Michelle M. Pillow's Blog, page 89

James Blunt Parody – She Was Beautiful…I Swear (by Kevin Sage)

Check out this comedian's youtube channel and site.

This video he did still cracks me up….

Brian Haughton, Interview by Michelle Pillow

Brian Haughton, Interview

By Michelle Pillow, www.michellepillow.com

European Archaeologist, Brian Haughton spends his time between playing guitar in a band, The Electric Rays, and exploring his passion for ancient history. An author and researcher, he's written about prehistoric megalithic sites, ancient sacred places and supernatural folklore. A self-defined critical thinker, he approaches the supernatural as a skeptic, looking for facts within the folklore and myths.

I had a chance to read his latest popular archaeology title, History's Mysteries: People, Places and Oddities Lost in the Sands of Time. This book explores the latest archaeological evidence to some of the oldest mysteries of the ancient world, addressing everything from what happened to the Neanderthals to controversial ancient artefacts like the Iron Pillar of Delhi, mysterious places like the Newport Tower of Rhode Island to the questions surrounding some of history's most infamous people.

I recommend this book for anyone interested in various aspects of ancient history. Each chapter examines a different mystery from around the world, exploring it fully by outlining the known facts, including the latest in archeological findings, while giving the reader plenty to think on as they draw their own conclusions.

I would like to thank the author, Brian Haughton, for joining me.

* * * * *

Q: Brian, how did you get into archaeology, and more specially studying ancient history, the supernatural and the mysteries of our past?

Brian:I long ago fell for the lure of the ancient world and tales of the supernatural, initially inspired by visiting the Neolithic chambered tombs of the Cotswold Hills in England, the Minoan site of Knossos on the island of Crete and by reading the ghost stories of Sheridan Le Fanu and M.R. James.

Q: What inspired you to write your newest book, History's Mysteries?

Brian:The constant new archaeological discoveries being made throughout the world on an almost daily basis. For example a new stone circle near Stonehenge, and the remains of previously unknown hedges which once surrounded Stonehenge keeping the ceremonies that took place inside the monument secret from those outside.

Q: Can you tell us a little bit about the book?

Brian:History's Mysteries is an investigation into 35 archaeological mysteries from across the globe, organized by geographical region. As with my previous book Hidden History, this work separates its collection of enthralling ancient riddles into three sections: Mysterious Places, Unexplained Artefacts, and Enigmatic People. The choice of subjects was made to include a wide range of cultures and a mixture of both the well known and the relatively obscure. Consequently you will read about India's celebrated Taj Mahal and the biblical Temple of Solomon, as well as the little known Royston Cave, in the UK, the infamous Rennes-le-Château, in France, and the forgotten site of Great Zimbabwe, in South Africa. In the book I have tried to present a summary of the current level of knowledge for a small selection of archaeological mysteries, I leave it to my readers to pursue in more detail these riddles left to us by our ancient ancestors.

Q: What do you feel are some of the book's most fascinating historical highlights?

Brian:The chapter on Boudica – a queen of the Iceni tribe of Eastern Britain in the 1st century AD. She is regarded as one of Britain's greatest heroines for her brave rebellion against the tyranny of Roman rule. Despite her brutal excesses in battle, Boudica is still a heroic figure, one who was after all fighting to defend her entire culture. If her revolt had been successful the Romans may have been driven out of Britain forever, and the culture, language and subsequent history of Britain, Europe and even perhaps the world, may have been very different.

Q: Did Cleopatra really kill her sister?

Brian:The BBC seem to think so, there was a BBC documentary, sensationally (and unnecessarily) entitled Cleopatra: Portrait of a Killer. But they are probably right that Cleopatra asked her lover Anthony that her sister Arsinoë, still living in protection at the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (modern Turkey), be executed to prevent any future attempts on her throne. However, the situation was complicated. Years earlier, around 49 BC, Cleopatra's brother Ptolemy XIII allied himself with his and Cleopatra's sister Arsinoë in an attempt to depose Cleopatra. After Ptolemy was captured Arsinoë escaped and joined the Egyptian army under Achillas, who gave her the title of pharaoh in opposition to her sister Cleopatra. She was later captured by Caesar's army and transported to Rome. So Arsinoë was a constant threat to Cleopatra, who probably would have had her killed had the roles been reversed.

Q: What can the Uluburun shipwreck tell us about contacts between ancient cultures?

Brian:The Uluburun Wreck was discovered off the southern coast of Turkey in the 1980s, and is the oldest known shipwreck in the world. Dating back around 3,300 years, the ship carried a cargo of incredible richness and diversity which included Egyptian scarabs, copper ingots from Cyprus, Mycenaean pottery from Greece, Canaanite jars, lamps, and bowls, ebony logs from Egypt, an Italian sword, elephant tusks, gold, silver, faience, and amber from Northern Europe. There have been suggestions that this wealthy cargo was a gift or offering from Egypt's Queen Nefertiti, wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaton, or that it was a Phoenician trading ship or even, because of the amount of raw material found aboard, some kind of itinerant smithy or tinker. What this ship with its vast array of goods originating in so many different ancient cultures tells us is that more than 3,300 years ago these cultures were mixing commercially and probably socially also. May represent royal gifts or tribute, perhaps involving Egyptian pharaohs.

Q: How recently did the Neanderthals die out?

Brian:Between roughly 45,000 and 30,000 years ago Neanderthals shared Europe and parts of western and central Asia with anatomically modern humans. The question of why a large-brained intelligent hominid, in many respects so similar to us, who had dominated Europe for so long vanished completely may never be resolved satisfactorily. It is more than likely that there is not a single cause for the Neanderthal's extinction – they did not disappear overnight in one huge group. Neanderthals covered a vast area of Europe and western Asia and there were probably localized factors affecting their disappearance in different regions at various times between 45,000 and 25,000 years ago. Perhaps the question should not be why Neanderthals became extinct, but why did they disappear and we survive?

