Happy Halloween & Samhain!

For those of you who celebrate Halloween or Samhain, I hope you have a wonderful and safe time.


Please enjoy three short stories of the macabre I've posted below. Two of these stories can also be found on my website along with other flash fiction pieces.



"Drowning"

Panic crushed brittle ribs, pierced aching lungs. A strangled gasp escaped her bruised throat moments before algae-caked water seeped into a slack mouth, stung nose and eyes. In excruciating slow motion, the pond closed over her head. As consciousness faded, she prayed her killer would stop. She’d changed her mind.

"Big Edna"

“Nervous?” Big Edna asked as she led the way upstairs.

“No, ma’am,” Henry replied, voice cracking. He swallowed as Big Edna’s hips swayed provocatively under her ankle-length black skirt. She didn't attract him, but the promise of what she offered assailed his hormone-addled mind, caused him to grab the railing until his dizziness passed.

Big Edna stopped on the second floor landing. Henry, attention focused on the attic and rooms unknown, bumped into her Rubenesque form.  She turned and looked down, cocking an eyebrow in amusement. Henry flushed, suddenly aware of his blatant eagerness. He reddened even more when he lifted his head, only to look straight at her ample bosom pushing against the burgundy corset. He swallowed, focused on her red hat with its ostentatious pink ostrich feather. 

“Last chance to turn back if you’re afraid.”

Henry shook his head. Upstairs, women who smelled of soap and rose water waited, beautiful women with long flowing hair and slender limbs. Only Big Edna stood between him and ecstasy.

She nodded, allowed him to pass. He started up the stairs, eyes wide, mouth slightly open. He never saw her cruel smile.

Whistling, she went downstairs to sharpen the knife.

 
“Untitled”

I hear them drawing nearer, their voices rising and falling. In my mind’s eye, I watch them wind their serpentine way around the meadows and hills in this danse macabre. Nervous laughter gives way to raucous cheers as the new recruits reach out a tentative hand to the last person of this human chain.

But I stand alone, commanded by the Angel of Death to play and charm these new denizens of the underworld while he leads them to the scales where good deeds are weighed against bad ones. As expected, the virtuous are escorted to Paradise while their unlucky counterparts are left to wander as earth-bound spirits.

It’s the screams of the ones left behind that I can't stand. Nor does my music soothe them. Their howls and wails unnerve even Black Shuck, the Angel of Death’s canine companion. He whines and licks my hand until I pat his head and murmur consolations.

Perhaps it’s better that I don’t see the contorted faces and pale, blood-streaked cheeks of these tormented souls. The Angel of Death agreed, which is why he blinded me before requiring my services. I am under his protection for eternity.

You see, I’m not dead. 

Tuesday Guest Post: Cornelia Amiri

Celebrate Samhain with the Druid Bride by Cornelia Amiri

Happy Halloween. As an author of Celtic/Paranormal/Romance novels, my favorite holiday is Samhain, the Celtic festival which gives us our Halloween traditions. Samhain, pronounced SOW-uhn, is the Celtic New Year, October 31st or November 1st. Samhain falls between the old year and the new, it is a day without time. Spirits of the dead and supernatural beings easily cross into our earthly dimension on this day, since the veil between worlds is at its thinnest. The ancient Celts put food or treats out for their ancestors and celebrated this day with them. Here are some Samhain excerpts from several of my books.

First, an excerpt from Druid Bride, my latest release:
Now that the fire was blazing, Tanwen raised her hands above her head and twirled, chanting as a gray-headed Lossio beat the bodhran. “The fire sparks. The veil parts. Spirits among us, bones, ashes, dust are once again family and friends. Ancestors come near, feast with us here. Dance and Sing around the stone ring. Great powers abound, the circle goes around. All hail Samhain.”

Musicians came forth, strumming a harp and playing the Pict triple pipes. Brude meant to tell her they couldn’t wed this eve, but as he neared her, she seemed more like the woman he longed to lie with again. Between thoughts of Tanwen entwined with him, the roaring bonfire, and the music, he forgot his forebodings.

He joined in a dance around the flames. The earth beneath him vibrated to the beat of Lossio’s goatskin drum, the haunting hum of the triple pipes, and the ethereal tone of the harp. He was smoke rising from the fire, and the music pushed him high into the air. Mellow warmth swirled in the pit of his belly. Brude spun faster and faster around the blaze. As he leapt in the dance, he turned his gaze toward Tanwen.

