Donna Galanti - Where heart and hope meet adventure!

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Memory Quilts: My Keepsakes of History and Love

By Donna Galanti

With winter still hanging around, I love to keep cozy with quilts. And I have many!

After my mom passed away, I found five old steamer trunks filled with quilts. I now have 10 quilts from when my mom grew up.

Unfortunately, I got none of my mom’s love for sewing. But I did get a love for quilts. I finger them, knowing they are threaded with stories made from scraps of clothes that my family wore. They are history and love wrapped up in warmth. Quilts stay with us long after we say goodbye to the people connected to them.

My mom grew up in the Depression Era of the 1930s. She never wanted for anything though, she said. She was raised on a farm in Kentucky by her Pappy and Aunt Fanny. They grew and raised all they ever needed to live on. And sewed whatever they needed to wear. Aunt Fanny didn’t just use cloth for clothes. She would often fashion dresses and shirts from the burlap bags the grain came in.

My mom, Suneil (R), and her sister, Lorene (L)

When the clothes became worn Aunt Fanny made them into quilts. The very quilts my mother would dive under on cold winter nights after running upstairs to her room on the unheated second floor. The same quilts I have now on my beds.

I love knowing they were made by my great-Aunt who raised my mother. I love knowing I sleep under the clothes that my mother wore as a young girl growing up on a farm. Calico, denim, paisley, and stripes.

When my mother passed away I gave away many of her clothes, but the special ones I kept. The ones I remembered her wearing with flair.  She wore vibrant and fun clothes, just like her personality.

And I took them all and had quilts made.

In the center of one is a lovely patch of flowers from a spring outfit with the words, “Welcome each new day.” My mom did just that. I try to live up to her motto.

All of these quilts – from decades ago and today – now cover my bed and couches. Three generation of quilts warm my house from room to room. And that warms my heart.

Do you have quilts with special memories?

 

 

Free Spooky Stories + Halloween Goodies!

By Donna Galanti

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Halloween is almost here! Get your spooky on by visiting the Begonia House today for a character costume party.

The virtual party features original spooky shorts by children’s authors: Anika Denise, C. Lee McKenzie, and me! There will be mystery surprises, bobbing for books, goody bags from Trick or Reaters and plenty more! Check out a new story about Joshua and Charlie from the Lightning Road series and see if you can guess their next adventure. You could win a poster of the Lost Realm!

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I had more spooky fun last week at an amazing tramadol school visit where I presented to 300 students at Churchville Elementary.

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Between the breakfast with staff, the special welcome artwork, and the enthusiasm of the kids – I felt so appreciated and so lucky to be in this job!

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I mean look at this AMAZING wall they created right from my website banner here.

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One of the best moments? At the end when a young girl named Chloe ran up and wrapped her arms around my waist and burst out, “You are so inspiring!”

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HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE! 

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Remixing mythology to create your own story

By Donna Galanti

When I write, I return to the magical worlds of being a kid, where monsters and faeries roam the land. Through my stories I can become these characters, and have their powers. Greek mythology is a great place to find such inspiration!

As writers we don’t have to limit our imagination, It’s also okay to “borrow” from history. Many authors do it! In the Lightning Road series the Greek Olympians have lost their power and their descendants desperately want it back. In creating this world I took many parts of mythology and made them my own. Remixing culture can be fun, to use ideas from different cultures and history to create something new and uniquely yours. Here is a map of the Arrow Realm where beasts and bandits roam from my own imagination! 🙂arrowRealm9

And here are some of the people, places, and beasts in Joshua and the Arrow Realm that I re-mixed to create my own…

ARTEMIS IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY
: Goddess of the hunt, chastity, and the moon. She is the protector of nature and the hunt; both wild and tame animals are under her protection.

ARTEMIS IN THE LIGHTNING ROAD SERIES: Not a protector of the hunt. Not only does she hunt beasts, she hunts children as well.

