Reading "Leaving the #9" on 12/9 + the Meaning Behind Cuetlaxochitl
"All I could make out was that her skin was a warm sandy brown, like mine, her lips full and stained a deep red, like a cuetlaxochitl." - from "Leaving the #9"
Morning, everyone! I'll be joining Anya Martin (Sleeping with the Monster) for Story Hour hosted by Laura Blackwell and Daniel Marcus. When: Dec 9 at 7pm PDT/10pm EDT via Zoom and Facebook Live! I'll be reading my short ghost story "Leaving the #9." Check it out!
Photo taken and modified from www.storyhour2020.com
In the story, I include both Spanish and Nahuatl, which is one of the many native languages of Mexico and is still spoken today by 1.7 million people. I describe one of the character's lips as being stained a deep-red like a cuetlaxochitl, which you might know as the "poinsettia" or "noche buena" for Spanish speakers.
While doing research for this story, I learned that the poinsettia was co-opted after colonization and had its indigenous origins rewritten to accommodate its new Christmas narrative. The name cuetlaxochitl means “mortal flower that perishes like all that is pure" and also symbolizes the life force of blood. The flower was introduced to the United States by then-U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Joel Roberts Poinsett, who apparently hated the native indigenous peoples. Surprise, surprise (not really), the native flower was named after him, with no recognition of its indigenous roots.
I grew up knowing this flower as the "flor de noche buena" and associating it with Christmas and thus Catholicism--colonialism at work, y'all. Not until I wrote "Leaving the #9" did I learn its true origins, and it broke my heart to learn of the erasure. Mexica (Aztec) history is not ancient; it's a culture and a people who are still very much alive to this day. So now that you know the truth, next time you see this lovely flower, you'll know its history ❤️
Have a great day!
Please check out these sources for more information over the cuetlaxochitl: https://bit.ly/33AwbOk, https://bit.ly/3lCPFrA
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Reader Photo Spotlight : @tanyainbookland
An ode to Ellderet readers, who are some of the damned best photographers 💙⚔️
This month’s featured reader is @tanyainbookland! Many thanks to her for the lovely photograph of The Deadbringer. Give her a follow at @tanyainbookland.
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Subscribe to my blog, connect with me on social media, or read my books :)
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Bosses from Hell, by Loren Rhoads | A Post about Asmodeus from As Above, So Below
My first real "adult" job was working as the private secretary for one of the main lecturers at the Dental School at University of Michigan. Bradley was an intimidating man, large, with a booming voice when he lost his temper. He got angry at his lab assistants a lot …
Jacques Auguste Simon Collin de Plancy’s Dictionnaire Infernal
A note from me (EMM): Welcome back 💙 I hope you enjoy this post by author Loren Rhoads. Want to know my thoughts over Lost Angels and Angelus Rose? Check out my review!
Book Blurb
Angelus Rose: As Above, So Below #2
by Loren Rhoads & Brian Thomas
If Romeo had wings and Juliet a barbed tail, could they find happiness in the City of Angels?
After their escape from the ashes of Lost Angels, the succubus Lorelei and the angel Azaziel want nothing more than to enjoy each other's company. Unfortunately, Asmodeus, the Demon Prince of LA, has threatened to devour Lorelei's new-grown soul if she doesn't bring about Azaziel's downfall. Meanwhile, Aza is keeping secrets of his own that threaten the tenuous peace between Heaven and Hell.
Three archangels come to town to try to set things right, but friendships are fracturing. The demon in charge of fallen angels is sniffing around. And Los Angeles is about to be caught between a devil and the deep blue sea.
Photo Credit: Loren Rhoads
Bosses from Hell
by Loren Rhoads
Photo provided by Loren Rhoads | Jacques Auguste Simon Collin de Plancy’s Dictionnaire Infernal
My first real "adult" job was working as the private secretary for one of the main lecturers at the Dental School at University of Michigan. Bradley was an intimidating man, large, with a booming voice when he lost his temper. He got angry at his lab assistants a lot. He didn't shout at me, because my work was strictly a prestige thing for him. He didn't have enough filing or typing for a full-time secretary, but he liked to have someone around to jump when he called.
