Tag Archives: Paranormal and Witchy Fiction

Why Spider Horror Thrills Readers

 

Greetings Darklings:

I am quite happy today. Though it was more expensive than I would’ve liked, I purchased the domain for this blog site. Now it truly is mine! The website address is now: theparanormalquill.blog. 

Today’s post will focus on our famous eight-legged friends, spiders. Spider horror thrills readers. Spiders have always scared people and shall continue to. Spiders are uncanny and cause a knee jerk reaction. They have too many legs and eyes. They are quiet and cunning. People are scared of being bitten by them. Horror movies are made about spiders that cause nightmares long after the movies are over. They build webs and are a lethal predator and yet they never make a sound. It’s no wonder they make people nervous. 

Spiders represent the dark side, like bats, snakes, gargoyles, witches, demons, sharks, wolves. The side that most people do not like to think about. Spiders are deadly predators and kill many other insects. We owe a lot to spiders yet people drown them in chemicals like Raid or scream and freak out if a person thinks they walked unwillingly into a web. Yes, spiders make people uncomfortable. 

The webweaving arachnids are misunderstood. They are not portrayed accurately in Hollywood movies. In reality, spiders are generally harmless, they are solitary and just want a quiet space to build their webs and hunt their prey. People are just as frightening to them. Spiders are not interested in humans as prey. Spiders want to hide from humans. If you see a spider in your home, thank it. That means that the eight-legged, web weaving arachnid is hunting insect prey. You may then have fewer pests in your home. The misinformation presented in the media has portrayed spiders as very unfavorable, no thanks to Hollywood. 

I rarely ever harm a spider. They consume a lot of insects. Hopefully, the collective impression of spiders will change for the better. They want to have nothing to do with people. Only a few spiders are actually poisonous such as brown recluse spiders and black widows. The venom of a black widow spider is fifteen times more poisonous than that of a rattlesnake. The venom is a group of potent neurotoxins known as latrotoxins which attacks the nervous system. 

In my horror novella, the Spider Queen possesses the most deadly venom of all the Arachnas. The females are more deadly than the males. Aranya, the Spider Queen, is chained up because the Spider King desires her purer blood/ venom. He only seeks to corrupt it. When she refuses him her venom, he chains her, until she gives in but that never happens. But Aranya resigns to be chained as opposed to what would happen once the venom was corrupted. She reclaims her throne when Piper frees her. 

In general, most spiders are harmless and prefer to hunt other insects. They are quiet and reclusive. They build magnificent webs. Spiders are quiet and cunning. I hope people begin to view these quiet tiny hunters as allies, not enemies. 

Blessed Be, Spiderwitch

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Origins of The Cult of the Spider People )O(

Greetings Darklings:
Today I want to blog about the upcoming publication of my spider-infested novella, The Cult of the Spider People. Twisted Dreams Press is republishing it this August. That is not far away! I am so happy. The cover is shown in the large photo above. 
Today’s post will be about the inspiration behind the creepy story, why I wrote it. That’s an interesting story in itself.
It is hard to believe it has been about three years since the book was published. How time has flown. At that time, I was distraught. My boyfriend and I broke up, and the coven turned on me. Ouch. They sided with him. Double Ouch. I was miserable, and I missed the company of my coven.
Before we broke up, I had a portentous dream that he would leave me. In the dream, I saw him literally leave me at a bus terminal. I was so upset that morning, and when I walked into the kitchen and saw a broken glass sitting in the sink full of other unwashed dishes, I was like, what’s going on here? The broken glass he bought me was significant because it was the second sign from my spirit guides. The dream was a warning of a future event. Sure enough, he did. I was devastated. Breakups are bad enough without such portentous dreams thrown into the brew. When he did leave me, it happened at the bus terminal I saw in my portentous dream. Wow. My spirit guides warned me and wanted to protect me. I didn’t want to admit it. They may have thought they were helping me by warning me, but it only made me feel worse. I can’t blame them, though.
One night at home, not long after that experience, I received a flash of inspiration about a pagan cult of spider people. I found a blank journal and fiercely began writing. I didn’t know what I would write, I just went with it. I guess that if I had not met him and the coven, and endured that terrible heartbreak and found a way through it, I would not have written the story. I wrote the entire draft by hand. I left it alone, and then I returned to it. The first draft was a mess. I thought it would be impossible to edit it, but mercifully, I found a good friend, Stephanie Ellis. She helped me whip it into shape. 
I also healed my heart. I may have healed my heart by writing the book. Now we are talking real heartbreak here, not just something that went away in a day or two, like a short-term flu. No, I was writing the story by hand in a blank journal that would soon be full of all my musings, with tears in my eyes. Writing can be cathartic. I purged my suffering heart of all that pain. I am not encouraging my dear readers to get their hearts broken in order to write a novel, but the heart is powerful, and that is a lot of passion to pour into a story. That is what you want to aim for, the passion, the why behind the what, that is what you do. Hold onto the passion and your enthusiasm for a story!
You need to be prepared when such inspiration strikes! Obey that fierce instinct. Give in to it. See where your pen takes you. You must be as original as possible in today’s publishing market. The blank journal that I wrote the original draft in contains drawings, research on spiders, the story, definitions of the parts of a spider’s body, pictures I found of spider people that resembled the spider people in my story and character sketches. I will save it forever.
I suppose that by creating the vicious, bloodthirsty spider people, I demonized the witch coven that betrayed me at the time. Well…. I don’t feel too bad about that. I do hang out with the nicer coven members now. I don’t care for my ex. But he was a huge part of the inspiration for my novella. I hate him, but I don’t regret writing the novella. I see him around at the coven gatherings, but I don’t talk to him.
That must be why I have such a hard time writing the sequel. I did not remain in that dark emotional/ mental space. I healed. It feels different now every time I sit down to work on the sequel. It doesn’t feel the same. I ask myself how I created such scary characters and Piper, the heroine of the book, but when I reflect on my past experience, I think I know. Inspiration comes from strange places. 
My advice is to keep writing. When it feels good, when it hurts, and when you are so angry or in a bad space. You never have to show anyone. You don’t have to edit it to death – unless you want to. Use your emotions, your bloody, beating heart’s rants, and pour it onto the page. Throw salt over your shoulder, plant lavender by your front gate, and fall in love whenever you can! See where your passion takes you! 
I am happy that Twisted Dreams Press will republish my novella in August. That is so close! I shall post more here about The Cult of the Spider People in future posts. Dare to return to spidery shivers and web-crawling terror! I love the world I created, the characters that live in that world and the whole story! I just can’t wait till August 3rd! I know that there are few publishing companies that are willing to republish a book, and that is another reason to be excited! 
I am counting down the days until the release date. I am so excited. My other novel, The Mourning Tide, is slated to be released in October. One more amazing reason to celebrate Samhain! 
Signed copies are available upon request. The copies are print copies, not ebooks. I can mail a copy to you, if you wish. 
Blessings, Spiderwitch

