The moon as inspiration

I was stuck editing the second book in the series ‘The Song of Forgetfulness’. I didn’t know how to start a particular chapter.

I wandered around the house- didn’t take long, small house- and looked out of the bedroom window. Clouds parted in the star free night sky, and there was the moon looking down at me as if to say, “Oh, get on with it.”

 

Then I took a photo of it. Thanks moon.

 

You can take a look at an exclusive excerpt from the as yet unreleased second book in the series, ‘The song of Forgetfulness on my Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/thesongofforgetfulness

Creative use of language in novels.

Nadsat, Newspeak and Bubchat

 

I have been reading mostly science fiction books lately, and I have begun to question why a lot of writers choose not to modify the language they use to create a sense of another time and place. It seems that in the future, vocabulary will remain the same and people will talk to each other exactly the way they do now. Which doesn’t really make sense, does it? The spoken and written word has changed over the years, and most authors have reflected this in their works: from Shakespeare to Bronte, Dickens to Faulkner, and James Joyce to Irvine Welsh.

I overheard a conversation between three teenage girls. I texted a snippet of what they were saying to my friend, who has a fifteen year old, and she said that they were talking about a boy that two of them found attractive, but one of them didn’t.

Girl 1:  Yo, see Jay? He gone all tank, well yoked.

Girl 2:  Yeah, he fully gassed narmean?

Girl 3:  Nah, you dutty fam. He’s well piff.

Girl 1: Nah, he FAF.

Girl 3:  Wa, you beefin’ me?

Girl 1:  Wa, you seriously say he butters?

So, if young people talk like this today, wouldn’t it make sense that hundreds of years in the future, people would be conversing with words that are different from the ones we use now?

In his novel, Nineteen eighty-four, George Orwell introduced words and phrases that were not familiar to readers of that era, to create a futuristic realm where language is used as a weapon to subjugate the masses: duckspeak, thoughtcrime, bellyfeel, doublethink, and speakwrite. Would it have been such a powerful read if the author had not employed the use of such evocative words? Who can forget ‘Newspeak’, or ‘Big Brother’?

In A Clockwork Orange, the use of slang is vital to the narrative to give credibility to this dystopian future. Alex speaks ‘nadsat’ a language that sets him and his friends

apart from the rest of society.

“These grahzny sodding veshches that come out of

my gulliver and my plott,” I said, “that’s what it is.”

“Quaint,” said Dr. Brodsky, like smiling, “the dialect of the tribe. “

So, bearing this in mind, when I came to write my Sci-Fi/Dystopian series The Song of Forgetfulness, I made sure that I used words that were appropriate for the world I was creating. Since it is written from the viewpoint of a seventeen- year -old, Adara, in the first person, it was imperative that her voice rang true in order for the characters to maintain credibility in this vision of the future. I created ‘Bubchat’.

“I showed respect and bowed, then turned toward the not-right teen. He gave me a tiny smile, and for reasons I know not, I took his hand and said, “Show me where you splosh.” His face went redder than a bub about to plop and everyone, including me, let out a merry guffaw. I hadn’t meant to use such a nursery word, but when I looked at his soft brown eyes and slender arms I went all mumsly. Not like me at all. I began to wonder if the ‘dults had palmed a soother into my stew.”

You can view all of my books on my Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Nicola-McDonagh/e/B00D4NAH0S/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

I went to Lewis Carol for inspiration. I remembered I had a favourite poem from my childhood, The Jabberwoky, from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found. It is a delight in the creative use of vocabulary. The language is rich and full of evocative words that create a unique setting where his story unfolds.

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun

The frumious Bandersnatch!”