Sounds pretty much like any secretarial job, doesn't it? What made this one traumatic was that we all worked in an animal testing lab. The lab assistants were vivisecting rats and lambs, mapping the connections between their taste buds and brains. I wrote in Morbid Curiosity Cures the Blues about what pushed me to quit that job, but I'd never written about it in fiction...until I started exploring the relationship between the succubus Lorelei and Asmodeus, the demon in charge of running Los Angeles.
Asmodeus, like my former boss, could make things really fun. Bradley would spontaneously take all of us out for a lavish Indian feast or invite us to his beautiful home for Christmas dinner. Those invitations weren't optional. He could be incredibly generous and he loved to teach, but I developed bursitis in both shoulders while trying to file things in his massive, heavy cabinets. I was too young to know I could complain about the conditions. Everyone else had made a devil's bargain for the boost they could get in their graduate studies and eventual careers.
Omar Shariff
When I set out to create the character of Asmodeus, I wasn't thinking about Bradley at all. Instead, I had in mind Omar Shariff, especially in Lawrence of Arabia: darkly handsome, on the edge of violence, quick as a snake.
Asmodeus is a Persian devil, mentioned in the Bible as a false god worshipped by the Syrians. In the Book of Tobit, Asmodeus slew the seven bridegrooms of Sarah before they could consummate their marriages. The demon was eventually outwitted by the angel Rafael and banished to Egypt. Brian and I worked that mythology into our book Angelus Rose.
By the Middle Ages, Asmodeus was considered one of Seven Princes of Hell, each a personification of a deadly vice. Asmodeus served as the demon of lust, credited eventually with inventing carousels, dancing, drama, and music. He commanded 72 legions of demons and oversaw the gambling houses in Hell.
Traditionally he's represented as having three heads, but I prefer the 18th-century French description of him as the limping devil. It's said he was lamed when he fell from Heaven.
In the As Above, So Below books, Lorelei talks about Asmodeus as a boss who knew how to make it fun to serve him. She sasses him, but she doesn't forget that once he punished her by piercing the bone spurs atop her wings and locking them together for months. He plays on the jealousy between Lorelei and her sister succubus Floria -- and the competition both succubi feel toward the temptress Yasmina. He never makes it any secret that all of them are expendable, if it advances his power in this world.
In my short story "Never Bargained for You," Asmodeus appears to be an entertainment agent with a mansion above Laurel Canyon. Lorelei works as a talent scout, using sex to lure bands into signing over their souls for fame and fortune. (The story is available to read for free at Bookfunnel. Here's the link: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/5tecny8c9j) (EDIT 9/2: The link was broken, but it’s now fixed!)
By the start of the book Lost Angels, Asmodeus has staged a coup and overthrown Beelzebub to become the Prince of LA. He has minions running talent agencies and horse tracks. He owns dance clubs and restaurants. His organization has tendrils throughout the entertainment industries of LA. Lorelei is happily working amidst them, capturing souls for the glory of her boss and Hell...until she sees the angel Azaziel drinking at her master's bar one night and follows him home.
It was really fun to write for Asmodeus. I hope he comes off as frightening and capricious as my boss Bradley used to be.
Excerpt
Photo Credit: Loren Rhoads
Asmodeus, Prince of Los Angeles
excerpt from Lost Angels by Loren Rhoads & Brian Thomas
A section of the alley wall wavered. First the cinderblocks were solid, then oily blackness swallowed them. Out of this darkness stepped Asmodeus, trailed by two fiends in the form of large men, angular to the point of being misshapen.
Probing the refuse with his ebony walking stick, Asmodeus picked his way through the alley. Near the passage’s mouth, he halted. At his feet lay a crumple of shadow: Lorelei’s cast-off dress. The demon gestured down toward it.
Recognizing its master, the dress stirred, lifting a sleeve flirtatiously. When it brushed his hand, the cloth hurried upward into his grasp.
