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Historical Repeats: A few thoughts about the volcanic eruption on Thera

December 29, 2022

The island in the Mediterranean nowadays called Santorini has had many names throughout the centuries. One of the oldest known names, and the one I use, is Callisti. In ancient Greek, it means “The Most Beautiful,” and is alternately spelled Kalliste.

Strongyle, another of Santorini’s ancient names, meant, “The Round One.”

The Santorini caldera by Sorbis, Shutterstock

Thera, yet another name long used for this volcanic island, can be translated as “Fear,” which, as it turns out, was rather prophetic, as is the name of the central mountain, rumored by some to be Alcmene, meaning “Wrath of the Moon.”

Book number two of my series, The Thinara King, jumps right in the middle of this famed volcanic eruption on Callisti.

For many years, until “super” volcanoes were more clearly understood, this eruption was considered the worst in human history. It was so enormous, so destructive, (categorized as a Plinian type event) that it made the eruption of Tambora look like a tiny belch in the earth. It would have made the Mt. Saint Helen’s eruption seem like nothing more than a brief, sleeping baby’s gasp.

As scientists become more adept at studying the effects of volcanoes, (and it’s impressive how much they’ve learned about the Santorini volcano, even though it happened so very long ago), they have conjectured that the repercussions of this event went clear around the world, and probably affected the earth’s climate for many years. From the depth of the ash on the sea floor, they have determined that the worst damage done to Crete, a mere seventy miles away, was on the east side. With improved methods and the study of more recent eruptions, there are now conjectures that the pyroclastic flow (the most dangerous, murderous part of an eruption) could very well have traveled on top of the water clear to Crete. The idea that such a thing could happen is amazing, and is merely theory, not proven. But that’s how huge this eruption was. Tsunamis of course came along after, and devastated the entire coast; there are theories that the tsunami which struck the northern coast managed to flow clear into the city of Knossos. Charles Pellegrino, in his book Unearthing Atlantis, says: “Within hours of the Theran upheaval of 1628 BC., death rolled into southern Turkey on the tongue of a tsunami. Two peninsulas jutting into the Aegean Sea confined the wave as if between the prongs of a mighty tuning fork, building it higher and higher and ultimately funneling it thirty miles inland. To penetrate so far, it had to be eight hundred feet tall when it hit the shore.” (Pellegrino, C. Unearthing Atlantis. New York: Avon, 1991)

One small bit of positive news: recent theories state that most of the populace on Santorini actually managed to escape the island before it blew into the heavens, leaving nothing but a sliver (part of which is again beginning to send out ominous messages). The volcano gave them warning, and they apparently heeded this warning. Since Callisti is considered by many to be an outpost of Crete, it’s no leap of logic to assume most of the refugees would go there, and that’s what happens in my book.

As awful as this eruption was, it did not end Cretan society. I have no doubt many died of the aftereffects, like starvation, ash suffocation, etc. But the Cretan civilization did eventually recover. Yes, these intrepid, hardy people managed to survive and even thrive again after this indescribable event. But at some point, later, the wondrous Bronze Age society of Crete (or Kaphtor) did disappear. This segment of my series offers one possible reason why, sets the starting point for the later books, and initiates a more familiar history—one that might never have occurred had Crete survived, retaining its original power and influence.

From everything Plato said about Atlantis, there is no doubt in my mind Thera is that fabled place.

Here is an excerpt from deep within The Thinara King.

Twilight fell. Chrysaleon made a fire from dead olive branches. The last glow of the sun transformed grey clouds to scarlet and lavender, with hints of green and yellow. Beneath this magnificence he constructed a pyramid of stones and shot an unwary hawk from the sky. He burned its thighs in offering and knelt beside his cairn, clenching the necklace in his fist.

“Poseidon,” he said. “Walk with me. Lead me to Aridela. Make our bond unbreakable. Help me slay Harpalycus and bring an end to the king-sacrifice.” He peered into the heavens. “Make me this great-year-king, Horse Tamer, and I will present you with the rich island of Crete. I will cover this land with temples and fill each one with your image.”

A sudden gust of wind sent a fan of sparks into the indigo sky.

Taking it for the answer he wanted, he wrapped himself in the cloak Neoma had given him. “Bring Aridela home,” she had begged, clutching his arm. “I miss her. I don’t think she even knows I’m alive.” The stone that struck her during the worst of the Destruction had left a noticeable depression in her forehead, like a large, out-of-place dimple, and ongoing headaches forced her to spend time in darkened seclusion nearly every day.

