AUTHOR BIO: Natasha Larry resides in Huntsville, Alabama with her daughter and fiancé. She graduated from Tusculum College with a B.A. in History and is currently working on getting her certificate in education. Apart from writing, she is a self-proclaimed comic book nerd and urban fantasy junkie. Her poetry and short fiction has appeared in publications such as Writing Edge magazine and Escaping Elsewhere. Darwin’s Children is her first work of novel length fiction.
In Brightest Day
A Tribute to Hal Jordan
The question I’m most often asked is what inspired my writing. As such, I’d like to spend a little time talking about my muses, rather than about my own writing.
Despite the fact that Darwin’s Children rings of X-men lore, my writing is actually more inspired by the DC comic book universe than Marvel. Don’t get me wrong, I love Stan ‘the Man’ Lee but Marvel’s superheroes don’t have the same iconic appeal as DC’s.
Hulk smash!... but he isn’t a symbol.
Superheroes should become more than man… they are supposed to be ideas. To be the change they wanted to see in the world.
No one defines this iconic transcendence more than Hal Jordan-the first Earthling to serve in the galactic brotherhood of protectors, the Green Lantern Corps. Before I prattle on about Hal, I’d like to discuss the creation of the universe, superhero bling, and the birth of fear.
In the beginning a powerful group of Guardians watched the galaxy explode in a sea of light. Figuring it needed protecting, they decided to set up the headquarters of their rule in the very center of the galaxy on the planet of Oa-sector 0.
It was here that the central power battery was created, at which time, at reservoir of green willpower, fueled by every sentient being in the universe, was stored. The Guardians decided that green was the color of courage, and thus the most important part of being a Green Lantern, a member of the corps they set up and charged with the protection of the galaxy.
This emotional energy was then transferred to a personal lantern for each of the members of the corps to carry with him/her/it that would charge each member’s power ring. These rings had to be charged every 24 hours. No matter where one of these galactic peacekeepers were, they could summon the lantern to charge the ring.
The ring allows the Green Lantern to do anything…
Anything he can imagine, and the stronger his will, the more powerful the Lantern. The beauty was that in order to put on the ring, the lantern had to be chosen by the galaxy … and to charge it, one had to swear one of the most famous oaths in comic history:
In brightest day
In blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight
Let those who worship Evil’s might
Beware my power… Green Lantern’s Light.
In Blackest Night
Jordan certainly had large shoes to fill when he died, making Hal the first human in the Corps history.
Before Hal had to bust his ass making nice with a bunch of sentient beings, the Guardians of the universe made a huge decision.
In the DC Universe, green is the color of courage. For the longest time it was accepted by every member of the Green Lantern Corps, that the one thing they had a natural weakness to was the color yellow.
Yellow is the color of fear, and fear is the purest form of evil. The Guardians made the decision to trap the color yellow because it could not be controlled.
Sinestro, a Green Lantern that was considered a master of the ring, and thus the will, became privy to this fact. He found the central power battery and forged yellow power rings to prove that fear was stronger than will.
Well, to make a very long story short the Guardians forced Sinestro into exile. Sinestro was finally able to free the space parasite known as Parallax.
In the crappy movie Hal Jordan won out against Parallax, but in reality what happened is the single coolest thing in comic history. It is so impressive that it is worth quoting at length.
Maddened by the grief over the destruction of Coast City, Hal destroyed both blue and green, undoing the Guardians and their core in order to acquire the energy necessary to make things right. In that moment, Hal Jordan made himself a vessel for the power of fear. At long last, fear had a name… Parallax.”
Now, it might seem pretty crappy to undo the entire Green Lantern Corps and the Guardians of the Universe, but having the will to do it is just damn impressive. So, I say…. Hail Hal Jordan! Oh, and he’s pretty hot too. ;)
(Naj's Note: I love Hal Jordan! And I was surprised and grateful to have this on my blog. Thanks for stopping by Natasha! Hal Jordan is hot too. :D But not in the picture above. He looks kind of creepy up there. :D)
Excerpt and Blurb from Unnatural Law
Seventeen-year-old Jaycie Lerner’s psychokinetic power surge is over, and her astounding powers are under control for the time being – sort of. As she struggles to maintain her humanity in the face of the awesome terror and responsibility of her abilities, she also yearns for the chance at a normal life – and a relationship with Matt Carter, the best friend she had to leave behind. But Matt’s got a few tricks up his sleeve, and he’s not about to give up on his feelings for Jaycie. As Jaycie and her family grapple with the day-to-day routine of trying to keep their world together, Jaycie’s mother figure, Allison Young, endures a personal crisis of her own. The superhuman blonde possesses the physical equivalent of Jaycie’s awesome psychic power. So evolved, at ninety-two she still looks twenty. But what good is extended life when everyone else around her is so fragile? With no one to share her unusual life, she’s a uniquely lonely woman yearning for the romantic love she sees all around her. But in a dream she gets her wish – and it quickly turns to a nightmare for everyone else in her life. The memory of a rose is all she can hold onto in the storm of obsession that nearly sweeps her away. Things quickly turn deadly for the vampires, but the Dey-Vah Guard fairies refuse to acknowledge there’s an imbalance in the nature they protect. As the danger gets ever closer to Jaycie and her family, the race is on to find answers before a secret plot can destroy them all.
