Research |
Consider Yourself Warned. A great thing about writing fiction is, my research doesn't have to be about proof. It only has to be about possibilities. That's why they call it Fiction. I'm not vouching for the accuracy of all the sources listed here. I'm only providing them as points of interest which offer great theories, not necessarily great truths. Read them and decide for yourself. Also please be aware that, like Maggi Sanger, I'm of an academic bent. This means that I like to do a lot of research. Don't think that to write a book, you need to read quite this much! But as long as I'm strange that way, here's an annotated bibliography of books which I've used in researching Grails, Goddesses, and other repeated elements from the Grailkeeper series. GODDESS BOOKS: Alban, Gillian M.E. MELUSINE THE SERPENT GODDESS IN A.S. BYATT'S POSSESSION AND IN MYTHOLOGY. 2003. (Note: I've been fascinated with Melusine since I researched a still-unpublished historical romance about the Lusignans, back in the 1980s. Writing A.K.A. Goddess gave me the excuse to buy several of the few academic sources about the Melusine legend). Brockway, Laurie Sue. A GODDESS IS A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND: A Divine Guide to finding Love, Success, and Happiness. 2002. (Note: Very up-to-date feel; good overview of the different goddesses and their particular abilities). Carlson, Kathie. LIFE'S DAUGHTER/DEATH'S BRIDE: Inner Transformations through the Goddess Demeter/Persephone, 1997. Eisler, Riane. THE CHALICE AND THE BLADE: Our History, Our Future, 1988 (Note: LOVE this one. Love it love it love it. It's a classic on the topic). Estes, Clarissa Pinkola PhD. WOMEN WHO RUN WITH WOLVES: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype. 1997. (Note: I think it was while listening to this bestseller on tape, during my commute, that I realized my heroine, Maggi, needed to be a Comparative Mythology professor). Farrar, Janet & Stewart. THE WITCHES' GODDESS. 1987. (Note: Good, comprehensive list of goddesses). Faulkner, Mary. THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO WOMEN'S SPIRITUALITY. 2002. (Note: A perfect research bookit gives a comprehensive and balanced overview of both the modern movement and the theories of our goddess past). Goodison, Lucy and Christine Morris. ANCIENT GODDESSES. 1998. (Note: Great pictures). Husain, Shahrukh. THE GODDESS: Creation, Fertility, and Abundance, the Sovereignty of Woman, Myths and Archetypes. 1997. (Note: Nice overview, and some truly beautiful color pictures). Maddox, Donald and Sara Sturn-Maddox, editors. MELUSINE OF LUSIGNAN: Founding Fiction in Late Medieval France. 1996. (Note: Another excellent book specific to Melusine). Matthews, Caitlin. KING ARTHUR AND THE GODDESS OF THE LAND: The Divine Feminine in the Mabinogion. 2002. Matthews, Caitlin & John. LADIES OF THE LAKE. (Note: The Matthews' books provide an intriguing Arthurian take on both goddesses & grails) Ryan, M. J., Patrice Wynne & Ken Wilber. THE FABRIC OF THE FUTURE: Women Visionaries of Today Illuminate the Path to Tomorrow. 2000. (I listened to this one on tape, during my daily commute, and very much enjoyed the variety of essays on feminine empowerment). Starbird, Margaret. THE WOMAN WITH THE ALABASTER JAR: Mary Magdalen and the Holy Grail. 1993. (An interesting theory, but DaVinci Code already covered it thoroughly, so I'm hanging back!) Stone, Merlin. ANCIENT MIRRORS OF WOMANHOOD: Our Goddess and Heroine Heritage, vol. II. 1979 Stone, Merlin. WHEN GOD WAS A WOMAN: The story of the most ancient of religions, the regligion of the Goddess, and the role this ancient worship played in Judeo-Christian attitudes toward women, 1976. (Note: My first introduction to the topic of an ancient goddess culture.) Von Zweck, Dina and Jaye Smith. VENUS UNBOUND: A Guide to Actualizing the Power of Being Female.1989. Weigle, Marta. SPIDERS & SPINSTERS: Women and Mythology. 1982. WOMEN AND SPIRITUALITY: a 3-video set from Wellspring Media, including "Goddess Remembered," "The Burning Times," and "Full Circle." (Note: An excellent resource for the topic of goddess worship through the ages). HOLY GRAIL BOOKS: Baigent, Michael; Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln. HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAIL. 1982. (This is the definitive work on the topic.) Baigent, Michael; Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln. THE MESSIANIC LEGACY. 1989. (Sequel to Holy Blood, Holy Grail) Bradley, Michael with Deanna Theilmann-Bean. HOLY GRAIL ACROSS THE ATLANTIC: The Secret History of Canadian Discovery and Exploration. 1988. Burstein, Dan. SECRETS OF THE CODE: The Unauthorized Guide to the Mysteries Behind the DaVinci Code. 2004. (Note: Dan Brown's excellent DaVinci Code came out while I was finishing A.K.A. Goddess. Of course I was disappointed to see someone else do a book with similar elements to mine, before mineand to do it so well! But one benefit to its success and publicity has been that its subject matter is becoming increasingly easy to research.) Cox, Simon. CRACKING THE DAVINCI CODE: The Unauthorized Guide to th Facts Behind Dan Brown's Bestselling Novel. 2004. (See note for Burstein). Gardner, Laurence. BLOODLINE OF THE HOLY GRAIL: The Hidden Lineage of Jesus Revealed. 1996. (Intriguing theories similar to those in Holy Blood, Holy Grail.) Gardner, Laurence. REALM OF THE RING LORDS: The Myth and Magic of the Grail Quest. 2000. (From the same author as "Bloodline of the Holy Grail," this brings it more current, and even has a section on Melusine!) Godwin, Malcolm. THE HOLY GRAIL: ITS ORIGINS, SECRETS AND MEANING REVEALED. 1998. (This is a Barnes & Noble book, with great pictures, and makes a nice overview for the three different histories of the Holy Grailthe Celtic background, the early Christian background, and the Parzival legend from Germany.) Goodrich, Norma Lorre. THE HOLY GRAIL. 1992. Graves, Robert. THE WHITE GODDESS: A Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth. 1948. Matthews, John. HEALING THE WOUNDED KING: Soul Work and the Quest for the Grail. 1997 Matthews, John. KING ARTHUR AND THE GRAIL QUEST: Myth and Vision from Celtic Times to the Present. 1995. Marrs, Jim. RULE BY SECRECY: The Hidden History That Connects the Trilateral Commission, the Freemasons, and the Great Pyramids. 2000. (This is the book that, in some ways, started it all for me; whether you believe them or discount them, the theories are fascinating. It pointed me to many of the other Grail research sources here. It starts with the current power base and traces it back all the to the ancient Sumerians). Sinclair, Andrew. THE DISCOVERY OF THE GRAIL. 1998. Weston, Jessie L. THE QUEST OF THE HOLY GRAIL. 2001 |
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