Rachel Alexander's Blog, page 294
January 21, 2019
therkalexander:
She reached the door, and the drum stopped, the pipes faltering a moment later,...
She reached the door, and the drum stopped, the pipes faltering a moment later, their last notes shrill. Whispers, then silence. Then the shifting and uncoupling of half clothed bodies, and knees dropping to the floor. Persephone didn’t look at the heads bowed to her, her gaze fixed on the dais at the rear of the hall. Her bare feet padded against the tile as she approached. “Kokytos.”
The king descended the dais and bowed low to her before resuming his place on his throne. “Well! An unexpected pleasure, Queen Persephone. When I heard you had been seen about Thesprotia I’d hoped that our paths might cross. Delightful to finally—”
“Leave us.” Persephone said.
— The Good Counselor, Chapter 1
| AO3 | FanFiction | FictionPress | WattPad | Tumblr |
The Good Counselor by Rachel AlexanderBook Three in the Hades and Persephone series, and the sequel to Receiver of Many and Destroyer of Light.
Free previews published weekly every Wednesday night at Midnight, Pacific Standard Time.
Why did Hecate want to arrange Aidon and Demeter into marriage?
Because she saw them as Kronos and Rhea’s most logical heirs.
Are the books being made into a movie?
They’re currently being shopped for a TV series by my executive producer, Summer Helene.
hex-len:
xenoi-doing-bs:
therkalexander:
xenoi-doing-bs:
If Receiver of Many by Rachel Alexander...
If Receiver of Many by Rachel Alexander becomes adapted to a movie, we want it to have Greek representation above all! And we want more than one Greek token character - that’s how close the American movie industry has come to bringing Greeks into the set of Greek mythology movies. We are tired of being pushed aside while Americans profit from our myths (myths which are often told inaccurately). And no more of telling Greeks actors they don’t look “Greek enough” for the set. @therkalexander consider this a proposal for the cast of RoM. The Greek community is here, it’s watching what’s happening with adaptations of Greek mythology and it’s angry. Please be mindful of that. You have an important chance to make a difference. Good luck with your books and movies!Believe me when I tell you I hear everything you’re saying.
I only used translations by Greek translators (primarily Athanassakis), when it came to adding in Greek language, I consulted primarily with someone who is Greek and living in Greece, and when I delved into the religion I read the works of and consulted with actual Hellenic polytheists.
My drive to make Receiver of Many as authentic as possible was foremost in my mind (except for purposeful seasonal and climatic discrepancies which were geared for an anglophone audience).
Though I am always lobbying for creative control in this, I can only do so much as I’m not personally a casting director.
I and my producer are more than open to suggestions for actors to play the roles in my books.
The best way to be heard is to tweet @summerhelene and let her know who and what you want to see when Receiver of Many comes to the screen.
EDIT: BUT ONE MORE THINGThere will be people of color in any work I participate in. Period, paragraph. I am not going to work with a lily white cast, and neither will my books.
I am reblogging to comment on the edit:
POC in speaking roles are great! We advocate for more POC roles in the US movie industry as well as good representation! And we would be happy to see poc in RoM!
Now, when it comes to the Greek gods, Greeks want their gods as our ancestors depicted them - that means Caucasian and with beige skin (as revealed by color study on sculptures). We too are Caucasians with beige/white skin and we haven’t changed much since ancient times - as ancient mosaics and paintings reveal. In our communities that is common knowledge. It is how our ancestors saw them and how we see them today. We see ancient art everywhere in different areas and we are well informed. You wouldn’t seek an ethnically Chinese person to depict a Hindu god or a White one to play an Aztec god. Be respectful to the Greek gods in a similar fashion. It’s shocking how many people don’t understand Greek gods came from a particular culture that still lives today in connection to the past.
Please don’t fall into the American trap “one type of skin color is one culture”. Ethnically Greek people usually don’t look like poc but you will still have representation for the culture if you include them. Americans don’t accept us in Greek roles because we are “too white” for them. Ignoring the fact that this is what we actually look like. POC who identify as Greeks are a rare case but if you find them, more power to you!
If you have concerns about this, seek books for ancient Greek art by scholars. I would be happy to recommend some.
