Tarot Cards

Welcome to this week's Into the Paranormal! I hope you have a great Friday.

Today I'll be discussing Tarot Cards. First, here's what they are:

The tarot is a pack of cards (most commonly numbering 78), used from the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play a group of card games such as Italian tarocchini and French tarot. From the late 18th century until the present time the tarot has also found use by mystics and occultists in efforts at divination or as a map of mental and spiritual pathways. 

The tarot has four suits (which vary by region, being the French suits in Northern Europe, the Latin suits in Southern Europe, and the German suits in Central Europe). Each of these suits has pip cards numbering from ace to ten and four face cards for a total of 14 cards. In addition, the tarot is distinguished by a separate 21-card trump suit and a single card known as the Fool. Depending on the game, the Fool may act as the top trump or may be played to avoid following suit. 

Got that? Yeah, it's a little fuzzy for me too. To be honest, I have limited experience with them, but I do find them interesting. One of my favorite urban fantasy series is the Cassie Palmer series by Karen Chance. Cassie has an enchanted deck of tarot cards, and occasionally, they'll come up in the books.

When I was younger, I used to play Nintendo NES. I found the game Taboo: The Sixth Sense, which was a "game" that gave users a tarot reading. You gave your name, birthday, and gender as well as a question. It then shuffled the cards and gave a tarot reading in the Celtic cross layout. It even gave lottery numbers if you entered what state you're from.

Something I found really intriguing was in college, I had a creative writing professor who taught the class a brainstorming method she used with Tarot cards. Yep, I'm still kicking myself for not taking notes that day.

To wrap today's post up, here's what I found about tarot's origin:

The cards are traced by some occult writers to ancient Egypt or the Kabbalah but there is no documented evidence of such origins or of the usage of tarot for divination before the 18th century.

Have you gotten a Tarot reading before? Tell me what you think about Tarot cards! I can't wait to hear what your thoughts.

Writer Wednesday: Goals Part 2

Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

Welcome back to Writer Wednesday! I hope you're having a great holiday season. I know I am.

Last week's Writer Wednesday post discussed looking over 2011's goals and seeing how you did with them. This week, we'll continue with goals but focus on planning for 2012.

First of all, one thing I've learned is that I don't do well with having like 16 goals on my list. I tend to only accomplish half of them, no matter what they are. Maybe I should've been more fierce about my goals, but I think more often than not that I just dump the kitchen sink onto the list and decide I'll figure out what I'll do. Not a great way to go about goal setting. *grins*

This year, I'm going to write down only what I really want to accomplish. If I accomplish more than what's on the list, that's awesome! But I think it's important not to get sidetracked. Like I said last time, things may come up that we don't expect, and if they do then adjust the goals and continue forward. For example, I'd had in mind that I would write, edit, and query a few novels this year, but I was accepted to Changeling Press and instead have been writing novellas.

So, how do we figure out what goals we should be working toward? That's pretty simple. Where do you want to be a year from now? Five years from now? Got that picture in your mind? Good! Now plot how you'll be able to get there.

For example, if you want to be published, it's important to learn your craft, write a book, find some good critique partners, do research about the publishing industry, write a query letter, and query agents (and/or editors). That's not something you can accomplish in an afternoon, so then you'd break it down into steps.

1. Read three books on writing.
2. Finish a book by (insert date here) by writing X words a day.
3. Join a writer's organization (like RWA) and meet other writers to become critique partners with.

... and so on.

Here are a few links I've come across about goal setting. Enjoy!

Getting Out of Your Own Way – Goal Setting for the Writer by Theresa Meyers

Marrying Marketing and Writing Goals by Monica Valentinelli

From NaNo to Submission: a 90-Day Plan by Suzanne Johnson - True, this one doesn't necessarily fit into goal setting, but I think it's useful to see other people lay out their goals.

What are your goals for 2012?

Guest Author Rosalie Lario

Blood of the Demon
by Rosalie Lario

DEMONS OF INFERNUM - Book One by Rosalie Lario

Keegan lives to exact revenge on the evil demon who sired and abused him. When his father devises a plan to bring on the apocalypse, he and his three half-brothers, interdimensional bounty hunters for the Elden Council, are charged with capturing and delivering their father for punishment.

Art gallery owner Brynn Meyers has no idea that her ability to read memories embedded in objects and drain people of their life force means she has demon ancestry. Unfortunately for Brynn, she’s also the key to raising an ancient zombie army, which puts her on every demon’s Most Wanted List.

