Cecilia Tan's Blog, page 39

Magic U 4 finally available for Kindle, Nook, etc…

I just realized I tweeted this, and linked it on Facebook, but I never actually did a blog post saying Magic University: The Poet and the Prophecy is AVAILABLE! My last blog post was about how the ebook had been delayed! Well, delay over, and the propagation of the ebook is underway. It is currently live on the following sites:

Amazon Kindle

All Romance eBooks

Barnes & Noble Nookstore

Ravenous Romance

Presumably the iBookstore, Android ebookstore, Google ebooks, Kobo, and Smashwords are still forthcoming.

Good news & bad news about Magic U 4… (another excerpt)

So the bad news about The Poet and the Prophecy is that it's delayed a day or two because the publisher discovered a mistake in the ebook files, so they have to be re-done. Oops.

The good news is that I decided that means I should publish another excerpt! Below.

Also in today's news, I'm interviewed at 4-Letter Words ("Bad Girls on Good Books"). In which they ask me about a sexy version of quidditch… Grin.

To the excerpt:

Kyle's head was just drooping toward the journal in his lap when a loud bang woke him. A black cat came scampering into the common room and ducked under the wing chair he was sitting in. A moment later, both Master Brandish and Professor Pendragon came running into the room, shouting at each other. "This way!" "Are you sure?"

The two women looked around the room. It was almost midnight and the fire was burning low. Classes were due to start in the morning, and Kyle was the only student still in there.

"Did you see a cat run through here?" Master Brandish snapped.

"I was falling asleep," Kyle answered, all wide-eyed innocence. "I thought pets weren't allowed?"

That set Professor Pendragon to chuckling, but Master Brandish only gave Kyle a disgusted look. "It's a ritual animal. If you see it, don't hurt it. Just try to keep it in one place until we can corral it again."

"Come on, Callendra. Maybe it went upstairs. You know how cats love to climb." Professor Pendragon gave Kyle a little wave and then the two of them headed up the stairs.

Kyle looked over the armrest to see a pair of bright eyes staring up at him. "They're gone," he said.

The cat clawed its way up the armrest and into his lap, sniffing at his face curiously. Kyle petted it tentatively and could feel its spine through its fur.

"Scrawny little thing, aren't you? Did they pick you up stray or something? For what it's worth, I don't think those two are into animal sacrifice. So you're probably okay."

The cat nuzzled at Kyle's flannel shirt, sticking its face into the breast pocket and then sneezing. It walked in a circle on his lap and promptly fell asleep.

Kyle petted its head gently. "Halloween's on the way," he said. "Want to be my familiar? You could ride on the back of my broom."

The little cat sneezed, but did not open its eyes. Kyle laughed and turned his attention back to the journal in his other hand. Longfellow's notes swam in front of his eyes, though, and the cat began to purr. Kyle succumbed to sleep.

When he began to dream, he slipped into a perfectly normal dream. All those lessons with Dean Bell had taught him the difference between the different types of dreams: incubus dreams, prophetic dreams, lucid ones and conscious ones.

Often Kyle's dreams turned erotic but he knew now that wasn't unusual, and he knew how to keep his desires from turning into something more. There was no more chasing across the dreamscape. More often than not the nymph in his dream came to him instead.

So he wasn't surprised when an otherwise ordinary scenario turned into dream sex.

He was surprised, though, when the faceless nymph he was coupling with whispered, "Is talking to animals one of your gifts?"

"Not as far as I know," he replied. "I mean, I talk to them but they never talk back."

"Listen harder," she whispered, just before he woke.

The cat was gone. Kyle rubbed his eyes and checked his phone for the time. Nearly two in the morning. Should he drag himself upstairs to his actual bed, or wander over to Camella House for the night? He'd sort of promised Master Brandish he'd spend more time here at Gladius House.

Talk of the Burning Days was spreading like wildfire through the magical community. He was receiving letters now, not just from scholars, but from magical people all over, asking for his advice or his help on how to get through the coming cataclysm. Some had lost their Sight. Others were too weak to cast enchantments.

He didn't know what to tell them. I'm just a poet, he wanted to say. I can't save you. I'm not one of the Prophesied Pair, I'm just the messenger.

Because surely if he were one of the Pair, he'd know what to do by now?

