C. Gockel's Blog, page 26

Win a Kindle Fire Loaded with EBooks.

Do you need a new Kindle? Some author friends and I are doing a raffle for one. It will come preloaded with some pretty awesome books. The raffle doesn’t cost any money to enter, but it does cost your email address. You will receive emails from the author sponsors letting you know about their book deals*.

Click here to enter.

*Did not quite understand this when I signed up to participate.

Huginn … judging you.

tolkienfantasy:

Nuada was king of the Tuatha Dé Danann for seven years before they came to Ireland. They made contact with the Fir Bolg, the then-inhabitants of the island, and Nuada sought from them half of the island for the Tuatha Dé, which their king rejected. Both peoples
made ready for war, and in an act of chivalry allowed their numbers and
arms to be inspected by the opposing side to allow for a truly fair
battle. During this first great battle at Mag Tuired, Nuada lost an arm in combat with the Fir Bolg champion Sreng. Nuada’s ally, Aengaba of Norway, then fought Sreng, sustaining a mortal wound, while the Dagda
protected Nuada. Fifty of the Dagda’s soldiers carried Nuada from the
field. The Tuatha Dé gained the upper hand in the battle, but Sreng
later returned to challenge Nuada to single combat. Nuada accepted, on
the condition that Sreng fought with one arm tied up. Sreng refused, but
by this point the battle was won and the Fir Bolg all but vanquished.
The Tuatha Dé then decided to offer Sreng one quarter of Ireland for his
people instead of the one half offered before the battle, and he chose Connacht.

Having lost his arm, Nuada was no longer eligible for kingship due to
the Tuatha Dé tradition that their king must be physically perfect, and
he was replaced as king by Bres, a half-Fomorian
prince renowned for his beauty and intellect. The Fomorians were
mythological enemies of the people of Ireland, often equated with the
mythological “opposing force” such as the Greek Titans to the Olympians,
and during Bres’s reign they imposed great tribute on the Tuatha Dé,
who became disgruntled with their new king’s oppressive rule and lack of
hospitality. By this time Nuada had his lost arm replaced by a working
silver one by the physician Dian Cecht and the wright Creidhne (and later with a new arm of flesh and blood by Dian Cecht’s son Miach). Bres was removed from the kingship, having ruled for seven years, and Nuada was restored. He ruled for twenty more years.

Bres, aided by the Fomorian Balor
of the Evil Eye, attempted to retake the kingship by force, and war and
continued oppression followed. When the youthful and vigorous Lugh
joined Nuada’s court, the king realised the multi-talented youth could
lead the Tuatha Dé against the Fomorians, and stood down in his favour.
The second Battle of Mag Tuired followed. Nuada was killed and beheaded
in battle by Balor, but Lugh avenged him by killing Balor and led the
Tuatha Dé to victory.

Nuada’s great sword was one of the Four Treasures of the Tuatha Dé Danann, brought from one of their four great cities.

The name Nuada probably derives from a Celtic stem *noudont- or *noudent-, which J. R. R. Tolkien suggested was related to a Germanic root meaning “acquire, have the use of”, earlier “to catch, entrap (as a
hunter)”. Making the connection with Nuada and Lludd’s hand, he
detected “an echo of the ancient fame of the magic hand of Nodens the
Catcher”. Similarly, Julius Pokorny derives the name from a Proto-Indo-European root *neu-d- meaning “acquire, utilise, go fishing”.

afairyheart:

Arch in the dark forest by Rafal Banasiak on ArtStation

creatures-alive:

Satanic Leaf-Tailed Gecko by Mike Martin

Baby dragon!

Mythic …

huffpostarts:

These ‘Lord Of The Rings’ Illustrations Are Just Precious

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has published a book of J.R.R. Tolkien’s sketches for the 60th anniversary of the series. Edited by Christina Scull and Wayne Hammond, The Art of The Lord of the Rings contains over 180 of Tolkien’s drawings.

180 sketches to rule them all.

(Credit: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

How come the print version isn’t out yet?

This is a question I get occasionally. I really do want to have print versions for my fans, and I’m on my way there. Archangel Down is now in print, as well as I Bring the Fire Part I, Monsters: I Bring the Fire Part II, Chaos: I Bring the Fire Part III, and In the Balance: I Bring the Fire Part 3.5.

The reason that it takes so long is because it’s really expensive and time consuming. So far, as illustrated in the chart above, I’ve made about $500 for my print books. Total. Ever. That is so far from “breaking even” that it is painful to even talk about. The thing is, people aren’t that inclined to buy a $9.99 - $10.99 priced print book from a self-published author. That is serious dough and takes a lot of faith (thanks to all who took that leap of faith!) Also, print book advertising happens on the shelves of Barnes & Noble, Target, and Walmart even if the purchase happens on Amazon. I am not likely to get on those shelves unless a traditional publisher picks up my series. That is possible–especially if the audio versions of my series start to do well–but not likely.

So for those who prefer print, I’m sorry, I am getting to it! I am trying to get all the print versions done before the final audio version is released next summer … just because.

veliseraptor:

god dammit loki why you gotta be like this

cgockel:

Now available in dead tree format on Amazon!