He stared at his fire, thinking of Aridela, longing for her. A memory crept before him, one he’d forgotten, from his time near death in the cell at Labyrinthos.

In his starved, thirsty mind, he’d experienced a vision of Menoetius transforming into a black bull, the enormous bad-tempered kind Cretans used in their ring. The beast gored him and as he lay gasping, his lifeblood seeping away, Aridela came to stand beside the bull, resting her hand on his neck in an intimate manner. She had looked down upon Chrysaleon without any emotion.

“No,” he’d whispered, and he did so again now, fury raging through his blood as he gazed into the cold night sky. “Menoetius won’t defeat me.”

He fell asleep at last, but during the night’s blackest point, he was awakened by the earth shuddering. Small creatures scurried; rocks lurched and tumbled. His horse shied and nickered. Farther away, he heard ominous, eerie echoes as an avalanche of boulders crashed into one of Crete’s many precipitous gorges.

He stared into the night towards the mountains, aching to be among them.

I’m coming, Aridela. I will find you.

*****

This nine-book series is now COMPLETE, and is available in a boxed set. You can find it at:

Kobo

Barnes & Noble

iTunes, and many other places.

If you like to shop at Amazon, I have boxed sets there, too. They are:

Child of the Erinyes: The Bronze Age Trilogy

Child of the Erinyes: In the Labyrinth Trilogy

Child of the Erinyes: The End of Oblivion Trilogy.

These boxed sets contain the entire series, bundled into boxes of three.

**********

The Year-god’s Daughter: Book One of The Child of the Erinyes

The Thinara King: Book Two of The Child of the Erinyes

In the Moon of Asterion: Book Three of The Child of the Erinyes

The Moon Casts a Spell: Book Four of The Child of the Erinyes

The Sixth Labyrinth: Book Five of The Child of the Erinyes

Falcon Blue: Book Six of The Child of the Erinyes

When the Moon Whispers: (Told in 2 Volumes) Book Seven and Eight of The Child of the Erinyes:

Both the above are available together in digital form. As paperbacks, they are sold separately.

Swimming in the Rainbow: Book Nine of The Child of the Erinyes

Posted in My thoughts: the eruption on Thera

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Tags: ancient beliefs, ash, crete, eruption, heroic tales, knossos, santorini, thera, tsunami, volcano

Child of the Erinyes

Jul 7

Posted by Rebecca

July 7, 2022

Crete: where magic & mystery meet courage and hope. Aridela: an extraordinary princess who dances with bulls. Two brothers plot Crete’s overthrow, but desire for this woman will propel all three into an unimaginable future, and spark the immortal rage of the Erinyes.

“Lochlann has translated words, ideas, poetry, character, myth into an alchemical wonder, a dazzling novel of the ancient world. She is a fit heir to the great mantle of such writers as Scott O’Dell and Robert Graves, and even, dare I say it, the goddess herself.” MM Bennetts

Discover The Child of the Erinyes,

a myth with meat

inspired by Ariadne, Theseus, and the Minotaur!

The Evolution of The Child of the Erinyes

Apr 26

Posted by Rebecca

April 26, 2022

Some of us draw down the moon in dreams, prayer, or ritual, understanding that she wishes to give gifts, inspiration, and insight. The Child of the Erinyes is also drawing down, preparing for its finale. After the publication of When the Moon Whispers, Book Seven, there is only one story left to tell.

Swimming in the Rainbow. (UPDATE: Swimming in the Rainbow is now published! The series is complete!)

As I have mentioned in posts and backmatter, writing this series became my life’s work, though I didn’t exactly intend it to be that way. I often wonder if I would have begun if I had seen how long it would take, how much work, and the cost, not only financially but physically. Still, the sense of accomplishment is pretty satisfying.

When I was a kid, I remember wishing I could be older so I would know more, could be a better writer, and could put into permanent form the stories floating through my mind. Nothing gave me as much fulfillment as doodling a tale with pencil and paper, and later, the old Royal typewriter in the basement. One by one, inspirations revealed themselves, beginning with D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths. It cracked the door open, giving me hints of the faraway worlds calling to me, waiting for me. There are so many! When it comes to Greece and myth, the stories are endless. Later, I found out Scotland is similar in that regard.

