As some of you may know, I recently published the third and final book of my Fantasy Angels Series. This has been a very busy week as my book, The Rise of Gadreel has been making its rounds throughout the blogmosphere. I am beyond grateful to the kind, generous, and supportive authors who featured my new release on their awesome blogs. If you haven’t visited any of the stops on my book tour please consider doing so. Thank you for your support.
The above blogs are all wonderfully entertaining, please take the time to check them out.
“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” — Albert Schweitzer
When I saw this watercolor I immediately thought about dreams. You know, I thought by now someone would have invented a device that could record our dreams. Many of my short stories were inspired by my many bizarre dreams, so it would be a handy tool for me. I hope you enjoy my Etheree.
What are dreams if not our wishes and fears
sheer colors slowly spreading on the
canvas of our dormant minds
forming watercolor shapes
delightful and fearsome
sometimes inspiring
us to jump out
of bed and
write, write
write
Thank you for stopping by. I always appreciate your visits and comments. Also, remember you can pre-order The Rise of Gadreel for only 0.99¢!
I wish everyone a merry Christmas Eve and Christmas! Don’t forget to look to the sky on 12/21/20 to see the Christmas Star! The best time to see it is about an hour after your local sunset time. I hope it’s a clear night for all of us.
This challenge explores Ekphrastic writing inspired by visual art (photographs). Diana Peach from last month’s challenge has provided the photo for this month’s challenge.
The Saddest Leave The Least Of Clues
Depression sneaks up when least expected
What you once had seems far above you
as you spiral into darkness
sapping your life of meaning
but you smile all the time
though you’re rarely fine
You leave no clues
Depression
is like
cancer
“Real depression is when you stop loving the things you love.”
Atticus
When I saw the image chosen by Author, D. Wallace Peach it reminded me of a beautiful soul who couldn’t see her ethereal beauty in the water because she was shrouded by the darkness of depression. I have several loved ones who suffer from depression. This poem is dedicated to them and to anyone else who is struggling with this disease. What a lot of people don’t understand is that there are two types of depression. Feeling extremely sad when you lose a loved one, a pet, or when you lose your job or go through a divorce is perfectly normal. People expect you to suffer some level of depression when you experience something terrible. Being diagnosed with clinical depression is an entirely different thing. This is an illness that stems from there being a chemical imbalance in your brain. When depression hits it does so without warning, and it comes with muscle aches, loss of focus and concentration, insomnia, overeating or loss of appetite, headaches, digestive problems, anxiety . . . . It is a disease like diabetes, lupus, COPD, Alzheimer’s or cancer. Whenever I get a chance, I try to create awareness because there’s a stigma attached to this disease and there shouldn’t be.
Click on image to read an excerpt from my upcoming book, The Rise of Gadreel.
Welcome, everyone! This week is ‘Poet’s Choice’ on Colleen’s 2020 Weekly Poetry Challenge. Poets can choose their own syllabic poetry form, theme, words, images, etc. I’ve chosen to share a witchy Etheree poem and a couple of quotes today.
“Isn’t it odd how much fatter a book gets when you’ve read it several times? As if something were left between the pages every time you read it. Feelings, thoughts, sounds, smells and then, when you look at the book again many years later, you find yourself there too, a slightly younger self, slightly different, as if the book had preserved you like a pressed flower, both strange and familiar.”
Resurrection
She had a mother that didn’t love her
that lied to her about her true worth
that singe her eyebrows with her sneers
taught her nothing of true love
so she dreamt of evil
writing purged the gloom
books gave her joy
nature taught
her to
love
“Do not let anyone tell you the next few months won’t be crazy. We have two full moons in October. An Eclipse in November. An Eclipse in December, and we close the year with a full moon December 29, 2020. This is wild card energy.”
Thank you for stopping by! I hope you liked the post. Enjoy the rest of the day!
I love to read. It’s one of my favorite pastimes. I enjoy fiction most of all, especially the fantasy genre. There’s enough reality around me (24/7), sometimes it’s marvelous to take a breakation from real life and escape to another country, world, dimension. . . . Some people think that a person can’t learn anything from reading fiction but nothing could be further from the truth. I’ve been reading since I was a small child, and I’ve learned so much from fictional stories about life, love, friendship, duty, different cultures, animals, science, politics, religions, human nature. . . . I could go on and on. There’s a lot of truth in fiction.
