Loading ...Guest Blogger Author Esther Mitchell
Bitten by Books is excited to welcome author Esther Mitchell today as our featured Guest Blogger! Esther will be where heroes come from, and explore the world’s greatest myths. Check out the contest at the end of this post! You could win a FREE copy of one Esther’s books!
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Before I begin, I’d like to take a moment to thank Bitten By Books for the opportunity to speak with you all, today. I’d also like to introduce myself. My name is Esther Mitchell, and I write Paranormal and Suspense Romance. A common question everyone likes to ask authors is why they chose a certain genre. For me, it’s easy. I like to say I was born into the paranormal. When I was a year old, I had a near-death experience that, while I don’t actively remember it, I firmly believe shaped the course of my life. I’ve been a student and researcher of the paranormal most of my life, and I’m currently a parapsychologist and Metaphysical Therapist (I won’t get into what that is here, but for those interested in finding out more, please visit this link for more information), with more than twenty years’ experience with the paranormal. Because of my unique background in the paranormal, I am both an objective observer and a staunch believer in the existence of the paranormal – not just in spirits, but also in people.
From my life-long fascination with and decades of research into the paranormal come the bases for my fiction, from the modern and bizarre to the ancient mythology that has sustained for millennia. Among these works of fiction is my current paranormal series, Project Prometheus, which I’ll discuss a little as I explore my topic of discussion, today. So, without further ado, let’s see what I have for everyone today.
Now, I know most people expect me to talk about the hauntings and strange events I’ve witnessed and investigated in my life. But I’ll save that for another time and place. Today, I’d like to talk to you about something else entirely.
When you think of a hero, what kind of person comes to mind? We all have images of what makes the perfect hero, tucked away in places we might not care to show the world. Sometimes, it’s because what we find heroic is contrary to what we’ve been led to believe makes a hero, and we’re not sure why. Hopefully, with a little delving into the collective consciousness of mythology, I can help with that question.
When the words “paranormal” and “fiction” are combined with images of heroes, the visions become even more subjective. Instead of relying on the model of the white hat riding in to save the day, most of us imagine (though few of us admit to it!) something darker. We call ourselves sick and twisted for it, but the truth is that the darker, more elemental hero is as old as the myths and legends that were the birthplace of heroes. After all, who can forget that, despite his supposed desire to give back to the people, Robin Hood was little more than a petty thief? Or that Lancelot, famed in Arthurian myth as a true white knight, betrayed the very king he served? Or, at the dawn of legend, that Gilgamesh let pride and lust rule him into a state where his gods saw fit to punish him twice? It’s the darkness of a hero, the inner struggle he must overcome, which entrances us so much, and why the paranormal hero often bears some resemblance to the monsters we so fear.
The idea of the monster as a lover is older than Dracula, or Beauty and the Beast. It plays into our deepest fears and desires, combined. We fear the unknown, perhaps mostly because it’s not as mysterious as we’d like to believe. Die-hard skeptics will tell you there are no such things as ghosts, vampires, demons, or anything else that goes bump in the night. They’ll point to a lack of current video evidence as proof. What they fail to examine is nearly four thousand years of folklore and anecdotal evidence that suggests the things of our nightmares might be real. Throughout history, the things that most terrify humanity have also been the most fascinating. The paranormal is no exception to this rule. Neither, oddly enough is love.
I know this seems like an odd switch of subject, but it’s not nearly as odd as it first appears. Like the paranormal, love has no video evidence to back it up. It can’t be captured on film, and it can’t speak to us through an EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon). But, much like we know there must be something more than this life, we also know that love exists.
As far back as history records, love has inspired great acts of courage and heroism. The love of a parent for a child, such as found in the Hebrew story of Moses, set adrift in uncertain waters with the faith that he would be carried safely through on the strength of his mother’s love and prayers. The love of a person for all of humanity, as displayed by the Greek Titan Prometheus, who risked, and suffered, the wrath of the Olympian Gods to bring fire and healing to humanity. And, of course, the love between two people, as evidenced most poignantly by the tragic Greek tale of Orpheus’ journey into Hades’ realm to beg for the life of his beloved bride after she was bitten by a snake on their wedding day.