As I approach my mid-sixties, I see things very differently than I did as a child, writing stories in the forest, or as a young adult, juggling writing with work, with love interests, and with partying, or as a thirty-something, as a working mom. Writing had to take a back seat in those years. But I knew I would get back to it, and I did, joining a writing group which forced me to have a new chapter ready every week, entering contests, collecting validation from other writers, and seeing this epic saga slowly form its shape.

I thought I was barreling along, but the story needed time to simmer, many, many more rewrites, new visions, and much more introspection. This series builds one upon the next, so even though there are eight books, I classify them all as “a story.”

For When the Moon Whispers, which I started writing in the late 1980s, I had to conjecture what the world would be like in the faraway, futuristic year of 2020, which was my original choice of date. Turns out I missed the mark on some things. While I did foresee countries invading their neighbors, I never foresaw a pandemic, and I confess I failed to envision the lengths technology would go. When I reread Whispers somewhere around 2008 or so, I laughed to find cassette tapes holding on in my dystopian world. Apparently, I thought cassettes were the height of what humans would do with recordings. Even way back then, I knew I had to put that book aside and leave it alone. I deliberately ignored it during the years it took to mold, write, rewrite, and expand The Year-god’s Daughter, The Thinara King, In the Moon of Asterion, The Moon Casts a Spell, The Sixth Labyrinth, and Falcon Blue. I knew the way those books evolved would change Whispers drastically, and they did.

I started the focused rewrite of Whispers immediately after publishing Falcon Blue, in 2018. Falcon Blue is an Arthurian medieval tale, set in 502 AD; Whispers jumps from that setting to one beginning in 2049 AD, and then leaps to 2072! Swimming in the Rainbow takes place even farther on, in the 2090s.

It took a long time just to read the notes I’d added to the Whispers manuscript over the years. Don’t forget to…, inspiration from here and there, and a very long list of “Prophecies that must be resolved.”

My memories had grown blurry so my next step was to reread the book itself. The reread caused more than one moment of “How can this be happening?”

Whispers was meant to be purely speculative fantasy, but events were unfolding in America and the world that mirrored the story. Not Covid. Covid is never mentioned in Whispers nor does it need to be. No, it’s other things that caused uneasy shivers on the back of my neck. There are things in Whispers that I don’t want to come true, ever, anywhere on the planet, but many have already. I’d much prefer them to remain firmly in the realm of dystopian fiction. I may have missed the mark with cassettes, but I hit the mark on other things, which doesn’t make me particularly happy.

This seems like a good time to advise potential readers on the content. Sure, there are a lot of books out there that are worse than mine. But some of my scenes were difficult to write and for some, will be difficult to read. There’s raw language and raw events. No sugarcoating. More so than any of the other installments in the series.

Speaking of that shiver on the back of my neck, I’ve noticed throughout the writing of all the books that every now and then, I’ve been given a “WOW” moment, not because of disturbing things becoming reality, but signs that I haven’t been toiling alone.

For instance, there’s the way some things just inexplicably work, despite my laziness or brain fog (It’s real), or the pressure to get this book done, or the stress/adrenaline that makes me write something down with the understanding that I will have to go back and fix it later, before publication.

In Whispers, there’s a scene where Rafe explains “Carnevale” to his son, Adam. “This year,” he says, “Carnevale will begin tomorrow morning and culminate in the Hunt on Tuesday night.”

I knew vaguely that the scene was taking place in summertime, but I wanted this event on Tuesday night to fall on the same night that was the sacred day out of time in the Bronze Age books—the holy day falling between the old year and the new. I didn’t want to take time out to research how to write this in a way that would work, however, because it would take too much time when I was trying to get the draft finished. This was one of those things I would go back and fix on one of the rewrites. I left a note in red to remind me.

When the time came and I was cleaning up the manuscript, I opened this program I used with Whispers called Aeon Timeline. It’s a nifty piece of software where you can set up your characters, their bios, their ages, and keep a timeline of every event in the book. I had set up some of this but not all. Now I had to figure out how hard it would be to juggle things around to make the Carnevale event fall on the right day, and because I didn’t think this would be a quick or easy fix, I gave myself an entire day to work on it. I found some old notes from The Year-god’s Daughter where I’d researched the rise of the star I akcho s (Sirius) and the ancient time telling methods, and refreshed my memory on those events. Chrysaleon competed in the racing and wrestling on the 16^th of July. He fasted on the 17^th, 18^th, and 19^th, the 19^th being the holy day out of time. That night, he went into the labyrinth to kill the old king, Xanthus, and boom: he became Crete’s new bull-king.

