Cynthia A. Morgan's Blog, page 79

Entombed – #Halloween #Poetry

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In Tune with all that turns and spirals,

Songs detracting from the depths Unknown,

Haunting lute Enchanting the feral,

Moving the Earth under grass New Grown.

Tides that Shift the murky Twilight

In pitch and marrow, shuddering the Core,

Tarot Speaks when Belief Kisses night,

Tripping down the tumbling steps of Yore.

Careful, Ye who Fancy adventure,

Marvel long and Entrenched Ye Shall Be,

Entombed in mossy banks, Premature,

Locked and Staring outward Eternally.

~Morgan~

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Haunting Image found at: images2.layoutsparks.com

Haunted – #Halloween #DailyHaikuChallenge

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Stark Haunted places

Whispers from the other side

Unheard Memories

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~Morgan~

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Beautiful Photograph found on Pinterest. Credit Gratefully Acknowledged to the Original Photographer. Thank You~

Echoes -#Halloween #Poetry

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The Forgotten Cry

Whispers shouted at the moon

In Crimson Echoes

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~Morgan~

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Beautiful Photograph found on Google. Credit Gratefully Acknowledged to the original photographer. Thank You~

Halloween Thrills and Chills

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I’ve left it late.  Typically, I share all sorts of delightfully ghoulish goodies throughout the entire month of October, but this year …well, this year is 2020 and I’ll leave it right there.

So in penance, I will be sharing Halloween for the next 24 hours.  If you don’t like the ghostly gibbers or sneaking sensations, run now!

My #Halloween Treat to You – #Free & #99Cent #Fantasy #Reading!

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Give a TREAT this Halloween they won’t forget….or put down!



Dystopian Dark Fantasy Clandestine is Only 99 Cents!

YA Fantasy The Reviled is FREE !!!





October 28 – Nov 2 ONLY

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~Morgan~

Crowman by David Rae – A Masterpiece of #EpicFantasy, #Myths&Legends & #ConceptualFiction

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Touch the light. Hold the light. The light burns. The light runs away. Hold the light. Lock the light away.

The great spirit Vatu keeps the Sun in a box, where no thief can steal it. Once a year, the box is opened and life springs across the dark lands. The whole world belongs to Vatu. He is darkness, he is master of all. There is no hiding from him.

But Utas must try, for his daughter’s sake. She is sick from darkness, and yet she glows with a mysterious light. If Vatu can find them, he will destroy them, or worse, drag them back into his mad, dark world. Torn between duty and mercy, between justice and freedom, Utas tries to escape, but it seems inevitable that the darkness will reclaim him.

For the greatest mercy and the greatest punishment Utas can suffer is to return to his true self.

My 5-Star Review!

I was intrigued by this metaphysical dark fantasy from the moment I read the description. Uniquely named characters and concepts drew me in immediately and filled my mind with questions and lush imagery…a masterful book blurb to say the least!

Vatu, the great spirit of darkness. I could see him, an ethereal and all-consuming shadow intent upon absolute control. Utas, the hopeful apparition fleeing from himself, and his beautiful daughter who is delicate and mysterious. Their plight pulled me along. I was invested in their harrowing journey, their disappointments, their hopes. Symbolism and spirituality are illustrated like characters, filling the narrative with thought-provoking themes that made me pause and consider.

As father and daughter make their way, they are joined by a melange of artfully created characters: Erroi, the warrior, whose body and spirit are independent of each other and who travels in dreams. He is beautifully silent and deliciously mysterious. Mukito, a boy whose cruel stepfather has left him few alternatives other than thievery. The innocent Zintoa, and noble Eskanza. The characters are elaborate, simple, fully-developed, flawed and entirely captivating.

The narrative is rich with unfamiliar people and places, intriguing me page after page. Dialog forms much of the story, yet there are descriptions that whisk the reader away. Poetic tangles of dream-like reveries adorn the journey, some so intricate and imaginative I simply had to read them again….and again! There were times I wasn’t sure what was reality and what wasn’t and I was reminded of an episode of STNG, ‘Masks’, where the hunt of Masaka and Korgano parallels the birth of Athena at the Parthenon.

Mythological and magical, Rae’s Crowman is a masterpiece of epic fantasy, conceptual and allegorical fiction in which I would willingly immerse myself book after book after book.

