Guest Post & Giveaway: Underutilized goblins, demons, spirits by Carolyn Crane

Welcome Carolyn Crane, my guinea pig guest post author on the blog. So if something goes wrong, we know who to blame! Kidding, kidding...

Author of the much praised The Disillusionists Trilogy, Carolyn Crane is simply a wonderful person and one of the funnest people I've seen around. Mihir has enjoyed the first two installments in the series, Mind Games and Double Cross, so please take the time to give the series a try. Head Rush, third book in the trilogy, is due to be released soon so keep an eye out for it.

Let's get on with it and see what Carolyn has to say about goblins, demons, and spirits; and don't forget giveaway at the end of post:


Goblins, Demons & Spirits for your beautiful modern life

Hey Bastard and Mihir! Thanks so much for having me over to your awesome blog. And happy Halloween people!

So, I’m in this sort of fun period where I’m developing new writing projects. One of them requires a fair bit of research, which I have never really done, something anyone who has read my books can probably guess. I’d rather invent a thing that suits—it’s so much easier.  Which is why you get mutants and Disillusionists in my trilogy, instead of, like, demons, which, let’s be honest, you have to know a bit about demons if you’re going to have them in a story.

So, I’m working on one series now where I actually need to know about some obscure spirits and fairies and so forth. It’s a minor element, but still. Anyway, some years ago I got this awesome encyclopedia - Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins by Carol Rose. I am learning so much!

For one thing, in the old days, people blamed spirits for a lot of what went wrong.

It makes me sad we don’t have any spirits to blame stuff on. So, I’m proposing some contemporary adaptations. Because, these are perfectly good goblin and spirit-types I’m reading about here. Why are we letting them go to waste in the dusty annals of history???

BRUDER RAUSCH

One of my favorite demons is the German demon, BRUDER RAUSCH (Brother Intoxication), who enters monasteries posing as a monk, and tempts the other monks away from lives of piety and sobriety into drunkenness and wanton revelry. 

Possible contemporary usage for Bruder Rausch:

I can think of lots of uses for Bruder Rausch, can’t you?

Sample modern sentence:

“I didn’t mean to stay out at happy hour so long with my girlfriends last week…how did that happen? Who kept ordering more wine? One of those girls must have been Bruder Rausch!”

HSIEN

This is a spirit from Chinese folklore, a shifter that can take the shape of a member of the family, mostly to create confusion.

Possible contemporary usage for HSIEN:

Like many people, I’ll say things I regret during arguments with significant others, or make commitments I can’t fulfill - or don’t want to fulfill, or forget I said this or that.…but then again, was that me? Or was is the HSIEN? I feel that the HSIEN can translate onto the Web too. When a Hsien pretends to be you online, you can wake up to a whole world of trouble.

Used in a sentence: “Carolyn Crane would never make such a stupid and asinine blog comment (forum comment, tweet)…it must have been a HSIEN, pretending to be her!”

PERIT

From the folklore of Albania, the Perit, often a lovely sprite in white, punishes people who waste bread by giving them a hunchback.

Possible contemporary usage for PERIT:

I think the modern Perit would give something less extreme for wasting bread — maybe something that alters your appearance in a less dramatic way…like, bad hair. I think the Perit is an awesome bad hair day or bad outfit excuse spirit. It would also be a face-saving way to alert your friend or wife to a bad look.

Sentence:

“Have you thrown out any bread lately, honey? Because your hair usually looks so perfect, but today…I think a Perit may have been here.”

KLUDDE

From the folklore of Belgium, the Kludde appears in various forms, but one of the things it does is to jump on the back of a person outside, and the more they run and try to get it off, the heavier it becomes.

Possible contemporary usage for KLUDDE:

Hello! Exercise excuse.

Sentence:

“I went out for my run today, but a Kludde was on my back the whole time, so I had to come home.”
 

BADI

From Malaysia. A spirit that incites mayhem and discord. The Badi originally came from Adam’s blood.

Possible contemporary usage for BADI:

The Badi is a natural road rage spirit. Don’t you think we need one? I guess you could blame it on the Hsien, too, but the Badi seems more natural…it was you behind the wheel, but the Badi was in the passenger seat, sewing mayhem and discord.

Sentence:

“I know it was wrong to flip that guy off, and take my gun out of the glove compartment and wave it around…er…I can’t explain it! I’m pretty sure a Badi was been riding in the car with me!

Mannikin

This is also one of my favorites. The Mannikin are wee people who live in abandoned ruins—castles, churches. They will sometimes go to a farmhouse and steal food, but then, as payment, they will do some chore, like doing the threshing, or sweeping the place up.

Possible contemporary usage for Mannikin:

Does this behavior sound familiar to anyone? Somebody eats the entire bag of cookies or the entire wedge of cheese or the last piece of cake, and then wipes off the counter and throws out the wrappers? 

Sample exchange:

Mr. Crane: Where is the cake we were going to bring to the party?

Ms. Crane: * confused look * It’s gone?”

