From the Backlist - New Moon Rising

 

In Tarot reading, the Ace of Cups means joy and inner peace from friends and family. In the Rider–Waite–Smith deck, the five streams pouring out of the cup represent the five senses: sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch.^[

 

Welcome back to the Supernatural Underground Back List! 

 

On the brink of the New Moon in Virgo (a partial solar eclipse at the very end degree of the sign), September 21, 2025, we thought it would be fun to reread Kim Falconer's hints and tips, sign by sign. 

 

Kim tells us they are as relevant today as they were Sept 2012!

 

Enjoy! 

 

New Moon Rising

by Kim Falconer

Hi Everyone!

The NEW MOON is in VIRGO  and here is the scoop!

This lunation is a symbol of love reborn, deep compassion and reverence for all life, beginning with your own. It’s a time to amp up self-love, acknowledge attractions, welcome compassion and connect to the environment. Intuition deepens, love awakens and yes, you get to be brave!  

Virgo stand(s) for instrumentation, implementation and technical competence. Dennis Elwell

Think new beginnings, initiation and awareness! You start creating habits that make life better. Now. Here are some hints and tips to get you started. Read your Sun sign and rising sign if you know it. If not, comment and I'll walk you through the steps to work it out.

ARIES: The New Moon in your house of health is the perfect time to start supportive new habits in the realm of diet, exercise and daily ritual. Think of your body as your best friend. What do you feed her? How do you keep her fit and active? When do you let her rest? Play? Explore? Connect?

TAURUS: The creative and playful sphere of the heart is awakened at this New Moon. Ask what rituals do you have in place around your artistic expression? Is it haphazard, random or so strict there's no room to breathe? Set into motion some healthy ways to connect to your inner child. Make them fun!

GEMINI: The New Moon lights up your home, family and emotional security sector. What are you doing to feather your nest, metaphorically and literally? Ask how ritual can improve this area of life. Regular family dinners? Time with rels that could use your expertise? Renewed Feng Shui in the home? Go big!

CANCER: This is the perfect time to create new habits around self-talk, verbal communication and written or spoken expression, teaching and leaning. Notice how you connection socially around familiar haunts then start putting more conscious awareness on your thoughts. Remember, they do become things!

LEO: New Moon amps up your house of money, a representation of your inner core values and self-esteem. This is excellent for boosting feelings of self-worth and setting in place new habits of care, respect and generosity. Let go the critical and embrace the abundance of non-judgment. So freeing! 

VIRGO: This is your 'birthday' New Moon and ideal for starting any new project that has your 'heart's desire' in it. Most likely opportunities are rolling in. You get to pick your favorite and lavish it with positive energy. The trick is to not become totally obsessed. Start a habit of balance in everything you do.

Read the rest of the signs on Kim Falconer's original post: Libra to Pisces!

Find out more about Kim Falconer here. 

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We would love to hear how you are going on this partial solar eclipse VIRGO paloosa, in the comments.

 

The Art of Adaptation - Crafting Mood with Language

Sam Reid as Lestat de Lion Court in the 2022 series Interview with the Vampire,
based on the novel by Anne Rice.

Welcome, everyone, to another post in the Art of Adaptation Series. Today, let's look at the power of language and how we can use it to change mood, feelings and emotional response to the narrative.

The Power of Language

Language is a remarkable tool that shapes not only what we say but how we feel. It's something we often take for granted, but just like a carefully curated soundtrack can transform the mood of a film scene—from suspenseful to serene—so too can the choice of words and dialogue style shift the emotional landscape of a written narrative. Today, let’s explore how language can evoke different moods and feelings, illustrating this concept with examples from two beloved vampire series: Anne Rice's "The Vampire Chronicles" and Charlaine Harris's "Southern Vampire Mysteries."

Examples of Tone and Voice in Creating Mood

Take a moment to think about a pivotal dialogue scene. Imagine a character from Rice's "Interview with the Vampire" quizzing another on the nuances of immortality, wrapped in rich, poetic language and introspective tags. You might find lines dripping with existential angst, underscored by the sombre, contemplative tones typical of gothic novels. 

Top ten BEST Vampire Anime - By Rosie Knight

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Here’s a sample dialogue exchange:

Louis (his voice a mere whisper, burdened with centuries of sorrow): “To be eternally damned is a gift that weighs far heavier than mere shadows.”

Lestat (with a smirk, eyes dancing mischievously): “Ah, but what is eternity to a creature of night? A playground, dear Louis, not a prison!”

