Ravaged Blog Tour, Day 4: Behind the Scenes on "Equinox"

Hello, my lovelies! I hope you've been following along with our Ravaged blog tour and visiting all my fellow authors to learn more about their terrific stories!

Today on the blog tour, we're taking a look at my two tales, Equinox and The Wages of Sin.  It would probably be a bit masturbatory to review my own stories, though, so instead I bring you some "Special Features", for the fun of it!

First, let me give you a bit of a behind the scenes look at my dragon tale, Equinox.  This story was originally written for my best friend, and I dedicate its publication to her. 

Equinox tells the story of a dragoness in love with her druid master. Sarayana, something of a runt among dragons, can only be with her lover once a year, on the night of the vernal equinox: Ostara.

Though Equinox was born on my blog, Foreplay and Fangs, as part of a Valentine's Day request, I looked into the actual druidic observance of Ostara, and the rituals involved, as well as the importance of sex in magic.  To be sure of an authentic story, I wanted to be sure the druid and his dragon caught the devil in the details of their naughty little romp.

One of the sources I used to research, and the one that included the best overall summary of the holiday, was Witchvox.com (http://tinyurl.com/kt7o8).  Though this wasn't the only source I consulted, I've included it because it offers a great deal of information compiled in one spot. Ostara, considered by some to be the original Easter, signifies the return of the God (sometimes the Sun-God) to his virile youth.  This brings about his contract of sacred marriage with The Goddess (sometimes Oestre, the Lunar Goddess), similarly returned to her maidenhood.  It is the beginning of the yearly cycle and celebrates fertility and new growth.  In other words, it presented a perfect backdrop to a rite of transformation and consummation for Sara and Brennan, the two lovers.

Equinox follows the symbolic rites of Ostara: Brennan, an elder druid magi, draws continued youth from the ritual, as Sara, his dragoness, transforms into a maiden. Their ritual features traditional elements like the egg and the rabbit, sharing of wine and herbs, and a emblematic marriage ceremony before the more pleasurable sacraments of 'fertility' get underway.

Sex and sexuality are strongly tied to magic and druidic/pagan rituals.  A blog post by Rayne Hall (posted here as a guest blog: http://tinyurl.com/kx6mbfa) examines the connections and how to incorporate them into an erotic tale.  For Brennan and Sarayana, the sexual side of their holiday is always of paramount importance: it is the only night of the year they can be together, and so they do their very best to make the most of it.  This, of course, formed the true backbone of Equinox: druid and dragon, brought together to make up for a whole year's worth of longing and celibacy.  

There, of course, is the story's true magic.

This post is part of the Ravaged Blog Tour!  Remember to enter our giveaway for a chance to win one of seven copies of the book for free!