Salvation Eternal

What does it mean to be human?

Breathing oxygen. Walking upright on two legs. Sentience. Language. These are definite characteristics associated with human beings, but do they get at the heart of what it means to be human? Don’t they fall a little short on explaining the awesome power humans wield? Don’t they fail to reveal the layers to our humanity? Our potential?

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines human as “a bipedal primate mammal.” Rather cold and scientific, don’t you think?

Being human means so much more than giving birth to live young, being warm-blooded, and having hair covering most of our bodies. Being human means possibilities, opportunities, and journeys. It means setting goals, striving to reach them, and celebrating when we cross our personal finish lines. It means having not only an intellectual response to literature, art, and music but an emotional one as well. It means creating literature, art, and music. Humans express themselves, build connections with other humans, make mistakes, learn from those mistakes, then make more mistakes.  

We are experiments in progress. Variables change. Adjustments are made. Results are analyzed. Then we toss all that aside, live through the pain, fight for what we want and believe and deserve. We lead with our heads and our feet. We listen to our guts, our sixth senses. We let our hearts be in charge every now and again just to see what happens. We defy the odds.

Another day dawns after a cold, dark night, and we relish the feeling of the sun on our faces. We are part of everything around us. Being truly human means tapping into all that the Universe offers, drawing energy from nature, from our relationships, from deep within ourselves. Our bodies represent us, but our souls define us.

And our actions will be how we are remembered.

We are humans, and the road is not always an easy one. Our duration is unknown, but we take comfort in the fact that we are not alone. Though our voyages may not be the same, we share a lifeblood that binds us all. We find our place. We fit in while struggling to be unique. We accept the embrace and though we know eternity will never be ours, we enjoy our fleeting trips and hope we haven’t wasted the gift that is life.     

SALVATION ETERNAL is gothic poetry in two voices and the second book in The Eternal Series. Author Joseph Mazzenga supplies the voice of Lucia, the female demon, and I am the voice of Father Nathaniel, the male angel.

Excerpt:

Good Evening.

Darkness. Cold, unforgiving, and muting all in existence. Humanity’s sight was forever entrenched… until there was Light. 

Souls are tender things. Unseen by human eyes, but eternally precious. We battle for their preservation every second of every day. Intangible, yet fragile, our souls need protection from the Darkness that seeks to blacken our existence.

The Light searches for us, our salvation its mission. Warm and expanding, it wishes to fold us in a tight embrace. All sins are forgiven for those who repent.

But do we lose ourselves in the process?

Might there not be perfection somewhere between the Dark and the Light?

The Cast

The Demon

And when time finally stands at rest, I will be my only companion.

Framed. Reviled. Driven out. Yet it will end in a lonesome stead.

When humanity was called mankind, I hefted the moniker of devil for I was birthed with accused blood relation.

Misunderstood. Misguided. Mistaken. All under the guise of demon.

I am not of Him or with Him. I am untaught with isolation.

I am Lucia Demone Cavaliere.

I suffer evil. I repulse all that is good, nonetheless a starless night is not a white shore. I am never fully unspoken.

So be it.

Humanity calls on me, alone. They call me to do their bidding hitherto they are pawns in the offing of death.

Dimness instead of brilliance. Look for me not in what you call Heaven.

Look for the demon in your life that you call Hell…

The Angel

Saving souls is a daunting task.

There is no shortage of lost ones in need of redemption. Their numbers multiply by the second, but I am only a solitary guardian, doing what I must, what I have been charged with by Him.

I’ve heard The Call, chosen my fate, accepted my destiny, and the lost shall not stay lost. Not on my watch.

I am Father Nathaniel O’Ryan.

His Light flows through me and seeks the Darkness. Souls reach out to me, often without the permission of their hosts. I deny no one, for each soul started with Him. Each soul has the Divine Light. It may dim, but it is never extinguished. Not fully. I can always find it. Through me, He rekindles, reclaims, rejoices.

Some resist, but I am not easily discouraged, for He walks with me

We can all shine in His embrace.

I am here to make sure we all remember this. I am here to save you.

 

Summer’s Eve

I miss all that is bitter

The bite of winter is no more

Surrounded by the stench of roses

To the death for an autumn breeze

There is no home

Save for the dark alley

The path of the ill gotten

Mist that fills me

Desire that takes me

A devil in disguise?

Worse yet

I am right before them all

~Lucia

Solstice Song

More hours of precious sunlight

to shine into the souls I seek,

the souls which don’t accept

the light,

the warmth,

the embrace.

With the coming darkness,

blackened spirits

will summon me,

sing their songs of misery,

then reject my outstretched hands.

My offers will be many,

unlimited,

unconditional,

but acceptance equals defeat

in the eyes of the broken.

Healing is not for the impatient,

nor the weary.

A strong heart

must decide to be strong.

⩫ Nathaniel

You can read the rest of Lucia and Nathaniel's story by downloading SALVATION ETERNAL for only $0.99.