Going back to Aeon Timeline, I started looking at the various events that had already happened in Whispers, and their dates. I came closer and closer to the moment Rafe was explaining the workings of Carnevale, and that’s when the back of my neck shivered, because somehow, the Tuesday night event—the Hunt—fell exactly and naturally on July 19^th. Exactly. I didn’t have to change or fix anything.

Little moments like that throughout the series have made me feel Athene was gazing over my shoulder and intervening every now and then, bringing clarity in a dream, making a random date just mysteriously work, and guiding me, word by word by word, edit by edit, rewrite by rewrite, to the perfect ending, the ending that was in front of my face the whole time, but which I couldn’t quite see. I only had a vague notion of what had to happen. Reading and working, concentrating and living the story brought out the real ending.

My intent for this series has always been fourfold: To Inform, to Entertain, to Empower, and to Inspire. To make a suppressed possible history with fictional elements come to life in the reader’s mind. And I’ve always wanted to offer a slightly different perspective of my heroine, Aridela, than what is currently popular in books and movies. I’m a fan of Joseph Campbell’s r eluctant hero, as those who know my books have seen. I’ve read more than once in comments and reviews that Aridela (and her later incarnations) has been incredibly frustrating at times. There was a warning about this way back in The Thinara King, when Aridela married Chrysaleon. “Thou wilt breathe the air of slavery for as long as thou art blinded. For thou art the earth, blessed and eternal, yet thou shalt be pierced, defiled, broken, and wounded, even as I have been.”

Aridela did not hatch from an egg all super-power-ey and infallible, able to leap tall mountains and crush the bad guys with a glare. To me that’s an unrealistic stereotype. Aridela (and her later incarnations) was a normal, real girl, like our sisters and daughters and friends and selves. She made mistakes. Sometimes her mistakes were pretty bad. Sometimes it was one step forward and two steps back. But she did have a good heart and always tried to head in the right direction.

“Robbers Roost?” you might ask. “What’s that?” Robbers Roost is a remote area in Utah that plays an important role in When the Moon Whispers. I won’t go into a description, as information about it is readily available online. Butch Cassidy supposedly hid from law enforcement there. “Bluejohn Canyon,” of Aron Ralston fame, can be found nearby. It’s desolate, but in a magical, mesmerizing, almost otherworldly way—the perfect place for my protagonists to seek sanctuary.

Here is a photo of the butte in Whispers, the one dominating the landscape, the inspiration for the place where Erin and Brie shelter with Maya.

Factory Butte

“Sneffels? Sounds like a cold.” Early on in Whispers, this is where the reader is taken to find Erin. This, too, is an extraordinary place that worked well for a setting. Unlike Greece, which I can’t jet off to every time I have a question about a setting, I can and have popped over to Robbers Roost and the Sneffels area to solve dilemmas or memory lapses and say hi to the chipmunks. In this photo, you can clearly see why Erin and Will refer to the summit of Sneffels as “Old Man Sneffels.”

Now that When the Moon Whispers is complete, I’m turning my full attention to Swimming in the Rainbow. Unlike most of my other books, this one may not even reach 300 pages when all is said and done, but every book in the series leads up to it. It is the fulcrum. It is the book I love, and every time I read it, I cry. In a way, I wrote all the other books just trying to get to this one.

“Teófilo described the enchanted world inside a rainbow thousands of times, and I never tired of listening.

It is an endless ocean. You will swim, breathe, and drink color. Colors will burst on your tongue and in your throat, purple like grapes, brown like earth, white like salt, blue like twilight. You will become color, freed of human limitations.”

Swimming is a love letter. I hope my readers come away feeling the same love I felt as I wrote it.

Finally, I’ve commissioned an Athene doll from my good friend, the prolific, delightful Greek writer and artist, Annia Lekka. It’s my gift to myself for getting this far.

The Athene doll isn’t done yet, but here’s a photo of another doll she’s made.

And here’s her website: Annia Lekka

Onward and upward! As When the Moon Whispers finds its way into the world, I send out my gratitude to those who have helped and supported my efforts.

