Of Wild Weather, Eostre and Spring
I don’t know how many of you are fans of the book by Neil Gaiman or show based on it, American Gods, but the weather the nation has been having this past week has called to mind one scene from last season’s finale, when the goddess Ostara, provoked or encouraged (depending on how you look at it) by the god Wednesday, reminds those partying around her of her true origins and power with catastrophic results… removing Spring’s bounty and renewal from the lands…. setting off a withering landscape and the onset of winter.
I think it was watching that weather map showing a “bomb cyclone” sweeping across the Midwest bringing hurricane force winds and blizzards so unexpectedly, while here in Maryland we were experiencing 65 to 70 degrees of Spring. It was Spring as its most turbulent, violent, and yet weirdly warm and calm state. It just depended where you lived. And yes, I do know its due to climate change.
But it did draw my mind back to that scene and to the goddess Ostara.
Ostara, or Eostre or Eastre, she has many names, the goddess of Spring. She is responsible for the renewal of the earth each year after winter, the bringer of Spring, the symbol of fertility and birth. Yes, rabbits (those reproducing, repopulating stars) are her symbols. She has been pictured with a rabbit’s head but more often with them at her side. They are the reason we now have the Easter Bunny, same with Easter Eggs. All due to her, Eostre or Eastre. Or Ostara.
She’s been on my mind a lot, for many reasons. The Spring equinox approaches on the 21st, a new season of American Gods has started, and all around me, from my backyard to the news I have reminders of just how wild and unpredictable nature and Spring can be at times.
At night I’ve heard both the calls of wild geese migrating and the sound of a barred owl so out of season….must be a youngster trying to find his voice.
But it’s a reminder that rebirth can be a wild and tumultuous time. That renewal isn’t always peaceful and calm, that wild winds and blizzards can herald the arrival of Spring just as often as the call of the bluebird.
Something to remember when pondering that Easter bunny.
Kristin Chenoweth as Ostara in American Gods
This Week At Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words




Sunday, March 17:
- Of Wild Weather, Eostre and Spring. This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
- Book Blitz – LA Bryce – The Forever Kind Of Love
Monday, March 18:
- Release Blitz – Rewind by Rowan Shaw
- Release Blitz – Jeanne Marcella – The Demon Lord Of California
- Review Tour – A.L. Lester – Shadows On The Border
- A Barb the Zany Old Lady Release Day Review: Blue Umbrella Sky by Rick R. Reed
- A Caryn Review Shadows On The Border (Lost In Time #2) by A.L. Lester
- A MelanieM Review: No Big Deal (#lovehim #1.5) by S.M. James
Tuesday, March 19:
- Release Blitz ALL SOULS NEAR & NIGH (SOULBOUND #2) by Hailey Turner
- Release Blitz – TL Travis’ A Heart Divided
- Blog Tour – Marked by J. Jay Barrett
- A MelanieM Release Day Review: Whiskey to Wine (Leaning N #3) by BA Tortuga
- A Free Dreamer Release Day Review: I’m Not Who You Think I Am by Felicitas Ivey
- A Barb the Zany Old Lady Release Day Review: A Lord to Love by Sara Dobie Bauer
Wednesday, March 20:
- RELEASE BLITZ Clean Break (Farm College #2) by Erin McLellan
- Book Blitz Tour Request – Elin Gregory – Midnight Flit
- BLOG TOUR Wicked Games by Aimee Nicole Walker
- A Lucy Review : The Forever Kind Of Love by LA Bryce
- A Jeri Review Clean Break (Farm College #2) by Erin McLellan
- A MelanieM Review: Lunar New Love by Casper Graham
- A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: In Safe Hands by Victoria Sue
Thursday, March 21:
- Book Blast – An Extra Alpha (Pine Wood Falls #2) by Sarah Havan
- DSP PROMO Felicitas Ivey on I’m Not Who You Think I Am
- PROMO BA Tortuga on Whiskey to Wine
- An Alisa Review: How Not To Sin by Susan Hawke
- A Stella Review: Brush Strokes by E.S. Karlquist
- A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review :Kennard’s Story (Cronin’s Key #4) by N.R. Walker
Friday, March 22:
- Review Tour – A Body In A Bathhouse by Brad Shreve
- Review Tour – Apple Boy (The Quiet Work #1) by Isobel Starling
- Blog Tour for A Broken Promise by Mel Gough
- A Free Dreamer Review: Apple Boy (The Quiet Work #1) by Isobel Starling
- An Alisa Review: Demon on the Down-Low by EJ Russell
- A Caryn Review: Best Behaviour by Matthew Metzger
- A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Black (Kitty Play Romance) by Quin Perin
Saturday, March 23:
Release Blitz Memory of Scorpions Series by Aleksandr Voinov








Richard “Tank” Martin was a big boy from the start. Born weighing over 11 pounds, he didn’t stop growing. When he was in middle school, a football coach took him under his wing and finally explained to him the mystery of calories in, calories out and from then on it was all good for him. At least he thought. Being called to meet with his platoon sergeant and told that he was now part of the Army’s overweight program, sent him into a spin that only his crews can help him out of.
Captain Mark Thomas’s world has been tossed on its head: A long overdue but still unexpected divorce. A promotion out of left field. Last-second orders to a ship where careers go to die. As the dust settles in his new home, he barely recognizes his life, but he sure recognizes the loneliness creeping in.


































An ATF agent who lives for danger finds what he craves from an outlaw biker.

Tommy Gordon is all set for happily ever after—until heartbreak strikes when his husband-to-be leaves him at the altar. In a bid for distraction, his best friend, Grayson Phillips, suggests he takes advantage of the luxury honeymoon anyway! But the last thing Tommy wants is to go alone, so he invites Grayson and his son, Petey, along. Beautiful Bonaire lends itself to romance, and along with close quarters, relaxing on the water, and a matchmaking kid, Tommy and Grayson soon find themselves closer than ever… and considering more, much to Grayson’s delight. But before they can plan the best honeymoon ever, dark clouds descend in the form of Tommy’s ex and a sting from paradise that could ruin everything.
One regular guy who happens to be a preacher… Reverend Dr. Gabe Samson doesn’t think he’s better than any of the people in his church, so please don’t put him on a pedestal. While he’s never hidden the fact that he identifies as bisexual, he’s never acted on it either. Gabe isn’t happy to learn that the sole reason he was hired to pastor the LGBT-friendly church was that the ruling elders wanted a safe poster child for inclusivity—in other words, they wanted the rainbow flag without letting it fly. Plus one easygoing, new age kinda guy… Seth Thomas owns Holistic Healing, a metaphysical shop and yoga studio. He’s never really been a relationship kinda guy, but only because he hasn’t met the right man yet. Seth is laid back and goes with the flow. When fate drops a hot preacher in his lap, why wouldn’t he accept the gift? Equals a pair of men who click from the start. The two men find it almost too easy to get together, especially Gabe, who is fully embracing his bi side for the first time. Nothing in life is simple though. While Gabe and Seth are busy falling in love, they face an anti-gay hate group, a divided church, and a ruling elder who is hell-bent on sowing discord. Between Gabe’s patient wisdom and Seth’s snark, the pair fight the growing drama with the strongest weapons in their arsenal: love and humor.