Angel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore: A Review

About the book:

Once you've seen, you can't unsee. Everything changes when you've looked at the world through . . .Angel Eyes

Brielle went to the city to chase her dreams and found tragedy instead. She's come home to shabby little Stratus, Oregon, to live with her grief and her guilt . . . and the incredible, numbing cold she can't seem to shake.

Jake's the new guy at school. The boy next door with burning hands and an unbelievable gift that targets him for corruption.

Something more than fate has brought them together. An evil bigger than both of them lurks in the shadows nearby, hiding in plain sight. Two angels stand guard, unsure what's going to happen. And a beauty brighter than Jake or Brielle has ever seen is calling them to join the battle in a realm where all human choices start.

A realm that only angels and demons-and Brielle-can perceive.




(Litfuse)




My Review:


First, I have to say that I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I love stories about angels and so this book fulfilled that need nicely. On the other hand, I don't like the whole apocalyptic, end-of-the-world genre and this book kind of had that feel to it. There is a sense of darkness and despair throughout this book, but very little hope. That darkness makes this story very atmospheric, but sometimes it can be unrelenting. I wonder if this was the author's intent. If so, it was beyond effective, but for me, it was just too overwhelming after awhile. It got to the point where I kept wishing for the end of the book, and not necessarily for good reasons.


My misgivings aside, I did enjoy some aspects of the book. It was well written and descriptive, but in a way that drew the reader along into the story and just immersed them in the world of the characters. Speaking of the characters, I just adored Jake and Canaan. All I can say about them is - wow! Wish I had guardians like that. They are both simply amazing characters, extremely well drawn and so noble. I truly enjoyed reading every scene they were in and struggled right along with them. And Brielle is also a well-developed character that you can easily identify with, hope for and worry about. The struggles she endures will have you wondering how she keeps her sanity, even as she discovers some inner power she didn't know herself capable of. The way she grows in this power and just in maturity is handled in a normal, believable manner. Then there's Helene, who is just amazing in her righteousness and beauty of spirit - love her! Of course, every good hero needs a bad nemesis and Damien provides it with a relish unseen since the heyday of Hannibal Lector. This character really gave me the creeps and every time he was on the scene, I cringed for what was about to happen. Bravo, Miss Dittemore, you have created a villain worthy of the worst of the worst in literate and cinematic history.


All in all,this was a satisfying read and I will be curious to see what happens to these characters in the future. Okay, I have to admit I want to read more about one of my favorite characters - Canaan. Please, please, give me more Canaan, I would happily read a book just about him (hint, hint). But I really would like to know what happens with Jake and Brielle, too.


Final verdict: Angel Eyes is kind of like The Hunger Games for the angel set - at least that's the way I see it. Do yourself a favor, read it and make your own conclusion.

Wistful Wednesday

Lacrimosa: Review

I wanted to like this book, I really did. It had everything I love: a paranormal theme, angels, demons, kickass heroines and to die for heroes. Unfortunately, they just didn't work for me in this story. I think part of the problem might be that the formatting of the book was so bad, I felt disconnected from the story. The main problem with the formatting was the fact that it went from a larger size font to a very small font at the beginning of every chapter and in so doing, chopped off some important pieces. The big font always ended in the middle of a sentence and the small font always began at the beginning of a new paragraph - with nothing linking it to what was previously read. If this happened only once, I would have forgiven it and marked it off to a glitch in the formatting. But where it happened with such frequency, I couldn't overlook it. As a result, I spent more time trying to adjust to the issues than getting to know the characters and that's bad. The last thing an author wants is for their readers to be alienated from their characters, especially so early on in the story. I found myself so frustrated with the formatting issues that I quickly lost interest in Nesy and her quest.

Sadly, for me, this was a DNF.

