Talismans

Grrrrrr……………


I had a blog all finished and ready to go when the blasted thing had an error and I lost all I had typed. Now I had been typing my blogs onto a word document and then pasting them into the blogger box. Did I do this today? No I didn’t. Stupid me. So I just lost what was a far more interesting and clever blog than I could ever recreate. *grumbling loudly*

I was talking about talismans. Webster’s defines a talisman as something that is thought to bring good luck and or provide protection from evil spirits. In the book Soul Stone, coming from Ellora’s Cave, Tarris has a talisman. It is a stone that he keeps with him. The oblong, smooth stone is unusual in that two thirds of it appears to be a white opal, sparklingly iridescent. But one third of it is smokey black glass. There is no explanation for how this could have happened, but Tarris keeps it as a reminder and it seems oddly to sooth him at times.

Do you have a talisman? I don’t have a single, general talisman that I feel brings overall good luck. But I have noticed that writer’s are fairly superstitious people. Sort of like athletes. Maybe it’s because we don’t really understand where the creativity comes from or why it is us who are blessed with it. Maybe it’s because since we don’t know how it started we don’t know if or how it will stop one day. Think this isn’t you?

Lets replace the word superstition with the words compulsion or habit. Do you have a particular place that you write? Not jot down notes or scenes, but truly write? Is your space organized a certain way? Is it neat and organized? Your ideas outlined on a white board or written down neatly in a notebook. Hanging files showing notes or hows for characters and stories. Do you always begin your writing process a certain way? Do you approach your new stories in a certain way?

Don’t think these are superstitions or compulsions? Try mixing it up and see if it still works.

I have no shame in admitting I have specific compulsions. I can edit and tinker with one of my stories anywhere, lap top, work, anywhere. But I can’t actually “write” my stories anywhere but sitting at my desk. The keyboard and rests are just in the right spot, I have just enough room and everything fits snuggly and perfectly enough that I can lose the surroundings and sink into what I’m doing.

My mug is always by my side. Either my Circle of Crones or one of my Sherrilyn Kenyon Dark-Hunter/Sanctuary mugs. A hodge-podged stack of reference books are piled on my right and my little focuses, my talismans are scattered about. In front of me sits my green dragon, Flame. Flame was designed to be an incense holder but now he holds the focus stones that helped me think about my little mages. In Circle of Wolves, coming from Cerridwen Press, the hero Evan uses a piece of green aventurine as a focal stone. Evan is a mage who also happens to be a werewolf. Not a great thing to be unless you want to be tagged, studied and possibly exterminated by your own people. So he keeps his “disability” quiet from all but those he loves dearly. But the wolf inside him makes him the perfect choice as envoy to the shapeshifters, the Weres. Sent to broker an alliance that will shore up his master from the challenge of the dark mages, Evan finds more than he bargained for and everything he’s ever dreamed of.

The big piece of black obsidian? That’s Julien. He’s a whole other story.

I also use much less serious things to help me think about what I’m writing and to help me self direct when ADD strikes. Beau the bear and Glimmer the dragon sit on top of my monitor and urge me to stay on task. Beau was of great help when I was working on the Jewels of Ursus trilogy for Ellora’s Cave. Glimmer is for another WIP that is filled with warriors, princesses, healers and scoundrels. Of course there is a dragon.

So these are my talismans for writing. The pictures of elemental beings that hung on my wall to my right have already given way to posters of crystals and crystal healing as I prepare the next WIP, working title- Heal Thyself. Samantha is a healer, terrified of her own gift and worn down by those who would misuse it. She takes a job that should demand little or nothing from her, certainly not her “special talents.” She’s just there to pander to Haven’s more exclusive clientele and incorporate holistic and new age philosophies. She doesn’t count on Matthew. Someone who actually needs her skills.

What are your talismans, compulsions or habits? Share, share.

Flame, Glimmer, Beau and I want to wish congratulations to Anny Cook for getting 5 hearts from Loves Romances and More for her book Daffodil from Ellora’s Cave. Anny’s books are always wonderful and the Flowers of Camelot series is no exception.

Stop by and check out the blog of Amarinda Jones who is celebrating a great new cover for her Resplendence release and Kelly Kirch who is talking about being famous…or not.