Cupid Revealed ~ Rose Anderson

Yes, I'm teaching myself Photoshop. Funny, those thought bubbles were blank when I started...

:)







With Valentine’s Day around the corner, I thought I’d give a nod to that rascally cherub – Cupid.

Depending on which mythology you ascribe to, this pudgy little deity is the immortal son of Venus (Aphrodite) and Mars (Ares) – an allegorical blending of love and war. Because he was the uniting power of love and therefore the bringer of order and harmony to the universe, some mythic tales make him a fundamental contributor in the formation of the world. A little known detail that gets overlooked as the lover’s holiday approaches: Cupid carries two arrows in his quiver – one of love and another of hate.

To the Orphic and Greek philosophers, he was the son of Nyx the Night and Boreas the North Wind – the first complete manifestation of Divinity. In other depictions, Cupid is considered a primordial god – an old one who came before Zeus and even before Zeus’ grandparents Gaia and Uranus. From the very beginning, even before the fabric of the universe was woven, Cupid personified love.

As Eros, his Roman counterpart, he was known far and wide as the god of passionate love. Fertility cults, and other things, rose in his honor. Some tales even have him with multiple heads, four eyes and various animal attributes. In other mythic versions, Cupid is blindfolded, and only the truest hearts will draw his blindly shot arrows. I had no idea Cupid was such a multifaceted little amorino.

When I met the love of my life, it was literally love at first sight for us both. I wasn’t looking, he wasn’t looking. It was fate. The arrow struck us both and it was totally unexpected. I write that love in my romances. I can see Cupid in my mind’s eye… his arrow notched on his bow. He’s tucked behind a tree or rock, poised to let his charmed arrow fly at just the right moment. When it hits, it’s totally unanticipated. It’s fate. Sometimes love is like that. Sometimes love waits in unexpected places. Has Cupid ever stuck an arrow in you? Please share in comments.

In honor of Cupid and his day, I’ve collected a few snippets from three of my favorite storylines. To me, they show the moment the arrow hits. I hope you enjoy.

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Enchanted Skye
Inspired by an actual family legend and mythology. Here, an ancient charm captures a Selkie's heart.

He watched with mild interest from the rocks, but when Angus and the reverend walked back to the house, his interest got the better of him. He scooted a little closer and lifted his head to get a better view. He didn’t recognize this young woman on the land but watched her kneel before the pool. Her dark sable hair covered her face as she keened and for some reason he felt compelled to go to her side. He slid into the water and the closer he drew, the stranger he felt. Only feet from her now, he blinked the saltwater from his eyes and watched her. The wind whipped at her hair and the sea mist clung to her clothing as she hugged an urn tightly to her chest. He knew what he was seeing then. They’d scattered ashes on the water. He considered her. Who was this woman to Angus MacLeod?

The woman must have felt his presence for she looked up from her grief. Meeting his eyes, she looked startled to see him so close. She rose slowly and backed away.

His heart ached to watch her go and he found the feeling both perplexing and extraordinary. Then and there, he knew he had to meet her. Taking a breath, he plunged under the water and swam to the far side of the cliff where the sea cave sat undetected. On dry land now, inside the dark chamber, he peeled away his waterskin. And where flippers were a moment before, a man’s arms and legs appeared. Shaking out his spotted skin with a snap, he rolled it into a tight bundle and headed toward the passage.

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The Witchy Wolf and the Wendigo
Inspired by the very real legend of the Wisconsin Wolfman. 


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Ash rolled side to side, his tail wagging and teeth bared. Livie laughed, and it made him pause. He’d heard her laugh when she talked with Jenni, but he hadn’t heard her laugh like this, and never for him alone. The sound was merry and genuine and it made him happy. To his surprise, he wanted more. He craved her touch. He craved her. He nuzzled his nose under her hand. Touch me Livie.

She asked. “How did you heal so quickly? This just doesn’t make sense.”

Ash knew she spoke more to herself than to him but listening to her eased him. Heal? Yes, that’s what’s was happening. He felt the flutter in his chest and knew it for what it was. His heart was healing. He’d loved his wife with his heart’s every beat. He’d loved their precious child with his every breath. He always would. But because of this gentle, caring woman, he felt his shriveled heart expand for the first time since that monster stole his family from him. After a while her hand stopped its gentle caress and Ash knew she had fallen asleep. Listening to Livie’s regular breathing, he crawled up beside her and laid his heavy head across her chest. He closed his eyes and let her heartbeat lull him.

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Loving Leonardo
Inspired by today's news headlines. An unusual, polyamorous, Victorian love story, with a touch of reader-interactive art history.