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David Rae lives in the West of Scotland. He lives in a world of his own; a world of wonder, a world where hoards of workers spill out of factories, a world were fog and smoke shroud all kinds of creatures, a world where ruined castles, factories and houses were haunted by ghosts, gangs and memories. He lives in world where witches have been burned at the cross and martyrs have been hung on the Gallowgreen. He writes poetry and short stories and reads every trashy novel, every children’s book and every comic that comes his way.

He studied Botany, Architecture, Mathematics, Computers, Geography, and Ecology. He worked in a sweetie factory, as a scaffolder and ditch digger. He worked as draftsman and as an ecologist, as a statistician and as a policy maker. H is married and has four children, lovely children and now lovely grandchildren. And He continues to read and to write and marvel at the world He live in.

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Find David on Amazon

Find David on GoodReads

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~Morgan~

An Unusual Boy- #Interview with #BestSelling #Author #FionaHiggins

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Meet Jackson. A very unusual boy in world that prefers ‘normal’.

Julia Curtis is a busy mother of three, with a husband often away for work, an ever-present mother-in-law, a career, and a house that needs doing up. Her only son, Jackson, is different. Different to his sisters. Different to his classmates. In fact, Jackson is different from everyone around him – and bringing up a child who is different isn’t always easy. Then, one Monday morning, an incident at school changes everything; not only for Jackson, but for every member of his family. Julia faces the fight of her life to save her unusual boy from a world set up for ‘normal’.

Bestselling novelist Fiona Higgins returns with a heart-stopping, devastating, but ultimately uplifting story about loyalty, love and forgiveness.

An extraordinary boy. The mother who loves him. The fight of their lives.

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Fiona Higgins is the author of four fiction titles and a memoir. She works in the not-for-profit sector and lives in Sydney, Australia, with her stoic husband, three rambunctious children and two aloof goldfish.

Hello Fiona, Thanks ever so much for stopping by to chat with BnV about your new book.  Lets dive right in!  What do you love most about Writing?

I love that writing is an almost magical form of ‘primary production’; writers produce something out of nothing, using only their internal resources.

How did you get your start writing?

Young! As a child, I always loved words – and I still remember, aged nine, the heady rush of winning a poetry competition.  My slightly quirky entry, entitled ‘Ya Local Truckie’, explored the stigma endured by overnight truck drivers. My poem evidently caught the judges’ eye – even though I wasn’t from a trucking family!

What Inspired you to write your book?

I’ve known many children – and adults, for that matter – who are ‘different’ in some way (some with a diagnosis, many without), and witnessed their joys and struggles. An Unusual Boy explores the great strength and beauty that lies in difference, and the healing power of empathy.

I love that.  I believe Empathy, Forgiveness and Kindness are great healers.  Because you have a spiritual perspective, do you have a preferred POV that you write from and why?

In An Unusual Boy, I write from two POVs – that of Julia (Jackson’s mother), as well as Jackson himself. It was quite a thrilling experience, tapping into the stream of consciousness of an eleven-year-old boy! (Two of my three children are boys, which helped me channel the pre-teen male.) Despite understanding Julia’s perspective better, I preferred the colourful, imaginative world of Jackson.

Do your characters dictate what or how your write in any way?

Yes, that’s quite normal for me. They often surprise me. In An Unusual Boy, one of the characters delivered a twist that even I didn’t see coming.

That’s happened to me too.  Although it’s often hard to select just one, do you have a favourite or least favourite character?

Definitely Jackson. He’s a composite of all the wonderful, vulnerable, interesting and quirky children I’ve ever known. Jackson reminds me of a friend of mine from school, Michael, to whom An Unusual Boy is dedicated.

What sets them apart from the others?

Jackson has a strong moral compass – of which the rest of the world is mostly unaware – that governs his choices, as well as some incredible hidden strengths unlockable with a little patience and empathy.

As a successful author, do you have any tips for an aspiring Author?

Write what consumes you.

I so agree.  Outside of writing, what type of book do you like to read and does this differ from the genre that you prefer to write?

 I am a huge fan of fantasy and sci-fi genres, which are wildly different to my genre of contemporary fiction.

Is there a book you consider a must-read- why?

As a writer, one book I always return to is Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott. She has some very solid, practical (and humorous) advice for writers.

