DId you know?

So, I have decided I'm basing the religion in my books on the Celtic beliefs of the Iron Age.  Here are some interesting tid-bits!

Maiden Castle in Dorset. An iron age hill fort with an intricate maze of

ramps and ditches, which were supposed to delay and confuse attackers.

Druids. Another area where oral traditions were important was in the training of Druids. There has been a lot of nonsense written about Druids, but they were a curious lot; a sort of super-class of priests, political advisors, teachers, healers, and arbitrators. They had their own universities, where traditional knowledge was passed on by rote. They had the right to speak ahead of the king in council, and may have held more authority than the king. They acted as ambassadors in time of war, they composed verse and upheld the law. They were a sort of glue holding together Celtic culture.

Religion. From what we know of the Celts from Roman commentators, who are, remember, witnesses with an axe to grind, they held many of their religious ceremonies in woodland groves and near sacred water, such as wells and springs. The Romans speak of human sacrifice as being a part of Celtic religion. One thing we do know, the Celts revered human heads.

Celtic warriors would cut off the heads of their enemies in battle and display them as trophies. They mounted heads in doorposts and hung them from their belts. This might seem barbaric to us, but to the Celt the seat of spiritual power was the head, so by taking the head of a vanquished foe they were appropriating that power for themselves. It was a kind of bloody religious observance.
The Iron Age is when we first find cemeteries of ordinary people’s burials (in hole-in-the-ground graves) as opposed to the elaborate barrows of the elite few that provide our main records of burials in earlier periods.


Ok, so the head thing?  Kinda gross.  BUT, using this information, I think souls will play the part of the heads in my own scenario.  And Druids are closely related to my own "Chosen".  There's very little known about Druids and about this particular era in history - I think that's why it fascinates me so.  It allows me to insert my own imagination in there and take aspects of what is known, and apply it to my own world.  So, that's your history lesson for tonight!

Too busy for my own good

Well, I had an awesome weekend!  How about you all?  I spent Friday and Saturday nights in celebration of wonderful friends who have achieved milestones.  Friday was for a friend who graduated nursing school this month and Saturday was for a wonderful friend who turned 40.  I met some really great new people, too.  Good times, but I tell ya, I'm too old to be roaming the bars at 1:00 AM anymore!  lol  Interesting, however, to discover the nightlife hasn't changed so much since I was doing it on a regular basis...

Anywhoodle, that is what has kept me from the keyboard this weekend.  I am a little upset with myself, but glad I got to participate in some real-world activity.  I did spend a great deal of time in thought...

Friday I spent a fair amount of time researching the craft of writing, thinking about the high concept statement, mainly.  I have a wonderful friend and critique partner who sends wonderful information on story development, how to PLOT (scary) your story, and developing a high concept statement.  Well, that got me thinking...what would my high concept statement be for the current work in progress?  This is hard, really.  It's a one- or two-sentence description of your entire story.  Here's what I came up with:

     A priest struggles to recover the stolen souls of innocents, facing a demon he unwittingly helped bring into the world, assassins trying to stop him at every turn, his absent god, elves that see and talk to spirits, and a half-drunken dwarf, all while battling with his flagging faith and love that is forbidden.

It's not the best and I'm sure it'll change through the course of the project, but you get the point.  It has also already changed the course of my story.  I had thought orginally that souls would have to be given up willingly, but I've decided they can be stolen.  I've also changed my mind about how the story begins.  So, even though I didn't spend the weekend with fingers to keyboard, it was still productive!

I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend as well and now we can look forward to the long weekend ahead! :P

SPOILER: Pity party, the Lela Show...

Well, it's one of those days.  You know, the ones where you can't put a finger on what it is, but something has you sadder than you've felt in a long time?  Just me?  I figured as much...  Writing, or blogging is supposed to be a healing tool, right?  Well, I could use some healing at this juncture, so I write.

I've cried most of the morning.  I went to bed with that twisty knot in my stomach; the one that tells me I'm sad, but I couldn't understand why.  Everyone around me seems so happy.  Maybe that's it.  I want that, but can't understand why I don't have it.  I don't feel happy most days, I just paste the smile on and go because who wants to be around the Debbie Downer all the time?  I know what I've become.  Doesn't mean I like it, but I know, all the same.  I have secrets that would chase away the few remaining ties.  Big secrets that I know for sure others wouldn't agree with.  But it was my choice and I carry them, and they get pretty heavy - maybe that's what I'm feeling at this point, the heaviness of what I'm carrying around.

I have to go run an autism meeting today and stand there and act strong for all those hopeful faces staring back.  Those faces who look to me to have some of the answers they're looking for.  I've been one of those faces.  How can I be strong for them when my own life feels like it's out of control?  I have not achieved anything my younger self wanted...and now I'm so unmotivated it feels like I never will.  Again, time to paste on the happy face, right?  Throw around some hope, even if I don't believe it.

So if you've read all the way through, sorry you had to endure that.  But, it's my blog and I'm using it for therapy today!  I know there's only one or two of you who actually read anyway.  Alrighty...I wasn't looking for any sympathy, just trying to clear my head and get my emotions in check, so don't feel like you have to leave any messages - I'll be better, just needed to vent.  Ok, back to the grind, and as the title of this page says, reality is WAY overrated!

Things just don't happen quick enough...

There's just so many things I would like to accomplish in my life.  They never happen quick enough for me.  I really have to work on this patience thing...one of many flaws I need to work on!  Well, the semester is coming to a close and I can't wait to get started with summer plans, which of course, are big.  Half of them won't get done and the other half will teeter between half-done and almost-done...lol.

I have home projects, of course - turning our spare room into an office/study space for homeschool (if we go that route).  I have a bedroom set in the garage that needs to be stained dark so I can use it in my bedroom.  I'd love to replace all that random furniture with something that matches!

I have writing projects.  Rewrites on Reborn are priority, so I can start submitting.  I plan to do these in the evenings.  Starting Seige of Souls is a must!  Mornings will be alotted to the new story.  I have to get into a rhythm again with my own writing.  I learned so much this semester!  I actually started thinking about the places where my characters can be strengthened and where I could start cutting and adding, etc.  I'm so excited to get to work on it all! :)

So, that's an awfully full summer!  And I relish the chaos!  I think I'm happiest when I have no time to slow down and breathe.  Weird, but, it's me - always has been.  Ok, I'll be back on Saturday - my goal is to post every Saturday, at least, more if I can.  I'll even start including snippets of chapters for you once I get going on the new book.  See y'all soon!