Choose Your weapon - Curses

 

(Sofia Boutella) awakens in “The Mummy.” (Universal Pictures)

What do Egyptian Mummies, Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Snow White have in common? 

That's right. The curse!

Today we are talking about curses, the words intended to "inflict harm'. They can be a more dangerous weapon than you might imagine, specifically because they are so darn hard to undo.

Curse

noun

1.

a solemn utterance intended to invoke a supernatural power to inflict harm or punishment on someone or something.

"she'd put a curse on him"

Ramped throughout history, across all cultures and all times, the curse has packed a potent punch. In Fantasy fiction, it has an even more powerful presence. From Heart's Blood by Juliet Mariellier to The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh, and Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones to Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake and Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury, let's look at some of the most complex and deadly curses ever uttered.

Just remember that curses can be used as protection (against tomb robbers and thieves, for example) and often they have a personal note that runs deep, possibly even generational. What launches the curse in the first place isn't always filled with evil intent...

Heart's Blood by Juliet Mariellier is a stand-alone historical fantasy for adult readers. Within the pages, you will no doubt recognize elements of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, but there is an interesting twist. 

What is this curse that plagues Anluan, or is it the entire surroundings that are touched? Is it the young scribe Caitrin herself whose life has been changed forever?

When you discover the why of this curse, all will fall into place, unless you've run out of time...

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh is a retelling of the Korean story of Shim Cheong. Here we have some similarities to the ancient Greek tale of Psyche and Eros only this curse is much deeper than first assumed. While deadly storms, war and misguided sacrifices drive the plot, a deeper sense of love, family, community and soul grows.

Like Psyche, Mina has a choice to make, though that's where they part ways. Mina is no damsel in distress but a force of nature not afraid to pave her own way. 

Higher powers may have forged this curse, but that won't stop a young girl from trying to break it in two!

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones is a YA book made even more popular by the 2004 Japanese animated fantasy film by the same name, written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. 

Within the pages, and the movie version, lies a string of curses around which the plot twists. What moves the story along so well is not only the curse itself but the goal of breaking it... or 'them' as we find more than one MC is labouring under these deadly weapons.

Let it be known that there is far more to Howl and the elderly Sohpie than first meets the eye! 

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake is a straight-up YA horror not to be read alone in the dead of night. The main characters are twisted, revengeful and angry, perfect for each other, or so it seems. 

The curse in this book comes alive as it is discovered, making for an edge-of-your-seat experience you won't ever forget. Cas may be bent on breaking the curse, but when he finds out why it was cast in the first place, the whole plot turns on its head.

The question is, where will you be standing when it does?

Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury starts out intimate and personal, full of black girl witch magic, hope and promise. But that all goes down the drain when a terrible choice appears. Voya must choose correctly, or her family line will lose their power, forever. 

Unfortunately, making strong choices is not Voya's forte, and in this case, right or wrong will lead to innocent deaths.

An urban fantasy not to miss; a curse to avoid at all costs.

* * * 

Do you have a favourite fantasy fiction curse?  I'd love to hear about it in the comments. 

Choose Your Weapon Series 2024

Poison

The Perfect Storm

The Sword

Firearms

Ranged

Spells

Unarmed

Curses

Time Travel

Invisibility

* * *

About Kim Falconer

Kim Falconer, currently 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 working on the third book, out in 2024.

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

Throw the bones, read your horoscopes or Raise Your Phantom on the AKWilder.com site

Favorite Romantic Quotes

UF vs. PNR

Hi Everyone,

Ever wonder what makes one romantic scene work and another fail?

There are guidelines for writing great romantic dialog, no matter what the genre. They include evoking strong emotions other than love, setting a unique background, keeping characters true to themselves, not going 'purple' with excessively flowery prose, and most importantly, the writing romance that isn't gratuitous but propels the story forward.

Even with all that, you still need great lines.

I've made a list of some of my favourite. Which light you up? Turn you off?