Q: What are Venus figurines and when were they made?

Brian:Venus Figurines are a class of distinctive portable artifacts dating back to the Upper Paleolithic Period (roughly between 40,000 and 10,000 years ago). The most notable and common type of Venus Figurines are small three-dimensional sculptures of usually voluptuous women, ranging in height from 1.2 inches to more than 15 inches and carved from a wide range of materials including serpentine, schist, limestone, hematite, lignite, calcite, steatite, fired clay, ivory, bone and antler. The fact that Venus Figurines are found over such a wide geographical area indicates that there was a shared understanding amongst the Palaeolithic hunter gatherer tribes of Europe and western Asia of a particular aspect of womanhood or a certain type of woman.

Q: Where was Lyonesse and what happened to it?

Brian: Story of drowned land of Lyonesse, often referred to as the 'English Atlantis', is told in medieval Arthurian tales and may also be connected to older Celtic legends of cataclysmic floods. The country of Lyonesse is said to have had many towns, woods and fields, and 140 churches, but all this was all lost underneath the waves in one catastrophic inundation. According to local tradition only one person escaped the flood, the hero Trevilian, who rode a white horse to the safety of high ground. Lyonesse is most commonly located between the English county of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, 28 miles to the south west of the United Kingdom. Celtic legends of overflowing wells seem to be the source of much of the material contained in British, Irish and French stories of Lyonesse and other drowned lands. It is such ancient tales, combined with glimpses of submerged parts of the former coast at low tides off Land's End, the Isles of Scilly, and the Bay of Douarnenez, that probably constitute the origins of the tale of Lyonesse.

Q: Looking at your backlist titles, I've noticed you've written a lot about ancient history and supernatural folklore. Tell us a little bit about your other works.

Brian:My first book Hidden History, is really History's Mysteries Part 1. The 49 short chapters of the book are fact-based, accounts of mysterious places, curious and unexplainable artifacts and unusual historical people from across the world.

My book Lore of the Ghost is an exploration of the numerous categories of ghosts and hauntings throughout the world. It discusses the possible motives for each type of haunting—from phantom white ladies and spectral black dogs to haunted highways and ghostly vehicles—what they represent, why they occur, and their possible functions. Unlike the vast majority of books on the subject, Lore of the Ghost is not a gazetteer of ghost sightings or a ghost hunter's manual, but an investigation into human belief in the supernatural and its effect on the nature of ghosts worldwide. The book attempts to delve deeply into the roots of supernatural folklore and urban legends, the very same tales that are often the foundation of modern sightings of ghosts.

Q: In Haunted Spaces, Sacred Places: A Field Guide to Stone Circles, Crop Circles, Ancient Tombs, and Supernatural Landscapes, you talk about ghosts and unexplained phenomena. What do you find to be some of the more fascinating stories in the book?

Brian:The vast Neolithic tomb / temple of Newgrange, north of Dublin. This was one of the greatest architectural achievements of prehistory, and one of the earliest roofed buildings in the world. Newgrange was probably built around 3200 BC, and consists of a passage running for 62 feet and a 20 foot high chamber with a corbelled roof, constructed of large stone slabs without mortar. The passage and chamber are covered by a huge stone and turf mound about 262 feet in diameter and around 44 feet high, surrounded at its base by 97 large stones known as kerbstones, some of which are elaborately ornamented with megalithic art.

The entrance to the Newgrange passage tomb consists of a doorway composed of two standing stones and a horizontal lintel. Above the doorway is an aperture known as the 'roof box' or 'light box'. Every year, shortly after 9 am, on the morning of the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, the sun begins its ascent across the Boyne Valley over a hill known locally as Red Mountain, the name possibly originating from the color of the sunrise on this day. The newly-risen sun then sends a shaft of sunlight directly through the Newgrange light box, which penetrates down the passageway as a narrow beam of light illuminating the central chamber at the back of the tomb. After just 17 minutes the ray of light narrows and the chamber is once more left in darkness. This spectacular event was not rediscovered until 1967 by professor Michael J. O'Kelly, though it had been known about in local folklore before that time, in fact the monument was known locally as Uaimh na Gréine (the 'Cave of the Sun'). The Newgrange light box reveals in spectacular fashion the knowledge of surveying and basic astronomy possessed by the Neolithic inhabitants of the area. It also illustrates that for the people who aligned their monument with the winter solstice, the sun must have formed an important part of their religious beliefs.

Stonehenge, Wiltshire, begun around 2900 BC, has always fascinated me, particularly the folklore surrounding it. There is a tantalizing glimpse of what may be a memory of the transportation of the bluestones to the site over a great distance to Salisbury Plain in the most famous legend connected with Stonehenge. The story is found in Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain (c. 1136), and describes how Aurelius Ambrosius, King of the Britons, desired to have a monument constructed to commemorate the massacre of 460 British nobles by the troops of Hengist the Saxon. On the advice of prophet and magician Merlin, the King sent his brother Uther Pendragon (the father of King Arthur), with an army of fifteen thousand men to bring back a stone structure called the 'Giants' Dance' from a mountain called Killare (possibly Kildare) in Ireland. Merlin describes the Giants' Dance as a "structure of stones there, which none of this age could raise, without a profound knowledge of the mechanical arts". Uther Pendragon's army was unable to budge the huge stones and so turned to Merlin, who using "his own engines" dismantled the stones which were then transported to Britain by ship. Whether or not this tale is a distorted memory of the actual journey of the bluestones from somewhere in 'the west' is much debated, though the mention of 'engines' is certainly intriguing. Nevertheless, it would be an inordinately long time for even a fragment of the event to have survived orally.

Q: Why are strange phenomena often connected with these ancient places? Do sacred sites somehow generate or attract the paranormal?

Brian:There is no evidence for this, but mysterious ancient places, especially those of unknown origin, attract and generate strange tales / urban legends / folklore, mainly because no-one is sure exactly why they were built and what went on there.

