It seems there are many books based on or influenced by Myths and Mythological Beings.
There are so many different Mythology and Mythological Beings recorded. Some are very popular and well known, others not so much. There are many similar beings, yet different depending on the culture it’s based in. The definition of Myth covers about anything in the Urban Fantasy/Fantasy realm to me.
This week we have:
Author Martin Spernau
Talking about Quatlmander.
"There is no such thing as a Quatlmander." Andrew states in my story 'Rainmaker,' recently published in the New Myths Theme-Thology.
"Little Dragon might be central to our calendar, but a creature that turns men to stone with its breath and spreads death and decay?" Andrew believes it to be a creature of myths. As would you, if I were to claim there was such a creature in our own - real - world.
And you'd be just as wrong as Andrew is for his world. He is about to meet his first Quatlmander, and you could, conceivably find a creature very much like it if you were to travel to the islands of South Indonesia. I based the Quatlmander on the Komodo dragon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon), a land-lizard that grows to a length of 3m (10ft) or more and can swallow a whole goat in one piece. As the Komodo dragon is a carrion eater, many who met one first-person would attest that I haven't even made up the 'turn men to stone with its breath' part.
What I did change for the Quatlmander is mostly the color scheme. Our Komodo dragon is often a drab grey-brown, while the Quatlmander's scaly hide is black with large red spots, a color scheme inspired by our salamanders.
As the name 'New Myths' implies, all stories in the anthology were to have a newly created myth at their core. I wanted to take the idea a step further and not only create a new myth - or mythical creature - but also play with the way there often is a very real truth at the core of a myth. Modeling the Quatlmander after a creature from our world that is almost as mythical to us seemed rather appropriate.
You can read about Andrew the Journeyman Rainmaker, the Quatlmander and more in Theme-Thology: New Myths by HDWPBooks (http://www.hdwpbooks.com/books/theme-thology-new-myths/).
Another story set in the same background and featuring even more of the Quatlmander will be upcoming on the Every Photo Tells... podcast (http://everyphototells.com) with the title "Chasing Lizards up Sacred Street."
If you'd like to generally read more of my work, do also check out the Iron Pen Anthology - Volume I (http://www.amazon.com/Iron-Pen-Anthology-1-English-ebook/dp/B00L2QDG48/).
About Me:
A poet of the multi-verse, Martin Spernau's palms show two parallel life-lines, one of which is fading as he loses his physical sight, while the other shows his ability to portray the whimsical science of the fantastic with true insight and vision.
Infrequent blog: http://traumwind.de/tindertraum/
UPDATE: Chasing Lizards up Sacred Street is now available for your listening.
Purchase At:
Barnes & Nobles
"No such thing as a Quatlmander"
"There is no such thing as a Quatlmander." Andrew states in my story 'Rainmaker,' recently published in the New Myths Theme-Thology.
"Little Dragon might be central to our calendar, but a creature that turns men to stone with its breath and spreads death and decay?" Andrew believes it to be a creature of myths. As would you, if I were to claim there was such a creature in our own - real - world.
And you'd be just as wrong as Andrew is for his world. He is about to meet his first Quatlmander, and you could, conceivably find a creature very much like it if you were to travel to the islands of South Indonesia. I based the Quatlmander on the Komodo dragon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon), a land-lizard that grows to a length of 3m (10ft) or more and can swallow a whole goat in one piece. As the Komodo dragon is a carrion eater, many who met one first-person would attest that I haven't even made up the 'turn men to stone with its breath' part.
What I did change for the Quatlmander is mostly the color scheme. Our Komodo dragon is often a drab grey-brown, while the Quatlmander's scaly hide is black with large red spots, a color scheme inspired by our salamanders.
As the name 'New Myths' implies, all stories in the anthology were to have a newly created myth at their core. I wanted to take the idea a step further and not only create a new myth - or mythical creature - but also play with the way there often is a very real truth at the core of a myth. Modeling the Quatlmander after a creature from our world that is almost as mythical to us seemed rather appropriate.You can read about Andrew the Journeyman Rainmaker, the Quatlmander and more in Theme-Thology: New Myths by HDWPBooks (http://www.hdwpbooks.com/books/theme-thology-new-myths/).
Another story set in the same background and featuring even more of the Quatlmander will be upcoming on the Every Photo Tells... podcast (http://everyphototells.com) with the title "Chasing Lizards up Sacred Street."
If you'd like to generally read more of my work, do also check out the Iron Pen Anthology - Volume I (http://www.amazon.com/Iron-Pen-Anthology-1-English-ebook/dp/B00L2QDG48/).
A poet of the multi-verse, Martin Spernau's palms show two parallel life-lines, one of which is fading as he loses his physical sight, while the other shows his ability to portray the whimsical science of the fantastic with true insight and vision.
Infrequent blog: http://traumwind.de/tindertraum/
UPDATE: Chasing Lizards up Sacred Street is now available for your listening.
Purchase At:
Barnes & Nobles
Sounds like a cool animal :)
ReplyDeleteIt really does Blodeuedd. :) Martin has caught my eye with this one. :)
DeleteI like it when new animals are invented with such detail!
ReplyDeleteMelissa (B&T) I'm right there with you. Sounds so neat to have this new creature. :)
DeleteI watched a special about komodo dragons and those things are scary. I love the added twists to make the new creature :D Jaclyn @ JC's Book Haven.
ReplyDeleteJaclyn, haha, yes they are. It's been years since I've seen anything on the komodo dragons. So glad you like the twists to make this creature. :)
DeleteWhat an interesting idea for a book! Komodo dragons are more than a little scary, so a quatlmander sounds terrifying!
ReplyDeletelol. Terri, yes, this quatlmander does sound terrifying. :) Thank you!
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