The demon rolled the fabric between his fingertips. Lycra had definitely been one of his engineering staff’s most useful inventions. He considered how tasty Lorelei had looked poured into this pinnacle of the art. What a shame the angel cast it away so maliciously.
Asmodeus raised the torn fabric to his face and breathed deep. Beneath the dark fragrance of Lorelei’s musk—wound amongst it—was the scent of the angel’s longing. He’d lain beside the succubus, kissed and caressed her, but his desire didn’t end there.
Unsmiling, the demon prince crushed the dress in his fist and let it dissolve.
¡No Manches! (Not a Book Review): As Above, So Below (Duology) by Loren Rhoads & Brian Thomas
Welcome back! I hope everyone is keeping safe and staying healthy <3 Today I’m coming at you with a book review of the duology As Above, So Below by Loren Rhoads and Brian Thomas. For longtime readers, this is not the first time you’ve seen the name “Loren Rhoads” here on my blog. But here’s the thing—I picked up the first book in the duology, Lost Angels, long before Loren and I met …
Welcome back! I hope everyone is keeping safe and staying healthy <3 Today I’m coming at you with a book review of the duology As Above, So Below by Loren Rhoads and Brian Thomas. For longtime readers, this is not the first time you’ve seen the name “Loren Rhoads” here on my blog. But here’s the thing—I picked up the first book in the duology, Lost Angels, long before Loren and I met. And lo and behold, I LOVED the book!
Fast forward a year or two (I think) to when I was tabling with Shut Up & Write and selling my books at the local Bay Area Book Festival in Berkeley, California. While there, I happened to walk by the Horror Writers Association table, of which I later became a member. It was through the HWA that I got to meet Loren—the co-author of Lost Angels. It was a fangirl moment for me, for sure!
Loren’s been a great support in my life as a writer—both on and off the pages. We put out a charity anthology together, and I even had the honor of having my name be on the blurb on the front cover to Angelus Rose, the sequel to Lost Angels!! Most definitely a career high for me as an author and a reader.
I mention all of this because I want to be clear that I went into this series (book 2 had not yet been published) as a fan, and that the review that follows contains my honest views on this series and in particular on its lead character—Lorelei.
Spoiler Free Run Down…
This paranormal romance duology is very much about enduring the consequences for choices made, which is something I really enjoyed in this story. In the first book, Lost Angels, succubus Lorelei's life takes an unexpectedly dark turn when exiled angel Azaziel possesses her with a mortal girl's soul. For me, it was Lorelei who propelled this book to the top of my paranormal romance list. Despite the situations Lorelei finds herself in, she has agency. Without giving away too much, the sequel, Angelus Rose, addresses the repercussions of her choices even as the hard truths are laid out. Check out Loren Rhoads's blog about Lorelei's role as a succubus, sex positivity, and how "in the novels, sex is—above all else—about character development," and I agree.
Genre: Paranormal romance, angel and demon romance
If you like … angels, demons, and theology in general that takes place in a modern location, all with a splash of horror
Heads up: If you do not like to read about rape, violence, or female characters that are sexually liberated, then this series may not be right for you. But know this: The above points are used not as shock value but as character growth, and they serve to further the plot. This was one of the reasons I enjoyed this series so much.
Potential Spoilers…
This part is going to focus on why I liked the book and its female lead—Lorelei the Succubus.
Lorelei was created by a world run by demonic men. And yet, despite being part of a system that compels succubi to be nothing more than a tool for Hell, she makes the best choices she can when pretty much all the choices she has available to her are bad. Lorelei has agency, yes, but it’s important to note that throughout the duology she is constantly being put in disempowering situations by Heaven and Hell. Furthermore, she is “rewarded” when she plays by the rules, a tactic further seeking to disempower her by making her believe she is the one in control. Life tends to be less shitty when you fall in line and don’t stand out.
