In writing my latest novel, a paranormal scifi-romance, Upon This Rock, I delved into the vast treasure trove of myth, legend and various religions to find inspiration. The premise was relatively simple, a mortal woman, courted and seduced by a god in her nightly dreams, would do anything to meet her lover in person. She would journey to the ends of the Earth for her loving devotion...

Perhaps even the Vatican.

The idea of gods, angels and demons seducing mortal women is embedded in every mythology across human history. What does that say about women ... that they are such ripe targets for seduction and rape? What does that say about the predatory natures of these gods?

Hindu gods seduced and impregnated mortals, as did Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Greek and Roman gods. Zues's many lovers (mortal and otherwise) are so well known, the moons of Jupiter are named after them.

And what would be the result of such a union?

Demigods.

Demigods are some of the most famous and infamous characters of lore.

In Judeo-Christian myth, the Old Testament (Torah) has a peculiar line about The Nephilim...

"The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, when the sons of God came unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them; the same were the mighty men of old, the men of renown."

Sounds a lot like a Demigod by Greco-Roman definitions.

Sadly, the Demigods had it rough. They were mostly human, imbued with special abilities from their divine parentage, but mired in the mess of humanity and forever struggling against the manipulations of gods who used them to further their selfish agendas.

Thousands of years have passed since the days of Nephilim and Demigods, the days when gods, angels and demons walked among us, seducing women, and birthing supernaturally gifted half-breeds. 

Herein lies the thread of my novel, UPON THIS ROCK.

What if the Gods sought to reenter our world, to once more seduce women and regain political and religious favor among the nations of men? Ashley Rowan is lured in by the loving, patient whispers of Mithra. He promises they can be together, if only she accepts his gifts of power and journeys to the gate, to open the way to his world. 

Mithra has labored for centuries to reach this moment, the chance for gods to once more walk among the men and women of Earth.

Its Fantasy. Scifi. Mythical and legendary, encompassing thousands of years of human history, and the dark manipulations of supernatural creatures from other worlds across the galaxy. They await us at the door, ready to barge through the gateway hidden beneath the Vatican ... UPON THIS ROCK.