Meadoe Hora's Blog

Happy New Year! To ring in the new year, I’ve created a couple of fun, free bookish printables.

2024 Bingo

I’m not really one for new year’s resolutions, but I loved this idea I saw on TikTok about making a Bingo sheet with things you want to do or achieve in the coming year. They can be whatever you want – bookish, life, professional, self-care, or any combination that strikes you. There’s no pressure to complete everything. It’s about the journey and if you get a BINGO, it’s a fun surprise. Just print it out and fill in your items and check them off as you go.

Note: I made 2 sheets: one in color and one in black and white in case, like mine, your printer is a finicky beast.

2024-Bingo-1DownloadBattle of the Books 2024: Book Brackets

I love the idea of our favorite books fighting it out to be crowned the best book of 2024. If you do too, print out this book bracket. Each month, record your favorite book and then, your favorite books face off against each other to see who the winner is. Happy reading!

I’d love to see your brackets. If you post them on social media, tag me. I’m @MeadoeHorawrites on FB, Insta and TikTok.

Book-BracketDownload

I hope you like these and that 2024 brings you all the books and adventure you can handle.

The post 2024 Bookish Printables appeared first on Meadoe Hora.

Rosie was our tea-drinking, garbage-stealing, naughty former foster dog, who came into our family like the only thing it was missing was her. A version of her story is being included in the upcoming Chicken Soup for the Soul book called Lessons Learned from My Dog. You can find it here.

Because of Rosie, I learned that when you eat raw pizza dough, the yeast reacts to the warmth of your stomach and creates a $2000 vet bill. It was Valentine’s Day and my family had made our annual homemade pizzas. I was putting them in the oven and when I turned to get the last sheet, one pizza was gone and so was Rosie.

That is how she was. Quick like a ninja and smart like a criminal.

Rosie was a nine-year-old rescued basset hound, a breed known for their long ears and short legs and made famous by the sleepy dog, Flash, on The Dukes of Hazzard. Unlike Flash, Rosie was anything but lazy. They are big dogs with short legs, which is why it was a mystery how she could get onto the kitchen table so deftly. It wasn’t just crumbs and napkins left on the edge that disappeared. She could snatch a sandwich off the counter and vanish without a trace. One Thanksgiving, after walking our guests to the door, we found Rosie on the dining room table unapologetically licking plates. When we caught her, she ate faster, getting every morsel before being whisked off the table.

She wasn’t tall enough to jump up on the table. So how was she doing it? It was a mystery until one day, when I was working, I heard the scrape of a chair sliding across tile. I shot up to find Rosie under the kitchen table pushing the chair out with her nose.

She was a problem solver. No puzzle was more enticing than the childproof locks on the pantry or the cabinet that held the garbage. One by one, Rosie defeated every child proof cabinet lock we found, even the ones the humans had a hard time opening. She not only relished the challenge of breaking into the garbage, but she also enjoyed spreading it around. There’s nothing like coming home after a long day to clean up a tapestry of coffee grounds and half eaten garbage from living room and kitchen. When she needed a challenge, Rosie would hit the pantry, which was more difficult because its lock was higher up. We still don’t know how she got in there. Maybe she used our other dog, Sully, as an accomplice? While we were gone, Rosie would liberate cereal boxes, pasta boxes, bread–whatever she could reach stretching up on her short basset legs, and they would feast. We’d come home to empty, chewed boxes on the floor, and garbage scattered across the kitchen and one dog looking guilty and the other looking proud.

She struck fast and stealthy. Not even my morning tea was safe. It’d set it down and come back a few minutes later to find my mug of tea completely empty, the cup still upright with not a drop of tea spilled on the table, and no dog anywhere. I learned she liked peppermint tea the best, especially when I added cream and sweetener. But when I made Rosie her own cup, she wasn’t interested. She liked my tea. Forbidden fruit is always the sweetest.

The thing about Rosie was that she knew she was a queen, despite being run through a few foster homes and rescue groups. Over the years, we’ve fostered (and adopted) many dogs. None have walked into our house like Rosie. Usually, foster dogs are skittish. They hang back until they figure out the routine and their place in the house. Rosie came into our house like the only thing it was missing was her. She was right. Rosie was unfazed by impromptu light saber battles and the antics of two small boys. She wasn’t bothered by the erratic, loud energy of kids or their little faces in hers. She fit right in and became an instant member of our family, and when nobody applied to adopt her, we made it official.

