Clarissa Johal's Blog, page 54

Mixed-Up Tuesday-Inked

My Pictish Wolf from The Book of Kells
 Done by Errol J Cathcart

As writers, sometimes our characters mark us in ways that go beyond the psychological. It's probably a weird, writer thing, but when you create a character, it's kind of like evoking a real person. You take something that's indiscernible, perhaps just a glimmer of thought, and bring it into focus on the page. Is it any wonder that something you create would in turn, leave you something in return?

I was watching Ink Master the other night, which I like to do while practicing my ballet. An odd combination perhaps, but that's what I end up doing. It's an interesting show because you see the artistic work that goes into creating a tattoo. (You see a lot of fighting between the artists too, but I swear that's not why I tune in!) I'd love to be a guest "canvas" but would probably be a tattoo artist's nightmare. Some of the "canvases" are talked into things they hadn't planned on, and there's no way I'd agree to that. I put a lot of thought into my tattoos and ponder on them for months before making a commitment. To date, I have three--one on my ankle, one on the back of my neck, and one on my belly.

Right before BETWEEN was released, I got a Pictish wolf (above) tattooed on the back of my neck. You can read about why here (in the last two paragraphs), if you're interested. The warrior I dreamed of has gone into my character file, where he will make an appearance in a future novel, as he's already marked me in a physical kind of way.
The Pictish wolf is from The Book of Kells. It accompanies a poem about a warrior who has lost everything/everyone he loves. The warrior questions his life, faith, and dedication to his king and country as he wanders alone. The poem is a very sad one and stuck with me. Aside from my dream which led me to get the wolf, the poem seemed to represent Cronan from my paranormal book BETWEEN.  So, in a roundabout kind of way, I have Cronan at my back. If you've read BETWEEN, that may sound a little unsettling!

Image via Art Imagery via The Book of Kells,
7th Century Scotland/Ireland This is a companion piece to my wolf. I haven't gotten this one yet, but it represents Lucas, another one of my characters from BETWEEN. (I'll definitely omit the flower) I haven't decided where it will go.

*The Book of Kells states this is a lion, though it's listed as a hound on most websites, for some reason. I'm not particularly religious, but I've become obsessed with the artwork in this book.

As far as my latest novel, STRUCK, I've thought about getting a tattoo to represent Julian, one of the central characters. The only thing I could come up with would be a Lichtenberg figure on my back. Not only would this be quite an involved tattoo, but I'm not sure I'd want it! (The caused-by-lightning figure "brands" the character Gwynneth, in a "dark spirit attachment" kind of way.)
Julian may have to wait to leave his mark. In a physical way, anyways... [image error]

#MeatlessMonday-Nanaimo Bars

Photo via Joy from FlickrLicensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license I thought I'd take a break from my usual healthy recipes to share a sinfully delicious dessert from my childhood--Nanaimo Bars. A traditional Canadian cookie bar which requires no baking, they are named after the city of Nanaimo in British Columbia. The popularity of the bar has led Canadians to vote it "Canada's Favorite Confection."
Enjoy!


Nanaimo Bars

Bottom Layer:

1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
5 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg, beaten
1-3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds
1 cup coconut

Melt first 3 ingredients in a double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, coconut and nuts. Press firmly into an ungreased 8X8 pan.

Middle Layer:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 T plus 2 tsp. cream
2 T Birds custard powder (or any vanilla custard powder)
2 cups powdered sugar

Cream butter, cream, custard powder and powdered sugar together. Beat until light. Spread over bottom layer.

Top Layer:

4-1 oz.squares semi-sweet chocolate
2 T butter

Melt chocolate and butter over low heat. Cool slightly and pour over middle layer.
Chill in refrigerator and cut into bars.

Frightening Friday-Black Shuck

*Public Domain PhotoBlack Shuck is the name given to a ghostly black dog that haunts the coastline and countryside of East Anglia. The name "shuck" comes from the Old English word scucca meaning "demon," or possibly from the local dialect word shucky meaning "shaggy" or "hairy." For centuries, inhabitants of England have told tales of a large black dog that roams graveyards, side roads, crossroads, bodies of water and dark forests. It is reported to have red or green flaming eyes and varies in size - ranging from a large dog to that of a calf or horse. Black Shuck have been recorded as being headless or floating on a carpet of mist. According to some legends, the dog's appearance bodes an almost immediate death or illness for the observer or a close relative. Other legends say that the Black Shuck accompany women or lost travelers on their way home as a protector.

