3rd Annual #NameThatButt: Round 4, Bonus Quote

For Round 4, we're switching it up to marble, rather than bronze -- and a huge thanks to the photographer, Tommi Lou Carosella, for capturing this backside! Head over to blog.amaliadillin.com to #NAMEthatBUTT, if you haven't, or keep on scrolling for this week's BONUS QUOTE, and #NAMEthatBOOK instead, for an extra 2 points!

photo by Tommi Lou Carosella, used with permission

“XXXX, hear us,” I began, pouring a sip of the wine into the fire. “We are the vessel, and you are the wine. And so we drink to you, of you, with you, that we might know you, and you might know our hearts and prayers, and carry them up, to Olympus, to Zeus our king of kings, and Hera our queen in all things, that we might be heard and answered!”

And then I drank. One sip, then two, before I circled the hearth, pausing between each of the four pillars, to raise the cup again and drink, giving thanks to [him] with every touch of the wine against my lips. When I reached the position before the throne again, I finished what remained in the kylix and dropped to my knees before the hearth.

“Accept our offerings and all our prayers, we beg of you,” I finished, lifting my arms and throwing my head back. My eyes closed. “Accept us as your servant, your vessel, in this.”

Drop your best guess of the name of the book in the comments on either blog, and thanks for playing! Next week there will be NO bonus quote, but don't worry -- there will definitely be more #NameThatBook fun for round 6!

3rd Annual #NameThatButt: Round 3, Bonus Quote

I can't promise a bonus quote every week -- there are a couple of sculptures of mythic figures in my hoard who I haven't referenced even obliquely in my books, and in fact, this quote is kind of a stretch but(t)! Name this Book, and you'll get your 2 bonus points, regardless! (If only Helen's Sequel were out, I'd have a much better quote -- but alas and alack!)

And don't forget to #NameThatButt over at blog.amaliadillin.com, when you're done here! But at LEAST click over to see the reveal for Round 2 because it's one of my favorites of this year's game!

This round's bonus quote:

The Northlands had fallen to the Christians, one after another. All but the Sami, in the far north, and the peasants and Samogitians of Lithuania, to the east, had converted. The old ways were outlawed along with the worship of the gods who had nurtured them for so long. There were those among the converted lands who still made sacrifice in private, praying to Freyr to protect their crops, or calling upon Odin to give them strength in battle, but every year, they grew fewer in number. Every year, the gods of Asgard spoke of moving on. And every year, Odin refused to be persuaded, his one-eyed gaze falling upon Thor, and grimmer lines forming around his mouth and eyes. Odin had never forgiven him for Loki’s murder, nor was he at all pleased that the Council had sanctioned it. But that was not all that lay between them.

“All these years, and you are still under her spell,” Odin had spat, after Thor had told him he would not go on to the new world that Zeus and his brothers had found, regardless of any decision made by the Aesir.

XXXX and Anubis traveled between the two planes, now and again, bringing news and invitations. The Covenant had forged bonds between pantheons that had not been forgotten, and Zeus had not quite given up on reclaiming his wisest daughter. Most of the Egyptians had left, at Ra’s urging, and a good many of the Persians had followed. There was no longer room for any worship but that of Elohim in those lands.

Name that Book! And maybe the mysterious XXXX's backside will come into better focus! :)

3rd Annual #NameThatButt: Round 2, Bonus Quote!

Ready for Round 2? Come #NAMEthatBUTT over at blog.amaliadillin.com! But(t) first: Name this Book for 2 extra bonus points this week!

My photography might not be great but hopefully my writing doesn't disappoint -- here's this week's Bonus Quote!

Reu was watching her, searching her face. “What will you do?”

[She] stepped toward the tree, and the low branch from which the serpent had hung. One of the fruits, hidden in the red leaves, winked with a flash of sunlight. A faint tingle traveled down her arm as her hand closed around it and the fruit came free. The branch swayed, relieved of its burden, weeping the broad scarlet leaves in a shower around her.

The fruit was heavy in her hand. Much heavier than an apple would have been. She wondered briefly about the angels. Who they were, and what they would do to her when they realized she had broken God’s law. Sin, the creature had called it. But was it, really? Or was it wisdom, for the greater good, like the story Reu had told her about the one-eyed man in the sky?

She raised the fruit to her lips.

Name that Book in the comments below, or Name that Butt AND Book over at blog.amaliadillin.com and aim for the title of #NAMEthatBUTT Champion!

(But seriously you at least want to check over yonder next Tuesday for the full frontal reveal of this sculpture because it is frankly phenomenal, in my most humble opinion. A very different take on its subject!)

3rd Annual #NAMEthatBUTT: Round 1, Bonus Quote!

Guess the Butt, and then Guess the book (hint -- it was written by me) from which this quote was taken! Or just guess the book, and you'll still score your bonus 2 points for this round!

Her auburn hair hung loose down her back, myrtle flowers floating in the soft curls like gulls on the sea. A scallop-shell pendant rested at the hollow of her throat, and sparrows and doves darted around her feet, picking at the crumbs of past offerings. Strange that I had never met her before, but I wished that she had not dedicated herself to the gods. Perhaps Menelaus might have fallen in love with her, instead.

