Saturday, November 26, 2016

A New Mythology--Oramon--The First Murder

   Neron no longer lingered on Amalteron where Nomra made her abode. All of his days were spent with Onera in the forests. In jealousy, Nomra reached out and cursed the shadows of the forest and thorns grew. Brambles and thistles, stinging nettles and poisonous plants of various natures were thus created.
   “What is this new plant?” Onera asked, reaching into the briar to touch the strange growth. The thorns ensnared her hand and lacerated her skin. Drops of her blood fell among the thorns roots. With care, Neron extracted Onera’s hand using a sharp rock and took her to Nemrus who knew where the balm grew. Nemrus treated her wounds and Neron led him back to the briar to curse it, but when they returned to the briar they saw that it was too beautiful to destroy. For Onera’s blood had made the briar bloom with lush roses. Thus bedecked, they could not bear to curse it and so it grew wild and thick throughout the forest near to Amalteron.
   Nomra’s jealousy grew. She rarely left her aviary upon the mountain, Triona, Phiron, and Ariaj were afraid of her and did not visit. Neron and Onera seemed to have forgotten her. Only Nemrus would come, and rarely, to ask the secrets of the plants.
   At last, Neron formed a brilliantly colored bird and sent it with a message to Nomra.
   “Sweet One, Creator and Mistress of Earth, join us today upon the shore. Your daughter would see you.”
   “She is not my daughter,” said Nomra. “Neron has made her on his own. She is his creation and he loves her more than me.”
   Nevertheless she went to the shore, for she still loved Neron and could not help but be charmed by the sweetness of Onera. It was no wonder that Neron should prefer her company to the brooding of Nomra and her birds.
   Nomra saw only that Onera was better than her, she saw not that Neron still loved Nomra above all. She returned to Amalteron bitter. She knew Onera could not resist any new thing.
   The mountain next to Amalteron was called Aleris and it was second only unto Amalteron in height and glory. Nomra planted an orchard upon the peak of Aleris, an orchard unlike any before it. The fruit of the trees was translucent and sparkled in the light, varying in hue from blue to purple. The trees grew long and twisted boughs of great delicacy. Their leaves were bright and sweet of scent, but the trees’ roots were weak.
   Nomra called to Ariaj and told her, “Go unto Neron and my daughter. Tell them I wish them to join me for a banquet here on Amalteron.” Ariaj sped away and Nomra smiled. Neron and Onera would pass over Aleris on their ascent. And if they did not, they would no doubt see the orchard as they left her banquet. As she prepared cakes for the meal, her being shivered at her hidden intentions and her shadow broke from her and fled down the mountain.
   Neron and Onera were delighted by the invitation and turned immediately towards Amalteron. They went up beside Aleris and when Onera spied the orchard she wished to go and see it.
   “It will not take long,” Onera said. “I have not seen these trees before. Mother must have planted them but recently.” So Neron and Onera came to the brow of Aleris.
   “What fruit is this?” Neron asked in awe, plucking a ripe blue orb. He tasted it. “Tis good!”
   “We should gather some to bring to Nomra’s banquet,” Onera said, taking a violet orb from a beautiful tree. Neron agreed, and began to gather the sweetest he could find. Onera wandered off through the orchard. The trees and fruit grew fairer the further she went and she took the loveliest fruits and cradled them in her skirts. At last she came to the edge of Aleris, where a cliff plunged down to the sea. She dropped her collected fruit, gasping in wonder, for here was the fairest of all the trees, with the most splendid fruit in all creation. It grew from the cliff and curved out in a fantastic swoop over the cliff, sparkling in the open air, its bark iridescent, its fruit marvelous reflective orbs of silver.

