Book Review: Poetry and Prophecy

Author: N.K. Chadwick
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: First Published 1942, reprinted 1952, paperback copy 2011
ISBN: 978-1-107-68951-0
Pages: 110 with index
Synopsis:

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Technologies of Enchantment

Authors: Duncan Garrow and Chris Gosden
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2012
ISBN: 9780199548064
Pages: 376 including bibliography and index. Also includes black and white pictures and illustrations.
Synopsis:

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Random Life Notes and Some Writing Tips

I realize I’ve been neglecting the blog of late, and I apologize for that. I do hope to be back on a regular schedule soon, but I’ve been dealing with a variety of pesky real life issues that take enough of my attention that I just don’t have the time to get any nice juicy blogs done. Bear with me and it’ll get better. Some of this has to do with an increase in the amount of writing I am doing elsewhere, and some of this has to do with child related things, but the end result is not enough blogging time.

To fill you all in on what I’ve been up to in general.

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Samhain Poem to the Morrigan

I dreamt last night of honoring the Morrigan at Samhain. In the dream I chanted the following, as if it were a song or sacred prayer:

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Darkyear turning

Now is the darkyear.  I observed the change-of-suns as I have for the last decade, spending my time meditating on the exchange of light to dark and dark to light twice a year, marveling at the glory and wonder of the seasonal changes, making exciting plans and grieving what was lost.  An Cailleach, the hag of winter, the stoney blue-skinned, brittle-boned owl in the frost, carved from darkness, clutching in her hands the cold sun, she rides now.

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The Makers of Scotland

Full Title: The Makers of Scotland: Picts, Romans, Gaels and Vikings
Author: Tim Clarkson
Publisher: Birlinn Ltd
Published: 2011, This edition 2013
ISBN: 978-1-78027-1736
Pages: 255 pages including Further Reading, Appendices and Index

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The Cult of the Sacred Centre

Full title: The Cult of the Sacred Centre – Essays on Celtic Ideology
Author: Proinsias Mac Cana
Publisher: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies
Published: 2011
ISBN: 978-1-85500-219-7
Pages: 344

Synopsis:

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Stalking the Goddess

Author: Mark Carter
Publisher: Moon Books
Published: June 16, 2012
ISBN: 978-1780991733

Synopsis:

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Experiencing the Other Crowd

One complaint that I see often in the wider pagan/polytheist community is that people of a more reconstructionist bent, such as myself, don’t share enough personal experiences. That’s actually a fair criticism generally speaking. For my part I have been trying to share more, although I have so far found it easier to share numinous experiences, especially those involving the Gods, through poetry. Today I wanted to share a little bit of my experiences with the Good Neighbors. Although everything to do with themselves is tricky, and often carries specific prohibitions about what can and cannot be shared, there are certain experiences that happened which involved more than just myself or which I know its okay to talk about. these are an array of things and involve, naturally, a variety of different kinds of spirits, but nonetheless I’d like to share some here. Hopefully it’ll give people an idea of what these things can be like.

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Work In Progress Blog Tour

Well I’ve been nominated by Arie Farnam, author of The Soul and the Seed to participate in the Work in Progress Blog Tour. The idea is to post the first sentence of each of the first three chapters of your work in progress.

My current work is the sequel to my urban fantasy novel Murder Between the Worlds. This book picks up where the last one left off with my protagonist, Allie, trying to get her life back to normal after her attempt to help the police solve a series of murders in the first book. She’s learning that moving on isn’t as easy as she wants it to be, especially since things aren’t as neatly tied up as the authorities all think they are. There’s several mysterious things afoot, from missing girls to arson, and someone is going to a lot of trouble to make Allie’s life unpleasant, but the biggest threat might be the one no one sees at all…

Anyway, here are the first couple sentences/paragraph from the first three chapters of the rough draft. Enjoy!

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