A little update with a few words on Naglfar

Last week, I went to Vernal, UT- located directly east of Salt Lake City- to pick up my daughter and grandson to bring back to Oregon.  While there, I had the opportunity to do a few events to promote The Zeke Proper Chronicles.  First, I had a table set up at a scholastic book fair at the Uintah County library, then, I had two interviews on two different radio stations.  After my radio interviews, I set up for a book signing at a quaint book store on Vernal's main street.  I have posted a few pictures of my events and will hopefully have a recording of my radio interviews up soon. 

 

 

 

 

The blog I have written for this week is also being featured on Katie Mettner's website.  A big thank you to Katie, who was a guest blogger for me a few weeks ago. 

 



Naglfar - The Ship of Death 

            In the beginning of The Serpent’s Ship - Book two in The Zeke Proper Chronicles - one of the heroes, Devon Proper, is startled by the sudden appearance of a ship, its prow carved in the form of a serpent that stares down at him from the mist and fog. His first impression is that it is real, a dragon come to life from Norse legend in the tiny harbor of Alder Cove. However, his mind is soon relieved to discover that its wooden eyes are lifeless; that its appearance is only a preface to the darkness that looms on the horizon.

            A common theme to Norse mythology - also a reoccurring motif in The Zeke Proper Chronicles - is the bleakness of the future, a future that promises the eventual destruction of Midgard and the gods that oversee it. For unlike the gods of Greek and Roman myth, the Norse gods are not immortal. Their demise is foretold in the coming of Ragnarok, a word that literally means “Destruction of the Powers”. The myths relate a myriad of occurrences that will take place both before and during the apocalyptic final battle between the gods and the giants. An event so far reaching that it will include all creation, in which virtually all life is destroyed and the nine worlds are submerged. One of those occurrences involves the appearance of Naglfar, a ship constructed out of the painfully extracted fingernails of dead men. In The Serpent’s Ship, I try to describe the vessel in what might be considered “an artist’s conception”:

            Reflected light caught Zeke’s attention, and he turned to look closer at the sides of the ship. Its hull glistened and an iridescent cascade of colors shimmered along its entire length. His first impression was haw beautiful it looked. The colors seemed to dance, their melody expressed like the gentle, lapping waves of the sea. Upon closer inspection, Zeke realized what the small, scale-like material was, and he reared back in horror and revulsion…the ship was built from the painfully extracted fingernails of the dead. The beautiful, glimmering shape of the hull was the product of that torture…he walked quickly, stepping lithely onto the deck, noting that the shimmer of the fingernails continued along the deck’s immense surface and even extended up the three tall masts that towered overhead.

 
            As Zeke’s exploration of the ship continues, he learns that the captain of the vessel is in fact Loki, its helmsman Hrym, and its crew the Frost Giants. Their eventual course is the plains of Vigrid, an immense area where the final battle will take place.

            Zeke and his little brother Devon meet various roadblocks and challenges amid their adventure. Nevertheless, they overcome and grow like any champion within the confines of the hero’s quest. The ship, Naglfar, is always on the horizon however, a glimmer of evil that threatens to destroy a completely indifferent world.

            Book one and book two of The Zeke Proper Chronicles can be found on Amazon Kindle and in paperback. Pick up your copies, begin winding your way through the streets of Alder Cove, and discover just how close a connection Zeke has with the Mist and the Norse gods.