What do you think it means to be human? Would you rather be a supernatural creature? If so, what kind?

Toodles,
Chris
www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com 

What the Angels Have to Say

Autumn always makes me reassess my life goals. I had a spiritual intuitive read Angel cards for me several weeks ago. It was an interesting experience. I asked the question, “Should I continue writing?” The intuitive shuffled through her two decks of Angel cards and did a three-card spread.

The first card said I should turn off the “inner critic” when I write. You know, that little voice (that sometimes isn’t so little) that comments on every single word I put on the page. The one that questions character motivation, plot development, word choice, leads, endings… the list is endless. That inner critic always sounds like a very proper English teacher and she’s damn annoying most of the time. This card in the reading is giving me permission to tell Ms. Critic (maybe Sister Critic – after all, I went to Catholic schools for twelve years so…) to SHUT UP! I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it, but if I can, I might be able to write something that breaks the rules a little and really catches the attention of readers.

The second card said I should try to walk in the shoes of my characters so I can get at their true emotions. I will be able to write more griping reactions to story events if I can tap into the souls of my fictional friends. Now, characters are my writing strength – many of my reviews comment on my characters and how real they seem. I’m looking forward to connecting with them on a deeper level to see where that leads me… well, where it leads us, technically, I suppose. This may be a challenge for me as a person. I tend to not mess around with emotions all that much. I shrug off things that bother me and rarely have strong reactions, positive or negative, to events that occur in my life. I’m not sure why I do that, but I’ll have to push that aside if I want to get in touch better with my characters… and myself.

The final card said that I must write, because, as the intuitive said, “People need to read what you write.” She emphasized the word need and repeated this entire line more than once as if making sure I heard it and internalized it. I’d like to know what I should write that people need to read. Is it adult romance or young adult romance or both? Is it the political story my husband and I are working on? Is it the educational book on writing for teachers I’m currently editing? Is it poetry? Is it something I haven’t thought of writing yet?

I don’t have the answer to these questions, but I’m going to keep writing just the same. I’ve tried not writing in the past and it never sticks. Not when ideas are all around me, jumping in my lap, screaming in my ear, sometimes slapping me in the face. 

I’m a writer. I guess I knew that, but it was nice to have the Angels confirm it.

What would you ask the Angels?

Toodles,

Chris

www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com Adult Romance

www.christymajor.weebly.com YA Romance
www.christineteaches.weebly.com Teaching Writing

Blending Fact With Fiction

Good morning, everyone!

I think everyone can relate to this topic, whether you're a reader or a writer.  How much fact do you want to draw out the details, and how much becomes too much and boring?

The Curse of the Templars, I
January 2012

I thought about this long and hard when developing The Curse of the Templars, and the first book, Immortal Hope.  In fact, about five chapters in, I had to do something I never do -- cut words.  I had a historical dump, when it so wasn't necessary.

We authors tend to get carried away.  We find fascination in the tiniest, most insignificant things -- after all, we can pull ideas for a whole story off of just looking at a cereal box at times.  And it's difficult to chain our inner muse when we're fascinated by something in particular.

But that actually became the key for me: stopping, looking at what I was writing and conciously acknowledging that all these facts and figures were, in essence, drivel to a reader.  Which is what we have to remember when we're writing...the reader's interest, not the writer's interest.

Fact needs to relate to the scene and the overall plot, while simultaneously driving the story forward.  A key place I can use an example, is when Anne, in Immortal Hope, is rationalizing the behavior of the knights, and how some could be less than honorable.  The first draft, I had four paragraphs listing all the different incidents where Templar knights had been documented for abuses in power.  It was fascinating to me, because I was the one doing the research.  All the reader really cares about is the summary that made it into the final version, which is along the lines of  "Some accounts documented Templar abuses of power, where men who were supposed to be noble used the sword to domineer over the unfortunate."

Readers don't come to our books for a history lesson or a reality disertation.  The facts they glean, they learn via the fiction story-telling.  Case in point -- it's really easy for us to believe CSI, and we all have a general idea of cop procedurals strictly from television, not because we watched a documentary on "Step 1, Step2, Step3...  We're really okay knowing, logically, it's been fictionalized, and we simply don't really care if fingerprint points can't possibly be matched that quickly, in real life.

The Curse of the Templars, II
September 25, 2012

The point?

When an author blends fact into fiction, historical, procedural, or simply reference, she needs to keep the reader in mind.  Step back from your writing.  Ask yourself, does my reader, who may not share the same passion for this topic, but wants to be entertained by the romance, really care about the nitty gritty?  Can I summarize this, as heartbreaking as it may be, and drive to my next point of action faster?

If you can, you probably don't need the extra tidbits.  And if you really can't part with the details, at least maybe you can move them, so the info doesn't come all at once.

Anyway!  The second book in The Curse of the Templars releases TUESDAY!  Whee!  I hope you'll check it out.  On my next stop in this month, I'll be giving away a copy or two!



~Claire
www.claireashgrove.com