Q: What can the legends and folklore of ancient places reveal to us about the beliefs and ideas of our ancestors?

Brian:Because we are talking about an age of over 2,000 years, sometimes a lot more, for prehistoric sites, the legends and folklore of ancient places tell us more about how these places have been seen and interpreted by people over the last few hundred years (which is when most of the folklore dates back to) rather than anything about the beliefs of the actual builders of the monuments.

Q: What is the truth behind the mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor in China, home of the Terracotta Warriors?

Brian:The monumental tomb of China's First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang is located 22 miles east of Xian, the capital of the Shensi province of modern China. The tomb itself, which according to traditional Chinese geomancy represented the eye of a huge dragon in the landscape, is underneath a huge vegetation covered earthen mound, 154 feet high, and measuring 1690 feet from north to south and 1590 feet from east to west. The mound has eroded considerably in its 2000 year history; it is believed that it once soared up to a height of 330 feet. though they estimate there are as many as 7,000 magnificently crafted warriors, 130 chariots with horses, and 110 cavalry horses, buried to guard China's First Emperor more than 2,000 years ago.

The Terracotta Army are a vast army of soldiers discovered three quarters of a mile from Qin Shi Huang's tomb in three huge subterranean pits supported by wooden frameworks, and are spread over an area measuring 135,630 square feet. Each pit is separated by a number of partitioning walls, which divide the army up into columns. The soldiers are all arranged in battle formation, with crouching crossbowmen, archers, infantry, chariots and cavalry all in their appropriate positions. Perhaps a tradition of the terracotta crossbowmen may have lingered on to become the legend that the Emperor's tomb was guarded against intruders by automatic cross bows? Every soldier in the Emperor's army is unique, with its individual face, hairstyle, height, uniform and weapons, all in accordance with his rank. Archaeologists have excavated over 1000 of these soldiers, though they estimate there are as many as 7,000 magnificently crafted warriors, 130 chariots with horses, and 110 cavalry horses, buried to guard China's First Emperor more than 2,000 years ago.

Q: Why are there modern encounters with ghosts, UFOs, spooklights, Bigfoot and phantom dogs at many sacred places?

Brian:My research for the book Haunted Spaces, Sacred Places showed that supernatural stories are often connected with liminal places (old roads, ponds, ancient monuments) which were often seen as dangerous places, boundary areas between the living and the dead. Reports of paranormal phenomena at such places are an extension of such folk beliefs.

Q: Why do you think readers, and society in general, are fascinated by the paranormal?

Brian:People love a mystery, and want desperately to believe in something. As Mulder says in the X-Files "I want to believe".

Q: Do you believe in the supernatural? Or are you a skeptic?

Brian:I believe most supernatural tales are folklore or urban legend, I'm a critical thinker.

Q: What period throughout history do you wish you could visit? Anyone in particular you'd like to meet and interview?

Brian:I would have like to have visited Stonehenge when it was being constructed (c2800 BC). I would love to have met Cleopatra.



Q: What are you currently working on?

Brian:I'm researching a book on the conspiracy theories surrounding the Manson Family. Scary people.

Thanks for joining us, Brian!

Brian's latest book, History's Mysteries: People, Places and Oddities Lost in the Sands of Time, released March 2010 and is available at Amazon.com. You can learn more about Brian and his books at his website, www.Brian-Haughton.com. Interview by Michelle Pillow, www.michellepillow.com

Naughty Cupid Trilogy – now in print

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https://www.createspace.com/3572751

Authored by Michelle M. Pillow

This Collection Contains The Following Stories:

Cupid's Enchantment Book One

Contrary to popular belief, Cupid is not a cute little cherub. And he'll take revenge on any who say differently. Just ask Ilar, Commander of the Lycaon guard…

Lady Rhiannon's beauty is distracting suitors from her older sister and ruining her chances at marriage, so her father has her locked her away in a tower. Believing she is going crazy from the isolation, Rhiannon hears a frightful voice. The next thing she knows, she's waken up in a strange forest pursued by mythical wolf men. And, worst of all, their leader is taking her home with him.

Ilar is irritated to discover an enchanted female-a human, their ancient hunters-disrupting his Lycan Guards. One sniff of this mortal's enchantment and the men go insane, trying to kill each for her hand. Only in making her his lover can the spell be broken. Ilar has no choice but to claim the female for his own. But who knows what will happen when Cupid's Enchantment is broken.

~~
Cupid's Revenge Book Two

Cupid's livid. It's bad enough he made two people fall in love, but now thanks to King Larus, the whole Immortal Realm knows about it. There's only one thing a troll can do. Get Revenge.

Lady Mina and her sister, Sophia, are impoverished, starving and their castle is crumbling around there feet. Their father is dead, the servants are gone and it's the dead of winter. Could things really get much worse?

After Cupid caused a great disruption amongst his lycans by bringing a human to their world, Larus has had to meet with the Council of Elders. He's made sure it will never happen again. Or so he thought. Hearing two women scream-one whose enchanted to be madly in love with him and one who wants nothing more than to claw his eyes out-he's quickly learning not to underestimate a troll bent on revenge.

~~
Cupid's Favor Book Three

'Beware of trolls bearing favors'

When Lord Malak saves him from a sandpit, Cupid is honor bound to settle the lifedebt or risk being called upon later–even if the lycan noble insists he doesn't want any reward for the deed. Simply breeding the man's goats isn't enough to repay such a price. No, for this he needs something more. Knowing the perfect gift to be revenge, Cupid delivers the one thing that seems to aggravate Lord Malak the most–Lady Sophia.

After being kidnapped and drugged by the horrid troll, Cupid, Lady Sophia just wants to go home–to a place where magic doesn't exist and there's no chance of being eaten by a dragon. But most of all, she wants to be rid of her escort, Lord Malak. The charming lycan swore to protect her and see her safely home, but it seems fate and a little troll have other plans.

Book Videos, Part Two – Making A Video

(for part one, check out yesterday's post!)