Artemis excerpt:
“A tall woman strode toward our cell as the soldiers parted. Her head was covered in a crown of twisty thorns, every prickly point encrusted with blood-red jewels and tinged with gold. Her cropped brown hair framed high cheek bones in short curls, and narrowed eyebrows arched over large, brown eyes. Her nose and lips were thin like the rest of her, a face more handsome than pretty. She wore matching plum-colored velvet pants and a hooded tunic that fell to her knees with open slits on either side. A rough-made bracelet of polished braided wood encircled her left wrist. Her white shirt was flecked with gold threads, and billowy sleeves puffed out above her slender hands resting on a burnished metal belt hanging low across her hips. A dagger with an intricate handle dangled from her belt. Form-fitting black leather boots laced up her legs and one foot tapped the floor. The strangest thing about her was the black sunglasses she wore. They had round frames, and the lenses flickered alive with torchlight.”

artemis3KORAX IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY: Or Corax, means raven. Corax was also a scholar.

KORAX IN THE LIGHTNING ROAD SERIES: These are ravens but no ravens we know. They are monstrous beasts that can transport people and act as spies for Artemis.

Korax excerpt:
“As the swarm drew closer, they appeared as monstrous black ravens with a giant wingspan that filled the sky’s empty spaces. Their massive beaks opened and closed with gurgling croaks, but it was their eyes that terrified me. They burned a bright green, shooting us with a mean glare as they torpedoed down. Chanting words echoed across the dark land: light bringers, light bringers. Imagined words? The whirring of wing beats throbbed in my head as they grew closer, matching the beat of my own thudding heart.”

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ZEUS’S LIGHTNING BOLT IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY: A sign of power and of Zeus’s power to rule the sky.

ZEUS’S LIGHTNING BOLT IN THE LIGHTNING ROAD SERIES:  Zeus’s lightning bolt created the Lightning Gate, a portal between Earth and Nostos, the world where the descendants of the Olympians have relocated to as their home. Zeus still rules the sky through this gate as he steals people from Earth along the lightning road that connects both worlds.

Lightning Gate excerpt:
“The gate’s blaze spun a web of brilliance then dimmed and died out, leaving us in deep buyambienmed.com shadows under a rising orange moon. The massive portal filled the small meadow like a tarnished bronze statue that had weathered many storms. Its two Greek columns stood on round stone blocks, and another wider slab overhead connected them. Carved figures and animals moved through the gate’s ancient metal as if alive. The scent of blistered tin blew off the door to another world, still standing after 2,000 years. Built with lost Olympian magic, I’d once again traveled through it to rescue another friend.”
 

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THE CADMEAN BEAST IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY: Known as the Teumessian Fox or Cadmean Vixen, is a gigantic fox that preyed upon the children.

THE CADMEAN BEAST IN THE LIGHTNING ROAD SERIES: Giant beasts with red eyes and flame-throwing breath. Used as guard dogs to watch over captive children, and chase them down when necessary.

Cadmean Beast Excerpt:
“Their heads were even with the shoulders of the men and their legs were as big as a horse’s. Fur covered them in slicked back, shiny spikes. They sniffed the platform and panted, thick tongues pulsing out of their mouths, and saliva dripped down in big gobs. Muscles rippled up and down their bodies  like quivering arrows as their bushy tails swished back and forth. I flinched with each swish, my feet desperate to run, but they were frozen in place. The foxes jerked their heads up in unison, and it felt like spiders skittered up my spine. Red eyes glowed bright like lava and burned fiercely into mine, hungry for what I feared was me.”

 

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AGRIUS BEAST IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY: Is one of a pair of twins, half-man and half-bear. Agrius and his brother grew to immense strength and size and were feral creatures, attacking strangers to eat.

AGRIUS BEAST IN THE LIGHTNING ROAD SERIES: A giant black beast bearing a bear’s body and a wolf’s snout that is hunted by Artemis in the Wild Lands, but also known to befriend some people.

Agrius Beast Excerpt:
“Luck seemed to be all we carried for the moment. I jumped on the back of the creature behind Ash, sinking into its thick fur. She urged Charlie on who stood frozen, mesmerized by the beast’s boulder-sized, shaggy head. Its pointed ears and snout twitched as it trembled, eager to be on the run.”

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CRETAN BEAST IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY: Known as the Cretan Bull, it was the bull Pasiphaë fell in love with, giving birth to the Minotaur. The Cretan Bull was feared and eventually captured and sacrificed.