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I sat Ellie and pulled a chair for Mrs. Ormont as she waited for her husband. A moment later, Colonel Ormont brought the historian to our table and made introductions. Luca Franco, late of Florence, was a Professor of Antiquities returning from London. I found the Italian quite the attractive fellow, impeccably dressed as he was. When in the presence of true beauty, my mind often imagines the person unclothed as the artists of the ages might have seen him. Sitting at my table was a statue carved in marble by Gian Lorenzo Bernini; an artist known for his remarkable ability to capture the essence of a narrative moment. And I found Luca Franco to be exactly that — a moment indelibly captured in time — a moment of meeting the mind could revisit in its entirety.

From every angle, he was beautifully made: black-haired, of medium build, and physically fit. He possessed a warm hue to his skin, his lineage no doubt stamped centuries past by the darker Moors or Turks. In startling contrast, and quite handsomely framed by black lashes, he had striking eyes the color one might see in a shadow falling across snow — not quite sky blue nor exactly steel gray, but a blending of the two in gradated rings.

I rose to shake his hand and felt the unmistakable current of compatibility. If this man weren’t forward in his mutual attraction, it was there nonetheless. I watched him bow over the ladies’ hands and found it curious that he lingered over Ellie’s fingers a tad longer. It made me smile. I had the distinct impression I was in the presence of a fellow dual-nature like myself.

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About Rose
Rose is multi-published, award-winning author and dilettante who loves great conversation and discovering interesting things to weave into stories. She lives with her family and small menagerie amid oak groves and prairie in the rolling glacial hills of the upper Midwest. 

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Love Waits in Unexpected Places - Scorching Samplings of Unusual Love Stories https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/333971
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A New Year Q&A With Rose Anderson

Calliope

It’s my turn for an interview to start the new year. As a little extra something, we’re having a contest. Simply read this post and comment or ask questions. Don’t forget to leave your email address. One name will be chosen and the winner gets an official, and quite collectable, Romance Books ‘4’ Us t-shirt! I have one, they’re very nice.  :)

Why the avatar picture on this introduction? Calliope the Writer's Muse stands in my place rather than have me take a selfie in the mirror. One of my goals this year is to have a professional picture taken.  For now, if you see her anywhere, I've probably put her there. 

A short bio:
Rose is multi-published award-winning author and dilettante who loves great conversation and discovering interesting things to weave into stories. She lives with her family and small menagerie amid oak groves and prairie in the rolling glacial hills of the upper Midwest.

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Love Waits in Unexpected Places - Scorching Samplings of Unusual Love Stories https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/333971 Sample my love stories for free!

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How did you celebrate publishing your first book?
I’ve been blessed with a wonderful bunch of supportive friends who have cheered me on since the beginning. One of my Rose hits the big time dreams is to have a large enough piece of property that we can all live on and grow old together. I can’t express how nice it is when people genuinely believe in you. We celebrated my first novel with champagne and cheesecake, and have done the same for every book since. 

What’s your writing schedule like? Do you strive for a certain amount of words each day?
I get up, make coffee, drink coffee, walk dogs, feed dogs, play with dogs (if I don’t then I’m hounded with squeaky toys until I do). Then I see to the details of being an author: a full inbox, a blog post, guest post, or an interview to complete. My goal is start writing my work in progress by 8:30. If the Muse is on my side that day, I might get several chapters completed. I’ve never gone by word count per day as my meter of productivity. Every day is a productive day in one way or another. If I’m not actively writing a story, then I’m promoting or working to build the Exquisite Quills writer/reader community.
 

Generally, I go by flow, as in, how much story flowed out of my head that day. If the Muse is speaking to me that day, I could end up doing a stint that lasts sixteen hours. One of my novels took just three days to write and submit. Another took a week for the full first draft. Conversely, the last novel published took more than a year and a half. I suppose it would be different if I worked off an outline or a formula. I can easily see a word count goal as part of the plan. But I’m a panster all the way, so gotta make hay while the sun shines!

How much of yourself is hidden in the characters in the book?
My life makes cameo appearances in one form or another in all my books. It’s easy to draw from the familiar. As for my characters, they’re all composites of me. Even my bad guys have elements that are squarely mine. My characters share my values, my fears, my wit, passions and more. I’ve surprised myself a few times and more than once given myself goosebumps.