   Meanwhile, Nomra’s shadow hastened to the orchard, wailing in the tones of Darkness. It found Neron picking fruit in the midst of the orchard and startled him with its strange affectation.
   “What art thou?” he asked, hiding behind a tree. “I have never seen anything like you. A shadow alone.”
   “I am Nomra’s shadow,” said the shadow. “She has wicked designs in her heart. We must find Onera and leave this orchard at once!”
   “Why?” said Neron. “Nomra?”
   “She would harm your daughter!”
   “Harm?” Neron said, scarce able to understand.
   “Hurry!” begged the shadow, tugging on his arm. At last, Neron followed it through the orchard, confused and afraid.
   Onera walked out on the strong trunk of the tree, like a sturdy path, and reached for the silver fruit. She picked one and threw it back to the earth and stepped further out. She came to where the tree curved up and caught a low branch to pull herself up into the lush canopy.
   Onera found clusters of budding fruit and touched them. They ripened and grew for her, gleaming brighter than all the others. But the roots were weak.
   Neron and the shadow burst out of the trees, which seemed to cling to them and try to hold the back from the edge.
   “Onera!” cried Neron. “Come down!”
   “These fruit are sublime!” replied Onera.
   The tree shuddered and dipped. Onera screamed and Neron cried out. Roots snapped and tore from the cliff.
   “Onera! Come back!” Neron wailed as the tree dipped lower. Onera tried to climb down, but the tree shuddered harder and she slipped.
   “Ahhh!” she screamed as she fell. She caught a passing branch and jerked to a stop, dangling over the void. But the jerk dislodged the last roots.
The tree fell away.
   “Noooooo!” screamed Neron, throwing himself at the edge. The shadow caught him and he screamed over the precipice, calling for his falling daughter. “Ariaj!” he cried. But she had returned to Amalteron to tell Nomra that Neron and Onera were on their way and Nomra had detained her with a sleepy drink. “Triona!” he cried. Triona hurried to Aleris but too late.
   There were rocks at the base of Aleris. Onera struck the rocks and the tree struck her and Triona’s cushioning wave was too late. It washed over the rocks and cleansed them of the blood. It swept away the fatal tree and the cursed fruit. It lifted Onera’s body and gently bore it away on a bier of foam.
   Neron turned on the shadow and cursed it. “You vile spirit! This is your doing.” And he ran to Amalteron, to the arms of Nomra.
   But he found her arms cold and when he looked, he saw that she had no shadow.
   “Your warmth and your love have fled,” he said. “You have done this dire thing and our daughter is dead. You have killed her and with her, our love.”
   At that moment, her shadow clave unto her again and she was wrapped in remorse. But Neron left her and went to Onerae, where Triona had borne the body. Nomra realized the horror of her deed wept. Amalteron rumbled and erupted with grief and all living things avoided that place. All save for Ariaj, who though she had been used and tricked into aiding the horrid deception, still had pity upon Nomra and tried to comfort her.
   All of creation gathered at Onerae to mourn the death of Onera. Triona and the fishes of the sea, Phiron, and the reptiles, Nemrus and the furry creatures, Ariaj and the birds of the air.

Their wails ascended to Amalteron and Nomra vowed to right her wrong.

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Happy Thanksgiving!


The holidays can be a little…stressful, shall we say. There’s all the shopping for that big dinner, all that cooking, and (heaven help us) dishes after that, and then (if we can convince ourselves to go out in the crowds) more shopping. Sometimes we need a little relief from the push, the press, and just reality in general. Maybe snow is starting to come down. Maybe the fire is crackling merrily. Maybe we finished our shopping and to-do list for the day (and maybe we didn’t, but what the heck). What we need now is a cup of cocoa and a book.
We need an escape. Even if we aren’t readers, maybe now is a good time to try…maybe it’s the escape we’ve been looking for.
There are new worlds waiting in the pages of books.
Enter a world of mystery, myth, and a touch of steampunk. Travel across Europe on an expedition into the furthest reaches of frozen Siberia in search of a lost city, a city said to be inhabited by mermaids.
It is a journey of discovery for Parsifal as he delves into an unimaginable world and flees from his mundane life and a murder he did not mean to commit. Guided by a magical device that is sought by dark forces, he will discover that his companions are not who or what he thought. From the gleaming ballrooms of Germany to the ice covered sea, evil has a new name.
Find out what lurks in A Hole in the Ice, Kindle Book Awards 2016 Finalist, on sale this holiday season for 99 cents!
A Hole in The Ice: Book One
Amazon US
Amazon UK

And go through the hole to explore a completely new world in the sequel, book two of the Weather Casters’ Saga.
Enter the Sea, an ocean of myth, where mermaids, pirates, and sea monsters await. Parsifal can trust no one but his loyal friend Balder as they seek to escape the designs of Dioktes, a power hungry old mariner. A floating city, a madwoman, cannibalistic monsters, little men and a child crime lord all have their place in this mad dance, orchestrated by Lady Vasille, who will stop at nothing for love and revenge.
A Hole in the Sea, also on sale this holiday season!
A Hole In The Sea (The Weathercasters Saga Book 2)
Amazon US
Amazon UK