Science fiction and fantasy are the ideal genres for authors to invent new languages and different ways of speaking. To shake off the confines of correct word usage and play around with narrative form. But not everyone warms to such experimentation, and critics often chastise authors for breaking the rules of grammar that ‘The Elements of Style’, by Strunk and White, have branded into the English language. There is a good anti Elements of Style essay by Geoffrey A Pullmen called, ‘50 Years of stupid Grammar’. It will make you think twice before reaching for the Spelling and grammar tool on your computer. http://chronicle.com/article/50-Years-of-Stupid-Grammar/25497

So, all you authors out there don’t be put off experimenting with vocabulary. Let your imagination fly and write from your heart, not your head. (Then go back and edit it.)

Want to know more about me and my books? Go to my website and have a look around.

http://www.oddlybooks.com

Sign up to my newsletter and get a free download of Changeling Fog – a short story from The Song of Forgetfulness series:

http://eepurl.com/buH8qH

 

Macro Photography without using a tripod

My garden is overgrown. I like it that way. It attracts insects and birds and other creatures. I enjoy wading through the tall grass, plucking seedpods and flies from my arms and legs as I search for an interesting creature to photograph.

This year, the bee population has increased.
Hooray!
Last year there were hardly any.

On Sunday I counted eight different kinds of bees and managed to photograph about four using a macro lens. Because the flora is so wild and sprawling, using a tripod for stability is out of the question. So I have to take all my pictures hand-held. Another reason I don’t use the regular kind of tripod is that I find them too awkward to use when attempting to follow the speedy wing changes of bees and other flying insects. By the time I’ve set the thing up, the flying beastie has flown. Okay most of the pictures are a little shaky, but I do get some pretty good results.

The trick to being a good human tripod is to centre yourself. By that I mean, spread your feet to hip distance and slightly bend your knees. You should be balanced and stable. Next, try not to lean forward too quickly as this aggravates camera shake.  Breathe slowly and don’t hunch your shoulders as this causes the wobbles and a stiff neck! And finally, move the camera forward to focus rather than twisting the focus ring as that definitely adds to camera shake and out of focus images. You may look a little weird, but the results you get will be worth it

For more images of macro and beyond, visit: http://www.tracerlight.co.uk

 

 

Book Launch Black Danube

Today I want to tell you about a brilliant Historical Murder Mystery book by Nik Grybaski called Black Danube.

A little bit about the Author:

Nik Grybaski lives in the shadows of the worlds Nik creates.

A writer, photographer, baker and gin enthusiast, Nik enjoys nature and watching obscure black and white films. Nik has been writing for many years. Sharing stories but never publishing them, until now.

Black Danube came to Nik when he was washing away cat wee from the kitchen floor. To this day Nik does not know how cleaning inspired this book.

I’ve worked closely with Nik so I am somewhat biased when I say that this book is really good. I loved all of the characters and was delighted to see Gustav Klimt and Dora Kallmus as characters in there too.  But don’t take my word for it here is the blurb and a few paragraphs from the first chapter:

Black Danube:

1899, fin de siècle Vienna. A young man is found dead, his face mutilated – his fiancée, the prime suspect.

Crime photographer Leo Katz has proof she is not guilty. But to save the innocent woman from the gallows, he risks revealing that he is a fraud and on the run.

As Leo unmasks the sordid network of vice behind the city’s elegant facades, he realises the gruesome death is a smokescreen for more depraved crimes.

Can he face his demons, expose his true identity, and put his life in danger to bring the murderers to justice?

Snippet Chapter One:

I stood on the platform of the Kaiser Franz Josef Railway station in bare feet. I had no luggage or hat. People shuffled past, taking side-long looks, shaking their heads as if to say, ‘Ah, another penniless immigrant. Vienna is going to the dogs.’

The top two buttons on my dark brown waistcoat popped open. I clutched at my chest, hunched my shoulders, and pulled my gaberdine tight to hide my defective attire. A high-pitched whistle blew and a cloud of light grey smoke surrounded me. Metal wheels scraping along the track screeched so loud I thought I would never hear again. Gradually, the noise faded. I wiped moisture left by the steam train from my face and tried to focus. But my eyes were fuzzy as though I had indulged in an excess of alcohol.