And no one wants her more than Keegan’s father.

Keegan must protect Brynn from his father by any means necessary, but he’ll have to learn to harness the other half of his genetics—the far deadlier, uncontrollable half—when he starts to fall for the one woman standing between him and the vengeance he so desperately seeks. The one woman he’ll never be able to resist.

Title: Blood of the Demon
Demons of Infernum, #1
Author: Rosalie Lario
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Length: 254 pages
Release Date: August 2011
ePub ISBN: 978-1-937044-14-5
Print ISBN: 978-1-937044-15-2

http://www.entangledpublishing.com/blood-of-the-demon/


Excerpt © 2011 Rosalie Lario

She wasn’t what he’d expected.

Keegan crouched on a nearby roof, watching, waiting for her gallery to clear out. A stray gust of cold wind whipped through the night air, ruffling his jacket. It didn’t matter. Considering where he’d come from, the cold was a welcome relief.

The woman had looked fragile when he’d caught a glimpse of her through the store’s large window front. Undeniably beautiful, with her long, honey-brown hair falling in waves around her heart-shaped face—but fragile nonetheless.

It was the perfect cover. No one would ever believe what she truly was, what lived inside her. But the blood never lied. She wasn’t what she seemed.

Despite the gravity of the situation, Keegan had felt a stirring of lust rise within him at the sight of her, blindsiding him with its unexpected force. It had simply been too long since he’d gotten laid, something he’d have to remedy soon. Didn’t have anything to do with the woman. It couldn’t.

After all, she might very well be dead by the end of the day. Because if he received the order, he’d have to kill her.

He fished his cell phone out of his jacket pocket and called his brother. As expected, Taeg answered on the first ring. Skipping the useless chatter, he said, “I’ve got an eye on the target.”

“That’s perfect.” Even over the phone, the relief in Taeg’s voice was palpable. “What now?”

“As soon as she’s alone, I’ll grab her.”

“You don’t think Mammon has managed to find her yet, do you?”

Keegan gave a short laugh. “If he had, he would’ve taken her already. Waiting’s not his style.”

“Yeah, right,” Taeg muttered. “Don’t I know it?”

“I’ll keep you posted.” He hung up without waiting for a reply.

Even though he couldn’t see her from this vantage point, he wasn’t worried about losing her. Not after he’d tagged her scent. He closed his eyes and inhaled, giving himself over to his sense of smell. Sorting through the various odors he’d picked up—the rich aroma of coffee, the ashy smell of a discarded cigarette, the pungent stench of rotting food—he discarded them, one by one.

Yes. There she was. Her scent was unique. Like strawberries and cream. Something he’d tried only recently and discovered he loved.

Would she taste just as sweet?

Shit. What was he thinking? She wasn’t a potential lay, but a dangerous and powerful weapon. Maybe even the enemy. He’d do well to remember that.

Finally, the store emptied of everyone but her. He supposed the right thing would be to go in and question her. But what if Mammon was no more than a few steps behind him? He couldn’t take that chance. Not when the stakes were so high.

He would take her back to the apartment with him. There, he could question her at leisure and decide what to do without having to worry about Mammon or his henchmen discovering them. But what were the odds of her going along with him willingly?

Well, he couldn’t worry about that now. He’d simply take her.

The night had grown dark enough that he didn’t bother heading for the roof exit. Instead, he walked to the side of the building facing the narrow alleyway and stepped off. He landed the six-story fall with a thud that shook the ground. A cracking sound, followed by a twinge of pain shooting up his right leg, made him pause, but he ignored it as the fissure healed itself. The homeless man lying unconscious in a puddle not ten feet away mumbled and stirred before growing still once again.

Keegan crossed the street, his gaze singlemindedly locked on the figure of the woman visible through the window as she buzzed about the front of the gallery. A ray of light from a small lamp decorating the window caught her hair, spinning it into a web of gold. In that lighting, she looked almost like an angel.

But why was he thinking about the color of her hair? She wasn’t an angel—not by a long shot.

And her luck was about to run out.

“This thrilling new series mixes danger with demons and romance with rocket-paced action! I can’t wait for the next one.” ~ Alyssa Day, New York Times bestselling author


“BLOOD OF THE DEMON grabs hold of you from page one and doesn’t let go. It’s a wild and hot paranormal ride readers will love.” ~ National bestselling author Cynthia Eden


“The hot and wild fusion of demon, dragon, and desire had me burning through the pages!” ~ Jessa Slade, author of Vowed in Shadows