Of all your characters, who’s your favorite, and why?
Nicolas Halstead from the Loving Leonardo series by far possesses the most depth of any character I’ve written to date. He’s an art historian who sees the world through the artworks he loves. Because all art is a manifestation of emotion, Nicolas wears his depth, compassion, sensitivity, and passion upon his sleeve. He’s also witty and intelligent and terribly romantic. I find him utterly fascinating. His story is written through his point of view so I get to put on his skin and walk through his world, and I love seeing through his eyes when he makes artistic comparisons. Melding his Victorian mind and mine has made me quite attached to him. 

If you could change something about your first book, what would it be?
I'd consider changing the title for Hermes Online. When I wrote that story I thought I was rather clever for dreaming up a title that hinted at divine meddling by Ancient Greek gods who sent  mortals messages through their wing-footed messenger Hermes. I never foresaw an issue with the name when I thought it up. But then I had no idea Hermes, a different Hermes, sold handbags and purses. I've had my title in Google Alerts for nearly three years. In all that time I’ve rarely seen my book, but I do know when every purse, handbag, and clutch is on sale online. Keeping a sense of humor is a must. ;)

How do you choose names for your characters?
I’m one for hiding things in my stories, so I try to pick names that hint at personalities. Mostly I choose names that lend themselves to levels of intimacy. For example: In The Witchy Wolf and the Wendigo I have Dr. Olivia Rosalini. To her friends she goes by Liv and Livie. To her family, she’s Livie. Depending on who she’s interacting with, I can add depth to the interaction by using the name of familiarity commonly used by that family member or friend. In Loving Leonardo, I picked Nicolas and Ellie because I conceived the pair as solving mysteries a la Dashiell Hammett’s Nick and Nora Charles. Ellie’s full name is Elenora. 

Covers. Ever get one you wish you could change?
Hermes Online. According to feedback, this may be one of the silliest covers in romance. 

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An astounding number of people have written to inform me the "E" is actually a sigma and it sounds like "S". I've also been asked why a baby's hand is coming through the laptop screen. I will change this cover one day, but I'll keep the title for laughs.
 
Give one advice tip to an aspiring author. 
I’d say try to keep in mind that not all of your books will be a good fit with every reader. Don’t take it too hard when the inevitable poor or snarky review pops up. Books are no less works of art than masterpieces in oil or stone…and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Reviews are simply opinions. After a perplexing review one day, I wondered what reviews looked like for some of my favorite authors. I checked on Diana Gabaldon, Michael Crichton, Stephan King and even Jane Austen. And wouldn’t you know, they all have bad reviews too! My advice to new authors, check your favorite authors for yourself. You’re in good company. 

Have you ever used an incident from your real life into one of your books?
There are quite a few real life experiences of mine in my novels. Nicolas Halstead from Loving Leonardo owes his art historian persona to my growing up with Chicago’s Art Institute in my backyard. Hermes Online and Dreamscape both have elements of my work in historic preservation. Enchanted Skye has a crazy stalking ex-boyfriend, and I had one of those when I was seventeen. 

By far the oddest thing concerns that Native American shaman of mine in The Witchy Wolf and the Wendigo. To get a feel for Ash’s calling, I actually smoked a pipe of reed canary grass. This common grass is the source of a chemical called DMT. It’s known as the Spirit Molecule. Indigenous Amazonian native cultures consume DMT as the primary psychoactive component in ayahuasca, a shamanistic brew used for divinatory and healing purposes. Reed canary grass is less potent than the full ayahuasca, and I have asthma, so going full bore was out of the question anyway. My shaman-esque experience lasted only five minutes, but for four of those minutes I swear my brain left my skull and sat on my shoulder like a parrot. Once was enough. I learned all I needed to know! 

Out of your entire backlist, which book has the best opening line? What's the line?
I don’t have a single line per se, but I do have an evocative first paragraph from Loving Leonardo:

Carlo Posateri shrugged his cloak back on his shoulders, the thin wool gone heavy from absorbing the September fog. He peered into the night then checked his pocket watch under the misty gaslight. Few people would be out in an evening fog like this and there was a word to describe many who were — Ladro. It was a perfect night to make deals with a thief.

 How many stories are swirling around in your head? Do you keep a mental list, a computer file, or a spiral notebook filled with the ideas?
Oh, do I have stories! The best description of my mind is to compare it to a crowded restaurant where every table is a story simmering quietly. Somewhere, a pocket holds an engagement ring. The guy stabbing his olive like a voodoo doll got turned down for a promotion. A little girl, her tongue poking in concentration, traces her crayon along the placemat maze. Across the room a potential suicide comes to terms with his weighty decision and nearby sits a young woman who doesn’t yet know she’ll save his life. As busy as this all is, there is an overlay of added detail – a server mopping up blood-red wine, steaming plates of fettuccine Alfredo, the caramelized scent of crème brûlée here, and the oily sizzling flames of saganaki there. If I look closely, I see the server just winked at the bartender – a clear message that says, “I’m off at 10:00.” If I could only plug my brain into my laptop to upload stories, my backlist would be huge. Instead, I carry an idea book in my purse. If inspiration strikes, in it goes.

