Kellyann Zuzulo's Blog, page 12

Harvard Doc Dies & Flies in Afterlife

I’m hoping the clothes are updated in the afterlife. Maybe a nice clingy, jersey blend…less drag.

…were those genies he saw? Depending on your background, you’ll say they were angels, cerebral neurons firing off, or genies. When a neurosurgeon named Eben Alexander, III, (who has taught at Harvard Medical School) fell into a meningitis-induced coma in 2008, he claims that he visited a place he can only explain as heaven:

“According to current medical understanding of the brain and mind, there is absolutely no way that I could have experienced even a dim and limited consciousness during my time in the coma, much less the hyper-vivid and completely coherent odyssey I underwent,” Alexander writes in the cover story of this week’s edition of Newsweek.”

As a scientist, he recognizes that our rational minds will seek to debunk his claim. He’s thought about that. He’s a neurosurgeon. A smart guy. And he doesn’t have a good explanation, especially for this vision (which is reported in Yahoo! News):

Alexander says he first found himself floating above clouds before witnessing, “transparent, shimmering beings arced across the sky, leaving long, streamer like lines behind them.”

I love this. This is what I imagine the afterlife is like. Total freedom, exuberance, exploration without fear, and unassisted flight. That’s the coolest part of this story for me. We’ve all had the dreams where we fly without wings. Granted, sometimes I don’t get more than four feet  off the ground and I’m windmilling my arms like crazy, but the effect is, nonetheless, liberating. Whooosh! Imagine doing that miles from the nearest surface and with flying companions festooned with shimmery, silvery streamers. This must be heaven. I will say that I think it’s a parallel plane where angels may tread, where the soul soujourns, and where–maybe, just maybe–we get to cavort with our ethereal neighbors, the jinn.

Check out Dr. Alexander’s own description of his near-death experience. Alexander also has written a book about his experience called Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife. I’m going to believe it just because it’s so darn cool. What about you?

Best Wishes and Happy Flying,

Kellyann

Zubis does some flying in The Genie Ignites from Boroughs Publishing Group.

On Kindle. On Nook. 

A House Fit For the Jinn

Masjid al-Jinn in Makkah, Saudi Arabia

There’s a place in Makkah, Saudi Arabia that was built for genies. Masjid al-Jinn is a mosque that commemorates the jinn who gathered there when they heard Prophet Muhammed praying. The story goes that some jinn were flying through the skies (which you would know genies can do from reading this blog). Soaring above where the Prophet spoke, they liked what they heard and decided to join the fold…some of them anyway. (What you also might know from reading this blog is that genies can be good or evil. They have free will, just like humans.) So, here in the desert, what was once sand and scrub, arose this gray marble monument to a brief interaction between humans and genies.

Now, if you know little about genies or have a Western perspective on what they are–that is, blue and puffy with Robin Williams’ voice–you’ll find this hard to believe. But there are enough people who do believe it that this lovely structure stands on a Saudi street as a monument to the day the jinn landed.

If I were to build a resting spot for the jinn, I’d create some comfortable seating so that we could sit and chat. I might even get some insight for my next novel. If Zubis were to decorate such a space, I think it would look a little something like this. A house fit for a jinni.

[Thanks to Lisa Pietsch for sharing these lovely images with me.]

A genie could flit through the window and settle in for a cup of cardamom-flavored coffee.

Would you sit for a chat with a jinni?

Best Wishes,

Kellyann

Zubis’s apartment in Riyadh is described in The Genie Ignites.

On Kindle. On Nook.

Bridezilla Grammar Smackdown

Some brides need cake smashed in their faces before the wedding.

An email from a demanding Medusa of a bride-to-be was anonymously forwarded to Gawker and printed in its entirety. On priniciple, I’m opposed to a bride getting wedding cake smashed in her face. In this particular case, I think it’s necessary. What I find most offensive about her email is not the unreasonable list of expectations nor her utter disregard for the personal lives of her bridesmaids, but her horrendous grammar.

