Nature – Joan Hall

Some Velvet Morning #WIP Wednesday

Published on September 28, 2022September 27, 2022 by Joan Hall32 Comments

Hey, readers. I haven’t written a WIP Wednesday post in a while, mainly because there was little to share. This week, I’m happy to report I’ve made progress.

Twelve of the thirteen short stories for my upcoming collection are written. All would have been done, but I didn’t like how I’d done the thirteenth story, so I all but scrapped what I’d written and started over. The words are flowing much better now.

Three stories have been edited and critiqued, and I’m working on the other ones now. As much as I wanted to publish this year, I’ve decided to wait until January. I didn’t want to rush through the edits. Not to mention there’s a lot of work to do in addition to writing and editing. Blog tour posts, promotional materials, and formatting just to name a few.

The book cover is done, and I’ll have a title and cover reveal post in a few weeks. Yes, it finally has another title other than A Book of Shorts. In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek:

In other writing news, I’m ready to begin the second book of my Legends of Madeira series. It’s been a long time in coming, but I would like to release Blood Red Dawn sometime in the first half of 2023. I’m also planning books three and four, and I might have an additional short story.

As many of you know, music often inspires my stories. While I already had the idea for Blood Red Dawn, the song “Some Velvet Morning” inspired the name of a character. I changed the spelling from Phaedra (as it is in the song) to Faydra, but she will be one of my historical characters.

Connor Hughes and Abbey Lane, minor characters in Cold Dark Night will take the lead in the upcoming novel. Somehow I think this song fits them. A character from House of Sorrow was named Lee Hazleton. I got that idea from the name of the singer/songwriter of “Some Velvet Morning.”

That wraps it up for now. In the meantime, I hope enjoy the video and the song.

December – The Cold Moon

Published on December 20, 2021December 11, 2021 by Joan Hall38 Comments

Hey, everyone. It’s hard to believe we’re at the twelfth and final post in a series on Native American names for full moons. If you’ve missed any of the others, here’s the list.

December Cold Moon — A December Full Moon

The December full moon is aptly named the Cold Moon. This is the month when winter fastens its grip and the nights become long and dark.

Interesting Facts

Other names for the December full moon include the Long Night Moon, the Little Spirit Moon, and Hoar Frost Moon.
The full moon was believed to make people go crazy. The word “lunatic” was used to describe a person who was considered mentally ill, dangerous, foolish, or unpredictable – conditions once attributed to lunacy. The word derives from the Latin word “lunaticus” meaning “moonstruck.”
Winter moons often seem the brighter. This is because the earth is closer to the sun during the winter months.
A ring around the moon is an indication rain will soon occur. This isn’t just weatherlore, but due to a reflection of light on ice crystals in thin wispy cirrus clouds.
The full moon is often thought of as an event of a full night’s duration, but this is misleading because the Moon seen from Earth is continuously becoming larger or smaller (though much too slowly to notice with the naked eye). Its absolute maximum size occurs at the moment when the expansion has stopped.
This year’s Cold Moon occurred Saturday, December 18.
The Winter Solstice is Tuesday, December 21.

Superstition

It is lucky to hold a moonstone in your mouth at the full moon; it will reveal the future.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this series of posts about the names of the moons. I certainly enjoyed writing them and hate to see this time come to an end. However, I have something new planned for 2022.

Do you have a favorite moon name or season? Please share in the comments. And now, I’ll leave you with a video.

November – The Beaver Moon

Published on November 15, 2021November 15, 2021 by Joan Hall33 Comments

Hey, everyone. We’re nearing the end of this series on the Native American names for full moons. If you missed the others, just click the following links.

The November full moon is aptly named the Beaver Moon. This is the time when beavers finish preparations for winter and retreat into their lodges.

