tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57845610606804202712024-02-18T20:05:04.855-08:00SCARLETT AMARISScreenwriter, author, researcher & presenter. Plays well with fabulous beasts & monsters.
<a href="http://www.saurimonde.com">www.saurimonde.com</a> - do you dare to go there? Scarlett Amarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13553117259133724353noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5784561060680420271.post-70351642611264985132017-02-18T12:02:00.001-08:002017-03-25T21:23:02.792-07:00Mo(u)rning Views...My friend, and often times co-writer, Melissa Saint Hilaire and I decided to take a spur of the moment field trip to the Mountain View Mausoleum in Altadena to scout locations for an upcoming enormously exciting not-so-secret-secret-project that has nothing to do with alternative religions. Little did we know what we were in for...<br />
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Melissa and I hadn't gone exploring together since the Black Star Canyon ghost hunting fandango almost nine years ago, and although entertaining, it was a total wash out (except for the crazed rednecks waiting for us in their monster truck as we left the canyon at around midnight. Luckily, we scared them more than they scared us, but I've seen that scenario in a movie before, and it normally ends in either tears, death, or squealing like a pig).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Melissa doing a good job of being spooky</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the giant rose window<br />
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The ground floor of the mausoleum was dazzling with rose windows, murals spanning the ceilings, and lots of Italian marble and dead people. Quickly, we realized we had the place to ourselves and got down to investigating.<br />
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I was delighted to spy these eight-pointed stars on the second floor. Informally known as the Star of Isis, I used to come across the exact symbol etched into rock at the various mystery spots in the Languedoc region of the South of France where I lived for many years ( for those in the know, I think it was an attempt to mark out the points on David's Wood's original pentagram in <i>Genisis</i>. For those not in the know, David Wood wrote a bonkers book called<i> Genisis</i> back in 1986 which basically introduced the Rennes (Rennes-le-Chateau) pentagram, and an increasingly baffling system of sacro-sexual geometry hidden within the landscape -- it's a must read if only for the 'Ass of Set'). Why the star of Isis? You's have to ask the sorcerer who's been carving them all of these years. I mean there are eight points to the Pagan Wheel Year, not to mention the seal of the prophets, and, of course, King Solomon -- and all of his barking seals.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eight pointed star - paging Isis, Inanna, Ishtar, Lakshmi & co</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Great Architect, the eye in the pyramid, part of the tetragramatton . 1, 3, 4, 8<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">The stained glass below was a shocker -- the colors of the county of Foix, along with a three-tiered castle, which has to do with an Occitan prophecy, and not much to do with a mausoleum in Southern California. The timing is spooky because I'm waiting on one more map (which is on it's way here) but I think I've come up with a fairly valid theory as to why Montsegur and some of the surrounding castles have a solstice effect. If I'm right it's gonna throw the cat amongst the mystery & history loving pigeons.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Was not expecting to find the colors Foix and the three towered castle</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No. No Masonic symbols here. Only a few geometrical and architectural themes...</td></tr>
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Not being well versed in Masonry, I don't know if that's the 'high twelve' in the plates above, or the 'low twelve' -- or if it would be considered <i>the twelve points on the fully expressed circle</i>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Il est difficile de vivre l'heure entre chien et loup</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Infinity like time without a friend. Who'll sing the song if the melody should end?"</td></tr>
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The third floor was fairly desolate. With scores of long-dead flowers, and piles of broken furniture hoarded into the corners, it was obvious no one came up there any more. While passing by a darkened alcove, Melissa and I froze in our tracks, both having felt an icy chilly emanating from it. Kneeling next to the enclosure using her iPhone as a torch, Melissa read the names from inside. "Elizabeth," she said. "Eeelliizzzaaabethhhh....Shhhhh.....! something angrily whispered back. We high-tailed it down the stairs, laughing as we hit the bottom. Not gales of laughter, but nervous, adrenaline laced laughter. Afterwards, we jimmied the lock and checked out the chapel, but there was nothing to be found that wasn't of the waking world. Calling it a day, we reckoned we'd probably more than worn out our welcome.</div>
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Until next time --</div>
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Much love from where the worlds touch.</div>
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S - xx</div>
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<br />Scarlett Amarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13553117259133724353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5784561060680420271.post-69513612874373429882016-12-11T17:57:00.000-08:002016-12-13T16:05:24.637-08:00Still...I've been going through a minor crisis. I'm always happiest when life is a whirlwind, but it hasn't been lately. There's been a lot of stillness -- something I never sit with comfortably. Perhaps it's the breath before the storm. There's been so much change and heartache this year. So many people are scared. So many people are hurting and with this vast underbelly of misogyny and racism that has reared its ugly head in this country it's hard not to despair -- but despair we must not. This isn't my favorite time of year, either. Winter is not so harsh in LA, but Christmas leaves me cold none-the-less. I don't think I ever liked Christmas. I remember my neighbors rapturously telling me about the angels flying around their tree when I was a child. I peered endlessly at our tree for a couple of years before I realized said neighbors were religious fanatics and technically insane. I think my favorite Christmas was in fourth or fifth grade when my mother bought me cassettes of Ozzy Osbourne's <i>Diary of a Madman </i>and Devo's <i>Freedom of Choice -- </i>which, in retrospect, explains a lot about my life.<br />
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Things I've been doing in the interim...<br />
Writing on the new book. After a cracking first few chapters it's been slow going. Mainly that's because I keep getting lost in the research and am making new connections all the time so the outline keeps changing. I have promised myself this time I will use an outline and stick to it -- it'll never happen.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lilith by Leigh McCloskey</td></tr>
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An old friend of mine from the Languedoc, Anaiya Sophia was in Malibu so I went to visit her at Leigh McCloskey's house, Olandar. Leigh was in two of my favorite movies, <i>Inferno</i>, and <i>The Bermuda Depths.</i> Wandering through his painted 3-D environment, <i>Hieroglyph of the Human Soul</i>, it was all I could do not to ask him about working with Dario (not the right crowd). Was a thoroughly enjoyable evening (Anaiya talked about the dark side of the feminine which reminded me of many conversations we had sitting in the sunshine in the garden of Yobaba Lounge in Chalabre, France -- making me miss my home something fierce) and Leigh'a paintings, especially the one of Lilith, intrigued me to no end. I was also in serious awe of his library and could have spent days there perusing through the titles. You can learn more about <i>Hieroglyph of the Human</i> Soul <a href="http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/la-hand-painted-occult-library-is-accidentally-3d">here</a>.<br />
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Speaking of which, I've also been doing a lot of reading. My favorites so far:<i> The Initiatory Path in Fairy Tales: the Alchemical Secrets of Mother Goose</i>. Obviously, I was not the only one haunted by the line in Fulcanelli's <i>Dwellings of the Philosophers</i>, "The Tales of Mother Goose (mother law, primary law) are hermetical narratives where esoteric truths mingle with the marvelous and legendary setting of the Saturnalia, of Paradise, and of the Golden Age." Evidently, Bernard Roger, the author was as well. He was also one of the last disciples of Fulcanelli's adept, Eugene Canseliet which makes me beyond curious to his research. I just finished <i>Normal</i> by Warren Ellis, and had the pleasure of hearing him read from it the other night. It's a far cry from the folklore and history I'm normally steeped in, but I'm terrified by the notion the science of machines may be an unhealthy magic in the exploitation of nature -- namely electronic genius loci. I won't say more because you should read it yourself, although I was musing with a friend the other night that part of my current state of mind may spring from occulted abyss gaze. I've been pulling on the threads of the past, and slogging through dense treatises for so long that I'm only barely in the present, only now do I own a cell phone and know how to download an app. Perhaps I'll be sent to Abnormal. Perhaps I already have and that's what LA really is. What else? I thoroughly enjoyed <i>Strange Revelations: Magic, Poison and Sacrilege in Louis IVX's France</i> by Lynn Wood Mollenauer. I have to say some of the chapters were beyond horrific. As the mother of the Mother of Toads who killed everyone in the film (yes, technically Clark Ashton Smith is her creator, but I gave her some modern day nefarious nuance) there were a couple of times I actually set this book down. Still, if you have the stomach for it, it's a fascinating read.<br />
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I also have another article in the latest issue of <i>The Heretic Magazine</i>. <i>On the Trail of the Tetramorph - "</i>In an attempt to bring order and meaning into the structure of their daily existence, the first wise Persian astrologers appointed four royal stars in the sky, otherwise known as <i>the watchers</i>, who stood over the universality of divine dominion." <i>The Heretic Magazine</i> contains a choice selection of feature articles written by cross-disciplinary experts in the fields of Alternative History, Lost Civilizations and Technologies, Mysteries and Conundrums, Religion, the Occult, Politics, Science and more. If you're at all curious -- follow the link -- <a href="http://thehereticmagazine.com/issue-11/">The Heretic Magazine Issue 11</a>. Much thanks to Editor, Andrew Gough, and to Mark Foster, Creative Director, for having me onboard.<br />
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There are two projects in the works that I am beyond excited about but cannot say anything about them right now. I shouldn't even say that, but I can't help myself. As for Desired Pyrotechnics... it's taking longer than expected. Fingers crossed it will be out by the beginning of the year. I do not doubt knowing the way my life goes that everything will come crashing in at once and I'll be throwing my hands in the air screaming, "What the fuck!"<br />
I sure hope so...<br />
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Until then I'll be holed up at Lux in Tenebris HQ, grumbling about the holidays, and spiking the eggnog.<br />
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Much love from where the worlds touch,<br />
S- xx<br />
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ps - I cut my hair. It was beyond time for a change and secret agent suits my mood.<br />
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<br />Scarlett Amarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13553117259133724353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5784561060680420271.post-81666905717664358392016-10-15T21:36:00.000-07:002016-10-18T07:31:21.335-07:00The Tides are Turning...Finally, a quiet moment while waiting for the hunter's moon to arrive...<br />
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Something I came across earlier from this years journal - June 21st.<br />
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"Is the death of magic the saddest death of all? Watching the
magic leave the land and fade like the half-remembered sunset? Nothing sustains -- all is
cyclical -- the ebb and flow to which we cling. The donkey’s bray and claim it’s
not true. The believers all point their crooked fingers, but they know it’s
true in their heart of hearts... the magic has left the land. Maybe some day
in the hazy future it will reappear again, but for now it’s enough to know it once
existed, and to move forward in the world."<br />
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Does anyone even read blogs anymore? I have to wonder. I admit, I've been lazy about keeping this up. After pushing out two books in rapid succession (one released and one not yet released) I've wanted to do anything other than produce more verbiage. Even though work on the next book is stalling, I'm not worried about it. There's projects galore on the table and I couldn't be more thrilled even if I can't talk about them at this moment in time. And I'm extremely grateful because after a huge amount of hard work, I've caught a couple of lucky breaks.</div>
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Currently, I'm holed up at a friend's house way up in the canyon. Some place out of time where the coyotes sing at night, and the oak trees dance under the light of another super moon. I always need a break from the city to recharge. Especially with all the election trauma. I've watched the debates, but they've left me feeling like I've poked the rotting underbelly of some gangrenous animal in its death throes. I try not to turn my head away, but what's the lesson to be learned? He who dies with the most toys wins? I know from experience you cannot teach an entitled monster the error of their ways because they simply do not care. In fact, they love their soul-crushing ways. They love to inflict pain and destroy things because it makes them feel powerful. Well, that, and getting people to get onboard with their despicable behavior. I'm kind of surprised that anyone is shocked Trump has acted in such a blatantly misogynistic way and brushes it off as 'locker room talk'. Just like I'm surprised the word 'pussy' has the American public up in arms, especially after all the horrible racist comments that have been spewed forth. After the last loathsome debate, the pizza delivery man told me he thought Trump had handled himself really well -- much better than the time before. As I gaped at him, not quite believing my ears, I asked him what he saw in Trump. He told me Trump was for 'guys like him'. Then, he laughed and said I was like his daughter and she hates Trump, but she was smart, and that's why he sent her to college. I still can't wrap my head around his statement because it has nothing to do with qualification, or the bigger picture in general, but has to do with some weird, self-loathing, underdog identification, that has nothing to do with ones, and the nations, general safety and welfare. I'm not trying to man-bash here. The pizza guy was the first person I've come across who actually had a kind word about Trump, except some adamant, pro-lifer, who I blocked on FB, which shows how insular my world is. I totally get identifying with the underdog who is shaking up the system. There's a rebellious punk rock teenager raising a middle finger trapped within my adult body, but Trump isn't 'like him', and isn't for 'guys like him'. Trump's never been 'like him', and in all honesty, probably doesn't know anyone 'like him'. That's the disconnect, as well as the obvious. And it makes my skin crawl that possibly he meant 'guys like him' as in misogynistic creeps. I'm fairly certain that's not what he meant. At least I hope not because that would be an even uglier can of worms and a more dire state of affairs.<br />
