Memorable Worlds: Mythology

Mythology

My Experience with this World: 

Today's world is not so much a world, but all the mythology of different cultures. Egyptian, Greek/Roman, Norse, Aztec, Native American ... and so on, so forth.

My experience with mythology goes back almost as far as my experience with Fairy Tales, and I got to study it for school! I've spent the most amount of time with Egyptian and Greek/Roman (the two have much in common, so I consider them to be basically different sides of the same coin) but I do know quite a bit about the others, too. Of course, my mom always made sure I knew that this stuff wasn't true, and just stories people made up to explain away the true God.

Origins:

Every culture had a different story for origins, but the most common theme is a earth goddess married to the sky god, and then their kids come between them and they are forced to separate. Sometimes one of them is even killed. (Usually the sky guy) There's always the origin of man and evil ... usually because of the woman. And then every culture had it's flood story ... some of which were pretty weird.

Geography:

The geography of the mythology depended on the geography of the people who developed it. It usually involves the basic lay of their own land ... with random clapping rocks and bottomless caves stuck in odd places.

Peoples and Culture:

Again, this depended on the culture of the people who developed it. It usually had some form of gods, but whether they ran around wielding hammers or lightening bolts, or if they had forty arms or the head of an eagle varied. Beyond the gods there were nymphs, dragons, serpents, multi-headed dogs named Spot, giants who sweated people out of their armpits ... big blue oxen ... it varied. 

What I like about this world:

The variety ... and the fact that I can take any piece of it and no one can question me about it.

What I don't like:

Most (if not all) of mythology is pagan and is man's attempt to live without the true God, so I have to be choosy. None of any of the actual gods will make their way into any of my books, though I may tweak some of their stories. Also, some of those so called "deities" didn't exactly honor their wedding vows. (And some stories can be quite gruesome)

What I learned from this world: 

It's not so much what I've learned, but what I've stolen. It's mostly in Bookania, but you know the Cloud Sprites? One of them is named Echo and her story is similar to the Greek myth "Echo and Narcissus." Also, Jason and the Argonauts? Two of Robin and Eric's kids will get caught up in that story. I can't wait!

Greek Mythology also wormed its way into The Ankulen, mostly in the form of the Singers who resemble the Muses. Also the Polystoikhedron which is based on the hydra, and there's a Labyrinth that used to have a minotaur in it. I'll have to write up that story someday.

300 Dragons (Which unfortunately needs a new title ... I'll talk more about that when this is over) will probably have some mythology, too, since there is a people group there that is incapable of death, and thus perfect fodder for playing around with the god myths. 

These world-building posts are for the promotion of the upcoming release of my book The Ankulen. Feel free to do one yourself, just make sure you refer back to my blog and let your readers know about my upcoming book. If you do write a post, post a link in a comment somewhere on my blog and I'll add you to a giveaway for a copy of my book. Multiple entries are allowed (Nay - encouraged!), and one out of every three may be a world of your own.

On another note, I finally have the cover art for The Ankulen! However, I'm not going to reveal it until the fifteenth (It's agony for me, too, trust me), but I would like to know if any of my fellow bloggers would like to participate. If so, email me (my address is on my FAQ page) and on the fourteenth  I'll send you the image, blurb and link to the goodreads page that I'll have set up so that you can post it on the fifteen with me! It'll be such fun! (This'll also mean that you get to see the art a day early.) It's quite pretty and I ended up using my own arms because I couldn't find a good redhead. It's okay though, because of the coloring, it doesn't really matter.