Outsmarting her became a family activity and one we failed at over and over. I’d heard of treat puzzles keeping dogs busy when they’re alone. The one I bought had twelve compartments that all had to be opened a different way. Some had doors that slid to the left, some to the right. Some had dependencies on each other. It was not an entry-level treat puzzle, and I thought it would be the key to keeping her out of trouble. Sully went after it first for a solid fifteen minutes, carefully working each square before giving up, satisfied that he’d gotten all he would get out of it. I filled it up again and set it down in front of Rosie. After studying it, she picked it up and banged it upside-down against the wall and when all the treats fell out, she scarfed them down and waited for me to refill it. Thirty seconds and done.

When cancer made her skinny and tired, she never stopped getting into mischief. We still had to keep the garbage on the counter and the childproof locks in the pantry. Her tail never stopped wagging. Having mastered the pantry, the challenge that kept her busy was finding the pill hiding in treats and spitting it out triumphantly on the floor. I tried everything I could think of, including smashing the pull to dust and mixing it with peanut butter. Nothing worked. Then, I had an idea. I left a bread-wrapped pill in the middle of the kitchen table and left the room. In less than a minute, she jumped up on the table and ate it. I watched from the hallway, proud and excited that after all this time, I had finally outsmarted the dog.

Saying goodbye to Rosie was one of the hardest things my family has done. Years later, stories about her are legends and we still feel her absence in our house. She lived in the moment, found joy everywhere, even when she was in pain, and she didn’t let things like childproof locks stop her from getting what she wanted. Rosie taught me that a little audacity goes a long way and because of Rosie, we still keep the cereal boxes on the top shelves in the pantry.

The post Rosie appeared first on Meadoe Hora.

Happy February! I’m excited again to participate in the YA Science Fiction and Fantasy Addicts February blog hop, which is all about love. Be sure to visit the other stops on the hop to get book recommendations, talk book boyfriends, and enter to win the latest giveaway. People have asked me why I made Apollo the villain in my Furious Legacy series. Isn’t he the Sun God, the god of healing? Yes, yes he is. But, there’s two sides to everyone and he’s not all sunshine and roses.

Bookish Valentines:

Nice Guys Finish First:  My Favorite YA Book Boyfriends

YA Dystopian Book Boyfriends

10 Amazing Indie Young Adult Books to Read If You Adore Clean Romance

Printable Bookish Valentine’s Cards

Diversity and YA Romance

Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas for Book Lovers in Love

Happy Palentines – the Best YA Book Friendships 

Love Triangles: Love Them or Love Them Not?

February Blog Hop: Edgy or Safe Love Match?

F/F Couples That Are Goals

Trope-off: Enemies to Lovers vs. Friends to Lovers in YA Love Stories

May The Best Friend Win – Favorite Friends to Lovers Books

Apollo: The Anti Book Boyfriend

There are many stories about the Greek God, Apollo, and his tumultuous love life. He had many love affairs with both women and men. Among these were Hecuba, the famous Queen of Troy and Dryope, a princess who was seduced by Apollo in the form of a tortoise. Like most romances with the gods, his tended to end tragically. Although, he does get points for creativity. You need a certain level of confidence to pull off a tortoise themed seduction.

Apollo and Daphne

This is the one where Daphne pays for Apollo angering Eros, the god of love. Daphne was the daughter of a river god and known for her beauty, but she had no interest in being anybody’s object of desire. She just wanted to live her life. However, when Apollo mocked Eros, Eros got angry and shot two arrows: a golden arrow that hit Apollo and made him fall madly in love with Daphne, and a lead arrow that made Daphne hate Apollo. He chased her relentlessly and she rejected him nonstop, but he wouldn’t give up. Finally, she went to a river god and begged him to free her from Apollo’s love.

He turned her into a laurel tree, which was probably not what she had in mind. Even this didn’t break the spell. Apollo used his powers to make Daphne’s laurel tree an evergreen and he made it his sacred plant and vowed to always wear it and keep it close. He’s often seen wearing laurel leaves as a crown or as part of his clothing. So, even though she turned herself into a tree to avoid him, she’s now always with him for eternity.

Apollo and Cassandra

This is probably one of the most famous stories about him. Cassandra was a princess of Troy, who caught Apollo’s eye. In return for allowing him to have his way with her, he promised Cassandra the gift of prophesy. When she later rejected him, he turned it into a curse. Famously, she became the prophet foresaw disaster, but nobody believed her. She predicted the fall of Troy and Agamemnon’s death, as well as her own after she became a spoil of war, but nobody believed her.

Apollo, Coronis, and why ravens are black

Coronis was a mortal princess who fell in love with Apollo and became pregnant with his son, Asclepius, the future god of medicine. Apollo left her but expected her to remain faithful to him and left a white raven behind to make sure she was safe. When she fell into the arms of another man, the raven told Apollo that she was unfaithful to him.