Book Videos, Part Two –Making A Video

by Michelle M. Pillow

How to Make a very Basic Movie:

1.Gather the stock photography/graphic images you want to use to illustrate your story. Since you're advertising a book, these need to be copyright free, stock photos/graphics or photos/graphics that you have permission to use. It might help to read over your blurb and get a basic idea of what you want your movie to say, including the overall feel and tone the images should portray. Make sure the graphics are cropped, edited and ready to use in your movie. You don't need to worry about putting text directly on these pictures unless you want the wording integrated into the picture itself.

Here are just a few of the places you can buy royalty free stock photos:

Big Stock Photo

Free Stock Photo

Shutter Stock

2. As you work in Movie Maker, make sure you choose 'File', 'Save Project' (or save after the first time) to back up your movie after or during each step.

3. Assuming you have Movie Maker already installed on your computer, you'll need to open the program up. Along the left column, under '1. Capture Video', you'll need to click on 'Import Pictures'. Select all the photos you've gathered for your video. When you've finished, you'll see the pictures in your Collection on the main screen.

4. Along the bottom, you have two view choices. Either 'Timeline' view or 'Storyboard' view. You'll want to be in 'Storyboard' view (the option along the bottom will say 'Show Timeline'). Drag and drop your images onto the big squares in the storyboard along the bottom in the order you'd like them to show up in the movie (ignore the smaller squares in-between for now). If you click the play button in the movie window on the right side of the screen, you'll see the plain still images play out without any fancy effects. At any time you wish to come back to your images, go to Option '2. Edit Video' along the left column and click 'Show Collections'.

5. To add movement to your pictures, go to option '2. Edit Video' in the left column. Click on 'View Video Effects'. The center screen will now have the different effects installed in your program listed. To make an image along the bottom have a movie effect, drag and drop the effect you want onto the picture in the storyboard. Effects can be combined to create even a wider variety or doubled up to make the effect more prominent—such as using the 'Ease In' option three times instead of once. When you're done, if you click play you'll now see the look of the effects you've added to your movie. If you dislike what you've done, simply right click on the storyboard picture you want to change and choose 'Video Effects'. A popup box will allow you to see what effects you have listed. Note: Movie Maker comes with basic effects installed. Other effects must be purchased and installed separately, so you might not be able to do all the fancy tricks and zoom/pan techniques you see in other videos.

6. To add movement to your pictures, go back to option '2. Edit Video' in the left column. Click on 'View Video Transitions'. The center screen will now have the different transitions listed. Transitions are the way one picture fades or moves into another. Drag and drop different transitions into the small squares between your photo stills. To replace a transition, simply drag and drop another on top of it. The old transaction will be replaced with your new one. Click play to watch how your video is coming together. Once you're satisfied with the layout, go to the next two steps.

7. Adding Title and Credit Text– Under option '2. Edit Video' select 'Make Titles or Credits'. You can easily add a title page by selecting 'Add title at the beginning of the movie', or add scrolling end credits by selection 'Add credits at the end of the movie'. Write your text in the box(es) provided. Then under 'More Options' you can choose different title animation, font and colors. A preview will show up in the movie screen on the right so you can see the changes you're making. When you're satisfied, click 'Done, add title to movie'.

8. Adding Text onto or in-between the images—You will need to select/highlight the image you wish to add text to and go back to option '2. Edit Video', 'Make Titles or Credits'. To add titles before or after that images so they show up on their own screen, click the appropriate options. (Note: You might have to redo some of your video transitions if you do this, as you'll be adding scenes to your storyboard) To put text directly onto an image, choose 'Add Title on the selected clip on the storyboard'. Fill in the information, choose your title animation, font and color then click 'Done, add title to movie'. Your video now has movie. (Note: When you do this, you'll be automatically taken to the timeline view. The text you added will show up in the timeline beneath the photo.)

9. When you're done adding text, stay in 'Timeline' view. Along the top you'll see a series of numbers. This marks the length of each clip in your movie. By widening or shortening the boxes of your images and text, you'll be able to control the length that each clip plays for. You can also cause the text to run over two images by sliding it back or forth, shorten it so the text shows after the clip is playing. I recommend clicking play and watching your video frame by frame from the beginning, pausing and making small adjustments as you go. Once the movie is lined up to your satisfaction, you're ready to continue.

10. One of the last steps is adding audio/music to your video. Again, you will need to make sure you have the right to use the music you select. Either it is copyright free, or you have permission to use it. (It is illegal to use copyrighted images or music without permission to do so. Stock Music is available for purchase online.) You will want to put in the music file last, as creating movies can use up a lot of your computer's resources, depending on your system.

11. Once you have your music selected. Under '1. Capture Video', select 'Import Audio or Music'. Select you music file and it will now be part of your collection. Drag and drop the music file into the 'Timeline' where it is labeled 'Audio/Music'. If your music is too short, either find new music, shorten your image clips, or have it repeat by dragging and dropping the same music again and again until you have the length you need. If music clip is too long, click the end of the music clip and shorten it so it ends with the credits. (Note: You'll have to listen to make sure it ends the way you want it to and transitions prettily from one clip into the next.) To get your music to fade in or out, right click the music clip in the timeline and select 'Fade In' or 'Fade Out'.

12. This time when you click play, you'll be able to watch you movie from beginning to end. Make any necessary changes and tweaks now.

13. Now you're ready to save your movie so that it may be viewed by others. Under option '3. Finish Movie' you'll select 'Save to my Computer'. Enter the name of the movie file you are going to create and choose which folder you want to store the finished movie in. Click 'Next'. I recommend leaving the 'Best Quality for playback on my computer' option checked. Click 'Next'. Your movie is now saving. Depending on file size, this can take several minutes. Just leave it be. When the movie is done saving, you'll have the option to watch your finished product as it will be seen by others. This final file is the one you will use for marketing, such on Youtube and Facebook

This was just a basic overview on how to make movies. For more detailed instructions, please visit Microsoft website

Happy Movie Making!