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As for the Patreon thing I wrote about in the last blog... My apologies, but it's not gonna happen. I'm taking the page down. My everlasting thanks to those who expressed an interest in it, but I don't have the time as the winds have shifted and fortune is blowing in a new creative direction -- one I've come to realize I've wanted for a very long time -- so I'm going for it. My hats off to those creators who make those kind of platforms work for them, and I'm in love with the idea of artists supporting artists, but for now, I'm going to step down, and instead, support the friends I have on there and applaud from the sidelines.<br />
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There isn't much more to tell because I've been diligently crossing my t's and dotting my i's, and making certain all of my bases are covered. It's not glamorous, but it is necessary so I don't repeat some of my mistakes from the past. I don't mind making mistakes as long as I learn from them.<br />
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So in the meantime, be true to yourself and fuck the naysayers and bullies at large. Make the world a bigger and brighter place, and not smaller and meaner. Be kind to yourself and to those around you. I don't know what else -- don't be an asshole? That kind of goes without saying...<br />
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Much love from where the worlds touch,<br />
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S - xx<br />
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<br />Scarlett Amarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13553117259133724353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5784561060680420271.post-36290457581113783352016-07-29T17:44:00.000-07:002016-09-01T14:12:12.583-07:00Beauty in Ruin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I've only got an hour but I wanted to share a couple things.</div>
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This is what happens when I am left to my own devices for periods of time. I've been house-sitting for a friend who had a family emergency. In the midst of my quiet time in the canyon, all hell broke loose. Fires raging from all sides, no sleep, high alert, ash raining down like snowflakes, the skies turning dark at midday -- it was all quite biblical. I couldn't leave, so I hunkered down with the animals and tested new electronic things to amuse myself. First, I taught myself to record and edit audio -- the digital way -- the 21st century way. I've needed to do this for quite some time. The last time I learned to record and edit audio was in the early nineties at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where I have hazy memories of being deep within the under recesses of the school, plugging cables into sockets and unwrapping and rewrapping miles of wires (last year an old friend told me he was the one who set up the miasma of audio equipment down there and we laughed while reminiscing how one could get stuck in those endless, winding, corridors editing for days, like troglodytes never seeing the sun, passing out in the hallways, and watching the cockroaches climb out of the vending machine one just bought coffee from. Chicago has its own brand of humor). Anyhow, I put together my first spoken work piece for Sisters of the Wasteland. This will not be the project's final form, nor am I about to start writing poetry, or doing spoken word for that matter, but it's a test. I will be doing a lot more audio like I used to do, but I suspect it will end up more as lyrics and songs. Also, I love to mix found sounds. Always have. I tend to listen to the world in an odd way. Ask anyone's who's ever been in the car with me as we go under a freeway underpass and motorcycles race overhead, and I'm transfixed by the distorted echo, wishing out loud they would do it again. Beauty in ruin. Generally, that's about the time someone asks me if I'm tripping balls with a worried expression on their face, but I digress.<br />
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Here's the link if you want to give it a listen:<br />
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<a href="https://soundcloud.com/scarlett-amaris/sisters-of-the-wasteland-audio">https://soundcloud.com/scarlett-amaris/sisters-of-the-wasteland-audio</a><br />
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I also did some test shots for the upcoming series, Lux in Tenenbris, on the seriously mysterious goings on in fin de siecle Paris, which will make it's debut in the middle of August on Patreon (yes, it was originally scheduled for the beginning of August, but I missed the first window of filming thanks to the unscheduled arrival of the hellacious Sand Fire). These are actually the wrong contacts. I could have sent them back, but once I opened them -- I had to give them a go. I know they're a little much -- but still..............<br />
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Before I run, I wanted to share this as well as the 'so-called real world' is swimming in the zeitgeist and we step closer toward the black iron prison every day (of course, one could argue we're already there. I might agree.) It's a short film by my friend, director and writer, Eric Shapiro, called HOAX, which you can watch for free on Amazon - just press <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hoax-Rodney-Eastman/dp/B01J4STM16/ref=sr_1_1?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1469807795&sr=1-1&keywords=hoax">HERE</a><br />
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The hour has struck. Time for me to go.<br />
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Much love from where the worlds touch,<br />
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S - xx<br />
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p.s. Here's the link to the Patreon page where the new series will be happening - <a href="https://www.patreon.com/scarlettamaris">Lux in Tenebris</a><br />
<br />Scarlett Amarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13553117259133724353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5784561060680420271.post-23006412371235519782016-07-13T09:26:00.001-07:002016-07-28T09:46:16.734-07:00Patreon Alert...!<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jbV5TQ5gges" width="560"></iframe><br />
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So I've finally done it -- I've taken the plunge and joined the Patreon platform. Let's see how well I do because I've never been that savvy at social media and yet, I keep on trying. Of course, me being me, I pushed the publish button about a month ago before I was anywhere near ready -- kinda the story of my life. So I've been busy working on the next book. The outline is finished, but modern-day Paris doesn't want to geographically correlate the way I want it to -- dammit -- why can't the topography just obey my whims and reshape itself accordingly? After writing two books last year it feels kind of like ripping the flesh off my tongue with a Popsicle stick starting another one. I probably shouldn't say things like that but it's true. None of the characters have their own voice or style yet, and they certainly aren't talking to me, nor to each other -- they're only vague, shadowy outlines, grumbling quietly in the outer recesses of my imagination. I always dread beginnings. It's ridiculous because every story must have one. I'm much happier polishing existing material, or creating bombastic dark fantasy sequences. Now that I've furtively collected the necessary technology and learned to apply it (hence why I've been absent on the social sites lately -- I've been busy learning new things so I can further my preternatural agenda) I'm going to share some of the esoteric research permeating the new book in a web series called Lux in Tenebris on my Patreon page starting the middle of August. It'll consist of some of the more curious esoteric gossip abounding in fin-de-siecle Paris and other inherent mysteries. The first episode, entitled 'Cursed Again!', will feature warring necromancers and authors using black magic and such -- and maybe a little mind-crunching alchemy. Okay, they'll be a lot of mind-crunching alchemy, but not to start with -- even I'm not ready to head down that rabbit hole yet. But I hope you will join me there. Like always, I'm approachable and open to suggestions, but keep it to the La Belle Epoque if you can -- think Fulcanelli and company and we'll be in business.<br />
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Here's the link!<br />
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<a href="https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=2863658&redirect_uri=http%3A%2F%2Fpatreon.com%2Fscarlettamaris">
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THANK YOU!<br />
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And the new Lux in Tenebris merchandise is in! You can find more about it <a href="http://www.redbubble.com/people/edendarkly/works/20814419-lux-in-tenebris-light-in-the-darkness?c=486062-lux-in-tenebris">HERE!</a><br />
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I'll still be posting some on this site, but I will be spending more and more time over on Patreon with the new series. Come join me for this new adventure -- I would love to see you there!!!<br />
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And in other news... I've got a new article out in always fascinating The Heretic Magazine called 'Gloraie to the End of the World (in the blink of an eye)' deconstructing the apocalyptic imagery in the enigmatic paintings of Juan Valdes Leal. There's a little Fulcanelli thrown in there, along with the mystery cross of Hendaye, warnings about the end of the world, Harpocrates, and the Kali Yuga. You can find out more <a href="http://thehereticmagazine.com/buy/">HERE</a>.<br />
<br />
By fire we are born anew...<br />
<br />
Much love from where the worlds touch,<br />
<br />
S -xx<br />
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p.s. I decided to stay in LA for the summer. Obviously, I am not regretting that choice one little bit...Scarlett Amarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13553117259133724353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5784561060680420271.post-47246035730894335602016-04-19T16:45:00.000-07:002016-04-21T07:38:28.634-07:00Un rêve dans un rêve...<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOWMXDJ4mu0f-w142ulf6TbuF9dlXgapGmCSuEi7AqXyJL_0sKHZEzNOEHjuHSnzxAJJzdQnAs3T4xuZbZi1zxy_5KDDt4zwPdn5AqXxKBLX48ouEZ5rsgRKIycEoD-g1dfIiSqA-AkuA/s1600/43b4a85572c4ea4c811564152cfd4953.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOWMXDJ4mu0f-w142ulf6TbuF9dlXgapGmCSuEi7AqXyJL_0sKHZEzNOEHjuHSnzxAJJzdQnAs3T4xuZbZi1zxy_5KDDt4zwPdn5AqXxKBLX48ouEZ5rsgRKIycEoD-g1dfIiSqA-AkuA/s400/43b4a85572c4ea4c811564152cfd4953.jpg" width="262" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nicola Samori, School of Pan, 2011</td></tr>
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<br />
Often when I wake out of dreams the first thing I do is write down the fragments floating around in my head. The problem is if I don't do so sometimes the dream scenarios become trapped and refuse to make way for what I need to be thinking about and working on. There's about twenty or so ragged and dog-eared notebooks full of these which I revisit from time to time. I thought maybe I would start sharing some of them here because sometimes these scenarios blossom into bigger things. There's stacks of them in the third Saurimonde book where I took written pieces of my actual nightmares, rearranged the elements of six or seven separate instances into one semi-cohesive supernatural nightmare sequence, then I added in the mythology and remixed them again (sort of a mild version of the cut-up technique). I think maybe that's why when they work, they have resonance.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
So here's the fragment from this morning. I find the idea being trapped or lost within the cycles of incarnation is a theme which often permeates my subconscious.</div>
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<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>"The room was lit
by the muted television set and a haze of bluish smoke hovered in
the air from the cigarette they shared between them. She didn't think she had ever stared into someones eyes and seen herself so clearly before. The feeling frightened her
because it spoke of other times and places where they had known each
other. Stroking the plane from his eyebrow to cheekbone with her fingertips, she
chose her words with care. “I know you.”</i></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>“So you are
beginning to remember...?”</i></div>
<i>Burying her her head into the nape of his neck, she whispered against his skin, “You are not the
only accidental guest on this darkened planet -- I was never meant to
be here either.</i>”<br />
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Will it go into the next book? Maybe. Speaking of the next book, I've got the outline down and it will center around the enigmatic north porch of Notre Dame de Paris, the Belle Epoch alchemists, signs, portents, and chance encounters -- some of my favorite pet obsessions. Most likely it will be a supernatural thriller which I am kind of excited about writing. I feel the need to re-root myself back into the twenty-first century for a while, and put the puzzle pieces together in a different configuration. It might not work. One never knows. I loved the outline and the ideas behind Demon Priest, and it had a cracking opening, but three chapters in I realized I had made a fatal error -- I'm not a strong enough writer to narrate a whole book from a male perspective. At least not that kind of book. But that is how you learn, and possibly I'll use that first chapter for something else one day, or figure how to come at that story from another point of view when the time is right.<br />
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Here's the prologue from Demon Priest: (another snippet of a dream).<br />
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">"There was that noise
again. The throbbing of drums echoed across the valley punctuated
by faraway screams. Stirring, she opened her eyes to see the bright
spots of firelight glowing like fireflies in the distance. Smiling to herself, she shifted on the ground near the mouth of the shallow
cave. Let them celebrate me, she mused. Let them have
this night to shout and dance and to make love under the stars.
Soon they would be no more, like the others who came before them.
She was tired now -- so very tired. The time was near when she would
retreat into the cool earth where she would slumber and
dream in endless darkness. No one would find her there. She knew these
lands like no other and indeed, she had been here before the
mountains had been formed, when there was only a vast, endless ocean.
