Lots of folks are marking the date today by buying lottery tickets. For me, it’s a reminder of how heavily the number nine figures in the Immortal Brotherhood books:

Nine warriors. Nine amulets. Nine books.

Nine words in the tag line the copywriters created for IMMORTAL OUTLAW:

“When the sun goes down, the beast comes out.”

Nine clues in Marion and Steinarr’s quest. [I didn’t plan this one. I didn’t even realize it until after I submitted the manuscript, but when I started listing them in preparation for making the Google map—Surprise!—there they were.]

And nine because the Norse gods, especially Odin, are obsessed by the number: there are nine worlds in the cosmos; Heimdall, the guardian of the gods, has nine mothers, and Ægir has nine daughters; Odin hung upside down on the world tree Yggdrasil for nine days in order to gain the wisdom of the eighteen (twice nine) runes of Wyrd; the Swedes assembled every nine years at the temple of Uppsala to celebrate and sacrifice for nine days; Odin’s ring Draupnir released eight drops of gold every ninth night, each of which formed a equal ring for a total of nine rings (Tolkein’s inspiration, btw – and there were nine members of the Fellowship at the outset, too). [Find out more about nines in Norse mythology at Wikipedia.]

So tonight at 9:09, I’ll be lifting my glass of honey mead and taking nine sips to my warriors. And then I’ll go back to work on IMMORTAL CHAMPION. Because I know you’re waiting…