Michelle

About the Author: Michelle M Pillow, Author of All Things Romance, is a multi-published, award winning author known mostly for her paranormal, futuristic and dark fantasy romance. You can contact her through her website www.michellepillow.com

Book Videos, Part One – The Very Basics

Book Videos, Part One – The Very Basics

by Michelle M. Pillow

Book Videos (AKA Book Trailers) have been sweeping across the internet. For those of you just starting out with this new medium of marketing, it can be a little daunting as to where to start. The good news is there are a couple free basic programs out there to make the transition from author to movie maker easier.

FOR AUTHORS: this can be a great way to market at little cost, reaching new readers.

FOR READERS: don't feel left out. You can still make fan videos for your fave authors using these simple steps.

Photo Story from Microsoft, a free download

Microsoft Movie Maker, another Microsoft freebie

The program I'll be talking about is Movie Maker. If you're familiar with Windows and Office products, navigating Movie Maker isn't difficult and making movies is really as simple as "drag and drop". For a detailed listing on how to use Movie Maker, you can visit the Microsoft website

NOTE: THIS IS A VERY BASIC WORKING OF MOVIE MAKER FOR BEGINNERS, TAKING YOU STEP BY STEP THROUGH THE MOVIE MAKING PROCESS.

Before you get started, it's best to watch a few videos to get an idea of ones you like.

Play around with it a bit with the program you select to get used to it and I'll writing more how to's below!

Look for Part Two, Coming Tomorrow!

Happy Movie Making!

Michelle

About the Author: Michelle M Pillow, Author of All Things Romance, is a multi-published, award winning author known mostly for her paranormal, futuristic and dark fantasy romance. You can contact her through her website www.michellepillow.com

John Reyer Afamasaga, Metafiction Author Interview by Michelle M. Pillow

John Reyer Afamasaga, Metafiction Author

By Michelle M. Pillow, www.michellepillow.com

Most of us in these technological times have heard the term GUI (Graphical User Interface, often pronounced "gooey") and even more of us are familiar with a little social phenomenon called Facebook. It is these two elements that create the forum to author John Reyer Afamasaga's postmodern intertextual style. An ongoing story told via Facebook (and later in eBook and other formats), the GUIOPERA is an end-to-end saga that, well, is probably a concept best explained by the author himself.

And this wouldn't be an exclusive Paranormal Underground interview if there wasn't a little bit of the otherworldly thrown into the mix. The ongoing, online story deals with the idea of multiple planes of existence and the concept of possession. The possessions are not inherently good or evil, but more of a fundamental concept of the world building.

Q: Who are you and what do you do?

John: I'm an online writer. I write Emotional Techno Fiction (etfiction) namely the GUIOPERA.

Q: In your work, etfiction and the GUIOPERA, you delve into the world of Possession. What inspired you to write about this?

John: I write in the genre called Metafiction, and to quote wiki it "…self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction, exposing the fictional illusion…" So with that said, I use external devices, such as the interview taking place to reinstate some of that intrigue that traditional fiction has. From wiki again, "It is the literary term describing fictional writing that self-consciously and systematically draws attention to its status as an artifact in posing questions about the relationship between fiction and reality…" In the story or the End-to-End Saga, Lazoo, Metofeaz, Le Mac & Afamasaga (LMLA-ink) the lead characters are linked by events that go back to sometime in the nineteenth century. The modern day story is twisted so it may be used as a cloaking device to distribute Intel amongst LMLA-ink and other Network operatives who fight corruption.

Possession is a device that was used by the author who also appears in the story under various guises to sell to the new operatives under his care, who were mostly gifted ex-cons, thieves, hit men and the like their new identities or covers. He instilled in each of the untrained operatives their new personas and therefore personalities which had to account for their natural tendencies with such conviction that it was likened to being possessed by an entity. In GUIOPERA 1 John Reyer even created a site in the Nevada desert, like a mecca where the new and young recruits would visit after their training he designed based on psychosynthesis technique "Transmutation," to find their Entity with Entitlement, a spirit worthy of possessing their shell or body and mind.

Q: What is GUIOPERA?

John: GUIOPERA stands for Graphical Interface Opera. I like to think of it as an app. It's the brand name for the online serial I write, incorporating its facets, it's delivered in a browser (GUI) and it's an opera in how the story has links to music on YouTube. A glorified story if you'd like.

Q: What is Trillion Cool? I see you post this word a lot on your Facebook page.

John: *TrillionCool* is a phrase, but also a tour that I'm currently on. The Halcyon Days following an apocalyptic first decade to the 21st century. The tour ends in 2020, during which I hope to write the GUIOPERA in as many countries around the planet possible. Hopefully I'll be able to talk about topics like "Sustainability" and "Economic Development" for developing countries, in and amongst writing the GUIOPERA.

Q: In the story you refer to the SFD, MMD and AMD? What do the acronyms stand for?

John: They're dimensions, where the entities roam looking for a Shell to inhabit. MMD or the MindMorph dimension is earth or the physical realm where Shells exist. The name derived from how our minds are morphed in consumerism by marketers making it; life on earth quite a freaky reality when we consider everything we do is planned for us. The SFD is the SenFenide Dimension or the dream dimension likened to our subconscious mind. The SFD is the negative of or inverted image of reality. The AMD is the AmalgaMension dimension, or the realm where everything is congruent. For the sake of self-development the apparatus is two step paradigm —the new recruit works in MMD and SFD sorting out their mind and finding out how they work, and progress onto the AMD. In the End-to-End Saga the apparatus; three universes in which the battle of good against evil is waged by entities inhabiting or possessing humans.

Q: When world building, did you base your story off of known myths throughout history?

John: Mostly based on the mind, influenced by Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud and Roberto Agasiolli. But that is only the rules or the constructs of each dimension. What goes on in the dimensions has a lot to do with my upbringing, a strict Christian one till I broke free in my teens.

