Shape-shifters in Mythology

Today shape-shifters, werewolves, and others are a big hit in romances. While doing intensive research for my paranormal fantasy set in mythological Egypt, I discovered that the concept of shape shifters is as old as the world and often associated with Romance.

In Greek Mythology, the god of gods, Zeus seduced many pretty women, but he had to switch to bull or shift his lovers to swan, or heifer, or other animals to protect her from his jealous wife Hera.

In the Egyptian Mythology, the gods use their shape-shifting power to perform their duties, attack enemies or defend followers. Let me introduce to some of the shape-shifter gods who play a direct role in my paranormal fantasy: OSIRIS’ MISSING PART, based on the myth of Isis and Osiris.

Isis was the goddess of family and health, and the most beautiful goddess in the pantheon. Her crown was decorated with the horns of a cow, encasing a solar disk between the horns. Sometimes she was represented as a cow, or a woman with a cow's head. Isis, wanted a son and spent years hoping that the handsome Osiris would stop flirting and propose to her.

Osiris, the god of knowledge, work and agriculture, was probably the only Egyptian god who never shifted to another form. His subjects adored him because of his kindness. With his Atef cone over his hand, his scepter and a key of life in his hands, he was so handsome that women and goddesses alike fell in love with him.

Seth, Osiris’ hateful brother, threw iniquities on the Egyptian people who called him god of storm and darkness. Seth usually wore a red mantle to match his red hair and eyes. Because of him, Egyptians considered the bright red to be a color of evil. Osiris’ brother was often represented with a human body and jackal’s head. He could switch to a black pig or hippopotamus, or even to a crocodile or a shark, as when he tried to capture Isis underwater in the Red Sea.

Nephtys, Seth’s wife, is a protective goddess who symbolizes the death experience. In the funerary role, Nephthys often was depicted as a bird of prey called a kite, or as a woman with falcon wings, usually outstretched as a symbol of protection. Nephthys' association with the kite or the Egyptian hawk (and its piercing, mournful cries) evidently reminded the ancients of the lamentations usually offered for the dead by wailing women.

 Anubis, believed to be the son of Nephthys and Seth, was associated with the mummification and protection of the dead for their journey into the Afterlife. He was usually portrayed as a half human, half jackal, or in full jackal form wearing a ribbon and holding a flail in the crook of its arm.

Nut, mother of Isis, was the goddess of the sky. She spent hours bending over the earth or reading the star constellations to decipher the future and wisely explain the world plans.

Sobeck, the crocodile god, protected the justified dead in the netherworld, restoring their sight and reviving their senses, but he often ate their insides before mummifying their bodies. Because of his ferocity, he was considered to be the patron of the army.

Everyone hated the ferocious Kismet, also called Sekhmet. The goddess of destruction had a statuesque woman body and a lioness head adorned with the solar disc and a cobra. Her hatchet man, Nekhoret the vulture, helped her in her attacks.

Min, the gloating dwarf who loved to exhibit his long erect penis and instruct young men on improved performance, was the god of the desert. Osiris didn’t like him as he tried to court Isis. Min often claimed that his member beat all others in length.

Horus is the son of Osiris and Isis. His favorite shape is a human body with a falcon head bearing an orange sun disk wrapped with a golden cobra serpent. Ancient Egyptians believed that the Sun was his right eye and the Moon his left eye.

OSIRIS’ MISSING PART

When the evil god, Seth, killed his brother, Osiris, cut him into fourteen pieces and spread them over Egypt, Isis, goddess of family, found and reassembled thirteen body parts. She used a human substitute to replace the fourteenth missing part, his male organ, where his godly power is stored.

Love blooms between the charming Osiris and Isis as they fight evil gods and search for the missing member, but can Isis forgive the sins of his past and their unexpected consequences?

This book is dedicated to the many friends, readers and fans who love Ancient Egypt, a fabulous civilization, shrouded in mystery, glamour and mysticism.