If the choices Lorelei makes don’t pan out, she will (and is) punished, and yet she continues to fight back in her own way—and this is why I fell for both Lost Angels and Angelus Rose. The authors’ choice to show the unfiltered power structure of the world the characters inhabit helped add weight and meaning to those characters’ actions. The story becomes more than just about Heaven and Hell hating each other because of theological reasons; it becomes a story of Lorelei discovering her agency and then fighting to retain that agency in a system seeking to oppress her from both sides—Heaven and Hell.
And that’s the end of my review. I hope you’ll check these books out! If you’d like to read about the inspiration behind the power dynamic between Lorelei and her boss, Asmodeus, the author has written a post which I will be publishing tomorrow here on my blog (EDIT 9/2: Here’s the link to the post, Bad Bosses! Enjoy!!). Until then, you can visit Loren Rhoads at her website to check out her other books. Oh, and she also writes about cemeteries, so I think it’s safe to say Kira from The Deadbringer is a fan. 😎
See you tomorrow!
EMM
LWTF: Aug 21 | Here There be Klingons
Move over Saul, there’s a new lawyer in town.
“Last Week This Friday” is just me sharing what made me happy last week in the hopes it brings a laugh or that you discover something new <3 If you’re feeling inspired, leave a comment sharing what recently made you smile. Btw, I’m thinking of changing the name to something else. If you have any suggestions, leave it in the comments :)
Better Call Gowron
Move over Saul, there’s a new lawyer in town.
Photo Credit: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/374150681543583765/
I wonder what kind of puppets Gowron would have in his Neighborhood of Make-Believe.
Photo Credit: https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/hyxi3z/its_a_glorious_day_in_the_neighborhood/
Tinguiriringui
My mom would say this as well!!!
incredible. tinguiriringui is universal. I always thought it was something my parents invented. pic.twitter.com/ME3UJap4mW
— 𓇼 denisce 𓇼 (@DeniscePalacios) August 7, 2020
Get in the fucking robot, Bobby!
— but doctor, i am (@BarrelJumpist) August 3, 2020
Current Mood
If you know who made this meme, please let me know so I can give proper credit!!
Stay safe and take care, everyone!!
EMM
Stay in touch!
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Kanoqui Takes a Break
Kanoqui loves having his ears scratched <3
Wishing everyone a lovely weekend,
EMM
Reader Photo Spotlight: @spellbound_by_books
This month’s featured reader is @spellbound_by_books! Many thanks to her for the lovely photograph of The Deadbringer. Give her a follow at @spellbound_by_books on Instagram.
An ode to Ellderet readers, who are some of the damned best photographers 💙⚔️
This month’s featured reader is @spellbound_by_books! Many thanks to her for the lovely photograph of The Deadbringer. Give her a follow at @spellbound_by_books on Instagram.
“Gossip is the swiftest bird alive.”
Stay in touch!
Subscribe to my blog, connect with me on social media, or read my books :)
Read the books already? Please consider leaving a review on Amazon. It really makes a difference in helping others take a chance <3
LWTF: May 23 | Theater History and Roman History, Horror Movie Comedy Dub, and More
I. Love. YouTube. Both Crash Course and Kings and Generals have been my faves ever since I came across their respective channels last year. The content is super educational and fun af. Lately, I’ve really been into theater history and Roman history—being able to see the battles reenacted from a bird’s-eye view is wonderfully satisfying …
“Last Week This Friday” is just me sharing what made me happy last week in the hopes it brings a laugh or that you discover something new <3 If you’re feeling inspired, leave a comment sharing what recently made you smile.
Education
I. Love. YouTube. Both Crash Course and Kings and Generals have been my faves ever since I came across their respective channels last year. The content is super educational and fun af. Lately, I’ve really been into theater history and Roman history—being able to see the battles reenacted from a bird’s-eye view is wonderfully satisfying. The quality for both of these channels is top notch and the animation is a visual treat.
Happy Happy, Joy Joy
For everyone who is not a fan of horror films, this comedy dub of A Quiet Place by HISHE is hilarious. And thanks to L.S. Johnson for sharing the Avatar TikTok<3 Heads-up! Major spoilers for A Quiet Place and Avatar the Last Airbender.
