Gorm Helge Grønli Rudschinat
Crone refreshes images of sacrifice
Month: May 2014
Author Scott Lynch responds to a critic of the character Zamira Drakasha, a black woman pirate in his fantasy book Red Seas Under Red Skies, the second novel of the Gentleman Bastard series.
The bolded sections represent quotes from the criticism he received. All the z-snaps are in order.
Your characters are unrealistic stereotpyes of political correctness. Is it really necessary for the sake of popular sensibilities to have in a fantasy what we have in the real world? I read…
Damn, I want to read this guys book now.
And I really want to meet the ignorant fucking douche that wrote the critique. Awww did the author use a naughty word? Are you worried mommy will hit you with a switch? What a fuck stick.
Oh yeah, and this http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ching_Shih
While I’m less than pleased some Occult-related items have become popular only because this new kind of hipster goth look is a thing, I, for one, welcome all of those kiddos to my blog. We all have to start somewhere and, yes, as annoyed as I am with your three million black and white gifs of…
Damn. I am truly honored.
I have a bad habit of doing things the hard way. I don’t write books that are easy to pigeon-hole into a genre. I don’t write series with the plucky young girl who angsts over the handsome yet dangerous young man.
I write books books that are challenging. That make you ask hard questions about yourself and about the society we live in. I’m not saying every one is a literary masterpiece, or that they aren’t any fun, but I think they are different. So different that there’s no way a mainstream publisher will touch them.
That’s why, probably more than other writers, I need reviews to convince people to take a chance on my work.
It’s my birthday on May 5th and I’m asking you for a present. If you have read one of my books, please go to Amazon right now and leave a review. If you haven’t why not give one a shot? Some are free. And if you read a free book, don’t you at least owe a fair review? I don’t care if you hated it. I gotta learn, right?
Reblogging this would be nice as well.
Chasing the Wyrm: Christopher Yan – Office of Arcane Affairs
“I work for the Office of Arcane Affairs.
You have never heard of us.
If the CIA finds out al-Qaeda has a guy who can bend spoons, they call the OAA, and they send me. When the Office of Naval Intelligence has reports of a strange, giant, glowing squid, “Hey OAA, can Topher scuba dive?” An infestation of rabid, gun-toting, were-jaguars in a South American jungle? No problem. Topher can fix it. Nothing worse than spooked spooks who don’t have a clue what they’re dealing with.
But that’s my job. Because being a wizard means I’m the only one who can handle it.”
To protect its interests, the U.S. government projects its power militarily, economically, and magically. It leaves the last to the Office of Arcane Affairs.
Christopher Yan didn’t ask for the job. A wizard born with the power to warp reality, the OAA calls on him to neutralize all arcane threats. Part spy, part fixer, part assassin, Topher searches for a way to make his unique gift serve both his country and his principles. When he makes an enemy of a rogue wizard serving a dying insurgency, he learns the limits his conscience can bear.
My Babylon – Complete (The Eschaton Cycle)
A novel about the paranormal and dark desires. The story of a cursed young man who has an intimate view of the Apocalypse. My Babylon weaves elements of urban fantasy, erotic horror, and real-world occult practices to form a unique personal tale that thrills, terrifies, and even enlightens.
In My Babylon, the magus, consumed with longing, seeks to create a replacement for his lost love using a grisly ritual that requires the theft of a body. Through her creation, he learns that he has a much bigger role to play, and that she may be a form of salvation not only for him but for others.
The Complete edition contains all five books of the My Babylon story.
My Babylon – Book One: Body
Get it FREE on Amazon or Smashwords
Of Little Faith – A Short Story
The old gods are returning, or have they always been here?
Odin wakes to the call of a dying warrior crying out to be taken to Valhalla. Roused from his centuries of slumber, the All-Father wanders the Earth until he finds gods old and new. Do they have the answers he seeks? How does an ancient god of war find his place in the modern world?
A short story on the nature of religion and spirituality. We may no longer need a patriarch, but do we need to rediscover our divinities?
Free on Smashwords or 99 cents on Amazon
Underground – A Short Story
In the underground city of Necropolis, Hades is bound by duty, family, and his own alienation. That all changes when he meets Persephone, a true free spirit. Will their love tear apart the world above and below? From the author of My Babylon comes a modern retelling of the Hades & Persephone myth. Underground is a story about the conflict between family and passion.