Second Excerpt from Druid Bride:

With thoughts of the new family she and Brude would soon have, Tanwen fastened her gaze on the feasters scattered across the hall. Here and there, between clusters of people, lay empty animal pelts with plates piled with food in front of them. Places for the spirits of the dead who came through the oak door to feast at Samhain. Her ancestors, all of her family was here at her wedding, and sharing this day with her. Her brother Boudicius, her mother, her father, her aunt, and her grandmother Boudica, who had foreseen this very day. It brought a tear to her eye.

After feasting, the tribe climbed up the hill, where the kids played a game with an apple hanging from a stick alongside a lit candle. One by one, amid squeals and giggles, they tried to take a bite of the fruit, while the flaming candle dangled dangerously near. 

Adults sat with each other, telling funny stories and some serious ones of the events of the past year, encouraging the dead who gathered with them to take interest in the affairs of the living. Others danced around the bonfire, and many couples broke off from the crowd, to find little spaces of privacy here and there, for coupling long into the night.

Brude swept Tanwen into his arms and carried her all the way down the hill and to his wheelhouse, where he laid her on his soft bed

Next, an excerpt from Danger Is Sweet:

The air was filled with an exuberant din of singing, chattering, and further Samhain merriment. Her child would be born on this day, which fell betwixt the old and new year. A day without time.

Malcolm grinned at Bethoc as he carried her through the city streets. "A selkie, a Scot, a Pict, and born on Samhain; this will be a special child."

This is a quote from Sulwen in Druid Quest:

"Aye, but she is only in the Otherworld. You shall see her spirit at Samhain, and in the next life you will all meet again."

Here are a few lines about Samhain from Vixen Princess:
Mabon bid his friends good eve, and with a slight stagger, walked back to his tent. Lifting the oilskin flap, he crawled inside and rolled onto his cot. Shutting his eyes, he fell into a deep, drunken sleep. Until the words, "The dead walk tonight and it is not even Samhain," sounded in his ear, along with a puff of hot breath.

Here is an excerpt from The Fox Prince:
"Lads!" Nesta clapped her hands hard. "The tarts are almost done."

"Come, get your face painted for Samhain," Aelfrida called to the boys.

Firmly, she cupped the tallest lad's chin in one hand while brushing a chunk of crumbling charcoal across his cheeks. He shut his eyes tight and she blew the excess soot away. She looked at his sooty face and clicked her tongue.

"I do not know if you are a spirit of the dead or a dirty-faced lad."

He raised his arms and curled his fingers like claws then moaned loud enough to be heard in the otherworld.
"Oh!" She laughed. "A spook you are then!"
"Paint my face," the youngest lad called as he bobbed up and down. The charcoal felt dry and powdery in her fingers as she sketched the outline of a skeleton on the little urchin face.

"You are a true haunt," she declared.
She smudged the third lad's face with black charcoal and pronounced, "The spirits are sure to think you one of them and pass you by." She stood back and grinned. They are so cute. Not a one is a terror as they are of a wont to be. "Let me paint your face, Githa," Aelfrida called to the little girl.
"Nay." She shook her head and scampered toward the wall.
Aelfrida burst out in laughter. A pounding noise sounded at her back followed by creaking and a chill gust of wind. She swiveled to her left. The door was open but no one was there. The children suddenly grew quiet. Their wide eyes fixed upon a spot to her right. Slowly, she turned.
"Boo!" Tryffin stood there with a huge grin on his soot-covered face.
Aelfrida flung her hands aside her head. "You are a sight." She dropped her shoulders and burst out in giggles.

"I am a spirit come to find a live body for Samhain." With a seductive gleam in his eyes he said, "I think I shall take yours."

Blogging Contest:

Enter a comment or question and one winner will receive a pdf copy of  Druid Bride

For more long swords, hot heroes, and warrior women drop by my website at http://CelticRomanceQueen.com

Happy Samhain/Halloween,

Cornelia Amiri

Tuesday Guest Post: Amber Kallyn

Dragons and Alpha Males

The history of dragons is a long and complicated one. The more we learn about science, the more people argue -- well, they could have been real, physiologically. But there’s no proof. We live in a world where proof seems to count for everything lately.

And yet, there’s people like us. Those who read for pleasure and perhaps a bit of escapism. Do dragons exist?

They certainly do for me.

I read about them all the time, falling in love and finding their destined mate. Whether it’s the hero, the heroine, or both who is the shapeshifter, they are still two headstrong people fighting against the flow, avoiding love and commitment until they find each other.