In fact, combined with another journey through a very different Underworld, it is this last tale that forms the mythological basis for the first book of my Project Prometheus series, IN HER NAME.
When I first crafted the interwoven strands of mythology and fiction for this series, I wanted myths that spoke to the heart and soul of the kind of love, and power, that makes a true hero – love meant to overcome darkness and terror, and power that was both tempting and life-altering. The story of Orpheus is one of these, as is the Sumero-Akkadian tale of the goddess Ishtar’s journey through her sister Ereshkigal’s Underworld realm. Twined together in IN HER NAME, the story became that of a quest to save love itself – the salvation of a man who believes himself incapable of love – and a struggle to save the world through a love powerful enough one woman is willing to suffer even eternal torment or death to save the same world that spurns her. Added to this is a twist on the Atlantis mythology that takes the story from ancient times and brings it into relevance in the modern millennium.
But most of all, the story plays to the epic story of Ishtar’s journey through the Underworld. While the original tale is little more than a power struggle between two willful goddesses, the mythic undertones lend themselves to fictional interpretation, even as they did in the multiple retellings that were no doubt handed down by oral traditions long before they were recorded.
The journey into the Underworld is a terrifying, humiliating experience that strips a powerful goddess to a vulnerable woman, trapped in death. On this, all versions of the tale agree. She is subjected to humiliation as her fancy garments (most likely symbols of modesty, virtue, and feminine power) are taken away a piece at a time, until she’s left standing before her sister’s throne, naked and exposed.
Some versions of the story claim she was hung on hooks as a punishment for daring to crave her sister’s power. Some say that while she was, in essence, dead, procreation ceased. In the end, the power of love was freed from death in a symbolic rescue. And, through all its incarnations over the millennia since, that theme has appeared time and time again, reminding us of power of love, and the source of our fascination with the darkness hidden within it.
I could go on for a lot longer about the paranormal and mythology, but I’ve probably already overrun my time limit. I’d like to thank you all for being here today, and I welcome any comments or questions. For those interested in some of the more traditional paranormal information/stories, you can check them out on my blog at www.esthermitchell.com/blog right now, though the parapsychology lecture will be moving soon to a new blog. Be sure to check out my website and blog for further details on this upcoming move. Also, for those interested, IN HER NAME is available for purchase here, as is the second book in the series, HOPE OF HEAVEN.
Thanks again to Bitten By Books for having me here, today, and I look forward to your questions and comments!
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Questions and Contest: Now, I am going to open up the internet floor so to speak and let our readers ask some questions and share your stories. Feel free to post as many questions or comments as you like. Esther will be answering them on and off the rest of the day.
Readers, here’s how to enter the contest. You can do one or all of these things, and each one will give an additional entry. This is to win a FREE copy of her book HOPE OF HEAVEN.
1. Ask the author a question (ask as many questions as you like, but only two questions count towards entries) or share your own ghost story. Your name will be entered for a chance to win the fabulous prize mentioned above.
2. SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter here on the right hand side of the site. This is for new subscribers only.
3. Post links to the interview here today at another blog or website and you will be given additional entries to win. You MUST post those links in one response here in this thread. The more places you post the event, the more entries you get, so spread the word!
4. Purchase a copy of ANY of Esther’s awesome books and send us a copy of the receipt for your purchase to: racoo.smith @ gmail.com (no spaces) for an additional entry. You get an entry for each one you purchase. Check out her books here:
http://www.aspenmountainpress.com/index.php?searchStr=esther&act=viewCat&Submit=
5. Add us as your friend on Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/bittenbybooks
Add us as your friend on Facebook: http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=614064436
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/weirdstuff
6. Stumble, Digg or share the post with any social networking sites. There is a button right at the end of this post that says “Share” that you can use. 
Be sure to include an email and name where we can contact you if you are a winner.
We will be awarding the prizes and posting the winners to the Bitten by Books website later this week.
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Esther - great essay on mythology. Certainly I had heard of Ishtar, but did not know her story. You tell her tale well. I read the excerpt of In Her Name. Very intriguing opening. Now I must read the rest!
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Well, first of all I’d like to say hello and i enjoyed this interview.