Y’all have to watch this shit. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/nPRpY9zVac
— T.J (@NamjoonGlasses) May 21, 2020
Lit
Malicious X is a gothy Japanese fashion company that has released a line of covid horror-masks that capitalize on the hidden folds of pleats to create amazing, monstrous effects.https://t.co/uKdrrnGoFN
— Covered Dish People (@doctorow) May 19, 2020
1/ pic.twitter.com/96bcu4TQfR
Stay safe and healthy, everyone <3
EMM
Stay in touch!
Subscribe to my blog, connect with me on social media, or read my books :)
Read the books already? Please consider leaving a review on Amazon. It really makes a difference in helping others take a chance <3
Writing Tips I learned at Flights of Foundry
It’s day 66 of sheltering in place in San Francisco. Clear blue skies and blinding sun are dominating the day, and the the Assistant—Kanoqui the Feral Prince—is quite happy with this change in weather. Kanoqui tends to get rather cranky when there is no sun for him to bask in …
It’s day 66 of sheltering in place in San Francisco. Clear blue skies and blinding sun are dominating the day, and the the Assistant—Kanoqui the Feral Prince—is quite happy with this change in weather. Kanoqui tends to get rather cranky when there is no sun for him to bask in, and he will stare and meow at me as if I had the power to make the sun appear. To date, I have not been able to successfully convey to him that I lack the ability to control the weather. Is anyone else’s fur baby like this, lol?
This past weekend was Flights of Foundry, and it was great! There were a few audio issues at the beginning that made it impossible to hear what the panelists were saying, but the glitches were quickly resolved. The convention went pretty smoothly after that and wow, did I learn a lot! It was the writing therapy I didn’t realize I needed, and my writer’s soul feels much calmer now. As a friend recently pointed out, validation in this industry is important, not just after the book is published, but throughout the writing process as well.
From what I heard there were over a thousand attendees this weekend, which is pretty amazing! I highly recommend attending Flights of Foundry, so keep this one marked in your books for future online literary events.
I wanted to share the writing tips I learned, some of which I may or may not already employ. Sorry for the vagueness, but I don’t want to accidentally give something away about book2/The Faceless God!
Plots aren't static but can develop as you write.
How to use pronouns without it getting confusing:
Read your work out loud. If the balance between name and pronoun is not clear, it’s time put the name in.
Vary the syntax and dialogue.
Switching POVs can help open up possibilities that you didn’t think about before because you were locked into a prior POV. Don’t be afraid to switch POVs.
A way to explore characters (especially in a group dynamic) is to write the dialogue first. It’s OK if the dialogue doesn’t make it into your story, but this can help you get a feel for how your characters speak and interact with each other.
Keep in mind the way characters treat each other and those around them. A character will treat friends, family, coworkers, etc differently.
Write something you are passionate about, and that passion will come through.
You do not have to do an apprenticeship in short fiction to get an agent or be a legitimate writer.
90% of your marketing effort is wasted, but you can’t obsess over it.
How many beats are ideal in a fight scene?
It depends on how big the fight is. Turning points are important to keep the fight from becoming grinding.
Have breathing spaces between dramatic fight scenes.
Track the flow of how information is revealed in your story (i.e., who knows what, and when is that information revealed).
For revisions:
All forms of plotting and revision work so long as it works for you. <3
Make a bullet list of key turning points.
Make a “stakes map” and color code the stakes so you can see at a glance what is happening in your story and to your characters.
Note which character is in which scene and if they need more "screen time" or less.
Forcing yourself to finish the draft or “go on” is not always the right choice. If you feel resistance, you might be pushing the story or character in the wrong direction. Stop writing, look closely over your story, and try to figure out what is throwing your story off.
Watching “making of a movie” videos is a great way to learn how to edit your story by analyzing why certain movie scenes did not make it into finished films.
As you write, take notes of what needs to be changed, and then go back and revise it later so you can get that first draft out.