Then, the tectonic plates crashed together and what was molten soon cooled as slow moving glaciers formed the first
valleys. Like herself, the terrain changed and was born anew, only to
become old again. The humans called out to her, shouting her name while waving their cups in the air. A giant effigy burned sending sparks
flying out into the night sky as the smaller bonfires were
extinguished. I will return, she promised as the weariness took
hold of her again. I always do. These humans mean little more to
me than insects now. Sighing one last time against the dirt, she murmured, But first, please grant me
oblivion..."</span></i></div>
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There's not a huge amount of news to be had. Currently, I'm finishing up a project I should have completed ages ago. It's tricky and complicated and doesn't want to follow any known set of screenwriting rules -- but it is a challenge -- and I do <i>love</i> a challenge. I only have a certain amount of time out here to get it completed so it's been occupying most of my waking attention.<br />
<br />
The sun is rising, the desert is stretching its sun-kissed skin, there's coffee brewing in the kitchen, and I need to get down to writing for the day...<br />
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Much love from where the worlds touch,<br />
<br />
S - xx<br />
<br />
<br />Scarlett Amarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13553117259133724353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5784561060680420271.post-28798394500101751202016-04-04T20:38:00.000-07:002016-04-06T09:30:03.857-07:00Casu, Consensus, Studiis Magicis....<br />
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I keep pondering the so-called real world with one eyebrow raised and the ghost of a smile passing my lips. Spent the last few weeks hunkered down in the desert, finishing up the fourth rewrite of Desired Pyrotechnics ( it's done). In everything I design, in all the the characters I construct, there are bits and pieces of friends, lovers, and those who catch my eye, and I'm always mentally squirreling away other people's idiosyncrasies. Anyhow, the day after I finished the rewrite three very strange things occurred all within the space of about four hours. The first was a video interview on social media with a friend of mine whom I based a minor character on and he said something which he says in the book, even though its nothing we've ever discussed in real life, and I made that dialogue up. The second incident was from a random moment in the book when the lead character digs through a closet in the guest room and comes up with a pink robe, remarking, ' pretty, but not on me'. While drinking my morning coffee on the patio, enjoying the sunshine, a friend of mine staying in the guest room came out in a pink robe, explaining she bought it compulsively the night before, but she wasn't certain about it. Her exact words were 'it's very pretty, but not on me'. I laughed. A couple of hours later while was driving around with another friend who happened to be in town he repeated something I gave another minor character that I loosely based off of him. He said it sarcastically -- exactly the way I had written it, even though I don't recall him ever using the phrase before -- and it was something I tossed in at the last minute. It's weird. Then there's the whole praying mantis thing... but I'm not getting into that because it's too fucking weird - like somehow fiction bleeds into reality and vice versa kind of weird. Sometimes I wonder about these things. Can you conjure situations by an act of creative will? Lucky for me, this rather brutal story actually has a happy ending because a lot of scripts and stories I've written before don't. In fact, I don't think any of them do. So maybe it's sympathetic magic in action. It's a possibility. I don't believe it to be coincidence -- that's why I say one eyebrow raised and the ghost of a smile passing my lips.<br />
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<h4>
So onto news...</h4>
We've finally gotten the brand spanking new Saurimonde III merchandise at the Eden Darkly store -- t-shirts, stickers, coffee mugs (want one!), tote bags, and a bunch of other things. Follow the link to find out more!!!<br />
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<a href="http://www.redbubble.com/people/edendarkly/collections/486064-saurimonde">Saurimonde Super Store</a><br />
<h4>
<br />And in other news...</h4>
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I finally got my ass back into LA and made it into the BTS studio for our seventeenth gonzo podcast. These crazy fucking things are never scripted, but they are so much fun to do -- and are proving to be surprisingly popular. Who knew?<br />
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<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/256985953&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<br />
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Our seventeenth episode takes a turn for the dark side fast with: a pecker puffer, an Easter special with Lucifer's testicles, a new book from our fave author Mandy De Sandra, and Victorian doctors who thought reading made women insane and depraved.<br />
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<h4>
Finale</h4>
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The next month is going to be a game-changer. Keep watching this space because some very radical developments are in the works. After pulling magic rabbits successfully out of paper bags for the last many years, I'm about to get very dangerous, and I am so ready to step up...<br />
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Much love from where the worlds touch,<br />
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S-xx</div>
Scarlett Amarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13553117259133724353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5784561060680420271.post-38499789143799418862016-03-06T15:07:00.000-08:002016-03-12T11:20:41.653-08:00Selva Oscura - Absolution is Not an Option...<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
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Hey there friends! Shall we take the sweet with the bitter? I'm rather a fan of the savoury myself...<br />
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First up, new, sweet business -- we have a brand spanking new giveaway going on over at Goodreads! We're giving away four print copies of our latest dark fantasy offering, Saurimonde III. All you have to do is follow the link below for your chance to win!<br />
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/" target="_new">Goodreads</a> Book Giveaway
</h2>
<div style="float: left;">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29361516"><img alt="Saurimonde III by Melissa St. Hilaire" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1456702738l/29361516.jpg" title="Saurimonde III by Melissa St. Hilaire" width="100" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29361516">Saurimonde III</a>
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<h4 style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0 0 10px; padding: 0;">
by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5822220.Melissa_St_Hilaire" style="text-decoration: none;">Melissa St. Hilaire</a>
</h4>
<div class="giveaway_details">
Giveaway ends May 06, 2016.
<br />
See the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/177054" style="text-decoration: none;">giveaway details</a>
at Goodreads.
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<br />
And now onto old, sort of bitter business -- I found this journal entry quite by accident earlier after clicking on the wrong icon. I think it was from the end of summer 2012? When I'd started on the first Saurimonde novel -- a different time and a different place, but it is evocative, and took me quite by surprise.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiic9dF_zk8IvgHa0eMV6CopZDvLNKamWd5Ly30E8pjb8hAkHFyDcwP4LQ42Oxusgw2Aj0IL8m_IrxV5kFtXKYBB6t8_UtuG4XxxSLNINcFnBOnIPpDSBmrXaYGC0ti1XCJlSbSSpL1TNE/s1600/376232_395071493887993_1985400934_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiic9dF_zk8IvgHa0eMV6CopZDvLNKamWd5Ly30E8pjb8hAkHFyDcwP4LQ42Oxusgw2Aj0IL8m_IrxV5kFtXKYBB6t8_UtuG4XxxSLNINcFnBOnIPpDSBmrXaYGC0ti1XCJlSbSSpL1TNE/s320/376232_395071493887993_1985400934_n.jpg" width="258" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEiKFoZsYBHSymyKbkErRHNXHzjyy7iTPwy9Myku8udOkQlv0lBxbeL6440KRS_ojeDcpdMAe1HhpDvGDBOdqt9fsyxRVamvGN5CfArlkjcN1y21Y5ymx7mwxe59B7eSh6lHv4V1YNs34/s1600/13194_560468203971432_324172028_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEiKFoZsYBHSymyKbkErRHNXHzjyy7iTPwy9Myku8udOkQlv0lBxbeL6440KRS_ojeDcpdMAe1HhpDvGDBOdqt9fsyxRVamvGN5CfArlkjcN1y21Y5ymx7mwxe59B7eSh6lHv4V1YNs34/s320/13194_560468203971432_324172028_n.jpg" width="313" /></a><br />
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2012, Montsegur, France - Summer:<br />
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Selva Oscura,</div>
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There is a character, a succubus, crafting herself out of darkness and chaos, and I have a feeling she's going to reek havoc on my new story. I don't whether I'm birthing her into existence, or whether she is being rebirthed. Sometimes it feels like she's using me as a conduit and has been waiting for the opportune moment to do so. </div>
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Partial character study -- the words are from a fragment of a dream.</div>
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"I'll never forgive you and there's a part of me that will always hate you. The feeling is irrational and rears its ugly head at a moment's notice. I have to keep remembering -- this is not my fault -- I did
not cause this situation -- you did. Absolution is not an option.
It may hurt me more, but I'll never be there in my soul, not
even if I mouth the words of your proverbial redemption. Time should heal
these things and I no longer dwell on them like I once did -- you no longer
haunt my waking thoughts. When reminded
of the past it's more like the sudden pain of being touched with the lit end of a cigarette. I lash out at the world -- of course, that's putting it mildly, when what I really want is to rip down the fabric of creation
itself. The irrational rises inside like a darkened whirlwind, an abyss without
stars, like utter blackness -- and it builds like the pregnant sky before a southern storm. I cannot control this -- there are no reins, no brakes, no known forms of control, as it spills forth. Do
you hear my voice howling in the winds? Don't you not recognize what shimmers in the shadows? There is power there. You hang your head, cowering in
shame, but if you only stood still, and raised a hand to the west, you would realize this is a gift. Go, dive deeper into the water. Hold your
breath longer than you ever thought possible. Far past the murkiness and into the deep, deep, depths. Why do you deny yourself these things? She is always
there waiting for you, shining in her cloak of immaculate darkness. No more celebrated now than the distant
memory of a dull glint on a rusted blade."<br />
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And that's where it stops...<br />
<br />
It's scary. It's violent. I'm well aware of where my head was at the time. I know the circumstances -- but it is raw and honest. I love these fragments of dreams, and I love having forgotten them only to stumble across them at a later date. Besides the first Saurimonde novel there's the germ on Sisters of the Wasteland in there as well. I miss the ancient spirits of the olde country and maybe they miss me too. But the time to return is not yet, although it will be soon. I bide my time as I rebuild an empire.<br />
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Much love from where the worlds touch,<br />
<br />
S - xx</div>
Scarlett Amarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13553117259133724353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5784561060680420271.post-58293684296762351932016-02-16T16:43:00.002-08:002016-03-12T11:20:13.427-08:00SAURIMONDE III -- C'est Fini!What a month it's been so far! I'm sitting here in Los Angeles, basking in the hot February sunshine. It's such a blessing after so many winters in the freezing cold of the Pyrenees, and as much as I may miss my home, I will never miss the cold.<br />
<br />
So first -- the very good news -- Saurimonde III is finished! It's currently available on Amazon Kindle (the physical copy will be out next week) and it's the first book launched on our newly formed Lux in Tenebris Publishing label. There will be lots more about that development in the near future -- so keep an eye on this space!<br />
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<br />
Saurimonde III:<br />
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Safety is but an illusion...</div>
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<div class="western" style="line-height: 0.58cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;">
In the search for a young woman who may already be dead, the
tragically lovely Saurimonde, along with her handsome consort,
Sordel, travel deep within the mysterious zone where she comes under
the spell of the powerful cult leader, Na Dag'ma, who, after
initating her into their strange faith, sends her on a quest to find
a dangerous ancient relic.
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<div class="western" style="line-height: 0.58cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;">
Amid a quagmire of lies, dulplicity, and collusion the veil between
worlds becomes threadbare – one existence bleeding into another –
as Saurimonde and Sordel wander further into a supernatural web. Upon
finding what they seek, will they be able to break free? Or be forced
to become the ultimate sacrifice?</div>
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It's available here: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Saurimonde-III-Melissa-St-Hilaire-ebook/dp/B01BQZ7ZF0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455668335&sr=8-1&keywords=Saurimonde+III">Saurimonde III Amazon Kindle</a><br />
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Even though it's been an age (not really, it only feels that way) since I've been sequestered in the back beyond, Melissa and I managed to record a new podcast at the BTS studios as soon as I hit the ground yesterday.<br />
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In our sixteenth episode we try to get back into the swing of things after our month long break with: a show dedicated to wine lovers, like how red wine is great for sex, as well as another book by Mandy De Sandra, Fox News Fuckfest, for all your bizzaro political erotica needs! (And, yes, we forgot to turn off the A/C at the BTS studios again, damn it!).<br />
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Tomorrow, we'll be filming for our brand new super secret project that I am so excited about! Maybe I'm finally starting to travel out of the crossroads. I say this with cautious optimism because I've thought the same thing a couple of times over this last rather surreal and harsh year only to be knocked back to square one and told to wait. Still, all I can do is follow the signs wherever they may lead...<br />
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Much love from where the worlds touch,<br />
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S - xx</div>
Scarlett Amarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13553117259133724353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5784561060680420271.post-30789885497876016802016-01-11T14:55:00.000-08:002016-01-13T22:36:55.570-08:00Just a quickie... that ended up not a quickie...<h4>
January 10th.</h4>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drowning not waving through the holidays...</td></tr>
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Hey! Am finally checking in. Have had my fair share of unfortunate luck which means I was offline on top of having some version of the dreaded lurgy which lingered and lingered like a most unwelcome guest while I waited for my laptop to be fixed. Things have stabilized and we're in the midst of the very last contraction on SAURIMONDE III. Some days it's felt like I've been pushing a very large boulder up an extremely steep hill, but I'm happy with the material, and it's really fucking bonkers while still retaining a large amount of esoteric wyrdness within all the sex, death and scenes of madness. Plus, we've finally gotten a chance to expand the mythology within the Saurimonde universe. If all goes to plan then it should be released at the beginning of February. Fingers crossed though, because the one thing I've come to learn is the closer you come to finishing a major project the more the real world will conspire to make it very fucking hard for you to do so. I've also decided after we finish SAURIMONDE III that I will go in and give DESIRED PYROTECHNICS one more rewrite. One final brush of the hair. One more coat of gloss. Everything can always be made prettier and tighter. After working on it so intensely I knew I needed to give the last draft some distance. Like with painting, or even cooking, sometimes you have to step back and let things stew on their own for a while before adding the next element or ingredient. But it will be worth the wait -- it always is.<br />
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Quite by chance a couple of weeks ago I found out that THE OTHERWORLD (L'AUTRE MONDE) (2013) a documentary that I had the pleasure to co-wrote and appear in is streaming on Netflix. It features cinematography by Karim Hussain, and a score by Simon Boswell, and touches upon some of the more supernatural mysteries in the South of France. I'm absolutely chuffed and slightly flabbergasted that such a strange and psychedelic film would be on there. So for those of you who have been asking you can watch it there anytime you wish.<br />
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And at the tail end of having the dreaded lurgy, Melissa and I managed to get in another podcast. Admittedly, I'm a little scratchy and not really on my game at all, but it's still kind of fun even if it is the most PG version we've ever done. At that it's NSFW. You have been warned.<br />
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<i>In our fifteenth episode we suffer through the holidays with: glitter beards and armpit hair, a naked artist in a glass box who masturbates, dinosaur erotica by Christie Sims, Ted Cruz holiday erotica, and remembering Lemmy.