In some versions, the raven lies to him to protect Coronis. Either way, Apollo flew into a rage. When Apollo got angry, he punished the raven by changing its feathers black and gave it the task of announcing important deaths. He also sent his sister, Artemis, to kill Coronis, who was pregnant with his child. As she was dying on the funeral pyre, he rescued his baby from her and gave him to Charon, the centaur, to raise. She joined the stars as the constellation Corvus (“the Crow”).

Conclusion

One of the reasons I love Greek mythology is because the gods are complex, and Apollo is no exception. As I said in the beginning, he had loads of lovers and this is just a small selection of their stories. If you have a favorite Apollo story, drop it in the comments. When the gods mix with mortals, it rarely works out for the mortal. If there’s a takeaway from these stories, it’s that if you catch the eye of a god, run away.

Who is your favorite Greek god? Drop a comment and let me know.

Giveaway

We love books! Click here for a chance to win an Amazon gift card.

The post Apollo: The Anti Book Boyfriend appeared first on Meadoe Hora.

Happy New Year! I’m participating in a New Year, New Books blog hop hosted by YA Science Fiction and Fantasy Addicts. That means giveaways and other fun stuff. Read on for details and meet Eos, the goddess of dawn and new beginnings who has a weakness for handsome mortals.

Articles and Links:

New Young Adult Books: What’s Coming in 2022? 

Resolutions and Reviews

New Year’s in the Slytherin Common Room: Celebrating the Most Ruthless & Ambitious Characters in YA

2022 LGBT Books We Are Excited For

New Beginnings No Matter the Season

New Year, New Reading Goals!

Bookish New Year Resolutions

Non-Resolutions (Unless You Were Born in January)

Spring Cleaning Your TBR Pile

My 2022 Reading Journal

The Best Fantasy & Sci-Fi Debut Books (YA & Adult)

YA characters who made their dreams come true

Eos: Goddess of the Dawn

Sitting between darkness and light, Eos is the Greek goddess of dawn who rises at the start of each day and chases away the darkness. What’s a better symbol for new beginnings? You can’t have a beginning without an ending, so often they’re bitter-sweet, somewhere between happy and sad, the old and the new, the dark and the light.

I like her because she’s a bit adventurous. She also has some pretty sweet wings and is the mother of the stars and the wind. Eos has a bit of a weakness for handsome warriors, starting with Ares, the god of war, and because of the curse, it never ends well for her.

Eos had a brief fling with Ares, who Aphrodite already loved. I think this is interesting because it shows how beautiful Eos is since she drew his eye from the goddess of love herself. It also shows how ballsy she is. As expected, when Aphrodite finds out, she’s not thrilled and she curses Eos to have an insatiable lust for mortal men. Only mortal men, which took Ares out of the picture. Well played, Aphrodite, but that’s pretty cold.

As a result, Eos has a string of mortal loves, including the famous hunter, Orion, but they always leave her. When she falls in love with the Trojan prince, Tithonos, they are so happy together that she doesn’t want to lose him. She petitions Zeus to make him immortal, so they can be together forever. Zeus agrees and everyone was happy. Then, she realizes she forgot to ask Zeus not to make him age. So, although he’s immortal, while she stays young and rosy and beautiful, Tithonos gets old and frail, and his body starts to fail. As he wasted away, she was miserable watching him suffer.

She went back to Zeus and begged him to make Tithonos young again, but he refused. Instead, they compromised, and Zeus turned him into a cicada. I’m not sure why they chose a grasshopper or if that’s better or worse, but Tithonos became a cicada. The legend is that in some parts of the world, the cicada can be heard as Eos passes overhead, bringing the dawn.

Her story is interesting because, unlike other gods, Eos doesn’t take out her sorrow and frustration on other people. No matter what happens, Eos picks herself up and keeps going. She gets cursed by Aphrodite, but that doesn’t stop her from falling in love over and over. Her loves all leave her, but she still opens her heart to the next one. I think her story is one of resilience. Even after Zeus maliciously “misunderstands” her request to make Tithonos immortal, and she loses her true love, she still keeps driving her chariot and bathing the sky in gold each morning.

Into the Labyrinth – Free Short Story

Before Ariadne became a legend with Theseus, she was a mischievous princess of ancient Crete. As a girl, she wanted desperately to sneak into the labyrinth and see the deadly Minotaur. After several failed attempts, she spots something in Daedalus’ workshop that just might do the trick. But, if she can make it in, will she be able to get out? Or will she perish in the labyrinth like everybody else who has gone in?

This is a prequel short story to Ariadne’s Crown.

Mega Giveaway

The post New Books, New Beginnings and Eos, the Goddess of Dawn appeared first on Meadoe Hora.