***

Now, imagine taking the same lines but changing up the tags and emotional reflections. If we were to transport our characters to the Southern Vampire Mysteries universe, the mood could shift dramatically. Instead of centuries-old regrets, we’d encounter a lively banter with a more humor-driven and casual tone.

***

Louis  (half-laughing, rolling his eyes): “I swear, Lestat, this eternal life is starting to feel like a bad sitcom.”

Lestat  (grinning, as he twirls a wine glass): “Then let’s make it one worth watching, mon ami! Who needs a plot when the punchlines are eternal?”

***

In these two versions, despite the dialogue being essentially the same, the mood alters completely. The first paints a picture steeped in tragedy and introspection, while the second introduces playful levity, infusing the scene with a completely different emotional resonance.

This exercise highlights an essential truth: the way we use language is potent and multifaceted. It can be adapted to evoke terror in a horror narrative, charm in a romance, or elicit intrigue in a mystery. 

Each genre has its distinctive style and lexicon—think of the chilling descriptors in horror versus the lush imagery of romance, or the clipped, terse exchanges found in mystery narratives. Yet, the magic occurs within every scene, even when the essential text remains unchanged. 

What’s even more fascinating is how a slight alteration in tags and character reflections can magnify or diminish emotional weight. It’s a reminder that every word we choose, every pause, and every inflection matters. 

As writers and storytellers, we hold the fascinating power to shape mood through language. Whether you are weaving tales of romance, horror, or adventure, the way we present dialogue and reflect on our characters’ emotions can redefine the reader's experience.

Next time you sit down to write a scene, or read one, consider how the choices in language and dialogue create not just different genres but a spectrum of moods that resonate with us long after the last word is read.

Thank you for joining me in exploring the transformative power of language in storytelling!

xxKim

***

Have you read a powerful evocation of emotion in a story recently? We'd love to hear about it in the comments!

Other Posts in the Art of Adaptation 2025

January - The Art of Adaptation - Films in 2025

February - The Art of Adaptation - Authors' Response to External Pressures

March - The Art of Adaptation - The Healing Magic of KDrama

April - The Art of Adaptation -  Reader Persuasion

May - The Art of Adaptation - Fantasy Monsters Part 1

June - The Art of Adaptation - Fantasy Monsters Part 2 

July - The Art of Adaptation - Alternate History

August - The Art of Adaptation - AI: A New Chapter for Writers

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About Kim Falconer

Kim Falconer, also writing as AK Wilder, has released Crown of Bones, a YA Epic Fantasy with Curse of Shadows as book 2 in the series. 

Currently, she is ready with the third book, planned to be out in 2025. TBA

Kim can be found on AKWilder.com, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and KimFalconer.com. 

Throw the bones on the AKWilder.com site.. See you there!

Read Blood and Water, a PNR alt history that will leave you questioning every natural disaster ever endured.

“There is no doubt fiction makes a better job of the truth.”

From The Backlist: "I Wish I Could Tell You I'm A Better Guy" by Karina Cooper

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Here at SU (Supernatural Underground!) HQ we love backlist time almost as much as we love seeing each new post go up!

And this post from Karina Cooper had us laughing -- and applauding! -- all over again. Enjoy today's refeature! 
.

Wish I Could Tell You I'm A Better Guy

~ by Karina Cooper

...love is all around and only real men cry. But all I wanna do is jump your bones; slam dance all night to the music of your moans.

All right. Take a minute, get some tea. Coffee. You know, something wet. Possibly alcoholic. A martini. Let's be classy. Let's be honest. Put on some lipstick and your best serious glasses (although dear gentlemen, you may choose one, if you prefer) and let's have a chat.

I have a confession. And I suspect I'm not the only one ...

..You think of life and love and morals separately. You don't expect a promise to last longer than the words themselves.

The aspect I love the most (about these lines from Fiction Plane's It's a Lie ) is the sheer, unadulterated passion that draws these two together. It's not mired in mystery, or in politics, or in ulterior motives.

I once started writing a book—which, to my everlasting shame, was lost in a hard drive crash—involving a human hero and a Fae-cursed heroine. She wanted nothing to do with him, mostly due to her own issues, but he took one look at her and thought to himself, Sean, buddy, you've got to nail that before you go home.

Was it classy? Nope.

Was it honest? Skippy. Honest to the to the bone.