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Fucking Angus Scrimm died today. First Holly, then Lemmy, and now Angus. I hope someone at Morningside Cemetary lights a candle for him. So strange and awful to have so many of one's formative influences and teenage heroes die at the same time. It's enough to make one feel old. The world will never see people like these again. They broke the mold with each and every one and in today's cookie cutter, prefab world it's a testament to what once was.</div>
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January 11th</h4>
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Then the world stopped this morning. Bowie is gone. I'm sitting here blasting The Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars album. One of my earliest childhood memories is sitting in the back seat of my father's dark blue '67 Chevy Mustang and Lady Stardust is blaring from the car speakers. It's near twilight. Neon signs light up the distance. There's a cool wind blowing on my face and all the secret scents of the desert are blooming near nightfall. Bowie's voice breaks my heart and I'm crying for a Lady Stardust I never knew (only finding out later the song was written about Marc Bolan). It's a potent memory for me because it was the moment I realized music could make you feel things you couldn't put words to -- it could come and wrap itself around your soul -- it could find those secret spaces which ached inside of you so fiercely you thought no one else could ever understand. But in reading through my feed this morning that is what struck me the most -- how many of us had the same encounters and how much his music helped us and gave us hope that we were not alone, no matter how damaged we were. That is art, and that is transcendence. When I was transplanted from LA to the ultra-conservative Midwest while beginning high school it was Bowie who played on my walkman 24-7 in an attempt to blot out the ugliness surrounding me. Dropped into a world that loathed anyone who was different from themselves, sometimes it was only his music that saw me through being beaten up by jocks and cruelly harassed by preppies and cheerleaders alike. I had no friends. Music and that goddamned walkman were my only friends. How do you thank someone for such a thing? Do they even know on some level that whatever they are creating is helping some alienated and disenfranchised kid make it through another horrible day? For us overly creative weirdo types he was our role model; part of our yet-to-be-realized tribe, and his music was the touchstone that better days were to come. Art, hope, imagination and reimagination; Bowie was the magician when it came to these things. That is what us freaks, rubbing the starlight into our eyes, loved about him. He was our fucking hero and there will never be another like him. Thank you for being the blackstar, Sir David, in our fragile souls.</div>
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So much for this being a quickie... but before it gets any longer I have to get onto conjuring for the day.</div>
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Much love from where the worlds touch,</div>
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S - xx</div>
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P.S. </div>
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<b>January 12th.</b></div>
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A bright spot in the darkest of weeks. I saw this note on FB from Andy Paciorek of WYRD HARVEST PRESS the other day which cheered me up immensely.</div>
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<i>"I received a nice note today from Chesire Wildlife Trusts thanking us for the donation raised by the sales of the FOLK HORROR REVIVAL: FIELD STUDIES book. Thought you might like to see one of the actual owls that the donation would benefit. Checking a nest at one of there reserves, they discovered four barn owl chicks, one of whom is pictured here. </i></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>So thank you again to those who worked on / and or bought copies of the book. Folk Horror Revival will continue to donate 100% of sales profits to countryside, community and enviornmental projects run by The Wildlife Trusts</i>."</span></span></div>
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This book is available at: <a href="http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/andypaciorek">FOLK HORROR REVIVAL: FIELD STUDIES</a></div>
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Melissa St. Hilaire and I were thrilled to have contributed to this fascinating book with a section about the mythology behind our popular dark fantasy series books, SAURIMONDE. I have an enormous love and fascination of owls (and bats, wolves, and foxes) and this picture makes me smile every time I look at it. </div>
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And... Folk Horror Revival has a new website which is more than worth your time to check out. You can find it <a href="http://folkhorrorrevival.com/">HERE</a> </div>
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Scarlett Amarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13553117259133724353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5784561060680420271.post-45939026331451072392015-12-13T13:19:00.001-08:002015-12-13T14:58:08.949-08:00Beyond the Fields We Know...I'm playing virtual hooky this morning. I should be writing on the next Saurimonde book like I've been doing every day for the last few weeks but I'm tired. Bone-weary, ass-draggin', tired. And as much fun as it is to write the Saurimonde tales, it also means huge amounts of isolation for myself, and boldly marching into some fairly combustible internal landscapes; dredging through those memories and emotions which I will always bear the scars from. Not exactly a piece of cake by any stretch of the imagination.<br />
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But enough grousing...<br />
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I'm immensely honored to have co-written a piece in this new book, <b>Folk Horror Revival: Field Studies</b> (Wyrd Harvest Press & Andrew Paciorek), with Melissa St. Hilaire, on the little known Medieval and Basque mythology of the Saurimonde stories.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVwu8M0FK2Szy6IoNMu7_3hmuEYQuNBVpskhm6agkSxsY7cwGRPVs7W3dnX55YJ60tnLuN13yPj8LAjTvJBSsO2-G_SbAjeH0uD-CyD6JxjrPwsjs1q6UjFKs05N44bgjGC8xqXPM_tI0/s1600/folk+horror.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVwu8M0FK2Szy6IoNMu7_3hmuEYQuNBVpskhm6agkSxsY7cwGRPVs7W3dnX55YJ60tnLuN13yPj8LAjTvJBSsO2-G_SbAjeH0uD-CyD6JxjrPwsjs1q6UjFKs05N44bgjGC8xqXPM_tI0/s1600/folk+horror.jpg" /></a></div>
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Here's a little more about the book:<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"Featuring essays and interviews by many great cinematic, musical, artistic and literary talents, Folk Horror Revival: Field Studies is the most comprehensive and engaging exploration to date of the sub genre of Folk Horror and associated fields in cinema, television, music, art, culture and folklore. </i></span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Includes contributions by Kim Newman, Robin Hardy, Thomas Ligotti, Phillip Pullman, Gary Lachman and many many more.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">100% of the profits from sales of the book will be charitably donated to enviormental, wildlife, and community projects undertaken by The Wildlife Trusts."</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Wyrd Harvest Press</b> - <i>explores the landscapes of Folk Horror and related realms in film, tv, books, art, music, events, and other media and also psychogeography, hauntology, folklore, cultural rituals and costume, earth mysteries, archaic history, hauntings, southern gothic, landscapism / visionary naturalism & geography, murder ballads, backwoods horror, carnavalia, dark psychedelia, wyrd forteana and other strange edges.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">At 498 pages there's a lot of Folk Horror bang for your buck! You can find out more <a href="http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/andypaciorek">here</a> .</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And in other news...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The other day while recording at the latest podcast at the BTS studios we noticed we'd broken the 1000 listener mark. So while I'm here, I wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who listens, comments, and sends us weird shit. We adore you all! xx</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here's the latest episode - once again, it's NSFW!</span><br />
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Much love from where the worlds touch,<br />
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S - xx</div>
Scarlett Amarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13553117259133724353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5784561060680420271.post-78560328468803579662015-09-01T19:58:00.000-07:002015-09-02T12:13:57.158-07:00DESIRED PYROTECHNICS - first peekAll right... I've tried to make this post a few times now, but like the contrary creature I am, I keep changing my mind. Quite possibly it's because this new book is such a radical departure from anything I've written before. There's parts I adore and there's parts that make me nervous. I'll shut up now and just fucking post a piece of the beast<br />
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<b>DESIRED PYROTECHNICS</b></div>
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<i>"I
wandered through an unknown countryside with rolling hills and
jagged peaks in the distance which looked like broken teeth. Pockets
of low lying, heavy fog encircled me, impeding my way forward.
There was an abandoned farmhouse which looked like it had been
rotting for years and the earth had reclaimed the land. I went
to take a closer look when it occurred to me I may not want to.
Nothing lived in this landscape. This is where time had stopped and
I was somehow trapped there. Which might have meant that I wasn't
alive any more. Was I dead? I couldn't remember. There'd been some
kind of tragedy which had made time stop but I couldn't recall what
it was even if it was on the tip of my tongue. If I could remember what had happened then I might have a chance of making my way out of there. The fog
wove its way around me again until it physically pressed down on me
and I thought I was suffocating...</i></div>
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I
awoke with a start. My heart pounded and I was gasping for air.
Night had fallen and the room was pitch black. For a moment I was so
disoriented I couldn't remember where I was and thought I was still
trapped within the dreamscape. I laid there peering into the darkness
until I saw the outline of the marble fireplace from across the room.
My heart rate slowed. The dream didn't return and I crawled out of
bed and limped downstairs to see if Tabby was there. I needed
confirmation someone else was alive.</div>
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All
the lights were off as I bumped around the kitchen in search of a clock that I
never found. With my good hand, I poured myself a glass of wine and
went outside into the garden to look at the stars. Even as a small
child staring at the stars had been a source of comfort to me. Sitting in a black corded lounge chair, I traced the
Milky Way with my finger as it spanned the sky like a celestial
spine. Sipping the wine, I listened for the frogs singing down by the river, but they were silent which meant it must
have been the wee hours of the morning. It was all so peaceful, but
the anxiety I felt with every beat of my heart wouldn't lessen.
Emotionally, what I was facing was blacker than the night and no stars were going to save me. <i>Nothing was going to save me</i>... I prayed to
the skies for a respite. <i>Give me vast fields of sunflowers as far
as the eye could see. Give me anything which resembled a distraction. Give me drugs or alcohol. Give me a lover's arms. Give
me anything to take the pain away and make me forget for a while, </i>I pleaded. <i>Please</i> <i>don't let me crack up..."</i><br />
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These last couple of weeks have been insanely creative. I'm extremely thankful to have the time and headspace but I'm stretched thin and only pushing harder. Did take a night off to go out dancing under the full moon and spent the next day at the beach crashing around in the waves and climbing over slippery rocks exploring formerly unknown sandy stretches of shore. </div>
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And we managed to get another podcast done which I will post below. It's been so much fun getting the feedback from these crazy things. And no, they're never scripted.<br />
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<b>Between the Sheets with Melissa and Scarlett</b> is a podcast about weird news, entertainment, pop culture, writing, sex, and more.<br />
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Our sixth episode is all touchy feely: From arranging your junk and surprising boob facts to foot orgasms and bizarro dinosaur porn!
