Please welcome Maggie Berkley today. And leave a comment with your email addy for a chance to win a $10 Starbucks Gift Card
I've always enjoyed mythology, even as a child.
In fact, when I was in high school (many, many long years ago) I wanted to be a
mythologist, because I loved history, mystery and
myths. After all, behind every myth is a hint of truth. How did these stories become?
What made a culture believe in them? How did nations that lived thousands of
miles from each other, with no link with the rest of the world, have some of
the same mythology?
Historians had found drawings of
dragons in Britain, China and Mexico. Legends of people rising from the dead
were found in Russia, Greece, Africa and India. Shapechangers were found in
North America, France, Norway, Greece, Africa and Japan. Amazons were rumored,
and even written about, in Greece, China, Africa and South America. There are
so many different 'sightings' in so many different countries from historical
times that you can't help but get a hint of wondering.
This subject was many a term paper
in classes and my teachers (especially my English teachers) got to understand
how my mind worked. Well, my fantasy of becoming a world known mythologist left
me after I graduated, but the myths remained a big part of my life via books,
movies and television. After all, who can resist something shrouded in mystery?
But my aspect of it was never romantic. The idea of a vampire 'wanting to find
true love' made me chuckle. All the legends I found convinced me that, well,
we're just food for them. After all, something that died, and then became
inhabited by demons, just doesn't seem the 'loving' type. Shapechangers,
especially werewolves, had me twisted on their mentality. Some were said to be
cursed, some willingly spelled themselves into a beast to kill, and others were
said to have been born into it.
As a writer you have to keep an open mind, and
though my thoughts in the paragraph above might leave some wondering, I, like
others, do enjoy a good paranormal romance novel. A good paranormal anything
novel. And since I enjoy mythology I like writing that into my stories. After
all, even the worst villain can always do with a bit of redemption and a taste
of true love.
With the Morgan Crowe trilogy, I blended a bit
of Irish myth with modern day life. The heroine of my story, is Morgan Crowe,
also known as Morriganna or the Morrigu, a version of the battle goddess from
Celtic mythology. I wanted to see what this dark goddess from the past was
like, what her story might be and what made her who she was.
In
the trilogy, Morgan starts out as a dislikeable, self-centered hot headed
assassin who serves the King of the dark Sidhe known as the Mor'sin'dar.
Because of her volatile nature and her inability to control herself she is
banished to live in the human world because of a heinous crime she commits. She
is not happy about her punishment but relents and leaves to mortal realms, much
to the dismay of Mor'sin'dar's Queen who demanded the Morrigu's death.
Hundreds of years pass and Morgan has adjusted
to life among the short lived humans although she yearns to return to the lands
of her people. Finally accepting her lot in life, and adapting to the changes
in the world around her, she finds herself suddenly drawn back into Court politics and intrigue by a
cryptic message given to her from an old ally from her days in the Mor'sin'dar.
That is where her story begins.
The Morgan Crowe books are part of a trilogy,
each representing, not only where she is at in the story but also where she is
at mentally in her life. I see these books as the Morrigu's personal journey to
redemption, the ability to sacrifice all for another. There are many twists and
turns in the trilogy, and some victories are bitter sweet, and life is never
easy for a retired Sidhe assassin from the dark Courts. But in the end, fixing
the wrongs you had made and doing what is right has its own rewards.
I invite you to read the Morgan Crowe trilogy (Enter the Night, Behind the Throne, and Out
of the ShadowedLands) and discover my twist on old mythologies. Who knows,
you might decide to become a mythologist yourself one day.
Places to find Maggie:
BOOKS ARE SOLD AT:
https://ebookstore.sony.com/author/maggie-berkley_394153