I’d like to share a few of my most recent reads with you. Chronicles of the Diasodz is a young adult fantasy series by author, Yvette M. Calleiro. I’ve read the first three books and I look forward to reading the last two books in the series soon.
I wrote a poem (Nonet) for the first book in the series, The One Discovered. I had already posted a review for this book which you can read here.
Between the covers of my new book
a fearless girl takes a journey
what awaits she has no clue
leaving loved ones behind
to become who she
was born to be
the savior
of her
kind
You can read my review for The One Discovered here.
Blurb:
Sofia has lost everything that was important to her: her mother, her boyfriend, and her best friend. Even the belief that humans are the only beings in the world has been stripped away, but she has no time to dwell on her losses because she’s been transported to a new world to become the savior of the Diasodz. Sofia trusted Ar’ch and Angel to be there for her and to guide and protect her, but only Angel has held true to his word. Ar’ch has abandoned her, leaving her to feel tricked and betrayed.
Ar’ch brought Sofia home, fulfilling his mission to bring their savior safely to their world, but it didn’t come without a cost. Rafe, Sofia’s boyfriend, was killed, and Ar’ch believes Sofia blames him for it. Ar’ch’s sole focus becomes doing what is best for Sofia, and in his mind, that does not include him.
As Sofia deals with Ar’ch’s absence, she throws herself into learning about the Diasodz’s history. She grows stronger both emotionally and physically, and begins to accept her role in their world, but not everyone is convinced that she is the one whom the prophecy states will save them.
Beliefs will be challenged. Secrets will be revealed. Relationships will be shattered. And in the aftermath, evil will see its opportunity and strike. Will Sofia be able to handle it all? Or will the savior of the Diasodz lose her will to continue?
My Review:
The One Enlightened is the second book in the Chronicles of the Diasodz series. It picks up where book one left off as Sofia, Ar’ch, and Angel leave Rafe behind to travel via a portal to the world of the Diasodz.
Sofia had a hard time getting over the tragedy of losing a loved one as they escaped into the portal. She also misses her mom, and a few quarrels kept her and Ar’ch apart. However, she and her newly found brother, Angel, created a bond.
She trained with her brother as a Diasodz, and they learned about the history of her people with Nolan who had taken on the role of her father.
Sofia and Ar’ch cleared up their misunderstandings, and a secret romance progressed. Sofia embraced her new life, and she slowly accepted her role as savior of the Diasodz. She grew more confident and stronger both physically and mentally every day. As her relationship with Ar’ch became impassioned, and she rejoiced in their love for one another, an unexpected twist threatened to tear them apart forever.
I liked observing Sofia’s transformation from an innocent teen to a strong, confident young woman. I also enjoyed learning about the culture, faith, and history of the Diasodz. The vivid descriptions and beautiful world building were delightful. The characters continued to grow and develop, which was a lot of fun to witness.
I will be reading the third installment of the Chronicles of the Diasodz series, The One Betrayed. I recommend this series to readers who enjoy young adult fantasy sprinkled with romance and the supernatural.
Blurb:
When Sofia chose to leave Rafe to live with Ar’ch in another world, Rafe’s system shut down and sent him to an early death. But Rafe didn’t die, at least not permanently. Rafe is a Diasodz, and his death simply freed him from his human shell so that he could become the powerful Diasodz that he was meant to be.
He awakened to a completely new reality, a reality in which he was the prince to a kingdom of powerful beings. His parents, Drake and Damiana, were the rulers of the Raizyns, a group of Diasodz who were determined to take their rightful place in the world. And Rafe would be the savior who would lead them on their quest.
Rafe wanted to please his father, especially since he had just met him. To do that, he needed to learn how to fight like a Raizyn and how to master his newfound skill. He needed to become stronger, faster, and more powerful. Rafe needed to become the savior they all expected him to be. That was what was required of him.
But there was one thing that was more important than everything else. One person. Sofia. Rafe was going to find a way to get her back, even if it cost him his life. Again.
My Review:
The One Betrayed is the third installment of the Chronicles of the Diasodz series. It does not pick up where the last one left off, like the previous one. Instead, this book takes us back to the ending of book one and revisits the events of the first two books as told by the enemy, the Raizyns. At first, this was a little jarring because I was so involved in Sofia’s story in books one and two. It didn’t take long for me to get into this story, though. I was excited to see how the events unfolded from the point of view of the “other side.”