Mr. Crane: Yes!

Carolyn Crane: * narrows eyes * wait—was the counter all cleaned up? And the plate washed?

Mr. Crane: Yeah.

Carolyn Crane: * Shaking Mr. Crane by the shoulders* Don’t you see? That’s the sign of the Mannikin! OMG the Mannikin were in here!

Keltemas

It is kind of funny, in this book, how many spirits there are that lead people astray at night. Every culture seems to have several. The Keltemas comes from the Cheremis/Mari peoples of the former Soviet Republic. It preys on people walking in the dark, confusing them and getting them lost, so that, even though they may leave a place on time… the next thing they know, they are in the middle of a forest, miles away from home!

Possible contemporary usage for Keltemas:

Well, who doesn’t need a good excuse for finding themselves somewhere crazy at night?

Sample sentence:

“I didn’t intend to stay out at happy hour so long with my girlfriends last week…how did that happen? After Bruder Rausch kept ordering all that wine, I’m sure I left at a decent hour, but the next thing I knew, I was downtown dancing! Maybe the Keltemas brought me there!

***

Anyway, I hope this gives you some useful ideas, and helps to make things easier for you. I know my new knowledge will totally be making things easier for me!

Happy Halloween!

---

Bastard Giveaway: Mind Games and Double Cross by Carolyn Crane

Thanks Carolyn! That was great, and thanks for stopping by. Make sure to visit her website and her blog for more fun and information on her books.

Now for the good stuff that I know many of you are here for, the giveaway. Carolyn has been generous enough to provide one signed copy of Mind Games and Double Cross to one lucky winner, so here's your perfect opportunity to catch up on the series!

Participants have to be 18 years of age or older to participate. Void where prohibited by law. Giveaway rules are subject to change. 

The giveaway is open to anyone with a mailing address (world wide), and it will run from October 24, 2011 until 11:59pm ET on November 4, 2011.

How to participate:

• To enter the giveaway, just place a comment in this post
• One entry per person, or face disqualification.
• Make sure to provide an email address to which I can contact you.
• Winner will be chosen by random sorting entries, and then using a random number generator.
• There will be one winner, who will get both prizes.
• Will have to confirm email to be considered a winner within a week after November 4, 2011.

 Additional entries may be had by doing the following:

• 3 additional entries if you suggest something you would need a goblin, demon, or spirit excuse for; ex., "I need a demon who I can blame for why my refrigerator stinks today!"
• 2 additional entries if you share with us your plans for Halloween costume; what are you dressing up as?
• Follow me on my blog publicly so that you appear on Google Friend Connect.
• Follow me on twitter, @BastardBooks. Make sure to provide your twitter username in your entry.

If you do the steps above, and only by doing those steps, you'd end up with the possibility of 8 total entries:
+1 Comment Entry

+3 Suggest Excuse

+2 Halloween Costume
+1 Google Friend Connect (Mention your GFC username)
+1 Twitter Follower (Mention your twitter username)

For those who have trouble with posting comments, feel free to email me at bastardgiveaway @ gmail with all the information depicted above, and I'll manually make your comment entry for you personally.

Thanks, and good luck! And you got my permission to eat as much candy as you want.

Mihir's Thoughts: Double Cross by Carolyn Crane

After Mind Games, the exciting debut by Carolyn Crane, I was very excited to see where the next book would take Justine and the rest of the Disillusionists in wake of the events of the first book. After reading both books, I feel the author does give out some clue in the title with regards to the plot of the book.

Double Cross opens up with Justine taking up her role as a disillusionist real seriously. She is scheduled to disillusion her newest target, a person who makes cannibals out of sleeping normal people, as she goes about her activities. Due to an accident, she oversteps her boundaries and is placed in a situation wherein she has to accelerate her usual modus operandi. She however has been having a few doubts about her work, whether she really should be doing anything about the imprisoned people, her ability to rid herself of her fear is coming at someone else’s cost. Around the same time, a parallel plot thread which opens up is the fact that there is a group of people who have been named as Dorks that are hunting and killing High-Caps, i.e. people with high mental powers like Otto and Packard who have abilities to alter people’s thoughts, wishes, and lives. Thus these dual plot threads are introduced to the reader, and then further more events occur to add to the thickening plot.

All these and much more mayhem occurs in Midcity this time around. There are a lot more revelations about the power of disillusionists, Otto and Packard, their feelings for Justine, et cetera. This book largely dwells on the past feud between Otto and Packard. There’s also the love triangle which gets established between them and Justine which is very reminiscent of the LOST triangle between Jack, Kate, and Sawyer due to similar character personas. Justine is once again the only narrator and in this book, she has been cured of her phobias, however, she ruminates on the “justice” which the disillusionists have been dispensing. The debate over whether her and the rest of the crew’s actions are justified and should they even be doing what they are doing forms a large part of her crisis. Also thrown into the mix is her confusion about the feelings she feels towards the two Alpha males in her life. There’s also the manhunt for the Dorks as they are getting rid of people who are near and dear to Packard, and Packard mostly wants to be done with them. Largely the book has various things going on whilst it rushes towards its fantastic conclusion.

