Visual Symbols by Ciara Gold

Visual Symbols

A day ago, a new teacher at a private school here in town asked me to come show her a few things so she’d have a great start to the new year. This is her first year to teach and she’s teaching with an emergency certificate, so yeah, I’d be a tad nervous in her shoes too.

My first bit of advice is something I’ve done since a veteran teacher shared with me some 23 years ago. She said, “Wear red your first day. It’s the strongest power color and will set the tone for the rest of your year.” Maybe it’s superstition, but I wear red the first day of each new school year. It has become a symbolic thing for me. It puts me in a frame of mind that makes me feel in charge. It symbolizes all the good things a teacher should be to be successful.

I am tuned into a lot of visual symbols and I incorporate symbolism in my stories. Most of the time I do it without thinking. Later, I’ll realize that yes, the brass token in Sarah’s Brass Token symbolizes the lack of choices single women had for making a living in the 1870s or that the orphan in Once Jilted symbolizes our need for family.

So now I have a new book out. On the Silver Edge of Time is a Viking Time Travel and was a joy to write. The challenges were many and I rewrote the beginning at least fifteen times. When I wrote it, I never thought about it’s connection to my sci-fi futuristic romances, Celestial Dragon and A Noble Sacrifice. Later, much later, I saw the connecting element. In both series (yes, there will be a sequel to On the Silver Edge of Time), I incorporate a dragon.

For the sci-fis, dragons symbolize a lost civilization struggling to make their own way. The dragon is a sign of mystical strength and the Verside’s desire to prosper against insurmountable odds. Lets face it, in our folklore, dragons were hunted. A dragon had to be a strong beast to outlive a knight’s pursuit.

In my time-travel, the dragon plays a slightly different role. It becomes the heroine’s protector while instilling fear in the hero’s people. The dragon symbolizes the difference between their two cultures and the obstacles Keelin and Erik face to claim each other’s hearts. In some ways, it provides the catalyst for making them admit their feelings.

Because of this unique similarity, an idea for the third book to Celestial Dragon took root. And as wild as it might seem, I plan to connect the time travel to my sci-fi’s. And I have a dragon to thank. My muse was in her element with this one.

To read the first chapter, visit my website and click on the cover. You’ll also see a contest button that will give you an opportunity to win a prize.  http://www.ciaragold.com/

Also check out Ciara’s blog at

http://ciaragold.blogspot.com/