One of the most famous reports of the Black Shuck is its appearance at the churches of Bungay and Blythburgh in Suffolk, England. On August 4, 1577, St. Mary's Church was struck by lightning during the thunderstorm. It was reported that a Black Shuck appeared and attacked members of the congregation. It then suddenly disappeared and re-appeared in Holy Trinity Church, Blythburgh and burst through the church doors. It ran up the nave, past a large congregation, killing a man and boy. Then, it caused the church steeple to collapse through the roof. The dog left scorch marks on the north door which can be seen at the church to this day. Some claim these scorch marks are "the devil's fingerprints," while others say they're the result of lightning. Images of black sinister dogs have become part of the iconography of the area.

What is the Black Shuck? Superstition and hysteria? A wild animal in the wrong place at the wrong time? Regardless, it is an interesting tale.

*Title page of Rev. Abraham Fleming's account of the appearance of the ghostly black dog "Black Shuck" at the church of Bungay, Suffolk: "A straunge, and terrible wunder wrought very late in the parish church of Bongay: a town of no great distance from the citie of Norwich, namely the fourth of this August, in ye yeere of our Lord 1577".

Thoughtful Thursday-Ten Paranormal Tidbits

It's the last week before my kiddos track out of school for a month. In addition to trying to catch up on random writing things before "the games" begin, I've signed up for career day at their school tomorrow. I'll be talking to three groups of 8th graders about my career as an author and I'm terrified.


So, I've decided to cop out on being thoughtful today. Instead, I leave you with ten paranormal tidbits...


1) Chillingham Castle, Northumberland, England. A 13th Century castle reputed to be the most haunted place in the world. The most famous ghost in the castle is the "Radiant Boy" who used to haunt the Pink Room. His cries would emanate from a spot near where a passage was (later) found. As his cries faded away, a bright halo of light would appear, followed by the figure of a young boy dressed in blue. During some renovation work, they found the bones of a young child behind the wall, wrapped in decaying fragments of blue cloth. The child was given a proper burial and the hauntings ceased.

2) Resurrection Mary is the most famous "ghost hitchhiker" reported. She resides at Resurrection Cemetery on Chicago's South side. Since the 1930s, many have reported picking up the blonde, blue-eyed young woman dressed in a white party dress. Once the driver reaches the cemetery, the young woman asks to be let out, and then disappears. She is thought to be the spirit of Mary Bregovy, who died in a 1934 auto accident in the Chicago Loop, or possibly Anna Norkus, who died in a 1927 auto accident while on her way home from the Oh Henry Ballroom.

3) Flying Dutchman-The oldest version of this story dates to the late 17th century. The ship and its crew became eternally cursed when its Dutch captain refused to take safe harbor during a storm despite pleas from the crew and passengers. Instead, the captain challenged God to take them down. If hailed by another ship, the crew of the Flying Dutchman will try to send messages to land, or to people long dead. In ocean lore, the sight of this phantom ship is a bad omen.

4) Blackbeard-On moonlit nights, people have reported that the ghost of Blackbeard (Edward Teach) can be seen swimming around Ocracoke Island cove where he died. It was rumored that after being shot and stabbed repeatedly, his headless body swam three times around the boat before it finally sunk.

5) Eleonore Zugan-In 1926, an illiterate 13-year-old Romanian peasant girl, Eleonore Zugun, was brought to London for a series of experiments at the National Laboratory of Psychical Research. For 11-months prior to her arrival in London, Eleonore had apparently suffered spontaneous attacks of both poltergeist activity and stigmata.

6) La Llorona-("The Weeping Woman") The story tells of a woman by the name of Maria who drowned her children in order to be with the man she loved. The man would not have her, and she ended up drowning herself in a river in Mexico City.  Maria was not permitted to enter the afterlife until she found her children. Trapped between the living and spirit world, she wanders the Earth for all eternity. Her constant weeping as she searches for her children has earned her the name "La Llorona."

7) Bloody-Bones-(Rawhead, Tommy Rawhead, and Rawhead) The stories originated in Great Britain where they were particularly common in Lancashire and Yorkshire. The earliest mention in literature is from 1550. The creature was said to live near ponds or in a dark cupboard, usually under the stairs. If you were brave enough to peep through a crack, it would be crouched on a pile of bones, with blood running down his face. The bones belonged to children who said bad words or told lies.

8) Konaki-jiji is a Japanese spirit said to have the ability to take on the appearance of a baby. The spirit lures an unwary by-passer and allows itself to be picked up. After the spirit is picked up, it suddenly becomes a heavy stone that crushes the victim to death.

9) Baku Originating in Chinese, then Japanese folklore, these supernatural beings devour dreams and nightmares. Baku images and talismans are frequently placed under one’s pillow to ward off bad dreams.

10) The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall in Norfolk, England is said to be the ghost of Lady Dorothy Walpole (1686–1726). She became one of the most famous hauntings in Great Britain when photographers from Country Life magazine claimed to have captured her image in 1936.