I’ll have to look for that one!  I’m always looking for my next new thing to learn

Serpent Rising – An #Exploration of #Truth through #’WritingtoRaiseConsciousness’ by #Dr.VictorAcquista

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Serpent Rising sparked my interest with its promise of ancient mysteries and overlays of spirituality.  What is Truth?  How do we recognize it?  Where does it lead us?  Do we truly want what it will reveal, or do we only think we do?

For Serena, our heroine, the quest for Truth leads her across the globe in a high-octane, gripping tale brimming with legends, symbolism, and the yearning for healing. Healing from a trauma she suffered in her childhood.  Healing from the inescapable identity-contorting effects of repressed memories.  Her story is compelling and relatable.  Her struggles are familiar and, sometimes, haunting. They draw the reader in and along with her as theories and tensions intensify.

I enjoy reading intelligent stories.  Ones that prompt me to consider diverse concepts, beliefs, and perspectives.  Serpent Rising was as much a Tomb Raider action-packed fantasy as it was a philosophical exploration of harmony,  yin and yang duality and the complexities of metaphysical science.

If you’re looking for a unique tale that engages, compels, and questions, look no further!

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There are many mystical and metaphysical aspects to the story told in this two-volume novel, The Saga of Venom and Flame. You can join Serena on her Circle training, a journey of transformation, and absorb some ancient wisdom teachings along the way. Here are some noteworthy backstory elements:

The book’s cover features two joined symbols: an ouroboros and a yin-yang. The ouroboros is an ancient symbol of cosmic harmony. Its inclusion is meant to evoke the notion of harmony and balance, and also to represent the polarities of masculine-feminine, light-dark, truth-falsehood–all elements of the War of the Two Serpents.

The snake biting its tail is cross cultural inclusive of Egyptian, Greek, Hindu, Norse , and other cultures. It has been used by Gnostic philosophers to denote the dual nature of both our earthly and divine nature, matter and spirit. All of these symbolic aspects are woven into a story rich in myth and mysticism.

Serpent mythology pre-dates all modern religion. and is cross cultural worldwide. This fact and my fictionalized “War of the Two Serpents” represent one of the three layers of meaning in the title, Serpent Rising.

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Chakras, the energy vortexes that interface the subtle energy body, with a more expansive energy dimension, are an essential plot element in Serpent Rising. Specifically, Kundalini rising through the chakras as they are activated is the purpose of Serena’s Circle training.

From Wikipedia:

According to Hindu tradition, in order to be able to integrate this spiritual energy, a period of careful purification and strengthening of the body and nervous system is usually required beforehand.

Kundalini is considered to occur in the chakra and nadis of the subtle body. Each chakra is said to contain special characteristics and with proper training, moving Kundalini through these chakras can help express or open these characteristics.

Kundalini is described as a sleeping, dormant potential force in the human organism. It is one of the components of an esoteric description of the “subtle body”, which consists of nadis (energy channels), chakras (psychic centres), prana (subtle energy), and bindu (drops of essence). Kundalini is described as being coiled up at the base of the spine.

Kundalini is the second of the three serpent elements that comprise the layers of meaning in the title of this novel.

This picture depicts the Virgin of Candelaria appearing to the Guanches. Careful observation reveals lettering in the hem of the Virgin’s garments. These represent 7 mysterious words and phrases that have NEVER been deciphered. These are important story elements in both book one and in book two, Revelation, that tell the story of The Saga of Venom and Flame. Research suggests the Guanches have roots in Atlantis. More info about this picture and the strange lettering can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_of_Candelaria

I had wanted to write a novel where the central theme had to do with truth and mankind’s difficulty distinguishing truth from falsehood. In this time of fake news, media manipulation, and propaganda, it’s a timely topic.

During lunch with a close friend, we discussed his mother who was gravely ill. He told me she was a nurse and had been quite a force of healing stating, “…and she is a Candelaria.” I didn’t realize this was his mother’s maiden name and took it to be a title denoting a great healer, a light bearer, a force for good. This notion of a Lightbringer who carries the Flame of Truth to dispel darkness is central to the story and the social theme I wanted to address. My unfamiliarity with this surname led to a very rich storyline with the Candelarians acting to address and heal a great social ill–humanity shackled by ignorance and manipulated by lies. The truth shall set us free…

The cover image of  The Cosmic Serpent is rather intriguing. The double-helix coil of the DNA molecule evokes a serpentine analogy, but there is much more going on here. DNA as a carrier of information, an encoded source of both knowledge and a coded blueprint for spiritual enlightenment are what DNA is designed to do. DNA is the third of the three serpent elements that comprise the layers of meaning in the title Serpent Rising.