I unfastened my stiff shirt collar to let in some air and scuttled to the exit. Once outside I halted in front of the grand pillared entrance. Not daring to move, in case I loosened more buttons on my constrictive garments, I observed the washed out faces of men and women walking along the street. They stared ahead not looking at anything or anyone. I blinked rapidly. They shimmered and faded becoming nothing more than ghost-like figures floating above the raised wooden pavements.

A swirling wind blew the phantoms away. It caught at my coat-tails, whipping them up and down so fast I almost took to the air. I held onto them until the gusts decreased and glanced down the steps. At the bottom lay my absent black shoes. Heels broken, soles ripped off halfway, they gaped open like the mouths of dying fish.

The Ebook for Black Danube is on offer at only $0.99 £0.99 until 4th September. Click below to grab your copy of this thrilling, twist turning book:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GQ5CNMS

You can follow Nik on:

Website: http://www.oddlybooks.com/nik-grybaski/4594940386

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenikgrybaski/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Nik-Grybaski-113307900385860

Twitter:      @NikGrybaski      https://twitter.com/nikgrybaski 

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/author/nikgrybaski

Goddess Blodeuwedd

Great post about the mythical May Queen.

Journeying to the Goddess

“Blodeuwedd” by Scarlettletters

“Blodeuwedd’s themes are beauty, relationships, charity, and hope.  Her symbols are flowers and owls.  This intensely beautiful Welsh Goddess’ name means ‘flower face’, because magicians fashioned Her visage from oak, meadowsweet, and broom flowers. Folktales say that Blodeuwedd was unfaithful to Her husband. As punishment for Her crime, the same magicians who gave Her a flower face chose to be merciful and transformed Blodeuwedd into an owl rather than inflicting some other punishment. She has forever remained in this form, mourning the loss of love and reminding people of two important lessons: relationships are fragile, and beauty is indeed only skin deep.

The English sell geraniums today to collect funds for charities, specifically those that support services for the blind, who cannot see Blodeuwedd’s radiance as we do. In the language of flowers, geraniums represent solace – which is what any act of charity stimulates today. It…

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Forgotten Women Madam d’Ora- Part Two

In my previous post, I talked about Dora Kallmus a forgotten pioneer in the world of early photography. In the late nineteenth, early twentieth century Dora broke all the rules in composition and subject matter. Her vibrant, often risqué poses earned her celebrity status, and she soon became the toast of Vienna and much of Europe.

Yet who has heard of Dora Kallmus?

You can read part one Forgotten Women Madam d’Ora here: https://nicolajmcdonagh.wordpress.com/2019/03/08/forgotten-women-madam-dora-part-one/

Today I will be continuing her amazing story.

Dora’s studio in Vienna, Atelier d’Ora, was an instant success and helped her to secure her position as The Photographer of a new millennium. Her daring poses and unusual subjects, such as exotic dancers and revealing self portraits, gained her a reputation for taking risks. Exactly what her famous clients craved.

But Dora was ambitious and wanted to attract a wider clientele. So in 1925 she and her assistant Arthur Benda opened a studio in Paris. Although it was a success, Benda preferred his life in Vienna and returned, taking over her studio and renaming it d’Ora-Benda-Wien. His actions caused a rift between them and they never spoke again.

Loosing her technical assistant did not deter Dora and she carried on with her fashion photography and portraits of stars in theatre and the silver screen. But things were about to change for Madame d’Ora. Firstly, when the National Socialists gained power in Germany in 1933. Unfortunately for Dora, the fashion industry collapsed and magazines that featured her photographs were reprimanded for doing so and she was no longer able to show her work in this way.

Second was the German invasion of France in 1940. Dora, despite converting to Christianity, was still a Jew and was forced to sell her Parisian studio. For much of the second world war, Dora went into hiding in such places as a cloister in La Lanvese, southern France and even on a farm. Finally relocating to Austria in 1945. Although Dora survived the rest of her family were not so fortunate and were killed in the holocaust.

