Writers in the Storm

By Lyn Horner
Click here for Part 1 or Part 3 of the four-part Druid series.

NOTE: Don't forget to comment by Midnight Friday June 17th so you can be entered in a drawing for a free copy of my book, Darlin' Druid!

Before delving into Druid beliefs and practices, it’s important to know a little about the Celtic culture. 

Unfortunately, knowledge about the Celts who first settled in the British Isles is sketchy. Some of it comes from classical authors and from ancient Irish literature. Little firsthand information exists.

“The Celtic settlement of Britain and Ireland is deduced mainly from archaeological and linguistic considerations. The only direct historical source for the identification of an insular people with the Celts is Caesar's report of the migration of Belgic tribes to Britain, but the inhabitants of both islands were regarded by the Romans as closely related to the Gauls (Celts of France).” --  ̴quoted from the International World History Project.

Since my research has dealt mainly with Irish Druids and Celtic Ireland, I won’t be discussing the Druids of Britain. Suffice it to say that they and their Celtic brethren were invaded and brought under Roman rule during the time of Julius Caesar. Except, that is, for the tribes in Scotland and Wales.

According to a 1996 article in British Archaeology, written by Richard Warner, there is archaeological evidence of a Roman presence in Ireland. However, that doesn’t mean Hibernia – the Latin name for Ireland – was actually conquered byRome. Rather, the “invaders” apparently assimilated into Ireland’s Celtic culture.

Information about early Irish society comes from legendary sagas, annals, genealogies and ancient law-tracts. The law-tracts are invaluable because they are unique in the existing history of western Europe. The customs of law they preserve open a window into the distant Celtic past.

According to one source, there were two politically powerful groups in old Ireland. One group, the tuathas (tribes) were warriors. It appears from ancient tales such as the epic Táin Bó Cúailnge (The Cattle Raid of Cooley) that both men and women served as warriors. They raided cattle and fought to defend their land.

The second group, the Aes Dana  (men of art) wielded power through magic and art. Magic, real or pretense, exerts power over believers, while art influences many people. The Aes Dana belonged to no tribes. They included bards (wandering poets/musicians), filí (household poets and historians), druids (druí in old Irish) and various artisans. Their positions may have been hereditary, but in some cases they could move into a higher ranking role. Children of druids were not necessarily druids.

As members of the Aes Dana, the druids of Ireland were given special privileges. Along with the filí, the druids were often supported by aristocrats and chieftains who required their service. For this reason many druids and filí lived in one place, unlike the wandering bards.

The social hierarchy within a tuath (tribe) consisted of a king, warrior aristocracy, and freemen farmers. Druids were recruited from the warrior class but ranked higher. Celtic families were patriarchal. Most engaged in mixed farming, living on single family farms. In areas of rough terrain or poor climate, cattle raising became more important than crop farming. During times of strife, families might seek refuge in hill forts, but warfare often consisted of single challenges and combat, rather than massed battles.

The Irish tradition of storytelling reveals a link to their Celtic past. The Celts greatly valued music, poetry and oral recitation of ancient heroic tales. They are also well known for their La Tène art. Dating from around 500 B.C., the La Tène period was distinguished by beautiful, intricate designs and knot patterns.

One of the finest examples of La Tène art is the Book of Kells. Created by Irish monks circa 800, this illuminated manuscript, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament, is lavishly decorated with human figures, animals, mythic beasts and Christian symbols, intertwined by Celtic knot designs. It is considered to be Ireland’s greatest national treasure.

Book Sources:

• The Celtic Realms, The History and The Culture of The Celtic Peoples From Pre-History to the Norman Invasion by Myles Dillon & Nora Chadwick
• The Celtic Druids’ Year, Seasonal Cycles of the Ancient Celts by John King
• The Book of Kells

Web sites:

• “Yes, the Romans did invade Ireland” -- British Archaeology, no 14, May 1996, by Richard Warner
• Celts -- International World History Project
• Wikipedia: The Book of Kells

Are you a history buff? How has your interest in history influenced your storytelling? On the Druid/Celtic front, have you run across links and books that you'd like to share?

