The Sensual Power of Voodoo by Brenda Gayle
One of the best things about being a writer is you can legitimately waste spend time exploring subjects that interest you. The big challenge comes when you try to meld what you need for your story with what you learn from your research.
I’ve always been fascinated by voodoo. It makes me think of mystery and sensuality, passion and heat–perfect for a sexy romance. But most of what I knew about it came from popular culture, television and movie portrayals of zombies, voodoo dolls, love potions, and magic spells. Do people really believe this stuff? I wasn’t writing a paranormal, so my dilemma was how best to weave elements of voodoo into a contemporary romance. It turned out to be much easier than I thought.
In SOLDIER FOR LOVE, Major Julie Collins heads a military unit sent to a Caribbean island nation to stabilize the government. Almost as soon as she arrives she’s confronted with a mysterious symbol (a vèvè) outside her office, which seems to have terrorized the local staff. When the hero, Lieutenant Matt Wolf tells her it’s voodoo, she scoffs at the notion. But Matt’s Native American heritage has made him more sensitive to the mysticism of the island.
Julie learns that voodoo is, in fact, a real religion that combines the beliefs of the island’s indigenous Indians with the animal spirits brought over by the African slaves in the 1700s. And just to make things really interesting, bits of Roman Catholic liturgy were picked up from the missionaries and plantation owners. Vèvès are used to invoke specific spirits–lwas–and the locals make sacrifices and offerings to them.
Suspicions are raised when a second vèvè (see graphic) is discovered in the military compound. This is the vèvè to Ogoun, the lwa who presides over fire, iron, hunting, politics, and war. He gives strength through prophecy and magic, and is said to have planted the idea that gave power to the slaves for the Haitian Revolution of 1804. In SOLDIER FOR LOVE, the Hougan attempts to use Ogoun to incite the islanders to overthrow their government.
When Julie is kidnapped by the Hougan, Matt journeys to a remote section of the island to rescue her. Here, away from the influences of modern western culture, the power of voodoo is strong. Whether it was the miraculous healing of an injury or the seductive drumming and erotic dancing at the carnival (or maybe even what happened with Matt afterwards), Julie is drawn deeper into the island’s voodoo culture. Although she remains somewhat skeptical, she can’t explain much of what she witnesses nor can she discredit the commonplace acceptance of voodoo as a normal aspect of island life.
Oh yes, there are zombies, voodoo dolls, love potions, and magic spells in voodoo, but they’re not part of the day-to-day aspects of the religion. For most practitioners, voodoo is a belief system that focuses on nature and ancestor spirits. But it sure does raise the level of sensuality in a sexy romance.
Do you have experience with voodoo or have you ever encountered something you couldn’t explain? One of today’s commenters will be chosen at random to receive a copy of SOLDIER FOR LOVE.
Although fictional, the setting for SOLDIER FOR LOVE was inspired by the geography, history and culture of Haiti. Brenda is donating 25% of book and eBook royalties to Haitian relief and reconstruction as a way to give back to the men and woman who allowed her to share their world during the researching and writing of the book. For more about Brenda, visit her website at www.BrendaGayle.com or follow her on Facebook (Brenda Gayle) and Twitter (Brenda_Gayle).
Thanks Brenda!! For a chance to win Soldier For Love, just answer Brenda’s question above! Contest open through Wednesday March 10th and I will announce the winner March 11th. Open to Us/Canada.
I have lived in the same house for 30 years. My mother and I owned the house together. She passed away several years ago. I have had many paranormal experiences in my home, both before and after my mother passed away. The first experience was to glance over at a living room window late one night and see the "Scream" face looking in! I rushed to the door and turned on the front porch light, and not a "soul" was about! Another time, on Halloween night, I heard distinct footsteps on the wooden floor of the upstairs hallway. My mother and I were both downstairs and no other "human" was in the house. One night, I went upstairs to my room without turning on the stairway light. When I got to the doorway of my room, a large misty shape moved from the area of the doorway and went across the room and out the window. One bright Sunday morning, I had overslept, which is a rare occurrence. A voice from the doorway of my room said: "Are you getting up?". I looked over through sleep-filled eyes and saw the blurred image of a large friendly blonde woman dressed in red and royal blue. I answered, and then realized it wasn't my mother! The "woman" was twice the size of my mother (who was actually downstairs in the kitchen). Since my mother passed away, I have noticed unusual scents in the house. I have smelled my grandfather's pipe tobacco, my grandmother's lily of the valley, and my mother's fingernail polish remover. All of these people are deceased, and none of those items are in the house! The time that I was the most afraid was when I came home to find my house almost in a vacuum state. There seemed to be no air, no sound, and no smell of any kind in the house. My cats were in hiding. I don't know what had been in the house, but it had some kind of mojo!
gcwhiskas at aol dot com
Hey, Brenda — good post, and I LOVE spooky stories! :)
When my husband and I were starting out, we lived in a house that was, for lack of a better word, very sick. One of the rooms in the basement had been painted red…floor, ceiling, walls…and the bolt to lock the door was on the outside. Shudder. The worst part for me, though, was our bedroom on the second floor. It was an old house, with all kinds of little cubbies off the bedroom into the attic spaces. We didn't use these spaces, and their doors were all secured by slide bolts. Every time I was alone in the house, I would find the slide bolts open and the doors standing wide. I took to sleeping on the couch when my husband was working a night shift because I was too terrified to go upstairs by myself at night. Like I said, a very sick house.
Linda
I do have a voodoo doll sitting on my desk (gift from a friend)but I'm too scared to touch the pins.
I love that you are giving back and donating to Haitian relief.
Sadly, I have no strange encounters to report. I wish it did. :)
Wow, there sure are some strange happenings out there. Thanks for sharing.
Boring answer coming up…nope no never.
I have felt a presence though and seen something in the shadow of my eye
I have read about voodoo, but never encountered it.
Thanks for the great blog! I have had many strange events happen in my lifetime. The longer you live the more things you see.
I've heard about Voodoo but I've never had any experience with it and I've not had anything odd happen in my life.
sstrode@scrtc.com
This book sounds really good. I have added it to my TBR list.
The only strange occurences in my life are with me and my twin sister. We live in different states and we have sent each other presents that are the same item. We can be thinking of each other and will call at the same time plus other weird happenings.
JOY
JWIsley(at)aol(dot)com
This sounds like a really fascinating read and have added it to my TBR pile!
I haven't had an encounter with voodoo but I have read about it or played games relating to the subject matter.