Then Bam!

There is love. Companionship. A relationship and eventually a family.

So what makes dragons so fascinating? I think it’s the fact that every culture, worldwide, has some myth revolving around these creatures. Most times, the dragon is essentially a protector, whether of the earth or their personal treasure.

And who better to watch love blossom than an alpha male and a kick-ass woman, both of whom believe they are the protectors of life, love and happiness?

You tell me, what’s your take on it?

Line: What happens when a dragon falls in love with a fireman? Someone's bound to get... Burned.

Blurb:

When Calla, a dragon shifter, heads to a sleepy mountain town to investigate their recent arson outbreak, she doesn't expect to come face to face with the dark dragon who killed her mother, or find her destined mate beneath the burning rays of the moon.
Firefighter Scott O'Neil can't fight his attraction to her, even after he finds out what she is, and the shocking secret of his own past.

Buy link http://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=1464

Author Recommendations

My angel posts are currently on hiatus while I get ready for NaNoWriMo next month.

Instead, I'd like to talk about new dark genre fiction authors I've recently discovered.


Lavie Tidhar (Hebrew Punk, An Occupation of Angels) Hebrew legends meet dark fantasy. The cover caught my attention at ConGlomeration. I even saw the original painting by the talented Melissa Gay. I've read this book once and am going to read it again because I know there's so much I missed the first time around. As for An Occupation of Angels, all I can say is this is one I can't wait to read.

For more about Lavie Tidar: http://lavietidhar.wordpress.com/

Maurice Broaddus (Devil's Marionette, Orgy of Souls, Dark Faith, King Maker) I haven't yet read Dark Faith (an anthology Mr. Broaddus edited with Jerry L. Gordon) or King Maker, his recent novel by Angry Robot Books, although I own copies. But I did read Orgy of Souls, co-authored with Wrath James White. And I cried at the end. Because the story was that fucking good. I mean there are books you read and when you finish them, you think, "That was nice." Then there are books you read and when you finish them, it's like a punch in the gut. You're stunned. You can't get the final images out of your head. Yeah, Orgy of Souls is like that. In a good way.

Devil's Marionette, the second novella I read by Mr. Broaddus, is one of those twisted stories that draws you in and delights in shaking your preconceived notions like a Jack Russell terrier. Part psychological thriller, part visceral experience, Devil's Marionette is a spiraling roller coaster ride into the living hell of one's mind.

You can learn more about Maurice Broaddus and his books at: http://mauricebroaddus.com/

John Everson (Siren, Covenant, Sacrifice, The 13th) I first met John Everson at Hypericon where I bought a copy of Covenant. On the surface it's your standard "deal with the Devil" story but with a twist. The story continues in Sacrifice, and I'm interested to see what happens to the hero, who made a pretty remarkable and dangerous proposition.

John Everson's site can be found here: http://www.johneverson.com/http://www.johneverson.com/   

Michele Lee (Rot) I first met Michele at another author's book signing then again at ConGlomeration where I bought a copy of Rot, her zombie novella. Now let me first say I'm not a huge fan of zombies. I've seen Night of the Living Dead, White Zombie, and I Walked with a Zombie, but that's about the extent of it. Researching the actual history of zombies is far more interesting. So I was glad that Ms. Lee's book dispelled with the stereotypical tropes and delivered a story where the zombies are actually likable and empathetic.

Michele's site and information about Rot (as well as her other writings) can be found at: http://www.michelelee.net/

There you are. This list is by no means complete. I'll be profiling other writers in the near future. In the meantime, read their books and, if you have any recommendations, send them my way.

Happy Reading!

Open Topic Thursday: Writing Dark Genre Fiction

I'm working on my short horror novel, currently called the "Zaphkiel  Project" because I can't think of a title. And I'm researching the Horror Writer Association's "Approved Publisher List" to find possible publishers to submit it to. (I want to earn an affiliate membership.)

Anyway, I'm also thinking of posting short horror fiction to my website, starting Tuesday Oct 19 and posting each day through Oct. 31. Thirteen dark genre stories. I like the term "dark genre fiction" because it can encompass horror, fantasy, sci-fi, maybe even mystery, thriller, and suspense. I already have a few flash fiction pieces posted.

