Sayonara, Drollerie Press

This is a post I never thought I’d have to write, but Drollerie Press closed its doors last week. From what I can tell, the closure was not due to anything shady or underhanded, but simply because the health of Deena Fisher had declined to the point where she couldn’t keep up with the demands of running the company any longer. As a new writer, the possibility of my publisher closing down never entered my mind, but change happens all the time in life, and the publishing world is no exception.

I don’t know any details beyond that, but I do wish Deena and editor Selena Green the very best for the future. I’ll always be grateful to them for giving me my first taste of publication, and I’ll never forget the thrill of getting  that e-mail that said Spear Among Spindles was selected for the Playthings of the Gods anthology.

So what does this mean for me and my short story?

Sadly, as Playthings of the Gods was an e-book, Drollerie Press’ closure means the anthology is effectively out of print. The rights to my short story have reverted back to me though, so I’ll be looking to see if I can find a new home for Spear Among Spindles. In the meantime, I’ll keep on writing because that’s what writers do. And as I write, I’ll tell myself that my work got picked up before,  and if I try hard enough, it’ll get picked up again.

Research Ramblings: Sparta and Her Two Kings, Part 3

The setting of my work in progress is ancient Sparta, whose people left an indelible mark on Western history. Even their Greek contemporaries thought the Spartans singular in their ways, and thousands of years later, we’re still naming school mascots after them.

For most Americans, the word “Spartan” conjures up images of King Leonidas and his 300 warriors fighting to the bitter death. While this is an iconic moment for Sparta, what makes this ancient city-state unique goes beyond that one battle, which is why learning about it is so fun.

So far in Part 1 and Part 2 of this miniseries, we’ve covered the Spartan dyarchy, its legendary origin, and how even though the two king thing sounded nice theoretically it never quite worked out well practically. So what were the kings supposed to be collaborating on anyway? In other words:

What was the kings’ job description?

On this topic, Herodotus writes:

These privileges the Spartans have given to their kings: two priesthoods, of Zeus called Lacedaemon and of Zeus of Heaven; they wage war against whatever land they wish, and no Spartan can hinder them in this on peril of being put under a curse; when the armies go forth the kings go out first and return last; one hundred chosen men guard them in their campaigns; they sacrifice as many sheep and goats as they wish at the start of their expeditions, and take the hides and backs of all sacrificed beasts.

Such are their rights in war…

Considering Sparta was essentially a warrior state, the waging war and going out first and returning last parts make total sense, but for those accustomed to government which holds itself separate from religion, the priestly part might seem a little strange. For the Greeks, though, religion was an integral part of warfare. In their world, everything, military conflict included, was subject to divine meddling, and Spartans weren’t the sort to make a move unless they felt they had a “go” from the gods. In fact, they sometimes halted border campaigns simply because the signs were against it.

One of the common ways of discerning the will of the gods was to sacrifice an animal and then “read” its entrails. Kind of a messy messaging system, but that was what they used. And considering the kings were essentially the generals of their military state, they were very much involved in the sacrificing and divining process. In addition to performing military sacrifices, the kings also consulted with the Oracle at Delphi and kept the official archives of past Delphic oracles that they could use as needed. And once everything fell in line for military action, the Spartan troops would assemble in sight of the enemy, and the king in charge would sacrifice a she-goat.

Another reason for the royal priesthood was that the kings themselves were considered sacred persons. In fact, other Spartans were not allowed to touch the king in public. Part of this goes back to the fact that the royals claimed descent from the mythic hero Heracles, better known by his Roman name Hercules. Heracles himself was a son of Zeus, meaning that the Spartan kings had a touch of the divine running in their veins. And who better to interface with the immortals than the great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandsons of the king of the gods?

Given this illustrious background, the kings, despite Sparta’s reputation for austerity, had a number of perks that went with their title, and I’ll go into those next time.

Carl Macek’s Robotech Universe: Robotech’s past and a glimpse of the future

If you’re an anime fan who grew up in the 80s (like me!), chances are that your first exposure to anime was Robotech, a franchise which has lasted over 25 years, and yesterday, Harmony Gold held a special screening of Carl Macek’s Robotech Universe, a documentary to be released as part of Robotech: The Complete Series which goes on sale today. The event took place at Harmony Gold headquarters in Los Angeles, and in attendance were several Robotech voice actors who participated in the project, including Tony Oliver (voice of Rick Hunter).

The evening began with opening remarks from Harmony Gold Chairman Frank Agrama, a fiery senior gentleman, who shared his memories of working with Macek, who passed away suddenly in 2010. At Agrama’s request, the audience honored the late Robotech producer with a round of applause, which, according to Agrama, Macek would have much preferred to a moment of silence.