The book’s plot whilst engaging, had a couple of noticeable issues, namely the romance factor is upped this time around. There are no more than three characters who fall in love and then drag the plan into a different direction thanks to their feelings. There's also Justine's quibbling over the morality of her work which strengthens the plot, but can be a bit irritating to read over and over. There’s also the plot threads which, though multiple in number, have been finely coalesced in the end. In the review for the first book, I had remarked that the fine balance between plot exposition and pace was slightly off-key and since it was the debut book it wouldn't be much of a problem. The problem is still present in this book, however not to the same degree; it has improved. The book also has a very powerful ending which helps overcome all shortcomings of the book and makes the reader anxiously await the third and last book in the trilogy.

In the end, Double Cross manages to one up Mind Games in terms of its plot, characterization, and plot reveals. It also manages to overcome the middle book syndrome by having a strong plot with a clear cut resolution, and while it does have its faults, the book will grab your attention and have you reading it with anticipation in regards to its twists. Heartily recommended for fans of the series and for people who want to read a decent urban fantasy series. I think the author will have to be in top form as expectations will be sky high for the third book which will also be the end of The Disillusionists Trilogy. Hold on to your reading chair folks, I expect Carolyn Crane to churn out another winner and end the trilogy in an emphatic fashion.

Mihir's Thoughts: Mind Games by Carolyn Crane

I think I’m always behind the curve when it comes to the Urban Fantasy genre; another title which I got clued much later than its release was Mind Games by Carolyn Crane, first in the The Disillusionists Trilogy. This book has been getting high praise from various sections, but me being me, never got around to reading it. Though, I was able to rectify this situation a few weeks ago when I read both her books back to back. I then came to know of the unfortunate news that she has parted ways with Spectra. But the author has said that she will be releasing the third book with another publisher.

Going on to Mind Games, the plot opens by introducing us to Justine Jones, a resident of Midcity [a vague Midwestern US city] who tries to live a normal life, but has one very big problem on her hands. The fact that she’s a hypochondriac who thinks she has vein star syndrome, a disease wherein the person has no idea when it will strike but whenever it does, the results are almost positively fatal. She is on a date with a guy called Cubby. However midst her meal she happens upon a person from her past who had swindled her father. She tries to tell the couple with him about it but to no avail. Not thinking much about it, she carries on with her date, and is later met by the same couple who offer her a tantalizing proposal.

Intrigued, but wary, she decides to meet their leader, a certain Sterling Packard who shows her how to discard her fear out of her body (quite literally). Then he hands her an invitation to join his team of disillusionists who are an undercover vigilante team who handle criminals by manipulating their fears and thereby shutting them down in more ways than one. Justine accepts after an initial period of doubt, and is immediately set her first task, but little does she know of the grim future ahead.

Mind Games is an absolutely terrific read when you consider the plot and its implications. Here is a superhero book which calls upon people to channelize their fear and somehow utilize it to affect people whom they target. I absolutely loved this concept, and was thrilled by the author’s execution of it. Justine Jones as a character is fun to read about, her neurosis, her fears, her thoughts are generously laid bare across the book for the reader to get an intimate hold of the person she is. Also, she's the sole POV voice of the story and if she weren’t so interesting I believe this story would have fallen flat. The overall plot is set into motion, and in the latter half of the book we find out what has actually happened previously in Midcity and what is currently going on. The author has inserted a very crucial mystery in the story in regards to Sterling Packard, the leader of the Disillusionists. This mystery propels Justine and the readers through the plot, and in the end with the revelation, the climax becomes that much more exciting to read about. The author has also done a very good job with her world building as she brings to life Midcity and its denizens. There is also enough humor inserted to make this book a little less dark than the subject matter is, and its via Justine's monologues we get several funny moments.

Drawbacks to this story are few but present. The first niggle I noticed was that pace of the book suffers from all the exposition it contained. Now, this is a very crucial balance; too little explanation and the story seems contrived, too slow and the reader would be hard pressed to finish the story. In this regard, Carolyn Crane got the balance a bit askew, but this being her debut book one can hardly fault her for it. There’s also an inexplicable attraction for Justine towards another main character who had yet to be introduced in the story, and after the first 4-5 times being mentioned, it can be a bit annoying. I believe the author was using the build-up as per the story requirements, and this move does pan out when the character is finally introduced to the readers. However this again could have been done with a bit more subtlety.

Overall Mind Games is a terrific addition to the Urban Fantasy field, and the way it's written, it has a little bit of everything for most of the genre readers except Vampires, Werewolves, and other such wanton critters. This should easily count as a plus point especially since 90-95% of the books feature them. A good debut book which takes a slightly unusual route via its plot and magic system, Carolyn Crane is definitely an author to look out for in the future with whatever she chooses to write about.