Might also be fun to lay out 13 Tarot cards and get ideas based on what comes up. But should I use the Celtic Tarot or the Rider-Waite deck? Maybe both? Seven of one deck and six of the other? Actually, six and six since I already have an idea for one story. Not that I don't have to plot my NaNoWriMo book before November 1. But you've already heard my thoughts on that topic. LOL

Also debating whether or not to polish and self-publish a vampire short novel on Smashwords and/or Kindle. I'd prefer publishing my books to self-publishing, but I'd like to keep my options open. Same thing with the free reads. I've read the pros and cons of posting free material. I can't say it will bring me new readers but it's worth a try.

Artful Wednesday

Yep, I changed the title of this week's art post. Actually, it's one of a few changes I'll be implementing soon.

Anyway, on to Wednesday's picture.

 "Welcome to My World"

It's a mixed media piece I started years ago. Acrylics, fabric, and digital painting. I'm still not sure if it's complete or not. (And yes, I know my art skills are lacking.) LOL

Art, whether it be photography, drawing, painting, etc., is an integral part of my creative process. One of the reasons I enjoy reading manga and graphic novels is seeing the artistic representations played out over the course of the story. Have I considered writing/drawing a graphic novel? Heck no. I don't have the drawing skill needed to not only create but maintain sequential characters and scenes. If I were a cartoonist, I'd be restricted to one panel.

Would I jump at the chance to see my work done in graphic novel format? If it's by an artist whose work I admire, hell yeah! Besides, I know Hollywood won't come calling. :-)

Anyhow, creating in a different medium from writing is a good way to jolt the right side of my brain when it's stuck in ennui mode. Not only do my art and photography provide me with something to hang on my walls, but also material for my websites, including this blog, stories, etc. So I guess you could say I'm visually oriented.



 

Tuesday Guest Post: Cindy Spencer Pape

First of all, I’d like to thank Pam for having me here today. One of my favorite things so far about being an author is all the fantastic people I get to meet and hang out with.

The Idea Fairy:

I always love the question we writers get asked by almost everyone. “Where do you get your ideas?” Honestly I’ve never been able to come up with a single rational answer to that. Life. Imagination. Bits of overheard conversation from a restaurant crossed with a commercial for cat food. Add in a couple really weird elements from a dream and a little bit of revenge for a movie that ended just the wrong way. What I want to say sometimes is, “The Idea Fairy leaves them under my pillow every night,” because there’s really just no good answer. Ideas just…happen. Maybe the best response I’ve ever read was from the late, great Douglas Adams who said something along the lines of, “All I can suggest to would-be writers is to drink lots of coffee and to buy a desk that can withstand having your head banged on it.”  I don’t drink coffee, but substitute Diet Coke, and there you have me.

Some writers get ideas from dreams. Been there done that. They’re usually just too surreal to write down, but bits and pieces of my dreams go into bits and pieces of my books.  Ideas from real life. Yeah, those happen too. I know a lot of geeks. I’ve written geek books. Although if there’s really a dragon in the steam tunnels below the campus where I went to school, I’m not admitting it. But wouldn’t it be cool if there was?

That would be where most of my ideas come from. Random snatches of reality and fantasy blended together into “Wouldn’t it be cool…” moments. If any of you remember the old “Gargoyles” cartoon, you might have thought, “He’s kinda hot. Wouldn’t it be cool if he was the hero of a romance?” I sure did. And lo and behold, I have a series about gargoyles—really hot gargoyles.

I was honestly told as a child that I had too vivid an imagination. Now I’m pretty sure that’s an asset, but as a kid it wasn’t always. It took me a long time to discover that what I had wasn’t a curse, but a gift, and that I was bloody well supposed to DO something with it. So here I am. Can there be any greater job than just getting to make stuff up? Not to me. And so whether the ideas come from dreams or snatches of overheard conversations in the shopping mall, or from banging my head on my kitchen table (I don’t really have a desk) all I know is I hope they keep coming. And the weirder the better.

And just for fun, here’s a few blurbs, including my latest release from Ellora’s Cave, and my latest from Carina Press. So click on the covers, or my links below and come play inside my imagination for a while.

About the Author:

Cindy Spencer Pape is an avid reader of romance, fantasy, mystery, and even more romance who firmly believes in happily-ever-after. Married for more than twenty years to her own, sometimes-kilted hero, she lives in southern Michigan with him and two teenage sons, along with an ever-changing menagerie of pets.  Cindy has been, among other things, a banker, a teacher, and an elected politician, but mostly an environmental educator, though now she is lucky enough to write full-time. Her degrees in zoology and animal behavior almost help her comprehend the three male humans who share her household.