Keith Maxwell, the director of Robotech Universe, then spoke briefly about the film. In his remarks, he mentions that Robotech Universe was originally intended to be a podcast series. However, after shooting the interviews, they decided to knit all the material into a single entity – not unlike the way Macek combined the three anime that turned into Robotech.

The documentary itself, comprised of old footage, photographs, and interviews with scenes from Robotech interspersed throughout, lasts approximately thirty minutes. It opens with an acknowledgment to Macek and explains how Robotech Universe was originally supposed to be spearheaded by Macek as part of Robotech’s 25th Anniversary, but with Macek’s untimely death, the project turned into a tribute to both Robotech and Macek. The film then delves into the origins of Robotech and what American media culture was like at the time Macek got his idea to cobble together three anime to get them on the air in the United States.

What follows are predominantly first-hand accounts of those who worked on the project. The majority of interviewees are voice actors, and they tell about their experiences working with Macek, who had a hand in just about all aspects of the production. They also share stories about their mad production schedules and their thoughts about the characters they played.

The documentary then moves on to the series’ commercial success; the projects that followed, including Robotech Shadow Chronicles; and of course, future plans for Robotech. While plans for a live action Robotech film have been in the works for some time, Harmony Gold has another project, initiated by Macek, that is a little more retro. Apparently, they have unused footage of Yellow Dancer/Lancer from the New Generation arc, and their intent is to edit it and put it out to the fans. Sure, it’s 80-style animation, and there’s no release date yet, but for the die-hard Robotech fan, it’s something exciting to look forward to.

First posted at The Fandom Post.

Research Ramblings: Sparta and Her Two Kings, Part 2

The setting of my work in progress is ancient Sparta, whose people left an indelible mark on Western history. Even their Greek contemporaries thought the Spartans singular in their ways, and thousands of years later, we’re still naming school mascots after them.

For most Americans, the word “Spartan” conjures up images of King Leonidas and his 300 warriors fighting to the bitter death. While this is an iconic moment for Sparta, what makes this ancient city-state unique goes beyond that one battle, which is why learning about it is so fun.

As mentioned in Part 1 on this topic, the Spartans had a dyarchy. So that might beg the question, why? We’ll probably never know for sure, but the Spartans did have an account of the origin of the two royal lines. Herodotus records it in Book 6 of his Histories, and the story goes something like this:

King Aristodemos, who established the Spartan state, had twin sons. After he died, the people were all set to follow custom and crown the older twin king. But they had a problem. The boys were identical, and they couldn’t tell them apart. So they asked the mother, but she said she couldn’t tell either. However, she actually could. According to Herodotus she told the lie because she wanted both twins to be kings if possible.

So what to do?

The Spartans did what all Greeks do when they’re stuck with a dilemma. They went to the Oracle at Delphi. And the Oracle’ answer was: regard both children as kings but give the senior brother greater honor.

o.O

Seriously, if I was one of those Spartans, I’d be yelling at the Oracle, “If we knew that, we wouldn’t be here!”

So the gods weren’t providing any clarity, but fortunately, a clever man from Messenia offered some advice. He suggested they watch the mother carefully to observe the order in which she bathed and fed her children. His reasoning was that if she consistently attended one first that she could tell them apart. On the other hand, if she alternated randomly, she couldn’t tell them apart, and they’d have to try something else.

The Spartans followed his advice. Sure enough the mother (who didn’t know why she was being watched) was consistently bathing and feeding one son first – giving him higher honor, so to speak. So the Spartans finally had their older twin, and for some reason, even though the Oracle wasn’t all that helpful, they felt they should abide by its advice to make both boys kings.

The older boy got named Eurysthenes and established the senior Agiad Royal House (which oddly wasn’t named after him but his son Agis). The younger twin, Procles, established the junior Eurypontid Royal House (named after his descendant Eurypon). And Herodotus notes that even though they were brothers, they disagreed with each other throughout their entire lives, and their descendants pretty much followed in that pattern.

To prove this point, here’s the short version of Herodotus’ account of King Cleomenes and King Demaratus:

King Cleomenes goes out of town to take care of business. While he’s away, his co-king Demaratus badmouths him. King Cleomenes gets ticked off and gets King Demaratus ousted from the Eurypontid throne on the grounds of illegitimacy. Demaratus then skips town to hook up with the Persians. Years later, when Cleomenes’ successor Leonidas and his 300 head off to Thermopylae, Demaratus is at the Persian king’s side offering military advice.

Talk about not getting along…

Research Ramblings: Sparta and Her Two Kings, Part 1

The setting of my work in progress is ancient Sparta, whose people left an indelible mark on Western history. Even their Greek contemporaries thought the Spartans singular in their ways, and thousands of years later, we’re still naming school mascots after them.

