Point of View
October 27, 2022
Dia de los Muertos Special
October 31, 2022
Are the dead ever really dead?
It’s a question that Alice poses in a letter from Shadow of the Son. Halloween has many roots in spiritual and mysterious traditions. Day of the Dead also has rituals that invite our ancestors to come visit with us again. It’s a time of the year where the dead have a place to speak.
In commemoration of this, we have re-released our ebooks for the Eye of the Moon series (Eye of the Moon and Shadow of the Son) with some special content and on sale for 99 cents on Amazon, from today to November 2nd.
If you already own the eBooks and want to enjoy their latest version, you can follow a few steps to sync your Kindle device and download the eBooks. We added supplemental character descriptions (as a “map”) at the front and some bonus material at the end.
4 Comments
Happy Halloween, Ivan! Thanks for the updated content and for your observations on the season. It really is a time of year when the dead have a chance to speak, and they do so in fascinating and unexpected ways.
In my own observations, I’ve noticed that costume choices have the potential to reveal a great deal about an individual’s subconscious, as well as the collective unconscious that all humans share. These aspects of our minds have been molded, not only by our personal experiences, but by all of human history, which was likewise shaped by every person who ever lived and died. We are all connected. Given this fact, it seems apparent that the dead make their presence known through the archetypes, characters, and mythical creatures we masquerade as on days like Halloween.
In my life, I’ve dressed as a ballerina, an Egyptian queen, a medieval princess, and twice in my early 20s, as a flapper. Is a story revealed in those choices, and if so, whose is it? It’s a spooky thought to ponder!
Hi Alicia,
Thank you for commenting. The idea of archetypes and where they came from is also an interesting topic.
I wrote a couple of blogs about Halloween over the years. Here is the link to the second which also references the first. If you haven’t seen them, they might be of interest. (See: https://ivanobolensky.com/halloween-revisited/). Where our choices come from regarding such things is a mystery. I’m mid writing my third novel in the ‘Eye of the Moon’ series, and it takes up this theme in part, along with a great deal more. Cheers, Ivan
Hello again, Ivan,
Though I rarely comment, I enjoy your blog, and I read everything you post. It had been a while since I read your Halloween blogs, so thank you for reminding me about them. They were thought-provoking & well-researched, as usual.
The ancient association with apples is especially interesting, as even now they represent knowledge, immortality, magic, and temptation, ideas that are on obvious display every Halloween. Do you ever wonder where the root of the proverbial apple tree truly lies? As Genesis suggests, it must go all the way back to the beginning.
Now that I know you’re deep into writing the third novel, I will comment even less so that you don’t have to waste time replying to me. I have a feeling this third installment will be my favorite so far! Take care. ?
Hi Alicia,
Thank you for your thoughtful comment. Don’t worry about commenting. Feel free to do so. It isn’t a waste of time, not at all. I have a feeling the third one will be darn good.
Cheers, Ivan