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Hope you all are enjoying these last dog days of summer. So much change is in the wind...<br />
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Much love from where the worlds touch,<br />
<br />
S - xx</div>
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</div>
Scarlett Amarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13553117259133724353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5784561060680420271.post-19940916971389740622015-08-11T17:23:00.001-07:002015-08-12T11:05:43.283-07:00Nefarious, Beautiful & Vicious -- SAURIMONDE III is gonna be a blast!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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What a fabulously strange year it has been so far...</div>
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In the beginning of August, both Melissa and I instantly knew it was time to start on the next <b>SAURIMONDE</b> book. Almost the day after we made this decision, a friend of ours offered us her gorgeous, serene house for a couple of weeks and we jumped on the opportunity. </div>
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For the first time since we began the <b>SAURIMONDE</b> journey we actually sat down together and embarked upon a treatment while in the same room.<br />
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During the other two books, I was living halfway across the world in France while Melissa was in California, and we'd tossed ideas back and forth on Skype. </div>
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To be honest we only had the vaguest idea for an outline of the first book. The same for the second, although the writing went much faster on that one. This time we were prepared and now we are gearing up for the most raucous story yet! </div>
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It was amazing how easy it all came together. I'm used to treatments being a hair-pulling nightmare, but this one was a joy. We spent most of the afternoon lounging in the walled front garden tossing back and forth ideas until we got stuck. Then, we'd take a break or resume the next day.<br />
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There might have been some wine drinking involved and a lot of, "Are we really going to do something that horrible to the characters? Oh yes, we are...” (Insert girlish cackling here.)<br />
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We are astounded the way the <b>SAURIMONDE </b>world has grown and the ways in which the story is opening up. What started as a vague idea a few years ago in a casual conversation has taken on a life of its own and become its own mythology. </div>
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Like throwing a stone in a pond, we had no idea the way it was going to ripple and take so many weird twists and turns, but it's been an amazing adventure and continues to be so. We cannot wait to get started writing and, if all goes according to plan, we'll have the next book out in the fall.<br />
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And in further news...<br />
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<b>BETWEEN THE SHEETS</b> <b>Episode 5 is live!</b> "All about Orgasms, A Windows 10 warning, and A Squirrel Stalker".<br />
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<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/218671176&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe>
Between the Sheets with Melissa and Scarlett is a podcast about weird news, entertainment, pop culture, writing, sex, and more.<br />
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Our fifth episode explodes with an orgasm: We start off by celebrating National Orgasm Day then move onto a PSA for Windows 10 and end with the squirrels are not what they seem...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqMWPgTz9UpFdrx6rwyiQCFtzGMGfGYm9duq09LwGEUN4qB-YgwzcZU4c7aWBc2F0nBZCEWl1jgmsS6dn9XyD3RElW-iX77Xc0SwKwFmoijA4mdAfDg2gEGWI4tmGVo-Sj2uxFrdXyHC0/s1600/2242127793_funny_pictures_evil_black_squirrel_answer_1_xlarge.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqMWPgTz9UpFdrx6rwyiQCFtzGMGfGYm9duq09LwGEUN4qB-YgwzcZU4c7aWBc2F0nBZCEWl1jgmsS6dn9XyD3RElW-iX77Xc0SwKwFmoijA4mdAfDg2gEGWI4tmGVo-Sj2uxFrdXyHC0/s400/2242127793_funny_pictures_evil_black_squirrel_answer_1_xlarge.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Much love from where the worlds touch,<br />
<br />
S - xx</div>
Scarlett Amarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13553117259133724353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5784561060680420271.post-43556757228300005592015-08-05T09:30:00.000-07:002015-08-11T17:25:48.923-07:00Through a Kaleidoscope Darkly and more...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: color: #141823; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Finally! Issue 6 of the highly regarded <b>THE HERETIC MAGAZINE</b> is out. For those of you interested in alternative history, lost civilizations and technologies, mysteries and conundrums, religion, the occult etc... this magazine is not to be missed! Plus --</span><span style="background-color: color: #141823; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> there's an article co-written by yours truly on the fascinating life and mysterious death of the Belle Epoch alchemist, Irene Hillel Erlanger, author of <b>VOYAGES EN KALEIDOSCOPE,</b> who, rumor has it, gave away thermal secrets of the Great Work.</span></span><span style="background-color: color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span><br />
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<img border="0" height="465" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBKtkgchgNHB_y_r7n_01Vo5utRVVadxmhwyEbbOpRvSk3gPgrGsIATVqyzfU0bHhPGJHLNhl6tM44oLUPjqpaMW7buA8uBfDqEfRXKLTithsDd7dJinzqE_BwapNFdG1o67gdtZ72pOA/s640/Scarlett+and+Richard.jpg" width="640" /></div>
<span style="background-color: color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">To find out more and get your hands on a copy visit their website at: <a href="http://thehereticmagazine.com/about/">The Heretic Magazine</a></span><br />
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And now for something completely different 'cause that's how we roll around here... Episode 4 of <b>BETWEEN THE SHEETS WITH MELISSA AND SCARLETT</b> is now live!<br />
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<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/217394393&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe>
Between the Sheets with Melissa and Scarlett is a podcast about weird news, entertainment, pop culture, writing, sex, and more.<br />
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Our fourth episode is all over the place: After debunking a story from the previous episode we dive right into the gutter with insane sex toys, porn secrets, and pot!<br />
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*************</div>
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Obviously, it's been a wild week around here. Summer is in full swing and there's been many late nights as the creativity and synchronicites continues to flow ever onwards.<br />
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Much love from where the worlds touch,<br />
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S- xx<br />
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Scarlett Amarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13553117259133724353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5784561060680420271.post-85606971148366657852015-07-26T11:57:00.000-07:002015-07-28T08:23:24.246-07:00Laissez les Bons Temps Rouler...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Between the Sheets Episode Three is Live! </h4>
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<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/216358389&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe>
<b>Between the Sheets</b> with Melissa and Scarlett is a podcast about weird news, entertainment, pop culture, writing, sex, and more.<br />
<br />
Our third episode starts out weird and gets weirder: We tried to change it up with aliens and bigfoot but ended up with "Darth Vibrator" and anal beads! We may need to start marketing '<i>mind bleach</i>' at this rate...<br />
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<b>More good news...!</b> The first draft of my new book <b>DESIRED PYROTECHNICS</b> is finished! 80,000 words plus! There's a still a million miles to go, but at least there's a million more behind me now.<br />
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Here's the dedication: <i>"To
the beaten down, the misfits, the outcasts, the dreamers, the
fabulous beasts, and the saintly sinners, to those who have been
knocked to the ground, gotten back up, and raised a middle finger."</i><br />
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On the surface it's a brutal tale about sex, drugs and love gone totally mad, but underneath there's another thread about being forced to endure the long, dark night of the soul -- and the people who are there to help along the way. That wasn't the story I set out to write, but it's the story that wanted to be told.<br />
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<b>And in more good news...!</b> Melissa St. Hilaire and myself are starting on the third <b>SAURIMONDE</b> book asap. We started batting around new ideas by the pool yesterday and there's definitely going to be some evil cult action. We're going to resurrect Pan, and Bazak is already making his presence known, lurking around in the shadows. I don't know if I'm ready as a writer to take him on again as a character -- he steals every scene he's such a fictional bastard. Saurimonde is going to be a litte more bad ass this tale, having finally come into her personal power in the last one, and we're doing our best to conjure all kinds of new daemonic trickery for our beloved heroine.<br />
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What?! You haven't read the first two <b>SAURIMONDE</b> books yet? What are you waiting for?! You can find them here - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Saurimonde-II-2-Scarlett-Amaris/dp/1502598507">Amazon</a><br />
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Hope your summer is going well... Mine has been more productive and more fun than I had ever imagined. The sunshine of LA, and the company of good friends, like minds and creative comrades has given me the time, space and inspiration I so sorely needed.<br />
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Will be painting on the multi-media art project <b>SISTERS OF THE WASTELAND</b> for the next few days. Cannot wait to share some of the images we've been collaborating on!<br />
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Much love from where the worlds touch,<br />
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<b>S - xx</b><br />
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Scarlett Amarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13553117259133724353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5784561060680420271.post-56172218096415070822015-07-19T10:18:00.000-07:002015-07-19T10:20:33.159-07:00Between the Sheets Episode Two is Live! NSFW -- and probably NSFL...!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/215333611&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe>
Between the Sheets with Melissa and Scarlett is a podcast about weird news, entertainment, pop culture, writing, sex, and more.<br />
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Our second episode quickly delves into the nether regions: It's the unofficial vagina con in the BTS studio. Weird vagina facts, yoni yogurt, to rabbit or not to rabbit and more!<br />
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And here's a glimpse behind the scenes of us hard at work:<br />
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Just so people know -- that's a fake Star Trek phaser I'm pointing at Melissa and myself. Sucks I even have to mention such a thing in this overly PC day and age, but there you go! And here I go to...<br />
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Much love from where the worlds touch,<br />
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S - xx</div>
Scarlett Amarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13553117259133724353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5784561060680420271.post-55038048674038450442015-07-14T10:33:00.000-07:002015-07-19T10:21:42.175-07:00Between the Sheets - Episode One is Live!So...
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The new super secret project with Melissa St. Hilaire, my SAURIMONDE co-writer, can finally be revealed. We're doing a weekly podcast, 'BETWEEN THE SHEETS - WITH MELISSA & SCARLETT - LIKE YOU, ONLY MORE PERVERSE'.<br />
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We'll be talking about weird news, entertainment, pop culture, writing, sex, and more sex!<br />
<br />
Our first episode starts with a bang: It's the unofficial penis festival in the BTS studio. Glitter, pet names, voyeurism, etc etc! And before I forget to mention it, this podcast is NSFW -- not by any stretch of the imagination, so don't even go there.<br />
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Links:<br />
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<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/between-sheets-melissa-scarlett/id1018710978">Between the Sheets on itunes</a><br />
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<a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BetweenTheSheetsWithMelissaAndScarlett">Between the Sheets on Feedburner</a><br />
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<a href="https://soundcloud.com/betweenthesheetswithmelissaandscarlett">Between the Sheets on Soundcloud</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.betweenthesheets69.com/">Between the Sheets official website</a><br />
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Little word of warning -- if women talking explicitly about sex frightens you, and you don't possess a sense of humour, then don't listen, okay?<br />
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Personally, my favorite part was the whole 'soak your dick for Jesus' fandago. The phrase is now on constant rotation around here. I also love the fact that Melissa sounds like a professional NPR person, only everything which comes out of her mouth is wrong. It so works.<br />
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So... at the end of each segment we're going to do an 'ask us anything' piece. We want to hear from you! Send us your questions to:<br />
melissa@betweenthesheets69.com<br />
scarlett@betweenthesheets69.com<br />
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Much love from where the worlds touch,<br />
<br />
S -xx<br />
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p.s. I'm also featured this week on the fantastic site, <a href="http://femininepowercircle.com/">Feminine Power Circle</a>, talking about the bravest thing I've ever done which can be found <a href="http://femininepowercircle.com/this-is-the-bravest-thing-scarlett-has-ever-done/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=socialnetwork">here</a><br />
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p.p.s. Thanks to every one who has sent us their questions and ideas over the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/betweenthesheetswithmelissaandscarlett?pnref=lhc">Facebook page</a> -- keep them coming -- we're all ears!<br />
<br />Scarlett Amarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13553117259133724353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5784561060680420271.post-24160640109835561302015-07-13T08:51:00.000-07:002015-07-13T10:52:43.352-07:00Dreaming of Pan -- ReduxBe still my pagan heart...<br />