The author introduced new characters and gave us more insight into the older ones. I enjoyed the in-depth look into the “enemy” and their world. Rafe, Drake, and Mel were my favorites, but all the characters were well developed, interesting, and relatable in some way.
The world building was impeccable, and I enjoyed escaping into this realm. I also enjoyed the sci-fi elements the author sprinkled throughout the story with teleportation, force fields, hologram technology. . . .
The pacing was a bit slow at times but not enough to take away my enjoyment. Although I missed reading about Sofia, it was fun reading the other side’s point of view and getting to know these characters better. And as each book sets up the next one, I look forward to reading book four.
Hi, everyone! I hope you’re all having a fabulous start to the weekend.
“It’s the first of the month and you know what that means! Poets get to choose their own syllabic poetry form, theme, words, images, etc.” ~ Colleen Chesebro
The 3rd and final book in my Fantasy Angels Series, The Rise of Gadreel will be released in a couple of months. So today I’d like to talk a little about the first two books in the series and what they’re about.
The Fall of Lilith, the first book in the series is an origins story. The origin of the angels, of the revolution in heaven, of other supernatural beings that came into existance when fallen angels evolved upon landing in different areas of a primitive planet, the origin of Earth, of mankind and sin.
“I really enjoyed this book. I love when stories put a spin on biblical/historical stories, and this one definitely kept me entertained. Lilith is a deceptive little thing, and I loved reading about her journey, though I will admit that Gadreel held most of my affection throughout the book (which would probably really anger Lilith…lol!).”–Amazon Review
BLURB:
In The Fall of Lilith, Vashti Quiroz-Vega crafts an irresistible new take on heaven and hell that boldly lays bare the passionate, conflicted natures of God’s first creations: the resplendent celestial beings known as angels.
If you think you know their story, think again.
Endowed with every gift of mind, body, and spirit, the angels reside in a paradise bounded by divine laws, chief of which are obedience to God, and celibacy. In all other things, the angels possess free will, that they may add in their own unique ways to God’s unfolding plan.
Lilith, most exquisite of angels, finds the rules arbitrary and stifling. She yearns to follow no plan but her own: a plan that leads to the throne now occupied by God himself. With clever words and forbidden caresses, Lilith sows discontent among the angels. Soon the virus of rebellion has spread to the greatest of them all: Lucifer.
Now, as angel is pitted against angel, old loyalties are betrayed and friendships broken. Lust, envy, pride, and ambition arise to shake the foundations of heaven . . . and beyond. For what begins as a war in paradise invades God’s newest creation, a planet known as Earth. It is there, in the garden called Eden, that Lilith, Lucifer, and the other rebel angels will seek a final desperate victory—or a venomous revenge.
“[A] compelling narrative that . . . strays far from traditional biblical text . . . A well-written, descriptive, and dark creation story.”—Kirkus Reviews
Spark of perfection
snuffed by ashes of desire
deep in the horrors
of ambition and envy
you evolved into evil
Son of the Serpent, the 2nd book in the series describes the life of Dracúl, the son of Lilith and Satan. He was abandoned in a forest as a small child. Despite being the son of demons he rejected evil. Tired of feeling lonely and insignificant he leaves the forest where he grew up alone. As a young man he meets Cain, the eldest son of Adam and Eve, and his adventure through time begins. After the shock of discovering who his parents were and the fact that his mother tried to kill him, leaving him for dead in a forest he began a quest to find her, to learn why. Despite many trials he refused to be like his parents and continued his efforts to be good. While on his journey to find his mother he witnessed many historical events like: the murder of Abel by his brother Cain, the building of the Tower of Babel, and the flood among others.
“It is rare in my experience to enjoy book two of a series even more than book one. And given that book one earned five stars from me, the fact that this book exceeds even that is a testament to the skill and clear love of this genre that permeates the work of author Vashti Quiroz-Vega.” –Amazon Review
BLURB:
In Son of the Serpent, award-winning author Vashti Quiroz-Vega crafts another fascinating glimpse into the dark, compelling world of fallen angels and demons, revealing more about their untold stories.
The war in heaven might be over, but the ambitions of the fallen angel Lilith reach far across the roots of history. Will there be a being powerful enough to stop her evil influence before the destruction of mankind?
Dracúl knows he is the son of Satan, but the rest of his memory has been taken from him. Alone and frightened, he awakens in a forest, beginning a quest to piece together who he is. The world he encounters is cruel, but he yearns to belong and find companionship. With each step he takes, another missing piece of his memory falls into place, revealing a truth that is ever more troubling . . .
A truth that will turn his quest for meaning into one fueled by the hot-blooded thirst for revenge. A truth that leads him to Lilith, the most wicked and ruthless of fallen angels and one he soon will have every reason to hate. His quest will consume him, perhaps ruin his life, but somehow Dracúl is determined to find both belonging and vengeance—to be good, in spite of his evil nature and the dark secrets that haunt him every step of the way.
The son of demons, and the last hope for the world.
A glance at the past
spark a pain my heart can’t share
an eye for an eye
revenge I planned from afar
but love & woe have worked their will
I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about my Fantasy Angels Series. I want to thank everyone who has purchased, read and reviewed the first two books in the series. I sincerely appreciate it. ❤
It’s the third week of the month! Time for a #PhotoPrompt
Aishwarya, aka, Kitty from Kitty’s Verses, was Colleen’s selection from last month’s challenge. She has provided the photo for this month’s challenge. Remember, don’t just describe what is in the photo. Engage your senses and work with implied metaphors to make your poetry sing!
It’s been a while since I’ve ridden on a train. I rode the trains to school in NYC. It was boring and scary at times.
Fun, adventure and excitement comes to mind when I gaze at the prompt picture, though. There’s something about those tracks leading to infiniti that depict freedom. My imagination goes wild.
The train gets underway, whistling off its baratone warning. Slow it begins, then picks up speed until tons of steel on wheels skim the tracks faster than fairies and witches, on its way to some magic land. Anything in this iron behemoth’s path should stand clear because it doesn’t mean to slow until it’s near.
Take a long rail trip
There’s nothing like the rhythm
of a train journey
slow to start then pick up speed
much like life’s tempo on tracks
Photograph by Denis Chick
Thank you for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed the post. If you’d like to participate in Colleen’s 2020 Weekly Poetry Challenge click here. It’s a lot of fun.
I almost tossed in the towel when I saw the two prompt words for the week. What was I supposed to do with that? I thought. But in the end, I decided to give it a try. I’ve been hard at work with the blurb, cover and formatting for my upcoming book, The Rise of Gadreel. Please forgive me for not being consistant with my Friday posts the last few weeks. My Etheree poem was inspired by the second book in my Fantasy Angels Series, Son of the Serpent. I’ve also included an excerpt from that book. I hope you enjoy it.
Photograph by Mateus Campos Felipe @matfelipe
Unrequited Love
I fell in love with a beautiful mind
thoughts of him spiral out of control
as I crave what I cannot have
He entered my life and made
everything better
I can’t regret him
or corrupt him
he’s married
to the
church
Photograph by James Coleman @jhc
Dracúl came across a young girl named Miriam while searching the streets of Egypt for a place to rest for the night. She informed him that the pharaoh ordered every Israeli male child not yet walking be thrown into the Nile River for the crocodiles, and she feared for her newborn brother’s life. Here’s an excerpt in Dracúl’s voice from Son of the Serpent.
Gadreel and I left the waterfall and made our way to the street where I met Miriam. I found the house she disappeared into and knocked.
The door creaked open and a man stood before us. “Yes, how may I help you?”
“We seek answers,” I said, bowing my head out of respect. “A girl named Miriam stated that we could get answers from her father, Amram.”
“I am Amram,” he said, creasing his brow. “You say you know my daughter, Miriam?”
“We met once. She told me of a terrible decree ordered by the pharaoh. I have many questions. You could provide me with the answers I seek.” I glanced at Gadreel. She stared at the ground, and I returned my gaze to him.
“Come in,” he said.
I did not hesitate to do so. His home was humble but clean and cozy. The fragrances of incense and fresh bread wafted through the air. They did not have much but offered everything they had. Miriam came out of one of the rooms and helped serve food and drink to Gadreel and me.