Fun Stuff:

• What is your favorite holiday and why?
  Hands down it’s Halloween. It has costumes, trick or treating, caramel apples, and crunchy autumn-colored leaves. Who could ask for more?

• What are two things people might be surprised to know about you?
  I’m a Reiki Master and a crack shot. 

• As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
  An archaeologist, a paleontologist, and a biochemist. I somehow envisioned doing all three at once.

• Favorite food.
  Any food shared with family and friends.

• Favorite happy memory.
  My sweetheart’s marriage proposal thirty-six years ago.

• Favorite drink.
  No alcohol: cucumber/lemon/mint infused water. With alcohol: a Fuzzy Navel!

• Hot summer days or chilly winter nights?
  Without a doubt, chilly winter nights.

• What is the top thing on your bucket list?
  To visit ancient sacred sites around the world.

• If you could have a super power, what would it be?
  Oh, definitely time travel.  I’d go back in time and change things that have done nothing but set humanity back. I’d correct things that never should have occurred like the burning of the Library at Alexandria. I’d correct the series of events that took woman from her rightful place beside man and made her his property. I suspect if that were possible there wouldn’t have been wars, greed would have no footing, and suffering in all of its forms for man and animal would end.  I dream big. :)

  
  
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Rose Anderson ~ Love Waits in Unexpected Places

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A Brief Stroll Through Ancient History with Sybil and Rose

Last night I was trying to come up with an entertaining post for this, my second on the RB4U. There's always the one man's ceiling is another man's floor factor that gets in the way. And being a writer, of course I had a dozen possibilities in my head! This morning I had one more about the 4th of July. Oh well maybe next year for that one.

Even as a child I could entertain myself. My imagination was always active -- I'd draw, sculpt, carve, color, and cut paper for hours. Because of that innate desire to create, my mother always harbored the wish I'd be an artist of some sort. Intent on helping me find my niche, she supplied me with all sorts of tools and materials. She also she loaded me up with books on famous paintings and the Chicago Art Institute was just minutes away. I never followed the tangible arts, I went in another direction entirely. I wonder what she'd think of this author business!

Anyway, I once had a marvelous book about Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel, and I spent hours poring over the details. The artist was a master at painting perspective and tromp l'oeil, Impressive considering he painted much of the whole enormous ceiling on his back. Of all the images from the Sistine Chapel, one in particular caught my eye and compelled me to learn more. It was the Delphic Sybil (Sibyl) better known as the Oracle At Delphi.

Just prior to the Sybil coming on the scene, a goatherd tending his flock on the slope of Mount Parnassus noticed his goats bleated strangely when grazing near a certain fissure in the mountainside. Drawing nearer, he was seized by what he referred to as divine presence. Unknown at the time, the mechanics of this presence involved plate tectonics, those mobile rocky plates forming the earth's surface. The two that came together there, the Eurasian Continental Plate and the Aegean Plate, created the fissure. It was here through the porous rock along the crevasse that methane and ethane, two toxic hydrocarbon gasses, were released into the air. 

This mountainside soon became one of the most important religious sites of the ancient world. A stone temple dedicated to the god Apollo was erected in a natural amphitheater. They had a feeling the airs of the temple had special properties so a small alcove was built to catch the fumes from the fissure and the CO2 from the rich waters of a sacred spring deliberately channeled through the temple. Inside the temple walls sat the Pythia -- specially trained women who dedicated themselves to Apollo. They became the Delphic Oracles.  

After preparing herself through fasting and cleansing, the Oracle sat on her special tripod stool and breathed it all in. Wracked with spasms, she fell into an exalted state of mind. From this toxic trance, she responded to questions and gave advice with prophetic wisdom directly inspired by Apollo himself. It was said at times she was spot on in her prophecy, but occasionally she babbled and didn't make sense. At times her answers were clear, but were beyond the understanding of the questioner.  It's curious to note she only divined on special days. To do otherwise would prove deadly. On at least one occasion the Pythia was forced from her divine schedule, and sure enough, she went into seizures and died a few days later. I've wondered about this for more than half of my life. There was significance to the schedule, but how was it one day was safer than the next? The oracles spoke at Delphi for a thousand years.