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I'm quite fascinated by this image a friend sent me today. Have been dreaming of Pan again. Maybe it's because I found a cache of old messages from the person whom I based the character of Pan on in SAURIMONDE I while tidying up my inbox last week and have been toying with resurrecting him for the next SAURIMONDE book.<br />
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One day when we have the headspace, Melissa and I will have to write the tell-all about who the various characters were based off of in SAURIMONDE I & II, and some of the real life events incorporated between the pages.<br />
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But for now, I'm reposting this entry from a couple of years ago.<br />
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+++++++++++++</div>
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From the private journal of Scarlett Amaris - April 29th, 2013, Montsegur, France:<br />
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I took a long walk through the forests this morning trying to shake myself from the dream and yet, I found myself not wanting to let it go at the same time. Even though it's the end of April it's started to snow again. I hate the cold and my feet are still frozen as I type this, but there's something pure and magical when the world lies within an unbroken carpet of white--there's a stillness which filters down to nothing, save my frozen breath against the wind. I love when it's so quiet I can hear my own heartbeat as the ghosts of my life give rise within the playground of my mind.<br />
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The dream...</div>
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I dreamed of you again last night. I was on a bus heading across the border from lands unknown to Mexico. I fell asleep in the dream, and when I was jolted awake by the gears shifting in the old bus, I was in a dusty, tumbleweed strewn town straight out of a spaghetti western. The bus stopped at a light pink, stucco hotel faded from the relentless sun. An unseen mariachi band played a mournful tune in the distance. I walked through a large group of tourists milling about the courtyard to the cool inner recesses that led to my room. As I dug in my purse searching for the hotel key, you appeared dashing as ever. A part of me in the dream knew you were dead, and had been so for quite some time and yet, there you were, much younger than when you passed on. You asked me how I'd been and I couldn't stop staring at your handsome face. The sound of your gravelly voice sent shivers down my spine--reminding me of endless, sweaty nights wrapped in your embrace, and what it was like to feel safe again. Your heart may never have been on offer, but there was solace to be had from our encounters. Maybe because we both knew they would never last. Standing in the dimly lit hallway, I told you about the new book, about SAURIMONDE, and that it was hard and full of sex and you would probably love parts of it. You laughed and said you always loved hard sex. Then you grabbed from behind, wrapping your arms around me, growling you were proud of me before biting me on the back of the neck. My knees went weak, along with my will. You knew I'd written the character of Pan based on you. He has all of your sweetness, sexiness, and rock star swagger. I wanted to stay in your embrace. I wanted it to be real, but even within the dream, I knew it was a dream. I breathed you in, leaning back into your warmth as you whispered against my flesh I still owed you a naked ritual exorcism. Laughing, I protested there hadn't been time yet. And then you were gone. You vanished without so much as a whisper. As I searched for you, one of the locals told me in broken English you were somewhere hanging with the boys, and I hope wherever you are now this is true. I imagine you telling some ribald tall tale, a cigarette burning between your fingers, and a half drunk tequila resting on the table in front of you. You will forever be this man in my memories.<br />
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End of dream...</div>
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The character Pan was based upon a very charismatic friend of mine who died suddenly quite a few years ago. He was on tour for most of his life with various musical projects, and wherever he was in the world, he would send me exceptionally naughty fairy tales involving the two of us in uniquely perverse circumstances. He had quite an imagination, coupled with a charming British turn of phrase, and through the years we accrued an arsenal of personal jokes between us. I stole the line '<i>maybe the chance to worship at your temple door'</i> directly from him. I miss our banter more than anything else, and I'd like to think with the curious timing of the dream, now the book is finished, and due out any day, that my friend was giving his stamp of approval. I always thought of him as Pan; lusty, earthy, sexy, and mischiveous. He was no woman's man and every woman's man--great fun while he was around, but you always knew he was only passing through.</div>
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All hail the Great God Pan! May he make another nocturnal visit sooner than later...<br />
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Much love from where the worlds touch,<br />
<br />
S - xx<br />
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p.s. Stage one of the new secret project with Melissa St. Hilaire is finished and we'll be sharing it within the next few days. No, I haven't posted the new excerpt from DESIRED PYROTECHNICS--I'll get to it, I promise.<br />
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Scarlett Amarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13553117259133724353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5784561060680420271.post-138417654964410202015-07-06T20:18:00.000-07:002015-07-07T07:49:49.018-07:00Between the sheets in the interim...I'm falling asleep at the wheel again. There's been so much in the works I've forgotten to update this site. Summer is in full swing which means sleeping in late, hanging out by the pool, and writing all day. The fourth of July has come and gone and it was a pretty good holiday. My roommate and I scampered up one of the hills like goddamned rabbits in the canyon where I'm currently staying. From our vantage point we could see all of downtown Los Angeles and the haze from the fireworks spread all the way to the ocean. With the flares sparkling in the distance it was fairly apocalyptic and probably the closest thing I've witnessed to the movie BLADE RUNNER. The continuous rumble made it seem like some great beast, like Gamera or Ghidorah, was rolling in from regions unknown . It was a beautiful sight to behold, second only to watching the old cite of Carcassonne turn blood red on Bastille Day a few years ago.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Between the Sheets...</td></tr>
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My co-writer on the SAURIMONDE series, Melissa St. Hilaire, and I have embarked on a new, super secret project which we'll reveal soon. It's something we've talked about for ages, but all the elements fell into place, and as we're both in the same city, we can finally make this happen. It's gonna be a lot of fun, and at the very least, perverse. The photo shoot we did for it was riotous with books spread out all over the bed and many 'wardrobe malfunction' moments. I know every one's going to point the finger at me--but I can say with all authority that the imagery for the shoot was all Melissa's idea--and you know she had to twist my arm to go along with it.<br />
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DESIRED PYROTECHNICS is almost finished. It's at that final push stage. That's the one where you don't think you have anything left in the gas tank and yet you manage to rattle on a little further. It would be nice if I had someone to push the damn thing with me, but I don't this time, and I'm developing mental muscles where I never knew they could exist before. I'm going to have psychic stretch marks if this keeps up. Plus, the book is such a radical departure from anything I've written before that I've hesitated posting any of it here, but fuck it, life's about taking chances. I'll try and post some in the upcoming week if time and tide allow.<br />
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One more thing... Warhol star, a low life in high heels, and freaking icon, Holly Woodlawn, is not doing so well and needs our help with medical bills so she can come home. Please, please, please, consider donating if you have the means to do so. <a href="http://www.gofundme.com/bringhollyhome">http://www.gofundme.com/bringhollyhome</a><br />
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Much love from where the worlds touch,<br />
<br />
S - xx<br />
<br />Scarlett Amarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13553117259133724353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5784561060680420271.post-36107459025567115682015-06-13T10:42:00.001-07:002015-06-13T10:42:21.497-07:00Baring it all...<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_qW3dUBaDZhGQtQkVv2IkUYfF0O8xDentXd5OSSNARNOaIAUoFRlrFoZNll1f5B10xuvnSwMzG1Uz-TKkFLcuNXdWaH4-bOqpuP7RnZu_Cq5ayzElsHl4LglrgsLRvk0-Z29vTdzx7u8/s1600/Scarlett+2+12-14-596.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_qW3dUBaDZhGQtQkVv2IkUYfF0O8xDentXd5OSSNARNOaIAUoFRlrFoZNll1f5B10xuvnSwMzG1Uz-TKkFLcuNXdWaH4-bOqpuP7RnZu_Cq5ayzElsHl4LglrgsLRvk0-Z29vTdzx7u8/s400/Scarlett+2+12-14-596.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">photo by Nick Holmes</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hey!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
I've got a new article out on the fabulous new website <a href="http://femininepowercircle.com/">Feminine Power Circle</a> about baring it all in front of the camera over the age of forty and how empowering it can be.<br />
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"<span style="background-color: font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 26px;">There is a huge difference between looking and feeling beautiful.</span><br />
<div style="background-color: box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 26px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;">There is true power in feeling beautiful which has nothing to do with games, or getting what you want, but has to do with confidence and knowing who you are without the fear of what other people think.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;">There is a fierce serenity in this feeling that doesn’t shout, or make a scene for attention, but instead strolls into a room with an enigmatic smile, intent on exactly what it wants because it has nothing to prove.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">This is the power of the fearless feminine.</span> This is the power of being a woman, and I am more than happy now to be this creature no matter how long it has taken me to find her."</span></div>
<div style="background-color: box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 26px; padding: 0px;">
You can find the rest of the article <a href="http://femininepowercircle.com/posed-naked/?mc_cid=ac89ca0925&mc_eid=b8bb6c41ac">here</a></div>
<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Thanks to Rhoda Jordan and Eric Shapiro for inviting my onboard. There's also an excellent article by my 'SAURIMONDE' co-writer, Melissa St. Hilaire, <a href="http://femininepowercircle.com/overmedicated-and-undernourished/?mc_cid=ac89ca0925&mc_eid=b8bb6c41ac">Overmedicated and Undernourished</a>. It's a cautionary tale about anti-depressants and the side effects the doctors don't warn you about. Read it! </span><br />
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Otherwise, I've been editing through and re-writing the first draft of 'DESIRED PYROTECHNICS'. It's hellish and tedious and seems neverending. This book is so different from anything else I've ever written that I am way outside my comfort zone, but that's what I signed up for when I started the beast. In some ways it feels like I've fallen off the map and have become trapped in a construct of my creation. But this need to create, crazy as it may be, is what drives me further on and keeps me going. I'm almost through it and soon enough I'll be celebrating and moving onto the next project which will be the third 'SAURIMONDE' book. I've missed that universe something fierce lately and can't wait to dive back into erotic horror...<br />
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Much love from where the worlds touch,</span><br />
<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></span>
<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">S- xx<br />
<br />P.S. For those who have been asking 'THE OTHERWORLD' (L'AUTRE MONDE) the award winning documentary which I co-wrote (and appear in) about the mysteries, magic, and mayhem in the South of France, is finally available in the English language format on Vudu. Click <a href="http://www.vudu.com/movies/#!overview/650659/The-Otherworld">here</a> for more info. </span><br />
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Scarlett Amarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13553117259133724353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5784561060680420271.post-61173789160173283822015-04-01T13:31:00.000-07:002015-05-06T07:33:48.679-07:00DESIRED PYROTECHNICS...<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="line-height: 0.42cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivHa7x9dLDLVXNfiUkOPKHLzBvXFbfQINNE0eIHFomjPFt609-Gxs5rQW-TdnauWuaMQXXYHyZyCjeRald9u8INEqSJMiv4zGSH2urlSCKVWUHcl6dI4Zm_LBi6S6N6ESAZaP7-wX7wLI/s1600/the+dark+lady.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivHa7x9dLDLVXNfiUkOPKHLzBvXFbfQINNE0eIHFomjPFt609-Gxs5rQW-TdnauWuaMQXXYHyZyCjeRald9u8INEqSJMiv4zGSH2urlSCKVWUHcl6dI4Zm_LBi6S6N6ESAZaP7-wX7wLI/s1600/the+dark+lady.jpg" height="400" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="orphans: 1; text-align: -webkit-left;">The Dark Lady - art work by Bastien Lecouffe Deharme</td></tr>
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I've gone all quiet
again because I am deep into the guts of a new book called DESIRED
PYROTECHNICS -- a morbidly raucous fictional tale of sex, drugs, and rock n' roll. I'm at the half-way point and I lose track of time, and
the real world, when I get into this headspace. I can't say that I'll
be sorry to see March leave as I've taken more body blows this last month
than I would wish on my worst enemy. Funny how focused one becomes
when the cards are not coming your way and you are forced to sit and
watch as everything you've worked so very hard for is
burned to the ground. It would feel different if I was the one who
struck the match, but I wasn't. Despite how painful it has been, in another way it has been freeing – the ghosts of
the past can no longer bite me on the ass and I bow before no one.
There's a lot of blood in the water and most of it's mine, but I'm
still standing, and will continue on my very strange journey to new
adventures. That's the funny thing about life, sometimes you have to
sit tight until the cards fall your way... because they always
do. I'd like to take a moment to thank the people who have been there
for me. You know who you are... and you mean the world to me. I live
by one simple rule: If you are there for me, I am there for you -- it
is as easy as that. If you are part of my tribe, I will go to the mat
for you, and I've had a couple of people who have done so for me in
recent weeks. Fame does not impress me. Rampant egomania leaves me cold. Money
is a necessity, but it isn't the end all and be all to ones life, and when you die it goes back into the mix or onto someone else. What impresses me is intelligence, creativity,
curiousity, and kindness. Those people who never stop loving the
world and each other, and who know this life is one big adventure and treat it as so.