First, the email. Then, my wedding gift to the bride: a lovely satin purse filled with contractions, a box of commas, and a dictionary.

To m lovely Bridesmaid: [Names removed to protect the brideslaves]

As you all know I picked 10 wonderful ladies to stand by my side, share and make happen my special day to Jake. Each of you individually have a reason and a special place in my heart of why I picked you to be a bridesmaid. We have set our date for Saturday, August 31, 2013 in Vail, Colorado. That seems far away but it really isn’t, the earlier the planning the better. You may have already knew that my wonderful sister L— will be the Maid of Honor, she’s in charge under me. Also my lovely mom will be a big help as well. L— has a big role in throwing me a bridal shower and bachelorette party, of course all of you guys do but at the end of the day shes the go to person and makes it happen.

You all have a big roll in this wedding, so before we continue I’m going to be setting some ground rules and its very important you read and think about everything through before you accept this honor to be a bridesmaid. If you guys email anything I would also like you to put L— in the CC. Not all the bridesmaid need to be CC’d unless its coming from me or L—, if it something everyone needs to see then well do it. We set the date to August 31, 2013 if that’s a problem we need to know NOW. Also by the end of the week we will be setting dates for the engagement party, bridal show and bachelorette party.

Our wedding party is really the most important people at the wedding besides my self and Jake so we want every single one of our bridesmaid and grooms at our parties, I have 10 not 8 where two couldn’t make it so if you already know you cant make one of the parties then we have to find someone else, not to be harsh in the slightest it would sadden me and of course you’ll still be invited to our wedding, engagement ect. But it’s different if your not in the wedding party and couldn’t make it. We’ll give everyone well advance dates for the parties and it will always fall on a weekend. The wedding as I stated will be in Vail the engagement party will either be in NY or CT and the bachelorette party will be in Vegas, cliche yeaa but I’ve never been.

A few girls live out of town so if there is going to be a problem with coming to either one then I need to know now because after this week I don’t want to be surprised. I would like everyone to send me any dates they are going away or planning to go away after February so if your going away in January I don’t care. I want any dates from February to the day of our wedding in August, that way we know not to plan something when your away. But after this week the dates are set in stone. Also if money is tight and you cant afford to contribute to say the bachelorette party or wont be able to afford a dress etc then L— and Myself don’t have time to deal with that, I’m sorry. This includes flights as well, everyone knows the states where the parties are going to be held so if you wont be able to afford a flight then that means you cant make a party which ultimately means I cant have you as a bridesmaid. Obviously we’ll get the best deals and were not gonna books flights for $1000 and shit that’s why were doing this in advance, that goes for bridesmaids dresses as well everything will be affordable but if you think by affordable its going to be a $25 forever 21 dress then your going to the wrong wedding.

If your out of state though don’t think you have to fly in for all fittings, that we will work with you, find stores in your town, get measurements..you don’t have to worry about that. Also if you accept this honor another thing is that you need to be available, I’m not going to harass you with wedding stuff every hour of everyday but if its something important and it takes you a week even 2-3 days to get back to me seeeee ya! I don’t have time to wait around for responses, everyone has their phone on them, it shouldn’t take you more than a day to get back to me, even if your out of the country, check your email!

Furthermore, Ever since I could remember I have dreamed about this day all my life. I want to share it with the people that are most important to me. You only get one time to plan your dream wedding and I couldn’t pick a more amazing group of girls to make that dream come true! So please, what’s stated above think about it all and by Wednesday I need to know if everyone is 100% in, and what I have asked about sending me dates if your gonna be away between Feb-Aug ill need that on Wednesday. If you don’t think you’ll be able to attend one party but can make the rest of them I’m sorry but I’ll have to take you out as a bridesmaid and put you as a guest. If you want to get back to me before Wednesday, that’s fine. Really think about everything I’ve said. This is really going to be the most epic wedding ever so I hope you girls can share this special day with us!