Tantalizing Tuesday

Embracing the Shadow

by

Christine Fonseca

“The shadow is very much a part of human nature, and it is only at night that no shadows exist.”
~Carl Jung, Psychology and Religion: West and East (page 286)


I am so happy to be on the Moonlight, Lace and Mayhem blog today. In honor of all things dark, I thought I’d write about Embracing the Shadow – or, “why I write the dark stuff”.

Probably the most common question I get from readers and writers alike is why do I like to write dark stories. For me, the answer is simple—I write the dark stuff as a way of understanding that aspect of humanity, and in doing so allow others to understand it too. It is sort of my version of being some great exploring on a quest. As a writer, I get to excavate all of human emotion, take it apart, and look at it. In doing so, I no longer fear those elements of humanity, at least not in the same way.

So, how do I achieve this lofty goal of looking at all aspects of humanity and writing about that experience? How do I embrace my own shadow and enable myself to write about the dark stuff? The answer for me is in the question—I embrace my shadow. Literally. So I create dark characters, complex characters, tortured characters. I try to see the world through their eyes, understand the motivation behind their crimes. I let their voices seep into my thoughts. And then, I write their stories. For me, it is the only way to stay authentic in my writing. And every time I get scared to “go there”, every time I pull myself back, I smile because I know I am getting to the good stuff…the root of human nature. So I jump back into the story. And keep writing.

Before I end, I want to share one more quote from Jung:


“If you imagine someone who is brave enough to withdraw all his projections, then you get an individual who is conscious of a pretty thick shadow. Such a man has saddled himself with new problems and conflicts. He has become a serious problem to himself, as he is now unable to say that they do this or they do that, they are wrong, and they must be fought against. He lives in the “House of Gathering.” Such a man knows that whatever is wrong with the world is in himself, and if he only learns to deal with his own shadow, he has done something real for the world. He has succeeded in shouldering at least an infinitesimal part of the gigantic, unsolved social problems of our day.”
~Carl Jung, Psychology and Religion: West and East, page 140


How do you embrace your shadow?

Short Blurb for LACRIMOSA:

As if casting out demons isn’t hard enough, five-hundred-year-old Nesy has to masquerade as a teenage girl to do it. Nesy is the best of the warrior angels called Sentinals. She never makes mistakes, never hesitates, never gets emotionally involved. Until she meets Aydan.

He is evil incarnate; a fallen angel that feeds off the souls of others. Everything Nesy is supposed to hate.  But she can’t, because he’s also the love of her former life as a human girl—a life that ended too soon, tying her to emotions she was never supposed to feel.

Now Nesy must choose between doing her duty—damning Aydan to the fiery depths of hell—or saving him, and condemning herself.



Author Endorcement(s):

“LACRIMOSA reaches out, grabs readers by the heart, and takes them on an emotional journey from the first page to the last. The last novel you’ll need to read to understand true sacrifice.”
~Elana Johnson, Author of POSSESSION

Availability:

Publisher: COMPASS PRESS
ISBN: 0984786368 (ISBN 13: 9780984786367)
Hardback and Digital formats from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and fine retailers.
Hardcopy buy link, Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Lacrimosa-Christine-Fonseca/dp/0984786368/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0
Hardcopy buy link, Barnes and Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lacrimosa-christine-fonseca/1109329729?ean=9780984786367
Kindle buy link– http://www.amazon.com/Lacrimosa-Requiem-Series-ebook/dp/B007HEVTS4
Nook buy link -  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lacrimosa-christine-fonseca/1109329729?ean=2940013923256

Additional Titles in the series include DIES IRAE (a Requiem Novella), LIBERA ME (Oct 2012) and REQUIEM (March 2013).


About Christine Fonseca

School psychologist by day, critically acclaimed YA and nonfiction author by night, Christine Fonseca believes that writing is a great way to explore humanity. Her debut YA Gothic series, The Requiem Series, including DIES IRAE and LACRIMOSA, examines the role of redemption, sacrifice and love. Her nonfiction titles include 101 SUCCESS SECRETS FOR GIFTED KIDS and EMOTIONAL INTENSITY IN GIFTED STUDENTS.

