sales. That's right. LESS THAN TEN BUCKS.

When you're earning only 25% or less of your retail amount... and you're trying to sell in a glutted market filled with selfpubbed, cheap and cheerful 99c reads... it can take a while to earn any decent amount... So believe me, any author worth his or her salt will miss their ebook sales when book pirates get their mits on their hard earned pdfs.

 It's not just one person illegally downloading a book, because once that book is on a pirate site it can be downloaded hundreds....thousands... of times without the author or their publisher ever seeing a cent.
Over the years, I have sent countless 'Take Down' notices to pirate book websites who offer my books (and those of my colleagues) for free illegal download. It is demoralising and disappointing, because rest assured as one gets taken down, another will take its place.

Pirates like Captain Jack are sexy.

Book pirates are not...

Courtesy here

Nobody wants to work for free... and despite writing being my personal passion, it is also my job.

  As a direct result of low sales due to a glutted market and illegal downloading problems, I have markedly reduced time spent writing for Paranormal Romance. Frankly the time and effort that goes into creating these types novels isn't worth the (very) limited rewards.

So in a sense though this is a rant about illegal downloading of books, it's also an apology to those fans still waiting on my next release. It is coming, but coming slowly. Frustratingly, other more lucrative writing projects have had to take precedence over my Paranormal Romance.

So if you know of someone who does sneakily download those e-books, innocently thinking they're not doing any harm... please set them straight. The fiction market is glutted at the moment, more and more authors are releasing work, so it's increasingly hard to get noticed and bought.... combine this atmosphere with the increase in illegal e-book websites and you're sentencing budding authors, and established authors alike to career of mediocrity and disappointment.

Apocalyptic Beasts

Definition: An Apocolyptic Beast is a mythological creature that rises to consume the whole of creation and bring an end to time - and be warned, there are quite a lot of them throughout the world. However, today I will only look at the Judeo-Christian Apocalyptic Beasts.

According to the word of St John, there are Four Beasts of the Apocalypse, but only three of these are described in any detail. Beast Number 1: An ocean dwelling nightmare, who rises from the sea with seven hydra-like heads, complete with a lion's jaw, the body of a leopard, and the feet of a bear.

Beast Number 2: An subterreanean earth beast, similar in appearance to Beast Number 1, but with a single horned head. Beast Number 3: Is called the Scarlet Beast, shares its appearance with the other two beasts but is red in colouration.

There are in fact numerous other Apocalyptic beasts referred to in the Christian Bible, some of the most well known would be The Leviathan and Behemoth.

Leviathan

Behemoth

In addition to these beauties we have the four horses of the Apocalypse. Which are four enormous horses, a white, black, red and pale horse, each representing conquest, famine, war and death respectively.

Then there is the Tetramorphs, a combination of a man, lion and eagle and ox. The tetramorph is the amalgamation of the symbols of the Four Evangelists from the Book of Ezekiel, into a single figure or, more commonly, a group of four figures. Each of the four Evangelists has a creature, usually shown with wings: St Matthew the man, St Mark the lion, St Luke the ox, and John the eagle.

You'll have to imagine the ox on the other side.

So there you have it some Apocalyptic Beasts, for you to muse over.

5 Most Terrifying Mythological Beasts

Today I am counting down the five most hideously terrifying mythological beasts you could possibly imagine. I'm not going go with your standard werewolves and zombies either, these horrifying creatures hail from all corners of the globe so grab a coffee but keep on the light and discover some monsters.

THE ASWANG

The Aswang hails from the Phillipines and is a demonic flying woman who consumes the flesh, particularly the liver, of both the living and the dead. It also has a particularly gruesome preference for babies. In modern literature the Aswang appears to be a name that covers a large number of Phillippine mythological monsters, including lycanthropes, witches and the self eviscerating Manananggal.