Love,

Clauses are usually set off with a comma: As you all know [comma] I picked 10 wonderful ladies (and I bet these “ladies” aren’t feeling so wonderful after reading this email.)
“You may have already knew.” –> Wrong case and split infinitive. Past present case should have been: already may have known
Lowercase letters follow a comma. Typically, one capitalizes the first letter of proper names and places and the initial letter in a new sentence.
“You all have a big roll in this wedding”  The spelling would be role, unless she really is planning on giving each bridesmaid a specially baked, round bread. Honestly, I think this is a typo because she spells it properly elsewhere in her email. That’s called cutting someone some slack.
Its means belonging to. Since you mean it is, please add an apostrophe between the t and the s.
Myself is one word not two, as in my self.  Though, actually, her self is an entity unto itself.
Cant is a contraction indicating cannot and requires an apostrophe between the n and the t. It is not, as many comments on this blog seem to think, a misspelled perjorative term referring to the female anatomy. [EDITOR'S NOTE: You really should read the comments to the Gawker post. They are, em, entertaining.]
“if your not in the wedding party” Your means belonging to you. You’re means you are and requires an apostrophe and a final e.  I’m sure, at this point in the email, the bridesmaids are wishing they aren’t (as in ARE NOT) in the wedding.
“ I want to share it with the people that are most important to me.

She wants to share it with the people WHO are most important to her. People are not things, which would be THAT. Although, since she’s treating people like things, this usage may be appropriate.
I like how she capitalizes Myself in the middle of a sentence in the fourth paragraph. It should be lowercase, except in her mind.
“were not gonna books flights for $1000 and shit” Where do I start? Let’s stick with the grammar. Were should have an apostrophe between the e and the r indicating we are. Gonna is a pet peeve of mine. It’s just lazy. Going to . “and shit” ? Classy.
There are a few more. If you see any I missed, feel free to add them. Frankly, I’ve (as in I have) lost interest. As our lovely bride so elegantly notes: “ Seeeee ya”

http://gawker.com/5948725/reasons-why-you-cannot-be-a-bridesmaid

Best Wishes,

Kellyann

THE GENIE IGNITES is available for download to your ereader.

On  Kindle. On Nook. 

A Word, A Story: An Oil Lamp, Part 2

What would it be like to come across an oil lamp that you suspect conceals a jinni deep inside?

I came across this poem by Walid Ataya and think it pretty well sums up the anticipation.

A Word, A Story: An Oil Lamp, Part 2.

 

Best Wishes,

Kellyann

Rub THE GENIE IGNITES to release Zubis.

Are Genies Real?

Imtiri from The Genie Smolders. This is how an Ifrit genie might look when she’s really angry.

Are jinn real? This question comes up as a frequent search term that brings traffic to my website. Apparently, people want to know. Maybe they want to believe. Meanwhile, I mentioned in a blog post last week that my current genie hero, Zubis, is an Ifrit jinni. What? There are types of genies? Yes. Here’s what I can tell you about the jinn:

The jinn, or genies, have been around for thousands of years. The Thousand and One Nights (also known as The Arabian Nights) brought these entities out of oral myth and into the fringes of Middle Eastern society. They were further legitimized when the Prophet Mohammed dedicated a book of the Koran to genies. It’s Sura 72 and is called Al-Jinn. This book will tell you that genies are older than humans: “We created the jinn before, from the fire of hot wind.” [15:26-27]

Incidentally, the concept that genies were around before humans is the basis for the plot in The Genie Smolders (coming out later this year from Boroughs Publishing Group). In my vision of the genie past, the jinn ruled the earth over 10,000 years ago but were usurped by humans. Now they’re back. Can the jinn and humans love and live side-by-side?

An Assyrian carving of a jinni. I’m not making this stuff up…well, not all of it.

