Tomorrow Dragon's Eye releases or if you pre-ordered your copy from the publisher, Less Than Three Press, then you get the early download tonight. Whoot!
Today, I have something a little different. I have a blog post about Ki, the Goddess of the Mountain along with the links to the other blog stops today. Enjoy!
Ki, Goddess of the Earth
When I was researching the pantheon for Sumeria's Sons, the first goddess of the earth that came up was Ninhursag. Although I needed her, the name was strange and I guessed at how to pronounce it. Not only that, when I was reading, instead of stopping and going through the pronunciation, my mind skipped the word. That's not a reaction an author wishes for a reader to have so I searched. With each new era, the gods and goddesses were given new names and I hoped that one of those would be easier. I passed over Uriash Damkina, Ninmah, Damgalnunna, Nintu, Mamma, Mami, Aruru, Damkina, and Belet-Ili. I went with Ki from the Babylonian creation myth, Enuma Elish.
She was an earth goddess, fertility goddess, and also linked to creation. Ki was tutelary to several Sumerian kings who were, "nourished by Ki's (Ninhursag's) milk." The depictions of her were pretty detailed with her wearing a ram's horn crown and a tiered skirt. Often she carried weapons, a bow case slung across her shoulders and a mace tied to her waist. Sometimes she was accompanied by a lion cub on a leash, but lions were often in the depictions of the Sumerian gods and goddesses.
As one of seven great deities of Sumer, Ki had several titles: "Lady of That Which is Below", "Lady of the Sacred Mountain", "Big Lady of the Waters", "True and Great Lady of Heaven" (possibly in relation to her standing on the mountain), "Great Queen", "Lady of Birth", "Faithful Wife" (which is actually funny and I'll explain why in a moment), "Great Wife of Heaven", "Womb Goddess", "Midwife of the Gods", "Mother of all Children", and "Mother of the Gods".
The title of "Faithful Wife" made me guffaw because Ki was the primary consort of her brother Anu (An), the Sky God, but she also bore children with Enki. It's kind of funny how Ki seemed to be upset with Enki for his promiscuity, setting in motion the action that would eventually cause Enki to become pregnant with his own seed. In Songs of the Earth, the Goddess Uttu told Tristan her origin. Enki and Ki had a daughter called Ninsar. Enki seduced Ninsar and they had Ninkurra. He seduced Ninkurra and had Uttu. Uttu found out that Enki was basically a man-slut (more so than the other gods) and went to Ki for help. Following Ki's advice, Uttu took Enki's seed from her body and planted them along the river. That seed grew into eight different types of fruit and when Enki came along and noticed the yummy delights, he ate from the trees becoming pregnant and swelling at all his joints because his body didn't have a womb. The God Enlil entreated Ki to help Enki, which she eventually did by taking the seed into her body to later give birth to eight gods and goddesses.
In Sumeria's Sons, Ki definitely had her own agenda and didn't feel the need to consult her charge before she made a decision and acted. She manipulated Tristan to get what she wanted which drove a wedge between her and Tristan, causing her to lose her tutelary responsibilities. Tristan had this preconceived idea of gods and goddesses. He was afraid of Ki but he didn't back down when he took a stance. How she handled Tristan destroyed his automatic trust in the Sumerian Gods, causing him to be wary and to question everything about them and their intentions. It created a distance between them, making him strive to be strong enough to stand on his own against them.
But he cannot win without their assistance and somehow must learn to trust them enough to accept a helping hand—because he will need it whether he likes it or not.
A huge thank you for following the blog tour! I hope you enjoy the behind the scenes look at the gods and mythos, and how they play a part in Sumeria's Sons. For a visual representation, please visit my Pinterest page. (https://www.pinterest.com/lexiander1/sumeria-sons-inspirations/)
With Dragon's Eye releasing soon, it also means that the sale on the series will end! So don't miss out. In case you missed the links, here they are again. ^_^
25% off Songs of the Earth: Amazon || LT3 Press || All Romance
25% off Dreams of the Forgotten: Amazon || LT3 Press || All Romance
25% off Surrounded by Crimson: Amazon || LT3 Press || All Romance
For today, Tuesday, October 6th the stops are:
Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words - Marduk vs. Ashur
GGR Review - Talking about the origin of the assassins in Sumeria's Sons
Everyday, one of the stops will have an exclusive excerpt and every stop will have guest post talking about the gods and goddesses that make the Sumerian pantheon and how I used them in the series. Don't forget to enter the raffelcopter giveaway!
Topic for Monday, October 5th, w/exclusive excerpt #8:
Molly Lolly - The Rock Star of the Gods: Enki
Wake Up Your Wild Side - Dilmun, the Heaven of the Gods
Topics for Friday, October 2nd w/exclusive excerpt #7:
Love Bytes - Shamash, Patron of the Lycans
Chris McHart - Anat, Goddess of the Lycan Warriors
Topics for Thursday, October 1st w/exclusive excerpt #6:
Louise Lyons - What is the Simurgh?
Lee Brazil - Interview
Topics for Wednesday, September 30th:
The Jena Wade - Mithra and Verethragna w/exclusive excerpt #5
Tuesday, September 29th
Amanda C. Stone - Coveting the King's Tomb w/exclusive excerpt #4
Jessie G. Books - The Annunaki
The Novel Approach - Who is Utnapishtim?
The topics for Monday, September 28th:
Decadent Delights - Tablets of Destinies, w/exclusive excerpt #3
Hearts on Fire - Deleted Scene
The topics for Friday, September 25th:
Wicked Faerie's Tales and Reviews - Tiamat and Her Children, w/Exclusive Excerpt #2
Dawn’s Reading Nook - The Igig War
Bayou Book Junkie - Adapa, The First Human
The topic for Thursday, September 24th:
Andrew Q. Gordon - Talking about the Sumerian Pantheon, sort of a who's who among the gods and goddesses. W/Exclusive Excerpt #1.
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A quick look at the stops for the rest of the tour.
7-Oct
Thank you for stopping by and reading!!
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