REMINDER: The deadline for the Going To The Chapel contest is in less than two weeks! Have you submitted your entry yet? It's fun, it's FREE, and the winner gets at least three critiques from Writers in the Storm bloggers! Visit our contest page for all the details.

By Sharla Rae

When I was supposed be writing my blog for today I was catching up on new favorite TV series, Game of Thrones. I thoroughly enjoyed the chopping off of heads, sex, creepy zombies of the North, sex, war, slaughtering of animal, and did I mention steamy sex?

There’s just one problem. Afterward, I ran to my computer to write a blog and came up empty. I stared at the blank screen waiting for inspiration. Visions of chopped heads, sex creepy zombies, and more sex danced through my head.

So while I NEVER share my word menus with anyone but my crit partners, I was inspired to do so now. Enjoy my Sensual Word Menu.

Verbs or words that may work as verbs in some form are starred *

What do you do to ramp up the sexy in your writing? Do you have songs you listen to, books you read, words you refer to?

By Charlotte Carter

For a working author it’s often a good idea to write for two different publishers. In my case I write for Guideposts Books and Love Inspired Romance. That gives me an opportunity to write more books and earn more money per year than I might with one publisher, which is generally a good thing.

So you’ll know what I’m talking about, here's some insight into the process for those of you who have not yet been through the rigors of the publishing cycle. Keep in mind each publisher seems to have a slightly different system for the editing sequence.

• First comes a revision letter detailing the 'holes' the editor has found in the plot or characterization and may involve a substantial rewrite.
• After the author returns the revised manuscript, there is a line edit. With any luck, changes here should be relatively minor.
• Then the copy editor gets a hold of the manuscript, correcting spelling, grammar, and doing things like pointing out the character could not have driven from Los Angeles to San Francisco in two hours. (If this is a futuristic, the author may have to argue the point and should.) There may be some stylistic changes, but the copy editor should not be rewriting the author's prose. (Although, to my dismay, this does happen.)
• The last stage is the galleys. (Harlequin uses the term AAs.) This is the last chance for the author to catch typos and other, hopefully minor, errors.

Back to the two publishers that I love writing for...

And here comes the ‘but’ —

Apparently there is some universal rule that when you’re writing for two different publishers, the two editors (who probably don’t even know each other) conspire to request revisions the same week. That’s right. All at once you’ve got two revision letters and week to revise two books. Ack!

To compound the problem, the two editors are now on the same schedule to send you the line edits and the copy edited version of their respective manuscripts in a synchronized dance that keeps the author hopping.

An author of Nora Roberts' popularity might ask for a change of schedule, although she is so prolific I doubt she'd need to. (And she probably doesn't need much editing either.) Those of us working in the trenches are better off not to ask for an extension unless there's been a real emergency like a husband who has had a heart attack.

Publishers have a very rigid production schedule that is planned months ahead. If the author is late on any of these multiple deadlines, it causes problems for the editor. You don't want to do that or get the reputation of always being late.

By the time you finish that double process with two books for two different editors crossing in cyberspace (or the US mail), it’s a miracle if you haven’t accidently slipped Daniel, the hero from book A, into book B as the local pharmacist.

This phenomena closely resembles my husband’s frequent complaint that every time he starts to back the car out of the driveway, an entire parade of cars arrive to thwart his efforts.

I really enjoy writing cozy mystery continuities for Guideposts Books. (Watch for a new Secrets of Mary’s Bookshop series coming out in early 2012; I’m writing book #3, Reading the Clues.)

And writing for Harlequin’s Love Inspired Romance gives me a chance to tell my own stories, and that’s important to me. (Big Sky Family is a November 2011 release.)

Now, if I could just manage to keep the editors on alternate schedules, I’d be all set.

What is making you feel harried these days? Is it too many plots in the fire that take you away from your work in progress?

Happy writing!

Charlotte Carter writes
books that leave you smiling
Big Sky Reunion, Love Inspired, 11/2011
New Beginnings, Guideposts Books, 9/2011