In The Genie Smolders, the antagonist is a female genie named Imtiri. She’s an Ifrit jinni; a stunning, wicked, vengeful vamp. Think of her as a major ratings draw if they ever do a Housewives of Jinnistan (I need to pitch this to the SyFy channel). Zubis, our hero, is an Ifrit as well. While he’s also powerful, he’s more measured with an innate sense of justice. He’s my sexy poster boy for the concept that not all Ifrit are evil. But they are the more powerful (read, scarier) than the other two types of genies: Marid and Ghul.

Ifrit are strong and powerful spirits that are not necessarily evil. They are the reference for the description in the Koran of genies as behaving, living, and looking very similar to humans.
Marid are wicked and malicious spirits, more like devils and demons as described in Western literature and religious lore. Marid function in The Zubis Chronicles as soldiers who do the bidding of Iblis. (More on Iblis later. He’s the oldest and most evil of all jinn and happens to be an Ifrit. Also known as Shaitan, he is the basis for the Satan legend.)
Ghuls are lesser phantoms who mostly cause mischief and don’t appear to humans, like ghosts and ghouls. The image of Middle Eastern ghuls is probably where the Western idea of ghouls came from. Look for some on your street this Halloween.

Are genies real? I think they are. But I also think that despite the definitions and the literature, we don’t fully understand what they are. They could be organisms on a molecular level that haven’t been defined by science yet. That’s when folklore steps in to describe things. In the meantime, I’ll keep describing the jinn as I think they exist.

What do you believe?

Best Wishes,

Kellyann Zuzulo

Catch up on the jinn, read The Genie Ignites today.

On  your Kindle. On your Nook.

Homeless Couple Claim to be Under A Jinni Spell

Can a genie throw you out of your house? Probably not. But there is a belief that the energy from a negative jinni can throw off your socio-economic mojo. This married couple in Saudi Arabia claims that interference of an evil jinni has shattered their world. The woman suffers with health problems and her husband lost his job. Currently, they live on the street in the capital city of Riyadh. This is the 21st century…could this be true?

Saudi couple claim to be under the spell of the jinn.

This couple believe it to be true. In article on the Emirates 24/7 news network, the man claims, “I am sure I am haunted with jinns.”

If it is true, I would guess that they’re plagued by a ghul. There are three types of genies: ifrit, marid, ghul. In my fiction, I tend to focus on the ifrit and marid of the species. They’re essentially more powerful and more perceptive than ghuls, and are more physically similar to humans. Basically, they have more personality (and thus make great characters). Zubis is an ifrit jinni. Ghuls will make an appearance in The Genie Smolders, however, and can be just as troublesome. But they’re hard to pin down; more  vaporous, less charming. Okay, they’re easier to blame. The tricky thing is not identifying the jinni, but getting rid of it.

We wish this couple all the best for a jinni-free future. Read the news report here.

Best Wishes,

Kellyann

Read THE GENIE IGNITES and Meet an Ifrit (i-freet).

Readers Will Find You If You Do This…

As a 21st-century author, here’s one of my dilemmas: how do I resist the vortex of the social media world while, at the same time, reaching out to readers? Don’t get me wrong. I love to connect with people on the World Wide Wonderland of books, news, entertainment, family photos, and–yes–Genies. But more than anything, I want to write. I came across this blog post today that prescribes some good anti-vortex medicine. Now, back to writing…

Best Wishes,

Kellyann

There’s a chill in the air, warm up with The Genie Ignites.

Writers resources: How to get 200 000 pageviews in a year and a half on a shoestring budget (via ePublish a Book)

Writers resources: How to get 200 000 pageviews in a year and a half on a shoestring budget As writers, whether self-published or not, we are now required to actively participate in marketing our book. So, we need a blog, and, ideally, a blog with traffic. Now, creating a blog is really a piece of…

News Report Clarifies that Seizures Not Caused by Genies

Physicians at Saudi Arabia’s King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center discuss the causes of epilepsy, which do not include the jinn. ~Arab News

During my research into the jinn, I frequently come across news reports that address the existence of genies.  Let’s not forget that Muslims believe that the jinn are real, created by God, much as Christians might believe angels are real. Nevertheless, they don’t generally accept that humans and jinn interact. That’s why my books are fiction. I imagine a world where the two might collide.