And if he were, he'd have another half, a lifelong mate, who would face every challenge with him.

He didn't have that. He had a collection of friends and lovers who supported him and made sure his bed was never empty if he didn't wish it to be. Toward the end of the summer Alex and Jeanie had broken up spectacularly, only to end up friends, but in the aftermath, Jeanie and Lindy had become a thing. Since then Lindy had been spending more time with Jeanie than with Kyle. He wasn't jealous. It was a beautiful thing, Lindy and Jeanie. What he had was good. What he didn't have was someone special…

Magic U book 4 Excerpt! (Prepublication Teaser)

This is the second "teaser" chapter I've posted. The first one, if you missed it, is here: http://blog.ceciliatan.com/?p=677

Here's another… in which Kyle finds himself standing outside the Boston Eagle, an infamous gay bar in town.

(The book should be going live most places on Thursday or Friday!)

Out on the sidewalk, Kyle could feel a dance beat throbbing through the walls of the building. There was no sign above the door, just a small statue of an eagle. He wanted to take that as a good omen. After all, wasn't it an eagle on Zeus's shield? He tried to remember what other symbolism it carried but his mind was awhirl. No one knew he was here tonight.

And probably nothing is going to happen and I'm going to go home disappointed, he thought. Classes were due to start in a week, but he was here to learn something of a different sort. Did he like men, really? Other than Frost? And if so, what did he like?

A man in blue jeans and a black T-shirt, with a neatly trimmed, short beard emerged from the place, bringing a blast of music with him. Kyle stood rooted to the spot while the man gave him a once-over, then walked on down the street.

Kyle was still standing there when another man who looked nearly the same as the first brushed past him to enter the bar. Kyle took a breath. He was here out of desperation, maybe, trying the only thing left he could think of that would—as Alex had put it—get the taste of Frost out of Kyle's mouth.

He'd thought about going to the big gay dance night on Lansdowne Street, but it hadn't sounded that exciting. He decided instead on the Eagle, which had a more masculine air than any of the other gay bars or clubs he saw listed in the paper.

"You don't want to go in there unless you're looking for trouble," said a voice from behind him.

He turned to see yet a third man in jeans with a short beard, this one tossing aside a cigarette and stubbing it out with his boot before he came closer. Now in the streetlamp's light, Kyle could see this one's hair was a little longer than he'd seen on any of the previous men, dark and just a little wavy.

The man stepped close enough that Kyle caught a whiff of a masculine scent coming from him, musky and earthy at once.

"And if I'm looking for trouble?" Kyle answered.

"Well, maybe trouble found you," the man replied smoothly, not even smiling at his own joke. He had a hint of a British accent. "You looking for it a little rough? What are you into, bondage? Wrestling?"

Bondage Kyle had an inkling of, but he was startled into asking, "Wrestling?"

"Sure. The winner fucks the loser, and it's great foreplay," the guy said with a quirk of his eyebrow, bemused or amused by Kyle.

Kyle found the idea turned him on, even if he wasn't exactly attracted to this man. Except that he was attracted. Something about the guy's confidence and strength was alluring, in a dangerous sort of way.

But Kyle remembered his purpose. "I'm, um, I'm more of a top, myself," he managed to say.

The man laughed. "All the better. Makes it sweeter when you surrender."

Kyle felt a shiver of lust run down his spine, as he sensed just how keenly this man wanted, at that very moment, to sink his cock into Kyle. It was discomfiting even as it was arousing, making Kyle feel more like prey than, well, loved. Is this how Frost feels when I'm around?

Kyle took a step back, but that only seemed to be an invitation to the guy to step even closer, closing the distance between them. Kyle could feel his body heat and smell the sweetness of his breath. Cinnamon.

"Don't be scared. I'll make it good." He chuckled.

"I… I don't think…."

"You don't belong here," the man said suddenly, dead serious where a moment ago he'd been laughing. He trailed the backs of his fingers along Kyle's cheek and Kyle felt the energy crackle.

Oh. He didn't mean Kyle wasn't gay enough for the place, though maybe that was true. He was magical.

Kyle forced himself to take another step back. "What's wrong with—"

But the guy was laughing again, this time a rich, full laugh. "Nothing's wrong, little one. Nothing." He laughed once more and then turned and walked away, leaving Kyle standing on the sidewalk, dumbfounded.

