An Introduction

When I was little, my brother had this really neat book. It had Pegasus on the front and a deep blue and indigo background. To this day, I wish I could remember the title. After so many moves and storage places, I wouldn't be too surprised if the book had somehow gotten lost. Of course, even as I type this, I can practically hear my mother yelling at me ("How dare you think that I would lose a book! Are you insane?"). But I digress. The book was about constellations. It had all the really big ones with their stars mapped out, what hemisphere they were in and what time of year you could see them best. It also had the stories behind them all. The big dipper (also known as Ursa Major), Orion, Pegasus, Corona Borealis, Hercules...


But my favorite was the Perseus and Andromeda myth. This was partly because I was obsessed with the old Clash of the Titans movie. Clash of the Titans 1981. Nevermind the claymation and the over dramatic acting, the story and the adaption from myth to movie was amazing. Needless to say my brother and I watched the film countless times. Today, a poster of it resides on my wall and the DVD sits proudly on my shelf. At the end of the movie, Zeus, played by Lawrence Olivier, gives a great monologue: 


Perseus and Andromeda will be happy together. Have fine sons... rule wisely... And to perpetuate the story of his courage, I command that from henceforth, he will be set among the stars and constellations. He, Perseus, the lovely Andromeda, the noble Pegasus, and even the vain Cassiopeia. Let the stars be named after them forever. As long as man shall walk the Earth and search the night sky in wonder, they will remember the courage of Perseus forever. Even if we, the gods, are abandoned or forgotten, the stars will never fade. Never. They will burn till the end of the time. 


As so many scientists are so eager to point out, stars do not burn forever. It's fairly well known that the stars we see on earth may have been dead for millennia but because they are so far away, their light still reaches us. So yeah, they won't "burn till the end of time" but their stories will last forever. That's what makes the constellations so exciting! The myths and stories people have for them and the astronomers and navigators that created and named them. It helps these stars that seem so far away to come alive. 


So what's the point of this ramble? Well, I'm writing a book. Close to finishing it actually. Pretty soon I'll be sending off some query letters to various literary agents. My book is about constellations that come alive and a young girl who is thrust into this world of astronomy and myth. 


If this at all sounds intriguing, by this one sentence synopsis, I do hope you follow this blog. It will document the process of my writing, revising and one day... publishing (crossing fingers). 


I'll wish upon Polaris, Sirius, Proxima Centauri, and Toli that one day this story will "never fade. Never."