Happy Holiday Season! I’m excited to be part of the 12 Bookish Days of Christmas blog hop hosted by YA Sci-Fi and Fantasy Addicts. Each post has a fun stocking stuffer (freebie) and a chance to win a mega giveaway. So, stay tuned and be sure to check out all of the participants.

12 Days of Christmas

Day 1 – YA Christmas Reads + Sweets

Day 1 Bonus – Hosting a Secret Santa Gift Exchange with Your Bookish Friends

Day 2 – Gift Ideas for Friends who Read

Day 3 –  Found Family Trope Reads

Day 4 – White Stag Review + Decadent Vegan Hot Cocoa Recipe

Day 5 – Book Room Christmas Decor + Favorite Christmas Reads

Day 6 – 12 Favorite Fantasy Books of the Year

Day 7 – A Christmas Playlist to Read To

Day 7 Bonus – Christmas Traditions + Favorite Holiday Reads

Day 8 – Tamales and Books!

Day 9 – Winter Book Review: Wicked Lovely

Day 10 – Derby Pie and Fond Memories

Day 11 – Mistletoe Myths & Stories

Day 12 – A Soul as Cold as Frost Review + Coffee Recipe

Day 12 Bonus – Tea Pairings & Winter-Themed Books

Wrap-Up – All the Stocking Stuffers + Big Giveaway

Mistletoe Myths

Mistletoe is a parasitic plant that grows in clusters in trees and shrubs. It’s associated with love, but poisonous if you eat it. There are a bunch of odd customs and stories involving mistletoe, and they aren’t all merry and bright. Mistletoe is credited with killing a Norse god and leading to the creation of the Roman empire. So, how did this weird little plant become something to steal a kiss under during the holidays?

Mistletoe and the Druids

Mistletoe was sacred to the druids because they believed it was the essence of the sun god, Taranus. So, since it contained his power, any tree containing mistletoe was sacred. According to Pliny the Elder, priests would climb the sacred trees to harvest it with a golden sickle. They’d have to catch it before it hit the ground because otherwise it would lose its special powers.

They used the leaves and berries for herbal remedies and also hung it in their homes and stables to would ward off evil and protect from fairies. It was also important to the Celtic druids as a symbol of fertility because the berries bloom in winter.

Baldur (Norse Mythology)

In Norse Mythology, Baldur was the son of Odin and Frigg, the goddess of love. He was handsome and fun and everyone loved him. When Baldur foresaw his own death, Frigg created magic that prevented any plant that grew from the earth from harming him. But mistletoe doesn’t grow in the earth. It grows in trees, a loophole that everyone’s favorite god of mischief, Loki, exploited.

He made a spear made out of a mistletoe branch and waited. Since Baldur was supposed to be invincible, the gods liked to amuse themselves by throwing things at him. If you have kids, this will make perfect sense to you. Anyway, the blind god Hodr, egged on by Loki, threw the mistletoe spear at him and killed Baldur.

Aeneas and the Golden Bough (Greek Mythology)

Aeneas was a Trojan warrior who left as Troy was being destroyed. His adventures after the Trojan War unfold in Virgil’s, The Aeneid. He ended up founding the Roman empire, but before he could do that, he wanted to go to the Underworld to consult with his father.

He consulted the oracle for the best way to get into the Underworld. She told him he needed to find a bough of gold and offer it as a gift to Persephone, the wife of Hades, ruler of the Underworld. His mom, Aphrodite, sent two doves to help him find the bough. To make a long poem short, he found the bough and was granted access to the Underworld. His father took him to the River Lethe and showed him all the souls there waiting to be born, including all of his future descendants that would later build the great city of Rome.

The poet Virgil described the golden bough as being sheltered by an oak. So, because of this, scholars have suggested that the golden bough is mistletoe.

So, why do we kiss under the mistletoe?

In some happier versions of Baldur’s story, he gets brought back to life and Frigg is so thankful that she declares the mistletoe to be a symbol of love and promises to kiss anyone who passed underneath it. However, scholars have said that’s not accurate. So, who knows?

An early reference to kissing under a mistletoe comes from Washington Irving, who mentioned it in his sketchbook after visiting England in 1820. He wrote, “The mistletoe is still hung up in farm-houses and kitchens at Christmas, and the young men have the privilege of kissing the girls under it, plucking each time a berry from the bush. When the berries are all plucked the privilege ceases.”

Mistletoe shows up in my book, Dungeon of Hades. When I started writing it, I was trying to figure out how to get my characters into the Underworld. I reread parts of the Aeneid and was surprised to learn that the golden bough might be mistletoe. It led me down a mistletoe rabbit hole of stories.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Happy December!