The tragedy of the war weighed heavily upon Dora. Her photography changed drastically and she began to turn her talents to photographing the horrors of the aftermath of survivors from concentration camps.

She began a series of documentary photographs capturing the misery of refugees fleeing to Austria. Dora continued to take fashion photographs, but her interests seemed to switch from glamorous photo shoots to dark representations of the horrors of the casualties of war and oppression.

 

Her disturbing series of images from 1950-58 when she was now in her seventies, captures the gruesome and terrifying plight of animals sent to slaughter. She vividly captures the brutality of the slaughterhouses in Paris and in doing so the inhumanity of her fellow man. Perhaps a reflection of what she saw in the concentration camps a decade earlier.

Please visit my Pinterest site to view Dora’s photographs taken in the Parisian abbatoir. I chose not to put them here as some people may find the images too distressing.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/nikkimcdonagh56/art-and-photographs-that-inspire-my-stories-includ/dora-kallmus-photographs/

When Dora was knocked down by a motorcycle in 1959 she returned to her family home in Frohnleiten Austria, that had been sold under the Nazi rule but then returned to her.Her injuries form the accident meant that she lost most of her memories and could no longer take photographs. She died October 28 1963 at the age of seventy-six.

Dora Kallmus’s legacy lives on in her outstanding photographic works of art. She was a pioneer in the field of photography and should be remembered for her daring and unique style that brought her fame, fortune, and a passion for pushing the boundaries of the photographic image that influenced many future practitioners in the art.

 

 

Thank you for reading my post. If you would like to know more about my work please visit my:

website:  http://www.oddlybooks.com/

Amazon Page:  Author.to/BooksonAmazon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inventing A New Language In Science Fiction

Thinkpol. Doubleplusgood. Chepooka. Govoreet. Skazat. 

Some of you will recognise the words above the image. They come from two dystopian books. Nineteen-Eighty Four by George Orwell and A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. Both of these books use an invented language to accentuate the idea of a future world. When I decided to write a Sci-fi/dystopian novel, I too chose to use experimental language. I knew I was taking a chance and that I would probably be turning off a lot of readers because of my choice of language. However, I knew in my gut and heart that the distinctive narrative style worked perfectly for my imagined futuristic world.

In his novel, Nineteen eighty-four, George Orwell introduced words and phrases that were not familiar to readers of that era, to create a futuristic realm where language is used as a weapon to subjugate the masses: duckspeak, thoughtcrime, bellyfeel, doublethink, and speakwrite. Would it have been such a powerful read if the author had not employed the use of such evocative words? Who can forget ‘Newspeak’, or ‘Big Brother’?

In A Clockwork Orange, the use of slang is vital to the narrative to give credibility to this dystopian future. Alex speaks ‘nadsat’ a language that sets him and his friends apart from the rest of society.

“These grahzny sodding veshches that come out of my gulliver and my plott,” I said, “that’s what it is.”

“Quaint,” said Dr. Brodsky, like smiling, “the dialect of the tribe. “

So, bearing this in mind, when I came to write my Sci-Fi/Dystopian series The Song of Forgetfulness, I made sure that I used words that were appropriate for the world I was creating. Since it is written from the viewpoint of a seventeen- year -old, Adara, in the first person, it was imperative that her voice rang true in order for the characters to maintain credibility in this vision of the future. I created ‘Bubchat’.

“I showed respect and bowed, then turned toward the not-right teen. He gave me a tiny smile, and for reasons I know not, I took his hand and said, “Show me where you splosh.” His face went redder than a bub about to plop and everyone, including me, let out a merry guffaw. I hadn’t meant to use such a nursery word, but when I looked at his soft brown eyes and slender arms I went all mumsly. Not like me at all. I began to wonder if the ‘dults had palmed a soother into my stew.”

Science fiction and fantasy are the ideal genres for authors to invent new languages and different ways of speaking. To shake off the confines of correct word usage and play around with narrative form. But not everyone warms to such experimentation, and critics often chastise authors for breaking the rules of grammar that ‘The Elements of Style’, by Strunk and White, have branded into the English language. There is a good anti Elements of Style essay by Geoffrey A Pullmen called, ‘50 Years of stupid Grammar’. It will make you think twice before reaching for the Spelling and grammar tool on your computer.