Posted in Evolution of the Child of the Erinyes

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Tags: child of the erinyes, crete, Dystopian, greek myths, heroes and heroines, historical fantasy, lochlann, Magical Realism, Speculative Fiction

A Myth with Meat: Child of the Erinyes

Jul 19

Posted by Rebecca

July 19, 2018

A woman of keen instinct and unshakable loyalty. A proud warrior prince and his wounded half-brother. Glory, passion, treachery and conspiracy on the grandest scale.

As I prepare to release Falcon Blue, Book Six of The Child of the Erinyes, I’m putting the boxed set containing full-length versions of books 1, 2, and 3 on a 99 cent sale from July 19 through July 22. I want to provide new readers an easy way to begin at the beginning with little financial pain and get nearly caught up. This three book bundle takes place in ancient Greece and Crete, and I sometimes refer to it as magical historic fantasy.

Myths, both well known and intriguingly esoteric, the supernatural, my own vision, and real history are all entwined in these stories. Beginning in the Bronze Age, a matriarchal society on the island of Crete walks a fine line with its opposite on the mainland. The Year-god’s Daughter introduces Aridela of Crete and two brothers—Chrysaleon and Menoetius of Mycenae. It builds the world of ancient Crete, sets the stage for a tragic love triangle, and ignites the contest for ultimate power that will span millennia. Unforeseen consequences follow the eruption of the Santorini volcano in The Thinara King. This was a super volcano, the worst of the worst. In the Moon of Asterion is my interpretation of the famous myth of the Minotaur and the final struggle as the once-insulated Cretan culture collides with the changing world. All three books revolve around the king-sacrifice, a controversial custom in some ancient societies, which was at times replicated in ancient Britain.

After their sometimes selfish, sometimes misguided actions draws the wrath of the gods, (where would storytellers be without “the wrath of the gods!”) this trio is cursed to live seven times in order to satisfy their moera, or fate. The planned eight-book series follows them through their various lives.

At its heart, the series is a story of the clash of cultures: the matriarchal culture on Crete versus the rising power of patriarchy on the mainland of Greece, and how history was defined by it.

The boxed set includes an excerpt from Book Five, The Sixth Labyrinth, and teasers from Falcon Blue and Swimming in the Rainbow (Book 8, the finale of the series.)

Five books in The Child of the Erinyes series are currently available, with the digital version of book number six, Falcon Blue, oh-so-close: it’s up for preorder at Amazon, B&N, iTunes, & Kobo and is also 99 cents until publication day. It will go live on August 4, 2018, at which point I will begin work on book seven, When the Moon Whispers—the climax of the series. The denouement is coming at last!

The middle trilogy of the series takes place in Britain, which is not as completely off the wall as one might think. There was a lively trade of tin, silver, bronze, and other goods between ancient Crete and ancient Britain, plus Menoetius’s mother was a priestess of Avalon—a woman gifted with a life of ten thousand years.

Each book in the middle trilogy is a completely-told story or “life,” and each is set in a different era: The Moon Casts a Spell takes place in the 1850s during the potato famines, and leads into The Sixth Labyrinth, set in the 1870s in the aftermath of the Clearances in Scotland. Falcon Blue goes back in time to the Cape Wrath area, and tells the story of the first reincarnation after Crete. It is set in the year 502 AD.

Every life lived by my triad builds to the climax of When the Moon Whispers, which manifests in the future—but not too far in the future. I admit I’m looking forward to using modern language and slang for a change. It will be nice not to have to ponder what word is acceptable for “toilet.”

Because I’ve structured the series so that each book occurs in a different era, with characters who look different and are always on a new learning path, it never gets boring for me. I hope that’s true for the readers as well. My wish is that the series carry the reader away from cares and problems for a little while, provide an escape to another place and time, with characters who can be identified with, rooted for, and in some cases reviled, as they stumble, fall, and rise again.

my copy

And to think it all began with D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths, which I devoured at about the age of seven. It was out of print for many years but I think it’s been re-released, for all the parents out there…

Many of my writing compatriots have talked about how becoming an author changed their lives, about the importance of writing, and how they are always writing, even when they’re not sitting at a computer but fixing dinner, running errands, toiling at a paying job or showering. (Showering especially.) How everything is seen through the lens of a story. Some authors liken writing to a lifeline. That’s sort of how I feel about it. I was under ten when I started writing and let me tell you, I had to deal with active ridicule and intense attacks. I could have given it up, but I didn’t. If anything, I affixed myself to it with every fiber of my being.

