Nostradamus--Are His Predictions Coming True? Did His Daughter Leave a Terrible Legacy?

Michel de Nostredame, better known by his Latin name Nostradamus, was an apothecary and seer of the 16th century. Although studying to be a doctor, he was expelled for his practice as an apothecary, but was still called "Doctor" my many contemporaries.

His later works turned to the occult after he wrote a popular Almanac and then his well-known predictions written in 4- lined quatrains based on astrological equations. It is interesting he became such a famous "seer" considering his predictions were notoriously inaccurate, and he many times blurred the possible "correct" divination with an incorrect mathematical problem because of a missing birth date or day.

Many say that his past predictions have come true, and that 2012 will bring World War III and a World Religion. Some of his supposedly accurate past predictions are:

* The great fire of London in 1666
* World War II and the rise of Hitler
* September 11th
* The rise of Napoleon
* The death of the Kennedy brothers
* The creation and use of the atom bomb

Click here for a more detailed explanation:  http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-nostradamus-predictions-that-have-come-true/

Nostradamus lost two children and his wife to the plague (even though he created a rose pill that was supposed to cure it), then married a widow and had six more children. Some say he fathered several illegitimate daughters, one that left a terrible legacy of evil and destruction in her wake.

Read here about Anna, from the soon to be released anthology, The Daughter of Nostradamus.

  The sun turned black but for the burning red smile of a demon.  Its ruby rays incinerated the unfortunate few who remained outdoors. 

The wind blew cold from the east and hot from the west, and its howls caused deafness in the young and insanity in the old.  The children slept too long in their beds, for to open their eyes now would mean the plague.

A dark haired woman screamed and threw back her head for she knew the child inside was killing her.  It clawed and scratched and she feared for the lives of her kin.  She was cursed with this, her thirteenth child.  Her blood was weak and her husband left many years ago when the crops would no longer grow. She did not know how this child was growing inside her.

She knew the birth would be her end.  The gods were angry and the earth was covered with loosed devils tonight.  The baby ruptured forth in a spray of blood, and its mother bled to death as the eclipse ended. 

The newborn spent its first night on earth in a pool of his dead mother’s still-warm blood, and slept peacefully there until morning, when he was found by Anna as she delivered her homemade bread. She picked up the bloody infant and ran home to her sister, screaming the signs from her dreams were all around, and the demons had left a son.  That night she cut her palm with a spirit knife, and poured her blood onto the fire and prayed for the black ghosts to take back their child.   

She bled for the first time that night, and in her dreams the wolves waited at the fringe of the forest, but they were not allowed in the clear.

Anna and her sister lived alone, for their mother was exiled from their village. Anna, with her piercing black eyes and raven hair was considered to be the daughter of the black-eyed magician who passed through town years before. Upsetting and intriguing the townspeople, he came before the drought and made disturbing predictions of the future while seeking herbs for his rogue medical practice. Her blonde haired, blue eyed mother and sister never argued the point.

The baby’s cries jarred her in the darkest part of the night, and she knew she would care not for this dark boy. Her wakefulness was burden enough, for her visions and nightmares often kept her sleepless for days. She knew he brought with him a stain, a faint grey mist that would settle and then spread.

When her sister Mina awoke in the morning and found the child gone, she would tell her his siblings came to find him in the night.

She listened to his cries for another moment then went to him.   

She lifted him from his bed and picked up her knife before walking into the forest. Although her sister believed Anna’s thoughts about the child were muddled for an infant can be nothing but innocent, she knew she needed to snuff the black spirits in the evil boy.

The woods were quiet as a tomb, and she knew the ghosts were watching and waiting for the dark task to be complete.  The animals burrowed deeper underground and the birds flew away as she entered.

It was kinder, she thought, to plunge the knife into his heart than to leave him alone and alive to be devoured slowly by the creatures that walk the dark.  She placed him under the sad arch of a willow tree, and looked at him one last time.  His eyes looked calmly back at her, and she pressed the knife into his heart, and once again in the other direction to form a cross so evil would have to avoid him and he would be taken by the angels.

He did not cry or whimper.  He closed his eyes and the wind began to blow. Anna looked up at the moon and knew her soul was lost.

                            **************************************************

Visit the Daughter of Nostradamus page on Facebook--enjoy the fun and evil pix.  Click here:  https://www.facebook.com/#!/TheDaughterOfNostradamus

Now I'm Self-Conscious...

