View the CHAPTER 5 Character MAP

Eritrean Views

Lower right is from the travel blog of Clara Vanucci.

*Eritrea: Birthplace of Asmeret. How in the world did I come up with that? When this story emerged from my personal journal writing (with a sudden shift to third person) “She stood on the edge of the cliff . . .” I knew we were in Africa, but I had only been to South Africa and I sensed that we were north. At around the same time, National Geographic made DNA test kits available for their Genographic Project and I sent one in.

Their hypothesis is that all humans migrated out of Africa (I dreamed I was from Africa from the time I was a kid and that was confirmed when I stepped foot on that continent!) and my lineage took the route across the Straight of Bab el Mandeb. This is also the region where the oldest human remains were discovered. The evidence added up and as the story unfolded there was no place else in the world we COULD be!

Knight of Disks

wherein we meet Anbessa, the Red Lion and,

once more,

contemplate the power of names

These excerpts show you some of the heart of the Red Lion, Anbessa, and what I have come to hold as the heart of the archetype for The Knight of Disks. He grew as the story thickened, from the absent father, away at somebody else’s war when his children are born, to the central stand-in for the Divine Masculine in its most earthy form. NOT a King, (as Crowley intuited, then named them Knights), but a steward and protector of the land and all of its inhabitants. One who rides the ever-shifting line between local tradition and sensing the way forward (given an ever-expanding point of view - having seen more and more of the world), with as much clarity and grace as he can muster. Always tapping into his highest voice for guidance.

I drew this sketch of Tree very early in the writing process, probably seven or eight years ago. It captures something of Tree’s essence or aura although it isn’t how I picture Tree in my head when I write or read it.

When a story comes like this, one doesn’t ask too many questions at first for fear of scaring it off (or scaring yourself!). But when writing mentor extraordinaire, Sherry Simpson, was gifted to me at RWW, she wasn’t one bit afraid to ask the big questions!

Whose story is this? Why now? Why you? Who is telling it, and to whom?

And then, what methinks sets her apart, is that she gave me a thought and told me to ‘try it on like she had given me a blue sweater’ and if I loved it and it fit, GREAT, and if it didn’t, well one step closer to finding the sweater that did . . .

“What if the narrator was the tree?” she wrote and I wrote back, YES! (because I had secretly known the truth of it myself but didn’t think I could get away with it as a writer, esp. in an MFA program, particularly in the AGE OF LITERAL literature as the gold standard (see above). So TREE SPEAKS. You’ll catch glimpses of that voice more as the story deepens in the African spaces where the rules about who and what have ‘real’ voices are much much looser.

GODDESS ENERGY ON THE RISE

Perhaps to emphasize that the rise of the Divine Feminine is not a demise of the Divine Masculine and the royalty archetypes are non-gendered, I offer you this VOICE for the new age from Thirty Seconds to Mars. Notably for me, this video was posted in September of 2010, the fall after my encounter with Hyena in Africa and my father’s death—the events that triggered The Ash Girl. At this posting “Kings and Queens” has over 57million views. Holding the vision that The Ash Girl may have 57 million readers in 10 years.

The documentary, ARTIFACT, by Jared Leto is a fascinating story of the band’s WAR with the music industry. Commerce needs Art - does Art need commerce? Yes. But can fans supporting artists be enough?

The Ash Girl novel online reading eXperience is asking that very question. Have you shared 3x3x3? Have you considered making a donation? I ask myself the same when I consume art (and don’t always act—I too am a work in progress). How am I moving the gift? What value am I adding before I do? Maybe this turns a few of you on to this incredible band and you (gasp) pay for some of their music. (I have purchased three of their albums - kickin’ it old school).

Lyrics

[Intro]
Ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh

[Verse 1]
Into the night
Desperate and broken
The sound of a fight
Father has spoken

[Chorus]
We were the kings and queens of promise
We were the victims of ourselves
Maybe the children of a lesser God
Between heaven and hell
Heaven and hell

[Verse 2]
Into your eyes
Hopeless and taken
We stole our new lives
Through blood and name
In defense of our dreams
In defense of our dreams

[Chorus]
We were the kings and queens of promise
We were the victims of ourselves
Maybe the children of a lesser God
Between heaven and hell
Heaven and hell

[Bridge]
The age of man is over
A darkness comes at dawn
These lessons that we’ve learned here
Have only just begun

[Chorus]
We were the kings and queens of promise
We were the victims of ourselves
Maybe the children of a lesser God
Between heaven and hell

[Outro]
We are the kings
We are the queens
We are the kings
We are the queens

Song by Thirty Seconds to Mars

Produced by Steve Lillywhite & Flood

Album This is War

WHAT’S NEXT?

For your personal quest, book club, or gathering of friends, QUEST(ions) are offered here.

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