At Ellora’s Cave Blush $5.24: http://www.jasminejade.com/p-9394-osiris-missing-part.aspx

What readers and reviewers say about OSIRIS’ MISSING PART

1-By H. M. Taylor "silvarie" - 5 stars

If you are looking for something a little different you have found it! Full of adventure, romance and humor this is a great holiday read. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews.

2-A NIGHT OWL REVIEWS BOOK REVIEW 4 stars

Mona Risk draws upon Egypt and the mythology of the Egyptian gods. Join her for the adventure as she takes you on a trip into the past and into an enjoyable realm. I enjoyed this tale and look forward to more Mona Risk titles.

3-By Steph "Author of "The Giving Meadow, 5 stars

Risk crafts an exotic adventure filled with supernatural happenings, greed, betrayal, and love. The novel is sophisticated for romance readers with love scenes that are graphic, sensual, and tasteful. Risk's imagination shines against the lush backdrop of ancient Egypt. "Osiris' Missing Part" is a wonderful escape to another time and place that proves love does conquer all.

RELEASE DAY!!!

OSIRIS' MISSING PART

Ellora's Cave BLUSH

http://www.jasminejade.com/p-9394-osiris-missing-part.aspx

WINNERS ARE:
Barbara Monajem
Paisley Kirkpatrick
Lyn Armstrong
Lilly Gayle

Book Length: Plus Novel
Book Type: eBook

Publisher: Ellora's Cave Publishing
SBN: 9781419934629
Our Cover Price: $5.24

Osiris' Missing Part

By: Mona Risk

Blush sensuality level: This is a sensual romance (may have explicit love scenes, but not erotic in frequency or type).

Short Synopsis:
According to the legend, the evil Egyptian god of storm, Seth, killed his brother Osiris, chopped him into fourteen pieces and flung them all over Egypt. Isis, goddess of family, reassembled thirteen of his body parts. Since she couldn’t find his supernatural male member where his godly power was stored, she reattached a human one.
Isis has always loved Osiris, the charming god of labor. While dreaming of marriage, family and a son, she helps him fight Seth. Together they struggle to survive iniquities and perils.
His trip to the Afterlife has changed Osiris. He has fallen in love with Isis and regrets his past womanizing, but the sins of his past and their unexpected consequences threaten to separate the lovers more painfully than Seth’s mayhem and curses.

Excerpt:

“We are powerful gods, Amout. We’ll give you untold strength. Now stand up and be a man. If you serve us well, we will reward you and your children,” Isis said

The man scrambled to his feet with an agility that belied his previous statement. “I’m your servant, powerful goddess.”

“Tell us about the curse you heard. Why won’t Osiris be able to reattach his member when he finds it?”

Amout wrapped his arms around his middle. “Please, ask me anything but that.”

“This is most important information. Speak.” She shook a threatening fist at him to loosen his tongue.

Amout cringed. His whole body shaking, he turned toward Osiris. “I’ll tell you privately, Almighty Osiris. Man to man.”

“Are you crazy?” Isis shouted. “Do you realize you’re insulting me?”

“Never my goddess. But what I have to say…” Amout wrung his hands, his eyes filling with tears. “I mean what Seth said will hurt your sensitive ears.”

“Don’t worry about my ears. They are made of sturdy stuff. Speak, I said.”

“Oh dear, oh gods, spare me, or cut out my tongue.” The man seemed in agony.

Was it that bad? My poor Ozi, what have they done to you, that I won’t be able to reattach you? “You can speak in front of your goddess. We have no secrets.” Hmm, except, of course, the few secrets related to Ozi’s former indiscretions. Osiris peeked at Isis who tilted her head and raised an eyebrow.

“If you insist,” Amout said as if these were his last words.

Isis’ eyes flashed in anger. “Well, we are waiting.”

“Seth said—Seth, not me—that if you ever find your cock you can’t reattach it yourself.”