I hope you've enjoyed this little walk through ancient history. Sybil plays an important role in my work in progress. if you'd like to sample first chapters of my other books just ask and I'll send them on.

Speaking of art...Loving Leonardo, my unusual Victorian polyamorous love story with a touch of reader-interactive art history, won 2nd place in the International Digital Awards through the OKRWA (Oklahoma chapter of Romance Writers of America). I'm happy. Reader-interactive art history is as close as I get mom!
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Rose-Anderson
 

Rose is multi-published author and dilettante who loves great conversation and learning interesting things to weave into stories. She lives with her family and small menagerie amid oak groves and prairie in the rolling glacial hills of the upper mid-west.
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Hello! A First Post from Rose Anderson

Calliope the writer's Muse

Hello everyone, my name is Rose Anderson. I’m a multi-published author of erotic romance and recent addition to the terrific twenty gold members that make up Romance Books ‘4’ Us. I’ve enjoyed this group since discovering it two and a half years ago, so I’m very happy to be involved.
From here on out, the 4^th of the month will be my posting day. I promise to make my posts interesting (yes, I proudly fly my nerd flag). Consider this my invitation to share your own thoughts in comments below. Let’s get a conversation going!

I thought I’d do my first post on inspiration.

Were you to go looking for a dictionary definition for inspiration, you’d find an interesting corollary – not only does inspiration mean a divine influence directly and immediately exerted upon the mind or soul, it also means to draw in breath.

As a writer I understand that. Occasionally inspiration will come flying out of the blue – a thought immediately exerted upon my mind and soul as involuntary as drawing a breath. It’s remarkable really. And as if that wasn’t enough, there are times where I feel like I’m in the back seat and someone else is driving! That happened to me with Loving Leonardo. Curiously enough, a little dog named Maggie had a paw in it too.

Maggie is my daughter’s little terrier mix. Small in stature, but large in personality, Maggie has the typical terrier brain. If you could read the thought bubble over her head it would say: Murder murder murder squirrel! Murder murder murder. A wild turkey walked through the yard today. I thought she was going to explode in outrage. Honestly, all this little pooch thinks about is chomping squirrels, chipmunks, birds, rabbits, anything really. When my daughter lived in Colorado, Maggie held elk in the same murderous regard.

To distract her from these lethal thoughts, I turn on the TV with the volume down. Maggie then makes herself comfortable in her dog bed and watches it. Seriously. She’s a regular couch potato who loves cat food commercials and goes nuts over the Geico zipline pig. My friends and family find it hilarious. 
  

So one day last summer, Maggie was watching the mid-day news and I didn’t realize it was loud enough for me to hear. I rarely watch TV so pay it little mind. That day’s news was all about politics, specifically progressives and women’s issues. Suddenly Elenora Schwaab, Victorian suffragette, sprang fully formed from my head like Athena sprung from Zeus.

The next thing I knew, Ellie proposed marriage to Nicolas, an art historian who was also a confirmed bachelor and just happened to be a gay man. To my complete surprise he said yes and they went off to Venice on a wild adventure to find a book Leonardo da Vinci created for his long-time lover Salai. And wouldn’t you know, they met Luca aboard ship, himself a historian with a keen interest in Leonardo da Vinci. As the compatibility, friendship, and affection grew between them, their time together became sensually charged. Before I realized what was happening, they’d given me a polyamorous love story. I wasn’t looking for that and I wasn’t expecting it either, but the details came pouring out as if I were the biographer taking notes on their real lives – like I was in the back seat going for a ride. (I suspect Calliope the writer's Muse was in the driver's seat.)
 

As far as inspiration goes, the divine influence directly and immediately exerted upon my mind that day helped me create one of my favorite stories. I can honestly see a series of Ellie, Nicolas, and Luca’s adventures on the horizon. What began in Loving Leonardo continues in Loving Leonardo – The Quest. The story is all about love without boundaries, for really, we never choose whom we love. Love chooses us.

A Little Bit About Rose
Let Rose Anderson sweep you away on a sensual tide of memorable storytelling. An active imagination compels Rose to write everything from children’s stories to historical nonfiction, and she especially enjoys creating reader-interactive stories like Loving Leonardo and Dreamscape. She has four erotic romances out now (told in six novels), and there are more on the way. As a regular blogger, Rose invites you to subscribe to her Main blog for updates, author tools, and other interesting things. While you’re there, check out her links! http://calliopeswritingtablet.com/

Today's my day for The Romance Reviews Sizzling Summer Reads contest. Come see!
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