Heather Domin's The Soldier of Raetia takes a turn for the brutal in chapter 17. Fantastic stuff.

The Word-Hoard: Frondesce

Frondesce: To unfold leaves; [related to] frondation, a lopping of trees. (Rev. John Boag's Imperial Lexicon, c.1850)

Chapter Sixteen of the awesome The Soldier of Raetia is now posted! Check it out!

Myths, folklore & symbolism

"The plaited pentagram has been a protective sign against evil powers in the Western world and in Japan. It is found in the Nordic countries drawn on the doors of barns and storehouses to ward off trolls and to invoke the aid of protecting forces."

Get the full story at symbols.com.

Back in December 2007, I read an excerpt of THE MIDNIGHT SON during the "Unbedtime Stories" section of Ann Arbor's show on KFJC (89.7 FM). It was a ton of fun

On April 15, I'll be reading again - this time an excerpt from THE PILGRIM GLASS (on the day the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards semifinalists are announced - hopefully the timing is a good omen!). The Unbedtime Stories section begins at 7:20 a.m. (Pacific) - and you can listen live at KFJC netcast. I'll pull together a podcast afterward, for grins.

Woo! Chapter 15 of The Soldier of Raetia is posted. Young, lovely Roman soldiers in a Roman bath? Why, yes, please!

Updated website and new short stories

I redesigned my website (it was high time after four years) and in the process, I've added to the fiction section three previously unpublished short stories:

The Raven Girl

The Spitfire

A Kind of Homecoming

I want to point out the last in particular, because my dear friend and brilliant artist Catrina Horsfield created two amazing pieces of watercolor art to go along with the story. Check it out, if only for her beautiful artwork.

And, if you're so inclined, leave a review on the excerpt of The Pilgrim Glass over at the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards. According to the contest rules, customer reviews do hold some weight in terms of who gets selected for the semifinals (to be announced April 15).

The Word-Hoard: Aurigation

Aurigation: The act or practice of driving horses harnessed to carriages. (Rev. John Boag's Imperial Lexicon, c. 1850)

If you're interested in historical fiction, Sarah Johnson's latest guide to the genre, Historical Fiction II, will be available soon at a library near you (and from the publisher's website).

"A guide to over 2,700 historical novels, 2004-present, plus info on the latest trends." Sarah knows what she's talking about - she's a reference/electronic resources librarian at a midwestern university, and the Book Reviews Editor for the Historical Novels Review.

Myths, folklore, and symbolism



"...this is an early Germanic time sign for the season of spring."

Learn more at symbols.com.

Happy day! Heather Domin's posted chapter 14 of Valerian's Legion: The Soldier of Raetia. LEGIO XXIV has made it to Raetia - it feels like you're really there at the castra with them. Fantastic stuff.

Hey folks! After a short break, Heather Domin's back, posting Chapter 13 of Valerian's Legion: The Soldier of Raetia. Check it out!

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award

The Pilgrim Glass is a quarterfinalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novels Award for 2009.

Can I get a WOOT?

I figured, what the hell. There were 10,000 entries, and 500 quarterfinalists - which were selected based only on the pitch letter and the first 50 pages. The two reviews there are rather divergent - well, you can't please everyone.

So what happens next is Amazon customers read and review the excerpts, then folks from Penguin cut it down to 100 semifinalists in mid-April, and then a group of 10 finalists by early May, I think. From there, a group of experts (Sue Monk Kidd, Sue Grafton, a Penguin Editor, and an agent) choose the final 3, and there's an event in NYC to pick the final winner (who gets a publishing contract with Penguin).

I'm under no illusion that I'll make it to the finals, but it's still kinda good for my ego (and my muse). If you're bored, take a moment to download the excerpt and write a review. Thanks!

Myths, folklore & symbolism

"One of the alchemists' signs for honey."

Get the full story at symbols.com.

The Word-Hoard: Sprunch

Sprunch: "Sprunch is another term for the sexual advance of a male, a much stronger term than spark or wing. Some hillfolk use sprunchin' to mean copulation, but I think it often refers to some preliminary sex activity rather than to coitus proper. Ozarks." (Vance Randolph and George Wilson's Down in the Holler, 1953)

Prefab Sprout

I'm a sucker for fantastic lyrics in my music, and Paddy McAloon and Prefab Sprout feed that brilliantly, particularly (for me) their later albums. I'm very, very fond of Jordan: The Comeback, not least because my husband and I listened to it pretty much incessantly (along with Cocteau Twins' Heaven Or Las Vegas) when we first started dating.