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Paranormal Chronicles

Greetings All:

I am still working on my Book of Shadows binder. I am happy with how it turned out. I love it now that I painted a sealant over the binder covers. It looks beautiful and aged, which is just the way I wanted it. I promise to post a photo soon.

I am so happy that Paranormal Chronicles is publishing my article on my phantom encounter in their next issue. I guess that the encounter paid off. Paranormal Chronicles is a new free digital magazine. The issue launches in mid-June. I can’t wait!!! The first issue had 3000 readers. Issue  2 will have surpassed 1000 unique readers in its first week! It’s a way to connect the paranormal enthusiasts all over the world. I am thrilled to get to write for Paranormal Chronicles. Next, I want to write about the spooky maritime history that my hometown of Halifax is so famous for. Here is the link to the magazine- https://theparanormalchronicles.com/

I am working on Lesson 20 at Sacred Mists. I have almost finished my First Degree in Witchcraft. I am so proud to have made it this far. I hope I advance to Second Degree, because I can’t wait to and even Third Degree. Yups. I look forward to working on my garden too and helping Pamela at the witch shop with her garden.

Enjoy spring, dear readers!

Blessings, Spiderwitch

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Story

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Merry meet all,

I am proud to announce that I won a contest to have my entire paranormal novel edited for free!! I receive the edits before Yule. I just have to sit tight and wait for the editor to edit the novel and for me to make the appropriate changes. 

I am waiting in addition to that to hear if I pass muster to make it into the Writers Federation mentorship. My novel sample is under consideration there. This would be a huge step forward for me. I am crossing my paws that I make it. 

In the meantime, I am currently working on a proposal for the ms if I don’t get into the Mentorship and then would be able to market it to publishing companies. My poem Over a Blood Moon is slated to be published in the Eternal Haunted Summer Ezine and the editor interviewed me. I just completed reading and reviewing two successful amazing pagan titles for Moon Books. Moon Books published a book titled Naming the Goddess, a devotional gazetteer and my essay titled ‘Sedna: The Inuit Sea Goddess’, which was originally published in Eternal Haunted Summer Ezine, is in the book. Circle magazine reprinted my essay about Persephone in their latest issue. Essential Herbal magazine published an article of mine about herbs as gifts for well being for the holiday season. I am not bragging, just trying to show you all what I’ve been up to. 

I was busy this Samhain, carving pumpkins, brewing mulled cider, baking breads, attending an awesome herb workshop and public Samhain ritual, and attempting a botched dumb supper in honor of those who passed before me. I was a Corpse Bride this year. I froze and perhaps that was appropriate. October 31st happened so fast I don’t know how I breathed. I made a botched orange pillar candle that smells like pumpkin spice. 

I’ll include the link to the upcoming and sure to be exciting Winter issue of Eternal Haunted Summer ezine when it launches! I was reading the ‘Penguin Book of Witches’ and at first reading, found the book to be so witch-bashing. Now I’m not so sure. I think it is an excellent historic account of the witch trials in Europe and Salem. I want to buy the book again and reread it. Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/Penguin-Book-Witches-Katherine-Howe/dp/014310618X Read it and decide for yourselves. 

I hope you all had a magical and devilishly delightful Samhain!!

Blessed Be, Lady Spiderwitch 

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Welcome to my Blog- paranormal and pagan fiction

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Merry meet all,

I shall concentrate more on my writing on this blog. This page will have more to do with my literary efforts and successes. I welcome you to peruse the upcoming posts on this blog and enjoy yourself.

I’m a freelance author and I work in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I write fiction and nonfiction. I write on this blog, I have a Facebook page titled Book Addicts Anonymous for people who are avid bibliophiles, and I write regularly for Essential Herbal magazine and the pagan Eternal Haunted Summer Ezine.

So welcome to my new page.

Blessed Be,

Lady Spiderwitch

 

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