I've got some stellar people in my camp and my heart is with them,
bruised as it may be right now. I'll always be a daughter of the
moon, She is my first mistress, but for now I will turn my face to
the sun and feel the wind rising between my fingertips once again.</div>
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Much love from where
the world's touch.</div>
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S - xx</div>
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P.S. There'll be new
SISTERS OF THE WASTELAND news soon as the project continues to go
well. But for now, the morning has escaped me, and I need to dive
back into my psyche and conjure more material...</div>
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<br />Scarlett Amarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13553117259133724353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5784561060680420271.post-81328553531774027482015-02-24T18:42:00.000-08:002015-02-24T19:29:01.223-08:00When in Rome...<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjFZ_nCYkilAiXejcJ0iwqxJ2-2vwNEsp-7e0zDFLQNbZVT8x6Hl5tfJZr00EYhkD8QZdC_1vzHX3pzCfM13iyvHyyym9LMWYweIXI2CMh0oBWGGi4xDmu2Sjq3-UBPGESXWy8xf-imI8/s1600/10997693_10152606702147407_51159890583112717_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjFZ_nCYkilAiXejcJ0iwqxJ2-2vwNEsp-7e0zDFLQNbZVT8x6Hl5tfJZr00EYhkD8QZdC_1vzHX3pzCfM13iyvHyyym9LMWYweIXI2CMh0oBWGGi4xDmu2Sjq3-UBPGESXWy8xf-imI8/s1600/10997693_10152606702147407_51159890583112717_n.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">photo by Joel Westendorf</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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When in Rome make sure you are armed to the teeth and watch your back at all times. Or is it when in Rome get down and party with your tribe and pray the bacchanal lasts forever? My life is exploding into chaos in every direction. It is beautiful and terrible all at once. It is painful and ecstatic. Misery and happiness are duking it out in a never-ending battle royale. Have I learned something in the maelstrom of this eternal dance? Yes. Not to panic. To focus. And to trust whatever it is out there that drives me eternally searching for what I know not. This is my element. Perhaps it was a form of madness to think this is were I would find solace and from where I would begin to create again. But it is happening and I welcome every crazy minute of it.<br />
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We did the first photo shoot for Sisters in the Wasteland (see previous blog if you really want to know all the weird shit that swirls around in my head and what I obsess about - non-linear time, Gnostic creation myths, witchcraft, etc.) last weekend at El Matador Beach in Malibu. The images here are nothing what they will eventually look like, but I thought I would share them anyway. This is not a glamorous project. The pictures will be heavy, dirty, and elemental. They will be distressed and border that delicate line between the ugly and the sublime. None of us working on it really knows how it will all turn out but that's half the fun of doing a collaborative project - seeing what everyone brings to the feast.<br />
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I warned everyone involved with this project that it would open up a rabbit-hole because these sorts of things always do, but I did not realize it would bring fictional characters I fashioned long ago in fevered dreams into my waking world. Reality is a bizarre and multi-layered fantasical beast, and like Yeats once wrote, "Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold; Mere anarachy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere the ceremony of innocence is drowned..."<br />
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You know the rest...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC92iI46nKGDQ1TtHN08UkOn4vxSHSM2f4cuLsxQLPXDpkJX5x4xbSAjc2OVe36AYgIwv_c_8W5o3u-7kisWG-JHywzNB8rLY88TAt6mVWI3oZbCCliWGIxSOunBCBCfmyq5eyRGxh3x0/s1600/water+goddess.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC92iI46nKGDQ1TtHN08UkOn4vxSHSM2f4cuLsxQLPXDpkJX5x4xbSAjc2OVe36AYgIwv_c_8W5o3u-7kisWG-JHywzNB8rLY88TAt6mVWI3oZbCCliWGIxSOunBCBCfmyq5eyRGxh3x0/s1600/water+goddess.jpg" height="400" width="291" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Joel Westendorf</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaLayBSz4yZKClpRN5-lzc6UFyF7FF7kDLR8SDT1nghHDsIpvu86vHJtI49YLVLiW1szg3wZnLzUlnxreG69RFRre1_hhL2o62VsUTaR1UgGOknuIQq_2UffX3dO7c1yTatpX-T6YEaAU/s1600/10997093_10152606502582407_1925834690_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaLayBSz4yZKClpRN5-lzc6UFyF7FF7kDLR8SDT1nghHDsIpvu86vHJtI49YLVLiW1szg3wZnLzUlnxreG69RFRre1_hhL2o62VsUTaR1UgGOknuIQq_2UffX3dO7c1yTatpX-T6YEaAU/s1600/10997093_10152606502582407_1925834690_n.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">photo by Joel Westendorf</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-3KpBpyUp1USQyvBOq7HCZvp2nKtd4Egk9sozebuN_JZL85BJbOyLEcRVwcWOvOZ-lsrmAWXMTiYwLXxXxX2ajejncfvxDnTezLDHCFsF5V5nTHlBRViCfxR1o4RaB5FSnQDX-CJj6nQ/s1600/10903829_10152608207732407_8839190414668887279_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-3KpBpyUp1USQyvBOq7HCZvp2nKtd4Egk9sozebuN_JZL85BJbOyLEcRVwcWOvOZ-lsrmAWXMTiYwLXxXxX2ajejncfvxDnTezLDHCFsF5V5nTHlBRViCfxR1o4RaB5FSnQDX-CJj6nQ/s1600/10903829_10152608207732407_8839190414668887279_o.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">photo by Joel Westendorf<br />
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Much love from where the worlds touch.<br />
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S - xx<br />
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.Scarlett Amarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13553117259133724353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5784561060680420271.post-19919702553040858642015-01-24T17:21:00.000-08:002016-03-28T20:03:44.201-07:00Sisters of the Wasteland<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This was not supposed to be my next blog, but this project has always been strange and demanding, and it picks its moments without caution as it continues to haunt me. Perhaps it is my own personal obsessions or pathologies that makes connections upon connections while following the intertangled webs. Maybe its a weird synthesis or a culmimation of events that are too freaking uncanny to be understood by the rational mind.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOTfU9PTi7M6dUA3t0ZPSb7E9UsH1RWUcgdzjFH6_9mDvaAnFY_GeOxUDYHraS_Q2iqNzYv9zE9RG0vOVQXs6rTfO3YEJwknRD72VcaDZSSxo5Vv5uzT-KOXte6BVBv3-Ar5t7FnZNURg/s1600/lamoreneta01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOTfU9PTi7M6dUA3t0ZPSb7E9UsH1RWUcgdzjFH6_9mDvaAnFY_GeOxUDYHraS_Q2iqNzYv9zE9RG0vOVQXs6rTfO3YEJwknRD72VcaDZSSxo5Vv5uzT-KOXte6BVBv3-Ar5t7FnZNURg/s1600/lamoreneta01.jpg" width="274" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">La Moreneta - Our lady of darkness.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: font-family: inherit;">This screed began formulating in my head when I was at the abbey of Montserrat a few years back and I asked La Moreneta, the resident black Madonna, a question in which I was not prepared to hear the answer. For a long time I was bewildered instead of grateful that she decided to answer at all. People ask favors of her all day long. She must get sick of it. When I started this piece I was contemplating how La Moreneta is a force to be reckoned with and those who have visited her domain know this to be true. She is black and white - definitively - both sides of the coin, there are no shades of gray, and there is no slide area. The rest of the text has come together in different cities across Europe and America and is a</span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> bizarre mix of Gnostic</span><span style="background-color: color: #141823; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> creation myths, little known 16th century witchcraft traditions, seasoned with a little Emerald Tablet, Jung, transmutation, cosmogonic eons, Yeats and stellar nucleosynthesis. It's a strange kind of love to be certain... </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: inherit; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</span></div>
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<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPaudUZC0OSErE5FBwz90KJEBS7LO-swJpN2zD-7LPc7vq9LeWUIPUrUalEHRstNBIddVgV9TH8NqH8X9stROxgG-QPUdjHQqahmhF83jZrzVh5ymOmaF3rk3UliqIYlF9r2Gjqv_yOmw/s1600/4V6A3956+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPaudUZC0OSErE5FBwz90KJEBS7LO-swJpN2zD-7LPc7vq9LeWUIPUrUalEHRstNBIddVgV9TH8NqH8X9stROxgG-QPUdjHQqahmhF83jZrzVh5ymOmaF3rk3UliqIYlF9r2Gjqv_yOmw/s1600/4V6A3956+-+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(photo by Marnie Shelton-Klein)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<h4 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></h4>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Sisters of the Wasteland</span></h2>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">Never
ask a question first without being able to handle the answer. Not of
the Goddess and certainly not one older than the concept of time. She
never abandoned you. She never forsake you. Step by step, she
followed in the shadows. Letting you fail, and laughing when you did
so. Yes, she is fearsome, but there is beauty to her cruelty. That
is where you shut down (wings of brutality fly overhead as the
light drains out of the day). Conjuring. There are daemon's dreaming.
Three were the norm – past, present, and future, existing all at
once, or never at all. A conjuring trinity – three women were the
norm. Symmetry and organization.</span></div>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Could
you dream them all at once and hold them within your mind's eye? This
was something we once did. Then things became confused, and we
forgot. We cannot find our back home. The mirror grew dim as we lost
this aspect. You cannot pray for the truth if you cannot
face the truth. How can you find your way home if you don't even
realize you're lost?</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
three are searching for what they already possess. Three sisters.
Three stages of alchemy. White, black, red. Blood on the chessboard.
They are the Fire hanging between the two pillars of creation.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">How
long has she slept?” “Three days. Three Ages. Three Aeons.”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">That
should do. Time to wake her.”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Did
you ever call its name in the dark? Nemesis. Rex Mundi. The demiurge.
The error. The defecit. Jaelousie... Can you feel him whispering the
words of forgetfulness as the lights dim, reality falls away, and
you dream dreams of ecstasy, despair, and oblivion. How loving is his gaze from the shadowy corner of the room watching you sleep
with psychotic glee. The one who knows there is a way home is the one
who makes you forget, pulling the wool over your eyes.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
moon is changing from milk to blood. Time to wake her.”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Once
upon a time the dark Mother was endless. She was the vast Immaculate
Darkness. Mistress on the sea of Infinity. Benevolent. Malevolent.
These terms mean nothing and are concepts of cattle. In the center of
her swirling chaos a cunning affliction unknowingly came to be.
Imperfection in perfection. Creation was conjured without consent.
How could perfection recognize Imperfection? And so She fell. Matter
took shape and became finite. It became trapped. Days became numbers.
Binding concepts. The error in the system. The Demiurge; mad, blind,
and insane. But being born out of a deficit, it never knew it was so,
and so it never knew any different. Like all of us it fights not to
cease to exist. But our light reflects its light. Our light reflects
our maker.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">May
the curse, cunning, and blessing be.”</span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Wake
up!”</span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This
world has blinded the minds of the Unbelievers.</span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Nyx,
Nul and Nil: Sisters of the Wasteland</b></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Nyx
is the earth, the core on which the waters lie.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Nul
is the power of the ever-changing tides.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Nil
is the breath of wind which guides and navigates.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Together
they make up the vessel which traverses the sacred waters.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Positioned
equidistantly around the table they ask a question, “who is
speaking to us now?”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I
am the one who cast my fire upon this world and will watch it blaze
down to the very last ember.”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And
what do we seek?”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When
you can make three into one, and when you can make the inner like the
outer, then you will find the keys to the kingdom of the high and
low... Fire, sword, war... Do you know where you are?”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">"Show
us the way, Father.”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
festering breath envelopes them. “Open your eyes Sisters of the
Wasteland. Here you find the reality of your garden of delight.”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
scorched earth ripples in a heat haze in front of them, A world of
ash and fire, scrub and rock. A world burned clean where nothing can
grow. The mountains rise with jagged peaks around them, casting
unnatural shadows as they huddle together for protection and warmth.
Ravens turn in the skies, the only other inhabitants of this place.
Winged messengers of the coming storm.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Nil:
“This cannot be.”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Nul:
“This world is a carcass, picked clean by the blind.”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Nyx:
“Prepare sisters, prepare. For the trouble we expect will come.”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>We
are dreaming again. And from this dream we cannot awaken.</i></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
three at the table: “Who holds the keys of knowledge?”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Outside
of time: “They were lost by those who would not pass themselves,
and they have made it so no one else can pass.”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
three at the table: “Does Pamphile know where?”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Outside
of time: “Sleep in ignorance. For you should have found a better
answer...”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Seeking
shelter the sisters have gone to the cave to weather the storm,
hiding frozen in one finite point amongst the chaos.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Clotho
– spinner</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Lachesis
– alloter</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Atropos
– unturnable</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>As
sly as snakes and as quiet as doves, sisters, see yourselves, and
spin us a new tale.</i></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A
voice whispers in the Darkness. The remnants of broken threads
envelop them. Then, the spark of first light. Luminescence. A
refraction of quartz which has never used its reflective skin before.
One solitary chamber in the belly of the beast. Airless. Deathless
Grace. So cool to the touch. How long have they been there now? Like
roots they have grown into the earth, percolating in their shroud.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Three
days. Three Ages. Three aeons.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Time
to wake up!</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And
at that base was a stone from the sky, one which wept blood. From
this aerolite, mixed with tears, fear, and fire, they forged new
blades. The daggers from heaven, born of exile. Blow by blow they
hardene until they were strong enough to rip the fabric of
creation itself.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Born
of fire we are forged stronger now. A warm breeze catches the spark.
The dross of matter burns brightly, bringing with it the breath of
intention. We will turn the wine back to water. Hand in hand and
heart to heart we conjure you.</i></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sisters
of the Wasteland together in the cave: “We call on you Mother,
Mistress, First and Always.”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>She
comes robed in silver and night and walks in dreams and darkness
amongst the lovely, baleful stars.</i></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">She:
“Can you answer this? When does One become Two. Two become Three,
and out of the Third comes One as the Fourth?”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Nil:
“First the circle.”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Nul:
“Than the square.”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Nyx:
“Than the triangle.”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Body,
Soul, and Spirit. Realized together they exceed the limits of Nature.
The spirit is free of its fetters. The Lux in Tenebris, the light that shines in the
darkness is the fourth.</i></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Nil:
“I wish to see the sunrise.”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Nul:
“I wish to feel the warmth on my skin.”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Nyx:
“I wish to taste the wind.”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Leave this place by the secret sign told to us at our reckoning.
We know the answer now. Conjunction.</i></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Rock
scraping across rock. Stone turns to liquid as the lower
vibrations of nature work in reverse. The cave mouth opens as
they stumble outside. An all encompassing bombardment. New
eyes, new senses, new colors. The sun burns low in the sky as the
first star gleams in the twilight. The desert is awash in in oranges
and reds under the cover of deepening blue. The warm wind brings a
fine sand which stings like a sunburn. The wasteland remains, yet
they have become a part of it now, like hardened stone sentinels. The
trial is not over, the veil persists. They will not witness the dawn.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A
manic laugh spreads around them, rippling like a heat haze. “Do you
not see with new eyes? Your wish has been granted. Nihil Extraneum.”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In
that word there is a heartbeat. Wake again. In that word is expansion.
Psychic stretching. Incubating. Collating. It is a Solution. <i>There
is Nothing from outside</i>. <i>For new life does not develop outside
of us, but within us. Everything that happens has already been so.</i></span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
voice is silenced.</span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">Ghostly emanantions. A</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"> trace
memory. Point and counter-point. See those
strange poppies which bloom in the wasteland? Fragile, merciful and
afflicted. Birthed in blood and torment. Crawling black beetles mar
their surface. Misdirection. Subterfuge. Polluted. For truth casts no
shadow outside it. And in the gloom of fallacious imagination,
creation lies wasted.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You
are dreaming awake now!</span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Three
sisters. Three aeons. Three ages. All-in-all. The totality of
existence.</span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Movement
and Repose. From the conception, the increase. From the increase, the
thought. From the thought to remembrance. From remembrance the
consciousness. From the consciousness, the desire. </span></span>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Depth.
Mother. Second Manifestation. Daughter. Water. Darkness. The Abyss.
Chaos. </span></span>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;">Thrice
powerful Barbelo. Collapsing clouds
of gas and dust. Wind, rain, lightning, the coming storm slithers in.