New Book Covers Reveal

I have waited a couple of years to change my book covers for my Sci-fi/Dystopian/Cli-fi series The Song of Forgetfulness. I just couldn’t find he right images that suggested the complexity of the narrative. I’d gone through several designs over a few years and never really liked them. I stopped promoting the books and felt quite low about the whole thing.

Until, quite by chance, when I was taking some photographs using a lens ball.

I accidentally took my own image reflected in the glass. It was distorted and eerie.

After tweaking it on Lightroom I realised the images would be perfect for my books and genre. Except for the prequel an apocalyptic survival story based around global warming and the effects it has on nature. The Chronicles of Mayer.

Luckily I have a lot of photographs of insects, animals and flowers. I chose a macro shot of a bumble bee to reflect the theme of the ecological dangers we are facing today. You know the saying, ‘If bees die out we are next.’

So, here are my new covers. I hope you like them.
Please feel free to comment.

You can purchase all of my books on amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Nicola-McDonagh/e/B00D4NAH0S

(If you go to the Look Inside and open it you may find that the formatting is weird. I assure you it is fine, it just looks odd on Amazon’s Product Page. The E-book interior is correct.)

Celebrate Earth Day

It is Earth Day and people everywhere are rejoicing in celebrating this wonderful planet we live in full of gorgeous flowers, birds and bees.

Such a shame humans have ruined it. Earth is slowly dying, choked by fumes, plastic, concrete, massive fatbergs clogging sewage systems and pollutants poisoning our fresh water and oceans.

Now is the time to stop killing our home.

Now is the time to stand up and fight for survival of the Earth and every creature that lives in it.

Now is the time to stop being selfish and live without all the stuff people think they need. 

Now is the time, because we are running out of it.

Please do what you can to make Governments and Companies realise that we can’t go on destroying our habitat for greed. Sign petitions, go on marches, use your car less, go on fewer trips abroad and help us have a future.

This world is beautiful and should stay that way.

Some of the fiction I write has a clear message about the dangers of ignoring global warming and the damage pollution and deforestation is doing to our world. If you would like to have a look at my books please do so. The Chronicles of Mayer deals with a future where Mother Nature retaliates and mankind is in danger of extinction.

As a catastrophic flood wipes out most of the population of Great Britain, cow herds, Gopi Jnanamaya Kosha (Mayer) and Gopala Arjuna Bhutapanchaka, of Mahabharata House, a Buddhist community, are forced to flee, taking the cows with them.

With water levels rising at an alarming rate, and terrifying storms endangering their pilgrimage, Mayer and Arjuna must battle not only the elements but hungry survivors and rogue soldiers intent on butchering the holy cattle.

Can they build a sanctuary in the mountains of Scotland to secure the survival of mankind if disease, brutal attacks, and infertility threaten to wipe out all human and animal life?

Available on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074P65LD9

Forgotten Women Madam d’Ora – Part One

To celebrate International Women’s Day, I thought I’d post this story about an amazing pioneering female photographer that history has forgot.

Dora Kallmus. She was extremely influential in changing the way people posed for their picture. Dora’s unique style helped to popularise the celebrity portrait, and her fashion photography broke all the rules. Yet, History has chosen to forget her.

Born in 1881 to a wealthy Jewish family in Vienna, Dora was clearly a headstrong young woman and knew what she wanted to do. She befriended the son of the painter Hans Makart, and whilst assisting him in his studio, she discovered the wonders of photography.

In 1905, she became the first woman allowed to study theory at the city’s Graphic Training Centre,  GraphischenLehr-und Versuchsanstalt, and in the same year was accepted as a member of the Association of Austrian Photographers. Two years later she finished an apprenticeship with Nicola Perscheid, where she learned her craft.