Christians have always made me feel uncomfortable.  Or anyone who follows a religion with unwavering belief.

How can you believe in something you cannot see, feel, or touch? 

And maybe uncomfortable is the wrong word. 

Although I don't think the way I feel is inadequate--it is close.  Maybe I feel less-than-good.  And I'm not exactly sure why.

It could be because they have that unwavering belief in God--and if you read my last post (below)--that is something I do not have.

Speaking about my last post...

I re-read it.

And then I re-read the comments.

I think a few Christians commented.  And a few non-Christians too.  I have to say these comments, along with conversations that I had with friends and family concerning God and this post, came closer to making me feel there is a God than anything I have ever read, studied or experienced in church.

Someone reached out a hand in friendship, another privately emailed me and said they understood.  Others reinforced friendships I was already proud to have.

I asked for a sign in my last post--an undeniable signal from the Big Guy himself.  This is the first time I can say their was not only a sign--but a shiny banner repeatedly putting itself in my field of vision.

Yikes.

Does this make me a Christian?  Or a person with an unwavering belief?

Not yet.  Which is good because I feel a bit self-conscious even writing this post because Christians and people of unwavering belief make me feel uncomfortable.  But I have to be honest...

It kinda feels neat thinking that for a change I could be headed in that direction...

Day 23 of 100 Unfortunate Days below.  One part of a journey...

Day 23

Once there was a little girl. She went into her grandmother’s special cabinet and took out all the scarves. Some were bright pink with gold coins sewn to them, some were square and some were rectangular, one had the bright eyes of many foxes, but all were silk. She knew the scarves were magic, and she brought them outside with a basket of clothes pins. She hung the scarves on the weeping willow tree in the back yard…all around the low-hanging outside branches, and formed a beautiful house with windows and a big door that opened and closed. As she clipped the last pin to the last scarf the house filled with gold furniture, and the fox jumped off the scarf and became her pet. She could hear music in her head and could light fire with her fingertips. She looked up into the night sky and she knew how old the stars were. Her eyes were the clear green of the ocean and she did not have to blink. She knew all the languages of the world and as she lay on the ground the earth swallowed her. It held her as she slept and in the morning she left her scarf house with the fox and went in to the woods. She took her pocket knife and carved her name in a tree that grew the wood that would someday form her coffin. She cut her hand on the knife and her blood dropped on the ground. A crow flew down from the sky and landed at her feet near the blood. “Go home.” it said and flew away. She followed a trail of poisonous mushrooms deeper into the woods and fell to her knees at the sight of the moon in the distance. She closed her eyes and went home to her silk house. Her parents missed her very much and her grandmother was not even mad anymore that she played with her scarves without asking. But she did not know this, and she did not miss them. She cut the lemon tart that was her breakfast and picked raspberries from the bush next to the weeping willow tree. One day she missed her parents and she went home, but they did not know her…she was not a little girl any more.

  





I

The Gorey Details

A friend recently asked me to draw a picture to be included in her book.  The original drawing was a bit light, so I added some crosshatching to make it a bit more detailed and darker.

Happily she liked the results, and so did I.

The drawing reminded me of something, but I could not put my finger on it.  I walked away to get the phone and when I came back it hit me...it reminded me of Edward Gorey.

Please do not think I am comparing my skills to the incredible skills of Mr. Gorey, but it was neat to see a bit of similarity in style.  His work fascinated me since I was a kid when my Aunt Annie got his book AMPHIGOREY for Christmas one year.  I was especially intrigued by the cartoons that were captioned in French thinking they must be especially terrible.  I read that he has been compared to Poe and Tim Burton, or a combination of the two. 

His work is dark, beautiful, and disturbing, and my parents worried that I liked him and the group KISS.  The Bug Book was written just for kids, but lacked his dark edge, so it was not my favorite. 

A favorite of mine was his alphabet book.  These books were traditionally a happy and cheerful way for children to learn their A,B,C's.  Gorey's version was dark and macabre and so far away from child-appropriate that it was glorious.  Here is a sample:

A is for Amy who fell down the stairs--
B is for Basil assaulted by bears--
C is for Clara who wasted away--
D is for Desmond thrown out of a sleigh...

