Please join us in welcoming author JL Merrow today, on the tour for the latest installment in her Plumber’s Mate series, Blow Down. Enjoy JL’s guest post, and then be sure to check out the Rafflecopter widget below where you can enter for the chance to win a $10 Amazon or ARe Gift card and an autographed copy of one of the first three books in the Plumber’s Mate series.
Good luck!
Bless My Bottom
Hi, I’m JL Merrow and I’m delighted to be here as part of the Blow Down blog tour. Today I’d like to talk to you about Frith.
Frith said, “Then come out of that hole and I will bless you instead of him,”
“No, I cannot,” said El-ahrairah, “I am busy. The fox and the weasel are coming. If you want to bless me you can bless my bottom, for it is sticking out of the hole.” – Watership Down, Richard Adams
For those who haven’t read Richard Adams’ magical tale Watership Down (or seen the excellent film), El-ahrairah is the rabbits’ trickster god, and Frith the Sun God of all the animals (at least, this is how the rabbits see it). Shmoop.com describes El-ahrairah as a cross between Rabbit Jesus and Rabbit Batman, but I prefer to think of him as Rabbit Loki, with Frith taking the role of Odin All-Father.
Both Loki and El-ahrairah use their cunning and intelligence to win out over stronger adversaries. And both help their devotees out: if you look at the original Norse myths, Loki was far from the anguished adolescent of the Marvel universe, lashing out at all around him. A maker of mischief, yes, but Loki of the myths actually did quite a lot to help people, sometimes after all the other gods had given up. Furthermore, El-ahrairah actually means Prince of a Thousand Enemies, and it’s fair to say Loki collected a goodly number of foes of his own (anyone credited with bringing about the end of the world tends not to be universally popular, for some reason).
So what’s all this got to do with Blow Down? Well, as anyone who’s read any of my previous Plumber’s Mate Mysteries knows, my narrator, Tom Paretski, is a bit psychic—he has a talent for finding hidden things (and water). This sort of psychic talent is, of course, commonly known as divination, and there are various systems and methodologies that have been developed by practitioners.
I was rather delighted, during my research, to find out about a Scottish divination system called frith. Frith is an Old English word meaning peace (cf modern German: Friede). Frith is described, in Alexander Carmichael’s Carmina Gaedelica (a collection of folklore, charms and prayers made in the Gaelic speaking regions of Scotland in the late nineteenth century) as follows:
THE “frith,” augury, was a species of divination enabling the “frithir,” augurer, to see into the unseen. This divination was made to ascertain the position and condition of the absent and the lost, and was applied to man and beast … The augurer, fasting, and with bare feet, bare head, and closed eyes, went to the doorstep and placed a hand on each jamb. Mentally beseeching the God of the unseen to show him his quest and to grant him his augury, the augurer opened his eyes and looked steadfastly straight in front of him. From the nature and position of the objects within his sight, he drew his conclusions – Carmina Gaedelica, Vol II, “Frith Mhoire”
Tom, of course, can only find hidden things, and relies on the “vibes”, rather than the position of random objects—but it’s interesting to note that the practitioner of frith did so with bare feet, and with his hands on an object (the door frame) fixed to the earth. As with the water diviner’s rod, all this was undoubtedly just a tool to help the practitioner to interpret information that came from within. Perhaps what the augurer was really reacting to was some kind of vibration coming from the earth? Tom may perceive his vibes differently—but maybe the source is the same?
And the connection between frith, the divination system, and Frith, the rabbits’ God? Well, it’s all just in the name, really. But it does help us get a glimpse of Tom’s childhood, and his relationship with his sister at that time:
“I liked that book,” I said, as it started coming back to me. “Fiver, the little one, he was the most important, wasn’t he? Had all these weird visions and stuff that saved all their lives.”
“I can’t imagine why he was your favourite,” Cherry said drily – Blow Down
Question: Readers, have you invited the lord Frith into your life? Or, ahem, have you had any experience of divination? Don’t forget to enter the giveaway! ;)
About the Book
Death is what happens when you’re making other plans.