Stocking Stuffer

Like Greek Mythology? Click here to get a free short story about Ariadne of Crete. Before Ariadne became a legend with Theseus, she was a mischievous princess of ancient Crete. As a girl, she wanted desperately to sneak into the labyrinth and see the deadly Minotaur. After several failed attempts, she spots something in Daedalus’ workshop that just might do the trick. But, if she can make it in, will she be able to get out? Or will she perish in the labyrinth like everybody else who has gone in?

Mega Giveaway

Click here for a chance to win our mega bookish giveaway with over $600 worth of books, merch, and gift cards.

The post Mistletoe, Magic and Mythology appeared first on Meadoe Hora.

The Furies are the goddesses of retribution from Greek Mythology, but they are so much more complex than that. Said to be the personification of curses and the torturers of the Underworld, they are also the bringers of justice.

The Furies: Origin Story

There are many different origin stories for The Furies, showing the Furies are older than Zeus and the Olympians. In one story, they sprang up from the drops of blood when Kronos (Zeus’s dad) killed Uranus. In others, they are the daughters of Nyx (the goddess of night) and Erebus (the god of darkness). Their siblings are the Fates (Moirai), the Keres (goddesses of violent death), the Oneiroi (spirits of dreams) and many more gods and goddesses.

Who are the Furies?

The Furies were three sisters:

Alecto (the angry one) – Punisher of moral crimes (crimes of anger)Tisiphone (the avenger) – Punisher of murderersMegaera (the grudging one) – Punisher of infidelity, oath breakers and theft

They served Hades and Persephone in the Underworld. After the souls were judged in the Underworld, the ones who were in need of punishing went to the dungeons of Tartarus to be tortured by the Furies. Mainly, they were concerned with murder, especially by family members and crimes that offend the gods, like oath breaking. Dressed in black with snakes for hair and flinging whips around, The Furies were scary, but people also prayed to them to get justice for crimes that went unpunished. So, they were also the ones who balanced the scales. They also protect beggars and there is also a story where the punish the people who went after a bird’s babies.

The Furies relentlessly pursued criminals with whips, or bringing madness or disease and the only way to free yourself from them was to atone. They show up in many classic stories, including The Iliad and The Odyssey, Virgil’s Aeneid, Dante’s Inferno, and The Orestia (The Eumenides) by Aeschylus, where they have a starring role. Basically, if someone is wronged by a family member, chances are the Furies will show up at some point.

“…But if, as yonder man, he hath blood on the hands he strives to hide, we stand avengers at his side, decreeing, thou hast wronged the dead: we are doom’s witnesses to thee. The price of blood his hands have shed, we wring from him: in life, in death, hard at his side are we!”

‘The Furies’ by Aeschylus

Pursuit of Orestes

Orestes was the son of Greek leader, Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. When Agamemnon wanted to wage war on Troy, the winds wouldn’t blow, so he sacrificed his daughter to Artemis. The winds blew and he headed off to war, but Clytemnestra was mad. Her daughter deserved justice. Years later, when Agamemnon returned, she murdered him to avenge her daughter. Then, her son, Orestes, murdered her and her boyfriend to avenge his father.

Clytemnestra’s ghost invokes the Furies to avenge her. They relentlessly pursue Orestes, chasing him all over. He goes to Apollo’s shrine to get purified for his crimes. Since Apollo told Orestes to avenge his father, he feels a bit responsible and he helps Orestes escape Athens when the Furies are sleeping. When they wake up, they’re furious for being tricked by Apollo and set off to hunt Orestes down again. Unfortunately, this time, he finds refuge with Athena. She decides a trial will determine his fate. It’s the first ever murder trial, with the Furies as the prosecution and Apollo as the defense. Apollo has promised to protect Orestes and he’s not a fan of the Furies. He doesn’t think they were justified in pursuing him, since he already cleansed him of his sins. He also doesn’t like their bloody form of vengeance.

The Furies are not fans of Apollo either. He basically admits in the trial that he told Orestes to kill his mom and the Furies point out his arrogance in causing the crime and then providing sanctuary to the killer. The Furies are supposed to punish Orestes for killing his mother, and Apollo is preventing them from doing their job. In their eyes, he is conspiring with the Olympians to take power from the older gods, like them, who came before them. They are probably not wrong about that.

The trial doesn’t go great for the Furies. They argue that Clytemnestra’s life is as important as Agamemnon’s and Apollo argues the opposite, essentially saying that a man’s life is worth more than a woman’s. Athena inexplicably agrees and acquits Orestes. The Furies are not happy. Athena doesn’t want to fight with them. So, she offers them a position as the patron goddesses of Athens. They do finally agree to give up pursuing Orestes. In addition to punishing crimes, they will also reward good deeds. Athena renames them the “Eumenides”, which means “the kindly ones.” So, Athena adds mercy to their repertoire.