Interesting Facts

Other names for the November moon are Deer Rutting Moon, Digging/Scratching Moon, Freezing Moon, Frost Moon, and Whitefish Moon.
It is sometimes claimed that surgeons used to refuse to operate during the full moon because of the increased risk of death to the patient through blood loss. A study carried out in Barcelona found a statistically significant correlation between the lunar phase and hospital admissions due to gastrointestinal bleeding.
Each Native American tribe had its own naming preferences. For some, the year contained four seasons, others counted five seasons per year. Some tribes defined twelve moons as a year, others counted thirteen full moons. Certain tribes that used twelve moons to define a year added an extra moon every few years to keep in sync with the seasons.
The full moon is often associated with temporal insomnia. In the past, the reason was obvious; people did not sleep well during the full moon due to the bright light it emitted. These days, however, with all the artificial lights around us, the full moon´s light can hardly be the cause of the sleep deprivation that many people still suffer from during this lunar phase.
This year’s Beaver Moon is Friday, November 19.
There will be a partial lunar eclipse this month. It is the longest lunar eclipse since February 18, 1440. The next time an eclipse of this length will occur will be February 8, 2669. For more details, click this link.

I’m in awe of how many unusual celestial events we’ve been privileged to see in our lifetimes–Halleys Comet in 1986 (although it was a bit disappointing), the Hale-Bopp Comet in the 1990s, a Super Blue Blood Moon in January 2018, and more.

Superstition

Ever wonder why people keep rabbit feet? It’s considered lucky, especially if the rabbit was killed in a cemetery by a cross-eyed person during the dark of the moon. (Is that not weird?)

What weird or strange superstitions have you heard about the moon? Please share in the comments.

October – The Hunter’s Moon

Published on October 18, 2021October 15, 2021 by Joan Hall45 Comments

Hey, everyone. We’re entering the last quarter of 2021. This is the tenth in a series of posts about the names of full moons. If you missed the others in this series, you can click the following links.

In years when the Harvest Moon doesn’t fall in October (see September’s Harvest Moon post for an explanation), this month’s moon is known as the Hunter’s Moon. October is the time when the game is fattened up for winter. Native Americans hunted and stored provisions for the winter months during October, hence the name.

Interesting Facts

Other names for the October moon include Moon of Falling Leaves and the Migrating Moon.
The full moon is often associated with a higher occurrence of strange things, but this belief is probably a misconception. People have this feeling because they pay better attention to unusual things during the full moon. In fact, strange things happen during the rest of the month too, but people usually don’t tie them to celestial events.
Some wild animals behave differently during a full moon. For example, lions usually hunt at night, but after a full moon, they’re more likely to hunt during the day, likely to make up for the tough going on a moonlit night.
This year’s Hunter’s Moon is Wednesday, October 20.

Superstition

Though nobody can be sure of when a baby will be born, some moon lore suggests that births are more likely to occur 7 days before through 7 days after a full moon. Some nurses and midwives claim the new moon is also an active time for births. According to folklore, babies born the day after the full moon enjoy success and endurance.

Were you born on a full moon? If you’re interested to know, click here to enter your date of birth. You can share in the comments. Despite my attraction to full moons, I was born during the last quarter (a waning moon) when it was in the constellation Sagittarius.

September – The Harvest Moon

Published on September 20, 2021July 11, 2021 by Joan Hall32 Comments

Hey, everyone. It’s time for the ninth in a series of posts about the names of full moons. If you missed the other posts of this series, you can click the following links.

This year’s September full moon is the Harvest Moon. I say this year because the Harvest Moon sometimes occurs in October. Want to know why? Read on.

Interesting Facts

The Harvest Moon is the name given to the full moon closest to the autumn equinox. Most years it falls in September, but every three years happens in October. When the Harvest Moon occurs in October, the September moon is usually known as the Corn Moon because it’s the time to harvest corn.
The full moon is the brightest object in the night sky. It has an apparent magnitude (the measure of a space object´s brightness as seen by an observer on Earth) of -12.74 compared with the sun’s magnitude of -26.74.
Folk-Rock singer Neil Young wrote and recorded a song titled “Harvest Moon.” If you’re interested in the video, click here.
The September moon is sometimes called “The Leaves Turning Moon.”
The Harvest Moon is today, September 20.
This year’s autumn equinox is September 22

Superstition

The full moon has been thought to cause insanity and even more famously, lycanthropy. One of the most popular beliefs was that a man or woman could turn into a werewolf if he or she, on a certain Wednesday or Friday, slept outside on a summer night with the full moon shining directly on his or her face.

Do you have a favorite song about the moon? Please share in the comments.