The last thing newly engaged plumber Tom Paretski needs is to stumble over another dead body. He’s got enough on his mind already as the reality of his impending marriage sinks in. Not only is his family situation complicated, his heroism at a pub fire made him a local celebrity. Now everyone and their uncle wants a piece of his psychic talents. Hired to find a missing necklace, Tom and his fiance, private investigator Phil Morrison, wind up trying to unmask a killer – and there’s no shortage of suspects, up to and including the local bishop himself. As Tom and Phil try to uncover the truth, they find themselves pulled in all different directions by the conflicting pressures of their families and their own desires. But the murderer they’re up against is a ruthless schemer who won’t hesitate to kill again. If Tom and Phil aren’t careful, their love – and all their plans for the future – could be blown down like a house of straw.
Warning: Contains a bishop of questionable Christian charity, a necklace of questionable taste, and a plumber of questionable nationality who may be running out of time.
Purchase Links: Amazon || ARe || Samhain || The Plumber’s Mate Series: Pressure Head (Book #1) || Relief Valve (Book #2) || Heat Trap (Book #3)
About the Author
JL Merrow is that rare beast, and English person who refuses to drink tea. She read Natural Sciences at Cambridge, where she learned many things, chief amongst which was that she never wanted to see the inside of a lab ever again. Her one regret is that she never mastered the ability of punting one-handed whilst holding a glass of champagne.
She writes across genres, with a preference for contemporary gay romance and and mysteries, and is frequently accused of humour. Her novel Slam! won the 2013 Rainbow Award for Best LGBT Romantic Comedy and her novella Muscling Through and novel Relief Valve were both EPIC Awards Finalists.
JL Merrow is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, International Thriller Writers, Verulam Writers’ Circle and the UK GLBTQ Fiction Meet organising team. Find JL Merrow online at www.jlmerrow.com, on Twitter as @jlmerrow, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jl.merrow
The Giveaway
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Thank you for your post, Jamie, interesting and entertaining as always. I am not of the psychic sort myself… Never had any supernatural experience. What sometimes happens to me is that I suddenly remember about somebody I haven’t seen in ages, and I meet that person shortly afterwards (like the same day). Maybe I have a bit of extra-sensorial ability, afterwards? That would be cool! ;)
Hmmm…. Have you ever asked them if they had a sudden, inexplicable urge to go somewhere (where they then bumped into you) right around the time you were thinking of them…? ;)
Only divination I have had experience with have been my tarot deck and various runes honestly. Sometimes dreams and a bit of dejavu
I need to know more about tarot. And runes – I have a book on that I’ve been meaning to read for ages.
One thing I really don’t get is ancient Roman entrails. Definitely enough to turn me vegetarian! ;)
Wahoo! I forgot this was out this week! Next series re-read and book buy is sorted! Oh yeah!
Congratulations on your release! And thank you for a giveaway!
I’ve not read Watership Down but I love the film… I’d not heard of Frith as a Scottish divining system – learnt something new there! ;)
I’ve had a couple occasions where I couldn’t find something and then found them after seemingly randomly roaming around… But more often than not I just can’t find things. I have had DeJaVue a number of times though which has been somewhat unsettling.
I’ll have to remember this the next time I lose something and try to summon Frith to guide me – be interesting to see if it works! ;D
Yay! Thank you. :D
I usually have the opposite talent to Tom’s. I can clearly remember putting something somewhere, and thinking as I did so “this is a terrible place to put it, I’ll never find it again.” Lo and behold, I never do find it again!
The really sad part is that I’ve done this multiple times! ;)
I’ve seen deja vu described as a sort of brain glitch, where your “I see that” impulse takes the scenic way and gets to your consciousness via the “I remember that” route, hence you thinking you’d seen whatever it was before, but I’m not convinced. Time and space is stranger than we think! :D
Good luck with the augury!
Does dejavu counts? LOL
Totally! :D
i have dejavu all the time, especially since high school. i sometimes think i’m psychic
Could be! :)
Just baader meinoff.
Ohhhhhhhh….. I was totally confused when I read your comment, as I’d no idea that was what that phenomenon was called! Yes, I’ve experienced that loads of times, too. :)
And a link for anyone else wondering what German terrorists have to do with psychic phenomena: http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/baader-meinhof-phenomenon.htm
Looking forward to reading Blow Down – really enjoyed the rest of the series.
I am the person in my household who finds lost things for others, but it is more about paying attention, doggedness and thinking through potential ways it got lost. We did have a water witcher help us find a spot to dig a well on our property. Does that count?
Oh, how fab! The water witcher, I mean. I’d love to see someone like that at work.