This time of year, we remember to be thankful for all the good in our lives. But we might forget to be thankful about a certain blessing: there are no zombies currently trying to eat our brains! It can be hard to keep things in perspective, so here’s a book that will help us keep sight of what’s important and how lucky we really truly are. All while taking us away from hustle and bustle. It’s like killing two birds with one stone! Or two zombies with one—well, we’ll have to read the book to see how to kill zombies, now won’t we?
Welcome to Monezuela, a nation blissfully forgotten by history. Rife with corruption and scheming, Bamberg is in for a good cleansing. Alice is expected to accept a marriage proposal in which she has no interest. Lyra has plans to destroy parliament. Add a bit of Paracelsus, a dash of electricity, a spy, some dry poetry, a sadistic artist, and lots of breakfast eggs and you have a recipe for disaster.
The dead will rise, the Lords will fall, and high society will never be the same again. Things are about to get creamy in Ambulatory Cadavers. 99 cents this holiday season. Grab this zombie adventure before it grabs you!
Ambulatory Cadavers: A Regency Zombie Novel
Amazon US
Amazon UK

Also, this seems like a good opportunity to make a request. If you read any of my books and like them…please, please, please pop over to amazon or goodreads or both and leave a little review. Reviews, especially on amazon, boost a books’ visibility. But most importantly: If you loved my book, please send me fan art. I cannot deny that I have greatly desired this. I am dying for fan art. All I want for Christmas is fan art. I don’t care if you ‘can’t draw,’ if you loved my book, please post it and tag me! (@mccallumjmorgan for Instagram. @McCallumJMorgan for twitter) Or email it to me at mccallumjmorgan@hotmail.com and put ‘fanart for (book title)’ in the subject line. I will love you so much

Enjoy the holidays everyone! Happy Thanksgiving and good luck with Black Friday ;)

Saturday, November 19, 2016

A New Mythology--Oramon--Birth of Nemrus

   “Shall we not make someone to appreciate the wonders you have made, father?” Onera asked Neron.
   “I have made you,” Neron said.
   “And I am alone,” said Onera. “Who shall play in the fields and swim in the sea with me?”
   “I will,” said Neron.
   Nomra watched.
   Nomra watched from the peak of Amalteron and Onera was always with Neron and Nomra was alone with the birds. Onera still desired Neron to make another being.
   “Make one for each of the elements,” she begged him. “Make one for earth, for fire, for sea, and for air that wherever I go there will be a companion for me.”
   This idea pleased Neron and at last he bowed to her wishes. First he made of water, Triona, half woman, half fish. Second he made of fire, Phiron, the salamander. Third he made of air, Ariaj, the swift, who was a shapeshifter and very beautiful. But he could not give life to the earth, which was Nomra’s.
   Neron approached her on her throne surrounded by birds. “Nomra, together we shall make this, our second child,” he said.
   “These beings are strange and terrifying,” Nomra said. “I do not wish to make another.”
   “Love you not Onera, your very likeness?” Neron asked.
   “Yes,” Nomra said. “She is sublime and sufficient. Triona is fickle, Phiron is brash, Ariaj is uncanny. Why create more?”
   Neron could not prevail upon her to help create a being from the earth. When he told Onera that he was unable to complete her request she was insistent. The four beings must be accomplished.
   “But I cannot give life to earth without Nomra, and she refuses to aid me,” Neron said.
   “I will speak to her,” Onera said. But Nomra hid from Onera and would not let her daughter see her.
   “She will prevail upon me,” Nomra said to herself. “For I cannot resist her.”
   “We will trick her then,” said Onera. “Form the creature as one of your animals that she loves.”
So Neron formed a hart of earth and brought it to Nomra.
   “This noble hart is dying,” Neron said, showing her the lifeless form. “Quicken him.”
Nomra was filled with pity for the beautiful creature, one of the first that Neron had formed for her from the Dark. “My power is in the earth and the growing things,’ she said. “You are the one to quicken this dying creature. Yours is the power of the living, moving things.”
   “It will not respond to me alone, perhaps together we can save it,” Neron said. They lay their hands upon the hart and it sprang up, its false hart-skin falling away to reveal the man shape with the hart’s head.