“You mean that I can’t, but someone else can?” Osiris said.

“Yes, yes, yes someone else can.” Amout stammered.

“That will be no problem,” Isis intervened. “I will remove the human thing and reattach Osiris’ magical member.” Her smile showed her pleasure at the task.

“I beg your pardon, my goddess. But according to Seth you can’t.”

“Why not? Does he think I don’t have the power to do it? Which other god or goddess could handle such a difficult task?”

“Not a god, please. I prefer not to have male fingers touching my member.” Osiris’ bile rose in his throat at the mere thought of a man groping his Ozi.

“Never fear, my lord.” Amout sighed with relief. “No male’s fingers will touch your glorious member.”

Isis stepped closer. “Clarify this for me, mortal. If I can’t reattach it and no male fingers will touch it, who exactly will assume this delicate task?” Her voice came in a hiss and Amout backed up two steps.

“As you mention, my goddess, it is a delicate task, and Seth insisted it needed the delicate fingers of…of…a virgin,” he finished in a groan as Isis clawed at his face.

“How dare you, you miserable scorpion?”

Amout prostrated himself at her feet. “It’s not me. It’s Seth. You forced me to repeat his words. Please don’t vent your anger on me. I am but the messenger.”

Osiris shrugged. That wasn’t so bad. Despite Isis’ furious outburst, he smiled in relief and pulled her away from Amout’s face. Not bad at all. “Don’t kill him. We need him,” he whispered.

When Isis spun toward him, he wiped all expression from his face.

“We can’t accept that curse,” she said, her chin tilted up.

Couldn’t she remember they were discussing his supernatural penis, not her golden pot? “So what do you suggest we do?”

“Nothing. We won’t reattach it.” Her pinched lips dared him to protest. As if he could indulge her foolishness when it came to such a sensitive subject as his masculinity.

He faced her, scowling. “What do you mean we won’t reattach it? Am I to hold it in my hand when I exercise my godly power?”

“That would be better.” His sweet Isis turned red, puffing up with her held breath.

“Wait, there is more,” Amout said. “I have to tell you, I mean I have to repeat Seth’s words on how a virgin will reattach it.”

Various possibilities wallowed in Osiris’ mind and his pulse accelerated as the meaning of Seth’s curse sank into his mind.

Amout sneaked a glance at Isis. “My goddess, I thought
you would be happy to know there is a nice way around this evil curse.”

Was the guy suicidal? Osiris elbowed him. Couldn’t he see that Isis wanted to skin him alive if he added another sentence? But Osiris needed to learn the ultimate curse his brother had cast. Seth had always coveted Isis. Hadn’t he killed Osiris to possess her? Now Set had found the weapon to separate them. A simple easy way, while he watched them fight and hurt each other’s feelings. No wonder Seth was laughing and toasting.

“Tell me the entire curse,” Osiris bellowed, and the skies opened with a downpour of rain. Even with a mortal penis, he was still the powerful god feared by people and nature.

“According to Seth, only a virgin can paste your penis to your flesh and she’ll have to use her…ah…personal sap as glue.”

“How dare you?” Isis lashed out. Her eyes narrowing, she raised her arm and left a stinging red handprint on the man’s face. “And I’ll kill Seth with my bare hands the moment I catch him.”

http://www.jasminejade.com/p-9394-osiris-missing-part.aspx

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An Egyptian Legend

 Last year, I had the unique opportunity of traveling to Egypt, cruising the Nile River and touring the monuments of Ancient Egypt. 

The Temple of Isis, in the Island of Philae, where part of my story is set.

After immersing myself in the pharaonic civilization, I brought back hundreds of pictures and brochures about Egyptian gods, and even a map of Ancient Egypt to help in my research. 

The Island of Philae, picture taken from a boat on the Nile River

Osiris’ Missing Part,  my first paranormal romance, is set in mythological Egypt.

This book is dedicated to the many friends, readers and fans who love Ancient Egypt, a fabulous civilization, shrouded in mystery, glamour and mysticism.