And because he single-mindedly pursued her, he ended up sucked into a world far beyond his knowledge. But the wanting came first. The acting on that want came before anything else, and I'd be lying if I said that Mairi wasn't more than a little turned on by that attention. He didn't want her magic, or her secrets. Hell, he didn't even know she was anything more than the proprietor of a Bed & Breakfast. He simply... wanted her. And that got his foot in the door, unwitting though it was.

My point, ladies and gentlemen, is such: plot is juicy. Plot makes the world go 'round, it changes people, develops them. Plot is the bread and butter of books. However, I submit that not everything has to do with plot.

Sometimes, two people just desperately want to shag.

Furthermore, I submit that there is something raw, something unparalleled... dare I say it? Something unspoilt about two people who are attracted to one another without the meddling fingers of plot to force the attraction in some way or another.

Plot will have the rest of the book to yo-yo them around.

Give me a man who is honest about his wants. The woman who responds to that raw honesty is bound to find her life changed forever.

... Or waking up the next morning with tangled sheets and a hazy memory of a guy whose name might have been Fred. You know, it can go either way. In romance books, the morning after can be one hell of a start.

..."
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We've only brought you an excerpt today, but there's plenty more goodness in the original post. Just click through to read here. 

To find out more about what Karina's doing now, visit her on kcalexander.com

Great Leaders in Speculative Fiction #8: Dr Mensah from "All Systems Red" by Martha Wells

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I promised this post series would include leaders from SciFi as well as Fantasy, and have already featured the great Pyanfar Chanur. This month, I'm returning to the SciFi greats with Dr Mensah, from All Systems Red by Martha Wells. 

Those of you who know (and I imagine it's quite a few ;-) ), will know that All Systems Red was the very first instalment in the Murderbot series, which was recently released on Apple TV. You may also know that Dr Mensah is prominent throughout the novella quartet that founded the series.

Nonetheless, her character and leadership chops were established in All Systems Red, which is also the basis for the smallscreen show, hence my focus. 

Now for what qualifies Dr Mensah's leadership for the "greatness" tag. (Totes imho, of course!) First and foremost, she emulates the immortal words of Rudyard Kipling (paraphrased) by keeping her head when all those about her are losing theirs. 

Dr Mensah

To be fair, we're talking really tough and challenging circumstances, including hostile megafauna trying to eat a crew member and the wholesale murder of another research crew on the same planet, before her own team become the next target for the mysterious killers. Plenty of grounds for losing one's head -- but Dr Mensah never loses her cool, or her nerve. 

The other part of the Kipling quote is about blame -- but Dr Mensah is not one of those who wastes time on blame when events go west. Instead she takes action and responsibility, holding her crew together by her personal example. As leader, she listens to others' input, but makes the tough decisions to ensure their survival.

And as Murderbot, the human-robot construct at the center of the series puts it, Dr Mensah "really is an intrepid galactic explorer." When the chips are down and the going gets uncompromisingly tough, she has his back.

Having Murderbot's back -- with a mining drill!

Finally, Dr Mensah is not the kind of leader that leaves a team member behind -- not even when the team member is a human-bot construct that Corporation Space (which governs a large swathe of galactic space in this series) designates as equipment and disposable.

It speaks to her character, and leadership, that once she realizes Murderbot is a sentient entity, she won't continue to treat it as a machine. In other words, Dr Mensah is not just level-headed, responsible, courageous under fire, and both open- and tough-minded -- she's ethical as well.

So when it comes to great leadership in the speculative fiction 'verse, I think it's indisputable: Dr Mensah is the complete package. 

~*~

About Helen Lowe

Helen Lowe is an award-winning novelist, poet, and lover of story. With four books published to date, she is currently completing the final instalment in The Wall Of Night series.
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Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog, monthly on the Supernatural Underground, and tweets @helenl0we.

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Prior Posts: Great Leaders in Speculative Fiction ~ 
Where To Find 'Em & Why They Rock

February: Mara of the Acoma in the "Empire" series by Raymond E Feist & Janny Wurts

March:  Kaladin and Dalinar in "The Stormlight Archive" by Brandon Sanderson

April: Pyanfar Chanur in "The Pride of Chanur" series by CH Cherryh

May: John Aversin in Dragonsbane, by Barbara Hambly

June: Katniss Everdeen in "The Hunger Games" Trilogy, by Suzanne Collins

July: Ulric of the Nadir in Legend by David Gemmell

August: Signe de Barbentain in A Song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay