At the end of the party, one randomly chosen commenter will win a $10.00 Amazon Gift Card and a ebook version of the book (either .mobi or .pdf).
Mythology in the Series
The planet, Hathor was discovered (or will be!) in the year 2234.
The name of the planet is a perfect fit for the theme of the story. Hathor is an Egyptian goddess who symbolizes joy, love and motherhood. In my books, mothers play a key role in shaping the events. Both Jonathan Keel and Nadira’s mothers rebelled against the established order.
Their rebellion ultimately led to Jonathan and Nadira getting together and falling in love, and that relationship will help shake things up in a culture that is controlled by Novacorp, the corporation that runs things on the planet.
Hathor is also known as the “cow goddess,” and her symbol is a sun disk sitting between the horns of a cow. Novacorp’s U-shaped corporate logo is based on that symbol.
Since Hathor is also known as “Mistress of the West,” I had Jonathan’s mother be from that part of the planet. Hathor is the patron goddess of miners–and mining is at the core of the Novacorp economy. Nadira’s mother is named after Minona, a West African deity who protects women and the home. And in the books, her mother takes action to protect Nadira from the forces that want to use her for their own purposes.
Hathor’s mythology is similar to the goddess Isis, and over time a lot of their characteristics were merged. But Isis has her own story, and it inspired me to name the twin moons of Hathor, Isis and Osiris. This relates to the myth of Isis searching for her husband Osiris after his brother Set killed him to assume the throne. There’s a lot more to Isis’ story that I won’t go into here, but I used the imagery to symbolize the journey that Nadira and Jon take when they’re searching for Jon’s father who’s presumed dead.
Jonathan Keel is from the planet Astarte, which is about three days away by space cruiser. Astarte is a goddess who's also known as Ishtar. Known to the ancient Greeks and Egyptians, she was also associated with Aphrodite and Isis. Since she's the goddess of love, it's fitting that when Jon arrives on Hathor, he and Nadira are in a romantic relationship at the end of book one.
One of the moons of Astarte is Demeter (where Jon's father is CEO of the mine). In Greek mythology, Demeter went into mourning when her daughter Persephone was taken away by Hades. This is a reference back to Nadira being taken away from her mother so that she could be made into a Guardian.
There are so many mythological stories from across the world. They're an endless source of inspiration for writers and for readers!
About the book
Book Two of the Hathor Legacy Series
On the planet, Hathor, an old threat re-emerges that may destroy the fragile alliance between the Guardians and Novacorp. When Nadira is called to investigate a rash of fires throughout the city, she discovers the Deshtu, another group with PSI powers who have been purposely kept in the shadows.
Working to uncover the source of the fires, Nadira learns the brutal truth about the origin of the Guardians. The Guardian Elders have plans to make Nadira more powerful, and she may be forced to sever her psychic connection to Jonathan Keel.
When an unexpected ally gives Jonathan information about the Deshtu that connects them to the fires, he becomes a convenient scapegoat for the opposing factions. Nadira puts her life on the line to solve the crime, while the Elders make their move to remove Jonathan from her life forever.
As time runs out, the Guardians prepare for a clash with Novacorp that could plunge the planet into chaos, and a final betrayal forces Nadira to risk everything to save herself and Hathor.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LW95G7K
As a little girl when Deborah A Bailey was watching Star Trek and Twilight Zone, she was writing and drawing her own superheroine comics. When she grew up, she continued to write and followed her love of technology into a career as a computer programmer and developer. But writing was never far away from her heart, so over the years she wrote and published stories set on other worlds and in Earth's future.
Ultimately she fulfilled a lifelong dream and completed her first novel in the Hathor Legacy universe, Hathor Legacy: Outcast. Her short stories have won awards from the Philadelphia Writers' Conference and her work has been published in US1 Magazine and the Sun. She's also the author of a short story collection, Electric Dreams: Seven Futuristic Tales.
Website: http://www.BrightStreetBooks.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AuthorDeborahB
4 comments:
Deborah...You're a new to me author. Have you had to do a lot of mythology research for your books?
I love mythology. This sounds great.
debby236 at gmail dot com
Hi Catherine,
Actually I've always loved mythology, but I mostly read Greek and Roman mythology.
A couple of years ago I took a mythology class on Savvy Authors with Susan Sipal. (Sorry I don't her website handy if you like to check out her books and classes.) After that class, I realized how little I knew about mythology from other parts of the world.
So to answer your question, I did do some research on Hathor, Astarte and Minona. I already knew about the Isis/Osiris and Demeter stories. Once you start researching, though, it's hard to stop! :)
Hi Debby,
I love it too! Thanks!
Deborah
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