Prologue
Haylee sat with her best friend and watched the four most powerful supernatural beings in the world approach Mason and John. Lucy’s face glowed under the dull street lamp, her delicate fairy features savage and unforgiving. Haylee couldn’t see all the others, but she knew their unnatural and extraordinarily powerful enemies surrounded them on all sides, aiming weapons soaked in their own blood. I guess being attacked by a bunch of dead guys didn’t help our case, she thought to herself bitterly.“What is Allison Young’s decision?” a male voice boomed suddenly. Haylee resisted the urge to look around, knowing Allison was somewhere hidden from their view, fighting with every inch of her strength to protect him. All of this because of love. To defend a relationship that
threatened to halt evolution in its tracks. Haylee heard Mason tell Landon of the Inner Circle that Allison was on her way. She knew he was stalling in the vain hope this would not come to a fight. She thought of all the supernatural creatures that could kill her –a vampire or even a vampire slayer – and grew angry at the idea that a fairy might end her life tonight. She could feel the fire from Jaycie itching to break loose. Hopefully Mason could get through to the Inner
Circle and make them all see the truth. It was a futile hope. Suddenly the scene in Big Spring Park changed right before Haylee’s eyes. Allison was loose. The Second Tier screamed for her blood. Chaos erupted all around them, and Haylee couldn’t focus her eyes on any one thing. Her family was surrounded by anarchy. They might be dying. The last image Haylee saw before that final flash of red was Lucy grabbing Jaycie by the neck. If no one got there fast enough, the being created to protect her was going to snap her neck.
Seventeen-year-old Jaycie Lerner’s psychokinetic power surge is over, and her astounding powers are under control for the time being – sort of. As she struggles to maintain her humanity in the face of the awesome terror and responsibility of her abilities, she also yearns for the chance at a normal life – and a relationship with Matt Carter, the best friend she had to leave behind. But Matt’s got a few tricks up his sleeve, and he’s not about to give up on his feelings for Jaycie. As Jaycie and her family grapple with the day-to-day routine of trying to keep their world together, Jaycie’s mother figure, Allison Young, endures a personal crisis of her own. The superhuman blonde possesses the physical equivalent of Jaycie’s awesome psychic power. So evolved, at ninety-two she still looks twenty. But what good is extended life when everyone else around her is so fragile? With no one to share her unusual life, she’s a uniquely lonely woman yearning for the romantic love she sees all around her. But in a dream she gets her wish – and it quickly turns to a nightmare for everyone else in her life. The memory of a rose is all she can hold onto in the storm of obsession that nearly sweeps her away. Things quickly turn deadly for the vampires, but the Dey-Vah Guard fairies refuse to acknowledge there’s an imbalance in the nature they protect. As the danger gets ever closer to Jaycie and her family, the race is on to find answers before a secret plot can destroy them all.
Prologue
Haylee sat with her best friend and watched the four most powerful supernatural beings in the world approach Mason and John. Lucy’s face glowed under the dull street lamp, her delicate fairy features savage and unforgiving. Haylee couldn’t see all the others, but she knew their unnatural and extraordinarily powerful enemies surrounded them on all sides, aiming weapons soaked in their own blood. I guess being attacked by a bunch of dead guys didn’t help our case, she thought to herself bitterly.“What is Allison Young’s decision?” a male voice boomed suddenly. Haylee resisted the urge to look around, knowing Allison was somewhere hidden from their view, fighting with every inch of her strength to protect him. All of this because of love. To defend a relationship that
threatened to halt evolution in its tracks. Haylee heard Mason tell Landon of the Inner Circle that Allison was on her way. She knew he was stalling in the vain hope this would not come to a fight. She thought of all the supernatural creatures that could kill her –a vampire or even a vampire slayer – and grew angry at the idea that a fairy might end her life tonight. She could feel the fire from Jaycie itching to break loose. Hopefully Mason could get through to the Inner
Circle and make them all see the truth. It was a futile hope. Suddenly the scene in Big Spring Park changed right before Haylee’s eyes. Allison was loose. The Second Tier screamed for her blood. Chaos erupted all around them, and Haylee couldn’t focus her eyes on any one thing. Her family was surrounded by anarchy. They might be dying. The last image Haylee saw before that final flash of red was Lucy grabbing Jaycie by the neck. If no one got there fast enough, the being created to protect her was going to snap her neck.
This post is SO YOU! I can imagine you grinning with excitement while writing about the Green Lantern! I actually learned something new. I knew nothing of the color yellow and it's association with fear...or Parallax.
ReplyDeleteLearn something new with you all the darn time.
LoL, thanks. Its never anything useful, but it is fun. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDelete@Naj, I agree that he does look creepy in that picture. LoL, being possessed by a space parasite... never very flattering. =)