Be aware if changes in your story during revisions cause a ripple effect. Changing one thing can change everything else.
How your characters develop and behave is not something that is set in stone before writing. Your story is a single work that can change as you write it because of the group dynamics revealed as you progress.
The 3-act story structure used heavily by Western media is not universal. There are also 4-act and 5-act structures. My Neighbor Totoro is an example of a 4-act structure.
Memory is ephemeral, unreliable. The more you remember something, the more distorted it becomes. That kind of unreliability is something you need to be aware of as you write your characters.
Decolonizing the SFF genre:
Question your fundamental assumptions about the world.
S. Qiouyi Lu has a great article on Tor.com that talks about the framework of decolonizing speculative fiction
Even within small communities, no culture is a monolith:
Don’t present communities as purely homogenous.
Don’t have one person represent an entire culture.
Once you are aware of how you are colonizing, that is a huge step toward decolonizing.
The “wrong” or “right” narrative is a Western idea of there being only one truth, that only one side can be right, or that only one narrative can be true. This is not universal to all cultures.
The gender binary was imposed to get rid of traditional gender roles and to impose a system of power that favored gender imbalance. It’s a means of control, but it has been so internalized that it is never questioned.
Do not italicize non-English words.
Revel in yourself and in your culture and don’t worry about whether everyone can relate to it. As long your story is good, the reader will find something to relate to on their own.
I hope you find something useful <3
All the best,
EMM
2020 Events Update and Flights of Foundry: An Online Convention During COVID-19 | May 16-17
It’s day 59 of sheltering in place in San Francisco. The past few days have been rainy and today is no different, but I love rainy days <3 Another convention I was scheduled to be at later this year has just canceled due to COVID-19, and I respect the organizers' decision …
It’s day 59 of sheltering in place in San Francisco. The past few days have been rainy and today is no different, but I love rainy days <3 Another convention I was scheduled to be at later this year has just canceled due to COVID-19, and I respect the organizers' decision. This would have been my first year at Rose City Comic Con, a convention I have heard nothing but good things about (for both vendors and attendees). Because that’s the thing about conventions: the attendee experience does not always mirror the vendor experience, and vice versa.
So far it looks like the only in-person convention I have set that has not yet been canceled is Powerhouse Comic Con in Pleasanton, CA, which is still scheduled for 7/26/2020. I’ll keep you posted if anything changes.
And now onto a convention I will be attending: Flights of Foundry! This will be my first time attending an online convention and being part of a virtual dealer’s room. I have no idea what to expect but am super grateful to the organizers for all the work they are putting into making this event happen. I won’t be doing any panels, which means I get to enjoy the programming to its fullest. I admit to feeling major FOMO (fear of missing out) yesterday as I was looking over the schedule and found myself thinking, “I should have at least done a reading.”
Not since I published The Deadbringer have I gone to a convention just as an attendee. Normally, if I’m not doing a panel I’m doing a live reading. If I’m not doing either of those things, I am behind a table vending. But preparing for a panel takes time (it’s a professional presentation, after all), and I want to prioritize my own writing, i.e., book 2/The Faceless God. To that end, the panels I will be attending focus on topics that are relevant to the writing stage I'm at.
Photo Credit | Flights of Foundry
The panel I am really looking forward to is “Using Mythology in SFF” since I incorporate my own culture and mythology into the secondary world of the Ellderet. The knowledge you gain from hearing first-hand the authors, editors, artists who have “been there, done that" has been invaluable to me. Literary conventions are basically CEU (continuing education credits). Do I think I’m the greatest writer in the world because I go to these conventions and attend these panels? Hahaha, no. But I do know I'm a better writer than I was when I first started, and that’s part of what my #writerslife or #authorslife journey is about.
If you would like to attend the panels, you have until May 17 to register. Flights of Foundry is free, but donations are welcome.
All the best,
EMM
Stay in touch!
Subscribe to my blog, connect with me on social media, or read my books :)
Read the books already? Please consider leaving a review on Amazon. It really makes a difference in helping others take a chance <3