Bloody and dismal pictures graced every page.

You get the idea.

The aforementioned Amphigorey contains fifteen of his works, and is worthy of any library.
 http://www.amazon.com/Amphigorey-Fifteen-Books-Edward-Gorey/dp/0399504338

So if you like dark, dismal, creepy, disturbing and wonderful--look for Edward Gorey.  I am so glad I thought of him today.    :)

A very nice blog that features Gorey's pictures up-close and creepy:
 http://beyondtheblackgate.blogspot.com/2011/07/lazy-blog-post-edward-gorey.html

Goreyography:
http://www.goreyography.com/default.html

Welcome Welcome Yvonne Hertzberger!

Please welcome Yvonne Hertberger to As the Crowe Flies!

Please tell me about your book.

“Through Kestrel’s Eyes” is the second installment in my Fantasy trilogy “Earth’s Pendulum”. The underlying theme for the series deals with the interdependence of ourselves with our environment. But this ‘old world’ tale has lots of action, with traitors, battles and romance and characters you will love.

“Through Kestrel’s Eyes” is written from the point of view of Liannis, a young seer just coming into her full abilities as the servant of the goddess Earth. She must battle self-doubt, great loss and the lure of forbidden love as faces test after test in her quest to help bring back the Balance. Failure means that Earth cannot provide good harvests, health and prosperity. The people will starve if the Balance is not restored and Earth’s wounds healed. Time is short.

When and why did you start writing?

I began writing in earnest five years ago when, after a couple of short stories. I had retired from ‘paid’ employment and now had the time to devote to writing. When I wrote the first pages of “Back From Chaos” I found I had a longer tale demanding to be told and have not looked back since.

What inspires you?

I have always been a people watcher, or rather a ‘student of human behaviour’. J Figuring out what motivates people in relationships and what makes societies work has always fascinated me. The result is that my writing is strongly character based and I use my characters to explore the issues that interest me, such as gender, power and spirituality.

Are you working on anything now?

The first few chapters of “The Dreamt Child”, the final book in the trilogy are written. I hope to have it available this time next year. But that means I better get my butt in gear. J

Is there anything you do NOT like about being a writer?

I find marketing and promotion very challenging. I came into the internet age late and am still learning all the time. It is definitely not my forte and stresses me out.

What do you think of the ebook revolution?

I still love the feel of a ‘real’ book but I also see the value of e-readers. As we become more mobile, as homes become smaller without the space for many books, as paper books become too expensive for many, Ebooks provide a viable alternative for those who still like to read. Given the choice between not reading or reading ebooks there is no contest.

How do you see your writing career in five years?

I truly hope that in five years time my writing will gain enough exposure that I will gain respectability as an author, that my name will no longer be obscure and unknown. I do not expect to be famous, or even to make a living from writing, only to have a small following who like what I write.

Is there anything you will NOT write about?

I will not write pornography, anything that abases a specific group or even individual without also including healing, or anything that will incite hatred or prejudice. My aim is to challenge thinking for the good, never to leave the reader in a dark place without hope.

In what genre do you prefer to write?  To read?

The answer to both would be Epic Fantasy. I have no desire to write non-fiction though I might write fiction other than Fantasy some day. My favourite author is Robin Hobb. I do occasionally read mystery or thrillers or sometimes an acclaimed best seller.

Please tell us about any ups and downs in your writing career so far.

The hardest part, at first, was deciding to self-publish. iUniverse (called assisted self-publishing) published the first version of “Back From Chaos”, a good learning experience but very costly. I will never get that investment back. But the process prepared me for putting the revised version and “Through Kestrel’s Eyes” up myself on both Kindle and Createspace so I do not begrudge it, now. The lows for me are the times I stress about the things I needed to learn to get to that place.

The highs come when the writing takes on a life of its own and flows well. Then I feel great and believe that I am, indeed, a writer.

Do you have any suggestions to people who might be considering writing as a career?

Read, read, read. Write, write write. Listen to feedback but stay true to your own voice. Know the rules and break them only when you know you can do so effectively. Don’t expect to get rich.

Anything else you want to add?

I have made many friends and received a great deal of support from other writers since joining on-line groups. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to all those who have offered support and information, and to Orangeberry for the opportunity to share with you all.