So, here’s an interesting account in Arab News where physicians at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Saudi Arabia are promoting their work to treat epilepsy. Part of their message is to clarify that jinn have nothing to do with the seizures of epilepsy.

“We treat all kinds of epilepsy patients at the King Faisal Epilepsy Treatment Center. We have a comprehensive epilepsy program, consisting of epilogists, doctors, nurses, surgeons, psychiatrists, neurologists,” said Dr. Al-Said.

KFSHRC is one of the excellent centers in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East that receives patients from around the Kingdom.

“We proceed with the treatment according to the needs of the patient. We treat him medically or surgically, and we observe or monitor the patient with long-term monitoring instruments to find out the main cause under the observation of experts,” he explained.

He also explained that many people related epilepsy with supernatural things and acts of jinns. However, epilepsy is a neurological condition that affects the nervous system. Epilepsy is also known as seizure disorder, similar to seizures not caused by known medical conditions, like alcohol withdrawal or extremely low blood sugar.”

Read the full article by clicking on this link.

I think I should get a bumper sticker that says, DON’T BLAME THE JINN

Best Wishes,

Kellyann Zuzulo

Read THE GENIE IGNITES for spasms of suspense and pleasure.

Love in the Afternoon

Escaping for some love in the afternoon is a nice thought for a free spirit without a job, school program, kids, or obligations. But why can’t we hard-working souls steal away for a little afternoon delight? The answer is: We can!

Kristen Stewart’s brand of love in the afternoon can get you into trouble. Download a romance instead.

And I don’t mean the kind of tryst that Kristen Stewart had with director Rupert Sanders. Stay out of trouble. My suggestion is to download some short romance stories to your ereaders. For cheaper than the cost of a cup of coffee, you can enter an idyllic romance replete with gorgeous locales, heart-thrumming emotion, and intoxicating characters. I download my shorts onto my Android phone. Size doesn’t matter. I’m still able to achieve reader satisfaction in small words loaded with passionate moments. 

Download a quick tryst. Be voracious. Some major digital publishers already have a specified short romance line, like All Romance eBooks. The other majors, like Carina Press, Samhain Publishing, and Hatchette’s Forever Yours imprint make it a bit harder to find the novellas because they don’t break them down by length. Go directly to indie romance publisher websites, and search short stories or novellas. 

Size doesn’t matter with a download.

My romance publisher, Boroughs Publishing Group, is tailoring their shorter romances for lunchtime rendezvous. On September 14th, Boroughs launches their Lunchbox Romance line with three new short stories: Vertigo by Elisabeth Silvers, Some Like it Haute by Jillian Leigh and The Shop Girl and the Vampire by @First Sight Grand Prize winner, Ciar Cullen. 

And stay tuned. I’ll be submitting my own fictional liaisons for your afternoon delight.

Enjoy your trysts!

Best Wishes,

Kellyann Zuzulo

THE GENIE IGNITES now available!

Jinn Believed to Move Cars in Saudi Arabia’s Al-Baida

Cars supposedly accelerate on their own in this Saudi Arabian valley.

Is it the jinn or is it reverse gravity? Or simply rumors spread by cab drivers looking to amaze their fares? Maybe a little of each.  According to a March 2012 article from the Arab News news service, “Vehicles in [the Al-Baida] valley reportedly move upward without any need to push the accelerator pedal. If one enters the Wadi and switches off his car engine, it will apparently start going in reverse. It is also claimed that the mountains in this region have some magnetic powers.”

According to my research into scholarly texts on the jinn and the perceived extent of their abilities, such activity would not be far-fetched. But, of course, a smart tour guide knows how to leverage fact with fiction.

You be the judge. Read the full article in Arab News.

What do you think is happening? Would you want to go to Wadi Al-Jinn.

Best Wishes,

Kellyann Zuzulo