When she’s not writing or spending time with her family, she can be sipping too many skinny vanilla lattes at her favorite coffee house or playing around on Facebook and Twitter. Catch her daily thoughts about writing and life on her blog.

For more information about Christine Fonseca or the series, visit her website – http://christinefonseca.com or her blog http://christinefonseca.blogspot.com.

Watch for my review of Lacrimosa, coming soon!

Wistful Wednesday

Review: Nephilim by Mary Ann Loesch

Blurb:

Don't let him brand your soul.....

Tattoo artist Nathan Ink—an angel secretly living on earth—forces his clients to face their flaws by tattooing images of their sins on their bodies. In the urban fantasy, Nephilim, this little glimpse into the soul often results in his client’s death. Though Nathan shuns the other angels, when he is asked to keep an eye on Faye, an attractive nightclub singer being stalked by a malevolent being, he reluctantly agrees.



Faye is a nephilim (half angel/half human) and unaware of her stalker. She believes the other angels have asked her to investigate Nathan because of the high mortality rate of his clients. Despite her distaste for his methods, Faye discovers that Nathan is not a rogue and is forced to question her mission. Unwittingly she learns her stalker’s secret: he’s also a nephilim whose twisted plot is to exterminate the angels and breed a new race of beings with Faye. Knowing this, she realizes that teaming up with Nathan and using his unique artistic abilities may be the only way to stop this nephilim’s hellish plans.

(From the author's website)

The Review:

I have a special place in my heart for angels. I write about them myself (Nora's Soul), I believe in them, and I like what they symbolize. So when other authors use angels as their protagonists, I like to read their stories to get their take on them - and believe me, they're all different! For this reason, I was very interested in reading Mary Ann Loesch's book, Nephilim. Just reading the blurb above was enough to entice me, even if I didn't already have a thing for angels. But I have to say, I'm feeling kind of ambiguous about this book. I'm not sure what I think about it. There are many things I  liked about it, but there were also some things that I didn't.

What I liked about it was the cast of angels, namely Azal, Nathan and Raphael. They are all interesting, well-rounded characters, each providing a reason to root for them. But I do have to admit that with the way the book was set up, I was a little confused at first about who was the actual protagonist of the story. Even though the blurb says Nathan Ink, in the beginning I actually thought it might be Azal. First, he was center stage with Faye and there were several references to their past that made it seem like he might be her hero. But then the story introduced Nathan and the confusion built a little bit until Azal suddenly took a step back and Nathan took center stage. It wasn't until Faye and Nathan's first romantic encounter that I truly believed they were the two protagonists in the story, that it was their story. But I guess that's what can happen when you have such fully-fleshed secondary characters - sometimes they just demand to take center stage themselves. (Hint, hint, Mary Ann: Give Azal his own story! And then invite me to the party because I just love, love, loved him!)

What I found difficult about the story was the grittiness of it. There's a lot of coarse language in it - even God swears at one point - and at times, I did find it a little offensive (the idea of God swearing really put me off). Call me old-fashioned, but I don't like the idea of angels behaving in such a coarse manner. For many of the secondary characters and the villain, the language seemed appropriate, but it didn't sound right coming from others. But that's just me. Still, I didn't let that one sour note prevent me from finishing the book and I'm happy I did because after what the author put her main characters through, I had to make sure the villain got his due. And although the book concluded with a somewhat ambiguous ending, I was still satisfied with it.

So all in all, I would have to say that Nephilim is an intriguing story that will have you staying up at night, eagerly reading to the thrilling conclusion to discover for yourself how Faye and Nathan could possibly overcome such a powerful foe. I would definitely recommend this book to lovers of urban fantasy as well as the paranormal genre.

