PARANORMAL MYTHOLOGY
FUN FACTS
Guest post by author
Sherry Soule
To help
promote these thrilling serial novels, Sherry is doing this guest post to share
the news with fellow booklovers.
She
has put together four unknown facts about her popular YA series, Spellbound.
In this fun post, you can learn more about the intriguing, supernatural mythology
that makeup the eerie world of Fallen Oaks….
Fun Fact #1
Shadow People are usually vague human shapes, completely black
or dark in color, with no discernible facial features. Sometimes they appear as
mere silhouettes, generally lacking any characteristics of gender.
However, there are many
types of shadow beings; there are hooded shadows, cloaked ones, solid or wispy,
and even smoky shapes. They dart into corners, through walls, into closets, or
behind bushes, and buildings. Sometimes they simply fade into the dark recesses
of the night. Lacking in the description is one common denominator unifying the
many different types of Shadow People that enter our world—they are all thought
to be “intensely dark.”
The Merriam-Webster
dictionary defines paranormal as an adjective meaning “not scientifically
explainable.”
In the Spellbound books,
Shadow People are ominous creatures that were once slaves of a band of fallen
angels. When they rebelled, the Fallen hexed these creatures to spend eternity
in a hell dimension. A few have found a way to slip through the gateway. The
real worry is—what happens if they ALL escape?
So, do you believe in Shadow People?
Fun Fact #2
One of
my inspirations for the über spooky town in my YA series was the video game,
“Silent Hill.” Readers
of the Spellbound series have often wondered if the town had a real-life
counterpart, and if there was a particular town that inspired the haunted area,
we’ve come to know and fear in the books…
Actually, there have been
many speculations, and now here’s a place you can actually visit for REAL...
So, while researching the
different elements of Fallen Oaks and looking for a foggy and woodland area, I
came across Marin County in California. The popular SF Bay Area tourist spot
planted the seed for what developed into what we’ve come to know as, Fallen
Oaks. The coastal town is actually located in the Madrone Woodlands near
Larkspur, California neighboring Muir Woods. (You need to use a Bing map to
locate the region.) It was the ideal spot for the many different paranormals
that populate this town…
Echoes of the tragic
disappearances still plague the town. When the season passes and all the
tourists leave, the haunting memory of past events once again shatter the peace
of the inhabitants of Fallen Oaks...
Have you ever been to the coastal towns of Marin
County?
Fun Fact #3
Werewolves and Lycans (shortened form of the word
lycanthrope, which means shape-changer) are two completely different species.
The terms are definitely NOT synonymous. The werewolf can only transform on a
full moon, and they represent more of witchcraft and curse, unlike the lycan
who can transform into a wolf at will. The lycan species are also considered
shapeshifters, but can ONLY shift into wolves—not into other animals.
Lycans are also capable of walking on their hindquarters, and are much more
muscular than werewolves. Lycans and werewolves do share these qualities; they
both have enhanced physical attributes, enhanced strength, reflexes,
coordination, speed, and regenerative abilities. However, these traits seem to
apply to lycans, even when in human form.
Furthermore, lycans can
retain their human intelligence and personalities while transformed,
whereas werewolves become pure animal, devoid of any memory regarding their
actions once they shift. Silver is the lycans only weakness, as they
seem to be violently allergic to it.
In MOONLIGHT MAYHEM, (third
book in the series), the story hinges on a terrible secret guarded by some of
the town’s residents as one-by-one teens are attacked by a mysterious creature.
Do you think it’s a lycan or a werewolf stalking the
kids in Fallen Oaks?
Fun Fact #4
A Grimoire, or in
some cases it’s called a Book of Shadows (BoS), is used to store magical
information, like a textbook of magic spells, rituals, supernatural-related
data, and invocations. Some grimoires can even be a sort of magical journal
that keeps a record of a witch’s magical experiments and exploits.
Overall, a grimoire is
used predominantly by Wiccans; however, this does not mean that those outside of
Wicca can’t use a grimoire. Nor do you have to be in a coven, like the
Blood Rose Circle or Generation Hex.
I used the grimoire
concept in a different way in my YA series about a teenage witch, where
the magical book is used more like that of a diary and contains prophecies, a
demon index, and spells, which was written by her ancestors and passed down
through the generations.
Do you have a grimoire or personal journal?
Places
you can cyberstalk author, Sherry Soule:
Thank
you so much for letting me chat up my new YA series with all of you. It’s been
an honor to share the eerie urban legends associated with the Spellbound
series. If you haven’t seized your copy of my books yet, please do so. Thrilling and extraordinary
adventures await you!
Hunting Demons is One Thing…Dating Them is Another.
Life sucks for Shiloh Trudell. And
being a demon hunter who’s in love with a cocky half-demon makes things even
suckier.
Especially when she discovers that
Trent, her sinfully hot boyfriend, is hiding a few dangerous secrets. Like the
fact that he’s losing his humanity.
To complicate matters, witches
from the local coven are mysteriously turning up dead, and as Shiloh searches
for answers, she confronts her worst nightmare…Trent is being blackmailed into
becoming the next leader of the Underworld.
But Shiloh is still convinced that
she can save him, even after the impossibly gorgeous, fallen angel Raze tells
her that a relationship with Trent is forbidden now. Warned to stay away from
the only boy she’s ever loved, she can’t ignore the sizzling attraction that
ignites whenever they’re around one another. Especially after a swoon-inducing
night of stolen passion.
As Shiloh’s world begins to
unravel around her, it soon becomes obvious that her destiny lies in one of two
choices: vanquish Trent or join him in the Underworld.
DESTINY
DISRUPTED (book 5) ASIN:
B00OJQHU5O