Poems About Magic and Love from readers

So I'm celebrating the imminent release (this week, they say) of Magic U book 4 ("The Poet and the Prophecy") and over the weekend I ran an "extra credit" assignment — anyone who wrote me a poem about love, magic, or preferably both, would get their choice of either Magic U book 1 or Spellbinding (the Magic U short story anthology). And my favorite would win a signed paperback of book 1 or the whole Magic U ebook set.

However, I'm having trouble picking a favorite because the poems are all AWESOME. (If you're wondering why poetry, poetry is one of the major magical skills one can study at my magical university.)

So help me choose a winner? I've installed a "polls" widget below. Please vote for your favorite of the choices below! I think I got everyone collected together from all my various journals and emails…

Choose a winner from these five awesome poems on love and magic:

(Voting form at the bottom…)



A Villanelle by Roz Kaveny:

Love is the spell that changes everything


It makes us better or it makes us worse


whether we're beggar girl or soldier king.

It writes the songs that all musicians sing


and sits beside their chair when they rehearse


Love is the spell that changes everything.

To do without it was to forge the ring


that wrecked the world – the Nibelung's bleak curse.


Whether we're beggar girl or soldier king

It fans our sleep with its all-caring wing.


And for the dying it's the kindest nurse


Love is the spell that changes everything

It is our greatest joy and suffering


It is the source of all our greatest verse


whether we're beggar girl of soldier king

villain's destruction, pure saint's hallowing


It rocks our cradle and it pulls our hearse


Love is the spell that changes everything


whether we're beggar girl or soldier king.

A Haiku by Yasuhime:

The magic of love


Can be studied a lifetime


Yet never mastered.

Free-form Acrostic by Cecile Grey (no relation, LOL)

Miles spill out in front of me. They spell out

A drawling landscape of "what if". But isn't it

Graduated animal impulse, this needy alliance: Love?

Isn't it just the slurred edge of an instinct. Or is it

Conjured possibility. Human idiosyncrasy. Magic maybe.

Sonnet by TedddyWolf

Will we go raking all the autumn leaves?

The lawn you love is buried underneath,

Or shall a spell that some enchanter weaves

Bespell them all into a fallen wreath?

The neighbors lawn is cleared and oddly green,

Without a leaf among the many trees.

Yet so maintained it is an eerie scene,

As nothing blows upon the gentle breeze.

Our neighbors have forgotten being young,

The magic of a child in the yard.

Our piles full of dampened leaves have clung,

Until we, holding hands, jump in them hard.

Our autumn is a precious time for fun.

The spell of time with you is never done.

TeddyWolf also did a redux in haiku form:

Fallen Autumn leaves

Now ensorcelled in a pile

Hold my hand and jump!

Free verse from JumpupHigh:

"Making You Laugh in Public"

You let me straddle your lap

When we are in inappropriate places

You speak to me in French

Then don't tell me what it means

You let me kiss you when I am drunk

And bite you on the shoulder

You play with me in my city

Before going home alone

You visit me in my dreams

So that I won't ever forget you

This is who we are

And who we always will be

I know it's hard to choose, so you can pick up to TWO to vote for!

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Last day! Magic U back-to-school giveaway day 7!

And it's the final day of my back-to-school Magic University promo week! Today we have an extra credit assignment related to today's lesson on Poetry.

Poetry

As I mentioned before, Poetry is one of the major magical disciplines. Kyle, our hero, is a poet, a relative of Longfellow, and he is astonished to learn upon arriving at Veritas that many of the English poets (and American ones, too) were magical. T.S. Eliot attended Veritas and often wrote a mundane version and a magical version of his poems. Shakespeare was magical, as were Blake, Spenser, and Shelley.

Before 1692, when the magical community in Europe and the Americas went into hiding in the face of church persecution, the magical poets were more open about their abilities. Afterward, poets continued to publish poems with magical themes, though, in the name of poetic license.

In the books I quote snippets of the magical poems, and of course Kyle writes his own.