Tantalizing Tuesday

Pump Up Your Book Promotion

Angels and Halloween

By Mary Ann Loesch

When I think angels, I don’t think Halloween.  Angels are supposed to be sweet and kind. They’re supposed to have little wings and halos that might occasionally appear to be crooked, but are always fixable.  Vampires, werewolves, zombies—none of those creatures are do-gooders like the angels, because, ultimately, an angel is the good guy, the one thing that doesn’t go bump in the night when Halloween rolls around. Right?

Hmmm…well, not necessarily.

I think angels are vastly overrated in the Good Guy Department.  To further understand my thinking, you need to meet Nathan Ink from my book, Nephilim.  An angel living on earth as a tattoo artist, Nathan is hardly your average cherub.  In fact, he takes great pains to avoid communications with others of his kind who don’t approve of his unconventional methods when it comes to dealing with sinners. Nathan’s specialty is tattooing his clients with symbols that represent the seven deadly sins. However, his tattoos aren’t innocent little drawings, but living entities that can cause all kinds of harm to those branded with them.

For example, a mermaid tattoo from Nathan wouldn’t just remind you of the sin of vanity. Oh, no. It would take things a step further and turn you into a mermaid who drowns in her own beauty.  Like to gossip? Then you might want to stay away from Nathan’s collection of Speak No Evil monkey tattoos. Unless, of course, you don’t mind having your lips sewn together for the sin of envy…

See? Angels can be the perfect hellish addition to your Halloween parties!

A reader recently asked me where I got the idea of writing about angels who are not as helpful and kind as some tales make them out to be.  As cheesy as it may sound, I found the answer in the Bible. I mean, have you read the Old Testament? It’s truly the stuff that nightmare are made of! Angels back then didn’t exactly mess around when it came to dealing out punishment. They didn’t use any Dr. Phil catchphrases or talk about the importance of making good choices. Most angels tended to just drop the hammer of God and go on about their business.

I kind of like that idea. Sometimes we sugar coat things, make excuses—no wonder we are the masters of credit card debt! Anyway, I opted to create a character who is everything your average angel (is there such a thing?) is not.  So come on and meet Nathan Ink this Halloween.  He’s got stories to tell and designs to draw.

Just don’t sit in his chair unless you are very brave…   

To learn more about my book, Nephilim, or me, visit my website www.maryannloesch.com or stop by Loesch’s Muse to chat!http://www.loeschsmuse.blogspot.com.





Mary Ann Loesch is an award-winning author living in the Austin Area. Teacher by day, writer by night, Ms. Loesch has an extensive background in Theatre Arts and education. In 2009 her novel, Nephilim, won the Writers League of Texas Manuscript contest in the category of Science Fiction/Fantasy. Having published short stories in SNM Horror Magazine, A Side of Grits, and Red Fez, she is also a proud contributor to the blogs All Things Writing and Loesch’s Muse, both guides for beginning writers. Lyrical Press, Inc. published her urban fantasy, Nephilim, July 2011.


You can visit her website at www.maryannloesch.com or her blog at http://www.loeschsmuse.blogspot.com.

Starlight Saturday

Weekly Book Review

When I first started reviewing books, I had a limiting factor to my reviews that I didn't quite understand - personal bias. I noticed that some of my ratings were weighted differently because of a personal bias.

Sure, everyone has personal biases - what we like, what we don't like - but these shouldn't come into play when "judging" or "rating" an author's book.

Why?

Just because one reader likes or doesn't like something about storyline, doesn't mean that all other readers will react to the same book in the same way. For example, in my review last year of Jay Asher's book, part of my personal experience (or personal bias) came in to play with this book and made it very hard to relate to the main female character, much less like her. This book wasn't bad writing nor was it a poor quality story. It's just that my own personal personal bias about the subject matter made it difficult for me to really believe the main character. Some people liked it and took it for what it was, and others, like me, found themselves wondering what he was doing and how did he figure that could work.

What does all this have to do with Nora's Soul?

