Yeah for New York!

You did it, New York! You took the next step in creating a more perfect union with marriage equality for all. Although I no longer live there, I've never been more proud to hail from the great state of New York.

Guest Author - Lucienne Diver

Please welcome today's guest blogger, Lucienne Diver. 

When my grandmother died, she left me two things that I cherish to this day: a coffee table book on Broadway musicals and a Larouse Encyclopedia of Mythology.   Probably unsurprisingly in my world, the Larouse gets a lot more use.

I can’t say when I first became fascinated by Apollo.  It might have been back in the fifth grade when I started taking Latin.  Along with declining verbs (which I hated), we learned an awful lot about Greek and Roman mythology and civilization (which I loved).  Apollo, interestingly, was “Apollo” in both pantheons.  It might have been later than that, perhaps in college when we got more in depth in the course I took on Greek archaeology.  Either way, I’m quite sure it started whenever it was I discovered that this Greek deity was said to have turquoise eyes and golden curls.  It’s a stunning combination, to be sure, but it wasn’t the aesthetics of it that caught my attention so much as the seeming incongruity compared to his brethren and sistren, with the exception of his twin sister Athena/Artemis.  I started wondering, which started me reading.  According to Larouse, “Some authorities believe that he came from Asia and was either a Hittite god, a Hellenic double of the Arab god Hobal, or a god of Lycia.  Others, because of his close relations with the Hyperboreans, think that he was a Nordic Divinity.”   Now, either way, my first thought was “oh cool!”  Apparently, Apollo so enticed the hearts and minds of the cultures he touched that he was not only adopted, but given over attributes of other divinities who had come before him.  By the time he was finished, he’d not only more or less taken over for the sun god, Helios, but had also become the god of music, prophecy, the harvest, archery and pastoral life. 

In fact, on the tour of Delphi my family and I took earlier this year on our trip to Greece, I learned that Apollo was so powerful that supposedly at four days old he set off to found his own sanctuary and discovered the perfect spot on Mount Parnassas.  Of course, it was already dedicated to the mother-goddess, Rhea (Roman: Gaia), and guarded by the enormous Pythian serpent, which he defeated single-handedly.  Interestingly, he punished himself (or Zeus punished him, depending on who you ask) for the act of murdering the mythic creature, exiling and humbling himself for a period of time (while his sanctuary was established). 

Even more interestingly, Apollo was said to go walk-about during the winter months, giving his sanctuary over to the god Dionysus, who was honored in his absence.  Where did he go?  Well, that’s a matter of some debate. 

In many ways, Apollo’s origin story echoes that of Heracles (or Heracles’ story mimics his)…the childhood wrestling of the serpent, etc.  In other ways, his story is unique among the myths.

All of this led me to wonder…what would the Apollo of today be like?  Would his ego have diminished along with his worship?  What about his allure?  How would he react to a hard-as-unpainted-nails woman who could see right through the dangerous attraction?  I won’t say these questions led me to the writing of Bad Blood, because that all started with Tori Karacis, former circus brat and current P.I.  But it did lead me to a potentially deadly love triangle.  You see, Apollo has a rival for Tori’s affections, and gods don’t like to lose.

Bad Blood, first novel of the Latter-Day Olympians

Available digitally June 28, 2011, print in 2012

www.luciennediver.com

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Lucienne Diver is a literary agent by day, a writer and journeyman jeweler by night. She started writing in her teens because talking back to the voices in her head wasn't socially acceptable—and she already had enough to deal with being a drama and AP English geek.
Her credits include short stories and a romantic comedy written under the pseudonym Kit Daniels. With her young adult novel Vamped, she's taking off the mask and stepping into the full glare of ... indirect sunlight. Because as her heroine would tell you, anything else is hazardous to your health, especially once you've been Vamped.

PSSST!

I'll let you in on a little secret, but you have to promise to keep it just between us, okay?

But first... Don't you hate it when someone promises to tell you something, then backs off? How annoying is that? Authors do it all the time. You're sure the big secret will be revealed by the end of the chapter, but no! The chapter ends and still, you haven't learned the identity of the killer or what one character's answer was to an all-important, life or death question.

So I won't do that to you. I'll tell you, even though it's not official yet. Just please, don't let it get out. I can't give you many details yet, but I will say that I'm now expecting contracts on a three-book series with Ellora's Cave. The stories are related and are romantic suspense. I'll share details after that contract is signed, sealed and delivered.

And that's all I have to say about that. What about you? Any juicy secrets you want to blab about? I promise, it'll be our little secret;-)

Medical Speak

I am over at Romance University today, guest blogging about how to find the medical information you need for those injuries and diseases that often creep up in our stories. Please come by and say hello.

Also - please check out my friend Julie Moffett's brand new book, No One to Trust from Carina Press.

One More Time ... Please!

Well, Belle Behind Bars came in second last week for Book of the Week at Whipped Cream Reviews. And second place gets you... well, nothing.

But wait - another of my short stories, Customer Service got a stellar review this week! That gives us one more shot to take home the prize. That prize is a custom made video from Goddess Fish Promotions to publicize the review and the win.

So I ask you again - no, I beg you. Please vote Saturday, June 12 - Sunday June 13 for Customer Service at Whipped Cream Reviews.

Up for Book of the Week!

I'm soooo excited! Belle Behind Bars, my very first BDSM short story got a fab review at Whipped Cream Reviews. Not only that - now it is up for Book of the Week at the site. So - I would be so very appreciative if you would click on the link and vote for it. I'll do your laundry for the next year and even iron your husband's socks. Well, no I won't, but you'll have my eternal gratitude.

Reading Like a Snail

As a writer, few pursuits are more important to my craft than reading. Unfortunately, although I've been a steady reader all my adult life, I am painfully slow at it.

This truth has plagued me in recent years when my Kindle and my book shelves are filled with author friends' books, recommended writing craft books, you name it.

So I decided it was time to be proactive. In two weeks I begin an online speed reading class through a local university. I have high hopes for the six-week course since DH took a similar program when he was in high school and he still reads about twice as fast as I. Sure wish I'd thought of that years ago, like before I started college. But better late than never, right? I'll let you know how it goes.

What about you? Are you a fast or slow reader? Have you ever taken speed reading? If so, did it help?