Today's Assignment

So for today's extra credit assignment, write me a poem about magic! Or love. Or both… Everyone who posts a poem (and gives me their email) will receive either the ebook of The Siren & The Sword (book one) or Spellbinding (the Magic U erotic short story anthology), and I will pick the entry I like best from all those I receive to get one winner of either an autographed copy of the book one paperback, or the set of 3 ebooks that is volumes 1-3. (If they're all so good I can't decide… I'll use random.org to pick, as I have in the previous days.)

Your poem can be a limerick or a haiku, it can rhyme or be free verse. If you choose a poetic form like the sonnet or haiku, please include in your post what form you chose.

Remember, ALL entrants will get a copy of ebook one or Spellbinding! You have until midnight eastern time tonight to post your poem! Either post it in a comment to one of my blogs, OR EVEN BETTER post it in your own blog and just comment with a link to it! :-)

Yesterday's Winner

Yesterday's winner was Ariadnechan!

And here were the answers:

1. Which of the following is an Esoteric Arts technique?

A. Moonlight Rose

2. If by some chance the world does NOT end, what will Frost have to do?

B. Finish the unfinished coursework from previous semesters.

3. What happens if a lightning rod and a fulgora have sex?

D. All of the above.

4. Which Tarot card is most likely to mean happiness?

B. Three of Cups

5. Which of the following does not contain a magical swear?

C. Where the bloody hell is Frost going at night?

(because bloody hell is not a magical swear!)

Thanks everyone for taking my quizzes! You're all equipped now to matriculate at Veritas, the Magic University!

I see the Amazon Kindle store has book one on sale for 99 cents again! (Here: http://www.amazon.com/Magic-University-Siren-Sword-ebook/dp/B002RHP4S2) It's also 99 cents at the B&N "Nookstore" (Here: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Siren-and-the-Sword/Cecilia-Tan/e/9781590032084).

Magic U back-to-school giveaway contest, Day 6!

Yes, back-to-school week is winding down, so this is the last quiz of the week, and your last chance to win either an autographed copy of book one from the Magic University series or volumes 1-3 as ebooks. (Tomorrow I'll give an extra credit assignment, though!)

Biology & Mythology

I'm running out of lessons I can give on the magical world of Veritas without giving away too much of the plot. Today, however, we will talk about Magical Biology & Creatures.

In my world, some mythical creatures were real once, like the unicorn and the sphinx, but are now extinct. Others, like the vampire and the incubus, are tales that non-magical folk created to explain some things in the magical world they didn't understand.

Vampires supposedly live forever, don't eat food or have sex, but do suck blood. One of the disciplines that magical humans can follow to achieve much longer than normal life (200+ years) is that of the blood mage. Blood mages give up the usual biological functions of a human body (food, sex, sleep) and instead sustain themselves magically through meditation, training, and the ritual taking of blood from a willing donor–usually just a drop.

Succubi and incubi are dream projections created by magical people with strong lusts or desires who are trying to repress those desires. Instead the desires take form in the dreamscape and break free, visiting other dreamers in search of satiation.

Then of course there are the things that were shared with non-magical folk before the 1692 decision to go into hiding, like Tarot cards and flying brooms/carpets that can't be "erased" from the cultural memory. Why do magical folk talk to cats, anyway? There are other things that mundane folk get "almost right," and which the magical folk allow them to think so that the actual truth will remain hidden… you'll have to read the books to see what else.

Today's Quiz

And now, today's quiz! Five quick multiple choice questions which if you've been paying attention to the previous lessons and quizzes you should be able to answer, as the answers are all contained in the previous posts! Comment or email your best guess to enter to win your choice of a signed copy of book one in the series or all three of books 1-3 in ebook form! (Email to ctan.writer at gmail.com)

1. Which of the following is an Esoteric Arts technique?

A. Moonlight Rose

B. Choking the Chicken

C. Tribadism

D. Sleeping with the Enemy

2. If by some chance the world does NOT end, what will Frost have to do?

A. Argue with the registrar over tuition.

B. Finish the unfinished coursework from previous semesters.

C. Dance the tarantella.

D. Buy Master Brandish a drink.

3. What happens if a lightning rod and a fulgora have sex?

A. Sparks fly.

B. It's electrifying.

C. A highly tempestuous relationship.

D. All of the above.

4. Which Tarot card is most likely to mean happiness?

A. Ten of Swords

B. Three of Cups

C. Two of Swords

D. The Moon

5. Which of the following does not contain a magical swear?

A. Go fuck Aleister Crowley's eye socket!

B. What in Mother Shipton's stinky knickers do you mean by that?

C. Where the bloody hell is Frost going at night?

D. I wouldn't give that pigfucking son of Circe the time of day.

Yesterday's Winner & Answers

Yesterday's winner was Yasuhime!

