11 September: Queens

The Day of Queens is an Ancient Egyptian festival which was celebrated on this date. Here are 10 things you didn't know about queens.

1. The Queen of England does not need a passport, because British passports are issued in her name. She merely has to say, on arrival in another country, that she is the Queen. She does not need a driving licence in order to drive a car, either.
2. In Thailand in 1880, it was forbidden to touch their queen - so when she was drowning, they could only watch her die.
3. The illustrations for the Danish edition of Lord of the Rings were drawn by the Queen of Denmark, Margarethe II.
4. The borough of Queens in New York City is named after an actual queen - Catherine of Braganza, the wife of King Charles II.
5. Queen Bees are produced by feeding ordinary female bees a substance called royal jelly. Once established as a queen, she exudes substances which other bees lick off her body. This substance prevents any other female bees from breeding or setting theselves up as her rivals. In Shakespeare's time, however, queen bees were referred to as "kings".
6. There is one mammal which lives in a colony similar to bees and has one fertile female, essentially a queen. This animal is the mole rat. The fertile female produces up to 20 offspring at a time and a pheromone in her urine prevents other females from breeding.
7. The queen is the most powerful piece in the game of chess, able to move any number of squares vertically, horizontally or diagonally. However, in some languages it is known as a vizier (advisor) or a flag (standard). Each player starts with one queen, but if a pawn reaches the far side of the board, it can be promoted and made into a second queen.
8. The Virgin Mary is sometimes referred to as the "Queen of Heaven". She is not, however, the first to be given that title. Goddesses in Ancient times were also called Queen of Heaven, including Innana (Sumerian), Isis (Egypt), Hera (Greek) and Juno (Roman).
9. In Playing cards, each queen represents a historical or mythological figure. The Queen of Hearts is the Biblical Judith, while the Queen of Diamonds is Rachel. The Queen of Spades is Pallas, a name for the goddess Athena, The Queen of clubs is Argine, which is an anagram of the Latin word for Queen, Regina.
10. France has never had a queen who ruled in her own right.

NEW!

Obsidian's Ark

Teenage years bring no end of problems. Daniel Moran's include getting hold of computer games his parents don't think he should have; a full blown crush on the beautiful Suki from Zorostan; maintaining his status as a prefect and getting his homework done. He must also keep from his parents and sister the fact that he is a superhero with a sword from another world.

Trish wonders how to get science whizz Tom to notice her; how to persuade him that the best way to stand up to the school bully is to fight back. She doesn't want her friends, especially not Tom, to know she is a genetic variant with superpowers. Little does she know that Tom has secrets of his own.

Suki struggles to make friends at school when she cannot understand everyday cultural references, and they all suspect her of being a terrorist. She, too, has a secret, but is it what her classmates assume?

When Daniel stumbles upon a plot by an alliance of supervillains to plunge the world into war, he tries to alert the established superheroes, but none of them believe him. When the Prime Minister's only daughter, Yasmin Miller, is abducted, Daniel knows the villains' plan is underway. It seems humanity's only hope may be Daniel and the ragtag bunch of teenage superheroes he recruits. Can he pull together, not only his own team, but the older heroes as well, in a bid to save the Earth from a devastating war?

Themes: 

Superheroes; Coming of age; Leadership; Kidnap and rescue; Aliens; Friendship and rivalry; Terrorism; Secrets.

Available from:

Amazon

Amazon Kindle