Stephen Morris's Blog, page 59

New Top Rating!

“THANK YOU!”

A great BIG “Thank you!” to everyone who has responded to the Kindle Daily Nation feature on Come Hell or High Water, Part 1: Wellspring in the last few days. The response has been SO exciting! The sales ranking of the first in the Come Hell trilogy has shot through the roof!

We began the week with a sales ranking of 605,000+ but when the Kindle Nation Daily feature went live, we began to quickly rise through the ranks to a rating of 54,571 and then to 43,409 and now — as of Wednesday, January 30 — we have hit the 32,946 mark! That’s a tremendous rise in rankings, i.e. an increase of 565,000+ points!

Furthermore, although Come Hell, Part 2: Rising was not directly a part of the feature, it does appear in a sidebar. It’s ranking also rose, in tandem with the rise of Part 1: Wellspring and Part 2 reached a ranking of 95,000+ on Tuesday. (For purposes of comparison, the new Dresden Files book by Jim Butcher, Cold Days, has a rank of 905.)

Did you miss the feature? You can still see it here.

We are closing in on the top of the best-selling list! “Hip! Hip! Hurrah!”

Kindle Nation Daily

Be sure to check out the Kindle Nation Daily on Tuesday, January 29. There will be a Come Hell or High Water, Part 1: Wellspring feature! A free excerpt will be available. See it here!

Parsley

A bush of parsley.

A sprig of parsley.

Parsely is said to ward off drunkness. It might just be the best hangover medicine there is!

However it is most often simply a decorative sprig on a plate in a diner or restaurant. But it can be used in several magical ways. It is associated with the element of air and the planet Mercury. It is a “masculine” herb although a favorite of the goddess Persephone and therefore used in necromancy or rites involving the dead and death. Romans would tuck a sprig of parsley into their togas for protection or good luck. (Hence its use on the dinner plate as an act of protection against poison and contamination or accidental dangers from the food.)

Parsley also promotes lust, though not love — a crucial distinction!Parsley increases fertility, a natural consequence of lust. Make a tea of it or soak in a parsley infused bath and it will bestow well-being in a wide variety of aspects.

King of Swords

The King of Swords, sometimes called the “King Arthur card” of the Tarot deck, depicts a stern and austere man sitting on his throne with his great sword (Excalibur?) in his fist. The throne has a brocade backdrop depicting a butterfly (a symbol of immortality). A glimpse of a man with outstretched arm can be seen at the bottom of the brocade. Birds flutter in the sky, perhaps the pair of ravens (known as Thought and Memory) who brough news to Odin each day.

When the card is upright, it speaks of an intelligent person who knows his power — whatever that power might consist of — and the authority he wields. He is not afraid to use that power and authority and uses it primarily to defend the poor, the weak, the needy. He is always available to those who need him, much as the knights of the Round Table were ready to set out on a quest at moment’s notice to right the wrongs suffered by those who appealed to the king.

When the card is reversed, it speaks of a person who is ruthless in the pursuit of his goals or agenda. He is cruel and cold-hearted, ready to do anything to increase his power and defeat those who oppose him.

Authentic Magic?

In my BittenByBooks interview last November, I was asked if the magic in the COME HELL OR HIGH WATER trilogy is authentic. I was also asked where the spells came from.

Yes, all the magic is REAL and authentic! I found it in a variety of sources that I have plundered for information over the years: books about medieval magic, academic articles and essays about various ethnic folk rituals, collections of legends, transcripts of witchcraft accusations and trials, etc. For instance, the Italian folk magic in the chapter about Bartolomeo all came from an article I found in the Columbia University library stacks about Italian occult practices. The curse that starts the whole trilogy rolling, that Fen’ka screams out from the pyre, is almost all taken from 9th century Gaul monastic service books that the monks would use to curse nobility who tried to steal monastic lands or encroach on monastic privileges!

“I’ll get you, my pretty… and your little dog too!”

Another question in my BittenByBooks interview was, “How did you become interested in this?”

My reply:

I first became interested in the occult and magic when I was very VERY young and saw “The Wizard of Oz” on television for the first and second times. The first time, my mom says I was terrified of the Wicked Witch’s appearance in Munchkin Land amidst smoke and flames and that I ran straight to bed! (I must have been 5 years old or so.) The next year I began watching the movie again and made myself stick with it past the appearance of the Witch and after that — I was hooked! The Wicked Witch of the West became my favorite character because not only is she the most interesting but she is the only one who wields any real power in the story. She became my idol for years and years! (Even just a few days ago, I made a comment on FB about the hurrican wind picking up our house and depositing it atop someone wearing pepermint stripped stockings and glittering red shoes and my cousin responded: “You’ve been chasing those shoes for YEARS!” LoL!)

Rosemary

Rosemary is such a common but useful kitchen herb that it is easy to forget that it is also an herb frequently used in magical practice as well. (I just made a roast chicken with lotsa rosemary and it came out delicious! When I used the bones to make chicken stock, I added more handfuls of rosemary — together with carrots and potatoes — and got a wonderful pot of soup out of the deal as well.)

One grimoire (magical handbook) directs rosemary to be used with mint and marjoram, “tied with a thread spun by a virgin,” as a means to sprinkle water on newly-consecrated magical tools. This same handbook suggests washing your hands wth rosemary oil and onion juice as a protection against fire.

Rosemary has long been associated with the Sun and the element of fire; hence, its use as a protection against fire. It is also often burnt as an incense and, although I very much prefer to use frankincense, some manuals suggest using rosemary as a more affordable and easily available substitute for frankincense.

Rosemary can be used for healing and love spells or in spells of protection (ESP against robbers and nightmares). In each of these cases, the rosemary may be burnt on charcoal or placed under the pillow or bed to achieve its desired effect. Washing with rosemary-infused water can promote youthfulness… a much better way to acomplish this than the blood-bathing often recommended or practiced (as by Countess Elizabeth Bathory)!

Golden Alley

Number 22 along Golden Alley.

A view of Golden Alley.

Golden Alley, along one wall of the castle complex in Prague, began as the place where archers would be posted to defend the walls. Later, small — even TINY — houses were built alongside the wall to house the archers and musketeers on duty. Then, during the reign of Rudolph II, the alchemists supported by Rudolph were housed here as a curfew could be imposed and the gateways at each end of the alley locked. Thus, the alchemists could not escape in the night with the secrets of elemental transmutation and transformation they had discovered during the day. Hence, the name “Golden Alley” arose as a reference to the alchemists in pursuit of the great secrets of the elements.

Today, the tiny houses are used as gift shops. Number 22, a bookstore specializing in Kafka’s books, was used by the author as a study in which to do his writing.

Thoughts and Musings….

I’m currently working on two follow-up novels, as well as Part 3 of COME HELL OR HIGH WATER.

One follow-up, EARTH TO EARTH, ASHES TO ASHES will follow the Evil Conference academics back to Ireland where Sean will attempt to resolve issues still outstanding with the Dearg-due in Waterford. His efforts will, however, be unsuccesful and he will need the assistance of others.

DEVIL’S STREAM is set in 1890s Prague, during the last major flood which did damage the Charles Bridge. An Estonian werewolf makes his way to Prague, seeking the aid of an enchanter to break the wolf-spell, but finds a young girl who needs to be rescued. The legends of the Certkova, the “devil’s stream” that flows along the Kampa park, is prominent in this story.