Its Face Off Time! Check in Here for Lexi Ander’s Special Guest Post for Sumeria’s Sons#5 (guest post, special excerpt and contest)

Dragon’s Eye (Sumeria’s Sons #5) by Lexi Ander
Release Date: October 7, 2015

Goodreads Link
Publisher: LT3 Press
Cover Artist: London Burden

Buy the book: Less Than Three Press

Face-off: Marduk verses Ashur

I’m not a fan of Marduk. In the Sumeria’s Sons, he has been set up to be one of the villains because he is the one who holds the lock to the chains shackling the children of Tiamat. To me, Marduk is like a strutting peacock full of his own importance. He doesn’t go out and perform his own heroic deeds but steals them from both Enlil and Enki. As one of the lesser gods, Marduk’s background is pretty sketchy (non-existent) until he’s proclaimed the patron god of Babylon. The creation myth, Enuma Elish, which includes the battle against Tiamat (or as it’s called in Sumeria’s Sons, the Igigi War) was written to tell the story of Marduk’s heroic deeds, propaganda for the era and ruling civilization. The text was modified from an older epic replacing Enlil with Marduk as slayer of Tiamat.

Through the subjugation of the Tiamat’s children, Marduk used magic to transform them into protective charms used at the doorways to palaces, temples, and sometimes bedrooms. The only real threat to Marduk in his reigning era was the Assyrian god Assur (Ashur). As the supreme deity of Assyria, his popularity threatened Babylon and Marduk. Responding to that popularity, during the reign of Hammurabi (the king best known for the Hammurabi Code, the earliest surviving codes of law in recorded history) Marduk was elevated to the level of supreme god. He even took on Tiamat’s symbol of the snake-dragon.

Historically, the God Assur’s origin was much like that of Marduk, rising from obscurity. First becoming the equivalent of Sumeria’s Enlil and absorbing both Enlil’s consort and children. Then later after Assyria conquered Babylon, Assur became associated with Anshar, Sumeria’s sky god. Anshar’s name literally means “whole heaven” elevating Assur to the head of the Babylon pantheon. As such, Assur took the place of Marduk in the creation myth, slaying Tiamat and becoming king of the gods.

The author in me loved the competition between Marduk and Assur, but I also nitpicked what I wanted for the god’s history for Sumeria’s Sons. Anshar is and elder god called the skypivot, the God of the Horizon of Heaven and balanced by his consort Kishar the earthpivot, Goddess of the Horizon of the Earth. Together they make up the celestial poles and that balance coincides with the Twin Flames theme of Sumeria’s Sons. I used that animosity between them in the plot that further drew that line between good guy/bad guy between him and Marduk.

There is also a something else that I used after coming to understand the competition between the two cultures. These two gods derived their power from their worshippers. The more popular and widespread the god, the more powerful they became and I made that a physical manifestation in the series. I coupled that with the Marduk’s prophecy. Oh yes, he had his own prophecy stating that one day he would return and bring salvation to Babylon and wreak a terrible revenge. He-he. How could I leave that alone?

A huge thank you for allowing me to be a guest on the blog today! Throughout the blog tour for Dragon’s Eye, I hope you enjoy the behind the scenes look at the gods and mythos, and how they play a part in Sumeria’s Sons. For a visual representation, please visit my Pinterest page. (https://www.pinterest.com/lexiander1/sumeria-sons-inspirations/) During the tour I discuss the Sumerian pantheon, about who and what the Gods/Goddess are, and how I use them. Make sure you stop by the other blogs to get a complete look at the Gods and Goddess the Lycan’s follow.

Also, Less Than Three Press is running a special sale on Sumeria’s Sons from September 23^rd through October 7^th (dates inclusive).

Twin Flames is $0.99.

Amazon () LT3 Press ()

25% off Songs of the Earth

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25% off Dreams of the Forgotten

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25% off Surrounded by Crimson

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Thank you for stopping by and reading!

Blurb

In the wake of birth and betrayal, Ushna takes the God Ashur to Tristan in a last desperate bid to save Tristan’s life—and is helpless to do anything but watch as Ashur instead buries him in a grave. Though he has no desire to go on living, having now lost Brian and Tristan, Ushna has no choice. Not only do their children need him, the mysterious Simurgh has come out of hiding and forces him to continue on—for there is much to do and little time to do it, especially with treachery and danger closing in on them from every side.

Pages or Words: 98,000 words
Categories: Fantasy, M/M Romance, Menage/Poly, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy

Exclusive Excerpt #9

Prowling through the trees, I dared not use the new path that had been created with all the recent foot traffic. Sticking to the deepest shadows until the storage shed came into view, I crouched down, waiting and watching. Occasionally I scented the wind to make sure no one was around before I moved from the gloom. The darker patch of soil called to me. After so long, the dirt no longer appeared freshly turned and the fall leaves blanketed the area, partially hiding the spot where Ashur had placed Tristan. Even if snow covered the ground, I’d know the exact spot.

Dropping the bag to the side, I moved around the outer edge. Here the scent of magic was so sharp I sneezed several times. Ashur’s energy still lingered, faint with the passing of time, but that wasn’t what caught my attention. There was the trace of another’s power, heavy and bitter, and the scent clung to the back of my tongue. The soil hadn’t been physically disturbed but the magic permeated the ground.

Panic clawed at me. Why was someone casting spells over Tristan—unless, like me, they knew he was merely resting? I began to dig, the softened soil flying behind me as I envisioned discovering a dozen terrible things.

The embroidered hem of the red tunic Tristan had worn that day was revealed. After I changed back to my human form, I hastily put on my clothes. I hadn’t worn shoes or socks when I slipped away from Nathan’s and now the frosty ground quickly chilled my feet, but I didn’t care. Climbing down into the hole, I gingerly brushed the dirt away from material until I came to the edge where Tristan’s body should’ve been.

I didn’t understand; where was Tristan?

About The Author

Meet Lexi Ander
Lexi has always been an avid reader, and at a young age started reading (secretly) her mother’s romances (the ones she was told not to touch). She was the only teenager she knew of who would be grounded from reading. Later, with a pencil and a note book, she wrote her own stories and shared them with friends because she loved to see their reactions. A Texas transplant, Lexi now kicks her boots up in the Midwest with her Yankee husband and her eighty-pound puppies named after vacuum cleaners.

Where to find Lexi Ander:

Web site: http://www.lexiander.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexi.ander.9
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/LexiAnder1
Blog: http://lexiander.blogspot.com/
E-mail: lexi.ander.author@gmail.com

Contest

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize:
• Prize offered: Prize offered: $20 Amazon Gift card, $20 All Romance Gift card, hard copy of Dragon’s Eye, swag (pens, bookmarks)
• $20 All Romance Gift card, hard copy of Dragon’s Eye, swag (pens, bookmarks)
• hard copy of Dragon’s Eye, swag (pens, bookmarks)
• e-book copy of Dragon’s Eye
• e-book copy of Dragon’s Eye

Must be 18 years of age or older. Link and prizes provided by the author, and Pride Promotions.

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