CRETAN BEAST IN THE LIGHTNING ROAD SERIES: Half lion, half bull. It’s held captive in the Wild Lands and hunted by Artemis.cretan

Cretan Beast Excerpt:
“I skidded to a stop, riding wet leaves. Charlie’s eyes blinked with surprise as I shoved him aside and turned to face the unleashed creature. It flew over my head—an exploding mountain of fur and legs and tail—and slammed onto the ground. It turned to face me, panting. Pacing back and forth, its massive paws glinted with curved nails as it smashed the mud. Steam bellowed from its giant nostrils and horns protruded from a head covered in a shaggy brown mane. Tinted burnt orange, the beast raged part lion, part bull. I backed away from the monster, hauling Charlie with me.”

I love to write about monstrous people and beasts. I get to face my own fears by writing about them.  I’ve always loved Greek mythology which has lots of monstrous creatures in it.  And sometimes the monsters we fear are not the ones we should be afraid of – it’s the ones who don’t appear monstrous that can be the most evil.

Release Day! Joshua and the Arrow Realm is Here!

By Donna Galanti

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Today is the day! Get out your party horns! Joshua and the Arrow Realm, book 2 in the Lightning Road series, releases. Grab a copy here. Toot toot! 🙂 Thanks to all of my Thunderclap supporters who helped me spread word of the book and achieve over 1,000,000 reach through social media!

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ABOUT JOSHUA AND THE ARROW REALM:

Joshua never thought he’d return to the world of Nostos but is soon called to the Arrow Realm to free his imprisoned friend, King Apollo, kidnapped as a power pawn in Queen Artemis’s quest to conquer every realm. With his loyalties divided between our world and theirs, Joshua wonders whether he alone can restore magic to the twelve powerless Olympian heirs and save all those enslaved. But when he finds himself abandoned in his quest, he fears he cannot only save those imprisoned—but himself as well.

13873191_10210201746548365_4185314844364314676_nGet a signed copy of Joshua and the Arrow Realm at these upcoming events:

Doylestown Bookshop, Doylestown, PA, 9/17, 3pm
The Book House, Albany, NY, 9/30, 7pm
River Reads 40+ Multi-Author Event, Stockton, NJ, 10/23, 10-4pm

DGalanti_JATLR_eCover_900x1350You can still grab book one, Joshua and the Lightning Road, for just $.99cents on e-Book.

People have asked me “What was the inspiration behind Joshua and the Arrow Realm?”
I knew I wanted to further test Joshua, the main character of the series, and have him grow in his journey. And I knew then I would have to throw him into some dastardly situations! Heh heh heh 🙂 .

With the story set in the Arrow Realm ruled by Queen Artemis (Greek goddess of the hunt), I wanted a great hunt to be part of the story. From this, grew an entirely new subculture of the Wild Childs who live in trees to escape the hunt. Many ideas for this woodland came on walks and I spent many hours audio recording scenes in the woods – about scenes in the woods!

As a child, fantasy was my reality. I read fantasy and also created fantasy worlds living out my favorite books so it’s no surprise that I write fantasy! From my first story at ten about Dodo birds, wizards, and a flying ship to Joshua and the Arrow Realm, fantasy has always claimed me. Growing up on a mountain as an only child, I spent much of my time roaming the woods with my notebook in hand and my trusty dogs by my side, putting stories on the page in hidden glens and the nooks of trees. My love of woods and fantasy – as a child and today – fueled the thicket world of Joshua and the Arrow Realm, where Joshua must survive the hunt!

Me and my dog, Windsor, who roamed the woods with me when he grew up …

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In Joshua and the Arrow Realm I created a timberland world from my love of the woods. This world is populated with the Wild Lands (and the Wild Childs that live there in tree houses), the Grand Tree, and the Black Heart Tree.

Here are the Wild Childs, including Ash, who befriend Joshua in the story …

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“Ash motioned us to leave with her when they were all gone, and we stepped outside onto the tree house platform. Purple night deepened and long shadows softened the craggy world. We stood on a plank road with roped netting rail that zigzagged from house to house and floated under the forest’s canopy in a sea of darkness. Green buy valium lights glowed soft through lopsided windows, and branch shadows wrapped the tiny shacks in prickly fingers. Leaves battered the houses in the sharp wind as the Wild Childs skulked amongst the trees.”

The Wild Child Tree Houses …TreeHouse2Here is the Grand Tree, a most majestic oak tree and friend to children …

“Clinging to the sides of the Grand Tree’s hand, I peered down. The massive Oak uprooted itself, one root at a time, and strode through the woods on knobby feet. The forest swayed back to let it pass as it forged a trail, twisting wooden fingers around its fellow trunk mates, pushing itself onward. I held on, amazed to be alive.”