Well, my personal bias has to do with god and religion. I find it annoying when what looks to be a decent battle between good and evil turns out to be more of a issue of "lost faith".

I'm not religious, nor have I ever pretended to be, and that's just it, these are my tastes and not the tastes of either the hero, heroine or the secondary characters, which makes it a personal bias of mine.

What's the point of all of this?

I bring this up because I don't like to let my personal biases cloud my reviews of books I read and I strongly encourage other reviewers not to let their personal biases cloud yours. Some reviewers don't, but

The more books I review, the better I am at identifying my personal biases and keeping them from clouding my reviews. However, there are times when I do bring up my personal biases because they are so strongly embedded in my nature that I can't avoid them. Even though I may not have been able to avoid my dislike of tying religion and god to good and evil, I haven't let it skew my review of this book. If I did, it would have less stars.

Despite the fact that god (again, I realize that others may not feel the same as I do, and I can respect that, so please respect that this is a personal feeling of mine, thank you) has a minor presence in this book, Margay has managed to create some wonderfully deep and complex characters that I have come to care about and want to read more of, despite my aversion to the religious tie. Nora, Kyle, Kyle's sister and Nora's best friend, Dante (Bad Angel) and Peter (Good Angel) combine to offer a page-turner with very interesting plot with some distracting (in a good way) plot twists.

I would definitely call this book inspirational because it does offer some very important messages - everyone that wants to can be saved because everyone is worth it and that everyone has a match, it just may not be who you first thought it might be. These are very important messages because they might be able to offer someone renewed hope for some aspect of their life, which is a definite bonus to any book.

This brings me to the main reason for the storyline, Nora herself. Nora was a very firm believer in god and loved all things angelic, until her brother died. Then, she went the opposite and couldn't bear to have any of it around. That's how we find Nora in the beginning of this book. She's struggling with the fact that she doesn't believe what she just saw, an angel. It's not that she truly believes that they don't exist, she's just been trying to convince herself that they don't since her brother died, which makes this storyline one along the lines of crisis of faith.

Now, for this book having a "crisis of faith" undertone, it wasn't as predominant in the book as it could have been. There is no "preaching" done from the author to the reader, only from Peter to Dante and, at the end, Peter to Nora. It was this aspect that allowed me to prevent my personal bias from clouding my review of this book.

This book had plenty of mystery to keep me flipping pages. There were always the questions of when Peter and Dante were next going to appear, and what kind of chaos Dante would create. As a reader, I was always curious to see how Nora would handle that chaos. Plus, it was interesting to follow Nora on her journey to find love and her way. This is a romance book, so it does have an HEA (happily ever after), but is it the one you want? If not, then you know that Margay has made you care about the characters she has created. That's what happened to me.

At the end of the book, I found myself saying, "What? That's it? What about Dante? Why didn't he do more in the book?" At first I thought this was a knock on the book and I quickly slapped my hand against my head in a "duh" moment.

What is that "duh" moment?

Margay did it, she got me to like her characters so much that I wanted more of them! That's not a knock against a book. If anything, it's a testament to how well created her characters are!

Which brings me to my rating of this book. As this is an inspirational romance, there isn't the heat that you'd find in other romance novels, nor the detail for those scenes either. While there's enough mystery created to make this a page turner, it's not the crux of the story either. What I'm getting at here is that many of my reviews usually include a scale gauging these different elements. Today, I'm just giving my overall review for this book:




Well done Margay! Can't wait to read Dante's story! Can I get an ARC of that??? Lol!

[Please check out my review of Nora's Soul on Moonlight, Lace and Mayhem's group page at Goodreads!]

Moonlight, Lace and Mayhem Contest Two

Hello, everyone, thank you for your readership of Moonlight, Lace and Mayhem. As the second week of our existence draws to a close, I am offering up a print copy of my debut novel, Nora's Soul, as a prize to one lucky commenter. As some of you probably know, it is the first book in a series about the struggle between two factions of angels: dark angels and light angels. And the hapless humans who come between them, of course! So I am going to open the floor to your angel stories. Have you ever encountered an angel? Would you want to? What would you do if you did stumble across an angel? And most important (to me), do you like reading about angels?