And wow, was I impressed with the variety of the answers I got for the "fill in the blanks" on the poems! People really had fun with this. Here are some of my favorites:

1. From an angel's lips come the sweetest of sighs

On the wing s/he takes to the skies

I will find heaven…

…if I follow her/his cries. (Yasuhime)

…between her/his thighs. (Jessica H.)

…if bless'd in her eyes. (Michael C.)

…in her steak and ale pies. (Erastes)

2. Magic grows like the hawthorn tree

Wild and sharp in younger days

Then stalwart strength comes with age

Fiercely guarding…

…those who believe. (Yasuhime)

…the old-worn ways. (Jessica H.)

… the Circle's heart. (Michael C.)

…till it slays. (Kestrell)

3. There once was a siren from Crete

Whom the sailors all wished to meet

"But they drink too much wine"

She complained at the time

When…

… fucking, they're as soft as my teat!" (Michael C.)

…they lay dead drunk at her feet. (Erastes)

…they collapsed while humping her feet. (Kestrell)

4. Desire grows tall as a thundercloud

Arousal crackles like lightning

And release falls like…

… like tropical rain: so brief, so nourishing. (Kestrell)

…Thor's mighty hammer (Yasuhime)

…a scorched squirrel from a burnt tree. (Jessica H.)

5. Love is as…

…unpredictable as the fate that awaits us (Yasuhime)

…complicated as a Gordian Knot (Jessica H.)

…nourishing as mother's milk. (Michael C.)

…fleeting as snow. (Erastes)

…common as bread, and as necessary. (Kestrell)

(Tomorrow's "extra credit" assignment will also be poetry-based!)

Magic U back-to-school giveaway Day 5!

Thank Godwin It's Friday! Today's lesson in the Magic University back-to-school week is about SWEARING.

Magical folk at Veritas don't swear by using the language of their oppressors (the Church) and they don't believe in damnation. So there's no "damn" "hell" "God" or "Jesus Christ!" in their lexicon of swear words. Instead, they tend to invoke the revered figures of their own heritage and past who include poets (Dante, Sappho, Blake) and famous witches and wizards (Circe, Merlin). Each generation of course has their favorites and some go in and out of fashion. Once in a while ancient gods or goddesses may slip in, as well (like Minerva).

Herewith, a brief "translation guide" to some of the colorful phrases you may hear magical folk say, after which we'll have today's quiz and the answers from yesterday!

Magical swear terms, translated to the mundane tongue:

Circe's tit = oh shit/crap

Circe's creamy left tit = holy crap

What in Dante's Inferno…? = What the hell…?

Pigfucker = jerk

Pigfucking son of Circe = motherfucker

Pythagoras's shit-covered cock = holy fucking shit

Merlin and Morgana's goatfucking third cousin = Jesus H. Christ on a dildo-tipped pogo stick

There are many, many more phrases in the books…

Today's Quiz!

And now, today's quiz! Comment or email your answers to enter to win your choice of a signed copy of book one in the series or all three of books 1-3 in ebook form! Today's quiz is Fill In The Blank. Poetry is one of the major magical subjects at Veritas and is one of the main magical skills one can develop. They say no one can brew a love potion but that the perfect love poem would be irresistible! So fill in the blanks with 1-7 words each and be creative! There are no wrong answers today! I'll take entries until midnight eastern time!