The reason I love Jordan, though, is that it's a type of concept album, and the themes of mercy, searching, forgiveness, and redemption are strong. The melodies are gorgeous and Paddy's storytelling is outstanding. Check them out, please, if you haven't before.

Here's a number of Prefab Sprout videos (about seven pages' worth).

Professional Indoor Lacrosse

It has a lot of potential...but there was so much stopping and starting (SJ Stealth vs. Colorado Mammoth) that it got very boring. Much prefer hockey, which we're listening to right now. Go Sharks!

Mallory Path has posted a fantastic interview with Heather Domin, author of Valerian's Legion: The Soldier of Raetia. Check it out!

Myths, folklore & symbolism




"These signs are known as Jupiter's staff in Roman mythology. Jupiter was the Roman equivalent of the Greek god Zeus and the Germanic god Woden or Odin...

"The sign for the fish spear, or , is the staff of Poseidon (Greece) or of Neptune (Rome). Jupiter's staff is this staff doubled. If we remove the barbs from Jupiter's staff and turn it 90 degrees we are left with the graph for the zodiacal sign of Pisces. It is not surprising, then, that both Jupiter (according to the old tradition) and Neptune (according to modern astrology) are the ruling planets of Pisces."

Get the full story at symbols.com.

The Word-Hoard: Ariolation

Ariolation: A soothsaying; a foretelling; sometimes written hariolation; from Latin ariolus (Rev. John Boag's Imperial Lexicon, c. 1850)

Book Review: The Mystery of the Fool and the Vanisher

Here's the second of my two reviews in this month's Historical Novels Review

THE MYSTERY OF THE FOOL AND THE VANISHER
David and Ruth Ellwand, Candlewick Press, $18.99/C$21.00, hb, 103pp, 978-0-7636-2096-7

This gorgeously designed book is a journal-within-a-journal, the story of a modern-day photographer who finds the papers and photographs of a Victorian faerie researcher. It is also a meditation on the uses of history and photography, and the enduring power of folklore.

David Ellwand, photographing the Downs one day, comes across a mysterious locked box near a crumbling ruin. He finds that the box contains the effects of Isaac Wilde, the official photographer on a Victorian archaeological dig, and collector of faerie artifacts. Included in the box is a series of wax phonograph recordings, the transcription of which forms the middle section of the book, Isaac’s daily journal of his work on the barrow Downs dig.

Isaac comes to believe, as the locals do, that disturbing the great barrow will disturb the pixies, and attempts to photograph the fae in their environment in order to show evidence of the destruction to the arrogant scientist in charge, in order to stop the dig. When the scientist mysteriously disappears, Isaac is forced to flee and leave the evidence of the fae hidden…until Ellwand finds the evidence and shares it with us.

Ellwand’s photographs of the Downs and the twisting trees of the forest are moving and ethereally beautiful, and the photos “taken” by Wilde are clever and lovely in their own right. The book is beautifully designed with charming surprises throughout. This is a clever, enchanting book that would be a welcome addition to any history, photography, or folklore buff’s coffee table.

Book Review: The United States of Atlantis

Here's the first of my two reviews in this month's Historical Novels Review.

UNITED STATES OF ATLANTIS
Harry Turtledove, ROC, 2008, $23.95/C$28.50, pb, 438 pp, 978-0-451-46236-7

Atlantis has been settled by the English and the French for over 300 years. Now, at the end of the 18th century, and following a bloody war for dominance of the island in which the French were vanquished, the English Atlanteans are beginning to rankle under the heavy hand of George III. When tensions over taxation bubble over and the garrisoned redcoats on the island are attacked, England decides to put the upstart colony in its place. Victor Radcliff, descendant of the man who discovered Atlantis and hero of the war against France, is again pressed into service and the United States of Atlantis are born.

The story is an alternate history, imagining what would have happened if Atlantis was discovered and colonized first, rather than North America (“Terranova” in the world of the book). It is the latest in a series, though it is not necessary to have read the previous books.

While the concept is interesting, I found the writing choppy and the book hard to get into. There was little character development (in fact, many of the Atlanteans were simply stand-ins for Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, and Howe and Cornwallis are included as they were). I found I did not care for the protagonist, Victor or his struggles.

While the world building is convincing, and the concept is interesting, the book overall is dry. I would have expected that the book would have taken the idea of colonies and revolution in a new direction – it is Atlantis, after all – but it is simply a retelling of the American revolution in a new geographical setting. I was hoping for more invention and creativity and, sadly, did not find it in this book.

The Word-Hoard: Philomathic

Philomathic: Having a love of letters. (Rev. John Boag's Imperial Lexicon, c. 1850)