Yeah, it’s amazing how inefficient some family members coughdaughterscough can be at looking for things they’ve mislaid.
And thank you! :D
I have never had experience with divination unless you count helping a friend find her keys and cell phone frequently. I love this series and can’t wait to read this installment! Thanks for the giveaway.
Thank you – hope you enjoy it! :D
I let Frith into my life at the age of 12 when I fell totally in love with Watership Down, I had to get a second copy as I wore the first one out, and I still cry when I hear Bright Eyes. I’d love to be psychic, not like Tom, but have a big of big eyes, hand waviness, but alas I am as mystic as Meg.
I’d never heard of Watership Down until I saw – and loved – the film, then I had to dash out and get a copy of the book straight away. Bright Eyes is playing through my mind as I type, but fortunately it only makes me bawl when I see the film! ;)
Congrats on the new release!I love this series but but for some reason I forgot this book was released today, lol.
I never had any supernatural experience. The only thing that happens to me from time to time is that I have deja vu. I might be doing or saying something, for example, and suddenly I get the feeling I already did this, that I say the same thing and that I was wearing the same thing. Odd. o.O
Aw, thank you! Hope you’ll enjoy the latest instalment! :)
Deju vu is freaky, but at least most people seem to share it!
I can’t say I have much experience with those kinds of things other than deja vu. One of my friends says she’s been able to tell if a house is haunted and was scared by her ability to use her Tarot deck.
I think I’d rather not know if a house was haunted! ;D
And yes, I can imagine too much skill with the Tarot getting scary.
V. interesting post!
Unfortch, I can’t recall any experiences with divination or anything particularly supernatural.
OTOH, I have a knack for never getting lost? Like, even in places I’ve never been. Some of my friends have joked that I must have some kind of internal compass, LOL!
I ended up hitting the Post Comment button a little too quickly. What I meant to say was “Like, even in places I’ve never visited before.”
OMG! We must have been separated at birth. I’m infamous for getting lost. No sense of direction whatsoever, even if I’ve been going to a place for years!
And thank you! :D
If it has to do with something spooky, I experienced that though I really rather not relive that moment since it’s the middle of the night here. :D
Hope you’re not in an old house… ;D
Though I love reading about psychics, I’m one of those stolid people who doesn’t believe it in real life.
Congrats on the release. I love this series.
Thank you! hugs
I’ve had quite a few dejavu moments in my life. There have also been moments where I’ve dreamed something minor and it happened soon after.
O_o I’m glad it was only minor. I’d be totally freaked out if I dreamed something big that then came true!
Thanks for the interesting post! I’m looking forward to reading this! I’ve experienced deja vu a bunch and sometimes I get feelings about things. If something bad is about to happen for instance. I don’t know if that really counts!
LOL! Tom reckons knowing when something bad is about to happen would come in VERY handy in his life! ;)
And you’re welcome! I hope you enjoy the book. :)
I’ve never had anything truly psychic but after 24 years of marriage, I can usually read my husband’s mind. 😉 Honestly tho lots of times we will call or text one another just before the other was planning on doing so. Maybe there’s a bit of a link between us.
Congratulations on the new release! Love the series and have read the first three bunches already but am reading them all now before the newest.
Bless! That kind of thing makes me believe in soulmates. :)
And thank you! :D
Congrats on the new release. Isn’t it self-serving though to congratulate when actually I was looking forward (as in: still not released?) to the next installment of the series ? :-) Good thing it’s almost the weekend, I can start re-reading.
Thank you! And have a great weekend! :D
Déja-vu is something I’ve experienced quite often, but no Lord Frith or divination. I enjoy a good story with / about psychics, but I’m not sure I would really believe it in real life.
nods I think a lot of us have a fair amount of scepticism about psychic phenomena. Which with con men about is no bad thing.
I always think of the old SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE skit where Christopher Walken is the trivial psychic:
“You’ll buy a cup of coffee…and you’ll head to your car…”
“Yes?”
“You’ll get into your car…and you’ll drive away…”
{guy gets nervous} “Then what happens?”
“Your coffee cup will fall off the roof of the car where you left it, so you’ll have to buy another one.”
{guy walks away in disgust as Walken wails after him, “You don’t understand! You’re WASTING COFFEE!”
LOL! Walken has his priorities right! ;D