What amazes me is that I had already outlined the snake/serpent aspects of DNA as a carrier of genetic code to guide spiritual growth. I only learned about Narby’s excellent work as confirmation of the hypothesis I had already outlined. There is truly something cosmic about that and it points to some aspect of universal consciousness. Narby’s book did have additional information about Peruvian shamanism and the use of ayahuasca that was helpful.

DNA is an extraordinary molecule. The statements made by Serena’s friend Bryson about DNA emitting and receiving both light and sound energy are just some of the remarkable features about DNA. As an information storage molecule, it is unparalleled. And this is important not only to understand Serena’s genetic destiny, but for us to appreciate as well.

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Victor Acquista has become an international author and speaker following his careers as a primary-care physician and medical executive. He is known for “writing to raise consciousness.” His multi-genre works include fiction and nonfiction and often incorporate social messaging to engage readers in thought-provoking themes.

He is a member of the Authors Guild, the Mystery Writers of America, the Florida Writers Association, Writers Co-op, and is a Knight of the Sci-Fi Roundtable.

When not pondering the big questions in life and what’s for dinner, he enjoys gardening and cooking. He lives with his wife in Ave Maria, Florida.

Find Victor through these Links:

BHC Press detail page

Author website

Facebook author page

Twitter

Amazon Order page

Book Club Discussion Questions

Podcast with opening scene narration

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I would like to thank Dr. Acquista for the privilege of reviewing and learning more about his work.  Thank you for the generous gift of your valuable time and talent.

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~Morgan~

Desire of God

I don’t want to die
Things are going so well right now
People are listening to me
Hearts are being touched
Lives are being changed
The crowds follow me everywhere
They love my stories
Stories of farming and young men
Stories of pearls and tares
Stories of harvest and sowing
They long for my words
And pay attention when I talk
They need me
 
It just can’t be time for me to go
This ministry is touching too many people
The lame walk
The blind see
The deaf hear
The cripple stretches forth his body
The leper becomes whole
Diseases go
Demons flee
Water to wine
Fig trees whither
So many good things are going on
So many wonders are bringing people from afar
Miracle after miracle
Healing after healing
There are so many more than need a touch from me
 
I have so much more to do
There are other women with issues of blood
Other harlots who need forgiveness
Other centurions who need their servants healed
There are so many abuses of your word
Pharisees seeking the higher place
Moneychangers robbing the people
Pious ones praying but empty
Clean but filthy
Wrong but thinking they are right
Leading so many astray
Showing so many the wrong way
How can I leave now when so many are deceived
Hearts to mend
Minds to cleanse
Lives to change

It can’t be my time
I want to stay here
To minister to the masses
To give more to those who need my help
I want to touch more lives
To heal more
To deliver more
To forgive more
To bring more back to life
To rebuke those who are misleading your people
If I leave who will they turn to
Who will they follow
Who will shepherd them
I can’t go yet
I have so much more to do
 
That is my will
My way
My wish
 
But it is not yours
Your purpose is greater
Your love is stronger
You know what is best
You know how all can be blest
You know there is only one way to truly set them free
One way to bring complete healing
One way to ultimate deliverance
You have brought others alongside me to continue the ministry
It will not die
It will stay alive
It will be your church
Your people
Your way to touch lives
Your heart’s desire
 
So not my will
Not what I want
Not what I desire
Not what I would do if I had my way
Your will
Your desire
As much as I want this cup to pass from me
I want your will more
I must die
I must die for your kingdom to go forth
I must die for you to be glorified
I must die for them
All of them
They all need forgiveness
They all need a sacrifice
Pure and holy
Undefiled by sin
You have kept me
Protected me
Enabled me to be at this place
At this time
All I want is what you want
All I desire is to do your will
Not mine
Not my way
Let me be your servant
Let this flesh die
So the Spirit can come
Your will be done
 
 

My #Books For #FREE

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. I confess, this is a blatant, no holds barred Invitation to Readers/Reviewers who find themselves interested in my books to provide a review in return for a FREE Ebook. BooknVolume now has a new dedicated page (At the top of the homepage) to REVIEW MY BOOKS that I am sharing with all of you today. Thank You for your Kind Support, For Any Shares/Reblogs you choose to Offer, and, if nothing else, for humouring me