Strictly speaking the Aswang is a shapeshifting monster, who after consuming the individual replaces the corpse with a carved banana tree. During daylight hours the Aswang may take the form of a beautiful woman or old man, often working as a butcher or abbotoire worker, but by night she may turn into something else entirely. When hunting a human, the Aswang may take the form of a pig, or dog. Local legend has it that you can spot an Aswang by looking at them upside down... additionally when an Aswang is in the vicinity, oil in a pot will begin to bubble. It is also said that if you look at your reflection in an Aswang's eye, your reflection will appear crooked.

The Aswang is said to have an abnormally long tongue, useful for sucking out unborn children apparently... sorry. I did warn you these were horrible creatures....

The Phi Am

Hailing from Thailand, the Phi Am is literally the 'widow ghost' whose mission is to destroy the souls of men. She does not attack women. In this sense, she is similar to the medieval mythological succubus and her visits are marked by a weighty sensation on the chest or sleep paralysis. Some myths say that the Phi Am does nothing but cause discomfort, whilst others believe they can kill a man in his sleep by suffocation. Unlike the stereotypical succubus, the Phi Am is not interested in sex. It is alleged that in areas of Northern Thailand, some superstitious men sleep with lipstick on, just to confuse the roaming nocturnal Phi Am into thinking they are a woman and therefore not prey.

It is alleged that the man wakes up and himself paralysed, terrified and unable to defend himself as the Phi Am sets about slowly killing him either by suffocation or soul-extraction.

The Drekavac

 The Drekavac hails from slavic mythology, the word literally meaning "the screamer" or "yeller" (Serbo-Croatian).

Described as being a terrible beast with muscular kangaroo-like back legs, and the head and body of a dog - the drekavac is said to arise from the soul of a dead unbaptised child -  a very common theme throughout slavic/eastern European mythology. The notion that if an individual dies unbaptised, the soul will return and wreak havoc on Earth - holds particularly true for this mythological monster.

The drekavac allegedly appears most often near a cemetary, sometimes in the form of a creepy looking and malnourished child, begging to be baptised. It gets its name from the awful screams and cries it emits.
The drekavac can and will harm and eat people. Some legends claim the scream alone is an omen of death (like the Banshee) and if the beast's shadow falls upon an individual then that person will die.

 

The Tsuchigumo

This one is for all the arachnophobes out there...

 

This is a Japanese shape-shifting demon, who mostly appears in the form of a gigantic hairy spider. It is named after the ōtsuchigumo - dirt or Earth spider, (a type of tarantula). The word tsuchigumo has also been used as a derogatory term to describe bandits or other 'undesirable' people.

 

The mythological Tsuchigumos however, are beasts adept at spinning illusions to draw victims into their webs, where they then feast like a vampire on the humans blood. As it is an 'Earth' demon, they are unable or unwilling to travel over water.

 

Tsuchigumos can be male or female and if wounded will bleed white blood. The Tsuchigumo may take the form of a pretty young boy or woman, to lure its victim to its mountain home, where they are wrapped in webs and eventually consumed.

 

 The Tiyanak

Did you find Chucky from the Child's Play movie disturbing? You haven't met the Tiyanak yet...

The Tiyanak is a monster from Philippines mythology

As legend has it, the Tiyanaks were originally created  when a mother died giving birth. The mother's  soul went into the baby's body, but became corrupted, angry and murderous. As time has passed, Tiyanaks are alleged to have been created by the unbaptized soul of a child seeking vengence against those who didn't baptise it (similar to the Slavic Drekavac). Alternatively they can also be created when a fetus is aborted and its soul wishes to seek vengence on those who caused its death.

The Tiyanak appears in the form of a new born baby, often heard crying inconsolably. It preys on good willed people coming to the baby's aid. When the well meaning rescuer picks up the abandoned child the Tiyanak grows vampiric teeth and claws, then mauls and eventually kills its victim.

So there you have it, 5 Terrible Mythological beasties.

Next time, 5 Funniest Mythological Beasts.

Enjoy your week.