For those of you who do like reading about angels, check out Gracen's post from yesterday, Angels...Do You Believe? Informative stuff in there, I must say. And you can always check out my author blog for more tidbits about Nora's Soul at http://margayleahjustice.com. But to whet your appetite for this contest, here's a blurb of the book:

When angels of light and dark collide on earth…
Once he held a favored position in the heavens. But one moment of weakness casts Dante out and now he is cursed to walk the earth, collecting the souls of vulnerable women to buy his way into hell.
All hell breaks loose…
But standing in his way is Peter, an angel of light. Peter is everything Dante is not. Pure, above reproach. And determined to prevent Dante from achieving his goals. Peter will stop at nothing to protect the souls in his charge, even if it means achieving the impossible – leading Dante back onto the right path.
And no one is safe from the fall-out.
Nora Kendall believed in angels. Once. But then she lost her brother to cancer despite all of her prayers – and she lost her faith in all things angelic. Now, she is a lost soul who wanders through life like a sleepwalker, playing it safe and leaving the risk-taking to others.
Kyle Cameron is one of those risks. Burned by a bad marriage, his only concern now is providing a stable life for his children, who are left motherless by the unexpected death of his wife. This means working overtime to grow his architectural firm into a viable business – and leaving the care of his children to the care of someone he trusts. Despite his past connection with Nora, Kyle isn’t certain that she’s the right person for the job. He also doesn’t want to reconnect with her and repeat history.
But fate – and the machinations of two angels – has other ideas.

The winner will be picked by Random.org and announced tomorrow, Sunday, April 26, 2009. Be sure to check back and see if you have won.

If your name is drawn as the winner, you will need to e-mail me at Margay1122@gmail.com with your e-mail address to claim your prize.

Please note: New winners will be chosen from the remaining entries if prizes are not claimed within one week of drawing. There are no exceptions.

Best of luck!

The Moonlighters

Angels...Do You Believe?

TGIF! *waves* It’s been a long week in the Miller household. I saw my cardiologist Tuesday for a routine checkup on my mitral valve that has now turned into a series of tests. Yesterday I had an echocardiogram and now I’m hooked up to a 21-day heart monitor. These electrodes are itching the hell out of me! >:( So, anyway, that’s life right, the way things roll.

I’d already planned to write about angels, my cardiologist appointment had nothing to do with this week’s blog. So, anyone that ever read any of my Deadly Vixens’ posts, you know I’m a freak for the supernatural.

"I always feel like somebody's watching me..."

Angels...

"And I have no privacy, whoa - oa - oa..."

Are they among us? Are they even real? Do you believe in them? Are they heavenly sent?

"I always feel like somebody's watching me..."

Is there an Angel standing over your shoulder right now as you read this blog?

"Who's playing tricks on me?"

*grins* I'll shut up with the lyrics now. Why that song even made me think of angels, I'll never know. *laughs* That's my kooky brain at work. ;-) Just in case you were interested, the lyrics were from Somebody's Watching Me, by Beatfreakz, which was sung by Michael Jackson and Rockwell.

There is a lot of lore out there about Angels from the Holy Bible to just the difference in basic beliefs and concepts.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, states the following facts:

“The word ‘angel’ in English (from Old English and German Engel), French (from Old French angele), Spanish, and many other Romance languages are derived from the Latin angelus, itself derived from Koine Greek: άγγελος, angelos, ‘messenger’.”

Hmmm…. Angel off Buffy the Vampire Slayer—and of course let’s not forget his own show entitled appropriately enough just Angel—wasn’t his real name Angelus? Interesting….Okay, back on track because this isn’t about the fictional vampire Angel.

