Follow on Bloglovin

Welcome to my place in the blogosphere!
feel free to explore the Flight Deck and check out my books and website.
Then fasten your seatbelts, sip a glass of something sparkling and let's chat awhile!
I hope you'll stop by again for guest authors and spotlights from time to time.

Beloved Enemy joined Starquest and Children of the Mist to continue the Destiny Trilogy and I'm thrilled to announce was shortlisted for the R.N.A. RoNA Awards 2017, awarded 2nd Runner up in the RONE Awards 2017 and was the winner in the SF/Fantasy category of the 'Best Banter Contest'.

Monday 4 August 2014

The legend of Blodeuwydd

I hope you enjoy today's legend.  I'm away for a few days visiting relative in Wales, so please excuse me if you comment and I don't get back to you.  I promise I will answer as soon as I am able.
The story of Blodeuwedd (Blaw - dow- ith) is one of the legends belonging to the Mabinogion, a famous collection of old Welsh legends.

A woman named Arianrhod had two sons, one whom was named Lleu Llaw Gyffes. She had a dislike for Lleu and put three curses on him: that he would not receive a name unless it was given by her, he would not receive his armour unless from her, and the last curse was that he would never be allowed to marry a mortal woman.

When he grew to manhood, Lleu called upon his two uncles, who were the wizards, Gwydion and Math,  to help him find a wife.

With the  chant "Take the flowers of the oak, and the flowers of the broom, and the flowers of the meadowsweet, from those they conjured up the fairest and most beautiful maiden anyone had ever seen.They created a wife for Lleu Llaw Gyffes out of flowers and  baptized her, naming her Blodeuwedd, meaning 'flower face'. Blodeuwedd was beautiful and innocent; immediately Lleu fell in love with her and the two were married.

After she had become Lleu's bride, and they had feasted, Matb said, “I will give the young man the best Cantrev to hold.The Cantrev of Dinodig.” The place was a palace in a spot called Mur y Castell,the old name for Tomen-y-Mur  near Traswfynydd There Lleu and Blodeuwedd reigned, and were beloved by all.

Not long after the marriage, Lleu left Blodeuwedd alone in their castle at Tomen y Mur  as he needed to visit his uncles on business. She became bored and lonely, Then one day a hunting party approached the castle, led by Gronw Pebyr, the lord of nearby Penllyn. He told Blodeuwedd that his party was looking for somewhere to stay and Blodeuwedd invited them to stay in the castle. She became infatuated with Gronw Pebyr and the two began an affair. They decided to kill Lleu, so she and Gronw could be together. However, Lleu couldn’t be killed in any normal way,
not during the day or night,  neither riding nor walking, not clothed and not naked, nor by any weapon lawfully made.

When Gronw and his hunting party left and Lleu returned, Blodeuwedd pretended to be worried about his safety and asked him what method could be used to kill him,   He revealed  that he could only be killed at dusk, wrapped in a net with one foot on a cauldron and one on a goat and with a spear forged for a year during the hours when everyone was at mass. Blodeuwedd went to Gronw Pebyr with the information and they arranged his death. Gronw Pebyr  began working on a spear immediately.

Exactly one year later, Blodeuwedd convinced him to demonstrate how impossible it would be for him to be in the position where he could be killed, by chance, and when he did so, her lover Goronwy leapt out and struck with the spear he had been forging for one year during the sacred times of mass. Because Lleu  had one foot on the side of a metal cauldron  and the other on the back of a goat, Gronw’s plan was successful. But what Lleu had not told Blodeuwedd was that he could lose his life. Instead, as soon as the spear hit him, Lleu turned into an eagle and flew away into the forest.

After hearing the news, the  wizard Gwydion set out to find Lleu. He found him in a tree in the forest nearby, living off the meat of a wild boar lying at the footof the tree. Because of his magic powers, Gwydion was able to turn Lleu back into a man.

Lleu set out to find Gronw Pebyr and Blodeuwedd. Lleu killed Gronw Pebyr, but  Blodeuwedd had run to the forest.  Gwydion managed to corner her and as punishment for what she had done, he turned her into a tawny owl, telling her that every other bird would fear her and thus she would have to live the rest of her life in solitude. 


  







The name of Lleu and Blodeuwedd's castle in the tales,Mur y Castell, is  thought to be an early reference to the site where later the
Roman fort of Tomen y Mur was built, near Trawsfynydd.


Thursday 31 July 2014

Changeling's Crown - Book Tour and Giveaway

I'm thrilled to welcome  Julie D Revezzo to my blog today  with her latest release:


http://christinewarner.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/changelings-crown_700.jpgChangeling’s Crown
Juli D. Revezzo

Genre: upper YA/New Adult paranormal romance

Publisher: Raven Queen Publications

Date of Publication: June 2014

ISBN: 978-1499390193
ASIN: B00KPJ27UW

Number of pages: 190
Word Count: 46,500

Cover Artist: Boulevard Photografica

Book Description:

When Ianthe began her career as a faery godmother, she stumbled so badly that Snow White will probably never speak to her again. After a long suspension, she’s finally been given a chance to redeem herself…but everything on this latest assignment is going wrong.