“Do you feel so ill-used? The most beautiful woman alive, with a brother who loves you well—Pollux will never forsake you. And a man who would offer you the same, though you spurn him.” She seemed to look right through me, pinning me to the earth. “Is there someone else you would prefer over Menelaus? You have only to name him and he will be delivered.”

“No.” I rose to my feet. I did not like the way she spoke of Menelaus, as if he were nothing more than a convenience. “I ask nothing of these gods. Let Menelaus love me for his own reasons, or better yet, not at all.”

Name that Book, and while you're at it, go ahead and Name that Butt, too! (You know you want to!) Drop your guesses in the comments --they're moderated so no one will see your answer but me-- and join the fun!

The 3rd Annual #NAMEthatBUTT Challenge begins October 6th!

Artemis/Diana's beautiful backside in motion!

Join me over at blog.amaliadillin.com for some mythic sculpture fun beginning October 6th, and test your knowledge of mythology with the 3rd Annual #NAMEthatBUTT Challenge!

This year the games will cross over to this blog, as well, with some bonus clues appearing here, as called for -- I'll be using quotes from my books which relate to the butts in question, and if you guess which book I'm quoting from, you'll get a bonus two points for that week's round! (Spoiler: you can safely eliminate the Orc Saga books from these events -- so if you want to prepare by reading up, focus your attentions on HELEN OF SPARTA, and my Fate of the Gods trilogy!) As a result, you can expect this blog to be mostly finely sculpted backsides for the immediate future, and regularly scheduled posting will likely not resume until next year. (Words to write! Holidays to Holi! etc, etc.)

And since the games are coming, I thought it would be a good idea to post the rules for those of you who might be new to this greatest of adventures, just in case you want to play along!

THE RULES:

• Comments will be moderated.  You will NOT see your comment appear immediately after posting! 
• I post a butt and clues at blog.amaliadillin.com on Tuesday, you guess who that butt belongs to in the comments yonder. If you guess right, you get 5 points. 
• There may be a bonus clue posted on Wednesdays over at blog.amaliacarosella.com -- when applicable they will be announced on Tuesday in the main post and instructions for how to bonus it up will be included in the bonus post!
• If you CORRECTLY identify the artistic work (title/artist) in question, you earn a bonus 5 points total: 2.5 for title, 2.5 for artist. (Provided of course, that it differs from the subject's name alone and the artist is known at all)
• The following Friday, I reveal the full backside image of the sculpture in question! If at this time you can correctly identify artist/title/subject of the piece, you can earn up to 3 points (total -- 1 point for artist, 1 point for title, 1 point for subject) 
• You may guess artist/title/subject/book from which I've quoted until the next round of NAME THAT BUTT begins. (Usually the next Tuesday -- I'll reveal the previous week's sculpture and offer the next butt for guessing!)
• I'll keep a running tally of correct answers/points.
• For Olympians, Greek AND Roman names are acceptable for the subject guesses. For example, if the butt belongs to Mercury, I will also accept Hermes as a correct answer. Titles of works must be exact, however.
• A new NAME THAT BUTT may NOT be posted every week, depending on Things, but it's my hope they will be. 
• There will be Prizes at the finish. They will be shipped internationally. I haven't decided what they'll be yet, but for sure they will include #NAMEthatBUTT postcards/stickers.

I do hope you'll join us in the fun!

Tales from the Edit Cave

I'm still in developmental edits (Round 2) for Helen the Sequel (we're still working on the title!) and hoping to wrap that up today. NEXT Wednesday, I'll be taking the day off from this blog, but for a reason! At the end of September/early October I'm hoping I can put together a new #NameThatButt game, which will cross-over from my Amalia Dillin blog, GOOD TO BEGIN WELL, BETTER TO END WELL with some fun clues from my (myth-related) books. So fans of HELEN OF SPARTA, I hope you'll come play along!

In the meantime, I'm running a promotion for my romantic fantasy series -- HONOR AMONG ORCS is just 99 cents for the next two days, and I've reduced the pre-order price of BLOOD OF THE QUEEN, too, to entice readers during the sale -- so if you think you might be interested in reading the non-historical-fiction side of me, now's a good time to take a very small risk for what could (potentially/hopefully) be great rewards!

And with all of that said, I'm climbing back into my cave to edit, edit, edit!

AuthorSpace

New rug, new work space, new books, and new adventures!

Well, okay, maybe not entirely new (seriously this desk came with us from North Dakota, where we bought it second, or possibly third hand off of a fellow student, and that chair is a hand me down from my sister's residency in this same house -- I think 4 out of 5 of my siblings have lived here at one point in time or another, and we all left something behind -- but we did finally reorganize and relocate it all so I have a new-semi-temporary space to work that isn't "that armchair in the living room"!) because I'm editing Helen The Sequel, still, after all -- but I'm definitely exploring some different options. At the moment I can neither confirm nor deny anything relating to the topic of the next book I'll be working on because I'm still a little up in the air on what I want to write!

But I *will* be doing some serious reading in the near future! For research and pleasure and um... pleasure research? (Research pleasure? Whatever! I just like Norse stuff, okay?!)

And now I'm back to the edit/research cave!