Twitter: @YHERTZBE

Website/blog: http://yvonnehertzberger.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=hp#!/yvonne.hertzberger

Fan page: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=hp#!/EarthsPendulum.YvonneHertzberger.author

Books available in paper and on kindle at amazon.com

I Want It Yesterday

I have pondered being a published author since I was 7 years old, when I wrote my first book, The Littlest Grape.  It was written on the paper from a 3 x 5 pad, and the cover was the cardboard from the back of the pad.  The illustration were done in colored pencil, and after I stapled the cover to the pages, I brought it everywhere and showed it to everyone I knew.  I thought it was the best book in existence, and could not even begin to fathom the leap from cardboard and staples to the seemingly magical and unattainable place on the bookstore shelves. 

The Littlest Grape was followed by endless writing. I loved the hit-and-run quality of poems, and one very popular (in my mind) poem I wrote was Waterbed, warning of a baby/waterbed combination.  I also wrote songs. Young Dr. Kildare, a soon-to-be chart topper, was as good as any Partridge Family tune.  I thought the flip side of that particular 45 would be another big hit, Veins in My Thumbs.  And I continued writing books. The Haunted House came with a warning on every page cautioning the reader of the terror he would soon experience.

I kept a diary/account of everything that happened in school and what I thought of everyone in my class in my desk in a maroon pad with a smiley face on the cover. It was discovered and passed around one day when I was absent, and some of the kids were not too pleased about what I had written. Though some of the attention was negative, I loved that people noticed and talked about the diary.

Life takes us many places.  We experience many things.  Some fall away, and some things stick with us.  Writing stuck.

I finally decided I would write as a vocation, and the process suddenly could not happen fast enough.  It was thrilling to publish my first book--but I compared myself to others I knew.  They had several books, and many reviews, and more titles in the works. They had 75 million Twitter followers and just as many reading their blog. I felt I was behind!  I had to catch up!  I had to write more and friend more people and Tweet everyone about everything and...

...then I realized something.  I can't catch up to everyone who has been doing this for a while.  It will take a long time to get followers and friends in this business and I will have to earn them. But the urgency came from a good place...I am finally doing the thing I should have been doing all along.  So--I took a deep breath, calmed down a bit, and let myself feel happy about everything that was going on.  I'll listen to the words of a great writer, Stephen King: 

"You have to read a lot, and you have to write a lot.  There are no shortcuts."

I'm still thrilled about my books and writing, but I'm not going to rush or compare myself to anyone.  I will take my competitive nature and use it to improve my writing.  I still can't wait to finish my next book...


Also want to mention two books I am reading and enjoying.  Cloud Nice is by Melissa Smith.  It is about a self-sufficient teen-aged girl who gets a very special guardian angel, and Underneath, by Heather Adkins, which is about an empathic woman whose new job takes her to deep, dark, terrible places.  I will be reviewing these books as soon as I am done reading them.  So far so great.

http://www.amazon.com/Underneath-ebook/dp/B0055COI9M

http://www.amazon.com/Cloud-Nine-Paranormal-Guardians-ebook/dp/B004D9FF54         

Welcome David Cleinman!

It is my pleasure to introduce David Cleinman, author of Toys in the Attic.
 

Q.  When did you start writing?

I began writing as a young teenager, but didn’t really get serious until a few years ago.  It was one of those things… get a job, work a job, put dreams on hold.  I decided enough is enough and got into a groove. 

Q.  I read the description of Toys in the Attic, and was struck by the fact that the lead character is a woman.  How did you find a voice for her?

As with all my characters, kind of like any artist, they speak to me.  Their voice follows who they are.  I’m not sure I can do the process justice by trying to explain it.  A character must be who they are.  In TITA our character is a severely abused teenager who wants to live a normal life, and makes every possible effort to do so, in spite of the horrible odds against her.  I will also add here that some of her trials and triumphs are largely based on girls I have known and worked with as a counselor and teacher. 

Q.  What inspired you to write this book?

A need to get lingering and horrible emotions out and make some peace with myself and my world.  Knowing teenagers who were raped, and watching them struggle, is tragic and deeply troubling.  I wanted to bring hope and inspiration into a dark and painful topic, while also showing that personal redemption is possible, no matter what the odds to the contrary might be.