But why?

Worse, she definitely doesn’t need an attractive mortal man distracting her from her duties. Of course, needs and wants are two different things.

Briak has had his eye on Ianthe for a very, very long time, but he’s been waiting for just the right moment to make his move. Despite the fact all hell’s about to break loose on his watch, he can’t resist the opportunity to insert himself into her earthly assignment. Can he convince Ianthe of her true calling and thereby win her heart? Or will his subterfuge ultimately cost him her love?


Available at Amazon


 Excerpt:

Sunlight filtered into the office, tinkling musically as it bounced off a globe standing to the far side of the room. A lone dust mote floated through the air to fall onto the crystalline floorboards and as it hit, Ianthe Hypericum cringed when she heard it clack against the floor, like the tinny clap of an iron breakfast bell. Normally the sound didn’t bother her. Normally she found it lovely.

Not today.

Nervous sweat ran down Ianthe’s back as she awaited her latest assignment. Maybe the Faery Godmother High Council hadn’t changed their decision. Maybe Ms. Siabelle had called her in to revoke her wand for good.

Why wouldn’t she? After all, so many of her recent assignments had ended in disaster. The High Council frowned upon her performance even before Snow White’s daughter had run off with that traveling band of thieves. Ianthe still couldn’t quite figure out how it had happened. She’d spent nearly fourteen hundred years on probation for it. How it hadn’t driven her crazy enough to join those in the dark side of the groves, she had no idea. It’d been a close call.

Some faery godmother she’d turned out to be! She didn’t want to think what might happen if she blew another assignment. They’d turn her out, maybe send her to the shoemaker’s shop as punishment, and she didn’t want that. Everyone knew the shoemaker’s shop was a dungeon compared to the human world.

What a disgrace for her family, if the council banished her there! They were having a hard enough time, socially, dealing with her failure with the Snow White family. Banishment would undo them. She had to succeed at this assignment, she just had to!

The door opened and an older woman, wearing a gray Armani suit, stepped through.

Ianthe stood and curtseyed, her lilac taffeta skirt rustling.

“Good morning, Ms. Siabelle.”

The old woman pushed her glasses up her pert nose with a thick finger. “Ah, Ianthe. I see you’re on time, for once.” She scuttled around the huge oak desk like an overweight crab.

Ianthe folded her hands in her lap, twisting her fingers as she waited for her boss to settle down.

“I trust all is well.”

“Yes, ma’am,” she said. “The Smith-Weiss affair’s all cleaned up.”

“They’re happy, then?” Ms. Siabelle asked.

Ianthe bit her lip. Hard. No, she wouldn’t say the couple was happy. Not unless the faery godparent council had changed its definition of single parent households. Still, she made her report on her latest assignment. “The couple is—April is…Chuck will be—” She blew out a deep breath.

“They’ll get there. Plenty of babies grow up without their fathers. It’s for the best.”

“Is it?”

“April Smith and Charles Weiss weren’t made for each other, no matter how much we wish it.” She frowned at the old faery godmother. “You knew there were problems going into that assignment.”

Ms. Siabelle remained quiet in the face of Ianthe’s accusation. She twitched the platinum chain on her glasses and turned her attention to her computer. “Yes, well, that isn’t the issue today.”

Adjusting her glasses to her liking, she turned her head, gaze softening as she peered at Ianthe.

Ianthe could feel a million tiny lightning bolts trying to find their way into her heart. She could barely breathe under the elderly overseer’s gaze and she begged the faery gods to be on her side, just this once.

Ms. Siabelle cleared her throat.

Here it came. Ianthe tried not to cringe.

“The Faery Godparent High Council has decided to give you another chance, child.”

She blinked. “Say that again?” Unbelievable!

“I said we’ve decided in your favor.” Ms. Siabelle turned in her chair, and standing, crossed the room to a tall filing cabinet. Batting away a stray sunbeam, she wrapped old fingers around the silver handle gracing the top drawer, tugged it open, and drew a finger in the air above the files. They flipped by themselves, one after another, as if she pulled them. But she held her finger too high. “If the couple can’t make a go of it even after what you’ve done, it’s not your fault.”

“I did try.”

“I told the council so. Ah, here we are.” She stepped back as one file slid free. It spun in the air before her a moment, then Ms. Siabelle reached out and took hold of the thin folder. Ianthe wrung her hands as Ms. Siabelle sat back down and began to read. “Hmm... It says here that you’re to be assigned to a young man.” Her brow rose. “And his soon-to-be ex-wife.”

Ianthe sat up straighter. A divorce? Oh, no. More battles over the children. She found being saddled with the choice of which parent would be best heartbreaking. “Surely you must be mistaken. Isn’t there some forlorn lover I can look after instead?” This guy was probably as ugly as the frog prince, while the wife, well… she’d met some doozies!

“No, the assignment is quite clear. You’re to assist Randall and Mallory Davies.” Ms. Siabelle shut the gleaming folder and folded her hands atop it. “According to their files, it’s a clear case. Randall’s not sure he wants the divorce and Mallory—well, I don’t see why she couldn’t be persuaded to drop the case. Should be a piece of cake, as they say down there.”