And while I wouldn’t exactly recommend my parents’ child rearing style, when I look back, I realize how seamlessly it formed me for this career. I spent so much time alone that I learned to love solitude. My imagination became my best friend…and there was an amazing forest behind my house where I wrote one tale after another, tales that eventually, thought by thought, word by word, year by year, evolved into The Child of the Erinyes.

Though the actual story of The Child of the Erinyes is purely fictional, invisibly woven through every line is my history—the world I have witnessed, lived, and dreamed, the world I, and many others, have had to grapple with over and over again.

Posted in A Myth with Meat

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Tags: box set, bronze age tales, child of the erinyes, coming of age, crete, greek myths, historical fantasy, knossos, lochlann, love story, mycenae, reincarnation, the year-god's daughter, volcano

Indie BRAG interview

Apr 22

Posted by Rebecca

April 22, 2014

The Year-god’s Daughter was recently awarded the IndieB.R.A.G. Medallion. If you aren’t familiar with Indie BRAG, check it out HERE. It’s not easy to win the coveted Medallion, so I was thrilled beyond description when it happened.

Today I’m being interviewed by Stephanie Hopkins, blogger extraordinaire for Indie BRAG. Please pop over and join us for questions, answers, thoughts, conjecture, and maybe some cake. Who knows?

Stephanie: “Hello, Rebecca! Thank you for chatting with me today and congrats on the B.R.A.G. Medallion. Please tell me a little about your book, The Year-God’s Daughter.”

Lochlann: “Gladly, Stephanie, and let me thank you for this opportunity. I was over the moon to be awarded the B.R.A.G. Medallion. What an honor! The Year-god’s Daughter kicks off my Child of the Erinyes series, a story that begins in the Bronze Age, on Crete and the Greek mainland, and ends in the near future. It follows the lives of the three main protagonists, along with their supporting characters, through time, as they experience history—not as queens, kings, and other VIPs, but common people like most of us, doing their best to survive and thrive with history happening around them.

In book one, the reader is introduced to Aridela, a younger princess on Crete, living a life of luxury in the great Knossos palace. We also meet two men from Mycenae who are seeking a way to overthrow this wealthy culture. All three think they know how their lives will unfold. They think they can manipulate the future to their own ends. They are very wrong.”

Click HERE for the entire interview. Thank you Indie BRAG! Thank you Stephanie! And thank you to generous readers!

Lion hunting Mycenae: see below for attribution

Photo: “Hunting Mycenaean Dagger” by Unknown – Athens, Historical Museum. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hunting_Mycenaean_Dagger.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Hunting_Mycenaean_Dagger.jpg

Posted in Interview at Layered Pages

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Tags: ancient greek tales, aridela, crete, greek myths, historical fantasy, indiebrag, interview, layered pages, lochlann, mythic fiction, stephanie hopkins, the year-god's daughter

The threads connecting Crete to Scotland

May 20

Posted by Rebecca

The Child of the Erinyes series is a far-reaching story of love, betrayal, and eventual redemption. It’s a story of ancient Crete, how it rose to great power then declined into oblivion, and how that affected the history of the world, right up to the present and on, into the future. I label the series historical fantasy rather than historical fiction, for several reasons. One, because no one can truly know the facts of life in the Bronze Age—fragments of frescoes and seal rings only help us conjecture. Two, because Goddess Athene reincarnates my characters, bringing them back to live specific eras in the world’s continuing odyssey. Three, because the final portions of the saga occur in the future.

The world of ancient Crete is endlessly fascinating to me: the tradition of the holy king-sacrifice, the catastrophic eruption of the volcano on Thera, the mindsets and possible interactions between men and women in those very distant times. The second segment of the series, set in 1870s Scotland, (I’m working on that one right now,) has also been obsessively captivating: much nearer to us in time yet still unique. It was a lot of fun to research the customs of this enthralling country and blend them into a tale with my reborn characters, most of whom have no memories of their past lives.

For instance, there’s the traditional “digging of the carrots” on Dòmhnach Curran, (Carrot Sunday) before Michaelmas: the women kept the carrots they found in pouches called crioslachans, to be presented to their sweethearts. Forked carrots were noteworthy, as they predicted fertility. When a baby was born in the Highlands of Scotland, it was customary to place three drops of water on its forehead along with a spoonful of earth and whisky in its mouth as the necessary proverb was spoken. “Taigh gun chù, gun chat, gun leanabh beag. Taigh gun ghean, gun ghàire.” A house without a dog, a cat, or a little child is a house without joy or laughter. The infant was tucked into a basket with freshly baked bread and chunks of cheese, and held above the hearth fire. This protected it from evil fairies. The water on the forehead offered the child to the Trinity, while the earth connected it to the land. I’m not sure about the whisky, but as this beloved drink was known in the Gaelic as uisge-beatha, the Water of Life, perhaps it was intended to fill this new person with supernatural strength.