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And here is the Black Heart Tree … a giant crooked evil tree you don’t want to meet!

“The worst horror faced us. The Black Heart Tree. Its trunk convulsed in a serpentine mass that slithered through it with each smack of its gargantuan limbs at the Grand Tree. The molded faces of children screamed along its hardened skin in a nightmare, their bones broken and crushed in the bark: a foot poised to kick, a hand fisted, fingers begging to live. With each punch the monster tree wielded, the dead writhed and moaned in its thrashing wood. A ghoulish vision that would haunt me forever.”

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Of course, the true inspiration behind the Lightning Road series is the real Joshua and my son, my favorite person in the world. His adventurous imagination fuels my own and his faith in my storytelling never wavers. Here we are in a tree house at one of our favorite places, the Mohonk Mountain House.

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I also want to thank my husband, Michael, for being the greatest provider of alone time there is! Thanks as well to my publisher Month9Books and for my amazing editor, Tara Creel. She guided me in enriching these stories (along with the pesky grammar stuff!).  Special gratitude goes to my first reader and dear friend, Lisa Green. She continues to shine her enthusiasm and light on Joshua’s adventures. Her insight drove me to breathe fiery life into this story and these characters. Here we are on a Halloween adventure at Terror Behind the Walls at Eastern State Penitentiary!

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I appreciate all of you who have helped spread the word of Joshua and the Arrow Realm. The support of so many means so much to me! Thanks so much to the talented Al Sirois who designed the map and characters of the Arrow Realm and the Lost Realm in Joshua and the Lightning Road.arrowRealm9

Check out all the places along the Joshua and the Arrow Realm blog tour put on by Chapter by Chapter and my publisher, Month9Books.

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Week 1:

August 29, 2016 – The book slayer – Review

August 29, 2016 – BooksChatter – Interview

August 30, 2016 – Rockin’ Book Reviews – Guest Post

August 31, 2016 – JeanBookNerd – Guest Post

August 31, 2016 – Books,Dreams,Life – Review

September 1, 2016 – The Silver Dagger Scriptorium – Guest Post

September 2, 2016 – lynneawilson – Review

September 2, 2016 – Kayl’s Krazy Obsession – Guest Post

Week 2:

September 5, 2016 – Lisa’s Loves(Books of Course) – Guest Post

September 5, 2016 – Lori’s Little house of Reviews – Review

September 6, 2016 – The Avid Reader – Guest Post

September 7, 2016 – BookHounds YA – Interview

September 8, 2016 – Chapter by Chapter – Interview

September 9, 2016 – Seraphina Reads – Guest Post

WATCH THE JOSHUA AND THE ARROW REALM BOOK TRAILER

Remembering Grandpa’s

By Donna Galanti

Pop Pop.

My grandpa. I didn’t see him often. He lived with my grandma in a rural part of Kentucky when I was growing up in New York. A small place that backed up to woods. His name was Henry Ezekiel Beckley but they called him Zeke.

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Me and my Pop Pop & Grandma

He had this rough, twangy accent that rolled over you like crackling peanut brittle. We’d play horseshoes out back and drink sweet tea. Sometimes we’d lumber down to the pond on an old pony to go turtle fishing. He even had a collection of shiny turtle shells.

I never ventured outside there on a summer night. I lay in my bed listening to a ghostly hound baying under the moon. Pop Pop told me it was the devil dog that roamed the woods at night. “Stay inside and he won’t get you”, Pop Pop said. I believed him.

He would take me with him to the Dead Horse Holler Tavern some times. An old place with peeling white paint. It looked like bird doo doo had been slapped on it over time. I’d get a Coke in a glass bottle and press it to my face, enjoying its coldness in the muggy Kentucky summer.

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The Dead Horse Holler Tavern

Pop Pop. Grandpa. Grandfather. Grandad.
My mom called hers Pappy.
My son calls one Pop Pop and the other Grampy.

In my book, Joshua and the Lightning Road, Joshua calls his grandpa Bo Chez – for the big cheese. He’s a big barrel of a man with a booming voice and magic in his hands. He’s also a big force in Joshua’s life and his unexpected journey.

Do you have a Pop Pop and fond memories? What was he like?

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