1. From an angel's lips come the sweetest of sighs

On the wing s/he takes to the skies

I will find heaven _______________

2. Magic grows like the hawthorn tree

Wild and sharp in younger days

Then stalwart strength comes with age

Fiercely guarding ____________

3. There once was a siren from Crete

Whom the sailors all wished to meet

"But they drink too much wine"

She complained at the time

When ______________________

4. Desire grows tall as a thundercloud

Arousal crackles like lightning

And release falls like __________

5. Love is as ________ as __________

Yesterday's Winner & Answers

Congratulations to yesterday's winner, Ellid! Here are the correct answers:

Esoteric Techniques and their names:

A. Tapping the Geyser = 4. Drawing energy from the Earth through sustained arousal without orgasm (with eventual release)

B. Lone Oak Exercise = 1. For enlarging the penis

C. Moonlight Rose = 5. Plucking a thought from a partner's mind at the moment of orgasm

D. Briar Rose = 2. Ritual fluid exchange using a drop of blood instead of a drop of semen

E. Osiris's Gift = 3. Healing through reciprocal penetration

Tomorrow will be the final quiz in the week! Book four in the series, the final one, will be released next week from Ravenous Romance!

Day four of the Magic University "back to school" giveaway week!

And here's the fourth day of my Magic University "back to school" posts. First of all for today, I just got the completely GORGEOUS cover art from the publisher! Ahhh I can't believe how fabulous it came out! (Full size below the cut!)

Second, before we get to the free book giveaway… today we have a little Esoteric Arts lesson for you all. "Esoteric Arts" is the academic name for erotic magic or sex magic…

Esoteric Arts

In the world of Magic University, the amount of magical energy one can draw from sex or arousal is quite vast, but not every person is able to tap into esoteric sources.

It remains a subject of great debate as to whether the reason some people can or can't draw on Esoteric energy is biological or psychological. Many magical folk choose not to pursue esoteric paths because of the stigmas and attitudes attached to sex for magical purposes. Non-practitioners of sex magic may (wrongly) think of Esotericists as incapable of sex for love, and may fear the sexual freedom that Esoteric Arts practitioners exercise. And remember, magical people are just as plagued by jealousy, insecurity, body image issues, and relationship troubles as everyone else. Mixing sex and magic might not be a good idea for everyone in modern society.

Today's Quiz!

Many techniques in Esoteric Arts are given evocative names. For today's quiz, can you match the names below with what each technique does? Make your best guess! All entries will be entered into the contest to win your choice of a signed copy of book one or ebooks of books 1-3!

Esoteric Techniques:

A. Tapping the Geyser

B. Lone Oak Exercise

C. Moonlight Rose

D. Briar Rose

E. Osiris's Gift

What the techniques do: (match them up!)

1. For enlarging the penis

2. Ritual fluid exchange using a drop of blood instead of a drop of semen

3. Healing through reciprocal penetration

4. Drawing energy from the Earth through sustained arousal without orgasm (with eventual release)

5. Plucking a thought from a partner's mind at the moment of orgasm

Yesterday's Winner & Answers

Winner of yesterday's contest: Nuclearpolymer! And I think all the entries received were correct, even! Here are the answers to yesterday's quiz on matching Tarot cards used in the books with their meanings:

A. The Ace of Swords = 4. The hero begins his quest

B. The Moon = 3. Wild, untamed, or animalistic desire

C. Two of Swords = 1. Balancing a Difficult Decision

D. Three of Cups = 5. Party time!

E. Ten of Swords = 2. Betrayed by all

Squeeee

Magic U back-to-school contest: day three!

Today I have some visual references for you, a very short quiz (5 matching questions), and the answers to yesterday's quiz. Yesterday's must have been too hard because only one person entered! And she won! (So it might be easier to win than you thought…)

Veritas, the magical university, is a part of Harvard. People without The Sight cannot see the magical buildings, so this is just our best guess of where they are on the Harvard Campus map:

The fourth house (Nummus House) is not in this section of the campus, but you will see the other three houses, as well as Peyntree Hall, the Elwyn Library, and the Sassamon Ritual Arts building on this map.

Meanwhile, have you seen the photo album of images I took of Harvard last year? There's a little tour of Veritas right here:

Harvard Photos

And now on to today's quiz!

Match the Tarot card with the interpretation:

A. The Ace of Swords

B. The Moon

C. Two of Swords

D. Three of Cups

E. Ten of Swords

1. Balancing a Difficult Decision

2. Betrayed by all

3. Wild, untamed, or animalistic desire

4. The hero begins his quest

5. Party time!

To enter to win, comment with your answers/best guesses or email them to ctan.writer AT gmail.com by midnight eastern tonight. Winner gets choice of all three Magic U ebooks to date, or a signed paperback of book one!