One of those serendipitous moments was when I discovered how closely ancient Crete’s birthing customs may have matched Scotland’s. It’s theorized that the umbilical cord was cut with a special knife and a blessing was sung. Priestesses or midwives carried special torches, lit in shrine fires, twice around the newborn, with the intent, again, of protecting it from evil spirits.

This wasn’t the only striking similarity I discovered between Bronze Age Crete and Scotland. There are many! I was excited to discover that ancient Crete knew of Britain, and traded with them—silver and bronze for tin. Later, I read in an obscure text that Athene, the Immortal Instigator of my series, was once worshipped in Britain, and that she was linked to, or the same as, Morrígan, sometimes called Morrigu, the Great Queen of the Tuatha Dé Dannann. The fact that Crete traded with Britain made this idea plausible, and assisted my world building efforts.

Image: see below for attribution

Ever connected to each other, my triad endures much in their long journey through Time. This is a sweeping tale full of joy, tragedy, heartbreak, lust, love, sacrifice, and devotion. Only one retains past-life knowledge: the others must begin each incarnation anew, with no more than glimpses of memory, and the inexplicable, irresistible draw from the other two that brings them together (and causes its own set of problems.) Though each life has different expectations and experiences (as well as faces—sometimes even sex,) the invisible thread connecting them to their original life on Crete is always there; that thread never stops influencing their decisions and dilemmas on a subconscious level.

In the Moon of Asterion, the newly released third installment, is both conclusion to one incarnation and trigger to the next. In every life the battle for glory, power, and love begins again, each choice taking the characters in new directions, until, of course, the finale, in our near future, which hopefully won’t take 3500 years to publish!

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Image: Bead found in Grave Circle A, Grave III, Mycenae, Second half of the 16th century BCE https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mycenaean_ring2.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Mycenaean_ring2.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Free_Documentation_License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:GNU_Free_Documentation_License,_version_1.2 Unknown authorUnknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons. Corners rounded off.

Posted in The connections between Crete and Scotland

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Tags: athene, birthing customs, crete, love story, reincarnation, scotland, similarities

A few thoughts about the volcanic eruption on Thera

Jun 1

Posted by Rebecca

Strongyle, another of Santorini’s ancient names, meant, “The Round One.”

The Santorini caldera by Sorbis, Shutterstock

Book number two of my series, The Thinara King, jumps right in the middle of this famed volcanic eruption on Callisti.

From everything Plato said about Atlantis, there is no doubt in my mind Thera is that fabled place.

Here is an excerpt from deep within The Thinara King.

A sudden gust of wind sent a fan of sparks into the indigo sky.

He stared at his fire, thinking of Aridela, longing for her. A memory crept before him, one he’d forgotten, from his time near death in the cell at Labyrinthos.

“No,” he’d whispered, and he did so again now, fury raging through his blood as he gazed into the cold night sky. “Menoetius won’t defeat me.”

He stared into the night towards the mountains, aching to be among them.

I’m coming, Aridela. I will find you.

*****

This nine-book series is now COMPLETE, and can be found at

Amazon

Kobo

Barnes & Noble

iTunes, and many other places.

The Year-god’s Daughter: Book One of The Child of the Erinyes

The Thinara King: Book Two of The Child of the Erinyes

In the Moon of Asterion: Book Three of The Child of the Erinyes

The Moon Casts a Spell: Book Four of The Child of the Erinyes

The Sixth Labyrinth: Book Five of The Child of the Erinyes

Falcon Blue: Book Six of The Child of the Erinyes

When the Moon Whispers: (Told in 2 Volumes) Book Seven of The Child of the Erinyes

Swimming in the Rainbow: Book Eight of The Child of the Erinyes

Child of the Erinyes, The Bronze Age Collection: A digital box set of the first three books in The Child of the Erinyes

Child of the Erinyes The Complete Collection: A digital box set of all eight books in The Child of the Erinyes

Posted in My thoughts: the eruption on Thera

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Tags: ancient beliefs, ash, crete, eruption, heroic tales, knossos, santorini, thera, tsunami, volcano

Last Day to get The Year-god’s Daughter Free

May 25

Posted by Rebecca

FREE FREE FREE

THE BEGINNING TO THE EPIC SERIES, THE CHILD OF THE ERINYES

by Rebecca Lochlann

Friday, May 25th is the last day to grab a free copy of The Year-god’s Daughter for your Kindle. Pop on over to Amazon before the giveaway ends tonight!