Q: What myths or legends inspired you?

John: The Bible of course, I had little or no say in that. But then there was King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and Robin Hood. And Dracula. Add to that my penchant for making stuff up, and I ended up with a cauldron of misfits cruelly cut up by some real life experiences of demonic possession of people around me.

Q: Why do you think readers, and society in general, are fascinated by the paranormal?

John: Logically speaking it's a reaction to the rigidness of life we lead, another form of escapism that is safe from an inquisitive mind's length away. On the other hand it's an all immersed alternative to religion's "sit in a pew, fold your arms, face the front" search for the truth to satisfy the soul.



Q: What are your favorite paranormal shows, movies and books?

John: I'm out of touch to be honest, have had my head buried in my writing for the past decade. Meeting you was the first time I really got to know about this.

Q: Do you believe in the supernatural? Or are you a skeptic?

John: Definitely witnessed supernatural up close and personal if Demonic Possession is counted.

Q: Have you ever had a paranormal experience?

John: I witnessed three cases of Demonic Possession and all of them happened to deeply religious people. A few interesting facts prevailed in all three cases. 1, the chilling air, ice cold no matter the insulation of the room or the weather outside. 2, the fear in the person's eyes, but the strength and will in their bodies. And 3, the fluency in the tongues they were speaking in was also chilling. Two of the people are still alive and still remained in their faith after the experience. The other died from an epileptic seizure which couldn't be dealt with due to the ferociousness of the occupation. The first two I witnessed growing up. The later, I witnessed in my late teens. I didn't know the person, but was only there as a friend of a friend who knew I was a Christian and thought that I could be of help as the possessed person, also a Christian, was a runaway.



Q: What kind of paranormal creatures do you wish you could meet?

John: A vampire Rom writer who believes in the supernatural? Is that an admissible answer in this forum?

Q: I see someone finally got their season of True Blood. *laughing* So, if given the chance, which of your dimensions/worlds would you want to live in?

John: It would be the AMD or the AmalgaMension dimension where all lessons learned have amalgamated resulting in congruency or in find the Authentic Self, you!

Q: How would you react if you came face to face with a ghost or vampire?

John: Ghost, I would question the reason why they're here. Vampire, I'd be on the phone straight away to King Bill –"Dude, I think I have Sookie and Eric's love child here, he wants to know if I have any True Blood …" lol.

Q: What does the future hold for your writing?

John: As I pointed out earlier, the *TrillionCool* is a phase and a tour I'm on till 2020. I hope to write thirteen GUIOPERA by the end of 2020. I'm on number four right now, starting on September 5th 2011.

Q: Have you ever been to a psychic?

John: I've had out of body experiences, seen a lot of stuff, and I still believe that only destiny knows the future, and fate waits for you tempt it. Indecision and doubt are angels of fate.

Q: Have you ever been abducted by aliens?

John: Not yet, not today anyways…

Thank you, John, for joining us.

GUIOPERA 4 began September 5, 2011. It's a free online read and can be found at either http://www.etfiction.com or by friending John's Facebook page at www.NewGlobalRealm.com Interview by Michelle M. Pillow, www.michellepillow.com

Emerald Knight

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Authored by Michelle M. Pillow

Intertwined by life, destined by love, torn by their very natures…

Whetshire Fortress, Wessex, 1171 A.D.

Since birth Lady Ginevra has been betrothed to Lord Wolfram, second son to the Count of Whetshire. There was never any question as to whom she would marry or who she would be. Life has been mapped out for her and she's going to live happily ever after as a Countess. However, there is one complication to her plans. Her rogue of a future husband isn't taking to their life together with open arms. In fact, he seems to enjoy finding reasons to put the nuptials off.

BUY PRINT: https://www.createspace.com/3572762

Dr. Bob Curran, Interview By Michelle M. Pillow

Werewolves by Dr. Bob Curran, Interview

By Michelle M. Pillow, www.michellepillow.com

Dr. Bob Curran is a writer and broadcaster living in Northern Ireland, and a cultural educator for several governmental organizations. He has approximately 38 books to his name mainly on the subjects of history and culture. His title, Werewolves: A Field Guide to Shapeshifters, Lycanthropes, and Man-Beasts, is currently in bookstores.

*****

Q: In your book, Werewolves, you delve into a world that has fascinated people for centuries all over the world. What are some of the other cultures, aside from our own, that the idea of the werewolf prevalent?

Dr. Curran: I think that the idea of the werewolf has to be linked with the idea of shapeshifting in general and that brings in a number of cultural elements. However, if we stick with the idea of the wolf or perhaps even the bearand assuming that "our own" you are referring to American/European cultures – we can look to Scandinavia. Here wolves are prevalent and there are ideas of people taking on the attributes of a wolf or the bear. Wolf-warriors as well as men who wore the bear shirtwere considered to be especially ferocious and skilled in the arts of warfare. This appears in Ireland as well with the notionof "The Wolf-Men of Tipperary". In places like parts of South America too you have the ideas of were-jaguars and in South Africa; there were certainly were-lions. And in Japan, of course, there is the tradition of were-foxes who are sometimes considered to be powerful and skilful magicians. The transformation of man into animal, then, is common in many culturesbecause fundamental questions about the nature of humanity are the same.

Q: We're all familiar with the idea of the full moon turning people into werewolves. Where did that idea come from?

Dr. Curran: The idea of the full moon being able to trigger the transformation into a werewolf is pretty spectacular in cinematic terms and is always very dramatic but it has no basis in folklore. It is largely a device used to create suspense and drama by film-makers and writers. However, there are some interesting connections with the full moon which can be linked to werewolf tradition. The first is that the moon was the symbol of the Roman goddess Diana the Huntress who hunted by moonlight with a pack of hounds. It is quite possible that the earliest werewolf or wolf-man traditions arose out of prehistoric hunting rituals and this, in more classical times, may have been transferred in part to the Cult of Diana. Thus, under Diana's guidance and under her symbol of the moon, the ordinary man was transformed into the great hunter. There is a second connection too which comes from a slightly later time. As medicine slowly began to develop it was noticed that the rays of the moon often agitated or excited people who were mentally disturbed. Indeed some experimentation was carried out in French asylums and the words lunacy and lunatic come from the French "la lune" meaning the moon. This uncertain behaviour may have found its way into werewolf myth and was seized upon by writers and the cinema. But there is no folkloric evidence of anyone being turned into a werewolf by the light of the full moon, just as there is no basis for the killing of a werewolf only by a silver bullet. In most werewolf stories, a lead bullet will work just as well.

Q: Are there other, lesser known, werewolf beliefs that don't involve what we know associate with werewolf lore, ie silver, full moon?

Dr. Curran: There were a number of werewolf beliefs which are not so well known. For instance, in many Christian countries, such as France or Spain, a child born on Christmas Day was certain to become a werewolf or a vampire; a child born with hairs on the palms of its hands likewise and the illegitimate child of a priestwere all destined for werewolfery. Some of these have transferred to other cultures – for example a child born on a Buddhist holy day is more open to the attentions of demons that may turn him or her into a creature of the night.

Q: Why do you think that the werewolf has never been as popular as, say, the vampire in the human imagination?

Dr. Curran: The vampire may attribute some of its success to Bram Stoker's Dracula which is a modern classic. However, I think that some of the questions which the werewolf motif addresses are slightly more difficult for us and much more frightening in a real sense. The vampire addresses questions about death – what would it be like never to die or to remain forever young. The idea of the werewolf addresses a different question – that is, is there some remnant of the beast within us. That for many of us is a very frightening question but one which at the same time fascinates us. Does it mean, perhaps, that we are part beast? Therefore I think the idea of the vampire – the questions regarding the dead hold no real threat – are much more popular and the werewolf is shifted to some shadowy place where the answers don't have to be fully addressed.

Q: Are you suggesting in this book that in some respects there is little difference between men and animals?

Dr. Curran: I have to be very careful in suggesting that there is little difference between us an animals as this is not everybody's belief and I wouldn't want to offend. Personally I do believe in evolution rather than a sort of Adam and Eve type story and I think that in many respects there's probably little difference between ourselves and the animals in many respects. This, I think, lies at the heart of the werewolf myth and gives a sort of "tension"to the belief.

Q: Why are we so fascinated by the notion of "wildness"? Are we repelled by it as well? Is it from this tension that the idea of the manwolf arises?

Dr. Curran: With regard to the above I honestly believe that there is still some element of the hominid hunter in all of us – a race memory if you like – and that it is this which gives us our fascination with the "wild". On the other hand, as civilisation had gown up around us and we have become more "cultured" we have sought to put that "wildness" behind us. Society has laid down rules and parameters that we can't cross if we are to call ourselves "civilised" and perhaps some of us test these from time to time – though things such as cannibalism – which leads us directlyto the heart of the werewolf belief. And of course we are both fascinated and repelled by this.

Q: What is there to be said about werewolf trials, like witchcraft trials?

Dr. Curran: In the earliest days – i.e. the early medieval period – the werewolf was considered to be a noble creature. In many of the ancient prose poems – such as the Lais of Marie de France- it is portrayed as a noble knight who had been turned into the guise of a wolf by evil magic. Even in his wolf form, he tends to be heroic and brings himself to the attention of the king or monarch. Eventually the magic wears off or is cancelled and he is well rewarded by the sovereign. In 1484, however, Pope Innocent VIII commissioned a manual for witch-hunters as part of a war on witchcraft – The Malleus Malificarum- compiled by two senior Inquisitors, Jacobus Sprenger and Heinrich Kramer. This detailed a number of things which witches could do – one of which was to transform themselves into the guise of animals such as wolves. This again sparked old fears of the beast living amongst communities – perhaps at the very heart of the community and linked the werewolf to malign purposes. A series of trials in France around the end of the 16th century/beginning of the 17th only strengthened such an impression and the werewolf was connected to diabolic magic. Later, as medicine began to make tenuous advances, the French trials – particularly that of Jean Grenier at the beginning of the 17th century – were examined in the light of new thinking. Physicians such as Dr. Johann Weyer began to suggest that the alleged werewolves might be suffering from a mental condition brought on by their circumstances – many of the accused lived on the periphery of society – and thus an idea of the werewolf as "victim" began to emerge. But the idea of the connection between the beast-man and the witch still remained to some extent.

Q: Was the idea of the werewolf simply a device of the Church in order to maintain control?

Dr. Curran: I think that the notion of Church power had a lot to do with the development of the werewolf tradition. At the time Innocent began his war on witchcraft, the Church itself was in a difficult position with its power weakened. It had confidently predicted the end of the world and the return of Christ in 1000 A.D. and when that hadn't happened a lot of the faithful began to take its promises and predictions less seriously. Besides which it was under attack from what might be described as early Protestant critics who questioned the conduct and authority of the Papacy. Innocent needed to consolidate the power of the Church and to do this, he needed an enemy – witches and werewolves. So in many respects the werewolf crazewas indeed, as you suggest, part of an attempt to reinstate Church control.

Q: How have cultural impressions of the werewolf changed throughout history?

Dr. Curran: As I stated above, perceptions of the werewolf have changed across the centuries. Initially the creature started out as a "noble beast", then it became connected with witchcraft as the Church struggled to reassert its authority and then with the medical researches and thinking of such men as Johann Weyer, it became something of a "victim" of other circumstances – e.g. the full moon – which has translated into many of the books and films that we have today.

Q: In your book you discuss the history of the werewolf. What do you think the future holds for the werewolf ideal?

Dr. Curran: I think there are interesting developments for the werewolf ideal. Not long ago I read how animal genes were being used by genetic scientists to treat certain medical conditions in human beings. What does that fusion of human and animal hold for us all? I think the future of the werewolf may lie in the field of genetics. This might give a sort of scientific twist to the idea of the werewolf and would certainly spark off a few more books and films in this genre – perhaps moving it into the realm of science fiction.