Although she was not allowed to do the technical training, because she was a woman, that did not stop her opening her own studio in Vienna in 1907. She brought a fellow student of Nicola Pesrcheid with her, Arthur Benda, who would remain her technical assistant throughout her early career.

Her studio Atelier d’Ora, became a sensation, and along with Arthur Benda, Madame d’Ora’s shop was the place to go for the fashionable and cultural elite of Vienna. Her new approach to photographing a subject, natural, relaxed poses rather than the stiff, grim images people were used to, made her photographs sought after. The artist, Gustav Klimt and his muse Emilie Flöge, being some of her most famous clients.

Dora’s Middle Class Jewish background aided her in attracting customers. Her father, Doctor Phillipp Kalmus, a respected lawyer, brought clients from the civil service, government, and the banking world. With such a notorious profile, Dora landed the job of photographing the coronation of Kaiser Karl, King of Hungary. Now she was in demand by royalty and members of the Imperial family who visited her studio to have their portrait taken.

But it was through her cousin, the acclaimed actress Rosa Bertens, that Dora broke into what was to become her trademark work. Photographing the rich and famous throughout the theatre, music, fashion and art worlds.

News of her avant-garde work spread, and customers flocked to her doors. Now everyone wanted to be photographed by Madame d’Ora, whose unorthodox compositions were the talk of the town. Attracting famous dancers such as Anna Pavlova, Josephine Baker, and, Mary Wigman. Writers such as Arthur Schnitzler, artists, Gustav Klimt, actors, Maurice Chevalier, musicians, Pablo Casals and the composer, Albern Berg.

Her keen interest in fashion photography inspired her to change the way the industry presented their clothes. She created new ways to portray models, and her fresh ideas were soon snapped up by many lifestyle periodicals such as Die, Madame, and Officiel de la Couture et de la Mode.

Madame d’Ora became Coco Channels first choice to capture her new creations in all of their glory. All this when she was still under thirty years of age.

You can see more of Madam d’Ora’s photographs on my Pinterest page: 

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/nikkimcdonagh56/art-and-photographs-that-inspire-my-stories-includ/dora-kallmus-photographs/

In Part Two, I will focus on Dora’s later career and how she developed not only as a portrait photographer to the stars, but how the traumas of the second world war developed her career as a documentary photographer.

If you would like to know more about my books, please visit my website: www.oddlybooks.com

To view some of my photography go to: 

http://www.nicolamcdonagh.com/

My review of The Orthography of Madness and Misgivings

I haven’t written a blog post for quite a while. So I thought I’d start again with my recent review of a collection of unorthodox short stories from a writer with a dark and creative imagination. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading stories that are different and weird.

You can grab your copy here:

Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/Orthography-Madness-Misgivings-Micha%C3%ABl-Wertenberg-ebook/dp/B07N5XM1SN

Amazon.UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Orthography-Madness-Misgivings-Michaël-Wertenberg-ebook/dp/B07N5XM1SN

 

Refreshingly different

The Orthography of Madness and Misgivings by Michaël Wertenberg is a collection of short stories largely about the human condition when in a heightened state. Most of the tales are gruesome and troubling with some marvellous flashes of magic realism that keep you thinking about them long after you have read them. There are lovely vivid descriptions that make you shudder our laugh. I particularly enjoyed the stories in diary form of the author’s experiences living in different countries. Worth a read if you prefer literary fiction to pulp. There are a few inconsistencies in the narrative that need to be addressed, but nothing that detracts from the overall enjoyment of his work.

 

 

If you would like to see what I’m currently working on please go to my website and click on ‘Work in Progress‘. It’s an Historical Crime Thriller set in Vienna 1899, working title – Black Vienna.

http://www.oddlybooks.com/

The Joy of Hex – Part Two -Witchcraft

From prehistoric times some form of ‘witchcraft’ has existed, but then, unlike now, the casting of spells was more to do with the art of healing than any association with devilry. Most ‘witches’ were herbalists, wise women, or, ‘cunning folk’, who were adept at making potions to cure a range of illnesses. Often providing charms and offerings alongside incantations to protect livestock from predators by using these ‘blessings’ to keep them safe.

