Full Moon Blog Tour
Welcome to the first day of the Full Moon Blog Tour hosted by Broad Universe. Join us as numerous authors of Fantasy, Paranormal, Sci-Fi, Horror, and many more, bring you tales under the light of the moon.
Our new novel THE GEOMANCER will be released next week, continuing the adventures of Adele and Gareth in the world of Vampire Empire.
One doesn’t always associate the moon with vampires. Werewolves sure, but not vampires. They seem controlled more by the sun rather than its nightly counterpart.
Except perhaps through a tale of their possible origin. It comes from the Greeks in a document called the Scriptures of Delphi. The tales within are folklore, passed down from generation to generation. They are often cobbled together from different traditions, and therefore have contradictions within them. One such tale describes the creation of the first vampire.
SELENE, MOTHER OF ALL VAMPIRES
The goddess of moonlight, Selene, was the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, as well as the sister of both Helios, the personification of the sun, and Eos, goddess of the dawn.
She had humble beginnings as a human servant in the temple of Apollo, the sun god. It was in that temple that she met a young man named Ambrogio. He was a traveller from Italy who had come to have his fortune told by the Oracle of Delphi. What Ambrogio got was a cryptic prophecy: “The curse. The moon. The blood will run.”
Selene and Ambrogio fell in love. Unfortunately for the couple, Selene also caught the eye of Apollo. Ambrogio professed his love for Selene and asked her to marry him. When she said yes, it brought down the wrath of the sun god. For the audacity to steal away one of his handmaidens, Apollo cursed Ambrogio so he was never to see sunlight again.
Ambrogio was forced to hide in a dark cave where Hades noticed him and offered a deal. The god of the underworld told Ambrogio to steal the silver bow of Artemis in return for release from the curse. Artemis was the goddess of the hunt so this wasn’t going to be easy. A desperate Ambrogio resorted to making a sacrifice to her.
Every day he sacrificed an animal, a swan to be exact. He would drain its blood to writer a letter to Selene, and then he offered Artemis the dead swan. Eventually, Ambrogio attempted to steal the bow from her, but failed. As punishment for his indiscretion, she cursed him so that his skin would burn if he touched silver again.
The goddess of the hunt took pity on the poor lovelorn Ambrogio. She gave him the gifts of the hunt, speed and strength, as well as fangs so he could draw blood and continue to write poetry. Artemis also gave Ambrogio the gift of immortality, but he must never enjoy the pleasures of the love of his life, Selene. Ambrogio appeared to agree, but secretly arranged to slip away with Selene on a ship bound for Ephesus. To avoid the sunlight during the voyage, Ambrogio hid in a coffin until they made landfall.
The two lovers lived out their lives in Ephesus with Selene growing old while the immortal Ambrogio did not. They never had children. One of the stipulations by the virgin goddess Artemis which Ambrogio accepted was that Selene must remain a virgin. She was the gods’ handmaiden after all.
With Selene on her deathbed, Artemis again took pity on them and allowed Ambrogio to touch his love, but only to drink her blood. This would give their combined blood the ability to create “children”. And so the myth of the vampire being able to turn humans by drinking their blood was born.
For Selene’s loyalty, Artemis made her the goddess of moonlight. In this way she could always touch her beloved family.
So the moon may have a small bearing on vampires after all.
And now for the giveaway!
You can enter for the main prize each day for the entire tour. Prizes are:
First prize: a $75 gift voucher on your choice of Amazon, Nook, Kobo or iTunes, plus 25 ebooks.
Second prize: a $50 voucher and 15 ebooks
Third prize: a $25 voucher and 10 ebooks.
As well, many of the blog stops will be offering prizes of their own.
So mark the dates on your calendar, tell your friends and get ready to meet some new authors. Please visit some of the other blog tour participants for more chances to win.
(Submissions start 25th October 2015 and end 7th November, with prizes being announced as soon as possible after that)
Swan art by Vivian M. Cronin