   “What is this?” Nomra demanded. But she knew what had happened and that she had been tricked. Amalteron rumbled and cracked with her anger. Onera whisked the new creature away to the Island Onerae and waited while Amalteron erupted. Onera named the earth creature, her brother, Nemrus, the first son.
   Thus was Nomra’s ire kindled against her daughter.

   Nemrus was not like his three sibling elementals. They were wild, tempestuous. Nemrus was quiet, solid, and temperate. But when his wrath was stirred, his anger burned and convulsed with all the power of his mother, and all the strength of the earth. He made his abode in the mountains and watched over the animals, a king and a judge.

Monday, November 14, 2016

A New Mythology--Oramon--Onera, the First Daughter

   Neron created creatures for Nomra’s ocean and four-legged beasts for her forest, but none of his gifts satisfied him. Not even the birds which Nomra loved. She had created an entire world for him. He would make a gift to match.
   Neron stole away to a cave while Nomra sang with the birds on the cliff overlooking the ocean. In the cave Neron built a wheel and on the wheel he formed Onera, in the likeness of Nomra.
Onera was perfect, and more beautiful than Nomra. Her voice was sweeter and her movements more fluid. Neron brought Onera to Amalteron and hid her in a syringa bush.
   “O Nomra, Queen of Dark and Light, Day and Night,” Neron spoke, taking her hand.
   “My love?” said she.
   “I have created the gift of gifts,” Neron said, “the emblem of my love for you, my adoration and my worship. Our daughter, Onera.”
   The syringa parted and Onera stepped onto the peak of Amalteron, bowing before Nomra. Nomra was struck speechless. This was the greatest gift of all. The first tears of joy were shed and from them sprouted the spirits of happiness, the Seloi.
   Onera was a thinker. She gazed at the sea and said to her parents, “Is it enough to gaze upon this beauty? Let us taste it.” And she called a great sea monster up from the deep for them to ride across the waves. The voyage was breathtaking, for the Light sparkled on the waves and the escort of dolphins spewed foam into the air. The colors were many and rippled in dazzling hues.
   “You know what would make this all the more wondrous?” Onera said. “An island. Will you make me an island, Mother, Father?”

   The first island was called Onerae and it was the most beautiful place in all the world, even above Amalteron. The three beings tarried upon the island for many days, enjoying the paradise of its gentle falls and glistening beaches. At last, Onera asked, “What lies beyond the ocean?”
   “The whole of Oramon, in all its sphere,” Nomra replied.
   “I want to see it,” Onera said. Neron summoned their sea beast to depart but Nomra was reluctant.
   “It would be more pleasurable to remain here,” she said. “I created the earth and I know its expanse.”
   “You do not wish to ride around your sphere once more?” Neron asked.
   “I find contentment here,” Nomra replied.
   But wanderlust had seized Onera. Neron was pleased to please her and so they mounted the sea beast to depart. Nomra joined them reluctantly and they sailed across the ocean to the barren lands upon the distant shore. Nomra had formed the place but had not visited it again in her many circuits with Neron and it had never been given living things, plant nor animal.
   “There is a strange beauty here,” said Onera. “Strange beauty must have strange life.”
Nomra grew the flowering cacti and the sagebrush. Neron made the lizards and burrowing creatures and Onera blessed them with painted skies.
   Thus they circled the whole of Oramon and flavored each hemisphere uniquely. Upon their return, Nomra grew an oak upon the brow of Amalteron to signify completion.

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

A New Mythology--Oramon--The Creation

   In the beginning, there was a flickering light in the dark. The light awakened whom it revealed sleeping in the darkness. Nomra opened her eyes to a shapelessness. All was dark but the Light.  
   Nomra reached out and touched the light and droplets fell from her fingers, smaller lights were born. The small lights followed her as she roamed the dark. The Light revealed the shapeless matter of the Dark and Nomra delighted in trailing her hands through it, forming the darkness as the Light solidified it into concrete matter. She made mountains and valleys and many strange formations. But she grew bored with taking small lights from the Light and with forming the darkness into landscapes.