“Why are Egyptian soldiers killing the innocent?” I asked once the meal was finished.
“Three months ago, a witch who passes herself off as an astrologer claimed that a liberator, a male child of Israel, was to be born. She told the pharaoh that this liberator would grow to be more powerful than any pharaoh of Egypt.” Amram’s face flushed as he gave us his account of the happenings.
“Witch? Does this witch have a name?” Gadreel touched my arm and scowled at me. “Apologies. Please continue,” I said as heat bloomed in my face.
“The pharaoh decided to end the threat by getting rid of the liberator while he was still a babe, so he ordered every male child that cannot yet walk be killed. My son was born three months ago, on the very day the witch predicted the liberator would be born. We believe our son is the liberator of Israel, for a radiant light filled our house when he entered this world.”
Gadreel gasped, placing her hand over mine.
“We have concealed him for three months, but it is becoming impossible to do so any longer,” Amram said as he wrung his hands, staring at us like we were his last hope.
A woman approached and set a basket made of papyrus on the table. “My name is Jochebed. I am Amram’s wife and mother to Aaron and Miriam, and this is my newborn son.” She extended her hand toward the basket.
Gadreel and I rose from our seats and looked into the basket. My eyes were fixed on the infant. He was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. I was mesmerized.
“He is special.” My words were barely audible.
“We must do something,” Gadreel said, standing on her toes as she gazed at the infant.
“I can help your son, but you must trust me,” I told Jochebed and Amram.
They glanced at each other and then Amram spoke to me. “I knew God had sent you the moment I opened the door and saw your face.” He nodded once, and I picked up the basket with the babe inside.
“Is the basket impermeable?” I asked. “Will it float?”
“Yes, I weaved the papyrus reeds tightly,” Jochebed said.
“Very well.” The babe, he smiled at me the way only one pure of heart could. “I will take your son to safety. Say your goodbyes.”
The family came forth, kissed and caressed the child, and said their farewells.
Gadreel and I made our way to the door with the infant.
“I will go with you!” Miriam said, hurrying to us. “Please. Let me come with you. I want to see where my brother’s fate leads you.”
I faced Amram. “It will be a dangerous undertaking. If we are caught with the child, they will try to kill us.”
Miriam turned to her father, her face wet with tears of desperation and sorrow. “Please father! I implore you. Allow me to go with them.”
Amram frowned and waved her to go. She grabbed my arm, pushing me forward and out the door, perhaps afraid her father would change his mind.
We rushed through the streets. The babe fell asleep and remained silent. He looked comfortable, wrapped in soft cloths.
“The witch they spoke of––it must be Lilith,” Gadreel whispered.
“It is she. I am sure of it,” I said, moving quickly while scanning my surroundings. “I do not know what makes me so certain, but I am. I will save this child, and then I will deal with her.”
As we reached the bank of the Nile we stopped to look out to the water. Gadreel gasped, slapping a hand over her mouth, stifling screams. Miriam was shrieking so Gadreel rushed to her side, holding her tight as the girl sobbed on her chest. I stood frozen by a sight so astonishing in its level of horror that I had to bite my lower lip hard enough to draw blood to be certain I was not having a nightmare. A myriad of dead and mangled babies floated downstream on the Nile.
Son of the Serpent is a High/Supernatural Fantasy sprinkled with Horror and Romance for an 18+ audience. Get your copy and give this book a try. It may surprise you.
What a beautiful quote chosen by Sue Vincent to challenge us this week. I love nature and that of course, includes trees. Methuselah is one of the world’s oldest living organism. This tree has been alive for approx. 4,789 years and still counting! Consider all the changes the world has gone through in that amount of time and yet, this tree is still standing. Methuselah lives on a isolated mountain top in California (USA). I’d love to be in her presence someday.
METHUSELAH
On a desolate mountain top you breathe
Teaching us lessons of survival
Gnarled and twisted you stand your ground
The Earth’s oldest living thing
For four millennia
You’ve observed the world
Your endurance
Your spirit
Inspires
Awe
Photo by Jeremy Bishop
I hope everyone enjoyed the post. Have a lovely Friday and weekend! ❤
RT @maurabeth2014: Lovers of paranormal fantasy, here's another great choice from the fabulous Vashti Queroz-Vega, just click here:
https:/… 2 hours ago
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