Website: http://www.cindyspencerpape.com

Blog: http://cindyspencerpape.blogspot.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/CindySPape

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100000270304390

About the Books:

Just for Jess (Immortal Cravings #3)

Release Date: Oct. 5, 2010

Publisher: Ellora’s Cave

Buy link: http://www.jasminejade.com/ps-8720-50-just-for-jess.aspx

            Blurb: Vampire Jessamy Maitland is a classic workaholic, until her friends team up to buy her a weekend with the incredibly sexy vampire Dermott McMahon on his luxurious private island. Dermott is determined to get Jess to kick back and relax, so he’s enlisted the help of three lion shifter friends.

Jess finds herself faced with three days of no phone, no computer and four sexy, horny males, all determined to wait on her hand and foot and show her a scorching good time. Naked. Together. In ways she’s never imagined. With those odds, what’s a vampire to do? There’s nothing for it but take them up on their offer and discover that sometimes it’s okay to play.

* * * * *

Motor City Witch (Urban Arcana Book #2)

Release Date: October 4, 2010

Publisher: Carina Press

Buy link: http://ebooks.carinapress.com/9FA8421E-7235-456D-ABF3-174B4C1ACA81/10/134/en/ContentDetails.htm?ID=6B85B3A2-3E88-4734-A98C-3EA23B6CD294

           Blurb:             She’d left magic behind.

Once upon a time, Elise Sutton had been a powerful witch and paranormal enforcer. Once she’d been madly in love with Fae lord Aidan Greene. But when Aidan had considered his duties more important than their relationship, the love affair ended badly. Shortly after, while on the hunt for a rogue demon, Elise was brutalized and almost killed. Months later she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. To protect her child—and her heart—Elise decided to live a nonmagical life.

            Until she meets Aidan again, and he assumes Dina is his daughter. When Dina is kidnapped by a racial purity movement, Elise turns to Aidan for help. The icy facade she has built around herself shatters at Aidan’s touch. Together they have to hunt through the human and faery worlds to find Dina...and to discover whether or not they have any kind of chance at a happily ever after.

Open Topic Thursday: You Say Hello, I Say Good Bye

Excited about this weekend. YA author Kelly Creagh will be at the Barnes and Noble at the Summit on Saturday and J.R. Ward will be at The Bookstore in Radcliff. 

Also, fellow Lyrical Press author Nicole Dennis' Dragon's Sanity cover is up for Clash of the Covers at Embrace the Shadows. Please show her some love and give her a vote. (I won last month.) :-)

Let's see. Progress on my three short novels... I've added 2069 new words to the Zaphkiel story and plotted the second half of the book. So far, I've written 3064 words for Cathedral Girl. The first chapters of Serpent Fire are currently under revision. I keep waffling between the idea of having the main character be a reporter or a NTSB agent. 

I'm also working on short story ideas to submit to magazines and anthologies. Sometimes I feel like I'm stuck in a quagmire, but I keep telling myself to push forward.

On to today's topic. I'm leaving one of my writing groups. While members were supportive when I first joined, lately this doesn't seem so. I hope I'm wrong, but I've sensed disapproval over what I write. For those of you who don't know, many of my stories have M/M relationships. Anyway, there's been a gradual change, for lack of a better word, in some members' attitudes and I've decided maybe it's best to move on.

There are other reasons why I'm reluctant to stay, but I won't go into details. While I hope this is a temporary situation, I also have to consider what's best for my writing career. It's not as if there aren't other, more supportive groups. There are. And it's not even an issue of people being supportive or approving. I'm not so naive as to think everyone should love my stories. But I see no point in being part of a group that could negatively impact me. 

I'm not upset about the situation. Like I said, I may return. In the meantime, I'm going to focus my efforts on writing and submitting. Ultimately, it's not any writing group that determines my success. It's me.

Wednesday Photo: St. James Court Houses

One of my favorite sections of Louisville, along with the Highlands, is Old Louisville and St. James Court. I love the variety of architectural styles. Xariel, my angel of death from Death Sword, lives in a Queen Anne on St. James Court. (Other angels from various stories live in the Highlands which is also home to Victorian and Italianate architecture.)

Louisville is the setting for my works-in-progress, including Serpent Fire (the sequel to Death Sword), my untitled "Zaphkiel" project, "Cathedral Girl" and "The Judas Dilemma" (titles pending).   
 