Wikipedia goes on to state the following:

“In Hebrew and Arabic the primary term for "angel" is ‘malakh’ (מַלְאָךְ), ‘malaika’, or ‘malak’ (ملاك) derived from the Semitic consonantal root l-'-k (ל-א-ך), meaning ‘to send.’ This root is also found in the noun ‘Melakha’ (מְלָאכָה), meaning ‘work’, and the noun ‘Mal'achut’ (מלאכות), meaning ‘message’. Other words referring to angels include כרוב kruv describing young children, from which the English word ‘cherub’ is derived. Another Hebrew term is Gil-Gulim, meaning ‘revolving,’ and angels are sometimes depicted as wheels with wings. Derived from this is the Hebrew term ‘Gal-Gal,’ ‘the rotation of fortune, change.’”

While that is all fascinating and I love the way the Hebrew and Arabic spellings look (they’re so pretty to me), it is still a little technical and boring for me as well. For me the word Angels inspires biblical principles and ideologies. Growing up in the church, one cannot run from the teachings of Angels. Biblically, Angels were often times messengers of God. Sometimes Angels were sent to lead God’s people. They were always sent by God though. In Revelations, Angels are harbingers of plagues and destruction.

But where there is good, there is also evil. That I believe even for today. There’s good and evil in the world, unfortunately identifying between the two isn’t always easy.

Most of us know that Satan was considered the most powerful, most beautiful of all angels before he rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven to wander the earth. It is referenced in 2 Cor. 11:16 that Satan masquerades as an angel of light, being the proverbial false prophet.

But beyond that, do you believe in Angels? If so, what do they represent to you?

For me, do I believe in Angels? Yes. But when I think of Angels, I do not necessarily picture the winged angel prevalent in popular culture today. Neither am I picturing Leo off of Charmed, although I rather liked that one. I do believe we sometimes meet angels disguised as humans and we may not even be aware of it. I believe there are different types of angels also.There are those among us, guardians if you prefer, that protect us and even send us messages to guide us along the correct path. Whether we hear those messages, is strictly up to how perceptive or open we are to the supernatural noise around us.

I also believe there are warrior angels that fight demons. Maybe, they’re even whispering in the ears of our military guiding them, leading them to safety, giving them a helping hand without any of them ever being the wiser…calling it intuition if you so desire. Maybe, angels are whispering in the ear of evil dictators, staying their hands for one brief show of leniency before allowing them to further inflict bloody atrocities against humanity.

Whatever their real purpose, for me I believe they are here to oppose the minions of evil. To protect us from ourselves or even real supernatural evil. But what I was most interested in was how you all feel and what you think about Angels. So, I posed this question to my fellow internet sisters on Sn.tv:

“Do you have any opinions about angels? Do you believe in them at all? If so, what specifically do you believe about them? Do they help us? Or are they only for God's direction and loyalty? Are they messengers or harbingers of disasters, like the mothman prophecy? Tell me anything and everything you'd like to share with me about your thoughts.”

They were not quiet on the matter. So, once you finish reading their comments, share with me your beliefs.

MANETH

“I don't know if I believe in them, I've never SEEN them so I really don't know. I'm open to anything really, I don't care if they exist or not, I just live my life, not worrying if anything else is out there unless I FACE it.”

NIGHTSHADEISIS

“Far as the angels....hell yes I do.

I've always been a believer in God and everything he stands for. Even though I believe in all of this other spooky crap as well, but there are reasons for things that God just doesn't want us to understand. We're given free will to do what we choose here and be tested. And I don't see how a person can believe in demons without believing in the counter- Angels- in the process. There isn't just EVIL. There's good too. And if that wasn't the case than nothing would repel the bastards.

I’ve came face to face with demons. I've been possessed. None of the above were fun. But I’ve witnessed miracles from God in my life and my daughters on the same token, and felt his love and power in my life when I didn't ever think I deserved it. I wouldn't EVER turn my back on that belief or doubt that.