Matchmaker: A Short Story
I make people. I make your perfect match, your best friend, your true love. I make them alluring, breathtaking, hard as hell to resist. All the data that goes into a human being, memories, genetics, biochemistry, I collect and process that information. I put it together, mix and match to taste, and spit out the person you’re going to fall in love with.
They’re 100% real, and 100% virtual.
But is that enough? Where’s the spark? What’s the thing that makes love true?
—-
Matchmaker is a short story set fifteen minutes into the future where the rich buy online people to call their own.Free on Smashwords or 99 cents on Amazon
The postal gods must have heard it was my birthday. My copy of Epoch arrived today.
I banished yesterday but didn’t log it as I should have. It went reasonably well. I remember losing focus at several points during the ritual and my visuals were the weakest they had been all week—but considering the day and night I had yesterday this doesn’t surprise me at all. The only thing I…
I have a bad habit of doing things the hard way. I don’t write books that are easy to pigeon-hole into a genre. I don’t write series with the plucky young girl who angsts over the handsome yet dangerous young man.
I write books books that are challenging. That make you ask hard questions about yourself and about the society we live in. I’m not saying every one is a literary masterpiece, or that they aren’t any fun, but I think they are different. So different that there’s no way a mainstream publisher will touch them.
That’s why, probably more than other writers, I need reviews to convince people to take a chance on my work.
It’s my birthday on May 5th and I’m asking you for a present. If you have read one of my books, please go to Amazon right now and leave a review. If you haven’t why not give one a shot? Some are free. And if you read a free book, don’t you at least owe a fair review? I don’t care if you hated it. I gotta learn, right?
Reblogging this would be nice as well.
Chasing the Wyrm: Christopher Yan – Office of Arcane Affairs
“I work for the Office of Arcane Affairs.
You have never heard of us.
If the CIA finds out al-Qaeda has a guy who can bend spoons, they call the OAA, and they send me. When the Office of Naval Intelligence has reports of a strange, giant, glowing squid, “Hey OAA, can Topher scuba dive?” An infestation of rabid, gun-toting, were-jaguars in a South American jungle? No problem. Topher can fix it. Nothing worse than spooked spooks who don’t have a clue what they’re dealing with.
But that’s my job. Because being a wizard means I’m the only one who can handle it.”
To protect its interests, the U.S. government projects its power militarily, economically, and magically. It leaves the last to the Office of Arcane Affairs.
Christopher Yan didn’t ask for the job. A wizard born with the power to warp reality, the OAA calls on him to neutralize all arcane threats. Part spy, part fixer, part assassin, Topher searches for a way to make his unique gift serve both his country and his principles. When he makes an enemy of a rogue wizard serving a dying insurgency, he learns the limits his conscience can bear.
My Babylon – Complete (The Eschaton Cycle)
A novel about the paranormal and dark desires. The story of a cursed young man who has an intimate view of the Apocalypse. My Babylon weaves elements of urban fantasy, erotic horror, and real-world occult practices to form a unique personal tale that thrills, terrifies, and even enlightens.
In My Babylon, the magus, consumed with longing, seeks to create a replacement for his lost love using a grisly ritual that requires the theft of a body. Through her creation, he learns that he has a much bigger role to play, and that she may be a form of salvation not only for him but for others.
The Complete edition contains all five books of the My Babylon story.
My Babylon – Book One: Body
Get it FREE on Amazon or Smashwords
Of Little Faith – A Short Story
The old gods are returning, or have they always been here?
Odin wakes to the call of a dying warrior crying out to be taken to Valhalla. Roused from his centuries of slumber, the All-Father wanders the Earth until he finds gods old and new. Do they have the answers he seeks? How does an ancient god of war find his place in the modern world?
A short story on the nature of religion and spirituality. We may no longer need a patriarch, but do we need to rediscover our divinities?
Free on Smashwords or 99 cents on Amazon
Underground – A Short Story
In the underground city of Necropolis, Hades is bound by duty, family, and his own alienation. That all changes when he meets Persephone, a true free spirit. Will their love tear apart the world above and below? From the author of My Babylon comes a modern retelling of the Hades & Persephone myth. Underground is a story about the conflict between family and passion.