If you'd like to see more of my Old Louisville/St. James Court photos, you can check out my Facebook gallery page at:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/album.php?aid=238434&id=634650660

Tuesday Guest Post: Barbara Monajem

Title: Inspiration has a will of its own

A few days ago, I returned from a trip to Europe. I write both paranormal and historical romances, and needless to say I found plenty of opportunities for research. Some of it was standard stuff: there were swans on the Thames at Richmond (which is near London) just as there were when Henry I lived in a manor close by, and when the last of the Henrys (so far) went around beheading wives. Since I now know what the Thames and the swans look like in Richmond, I want to set a scene in a historical there, because having been there makes a place seem far more real when I’m writing about it. In Bordeaux, France, I learned to my delight that I was in Aquitaine, from which the redoubtable Eleanor hailed. Who wouldn’t want to put her in a book? In Germany, I didn’t get to see a fabulous Bavarian baroque church because (would you believe it?) they were doing woodworm repairs, but pictures of the interior made me long to write something that takes place in the early 1700s, because baroque is so deliciously decadent – perfect for either a regular historical or a vampire story.

But when it came right down to it, what inspired me most was stuff I’m not writing about right now. Stuff I don’t even have plans for yet. But inspiration whisks one where it wills, and what got me most excited was… first of all, a stork. This was at a bird sanctuary near Bordeaux. I’d never seen a stork before. My God, what a huge bird! No wonder they deliver babies. Their nests would fit a dozen babies, with room to spare. The nest in the picture is on top of a stand built specifically for storks to nest on, but they often nest on the roofs of buildings such as churches. I couldn’t help but imagine a middle-grade or even a young adult novel where a stork plays a major role. Not in the cards at the moment, though…

In Germany, we stayed with relatives, and what got to me was their garden. I’ve been there before, and the garden has always felt a bit enchanted, but this time the King of the Fairies had taken up residence in the form of a rangy white cat with ice-colored eyes. Here’s a picture of him. Don’t be fooled by the garden hose. He wants to pretend, to most ordinary mortals, that he’s just a standard cat. Therefore, he wouldn’t let me get what I really needed – a picture of his reflection in one of the gorgeous glass balls with which the garden is sprinkled – because his reflection shows what he really looks like.

I guess I’ll have to use my imagination for that one, since he pretty much ordered me to write his story. How can I possibly say no? But, but, but… I’m not the sort of person who writes six books a year or three at a time, and I have other plans… 

Which path do you choose to follow when inspiration goes awry? The planned one, somewhat familiar but for which the inspiration may have to be dug up, sometimes dragged? The unexpected, exciting and possibly disastrous? Something in between?

 Barbara Monajem's Tastes of Love and Evil, the second in the Bayou Gavotte series, is currently available from Amazon.

Monday: Angel Profile (Zaphkiel/Thrones)

Zaphkiel is chief of the order of Thrones. (Zabkiel and Orifiel are also called ruling princes.) He’s ranked as one of the seven archangels, according to Talismanic Magic, and is one of nine angels said to rule Heaven. Along with Iophiel and Orifiel, he’s the governor of Saturn. His name, which varies as Zaphchiel, Zaphiel, and Zophiel means “knowledge of God.”

Thrones rank third in the first triad of the celestial hierarchy, according to Dionysius. They reside in the fourth Heaven and are described as huge wheels containing several eyes. Hence their name, “the many eyed ones.” Also called Ophanim (Ofanim), Thrones are mentioned in Colossians 1:16, the Testament of Levi, the Life of Adam and Eve, the Apocalypse of Elijah, and Enochian writings. They’re said to serve as chariots of God and are driven by Cherubs. This may have been the vision Ezekiel saw.

Thrones dispense divine justice and “maintain the cosmic harmony of all universal laws.”

Sources:

Davidson, Gustav. A Dictionary of Angels, Including the Fallen Angels.
New York: The Free Press, 1971, pp.326

Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. The Encyclopedia of Angels.
New York: Checkmark Books, 2004, pp. 352-53

####

Zaphkiel is the hero (anti-hero?) of a short horror novel project. A renegade Throne angel hiding on earth, he takes it upon himself to protect a young woman stalked by her abusive ex-boyfriend. When Zaphkiel kills him, he unleashes a monster on the city. While Zaphkiel and Cassandra try to stop this abomination, Zaphkiel finds himself hunted by fellow angel Raziel.

His human form is tall with an athletic build, tousled shoulder-length dark hair, an unshaven face, and cerulean blue eyes. His wings are white.

In his true form, he turns into a fiery wheel covered by a myriad of eyes.