Writer-Ambrosia 4

Is it that time again, M-pals?

I came totally unprepared. Hold on while I gather all my things together--just kidding! M. Jade Rivera always comes prepared. If I didn't, I'd probably have a panic attack. I'm one of those worry warts you've heard so much bout.

Moving on. It's time to display our writer's website of the day. Take a guess; what will it be today? I'll give you a hint. It has to do with saving yourself money, time, and copyright.

The official writer's website of the day is...

Writer's Beware   http://www.sfwa.org/other-resources/for-authors/writer-beware/alerts/

Writer's beware is a must for any new writer attempting to navigate their way through the publishing labyrinth. There are a lot of crooks, thieves, and just generally bad business goers out there posing as agents, publishers, and editors. Make sure you're not taken in by these money suckers by checking out every "sound too good to be true" or "they want money upfront?" operation. I can almost guarantee you, this place will save your skin almost every time.

By the way, I hope you bathe (or shower, that's actually more sanitary) more than the three times a week we soak here. Otherwise, I think we need to have an intervention. Now that this serious matter has been addressed, it's time to turn our thoughts over to our daily bubble bath of inspiration.

What's our odd piece of visual history today? Take a gander, my inspiration addicts. Wait, no, stop, not the female goose! Goodness, just look down.

Pele, the Volcano Goddess

Background:

Pele is the Hawaiian fire and volcano goddess, and was, in legend, as dangerous and uncontrollable as the elements she ruled over: namely fire and volcanoes. She is the most truly Hawaiian of deities, the number one god/goddess in their mythology, as most Hawaiian deities have a counterpart in other Polynesian island groups. Pele, with the exception of her counterpart in Tahiti where she is called Pere, and she is a unique and all-powerful being throughout all the legends.

Pele's volatile nature, as the tales go, prompted her father Kane to dismiss her from the heavens. As a result, she wandered the Earth, creating the world’s volcanoes until finally establishing her home on Mount Kilauea on the Big Island. Another indicator of Pele’s importance in the Hawaiian pantheon is the fact that Mount Kilauea is the "Mount Olympus" of Hawaiian classic mythology, basically. Feel free to correct me if there is a better metaphor for that, by the way, M-pals!

There is a lot more to Pele's legend, including how she ascended as a goddess once more, hid from her father, refused a husband, and finally married. If you want to know more about her and the other, fantastic Hawaiian gods and goddesses, go here: http://glitternight.com/2011/02/20/the-top-eleven-deities-in-hawaiian-mythology/ 

Literary Significance:

Besides the obvious allusions available with this mythology, someone has taken a twist on the Pele myth. Karsten Knight has written a YA paranormal series about a teenage girl who finds out she's a volcano goddess--sound familiar? I haven't read Wildefire or the proceeding books in the series, but they've been highly recommended!

Check it out the series here: http://www.karstenknight.com/

Dare You to Try. . .

• If you were going to make a twist on the story of Pele, what would you change? Is Pele secretly a woman, or a man? A volcano, or fire under pressure? Etc.
• Where does Pele's fire come from? Is it from her personality, her anger at her father, or sheer power? Go on, give it a shot!
• Where would you begin Pele's story? From her birth, her banishment, or her hiding?
•  Pele's eyes look like they know something. Why is she holding her fire like that? What does she know that you and I don't?
• How do you think humans first reacted to Pele's presence creating volcanoes around them?
• If you were a human, would you worship Pele, or hunt her down? I'd probably be the hunting kind myself, but who knows. The Hawaiians worshipped her, after all.

The Challenge
Try to come up with a pitch for this picture's story, and share it with your fellow M-pals! You may never end up writing the novel, but if you can create the plot or pitch for one after looking at a single photograph, you'll never run out of ideas.