Matchmaker: A Short Story
I make people. I make your perfect match, your best friend, your true love. I make them alluring, breathtaking, hard as hell to resist. All the data that goes into a human being, memories, genetics, biochemistry, I collect and process that information. I put it together, mix and match to taste, and spit out the person you’re going to fall in love with.
They’re 100% real, and 100% virtual.
But is that enough? Where’s the spark? What’s the thing that makes love true?
—-
Matchmaker is a short story set fifteen minutes into the future where the rich buy online people to call their own.Free on Smashwords or 99 cents on Amazon
Energy Potion Formulea
What does a magician do on their birthday/day off from work? Make potions!
I enjoy 5-Hour Energy shots, and noticed how much they resembled potions used by fictional magicians and those found in hearth magick. What can be better than making your own? These potions are designed to focus the mind and build energy. I use them to do more writing and have more energy to study magick.
Thoughts of a sexual nature leave me energized and focused. Plus, sex magick being one of the easier ways to build magical energies and awareness (gnosis), I knew making the potion with a sexual aspect would be the easiest path.
Because one should never expect magick to do all the work, the potion contains ingredients found in most energy shots, with some thematic exceptions. I added items that enhanced the sexual nature of the elixir, substances known for their ability to arouse or increase sexual performance. I included two items for flavor, and one to maintain the solubility of the solid ingredients, which also had the side benefit of being an aphrodisiac and a magical correspondence.
All ingredients can be purchased via Amazon.com. I prefer using ingredients in a liquid form to maintain solubility. All ingredients come as liquids unless otherwise noted.
Caffeine, powdered, 300 mg
Taurine, powdered, 1.5 g
Glucuronolactone, powdered 1g
Water 1 oz
B12 complex 3 drops
Ginko Biloba 1 ml
Ginseng 1 ml
Horny Goat Weed 1 ml
Yohimbe 1 ml
Cinnamon Stevia 10 drops
Cinnamon Extract 3 drops
Rum 1 oz
Add caffeine, taurine, and Glucuronolactone to 1 oz water, heat to boiling 20 seconds in microwave to dissolve. Add all liquid ingredients, rum last. When making more than one at a time I have found it useful to boil a kettle of water for this purpose.
Notes on Ingredients:
Caffeine: The number one psychoactive stimulant in the world needs no introduction. Before you go and think I’m a caffeine monster, in comparison, a 20 oz, artisan-roasted coffee contains 300 mg. Albeit, most people enjoy that cup of coffee over several hours. This comes all at once in a 2.5 oz shot. You will need a scale capable of measuring in mg. DO NOT think you can eyeball this. Amazon sells jeweler’s scales much cheaper than a trip to the hospital. Taking over 2 grams of caffeine at one time will result in hospitalization and liver damage. Higher doses cause death.
Taurine: First discovered in bulls, taurine may or may not increase brain function when combined with caffeine. It helps convert amino acids to usable enzymes. It may also have many additional physiological benefits. The kidneys simply excrete excess taurine in the body.
Glucuronolactone: Studies show glucuronolactone increases cognitive speed. It also helps with maintaining joints and ligaments.
Water: The universal solvent.
B12 complex: B vitamins increase brain function and are essential in metabolizing certain enzymes the body needs to produce energy. In high doses may also prevent Alzheimer’s.
Ginko Blioba: Another chemical for enhancing brain function. Proven to enhance memory.
Ginseng: Appears to block enzymes produced by stress, thus relieving fatigue.
Horny Goat Weed: Numerous studies of goats consuming the weed noted increased sexual activity. Recent studies also find it works like Viagra, relaxing tissues directly and stimulating blood flow to the extremities.
Yohimbe: Another blood-flow enhancer, used traditionally in Africa.
Rum: Alcohol helps keep the solid ingredients dissolved in the liquid base. I picked rum as the traditional drink of the Loa, specifically the Ghede Loa, a group of randy and energetic deities who I call upon to raise spirits and have a good time.
Besides the correspondences in the material components, the potions contain a ritual component as well.
Since I lack artistic ability, I rely upon found images. Google does the trick. For the potion label I used the search term, “Great Rite.” When I found the image I printed a copy and posted it above my bed. I used it as a focus point during intercourse, remaining fixed on the image at time of climax.
When the potions are made I create a sacred space and after each potion is complete I place them on the original copy of the image I used raise gnosis, before affixing a copy of the image to each bottle.