The belief in the power of magic has existed since mankind created social settlements where large numbers of people lived and worked. Fearing the forces of nature, inevitably, someone would try to make the unknown less scary by using rituals and spells to ward off evil spirits, whether natural or supernatural. Cave drawings often show people dancing wearing animal costumes alongside images of a ‘witch’ as seen in the photograph below.

Once, such ‘magical’ folk were revered, but as time went on people became wary of these magicians that could seemingly perform supernatural feats. From the 7th century, attitudes changed and terms such as ‘black magic’ spread fear into the hearts of god-fearing folk. With Christianity taking over from paganism as the main religion, it wasn’t long before the church found such powerful shaman a threat. Witch hunts in the name of God became a way to frighten people into turning against their own to preserve the status quo and get rid of annoying, possibly subversive women and men in the community. These poor people didn’t stand a chance against the prejudices and hatred from fanatics who turned communities against someone who was not quite like everyone else. So began the long centuries of demonising the innocent.

During medieval times being accused of witchcraft was a death sentence. Anyone who had a black cat, a mole, some kind of physical tick or blemish, and could conjure up an effective poultice for a wound or boil, would be suspected of being in league with the devil. The caricature of the old hag with a broomstick became the norm.  Wise women in a village were the subject of scorn and accused of evil deeds.

 In the UK, The Witch Finder General, Matthew Hopkins, made it his life’s work to seek out and destroy those accused of witchcraft. Through gruesome torture, he and his allies gained forced confessions from terrified men and women who would often be accused of the crime by friends or family. From the 15th to the 16h century over 100,000 people were hanged or burned at the stake for being witches.

This fear of sorcery lasted well into the eighteenth century when the cruel and unjust system of identifying a witch was abolished, courtesy of – The Enlightenment. A period in history which advocated the use of reason over superstition, and in 1736 the laws against witchcraft were repealed.

Witches and warlocks exist to this day but are no longer seen as dangerous. Often known as Wiccans, these people regard themselves as spiritual folk following pagan beliefs, incorporating mystical sorcery such as divination, herbalism and, Tarot reading. Casting spells not to summon demons or ghouls but to help find a true love, get promoted at work, or simply to engage more with nature and the universe.

You can read more about Wiccan magic in this article:

 https://wiccanspells.info/wiccan-pagan-articles/different-types-magick/

The idea of possessing supernatural powers is deep-rooted within our psyche. Whether it comes from a religious source or from the belief in our own need to connect with natural forces, magic and the casting of spells will never go away. Now, we accept it as part of our everyday world, whether it is reading our astrological predictions or buying Himalayan Salt Lamps, we need to believe that we are more than the sum of our parts, and can control the elements to do our bidding. Does it work? It might. The power is in the belief that it will.

Go to this blog to find out how to cast spells for good luck here:

https://wiccanspells.info/category/good-luck-spells/

 

Since it is Halloween, I thought I’d post an extract from one of my ghostly horror short stories – Daub – it’s in my anthology Glimmer, which just happens to be on offer for only 99c! You can purchase a copy here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H89AN1M

From Daub:

Isabelle fell back onto her ankles and covered her mouth with her hands. She heard a muffled sobbing come from the place where she had seen the child squatting the night before, and shuffled away. She looked at the wall. The yellowing plaster moved in and out like sickly lungs and Isabelle saw a small mouth appear. It opened and closed as if trying to suck in air and said, ‘When can I come out?’

‘What? Who’s speaking?’

‘It’s me mama, Roland. Can I come out now, it’s too hot and I can’t breathe. Mama? Mama, where are you? Mama!’ The child’s voice became hysterical and it shrieked the last, ‘Mama’ so loud that Isabelle thought her eardrums would bleed. She felt something tickle her wrist, looked down and saw the imprints of five small fingers on her skin.

