Monday, September 15, 2008

Questions for you

I'm going to pose some questions that I would be enormously interested in your opinions. Before I begin let me say this: This can be a touchy subject for some. Religious beliefs vary from person to person and all replies to this post MUST be respectful of others. Anything I read that is considered rude or disrespectful WILL be deleted.

Okay on with it:
I've been doing some reading while preparing to rewrite Heaven's Torment (for the third time...) and I read things that made me go hmmm...

According to (some slants) I've read I have found that some believe that fallen angels can never be forgiven because they turned their backs on God. They denied Him so He will deny them for eternity.

BUT we do believe that no matter who asks God to forgive them of their sins they can be forgiven. Jeffery Dahmer pops into my head as he "found God" shortly before his death. We who are religious have been taught that God is Love and He has forgiven Dahmer if he was truly repentant.

If God can forgive someone as evil as Dahmer, why wouldn't He forgive angels who asks for it?

Delving in a little deeper, theoretically speaking, is fallen angels can be forgiven, if ANYONE who repents can receive God's forgiveness, if Satan were to repent and return to God, would he be forgiven?

I'm very curious as to what you all think. Remember all posts MUST show respect for the opinions of others.

Hugz
JJ

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Didja Miss Me?

It’s been so long since I’ve had a chance to get back in and do any updates. I’ve been busy in my other life and I’ve sorely neglected this one.

First and foremost, Heaven’s Torment was rejected—again…I’m wondering if it’s worth the stress and struggle to try and rewrite it again. I LOVE my demons but there’s just something about it that’s not clicking.

In order to force my muse into doing his part I tried a free type. This is where I empty my mind (stop that snickering!) open a blank file and just type whatever pops into my head. I turned on some music (As a side tracking thought, I found this AMAZING band! Nox Arcana—they ROCK!!!)

So turned on Nox Arcana, placed my fingers on the keys and suddenly my mind filled with images. Here’s the beginning:

Audra Atreyu passed between the rusted metal gates. One side hung askew from the decay. The monolithic mansion made of stone stood before her. It might have been glorious in its day but from years of neglect and abandonment; it was nothing less than a husk of its former self.

She climbed the crumbling stone steps to the battered and rotted wooden porch. The heavy oak door stood partially open as if to welcome her inside. She passed the barrier and scraped at the heavy cobwebs that brushed against her skin. Buried beneath the odor of mold was the distinct smell of death. She hated places like this. While they weren’t all mansions, they all held secrets clutched tightly as a child would hold their favorite toy.

At a rasping sound in the darkness, she froze mid-step and reached for the dagger in her waistband. She focused her attention to the location of the noise and through the darkness she spotted a rat as it raced across the floor to disappear into a hole in the wall. She shivered and relaxed slightly.

Her steps were padded as she searched the house for her target. This wasn’t how she enjoyed spending her nights. Damn rules. She couldn’t hunt during the day even though she know who her enemy.

Another sound drew her attention. A smile crept across her lips. There he was. The dagger didn’t make a sound as she slid it from the leather case and palmed it. The silver handle waved in perfect alignment with her hand. Fit like a glove.

Sounds pretty interesting, right? I’m not sure where, or IF, it’s going. But it was kind of nice to free associate again. I’ve been trying to stick with certain things and they just aren’t working.

Now to see if I can share any of the Nox Arcana music with you. I’ve checked YouTube and there isn’t any actual videos for their music. However, there are a couple that have plain artwork associated with them. So let’s see if I can get a couple loaded here.

The first is Transylvanian Overture


And next we have The Awakening


And finally Castle Dracula:


There are many more but I'll be content with those three--for now!

Have to run. See you all again as soon as I can.
Hugz
JJ