Isis, Osiris, Seth.

According to the legend, the evil Egyptian god of storm, Seth, killed his brother Osiris, chopped him into fourteen pieces and flung them all over Egypt. Isis, goddess of family, reassembled thirteen of his body parts. Since she couldn’t find his supernatural male member where his godly power was stored, she reattached a human one.

Isis has always loved Osiris, the charming god of labor every woman adores. While dreaming of marriage, family and a son, she helps him fight Seth. Together they struggle to survive iniquities and perils.

His trip to the Afterlife has changed Osiris. He’s attracted to Isis and regrets his past womanizing. Guided by oracles she utters when they make love, they search lands and seas until they find his missing organ and he recovers his godly attributes. Osiris has fallen in love with Isis but the sins of his past and their unexpected consequences threaten to separate them more painfully than Seth’s mayhem and curses.

Chapter One

Ancient Egypt, at the dawn of time.

Isis, goddess of health and family, bent over the gilded sarcophagus and laid her cheek upon the lifeless face. “Osiris, my love.” Grief raked her and soft sobs escaped her lips as she stroked his chest with tender caresses.

After a moment of desolation, she exhaled at the futility of her moaning. Desperate words and kisses had never revived a dead body, especially one cut into several pieces. Determined to bring him back to life, she swallowed her wailing and stiffened her back. Adjusting his severed parts close to each other, she pressed them tightly together and sealed the junctions with her tears.

With the greatest care, she pressed her key of life to Osiris’ forehead, swept it over his chest and belly, and tapped his groin a few times while she recited a litany of prayers from the Book of the Dead. “Osiris, god of knowledge and work, I command you, leave the Afterlife.”

The body squirmed against the walls confining him. Clutching her key of life with all her strength, she brushed his lips with a cautious kiss and blew her godly vigor into his mouth. His chest rose and fell.

Joy exploded in Isis’ heart. “Almighty Osiris, you’re alive. Finally.” Her voice resonated like a triumphant hymn.

His eyelids fluttered and he squinted. “Isis,” he muttered in a guttural voice she hardly recognized. “Where…what…?”

Dropping to her knees in the mud and the dewy grass on the bank of the Nile River, Isis watched him anxiously as he patted his neck and torso. His hand skated to his belly, skimmed down to the junction of his thighs and lingered over his shaft. Shock and fear twitched his face. He yanked back his fingers and heaved up his head for a better look at his groin.

The Nile River

“By my ankh-specter and its tau, this isn’t… Where is my…my…?” Osiris’ loud interjection ended in a groan that gnawed at Isis’ heart. It hadn’t taken him long to notice the unfamiliar member. Panic filled his eyes at the absence of his most prized organ and his gaze flitted from his crotch to her face.

 

A sigh escaped Isis’ quivering lips. Unable to detach her gaze from the area that should have harbored his fabulous shaft and now displayed a human penis, void of supernatural power, she debated how to reveal the tragedy.

“You’re alive and awake.” To reassure him, she caressed his chest with her open palm and leaned forward to rain kisses over his taut flesh. “Still more handsome than any desert knight, my lord. A generous king of the earth that Egyptians revere.”

Her loving gesture elicited another growl of frustration. With a disgusted grunt, Osiris grabbed her hand and lowered it between his thighs. “This is not my glorious member, my pride. Isis, my godly power is missing. What happened?” His voice curt, his tone impatient, Almighty Osiris scrambled to a sitting position in the wooden coffin. “Where is my own penis?” His thunderous voice echoed across the clouded skies. “Answer me, woman.”

The Temple of Karnak

OSIRIS' MISSING PART Ellora's Cave Blush, June 23, 2011

A sensual paranormal romance based on a legend and set  in Egyptian Mythology. Feel the humor and emotion, share the action and suspense, as you explore Ancient Egypt from the Valley of the Nile to the Red Sea shore and beyond.