When I was little, I lived with my grandmother and her house always gave me the creeps. She had a full attic and sometimes at night, I’d hear footsteps up there. And other nights, I would wake up in the middle of the night and hear someone coming up the stairs but they never made it all the way to the landing near my bedroom.
I really hated to be alone in the house, it was cold and really creepy. Anyway, after my grandmother passed away, I went there to start cleaning up the house to sell it. I took my son, who was 1 at the time. I left him the living room. I went upstairs and a short time later, I heard him babbling. I went downstairs to see what he was doing. He was sitting right in front of the chair that my grandmother always sat in, looking up at it and babbling away. That freaked me out, it took me three months to step foot in the house again.
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Wow, awesome interview. I am a huge fan of paranormal romance and suspense, and I can say that your series sounds like no other. I can not wait to check it out.
Do you have any idea how many books will eventually make up this series, or do you intend to just play it by ear and see where the characters take you?
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts on heroes, the paranormal, and your books.
It was a fun!
Rebekah
littleminx at cox dot net
P.S. I Stumbled this post. *thumbs up* Already have added BBB to my MySpace, Facebook, and feed.
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Howdy Esther, Thank you for being here today. My very dull questions are
Who is your favorite hero?
What is your favorite book?
I also shared here http://candersgoodfun.blogspot.com/2008/08/guest-blogger-author-esther-mitchell.html and here
http://digg.com/arts_culture/Guest_Blogger_Author_Esther_Mitchell
Thank You again for being here today and I look forward to reading your books.
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Hi Esther! Welcome to BBB
What an interesting twist on a traditional hero idea. I’ve always considered normal ordinary people my heroes. But I do like to read about the heroes in paranormal fiction.
Who would be a hero to you?
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Ruth - What you’re describing in reference to your son is actually quite typical of apparitions, particularly of loved ones. As for the rest, please don’t think that I’m saying your experiences aren’t valid, but I often caution people that attics can contain a lot of things that make us THINK they’re haunted, when in fact they’re not (often, it’s small animals or items shifting under a change in temperature, as attics are prone to both). The noise on the stairs, too, could potentially be settling, or it could be something else. Old houses tend to have a lot of non-paranormal quirks to them that often make people think there’s something paranormal going on, when there really isn’t. Have you ever experienced anything else, aside from sounds, in the home? Anything you’ve seen?
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Rebekah - Thanks!!
Um… Well, I have 30 books, so far, but there’s always room for more. Only the first five are linked to Atlantis and follow the same underlying storyline, however. The rest are really only linked by the characters belonging to Project Prometheus (and the paranormal elements, naturally).
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I think a lot of homes not even really old ones have energy patterns that empaths can pick up on. Not a haunting per se, but the energies of people long gone.
Great post Esther! Thanks for being here today.
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Always looking for recommendations for new authors….posted bulletin on MySpace here: http://bulletins.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=bulletin.read&authorID=94480985&messageID=6054031311&MyToken=eae13ab2-38ef-4be3-b192-b0a7c935d0f3
Looking forward to reading In Her Name and Hope of Heaven.
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Cander - Hmm…
My favourite hero (I assume you mean from fiction/legend)… There are so many to choose from!
I think I’d have to say Beowulf… There’s something intricately powerful, and yet tragic, about Beowulf. I think that’s why, of all the Anglo-Saxon legends out there, he remains such an inspiring figure.
Favourite book? You’re kidding, right? *GRINS* No way can I pick a single favourite book out of everything I’ve ever read!
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Virginia - Like you, I’m more likely to turn to real people as personal heroes, rather than legendary ones. My personal hero was my best friend and first love - a man who taught me what it means to love someone enough to want to protect them, no matter the cost to yourself. His loss was a tragedy I’ve never fully recovered from, though I do believe in my heart that he’s still watching over me.
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Rachel - You’re correct about that. Most areas (not even necessarily buildings - land itself can have the energy, too) hold onto emotions and energy that can be felt by those with the ability to do so. If you’re in a place that you get an immediate sense of overwhelming danger, you should leave. But hearing sounds, and just the feeling of “being watched” can often be attributed to non-paranormal things. With two decades of investigation, I firmly believe the best results are obtained from using psychic and scientific methods in conjunction, not discounting either off-hand as useless.
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Interesting post.
I love paranormal and suspense stories. Yours sounds very interesting.