#Paranormal Wednesday-ESP

A couple of years ago, I took part in an ESP study run by one of the professors at the Rhine Research Center. The study was an interesting one and I've been called back several times as a research participant. It's a little weird, feeling like a guinea pig, but the people out there are super-nice.
 
Extrasensory perception or ESP involves reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses but sensed with the mind. There are several different kinds.

Telepathy – Receiving messages from the mind of another person or in some cases, animals.

Clairvoyance – Ability to use an ‘inner sight’ to see events that will happen in the future or have happened in the past.

Precognition – Foretelling events that are going to happen in the future.

Retrocognition – Seeing things that have already happened. People who have retrocogniton sometimes help the police to piece together the events of a murder or abduction.

Psychometry – The ability to touch an object to learn its history.

Have you experienced any of these? According to experts, there are several exercises and types of equipment to help you develop your ESP.

* Zener cards, which are a set of five cards that have a specific symbol on each. They were developed by Duke University to test people’s degree of psychic strength. Purchase (or make a set of your own) or go here for an online version.
* Meditation. Find a style that suits you. The benefits of meditation are better control over your thoughts, calmness and overall awareness.
* Read books on the subject.
* Practice alone or in small groups interested in the same goals. The more you practice, the more you increase your skills.

Have fun!

Tangled Tuesday-10 Things To Do When You Have a Writer's Block

Some days, in spite of the fact that I may have a whole day in front of me to do nothing but write...I get nothing. I blame it on my characters because they're just being a pain in the butt. I would get into it with them, but I'd run the risk of alienating them completely. I got one of these dreaded blocks the other day and decided to share how I managed it.

Here are 10 things to try when you have a writer's block.

1. Practice your ballet. Decide that going through a complete routine will take the place of going to the gym later. Finish and decide to go to the gym anyways. Now, in fact. That way, you'll have the whole evening free.

2. Once you're back home and showered, realize the dust bunnies have gone on a breeding rampage because you spent the past week writing. Clean house. Since the kitchen is clean, do some cooking for the week. That way, when you go on another writing stint, your children won't live off pizza and cereal.

3. Sit down to write again. Save the one sentence...repeatedly.
4. Brush the dog. Tell him what a good boy he is and how horrid your characters are for being so elusive. Brush the cat. Tell him the same as he runs away because he doesn't give a crap.
5. Surf YouTube. Stumble across something hilarious. Post it on Facebook because it will make everyone's day. Find out it already went viral...years ago. Feel lame. Catch up with all the exciting news from other people doing neat stuff. Sternly tell yourself that it's time to do your neat stuff. Sign off Facebook and get back to writing.
6. Decide you must have some almonds. Now. A grocery store trip may be in order. Wander the grocery store aisles looking at all the food. Chat with other customers and the checkout clerk. When the checkout clerk asks how the writing is going, feel extremely guilty and tell him it's going great. 
7. Once you make it home, sit, determined, and split your time between noshing on almonds, and writing random sentences. Delete your sentences because they all suck.
8. Social network. Follow random people of Twitter and Google Plus. Visit your other social networking sites and catch up. Become completely overwhelmed by the number of sites you've signed up for. Spend the next half-hour on Pinterest looking at all the pretty pictures.
9. Make coffee. Drink coffee. Repeat.
10. Finally get struck with an awesome idea and write furiously. Check the clock and realize you have exactly twenty minutes before the kids get home.
Kick yourself repeatedly. For that matter, kick your characters, because obviously, it's all their fault.

Mixed-Up Tuesday-10 Things To Do When You Have a Writer's Block

Some days, in spite of the fact that I may have a whole day in front of me to do nothing but write...I get nothing. I blame it on my characters because they're just being a pain in the butt. I would get into it with them, but I'd run the risk of alienating them completely. I got one of these dreaded blocks the other day and decided to share how I managed it.

Here are 10 things to try when you have a writer's block.

1. Practice your ballet. Decide that going through a complete routine will take the place of going to the gym later. Finish and decide to go to the gym anyways. Now, in fact. That way, you'll have the whole evening free.

2. Once you're back home and showered, realize the dust bunnies have gone on a breeding rampage because you spent the past week writing. Clean house. Since the kitchen is clean, do some cooking for the week. That way, when you go on another writing stint, your children won't live off pizza and cereal.