   At last the Light fell upon Neron, asleep, but the Light could not wake him. Nomra gazed upon him and was lonely. She spoke the first word and he awakened at her voice. Nomra and Neron were complete; they walked through the dawning and Nomra formed wonders for her love and he delighted in them.
   Her first gift was an ocean, which Neron called Nomra-A-Neh, because it was beautiful like Nomra. She created a mountain that made light in its belly and he called it Neronimahnon because he loved it so. She gave him trees and flowers, streams and lakes.
   Together, Nomra and Neron walked through the darkness, and the Light followed them, illuminating their joy. Their feet turned the void beneath them and their path led them in a circle and the Light circled the newly formed land.
   Nomra and Neron took the small lights and explored the darkness that lay above and below the path of Light. Nomra rounded the two ends of the land and Neron was charmed by the ball of matter and called in Oramon, for it was his favorite gift of all. And around Oramon all was dark but the Light that circled it.
   Neron took from the Dark above and with the smaller lights formed his first gift for Nomra. She called it horse and it was fleet and with it she could circle Oramon and see all she had created. Neron made more living creatures, for his skill and love were great.
   Nomra loved his creations, especially the winged creatures that made beautiful music for her.
   Nomra made a high mountain cliff that over looked her sparkling ocean and there she would sit, watching the birds wheel over the waves, waiting for them to land on her outstretched arms and sing their praises of her creation. She named the mountain cliff Amalteron for it was a place of glory.

To Be Continued!

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Ambulatory Cadavers Unleashed!!!


Halloween Night 2016
It was a rainy night.
Dark.
But inside Bonners Books, it was warm and dry.
The copies of my new book didn't arrive in time for their own birthday party and traffic was dismally slow. Slow as in a total of two groups of people came in (not including my sister and her boyfriend, and my brother who was acting as my assistant). Now, I enjoyed my evening. I got to sign a couple books and even read to the second group of people who came in. They were a great group, enthusiastic and interested in me and my work. I'm very grateful to them for making my event worth it. There was a lot I could have been very depressed with, if not for the great people who did come and the amazing hosting of Bonners Books.
I was left with piles of candy, which I had meant to distribute to the masses of people who came toodling through. I had giveaway bags that were meant to be door prizes with a drawing. I had even shaved off my beard to match the time period of my costume (and make my makeup application easier). I bought an add in the paper (those stupid things are super expensive) and ordered special posters.
But it really is always worth it.
Even if NO ONE had come in. These things must be done.
I guess I want to use my somewhat disappointing event (yes, not a total fail, I enjoyed it, it just wasn't what I had hoped for) as encouragement to new and struggling authors.
YOU HAVE TO HAVE THESE EVENTS OR NO ONE WILL COME TO THEM EVER! 
They have to happen for people to come!
Don't let one slow one, or two, or three get you down. Keep having signings, keep going to open mics, fairs, conventions, because you have to be visible for anyone to see you. It's a lot of work, it's exhausting, and sometimes it seems so futile. You might think, this isn't why I write anyway, why am I wasting my time?
Just one positive interaction with a reader is worth all of the trouble.
That's why I write, anyway. I write because I have a story to tell, because when my story delights a reader, that delights me. I have to write anyway. Writing is a compulsion. I can't not write. But I'll take whatever reward I can, and the gleam in a reader's eye is a reward I can truly say is the best reward.
So, even if you only get one gleaming eye (or two, as that is generally the way people's anatomy is arranged) then you've done your job. You've won a fan. Each fan matters. And I actually love that part of being a small time indie author that no one's heard of: I have time to connect personally with those who have heard of me. I know what it feels like to have someone you're a fan of reply to your comment on social media, and if I can do that for someone, then I'm happy.
So, just in case you do become best seller famous someday, enjoy the small time while you can. Enjoy those intimate signings where only a few people come in, because really, they're the best.
Writing isn't about making money anyway.
Plus, any excuse to dress up is fine by me.
A few creepy candles to add atmosphere

Me with some creepy candles
Ready to sign your books!

Ready to eat your brains!

My book babies

My most successful Regency era coat to date

Where is Edith Cushing? She's my soulmate. And I have a candelabra to match
My latest book baby, now available on amazon!

Get my books here.
And watch me read chapter nine below: