Take Home Tuesday Hosted by Jessica Andersen

UPDATE: The winner of signed copy of DEMONKEEPERS by Jessica Andersen is KID LIT WRITER. Congrats! Please email your physical addy to contests(AT)knightagency.net

Burn, baby, burn!

One of the buzz phrases for writers of urban fantasies and paranormals is (say it with me!) world building. The stories center on the characters, but they gain added cool points from the details of world—not just the physical setting, but the cultures, myths, rituals, and symbols of the world’s inhabitants.

In ‘our’ world, as we step into spring in the northern hemisphere (yay!), there’s no shortage of rituals and symbols to draw inspiration from this time of year.

Here in New England, we plant the first seedlings of the year in our gardens, do the St. Patrick’s Day thing, slog through mud, and balance eggs on end at the moment of the vernal equinox (if you haven’t tried that one yet, I recommend it for ten minutes of silliness!).

The ‘spring break’ rituals of the doomsday 2012-fighting warriors in my stories are based on those of the ancient Maya, who leaned more in the direction of blood sacrifice and serpent gods.

(See how the serpentine shadow on the staircase leads to the snake’s head carving at the base? This shadow undulates throughout the day, making the giant serpent come alive—but only during the equinox.)

But they’re not alone in having somewhat destructive rituals to usher in spring. From Annapolis Maryland comes one of my favorite spring celebrations: the burning of the socks.

In this ritual, the local boat owners and dockworkers toss their socks into a bonfire to symbolize the end of winter and the beginning of boating season, and then don’t wear socks again until after the season is over.

Some say this ceremony comes from older maritime traditions, when crew members would have worn the same pair of socks all winter, and captains would enforce a burn-and-replace policy to cut down on the funk. Others claim it came straight from an incident with a sick-of-winter Annapolis dockworker, an empty paint can, a pair of socks and some kerosene in the 80s.

No matter where it comes from, I can totally get behind this. Because, you see, I have this wool hat. Now, it’s not a bad wool hat—it’s soft and non-itchy, and it’s a very nice color blue that goes with my eyes. But I wore it pretty much All. Winter. And I’m ready for it to be spring now.

So, to celebrate new beginnings, warmer weather, greener grass, and the impending release of DEMONKEEPERS on April 6, I’m cyber-burning my blue wool hat … and I’m asking you: What are you going to add to the Knight Agency’s first annual Burning Of The ____?

All comments are entered to win a signed copy of DEMONKEEPERS today on Take Home Tuesday! The winner will be announced tomorrow afternoon.

For more information on DEMONKEEPERS and the other Nightkeeper novels, please check out www.JessicaAndersen.com.

To get a signed copy of DEMONKEEPERS delivered to you the first week of its release, please visit http://store.radcliffbookstore.com and click on ‘virtual signing.’ As a bonus, you can also order a signed copy of JR Ward's LOVER MINE, which will be out later in April!