Cover Reveal: Antithesis by Kacey Vanderkarr
It is my great pleasure to be able to share the cover of the upcoming debut YA novel, Antithesis by Kacey Vanderkarr, releasing July 21st, 2013 from Inkspell Publishing.
Book Blurb:
My name is Gavyn.
Liam doesn’t care that I only have one arm. He actually likes my red hair and freckles. I might forgive him for kidnapping me.
My name is Gavyn.
I lost my Liam. I’ve lost them all. And now it’s my job to make sure they don’t show up again.
My name is Gavyn.
I had a life with Liam, but he couldn’t give me what I need. Then I killed his father. I don’t expect he’ll forgive me for that.
My name is Gavyn.
About the Author:
Kacey Vanderkarr is a young adult author. She dabbles in fantasy, romance, and sci-fi, complete with faeries, alternate realities, and the occasional plasma gun. She’s known to be annoyingly optimistic and listen to music at the highest decibel. When she’s not writing, she coaches winterguard and works as a sonographer. Kacey lives in Michigan, with her husband, son, crazy cats, and two bearded dragons. Visit http://www.kaceyvanderkarr.com for more information.
Twitter: @kacimari
Blog: www.kaceyvanderkarr.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kacey-Vanderkarr-Young-Adult-Author/128956043852072
So, what do you think? Isn’t it beautiful? I love the purple background against her red hair. And the blurb sounds really intriguing! I’ve already added it to my to read list on Goodreads.
I recently read a comment about my book wondering about the juxtaposition of angels, creatures of Christian mythology, with the idea of reincarnation, which was notoriously Hindu. I thought I’d talk about it for today’s post. In a previous Winged Wednesday post, I mentioned that Angels weren’t just Christian. They could be found in Judaism and Islamic texts as well as in pagan beliefs predating all of those faiths.
Today, I’m going to talk a bit about reincarnation and say that it’s not only found in the Hindu faith. In fact, reincarnation comes from many religions: In addition to Jainism, Hinduism, and Buddhism, there are instances of reincarnation documented by the Ancient Greek, Norse, Celtic, and Taoist beliefs. (See Wikipedia for more).
There was even mention of reincarnation in the early Christian faith. Yep. Christianity believed in reincarnation too. For scriptural support, see http://reluctant-messenger.com/origen3.html
“Although the Bible also contains other reincarnational passages, these Elijah-John passages constitute clear proof of reincarnation:
1. The Old Testament prophesied that Elijah himself (not someone “like” him or someone “similar” to him, but Elijah himself) would return before the advent of the Messiah.
2. Jesus declared that John the Baptist was Elijah who had returned, stating bluntly “Elijah has come”.
Now, based on these passages alone, either (A) or (B) must be true:
(A) John the Baptist was Elijah himself, meaning that Elijah had reincarnated. If this is true, then reincarnation must belong in Christian theology, and the West’s entire doctrinal interpretation of “Life After Death” in general, and the “Last Day Resurrection” in particular, must be radically revised, or…
(B) John the Baptist was not Elijah himself, meaning that Elijah himself had not returned. If this is so, then either:
(1) The Old Testament prophecy about Elijah returning before the Messiah failed to come to pass (meaning that Biblical prophecy is fallible), OR
(2) Jesus was not the Messiah.
Basically, it comes down to this simple question: What do you want to believe? One of the following A, B, or C, must logically be true:
A. Reincarnation is true, or
B. Jesus was not the Messiah, or
C. The prophecies of the Bible are unreliable.”
It is believed by some that in 325 AD, the council of Nicea, the early Christian church, removed the idea of reincarnation from the Bible. Some say it’s a rumor, but since none of us were actually there at the time, I figured, “Why not?”
Since I’m writing fiction, I don’t have to cite sources the same way as non-fiction must. I created a world where this might be true and leave the rest up to the reader’s imagination.
Thank you for visiting my site today. Have you read other fantasy books written with different spiritual mythologies? What kind of spiritual mash-ups have you read that you enjoy? What kind would you like to see?
Winged Wednesdays: An Angel’s Toolkit
While tattoos (even temporary ones) aren’t part of the angel’s toolkit, they’re fun!
For today’s Winged Wednesday, I’m going to talk about some of the tools in an angel’s toolkit, or special abilities if you will, according to the world I created in my book, The Watcher. Though angels have many tools, these are my favorites.
Swords:
The swords used in The Watcher are called intention swords, and they work by an angel’s intention. They can be blunt instruments or a light that passes through anything physical to cut away anything evil.