I, by no means want POC voices to be silenced. Nor I believe an ethnicity or skin color is above any other. My intention is never to block poc from entering the scene! But I also don’t want Greek voices to be erased once more. I express the complaints of many people around me who don’t have a Tumblr account to address the issue here.
Again, thank you for listening and for fighting for representation for all sides!
…I hope the author and the other users understand Greek mythology IS a Lily White mythology. We don’t want another Greek erasure in the name of “wokeness”. Ofc there can be some POC in the series, but I have a sense most of important Greek gods - and Persephone - are gonna be erased
She reached the door, and the drum stopped, the pipes faltering a moment later, their last notes...
She reached the door, and the drum stopped, the pipes faltering a moment later, their last notes shrill. Whispers, then silence. Then the shifting and uncoupling of half clothed bodies, and knees dropping to the floor. Persephone didn’t look at the heads bowed to her, her gaze fixed on the dais at the rear of the hall. Her bare feet padded against the tile as she approached. “Kokytos.”
The king descended the dais and bowed low to her before resuming his place on his throne. “Well! An unexpected pleasure, Queen Persephone. When I heard you had been seen about Thesprotia I’d hoped that our paths might cross. Delightful to finally—”
“Leave us.” Persephone said.
— The Good Counselor, Chapter 1
| AO3 | FanFiction | FictionPress | WattPad | Tumblr |
The Good Counselor by Rachel AlexanderBook Three in the Hades and Persephone series, and the sequel to Receiver of Many and Destroyer of Light.
Free previews published weekly every Wednesday night at Midnight, Pacific Standard Time.
Wednesday night/Thursday can't come fast enough. I just got caught up with The Good Counselor and asdfghjklkjhgfdsasdcfghj. Words can't express how much I love your books. Thank you so much! x
Yay!! Thank you!!
I think you’ll like this new installment. We get to see Persephone being very Persephone and meet some new characters.
I’m not sure if I understand this right so please help me if I’m confused - did Aidon like Demeter romantically at one point? And did Hecate want them to be together?
Hecate wanted to arrange their marriage, Aidon was romantically indifferent to her for the most part but cared for her as a friend, and Demeter was revolted by the idea of marrying him because she was crushing on Zeus.
wtfzeus:
a-gnosis:
“Early Archaic Zeus was a rain-making,...
“Early Archaic Zeus was a rain-making, agricultural deity, sometimes paired with Ge or Demeter, and worshiped at altars constructed on mountain peaks. Disturbing myths of child sacrifice were elements in several of his cults. These can be explained as imported Near Eastern themes or as the mythic expression of initiation practices through which symbolic death led to rebirth in a new stage of life. Later, Zeus was drawn from his rural haunts into the city center, where he presided in a general way over the realm of politics, yet rarely became the patron deity of an individual city. Instead, he was acknowledged as the most powerful of the Olympians through the establishment and growth of his Panhellenic sanctuaries at Olympia, Nemea, and Dodona. His cults typically reinforce traditional sources of authority and standards of behavior, whether in the family, the kinship group, or the city.”
Ancient Greek Cults: A Guide by Jennifer Larson.
Traditional standards of behaviour…
January 20, 2019
artofelaineho:
Sketch Tuesday - Red Carnelian
I’ve mentioned...
Sketch Tuesday - Red Carnelian
I’ve mentioned on more than one Sketch Tuesday that I would like to experiment with new brushes. Doing portraits/landscape studies didn’t help me with this goal, so I wondered what exactly would help me with this problem. I needed a subject matter that wasn’t concerned with likeness or realism.So I’ve settled on gemstones. This week’s gemstone is the red carnelian!
My aim for these gemstone studies is to: 1. Use at least one brush that I rarely use, and
2. Utilize two brushes or less.I’ve put a swatch of the two brushes I used at the bottom of the piece.
Here’s to a new bit of exploration!
Your art is amazing! You are amazing! The character design is beautiful and researched! Now you are busy with the deck but is too much to ask more Thanatos? Pleaseee
Thank you!
Now I’m not actually open for requests, but I’m in the right mood and have some brushes I want to play with, so:
