Fast Updates:
Proof reading of Endow is scheduled to be completed by July 9th. Book layout and cover update to begin immediately after.
Updated the illustrations page to include a work for hire piece that I requested from a talented freelance artist in 2017.
I just received some new stickers from Valley Custom Printing. I think they did a fantastic job! Interested in new and upcoming businesses? Be sure to check out their website here: www.valleycustomprinting.com
I am really looking forward to participating at the upcoming conventions. I hope to see you all as soon. In the mean time, stay safe and keep being awesome.
Also:
readersfavorite.com will have “Rise“ listed as an available prize in the monthly book giveaway. If you are interested in winning some amazing books by great authors you can check out the monthly giveaway here: https://readersfavorite.com book giveaway
Upcoming Event Reminders:
2020
*I will post updates if cancellations or changes occur*
We will be participating in The Milwaukee Comic Con! This MightyCon event takes place at the Wisconsin State Fairgrounds Products Pavilion located at 640 S 84th St., West Allis, WI 53214 on September 12th.
Concealed Realms will be at Quad Con Iowa City on September 26th. This event takes place at the Coralville Marriott Conference Center.
We will be participating in Oddmall: Hallowondrous on October 16-17, 2020. The event takes place at Lakewood Masonic Temple – 15300 Detroit Ave. Lakewood, Ohio 44107.
Concealed Realms will be at Oddmall: Chrishanukwanzmadan, December 4-6, 2020. The event takes place at the Cultural Center for the Arts – 1001 Market Avenue, Canton OH 44702.
Postponed events:
Concealed Realms will be participating in the Dupage Mighty Con. This event takes place at the Dupage County Fairgrounds, 2015 Manchester Rd, Wheaton, IL on Saturday May 23rd from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Concealed Realms will be participating in Porter County Comic Con. The Porter County Mighty Con event takes place Saturday, June 13th from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at The Porter County Expo Center, 215 E Division Rd, Valparaiso, IN. – MightyCon Facebook
We will be returning to The Madison Comic Con! This event takes place Sunday, July 12th from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Monona Terrace Exhibit Hall, 1 John Nolan Drive, Madison WI.
Concealed Realms will be at the ST. Louis Mighty Con! This Mighty Con event will take place July 18th and July 19th at the St. Charles Convention Center.
Tree Quotes
“Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world.”- John Muir
“To really feel a forest canopy one must use different senses, and often the most useful one is the sense of imagination.”- Joan Maloof
“When trees burn, they leave the smell of heartbreak in the air.” – Jodi Thomas
“Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky.”- Kahlil Gebran
“Ancient trees are precious. There is little else on Earth that plays host to such a rich community of life within a single living organism.”- Sir David Attenborough
“Learn character from trees, values from roots, and change from leaves.” – Tasneem Hameed
“Never say there is nothing beautiful in the world anymore. There is always something to make you wonder in the shape of a tree, the trembling of a leaf.”- Albert Schweitzer
“In a forest of a hundred thousand trees, no two leaves are alike. And no two journeys along the same path are alike.”- Paulo Coelho
“Storms make trees take deeper roots.”- Dolly Parton
“A tree has roots in the soil yet reaches to the sky. It tells us that in order to aspire we need to be grounded and that no matter how high we go it is from our roots that we draw sustenance.” – Wangari Maathai
Definition of a tree:
Dictionary.com
Noun “a plant having a permanently woody main stem or trunk, ordinarily growing to a considerable height, and usually developing branches at some distance from the ground.” –www.yourdictionary.com
Merriam-webster
A Brief Look At Trees In Mythology:
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The Blood Inheritance Quartet
Trees serve an important roll in the legends and mythology of the fictional planet Sumir, where “The Blood Inheritance Quartet” takes place. In this fantasy world, the goddesses that created the planet are said to have grown the trees from magic seeds gifted to them by their celestial father. These trees are rumored to have ancient roots so deep that they connect the realms and are used throughout the stories as a means to transport individuals and items on different occasions.
Historically, legend’s with somewhat similar ideas are not uncommon in the mythology of our own planet earth.
Trees in Mythology:
Trees have been regarded with wonder by humankind since the beginning of time. They have been given deep and sacred meaning, appearing as ladders between worlds, sources of wisdom and life, and as the physical forms or hiding places of supernatural beings. Almost every culture features myths, folktales, and legends about them.
Inspiration
Weather singular or grouped together, its no wonder the physical nature and composition of trees sparks such inspiration. Just look at them. These amazing plants vary widely in shape, size, and can live for hundreds or even thousands of years.
- Form
The form of a tree makes it easy to attribute human characteristics and behaviors to. Leaves and vines can look like hair, branches rise and wave like arms, and trunks can resemble bodies. Oftentimes trees can even appear to have human faces etched into their bark or protruding from their knots. In addition, the way trees sway and move with the wind adds to the effect.
As such, they are frequently utilized in legends of transformation, such as the Greek myth of Apollo and Daphne where, in order to escape Apollo’s advances, Daphne has her father turn her into a Laurel tree. Or the The legend of the coconut tree from Guam, in which the daughter of a prominent man is said to have been transformed into the first coconut tree. The Tale of two brothers, from Vietnam is yet another example of such metamorphosis. Lang, his brother Tan, and Tan’s wife were said to be changed into a rock, a tree, and a vine.
- Scale
Another physical aspect of trees that inspires mythology is the pure size of them. Trees can grow tall, with limbs that appear to extend ever upwards and a deep root system that can seem endless. These attributes are often used to represent the connection between the heavens, the physical world, and the underworld.
The mythology of early India, preserved in texts called the Upanishads, includes a tree called Asvattha, in which all these worlds are situated, and beyond which there is nothing else. This cosmic tree reverses the usual order. Its roots are in the sky, and its branches grow downward to cover the earth.
In many myths, a tree is a vital part of the structure of the universe. The features of a tree serve as a symbolic living link between this world and those of supernatural beings. In some legends, Gods and their messengers even travel from world to world by climbing up or down the tree.
For instance, in Norse mythology Yggdrasil is a mythical tree that is the centre to the cosmos. It is said to link the heavens, the earth, and the underworld by running like a pole through this world and the realms above and below it, effectively uniting and connecting all living things and all phases of existence.
The égig érő fa (The tree that reaches the sky) is a tree from Hungarian folklore, and is featured in a story of a shepherd boy who ran into a tree that appeared to be without a top. The tree seemed to be endless as he climbed and climbed. When he finally reached above the clouds, he found himself in a magical realm full of amazing creatures. It was believed that while the tree’s roots intertwined with the deepest parts of the underworld, this tree reached all the way up into the heavens.
- Lifecycle
Each year human beings, observe the growth, death, and revival of deciduous trees as they shed their leaves in winter and regrow their foliage in the spring. This is said to have inspired stories of trees representing death and rebirth. Whereas, evergreen trees which remain green all year, sometimes became symbols of undying life or immortality.
One example of Norse mythology says that the first man and woman were created from tree trunks by Odin and his two brothers. The same theme appears in myths of the Algonquian-speaking people of North America, which say that the creator and culture hero Gluskap fashioned man from an ash tree.
In some versions of one Persian creation story, a large tree grew from the rotting body of the first human. The trunk of the tree split, creating a man and a woman. Mashya and Mashyane.
This story also describes how the fruit from the tree became the various races of humankind. Trees being providers of shade and producers of fruit, they have long been associated with life and fertility.
- Fruit and Seeds
Traditional Persian and Slavic myths both told of a tree of life that bore the seeds of all the world’s plants. The story says that although this tree was rather ordinary looking, it was guarded by an invisible dragon.
For fear of chopping down the tree of life by accident, Persians cut no trees and opted instead to wait for them to fall naturally, while as a precaution, the Slavic peoples performed sacred ceremonies before taking down a tree.
In Greek mythology, the Garden of the Hesperides is a sacred apple grove tended by nymphs and guarded by a hundred headed dragon that never sleeps. One bite of a golden apple found growing there, was said to grant immortality.
For hundreds of thousands of years, people have been fascinated by trees and felt a strong connection to them. It seems that just about every culture has myths about trees possessing mystic powers and forests are often the setting for stories of adventure, with trees taking on the role of helper or obstacle, depending on the tale. In these dark and mysterious places, heroes can lose their way, often face unexpected challenges, and sometimes stumble on hidden secrets.
It is clear that weather the legend is of a single tree or a whole forest, these stories have played prominent roles in many cultures since the earliest human civilizations. There are so many intriguing myths, legends, and folktales regarding tree that we haven’t event scrapped the surface. I hope that I have ignited your curiosity about the amazing legends of mythological trees.
Explore and learn more about tree myths:
britannica.com, listverse.com, native-languages.org
Check out these sites:
savithasblog
A Writers Path
avem.home.blog
dorsetbookdetective
book jotter
randalls-ramblings
falconboy
nadiiasstories
gjstevens
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The Blood Inheritance Quartet 