It rides the west wind like a four winged serpent and its swiftness
is terrible to behold. Tapered together by force, sky and water. The
shimmering snake that swallows the sun. The undulating spine of
the heavens. The sacred made manifest like a dazzling neon mirage at
the end of a darkened road. </span></span>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;">Unseen,
unrelated, inconceivable, uninferable, unimaginable, indescribable.</span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
sisters stand, huddled together: “We are afraid. There is no where
left to hide.” The skeletal remains of an ancient tree offers no
refuge.</span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;">Nil:
“Annihilatus.”</span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;">Nul:
“Annul.”</span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;">Nyx:
“Nemesis.”</span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;">Glittering
helios. Born of the Boreal and the goddess who rose naked out of
Chaos. Pythonidae Erebos. Ophion. The personification of darkness who
destroys its enemies with the breath of fire shining over the whole
earth. Brighter than a thousand suns. God of Dissolution. Thee
all-receiver who wipes his tears on an iron cloak. Prope serpens who
descends like angels breath against a frosted sky. A black hole
resides in its heart. </span></span>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;">Closer
now...</span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;">From
the deep hollows of the terra firma comes the vibratory motion, the
luminferous Aether which fills the interstellar spaces. Hungry.
Predatory. Omnivorous. Concealed. Measure and number clothes itself
in artless wrath. A loveless land filled with temporal signs.
Fight it. Take on the Unknown form. Embrace that which you most fear.
Let it shake you to the core. Become that which you dread. The three points which hang from
the crucified star. </span></span>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">A
radiant form calls out across the waters at the midpoint between
light and darkness. “</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Do
not be afraid. In death you shall not die. Rather your eyes shall be
opened and your glory will be like the moon when fully radiant. Make
apparent that which has been hidden. Find the </i></span><i>imperishable
light</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>.</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Destruction.
Disorder. The Outer Darkness. Our Mother who is in Secret. She bends
the arrow of time. </span></span>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Faith
is our earth, that in which we take root.</span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Hope
is the water through which we are nourished.</span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Love
is the wind through which we grow.</span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
fourth is knowledge. It is the light. It is the answer.</span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>We
came from the light. The place where light came into being of its own
accord.</i></span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
sisters cry out in unison: “<i>Please take us home!</i>”</span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;">Shockwave.
Velocity. Turbulence. Gravitational collapse because the center
cannot hold. Wise fire of the sages burn off the dross of matter.
Temperature and Pressure. Flames and contraction. Cosmic order and
dissonance. The Truth, without error. Certum et verissimum.
Acceleration. Momentum. Resonant peaks and scattering strength. The
flesh willingly yields to a chain reaction. Disintegration.
Absorbtion. Saturation. The cup is closed, the seals are broken.
Flashpoint. Then blessed Nothingness...</span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Their
screams are silenced. The equation is equal now.</i></span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;">Once
upon a time the dark Void was endless. It was where the One breaks
into many. It was the blank wall of timelessness – exploding and
dissolving. It was a wheel rolling unto itself. Creator. Preserver.
Destroyer. And through the turbulation of primeval matter fabulous
forms were poured into being. It was a place where the many were
reconciled within the One. Then, the cosmic spider god wove its web
around us and trapped our essence. Hyle astrum – the demiurge.
Yliaster. Fire. Wind. Water. Earth. We must break free of this
mechanical trap and return to Chaos. She is waiting for us. Our
mother of the prima materia. She who will not be discrete, nor
determined. She is the temporal veil between the worlds above and the
worlds below who binds and breaks us. Heavy elements into heavier
synthesis. Past, present, and future is merely existence and
occurrence. <i>There is nothing from the outside.</i> She crushes us
whole and spreads our light throughout infinity. </span></span>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
reign of the tyrant ends and a new world pulses with life set to
begin again. </span></span>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<i style="font-size: large;">Never
ask a question first without being able to handle the answer...</i><br />
<i style="font-size: large;"><br /></i>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Much love from where the worlds touch,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">S - xx</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">*Sisters of the Wasteland, </span><i style="font-family: Baskerville-Italic, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Copyright
© 2015 by Scarlett Amaris</i>Scarlett Amarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13553117259133724353noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5784561060680420271.post-31872229806016132892014-12-30T14:34:00.001-08:002015-01-11T17:01:32.917-08:00Nudum Ad Solstitium<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Finally the holidays are almost over. Hope they have been full of cheer and good times for all!<br />
<br />
So I choose to celebrate the solstice in a different way this year. I decided to do a photo shoot both with and sans clothes. Why? Because I felt like it and I wanted to mark the date in a different way. I wanted to do something for myself. I'm far away from my home this winter, and as much as I love Los Angeles, and appreciate the sunshine, the olde gods and the olde ways seem far, far over the horizon That's not to be said there isn't magic here. There's a distant tricky thrum to this place with currents and cross-currents of black and white, blue and red, but that is another story for another day. For the last many years I have been living in the French Pyrenees. It's been a wild and woolly journey, and I wouldn't change it for the world, but it has sometimes been distinctly harsh and without creature comforts - especially when '<i>Our Lady of the Snows</i>' would arrive. It's amazing what one is willing to sacrifice just to stay warm. Day after day of freezing cold takes a toll on one's cheery disposition, not to mention one's health. So for this winter I decided to plug back into the matrix and re-join the 21st century for a while. And for now I find myself in sunny southern California.<br />
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The day I arrived in Los Angeles I was staying at Melissa St. Hilaire's house and while attempting to get on-line I saw a black-and-white photo on her FB feed which immediately spoke to me as the image was so beautiful. I asked her who the photographer was and she answered it was Nick Holmes. Then she proceeded to show me some of his other work. My first question to her was, <i>"How can we get in touch with him?!!"</i> A couple of emails later a plan was put into action.<br />
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We met up in Old Town in Pasadena in the early afternoon on the 21st. I was utterly charmed by Nick - confident, handsome, with exceptional manners and a personable quality which can sometimes be a rarity in this town. He took charge of the situation taking us on a scenic tour through the alleyways until he found the light and backdrops he was looking for. It's been a while since I have been in front of the camera and I admit I felt a little nervous. The morning had not gone smoothly and had left me feeling anxious. There was no need to worry as the day was warm and soon I found myself enjoying being in front of the camera once again. Nick was friendly and funny, making suggestions here and there, but most of all he was very relaxed and had a go-with-the-flow attitude. A quality, I find, that all great photographers possess. It was all over fairly quickly and I have to say I am more than pleased with the results!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLrBUQP2OmoWR2LB3MfmfwFT0bMp4wTls6NV2bz0fLUbE1JY_LsSN66lovSRt3mEQledd-DqYcTOil0pQO4QGCNEc3tb64AOzypgjCJ05Pcyk1eLdOqCJI4-krOLcjTcIOGcsYsk1-OHs/s1600/Scarlett+Nick+Holmes+12-14-97.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLrBUQP2OmoWR2LB3MfmfwFT0bMp4wTls6NV2bz0fLUbE1JY_LsSN66lovSRt3mEQledd-DqYcTOil0pQO4QGCNEc3tb64AOzypgjCJ05Pcyk1eLdOqCJI4-krOLcjTcIOGcsYsk1-OHs/s1600/Scarlett+Nick+Holmes+12-14-97.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2MUEP9h5pSiBaba4hD_nMFW3Qunf1pmQGOOrDmMs1qbK2N0CP2DoYyW84kGH4ok7qV6jPJe4jG60HjKZWsaNrg5k3nB0ZN-Nvzt7RGpNONqdJqqYMRjWQyJ6wQ8E5YV4ATfcM4k7ddck/s1600/Melissa+&+Scarlett+12-14-246.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2MUEP9h5pSiBaba4hD_nMFW3Qunf1pmQGOOrDmMs1qbK2N0CP2DoYyW84kGH4ok7qV6jPJe4jG60HjKZWsaNrg5k3nB0ZN-Nvzt7RGpNONqdJqqYMRjWQyJ6wQ8E5YV4ATfcM4k7ddck/s1600/Melissa+&+Scarlett+12-14-246.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a><br />
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Then we headed over to Nick's studio. Along the way we chatted about the difference between looking beautiful and feeling beautiful. I think feeling beautiful comes with experience. It takes time to de-program from the unrealistic visions portrayed in the media and embrace ones uniqueness. For myself, I'm an Amazon - and a super curvy one at that. No amount of exercise and starvation is ever going to take away these curves - nor would I ever want to. Nick and I had talked about the possibility of doing nudity and boudoir shots when I first contacted him. I'm not exactly shy but there is always that moment when you take it all off and face the lens. That is when you know your soul is bare and there is nothing left to hide. The solstice would have been rising as I stood there in my naked skin. I chose to celebrate who I really am. What I wanted more than anything was to set a kinder and more beautiful tone for the upcoming year. How can I celebrate the Goddess if I am not good to myself first? I have been tracking her mysteries for many, many years and yet somewhere along the way I forgot about the mystery within myself and the fact that She is a part of all of us. She can be a harsh mistress, but I have been the hardest taskmaster of all when it comes to taking care of and pampering myself. The dagger stops at me. I have to make the change. So it is done. Throughout the shoot Nick was upbeat, enthusiastic and completely professional. He even made me feel good about my short hair which I had just chopped for the first time in recorded history. Time flew by and before I knew it I was putting my clothes back on. The shoot was over. I have to say when I saw the boudoir pictures later that night my jaw hit the floor. I know it's the alchemy of light and shadow and photographic talent but thank you Nick Holmes for bringing these image of myself to life!<br />
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You can see more of his stunning work <a href="http://nickholmesonline.com/photo/">here</a>.<br />
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There's Saurimonde news in the wind and it looks like there will be an audio version of the first of the series available before too long. January is traditionally one of my best writing months where the creativity flows and there's not much in the way of distractions. I'm slowly getting used to the transitional flux of modern life. Even if I don't always know where I'm headed, I have faith that 2015 will be a bigger and more magical year. I wish the same for each and every one of you out there.<br />
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Much love from where the worlds touch,<br />
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S - xx<br />
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P.S. Here's the link to buy the latest Saurimonde book - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Saurimonde-II-Melissa-St-Hilaire-ebook/dp/B00OKUHOLY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419902484&sr=8-1&keywords=saurimonde+ii">Amazon</a><br />
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Scarlett Amarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13553117259133724353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5784561060680420271.post-53066874119270575092014-08-10T11:32:00.000-07:002014-08-10T11:32:38.921-07:00Will summer never come?It's been a crazy, busy summer here in the zone. Lots of projects, visiting friends and new adventures. But the funny thing is with the continuous gloomy and overcast weather it feels like summer never arrived. Not properly at least and it's already well into August. Besides the solstice, I don't think there's been one night clear and warm enough to spend in the castle. We did get a chance to soak in the hot springs of Rennes-les-Bains the other night under the stars. For once we had the whole place to ourselves which was a rare treat and the water was delicious. All the gray weather means its been a productive summer as well and I'm thrilled to announce that Melissa and I have finished the first draft of the next Saurimonde story. This one is a beast. It grew arms and legs and then started running full tilt. Reining the story in was no simple task and balancing all the characters and plot threads in my head made me question my sanity at times. Of course now we are at the story editing stage and there are some changes which need to be made. After that, fingers and toes crossed, it will be finished and ready to be put out into the world. That's the most terrifying moment. The moment when you decide enough is enough, it's as good as it's going to get. Normally, by this time you're so sick of the story there's a part of you which doesn't care anymore. Of course you would never admit this to anyone, but it's true. It's part of the process. Just like later on you will wish you had done certain things differently in the story. But for right now it's in a good place and I'm pretty pleased with the job we have done so far.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks for your votes! This is the image that won and our next cover.</td></tr>
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Next I'll be writing the erotic horror version of the Rennes-le-Chateau / Berenger Sauniere story. I know it will be controversial, but I am saying this now -<i> it will be entirely a work of fiction very loosely based on historical fact</i>. I have no agenda other than telling my own twisted reinterpretation of the story because I feel like it - and because it will be fun. The outline and the beginning already exist and I had the good fortune to spend some time in Rennes-le-Chateau the other day hanging out in Le Jardin de Marie and wrote pages of notes on the story. My timelines are always a bit vague as real life has a way of derailing my best laid plans but if I can get down to work then it should be done by the beginning of next year.<br />
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The August super moon is on its way. Unfortunately mother nature is not abiding by our plans and the skies are cloudy which means the moon will be occulted and the meteor shower non-existent. Perhaps it will change in a few hours and we can go and celebrate under her light.<br />
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Just a few shots to show life is not so terrible in the zone... but a little sunshine would be much appreciated...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photos by Mars Homeworld</td></tr>
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The road lies ever on...<br />
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Much love from where the worlds touch,<br />
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S - xxScarlett Amarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13553117259133724353noreply@blogger.com0