I'm a complete believer that they are out there. God even said that Angels as well as Demons walk the earth among us. So that leaves one to wonder and think about it.

For what they do, I believe firmly that they are watchers, observers, messengers. They look out over God's work, make sure we all are alright. But also in times of dire need, will do what needs to be done, because God commands it so. It isn't unusual in biblical times for cases like Dean's to spring up where God commanded someone to do something, and it was needed to be done. Angels are known to be messengers of God. I wonder as far as the whole Mothman prophecy, however. Have to lean towards the side of his being a harbinger personally. But that's just me. But yes as far as angels, I firmly believe that they look over us, watching out for us. HELPING when it is necessary, PASSING ON MESSAGES when God asks of it, and even STEPPING INTO THE FIGHT when it becomes a major case of need.”

ALESSANDRA

“Being raised Roman Catholic I was taught to believe in God and therefore Heaven, Angels, Hell and Satan. I attended Church every Sunday, said my prayers, went to Communion, etc. At 10 I was becoming more aware of world events and could not understand how God could allow all the suffering and cruelty to exist without interfering; this is when I stopped believing He existed or more to the point this is when I no longer needed to believe in Him and therefore Heaven/Angels, etc. When I was 16 I stopped attending Church knowing my parents would respect my wishes at this age. I did, however, continue to go at Easter and Christmas knowing it would please them as well as pray for a friend or family member in need as this would give them comfort. That might seem hypocritical but just because I didn't need to believe in Him doesn't mean it is wrong for others to believe.

I know if evil exists, which it does, then good must exist as a balance. But the question remains are God and his Angels and Satan and his minions actual physical entities or just labels used to represent good and evil; or is this just 2 aspects of humanity with no preternatural connotations?

As you can see Belief is very difficult; having blind Faith is simply not in my nature.

I have never felt the presence of my Guardian Angel, we all have one apparently. Having said that I have beaten certain death twice (without medical intervention) and grievous injury, also twice, with nothing more than a few bruises.Was that just luck or do Angels and therefore God really exist?”

AISLINN

“I know that Angels are sexless, neither male nor female, but when they come to us they come to us in a form that we are familiar with. They too have free will, hence Lucifer's fall. Some say the UFO's are actually Angles, Ezekiel had a vision of a fiery wheel that some say would look liked an UFO, written about in the first or second chapter of Ezekiel. Contrary to popular belief we humans cannot become Angles after death.”

POCKETS

“Lets see do I believe in angels. Lets work on the definition here do I believe in winged harp playing messengers from God? No. Do I believe in some sort of being that isn't nessecerily in a bodily form on this plane of existance that has a purpose to guide and or guard the human race as a whole or has one or a group of specific charges? I'd certainly like to and due to various evidence, personal experience and the amount of people who can hold testimony, Alessandra for example narrowly escaping death and the like. I'd probably err onto the side of believing.

I like to keep an open mind on every matter of this type. On the one hand I believe that once your lights are out, there is nothing, the bare bones science of things has yet to completley discover souls and such and thus on that thought pattern there is no question that we are just organisms and thus will behave like them..But on the same note I am a person who holds a faith and I would certainly like it if my 'beliefs' held true, I have faith in that which I pray to and I would like to not be talking to myself. That said I'm a paranoid person and often wonder. But my Gods don't care! They'll stick around and wait for me to get over myself and I believe that if any thing that is what 'angels' whatever they may be, are there for. A messenger, possibly not but a go between certainly. I'm not egotistical enough to believe a higher power would have a message for me but I do think that if such higher power exists then they will send their underlings to help me on my way to being a better person in life and faith and guide and guard me in my life because everyone needs someone.”

I hope to hear what you think about Angels.

Have a great weekend everyone! *waves*

Don't forget to check back tomorrow for your chance to win a copy of Margay's book, Nora's Soul!