Halos:
In The Watcher, the angels’ halos aren’t simply rings over their heads, they are force-fields that surround the angels and serve to protect them from evil. They can be extended to clear away anything negative, and even to clear negativity off each other. Another feature of an angel’s halo is its ability to hide them from our world. Angels can pass among humans cloaked by their halos.
Wings:
All angels have wings, and they are beautiful. Rather than being made of feathers, like you see in pictures, they are made of feather-shaped filaments of light that are both solid and not. Most of the time, angel wings are cloaked and stored in another dimension, thus leaving a shimmer or gossamer-like grid around them, visible only to very sighted individuals (like Mia). When angels need their wings, they bring them into this dimension. They used them to fly or sometimes they just display them so that people will believe they are who they say they are. In other words, it’s like a doctor’s white lab coat. A doctor is still a doctor without the lab coat, but when she or he is wearing one, you know that person means business.
These are just a few of the tools angels have. What other tools do you think angels should have?
Release Party for The Watcher
A few weeks ago, we held a release party for The Watcher at North Vancouver’s Cafe for Contemporary Art. The theme of the event was “Wear Your Wings”.
The evening was a great success with many attendees decked out in a variety of winged t-shirts, jewelry, tattoos and even shoes!
Some angels even came to pose with me.
Lisa and the Angels
Bryony from A Company of Fairies gave free angel card readings in full costume.
Bryony as “Aria” the Angel, giving angel card readings. Photo by Shawn Connelly.
Of course, there was a reading.
Lisa Voisin reading from The Watcher
We even have a fabulous photo of Vals from Training in Power Academy being in two places at once (you might want to ask them about courses on how to do that!)
Notice anything unusual about this photo? Like someone appearing twice? Click this image for the full size. Photo by Shawn Connelly.
For more images of the event, please visit the Flickr page.
Thanks to everyone who attended this event and for making it a huge success.
This post was originally a guest post I wrote for http://www.jessabellareads.com as part of The Watcher Blog tour - but as of today, Jessabella Reads is no longer available. So I’m reblogging it as part of Winged Wednesdays.
Could You Be Dating a Demon?
Demon (Photo credit: ark)
Everyone loves a little danger in their dating life, which is why bad boys are so hot. But what if you’re in over your head? What if that bad boy you’re so crazy about is really a demon?
1. On your first date, he:
a. drives you on his motorcycle to a seedy bar on the wrong side of the tracks (even though you’re underage).
b. pulls up in front of a bank, puts on a stocking mask and tells you to keep the engine running.
c. picks up take-out and drives you to a drive in to watch the latest horror flick.
d. takes you on a quick tour of Hell.
2. You’ve been dating a week, and your mom wants to meet him. He:
a. suddenly has an emergency out of town.
b. shows up drunk.
c. says he’ll be there but suddenly bails.
d. dumps you for your mom.
3. You’re out together and you happen upon a mugging. He:
a. crosses the street to get out of the way.
b. high fives the mugger. They’re friends.
c. takes a photo with his smart phone and uploads it to Facebook.
d. laughs, trips the mugger, and takes the spoils for himself.
4. Things are getting serious. His parents come to your place for dinner. Their names are:
a. John and Martha, and they’re really devout.
b. Critter and Becky-Sue, and they’re both on parole.
c. Greg and Evangeline, and they’re both doctors.
d. Beelzebub and Lilith, and they’re “contract negotiators”.
5. It’s your third date. He expects:
a. you to take things to the next level (sex).
b. you to take him out somewhere expensive.
c. you to move on — he has!
d. one of your vital organs (for some sort of “ritual”).
6. In a relationship, he’s looking for:
a. someone who shocks his parents.
b. a partner who will help him bury the bodies and drive the getaway van.
c. relationship? You’re kidding, right?
d. followers, and not just on twitter.
7. His favorite food is:
a. all American: Bacon-double cheeseburger and fries.
b. his grandma’s engine-baked squirrel with moonshine.
c. adventurous: ethnic or spicy.
d. human souls.
Is he or isn’t he? How’d you score?
Mostly a’s – He may seem a bit badass, but he’s just your standard rebel. Probably trying to shock his Baptist parents.
Mostly b’s – He’s a general badass, which is bad newsfor you. We’re talking a potential criminal or addict, but not a demon.
Mostly c’s – He’s a thrill seeker and a bit on the irresponsible side with some serious commitment issues.
Mostly d’s – This guy is beyond badass. He’s a demon. Yes, really! Get out of there!
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