Q: What inspired you to write about the subject?

Dr. Curran: I think I've always been interested in where these "horrors" have come from and like you why they have such a hold on the human mind. I've done the same with vampires and, as you see above, zombies. I think werewolves was the next logicalstep. And it came out when the Wolf-Man film appeared to there was a great deal of interest in the subject and I was responding to that.

Q: Do you have a favorite werewolf myth or story?

Dr. Curran: Not really. I went to see the Wolf Man film and enjoyed it although this was probably from a filmic point of view as I've seen the 1941 version a number of times. But I've been reading a number of stories on werewolves and some of them are very good. All myths of course are fascinating and I try to read as many of these as I can.

Q: Do you believe werewolves really exist? How so?

Dr. Curran: I honestly don't know whether they exist or not. As I said earlier it's not whether they do or do not exist, it's why people would want to believe in them. As to their existence I suppose again that it comes down to what you mean by "werewolf" If you're talking about a person who can actually change his or her shape into that of a wolf, I'm not so sure, if you're talking about a savage individual who displays wolf-like characteristics, then that's another matter. Such individuals may very well exist. And, of course, there are individuals who, suffering from a mental condition, may well believe themselves to be werewolves and behave accordingly. So we have to determine what we mean by the word.

Q: What cultures throughout history have werewolf myths? Are they similar or vastly different?

Dr. Curran: As I said above, the basic tension between the beat and the person within us appears in many cultures, but in different forms. I've already mention the berserkers of Scandinavia who were renowned for their ferocity and this motif has also appeared in Irish folklore with the Wolf Men of Tipperary whose services in battle were allegedly sough by a number of ancient Irish kings and who demanded payment not in money but in the human flesh of a young child. In Japan we have the were-fox who is cleaver and scheming – almost a Trickster like entity but not really ferocious. So the notion of the werewolf is sometimes mediated by the cultural mores of the society in which it appears.

Q: Why do you think readers, and society in general, are fascinated by the werewolf?

Dr. Curran: I think many readers are fascinated by the idea of the werewolf because it suggests primal power and uninhibited wildness. Our society has imposed my cultural constraints and barriers which a "civilised person" must adhere to and I think many of us strain against those imposed limitations. The idea of the werewolf typifies that tension and we are drawn to it – both fascinated and repelled by it at the same time.

Q: What are your favorite werewolf shows, movies and books?

Dr. Curran: Again, enjoyed the Wolf Man film and some short stories – the Night Creatures collection by Seabury Quinn for example – but with a whole number of things going on I don't get all that much time to sit down and read or watch movies for pleasure too often.

Q: Have you ever had a paranormal experience?

Dr. Curran: No, I haven't had a paranormal experience. All the "uncanny experiences" I've had, I've always been able to explain. I took part in a number of radio/tv programmes on ghost-hunting and didn't see anything. There was a belief in the part of the world where I came from that only one member of a family could see ghosts and so forth and this doesn't seem to have been me. My brother though, is supposed to have seen a ghost – the spectre of an old woman who previously owned a house where he lived in England.

Q: If given the chance, would you become a werewolf?

Dr. Curran: I doubt if I'd become a werewolf. I suppose I'm too mild mannered to become a ravening predator. Although I suppose there's something of the beast in every one of us.

Q: What does the future hold for you? Any new books in the works?

Dr. Curran: There's a lot of work still on. Two new books from Career coming out this year and next – Dark Fairies and Man Made Monsters. Also a series of books for young people coming out in England, new books coming out in both Australia and America – one on the papacy this year and one on bushrangers next Also the development of my community work which is very important to me. Oh and I used to script comics so I'm getting back into that a little.

Thank you for joining us, Dr. Curran!

If you're interested in checking out this, or other titles by Dr. Bob Curran, please visit the publisher website, www.newpagebooks.com. Interview by Michelle M. Pillow, www.michellepillow.com

Now in Print – Frost Maiden

Frost Maiden [image error]

Space Lords Book One

Authored by Michelle M. Pillow

Empath and space pirate, Evan Cormier is obsessed with decoding an ominous premonition about his future. When a fellow crewman angered a spirit, the vengeful Zhang An took her wrath out on everyone in the vicinity. Evan just happened to be one of them. He's now facing a future in which he'll be forever alone.

Lady Josselyn of the House of Craven has been betrayed. With her home world on a Florencian moon under attack and her family dead, she finds herself at the mercy of the one who deceived them. There is only one thing left to do-die with honor. But before she can join her family in the afterlife, she must first avenge all that she held dear. Falling in love with a pirate was never in the plan. Evan and his thieving crewmates might have delayed her fate, but they can't stop destiny.

ABOUT THE SERIES: This series is the next installment in the Futuristic saga, following Dragon Lords and Lords of the Var series.

Faery Queen (Realm Immortal)

It is ill-advised to incur the wrath of a faery, but it is most foolish to do so of a faery queen…

Realm Immortal, Book Two

Queen Tania of the Faeries is tired of waiting for Hugh, the Earl of Bellemare, to come back to her. A year has passed since his commitments pulled him from her side and she's begun to suspect he never intended to return. Disheartened, the queen's mood darkens until she finds she has no choice but to teach the earl a lesson he will never forget–that no human should dare lie to a faery queen.

Hugh's hatred of the magical world is well known and he wishes to live out the rest of his life in the mortal realm, doing his noble duty. Too bad his heart hasn't caught up to his head. Thoughts of a tenaciously seductive queen haunt him, even as he knows the woman only wanted him as a plaything for her bed. But it would seem he can't run far enough, for the teasing nymph won't back down and Hugh finds himself at the mercy of a vengeful faery.

Warning: This book contains hot sex, violence, a castle full of amorous faeries, a vengeful queen succumbing to her darker thoughts and the human she would make her plaything.