Click HERE to download a copy.

The Year-god’s Daughter

For time beyond memory, Crete has sacrificed its king to ensure good harvests, ward off earthquakes, and please the Goddess. Men compete in brutal trials to win the title of Zagreus, the sacred bull-king, even though winning means they’ll die in a year.

Two brothers from predatory Mycenae set out to thwart the competition and their deaths as they search for exploitable weaknesses in this rich, coveted society.

Hindering their goal is the seductive and fearless Cretan princess, Aridela, an uncommon woman neither man can resist, and ancient prophecies, which predict that any threat to her people will spark Goddess Athene’s terrible wrath in a calamity of unimaginable consequences.

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The sequel to The Year-god’s Daughter is now available as well, and Book Three, In the Moon of Asterion, will arrive soon.

The Thinara King

Book Two

Goddess Athene’s white-hot rage incinerates the isle of Callisti and inflames the seas. Crete is left in ruins.

Ash, earthquakes and tsunamis devastate Crete. The will of the survivors fades as the skies remain dark and frost blackens the crops. Aridela must find a way to revive the spirit of her people along with rebuilding her country’s defenses.

More threats loom on the horizon. Greek kingdoms see a weakened Crete as easy prey. And now Chrysaleon, he who carries the ancient title of Thinara King, feels the shadow of Death over his shoulder.

Will he thwart his fate? No other man ever has.

Posted in Last Day Free

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Tags: bronze age, coming of age, crete, eruption, greek myths, heroic tales, historical fantasy, knossos, mycenae, mythology, series

The Year-god’s Daughter Free on Kindle!

May 20

Posted by Rebecca

Click on cover

FREE FOR THREE DAYS: MAY 23, 24, AND 25, 2012!

Be sure to check the price before clicking on “purchase.” I’ve done my best to make sure these promotional days are activated, but I have been notified by other authors of problems getting their promo days to actually appear.

FREE FOR THREE DAYS: MAY 23, 24, AND 25, 2012!

Posted in Free for Three Days

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Tags: aridela, bronze age tales, child of the erinyes, crete, heroic adventure, historical fantasy, historical fiction, historical romance, knossos, mycenae, mythic fiction, romance

The Thinara King is OUT!

May 5

Posted by Rebecca

After many delays, the second book of The Child of the Erinyes series is out and available, at Barnes & Noble and at Amazon!

From the back cover:

“Goddess Athene’s white-hot rage incinerates Callisti and inflames the seas. Crete is left in ruins.

Chrysaleon of Mycenae inherits the crown of an annihilated world.

The Thinara King

As death looms closer, he stumbles upon an ancient prophecy foretelling the rise of the Thinara King. This ruler will possess unimaginable power and upend sacred traditions. Commandeering the title could save his life. But it could also destroy everything he has fought to achieve, and create an easy path for the brother he hates to step in and steal it all.

Will love transform him, or will he betray Aridela and defy the obligation of the labyrinth?

The epic Bronze Age tale continues as Athene tests her champions beyond endurance, beyond rescue, beyond salvation.”

Currently, The Thinara King is available for the KINDLE, the NOOK, and in paperback form.

Comments from those who have already dived in:

“Lochlann weaves raw passion and black betrayal into an epic tale of destiny–a master storyteller at the height of her powers.” Sulari Gentill, author of The Rowland Sinclair series and The Hero Trilogy, published by Pantera Press.

Shutterstock

At BOOKSQUAWK: “Author Lochlann does a fine job describing the destruction: inescapable waves of blistering heat and choking ash; the endless series of earthquakes and resulting tsunamis. The survivors are soon subjected to even more horror at the hands of a vengeful and opportunistic conqueror from the mainland, whose soldiers overrun the embattled island and pillage what little is left of the once proud and mighty civilization.” Melissa Conway, author of Xenofreak Nation and Selfsame.

“This is storytelling at its best!” V.R. Christensen, author of Blind and Of Moths and Butterflies.

Thank you for reading! I welcome and look forward to all comments!