She’d said that about Snow White’s daughter, but Ianthe thought better of reminding her. “I’m not sure.”

“Are you saying you don’t want the assignment, my dear? I thought you hoped for a chance to get your wand and title back.” Her nose twitched. “And everything else that goes with it. Coaches and ball gowns and such.”

All of which had gone out of style with the age of classic faery tales. Right now, Ianthe didn’t feel like contradicting her. “I do, ma’am. It’s just that—”

“Good. I’ll see the paperwork’s sent through; meanwhile—” She wiggled her finger over the file and it rose from the desktop, floating like a bird into Ianthe’s less than eager hands. “Why don’t you get started?” She shook her head sadly. “Seems Randall and Mallory are in dire need of a happy ending, as you’ll see.”

Ianthe sighed. The pages flipped open before her, and she took in the photographs. Randall, his employees. One stood out: a man with a handsome angular face, tousled brown hair, and deep, coffee-colored eyes.

She leaned forward to study the picture, wondering who he was. Too handsome to ignore, she thought. Was he the reason for the couple’s troubles? She could see that being the case.

Maybe this assignment wasn’t going to be so bad, after all.

She shoved the file into her oversized purse and exited the office to take to the hall, a renewed confidence in her gait. She could do this. Surely, she would finally live down that fiasco of an assignment with Snow White’s daughter. Maybe it would even garner her a promotion. Full Godmotherhood!

Dare she dream?

She was already daydreaming for she plowed right into an oncoming faery.

She blinked at him. Geldon P. Techsmauch.

“I’m sorry, Geldon. I didn’t see you,” she said.

Son of a goblin, how she hated him! She stepped back, hoping to escape him as soon as possible.

“Why don’t you watch where you’re going?” he snarled.

When she stepped around him he planted his right hand against the wall, blocking her escape. “Where do you think you’re rushing off to in such a hurry?” he asked. “You can’t have a princess awaiting you. You’re on probation after all. Or are you late for a class? Beginning wand construction one-oh-one?”

How’m I supposed to go anywhere with you in my way, you horsefly’s butt? What was he doing, besides being a nuisance? “I said I’m sorry.” She tried not to snarl back, but it was hard. She tapped a finger to her lips. “Didn’t I hear you just came back from Desire Island? How’d that go?”

His mud brown eyes narrowed. “You heard wrong. It was Devil’s Island.”

“Ah.” She nodded. “My mistake.”

“Yes, you make many.” He turned on his heel. “So, I see you have more studying to do. Good luck with it, Hypericum. You’ll need it.”

Ianthe’s fists clenched and she wanted to stamp her foot against the citrine floor tiles, but the sound would reverberate through them as if she’d shattered a glass wall and tell the whole kingdom how angry she was. The nerve of Techsmauch! He was such an ass! Why did he constantly make her life a living hell? She didn’t want to run the risk of meeting up with him again tonight. So she turned back the way she’d come. She’d take the sub-elevators down to the Earth level if she had to in order to avoid facing him again.

A wrinkly, gray skinned goblin met her at the elevator and beckoned her inside. It was stuffed full of trolls. Many smelled as if they needed a nice, long bath. No one would ever catch Techsmauch dead in a sub-elevator so it seemed the best way to avoid him.

She sniffed once or twice and wrinkled her nose at the smell. The doors closed and she slowly released her breath. Afraid to inhale, she wondered how long it would take to reach Earth level. Don’t worry. We’ll arrive before you pass out from the trolls’ stench. She hoped.

All she could think about was the shower she’d take once on Earth. She’d have to freshen up if she wanted to get close to her assignment. Troll-stench was known to drive away any and all who came near. That was no way to begin this assignment.

She checked her purse, pulling forth the file Ms. Siabelle had given her. She could swear she’d seen that employee before, but where?

Briak. The name sounded familiar, but she couldn’t place it. Was it possible she had the name incorrect? Maybe the k constituted a typo. The name niggled in a way she didn’t like, but he looked so kind. Had she ever helped him? Or someone in his family?

Maybe I’m mistaken. How many handsome ranch hands were there in Clover Glen, Florida, after all?

About the Author:

Juli D. Revezzo is a Florida girl, with a love of fantasy, science fiction, and Arthurian legend, so much so she gained a B.A. in English and American Literature. She loves writing stories with fantastical elements whether it be a full-on fantasy, or a story set in this world-slightly askew.

She has been published in short form in Eternal Haunted Summer, Dark Things II: Cat Crimes (a charity anthology for cat related charities), Luna Station Quarterly, Crossing the River, An Anthology in Honor of Sacred Journeys; The Scribing Ibis: An Anthology of Pagan Fiction in Honor of Thoth, and Twisted Dreams Magazine. She’s the author of The Antique Magic series and the Paranormal Romance Harshad Wars series.

She is a member of the Independent Author Network and the Magic Appreciation Tour.








Twitter: @julidrevezzo

Newsletter signup at: http://bit.ly/SNI5K6



Tour giveaway


a Rafflecopter giveaway