Memorable Romantic Moments

Dumbledore watched her fly away, and as her silvery glow faded he turned back to Snape, and his eyes were full of tears. "After all this time?"
"Always...”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

He drew me into his arms. It was like the pull of the sea. Kind. Irresistible. Swimming …
― Tanith Lee, The Silver Metal Lover

Her pragmatic preternatural self assessed the situation and realized that she could definitely learn to love the taste of him …
―  Gail Carriger, Souless

“So you do believe in... true love?" she whispered.
I took a deep breath, "I think I have to," I said, blinking back tears. "Without it, we're all going nowhere.”
― Juliet Marillier, Wildwood Dancing

He gave me that lazy smile that had always had the power to make my heart beat faster. I was dismayed to see that it still worked.”
― Patricia Briggs, Moon Called

“I lean forward so my mouth is inches away from the perfect shell of his ear. The smell of him – freshly cut grass and mint – is addictive. …I pull back. Otherwise I won’t be able to stop myself from kissing his neck. I don’t know what’s wrong with me …
― Lauren Oliver, Before I Fall

“You make me want things I can't have.”
― Kendare Blake, Anna Dressed in Blood

Eric & Sookie Fancy in Black by JamieRose89

“Eric was holding my hands, and I was digging my nails into him like we were doing something else. He won't mind, I though, as I realized I'd drawn blood. And sure enough, he didn't. "Let go," he advised me, and I loosened my grip on his hands. "No, not of me," he said smiling. "You can hold on to me as long as you want.”
― Charlaine Harris, Club Dead

“I stood on my toes and stole a soft kiss from his lips. "Surprise attack," I said.
Sam leaned down and kissed me back, his mouth lingering on mine, teeth grazing my lower lip, making me shiver. "Surprise attack back."
"Sneaky," I said, my voice breathier than I intended.”
― Maggie Stiefvater, Shiver

“I’m watching her talk. Watching her jaw move and collecting her words one by one as they spill from her lips. I don’t deserve them. Her warm memories. I’d like to paint them over the bare plaster walls of my soul, but everything I paint seems to peel.”
—Isaac Marion, Warm Bodies

“Do you think I’ll ever get better at this? That my heart might someday stop trying to jump out of my chest whenever you touch me?” Stephenie Meyers – Twilight

“Sleep,” he says. “I'll fight the bad dreams off if they come to get you.”
“With what?”
“My bare hands, obviously.”
― Veronica Roth, Insurgent 

She hugged me a full five seconds longer than my intimacy issues could stand and whispered in my ear. ‘Love you.’
Love you, too. I did, without a doubt, but I couldn’t get the sounds out of my throat for her to hear, so they stayed in my head.
― Kim Falconer, The Blood in the Beginning

"I came back to find you," Akiva said. "I don't know why. Karou. Karou. I don't know why… Just to find you and be in the world that you're in..."
—Laini Taylor, Daughter of Smoke and Bone

"I know you write poetry and I know about the raven on your necklace and I know you love orange soda and your grandma and Milk Duds mixed into your popcorn." For a second, I thought she might smile.
"That's hardly anything," [she said].
"It's a start."
— Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl - Beautiful Creatures

“…I tried not to look in his eyes, at the person deep inside who had revealed so much of himself to me, the person I had fallen in love with when I wasn’t paying attention ... Deeply. Madly. And it was making it hard to breathe.”
— Merrie Destefano, Lost Girls

"Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while."
—William Goldman, Princess Bride

“As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once.”
—John Green, The Fault is in our Stars

What are some of your favorite romantic scenes in books, or films? Feel free to share them in the comments.
xxKim

Kim Falconer's latest release is out now - The Blood in the Beginning - and Ava Sykes Novel. Find this novel in a store near you.

You can also learn more about Kim at AvaSykes.com, the 11th House Blog, and on FaceBook and Twitter.  Or on GoodVibeAstrology.com

She posts here at the Supernatural Underground on the 16th of every month and runs Save the Day Writer's Community on Facebook. Check out her daily Astro-LOA Flash horoscopes on Facebook.