Source: The Eumenides by Aeschylus (The third book in the Orestia)

I think the Furies are such interesting characters. They are these badass goddesses of vengeance, but they also fight for the underdog to get justice where it has been forsaken.

Check out my Furious Legacy series, which brings the Furies into our modern times and once again pits them against Apollo.

The post Who are The Furies? appeared first on Meadoe Hora.

In honor of Valentine’s Day, I thought it would be fun to explore Eros, the Greek version of the Roman god, Cupid. He’s depicted as a cute little cherub with an arrow that makes people fall in love, but he’s not so innocent. This is the story of Eros (Cupid) and Psyche.

Eros is a primordial god in some accounts, hatching out of a silver egg from the Goddess Nyx (Night) and Aither (Wind). In others, he’s the son of Aphrodite (Love) and Ares (War). Either way, he’s a Greek god of love and a bit of a trickster, sometimes fun and playful and other times cruel. His passion for Psyche is often described as one of the first great love stories but to me, it’s a bit creepy. It has shades of some famous fairy tales. The source for this one is Ovid’s Metamorphosis.

Psyche was a beautiful princess, renowned for her great beauty. Some said it rivaled that of a goddess, and it was so out of control that people neglected Aphrodite’s temples because they were fawning all over this mortal girl. When Aphrodite caught wind of that, she wasn’t very pleased. She likes to be the most beautiful woman in any room. So, she complains to Eros and asks him to use his fancy arrows and make Psyche fall in love with the most vile person in the world. Eros was all for it, but then he accidentally shot himself with one of his own arrows and fell in love with her himself. Oops.

Meanwhile, Psyche was lonely because although people liked to look at her, nobody got to know her. Frustrated that she hadn’t yet found a husband, her father went to the oracle at Delphi to get some advice from Apollo. His advice was terrible. He basically said she was destined to marry a horrible dragon-like serpent, one feared by even Zeus and Poseidon. He told her father to take her to a mountain and leave her here to die. Her dad wanted to wash his hands of that terrible prophesy. So, off she went to the mountain.

Eros was still feeling the effects of his misplaced arrow and didn’t want to tell Aphrodite that he’d failed. He also really loved Psyche. So, he engaged his friend, Zephyr, the Greek god of the west wind. As she waited on the mountain for her horrible new husband, a soft breeze carried her away. Zephyr dropped her in a beautiful meadow, full of flowers and sunshine, and left her to fall asleep. When she woke up, she was in front of an opulent castle worthy of a fairy tale. Here’s where it starts to get a bit creepy.

The castle seemed like it was made just for her. It took care of her, kind of like a Beauty and the Beast situation with delicious food, warm baths, and beautiful music. A disembodied voice told her to make herself at home, and it sang beautiful songs to her. At night, she knew her new husband would come. And he did, except unbeknownst to her, it was Eros. He had some rules though.

She could hear him and feel him, but she could never see him. Still, they were happy together, and she thought they’re married. After a while, Psyche started to miss her family and asked him if she could see her sisters. Apparently, she wasn’t upset that they left her on a mountain to die. Anyway, Eros agreed to let them visit.

Her sisters came, and they were having a grand time until her sisters started asking her questions about her mysterious husband. Psyche tried to change the subject, but they wouldn’t let up. They were jealous of the luxury she was living in, and they planted seeds of doubt. Her sisters knew that the owner of such a beautiful castle couldn’t be just a simple man. He had to be a god or a prince, and if he wouldn’t let her see him, there must be something wrong with him. They said he was probably the horrible serpent from Apollo’s prophesy.

They left, but Psyche kept thinking about it. Did she really never wonder about that prophesy? Anyway, it ate away at her until she’d gone through every worst-case scenario in her mind. She had to know what was up with him. So, she decided to light a candle when he was sleeping to look at him and make sure he wasn’t a horrible serpent. She even brought a dagger so she could kill him if he was a monster. When she shined the light on him, she saw he was a beautiful man and not some horrible monster and she was so happy that she somehow managed to scratch herself with one of his arrows. It went downhill from there. Then, she accidentally spilled wax from the candle on him. He woke up furious that she didn’t trust him and stormed off.

She got depressed because she had the god of love, and she lost him because she didn’t have faith. So, where does she go when she can’t find him? To Aphrodite, the goddess who tried to ruin her life in the beginning. Aphrodite is still not over it and gave Psyche three impossible tasks to prove her love for Eros. First, she set Psyche down in front of a giant mound of wheat, barley, poppy seeds, chickpeas, lentils, and beans and told her to sort them into separate piles. She worried it would take forever, but then ants took pity on her and helped her sort the grain.

Next, Aphrodite took her to a river and made her get golden wool from the violent sheep who graze on the other side. I’ve never seen a violent sheep, but apparently, that was a thing in ancient Greece. She intended to drown herself in the river, but a magic reed helped her get the wool.

For the last one, Aphrodite sent Psyche to get black water from the River Styx, a task that was dangerous and impossible if you didn’t have wings. This time Zeus sent one of his eagles to help her. After all of that, Aphrodite was still not done tormenting her. She sent Psyche into the underworld with a box to ask Persephone for a grain of her beauty. I’m not sure about the logistics of that or how you put a grain of beauty in a box, but that’s what she did. Persephone gave her what she asked for, but Psyche was curious about what was in the box. On the way back, she opened it, and it wasn’t a grain of beauty. It was “infernal and Stygian sleep.” She fell into a deep sleep.

You might be wondering where Eros is in all of this. He was off sulking or possibly imprisoned by Aphrodite, maybe both. Hermes found him and told him what was going on. He was so happy that Psyche proved her love for him and found her in Aphrodite’s garden. Eros pricked her with another arrow and woke her up. He carried her away to Zeus, who gave them permission to get married for real this time. They lived happily ever after. Zeus made her immortal, and she went to live at Olympus, which made Aphrodite happy because it meant Psyche was no longer on Earth distracting everyone with her beauty.

Psyche means “soul” in Greek, and the child she has with Eros (love) is named Voluptas (Pleasure). I’ll leave you to sort that out.

Thanks for reading! Want some more Greek stories? Check out this one about Pasiphae and the Great Bull or this one about that time Helios got into a fight with the Furies.

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Long ago, when the earth was wild and new, the Titans ruled. Each day, Helios, the first sun god, drove his golden chariot across the sky. The chariot was gold and so bright you couldn’t look at it without being blinded, and Helios was just as bright. Always happy, he had a loud booming laugh and found delight in everything. He wore a golden crown on his shaggy head, which allowed him to see and hear everything just as the sun sees the earth. Helios loved driving the chariot and watching over the world, spreading warmth and light.

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Then, Zeus and his siblings waged war on the Titans. After a great and bloody battle, the Titans were defeated. Zeus cleaned house, stripping Helios of his chariot and giving it to Apollo, the new sun god. Helios kept the crown. Since gods cannot be killed, only changed, Helios was banished. He lived in darkness, nursing hatred where he used to grow love. Where he once radiated joy, he now had only anger. He wouldn’t even cook meat by the fire. He wanted no part of the light.

One day, his daughter found him. She was everything he once was and through her, he found his light again. He put his golden crown on and felt its power and warmth breathe life back into him. The only thing she wanted in return was a ride in the chariot.

Helios loved his daughter more than anything and he wanted to make her smile. He also burned with hatred for Apollo, who he felt stole his position. One night, Helios stole back the chariot from Apollo and took his daughter for a ride across the sky. He even let her drive. They had so much fun; they didn’t notice the chaos they left in their wake. The oceans steamed. Fish died. Because that is what happens when a chariot of the sun gets too close to the oceans. Seeing the wreckage in the sea made Poseidon furious, and he demanded that Zeus send the Furies after Helios.

The Furies were creatures of darkness with wings, brass claws, and stingray whips that they used to punish spirits in the underworld and sometimes the mortal world when Zeus required it. They pursued Helios across the earth, finally capturing him and trapping him in Tartarus, the darkest part of the underworld, where he was reduced to his most basic form, working fire.

All this time, his daughter never stopped looking for him. One day, after she struck a deal with Athena and learned where he was, she stormed Tartarus and tried to rescue him. When she arrived at the pit, the Furies attacked. Helios flew at the Furies to protect his daughter and they fought back with all their strength, resulting in a fierce brawl, where shadows tangled with wildfire. Neither escaped unharmed.

Helios divided into flame and disappeared. Some say he lives on as a wandering fire. Others say he’s raw power, compressed fire, locked away into a tiny space, waiting for someone to release him so he can get revenge.

Helios thought he killed the Furies, but they are immortal. The black rags Hades forced them to wear turned into bats as the Furies flew away to lick their wounds and regroup. Like Helios, their battle left them changed, more mortal, but they guard him still, making sure his power will never be released.

Note: I came across a version of this story a long time ago and the impression of Helios as raw power waiting to be unleashed and Furies hunting him stuck with me. As I was writing Ariadne’s Crown, the story kept prickling at me and it’s the basis for my current work in progress. Stay tuned for more info…

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So, a few weeks ago I did a 48 hour fast, where I stayed at the tae kwon do gym for 2 night and fasted. Aside from seminars and classes, there was a lot of down time and since I wasn’t eating, I wanted something fun to distract myself. So, I brought Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I tore through this book and nearly finished the entire thing over the weekend. It’s like a Behind the Music in book form and I haven’t been able to shake it. I keep thinking about Daisy. So, I thought it would be fun to do this one for our February book club. Have you read it?

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Daisy Jones in a teenager coming of age in the late 60s, which means a lot of rock and roll, drugs, and parties, but she has a lot to say. Her journey hooks her up with The Six, a rising rock band, and together, they create a legendary album and go on tour and self destruct. The characters felt so real that I kept forgetting that it’s a fictional story and not a real band.

“I had absolutely no interest in being somebody else’s muse. I am not a muse. I am the somebody.”

Daisy – Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Daisy Jones and The Six Discussion



What did you think of the interview style writing? When you found out who the interviewer was, did it skew what was presented? Would the band have held things back? It took me a little bit to get into and then I was hooked and I didn’t even notice it. Some of the most interesting parts of the book to me were the introspective parts and I think the interview style was perfect for delivering that insight. For the most part, 70s rock and roll is a very male playground. This book is filled with strong women who know what they want and make not apologies. Camila, Karen, Daisy. Who was your favorite? I thought it offered an interesting look at addiction and the sadness that comes with it. For Daisy, drugs were an escape from her life, but for Billy, his life (his family) was an escape from the drugs. It did kind of bother me how easy Billy seemed to get clean and how little consequences Daisy had from her spiral into drug abuse. What did you think of the way the author portrayed addition?



Random Thoughts



I’ve heard the audio book is amazing. I will need to check that out.I wish that these were songs I could download and listen to, but they probably wouldn’t sound as awesome as they do in my imagination.“I am not going to sit around sweating my ass off just so men can feel more comfortable. It’s not my responsibility to not turn them on. It’s their responsibility to not be an asshole.”  Right on.Camila kind of bugged me. Am I the only one? Is anybody really that good?What was up with Daisy’s family?

“Love is forgiveness and patience and faith and every once in a while, it’s a gut punch. That’s why it’s a dangerous thing, when you go loving the wrong person.“

Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Have you read this one? Drop me a comment and let me know what you thought.

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In the beginning of Ariadne’s Crown, Ariadne walks through the market where some women are gossiping about her mom and the white bull. People have asked me what’s up with Pasiphae and the white bull. It’s one of those bizarre Greek myths that make you wonder where in the heck it came from. Here’s the story.

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Pasiphae and the White Bull Myth

Before he became king of Crete, Minos needed to prove himself. He prayed to Poseidon for a “bull from the sea,” as a show of his strength and promised to sacrifice it. Poseidon obliged, and a glorious pure white bull came out of the sea.

Minos knew he was supposed to sacrifice it to Poseidon, but it was such a beautiful animal, and he was king now. So, he didn’t. Instead, he hid the white bull and sacrificed another one from his herd, pretending it was the white bull. It’s not a great idea to break a promise to a god. As you can imagine, Poseidon was not happy.

Angry Greek gods didn’t just smite you. They made you into a cautionary tale for the bards to sing about. Poseidon didn’t disappoint. First, he made the bull crazy and violent so nobody could capture or approach it. Here’s where it gets weird. He also made Minos’ wife, Pasiphae, fall in love with it. Not just in love, but obsessively in love.

Pasiphae is a force of nature in her own right. As the Daughter of Helios, the sun god, and rumored to be a powerful sorceress, Pasiphae could handle herself. But she wasn’t thinking straight and was crazy in love with this bull. She sought out Daedalus, the great inventor. He’s famous for making the wings that his son, Icarus, flew too close to the sun. But before that, he did some work for Pasiphae.

Daedalus crafted a wooden cow on wheels with an opening for Pasiphae to fit inside. It must have been one attractive wooden cow. When Pasiphae climbed inside and wheeled it into the field where the white bull was grazing, he was smitten. They um… shared a moment together and then yada, yada, yada, the Minotaur was born.

Angry (and probably horrified), Minos ordered Daedalus to build a labyrinth to both imprison the monster and hide his wife’s shame. He tossed people into it when he needed to make a point.

So, what happened to the white bull? It became famous as the Cretan bull, and people were always trying to make a name for themselves by killing it, but nobody could.

When Hercules came to Crete for his 7th labor, he wrestled with it and took the bull back to King Eurystheus. Then, it basically wandered around Greece terrorizing people until Theseus killed it. A while later, Theseus set his sights on the bull’s son, the Minotaur. And we all know what happened then…

No? check out my book, Ariadne’s Crown to see what happens Theseus comes to Crete.

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