Yesterday's winner was Kerry T.! Who got four of five answers right. Here are the correct answers:

1. Which of the following subjects is not offered at Veritas?

C. Charms

2. Which of the following are "magic numbers?"

D. All of the above — just about every number is lucky for someone. Even 13.

3. In omens class, Kyle learns that a cat sneezing means what?

D. None of the above! (It means "good luck for a bride.")

4. In which class at Veritas would you learn to change lead to gold?

B. Alchemy

5. Which of the following poets did not attend Harvard?

E. Edgar Allan Poe

Book four, THE POET AND THE PROPHECY, will be out next week!

Magic University contest and back-to-school fun, Day Two!

Day Two! I'm continuing my week of back-to-school posts in which I give away some free books and tell more about the world of Magic University. As we get ready for the release of The Poet and the Prophecy (book four in the Magic University series) I answer some questions about magic in my universe that I've been asked.

Q: Are there female lightning rods?

A: If you've read book one, you know lightning rods are rare men who can very quickly gather magical energy from the natural world around them and can create thunderclouds when they do. It's considered a very phallic ability, but there are women with the same ability! A woman who can draw down lightning is called a "fulgora."

Q: What's the biggest difference between your magic and the magic in Harry Potter?

A: In my world, a wand can't be used like a gun. In fact, most magic users don't use wands at all, except during specific rituals. I'm hard pressed to remember anyone actually using one in the books.



Q: Some of the characters in Magic U. have ancestors who are mythical creatures, for example: Michael is part-siren. What is Kyle? What about Alex and Frost?

A: Alex definitely has fae blood, but Kyle and Frost so far haven't expressed the heredity of any particular creature. Neither of them knew their parents or perhaps they'd know more. All that's certain is that they're related to the bloodlines of two powerful poets.



Q: In sex magic, who is stronger, men or women?

A: All practitioners of Esoteric Arts are powerful, regardless of their gender. Some esoteric spells require one male and one female participant, others require two males, two females, or even some other number. There is always a balance between the participants as power flows back and forth. Even when phallic penetration takes place, that does not mean the one doing the penetrating is "stronger" then or even dominant over the other partner.

And now for today's quiz and contest. Multiple choice! Send your choice of answers by midnight tonight and win your choice of either a signed copy of book one, or a package of volumes one through three in ebook form! Comment or email your entry to ctan DOT writer AT gmail DOT com with subject line: MU Contest Day 2

(Winner and answer to yesterday's quiz is below.)

1. Which of the following subjects is not offered at Veritas?

A. Applied Enchantment

B. Astronomy

C. Charms

D. Ritual Arts

2. Which of the following are "magic numbers?"

A. 3

B. 4

C. 7

D. All of the above

3. In omens class, Kyle learns that a cat sneezing means what?

A. A good friend will visit

B. You're going to get laid

C. Rain is on the way

D. None of the above

4. In which class at Veritas would you learn to change lead to gold?

A. Esoteric Arts

B. Alchemy

C. Prophetic Studies

D. Tech Magic

5. Which of the following poets did not attend Harvard?

A. TS Eliot

B. Margaret Atwood

C. ee cummings

D. Ralph Waldo Emerson

E. Edgar Allan Poe

Answers to yesterday's quiz!

"I'm, um, I'm more of a top, myself." –Kyle

"I'm going to castrate you myself with a rusted garden stake." –Frost

"Please make sure you have Master Brandish's mobile on speed dial." –Dean Bell

"So, speaking as your metaphorical bodyguard, your highness, I must say, me likes not this turn of events." — Alex

"I am so not doing the thing of being that girl who only talks about her 'man' as a way to pump up her self-worth." –Marigold

"I'm willing to do a lot of things for the house. But you aren't one of them." –Persy Cavendish

"She's allergic to boy cooties, you know." –Jeanie

"On the slim chance that the world does not end, you also have the matter to deal with that you have unfinished coursework from previous semesters, you know." –Master Brandish

Congrats to Ellen V. for being yesterday's winner! All entries to today's contest will be entered regardless of whether you get the answers all correct. (I'll put more chances in for the right answers, though.) Everyone can get an A for Effort… :-)

Comment with quiz answers to enter, or email them to ctan DOT writer AT gmail.com with subject line MU contest day 2!