Q.  Did the book evolve from your original story idea, and if so, how?

Yes and no.  The idea of the setting and the community were mine.  The events, however, were ALL based on true events, pieced together from different girls and young women I have known.  Some I observed personally.  Some came from reference, some via police reports and personal witnesses.

Q.  Can you tell us a bit about the book?

The book chronicles the life a teenage girl whose mother dies when she is just fourteen, leaving her alone with an alcoholic and severely emotionally (and sometimes physically) abusive father.  Shortly after her seventeenth birthday her beats and rapes her, and she is forced to kill him in self-defense.  She ends up giving birth to his child, an immediate and ever present reminder of intense evil.  Her life, from that point on, is a daily exercise in duality.  The desire to be a top-notch business woman, and the inability to be a parent to a completely innocent child.  As the novel progresses, her personal growth requires her to confront her demons, of which there are so many. 

Q.  How long did the book take to write?

About a year to write, and quite a bit longer to frame in my mind.  Wrapping my head around the emotions and getting out of my own way slowed some of the process, and the end product is better for it.

Q.  Were you inspired by any authors?  Who?

For this novel, no.  Although there are some Stephen King-like concepts, that is fairly situational.  In some ways the must-bes of a given situation.

Q.  Are any of the characters based on real people?

Indeed.  But not so much the characters themselves, moreso the things they have endured and overcome.  The son, Conner, is largely based on a schoolmate of mine in grade school, who also demonstrated uncanny athletic prowess at a young age.

Q.  Was this book easy to write, or a struggle?

Difficult.  Both from an emotional standpoint, and also because I needed to get very delicate and disturbing situations just right.  Because the novel is filled with horrors and triumphs, melding the two together became an ongoing exercise in balance and control.

Q.  Tell me how you picked the title.

The title is a dual reference.  In one way it deals with actual lives built in real attics.  It also refers to the mental struggles we all face, big and small.

Q.  What is your favorite genre of book to read?

I’m pretty open in that regard.  At one time I loved fantasy above all else, followed by science fiction.  As I have matured, while I still enjoy fantasy and sci fi, I am enjoying historical fiction more, and religious irony (I would call it satire if satire did not imply funny). 

Q.  Are you working on any projects right now?

Always.  I am rebuilding my published novel, Principle Destiny.  Pulling it from print and going Indie with it with a new cover and title.  I am rewriting my original fantasy series, begun when I was thirteen, and rewriting another that I began in the early 1990s.  I have recently published an article marketing guide called. Wait for it, The Article Marketer’s Guide, and I am doing a vampire short series that changes the concept from blood to something more scary and less directly edible.

Q.  Do you have any writing goals for the future?

My main goal is to explore myself and create something unique and cutting edge.  I know myself well enough to state that it will be based on emotions and interpersonal struggle, regardless of the final form.

Q.  There are many steps in publishing an ebook, do you like any parts more than others?  What are they?

Really all I would say is that an ebook is just a print book formatted for an eReader.  The writing process is identical.  As always I prefer the story development and the characterization the most.  The formatting part is easier, but a lot less fun.

Q.  From your website it looks like you are very busy, you run a company and a foundation, what made you decide to write and how do you have the time?

I find that I am most productive when I am busy.  If I have too little to do I get bored and lackadaisical.  I need a full plate to keep me going.  In addition, having multiple projects going is more fun than being underworked!

website:  http://www.davidcleinman.com/writings

Toys in the Attic:    http://davidcleinman.com/writings/my-books/about-toys-in-the-attic/

  

Here We Go!

It's late and I am tired, but I had a flash of insight.  There are no perfect moments.  So take the great moments you get and make the best of them.  Life is WAY too short to do it any other way.  :)

Sequel Alert! Stephen King Writing Sequel to the Shining

I don't know about you, but I get excited every time I hear Stephen King is putting out another book.  After reading his short story, Mile 81, a Tales from the Crypt-like visit to an abandonded rest stop, I was ready for more.

I was thrilled to read a sequel to The Shining, called Dr. Sleep, will be about a grown -up Danny Torrence, of REDRUM fame, and a pack of traveling  psychic vampires called The Tribe.

What this book will develop into is to be seen, but whatever it is, I'm ready and waiting.

The link below shows Stephen King at an appearance at George Mason University last week, reading a chapter from his new book.

http://dailydead.com/stephen-king-announces-the-shining-sequel-dr-sleep/