3. Sit down to write again. Save the one sentence...repeatedly.
4. Brush the dog. Tell him what a good boy he is and how horrid your characters are for being so elusive. Brush the cat. Tell him the same as he runs away because he doesn't give a crap.
5. Surf YouTube. Stumble across something hilarious. Post it on Facebook because it will make everyone's day. Find out it already went viral...years ago. Feel lame. Catch up with all the exciting news from other people doing neat stuff. Sternly tell yourself that it's time to do your neat stuff. Sign off Facebook and get back to writing.
6. Decide you must have some almonds. Now. A grocery store trip may be in order. Wander the grocery store aisles looking at all the food. Chat with other customers and the checkout clerk. When the checkout clerk asks how the writing is going, feel extremely guilty and tell him it's going great. 
7. Once you make it home, sit, determined, and split your time between noshing on almonds, and writing random sentences. Delete your sentences because they all suck.
8. Social network. Follow random people of Twitter and Google Plus. Visit your other social networking sites and catch up. Become completely overwhelmed by the number of sites you've signed up for. Spend the next half-hour on Pinterest looking at all the pretty pictures.
9. Make coffee. Drink coffee. Repeat.
10. Finally get struck with an awesome idea and write furiously. Check the clock and realize you have exactly twenty minutes before the kids get home.
Kick yourself repeatedly. For that matter, kick your characters, because obviously, it's all their fault.

#MeatlessMonday-The Tofu Beast

Striking fear in the hearts of those who don't love it already...is the dreaded tofu. My husband likes to call it The Tofu Beast.

Tofu is bean curd—made by coagulating soy milk and pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. I've been a vegetarian for over 20 years, which means I should love the stuff, right? It depends. Tofu is one of those things that has to be prepared right in order for it to work. Let's face it, tofu is bland and the texture can be mushy. I've ordered vegetarian dishes that were basically stir-fried vegetables with chunks of unprepared tofu thrown in. I'm sorry, but that's just gross. You can't just dice it up, throw it in something, and expect it to taste good. I'm not a fan of making desserts with tofu either. If you're going to eat dessert, just eat it--sugar and all. Save the healthy stuff for dinner and stop stressing over the silly stuff.

Photo courtesy of Peter Griffin via PublicDomainPictures
Here's a way to prepare tofu so that it actually tastes like something.

Prepare a marinade. I've listed three of my favorite recipes to choose from. Pick one that strikes your taste buds.


Soy Sauce Marinade
Mix:

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2-T brown sugar
4 tsp. sesame oil
1/2 tsp. fresh or powdered ginger
1/2 tsp. cayenne
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp. coriander
1/2 tsp. cumin

Spicy Peanut Marinade
Mix:

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup hot water
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2-T molasses
4 tsp. cayenne
1 tsp. fresh or powdered ginger

Orange-Ginger Marinade
Mix:

1 cup orange juice
6-T soy sauce
2-T water
4 tsp. fresh or powdered ginger
4-T honey
4-T sesame oil
4 tsp. corn starch


Now that you've chosen and mixed your marinade, prepare your tofu.

1 block of extra-firm tofu

*Squeezing out the excess water is key to changing the texture.
Rinse the block of tofu and press the excess moisture out with a paper towel. You may have to use several paper towels, you're aiming at pressing out as much excess moisture as possible without mangling the block itself.
Dice the tofu into bite-sized pieces. 1-inch by 1 inch works or you can go smaller, 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch, which results in firmer tofu once it's baked.
In a sealed container, marinate in the refrigerator for 1-3 days. (3 days will result in a stronger flavor)

When it's ready, drain marinade.
Bake on a tinfoil lined cookie sheet at 375 F for 30-40 minutes, turning occasionally.

Try over noodles or rice with some vegetables or make a tofu burrito with lettuce, tomatoes and cheese.
My kids like to eat the cubes alone as a snack. Experiment and enjoy!

Frightening Friday-The Eyes Have It

The Omega Man 1971
I've always felt that. Change the eyes and everything about the person changes. When I was a kid, I remember seeing a movie that freeeeaked me out. (Well, there were several, my parents didn't believe in babysitters) It was the 1971 version of The Omega Man based on the 1954 novel, I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. The concept was simple: humanity had been wiped out by a plague which turned the population into nocturnal, vampire-like, albino mutants. The plague's only survivor spent his days patrolling the deserted city and hunting and destroying those infected. For a seven-year-old, the concept of being the last "non-infected" human should have been horrifying. But it wasn't. What gave me nightmares for the next three months were the eyes. The albino mutants had white eyes. And to my 7-year-old psyche--white eyes just weren't right.

By today's standards, the 1971 version of The Omega Man is ultra-cheesy. But I still can't watch it. Yes, yes, laugh away. The eyes still freak me out. I've seen probably almost every horror movie imaginable and consider myself pretty impervious. But once they start messing with the eyes, I get a little uncomfortable.

Defiance 2013
Who I happen to think is kind of hot, in a perverse kind of way. Go figure.

Musa Publishing: Struck with a Story

Musa Publishing: Struck with a Story: by Clarissa Johal I’m always asked how I come up with ideas for my novels. It tends to vary. Some stories begin as random scenes, some as ...