 

If you want to know more about my work, visit my website: 

www.oddlybooks.com

or my Amazon page: 

https://www.amazon.com/Nicola-McDonagh/e/B00D4NAH0S/

The Joy of Hex

Part one: The Power of Words

Today and tomorrow I will be publishing some witchy-type posts especially for Halloween.

Ever since mankind created language, words have been used to manipulate, enlighten and confuse. So it is little wonder that words should also prove to be powerful weapons in the form of spells, hexes and incantations. Even prayers and hymns have special supernatural powers as they are a way to grab the attention of a god, or gods. Most religions encourage these invocations to create a sense of spiritualisation and ceremony that help the devotee contact their inner soul becoming closer to nature, God, and themselves.

Certain words have become magical, imbibed with a power that if spoken or written down, can be used as a charm to ward off evil, or cause an adversary to come to harm. The most familiar of these is Abracadabra. Although known as a stage magicians phrase, the word dates back to Roman times and is thought to come from the Hebrew words for the Father, son and Holy Spirit – ‘ab, ben, ruach hakodesh’. Which some say is derived from, Abraxas. This word has special powers as according to Greek numerology, it adds up to 365 which is the number of days in a year.

These words become even more potent if written or said repeatedly. As in the case of Abracadabra, when it is in a pyramid shape and used as a Medicinal charm:

When mankind began to write words, such magical incantations could now be stored and used at the discretion of the owner. The earliest ‘spell’ comes from ancient Mesopotamia etched onto cuneiform clay tablets found in the city of Uruk somewhere between the 5th and 4th centuries BC.

Books of magic spells have been around since ancient times and have been used not only for religious purposes but also for science. Alchemists used magic to find The Philosopher’s Stone and turn base metal into gold. Witch doctors and wise women, used words to help heal the sick, and don’t forget early scientists had numerous books for predicting the future through astrology.

In Ancient Egypt, magic and spells were a part of everyday life. The symbolic use of words was very important. Used for protection, to summon gods and demons, and to help loved ones live a happy afterlife. These words are often found etched onto tombs, pillars, and even embalming shrouds, showing just how important magical words were to these superstitious people.

Ancient Egyptian priests used many magic books such as The Book of the Dead, to help those who have died pass on to the next life. The most potent of all was The Book of Dreams. This book allowed people, through incantations, to fall into a dream-like state to travel through time, space, and even to the realm of the dead.

Papyri Graecae Magicae, or The Greek Magical Papyri is the name for scrolls from Graeco-Roman Egypt, that contain magical spells, formulae, hymns, and rituals dating as far back as the 100s BC to the 400s AD. For use by travelling magicians, scholars and medical practitioners, these ‘books’ have detailed descriptions on how to cast spells, invoke spirts, demons, and even how to create love charms.

A similar Jewish papyri dating back to ancient Egyptian times, seems to be rooted in performing religious ceremonies to interact with spirits in order gain advantage over another. Names are also important in Jewish magical traditions. In the creation of man, God summons life after a series of ‘speech acts’. Mentioning one of God’s many names can be a powerful tool to finding love or as with Joshua, demolishing the walls of Jericho.

Later, more textbooks on magic came into existence, such as The Grimoire, or Spell books, which are still used today.

These books give precise instructions on how to cast a spell and how to create magical amulets and talisman. You can read more about them in this article: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/apr/08/history

So for authors, using spells as part of their story, is a natural choice when writing in genres such as fantasy and magic realism. The power of such words evokes a sense of otherworldliness and spirituality that helps a reader to become wholly engaged in what they are reading.

Books, therefore, are magic!

If you want to learn more about my work, visit my website:

www.oddlybooks.com 

or my Amazon page where all books in my Sci-fi/dystopian series – The Song of Forgetfulness – are on offer for only 99c each!!

https://www.amazon.com/Nicola-McDonagh/e/B00D4NAH0S/

Watch out for part two – Witches and Witchcraft