* * * Here's Natalie * * *
NATALIE'S TREATS:
Visit Natalie Wright's blog and learn how to enter to win a signed copy of her book, Emily's House, some swag, and an Amazon gift card!
Or click here to use RaffleCopter to enter.Irish Celtic mythology and spirituality inspired me while writing my first novel, Emily’s House. Emily lives in the modern world, but she learns that she is the last of the line of the Order of Brighid, an ancient order of Irish women priestesses.
Before I began the
research for Emily’s House, I knew nothing about Celtic mythology.
I soon learned that Ireland is rich with mythic creatures and
entities.
I came across two beings
that I just had to use. The first you may be familiar with: the
Banshee (in modern Ireland it’s Bean SÍ). While there are many
variants of the Banshee myth, the one thing they have in common is
that she keens for the dead. Sometimes her keening is a premonition
of the death to come. At other times she wails for the newly dead,
often said to announce the death of one from an important Irish
family. At times Banshee is described as beautiful:
At other times she is described as
terrifying.
You’ll have to read Emily’s
House to see how my mind imagined Banshee!
The Irish leanan sidhe (also spelled
Lianhan Sidhe) is a lesser known mythological creature. She is most
often depicted as a beautiful muse who offers inspiration to an
artist, but at a price. It is said that the men who fall in love with
her live brief but inspired lives. In the mythos, Lianhan Sidhe seeks
the love of mortal men. If they refuse, she must be their slave. But
if they consent, they are hers and she essentially feeds on their
life, wasting away. The Lianhan Sidhe reminded me of the siren who
lures sailors with her irresistible song, only to crash on the rocks
and perish.
As I read about these two faery women,
I thought, “What if they are sisters?” And what would be
unleashed if something happened to one of them? Would the other have
her sister’s back? Would she seek to avenge her sister?
I used other aspects of Irish Celtic
mythology and spirituality in Emily’s House, but maybe the most fun
was coming up with my own spin on the very old myths of the Banshee
and the Lianhan Sidhe.
I hope you are all enjoying the
fabulous Summer
Teen Reading Party where fun reads abound at summer
sale prices with great prizes thrown in for good measure.
My Summer Teen Reading Party giveaway
is going on now through May 21 so enter through the Rafflecopter
below for your chance to snag swag from me.
Here's the Rafflecopter link again.
Here's the Rafflecopter link again.
From Kirkus Reviews:
With her two best friends by her side and her mother’s memory in
her heart, a teenager undertakes a journey to save the world from an
ancient evil.
Emily Adams has always
known she’s special. Throughout her whole life she’s had visions
of things that haven’t happened yet and she could always read her
mother’s mind. At least, she could until her mother died. Emily
thinks her abilities are just about gone, but the arrival of a
strange creature in her backyard one night proves otherwise. Emily
discovers she is the last of the Order of Brighid, an ancient society
of women sworn to protect the portal to the Netherworld. Now, with
the portal under attack, it’s up to Emily and her two loyal,
wisecracking friends to stop a villainous man before his actions
destroy the world.
Author
Bio:
You can “find” me here:
Website: http://NatalieWright.net
Amazon: http://amzn.to/A7jHsG
Barnes & Noble:
http://bit.ly/vlrnjp
iBooks: http://bit.ly/u4JCer
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/ttW6dl
Thanks for stopping by and telling us a bit about banshees. That makes Emily's House even more appealing a read.
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