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What are some of your favorite books and the books that made you want to write yourself?
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Hi Esther,
Great post. Your books sounds fascinating, I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for In Her Name.
Do you have a favourite Greek myth and if so which one?
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Hi Esther, welcome!
Wuth the holidays aproaching, which is your favorite? Since you love Paranormal, is it Halloween?
Dina
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Krysten -
Well, I’ve always wanted to write. As far back as I can remember, I was always scribbling on any blank paper I could find, little stories running through my head. Then I learned to read and write, and I was entirely hooked. I can’t say any one author inspired me to write. But certainly, there were author who inspired WHAT I write. Mythology, legend, and life all inspired the paranormal end. My early addiction to Tom Clancy and Leonard B. Scott (along with growing up in the military) get credit for the military/suspense edge to my writing. And since I started reading Romance with a great Christine Smith mystery at the age of 8 (I was precocious, what can I say? *shrugs*), followed quickly by other Romantic Suspense authors like Cassie Miles and Lindsay McKenna, I have to say a number of Romance authors inspired me to write Romance.
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Lily - *chuckles* Can’t you tell? The story of Prometheus is one of my all-time favourites, followed by the story of Orpheus, Pandora, and then Perseus and Andromeda. Prometheus, though, inspires me in ways no other Greek myth can - there is a total selflessness to his actions that speaks to me. And the brutal way in which he paid for the most human of desires - to help another.
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Dina -
Yes, Samhain (Hallowe’en) is one of my favourite holidays. But I don’t celebrate the normal set of Western holidays, anyway. It’s one of the closest to what I celebrate.
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my fella wanted to name our kids, if we had a boy, LOKI
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Thanks Eshter.
I forgot to list my email addy in case I won.
dlsmilad(at)yahoo(dot)com
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I think naming anything LOKI is asking for trouble. LOL
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Esther, I have never read any of your books and they sound VERY interesting..can you give me a starting point oron which one to read 1st..thanks
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Patty - IN HER NAME starts the series, setting all the groundwork and introducing several of the primary characters for the rest of the first five books (and a few others for later books, as well!
…) Definitely start with IN HER NAME.
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o i know
buit now 1 of my daughters is thinking about naming either or boy or girl that name, and chnge the spelling a little bit for girl ;ile
Lokee Lokii
i have strange kids
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[...] August 21, 2008 at 5:17 am (Uncategorized) Guest Blogger Author Esther Mitchell [...]
Thanks for being with us Esther! Very fascinating topic. You will have to come back and talk about ghosts and hauntings soon!
We will pick a winner and announce them in a day or so.
Thanks also to all the readers who stopped by and participated!
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Hi Esther,
I’m just responding to your questions.
“Have you ever experienced anything else, aside from sounds, in the home? Anything you’ve seen?”
I’d only have to say, that when I was younger, I used to see black shadows out of the corner of my eyes. Like something was there, but when I turned my head, there was nothing.
I know about the attic thing, my grandmother used to tell me that. Believe me, that attic was full to the brim with stuff.
The weird thing about the stairs, they creaked when people walked on them. You could hear it throughout the whole house. But what was weird and I notice I didn’t say this before, but the footsteps were accompanied by the sound of ice tinkling in a glass. It was strange.
Boy, what I would do to actually see a ghost. That would be the highlight of my life!
Thanks, Esther.
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Ruth - *chuckles* You, and just about every paranormal investigator on the planet!
I don’t do a lot of spiritual investigations (hauntings, apparitions, etc) anymore, but that sounds like it would have been an interesting place to check out. There are just so many groups out there now who can help with spiritual inhabitations, I don’t feel there’s a need for my services in that area. Besides, I’m much more fascinated by human-manifested phenomena (ESP, Clairvoyance/clairaudience, etc) than I am in hunting ghosts. *grins* I’m much more interested in proving what the human mind is capable of…
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The human mind has got to be one the scariest things around. Sometimes I wish I could have those abilities.
You take care and it has been wonderful talking to you!
Come visit me sometime:
http://www.ruthiesbookreviews.blogspot.com
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The winner of an electronic copy of Esther’s book HOPE OF HEAVEN is Lily K.!
Congrats Lily and enjoy!
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