For most Americans, the word “Spartan” conjures up images of King Leonidas and his 300 warriors fighting to the bitter death. While this is an iconic moment for Sparta, what makes this ancient city-state unique goes beyond that one battle, which is why learning about it is so fun.

So here’s today’s Spartan fun-fact:

The Spartans had two kings. Not one king. Two.

Technically, Sparta wasn’t a monarchy, which implies a sole ruler. It was a dyarchy. I’d never even heard of this term until I started researching Sparta, but it is an actual word (found it in my Webster’s). Details about her dual kingship can be found in Book 6 of Herodotus’ Histories as well as the all-knowing Wikipedius. And Sparta’s wasn’t the only dyarchy in the world, though it’s one of the better-known ones. For more about dyarchies in general, again Wikipedius has a page on them.

“But wait!” you might protest. “I saw the movie 300, and there was only one king!” All I can say is that, although 300 was based on actual events, it did slather it on in terms of artistic license. And one of the less flashy changes they made was to omit Leonidas’ co-king (whose name by the way was Leotychidas).

So why edit him out? I’ll venture to guess it was because including the other king would dilute the story. And I say that because that’s the case for my work in progress, which depicts Sparta as a monarchy, not a dyarchy.

It didn’t start that way though. As my Keeping It in Canon blog title suggests, I like sticking to the facts so my first draft included both Spartan Royal houses. Unfortunately, historical accuracy didn’t translate into a better narrative. Because most readers aren’t familiar with dyarchies, I needed several paragraphs to explain the concept, paragraphs that didn’t further the plot. In addition, my story deals with on only one of the royal families, and the other royal house didn’t really have a role (other than to keep the story historically accurate).

So my beta readers, who even with the explanations kept getting confused with the dual kingship thing, recommended I drop the second king. I was reluctant to do so, but they proved to be right. The manuscript flows a lot better with that detail edited out.

Still, that doesn’t change the fact that Sparta’s kings came in twos, not ones, and that made for some interesting political dynamics. More about them and their lives next time.

Manga Review: Sakura Hime: The Legend of Princess Sakura Vol. 3

Arina Tanemura is a popular shojo mangaka, and one of her works currently being translated into English is Sakura Hime, a magical shojo story that puts a twist on a famous Japanese legend. Volume 3 has recently been released, and you can read on for the review. (Also, for those who are interested, you can click on the links for my Fandom Post reviews of Volume 1 and Volume 2).

The story centers on Sakura, the granddaughter of the Moon princess Kaguya. As her descendent, Sakura wields the power to defeat Youko, monsters from the Moon, but Sakura’s Moon heritage also means she’s predisposed to becoming a Youko herself…

Back Cover Blurb

Sakura, still grieving Oumi’s death, must fight the powerful youko of Uji. But she finds herself no match for the demon’s poisonous vapor. It’s time for Kohaku and Hayate—with a little help from the full moon—to step in.

The Review

Have you ever read such a bad scene that it jolted you out of the story? That was my experience with the conclusion of the Snake Youko fight. The monster attacks with poisonous vapor, Sakura hurries to protect Aoba, and then… nothing. During the span of time it takes ninjas Hayate and Kohaku to run to the nearest stream, have an attempt at romance, and bust the side of the riverbank, the fight between Sakura and the Youko remains at a complete standstill. No attempt to escape by the humans, no attempt to finish them off by the monster (seriously, he’s just staring at the helpless couple when he could be taking a big bite). I suppose this is a shojo manga, and perhaps the main purpose of the scene is to convey Sakura’s feelings for Aoba. However, Tanemura has also set Sakura up as a princess warrior, and from a battle standpoint, it makes no sense.

Another puzzling development is the introduction of human-form Hayate. Considering he’s been in the story since Chapter 3, his once-a-month change feels like a belated add-on. I don’t have any problems with his character; considering the cast is heavy on the females, it’s good to have a male buddy for Aoba. I just get the impression that the story details are handled poorly.

At any rate, we end the Snake arc with the demise of a couple human characters, the addition of one human character (sort of), and resolution of where Aoba and Sakura stand with one another. That done, we move on to the mysterious Enju, and as mentioned in Tanemura’s closing notes, this is where the story actually begins.

Though Sakura’s brother was mentioned at the very start of the story, we have almost no information about him other than Sakura loved him dearly. As such, it is little surprise when the focus of the story returns to him. There is an initial element of *eww!* as the details arise in a girl conversation about romantic love (Tanemura-sensei does mention that sibling marriages were okay back then). However, once we learn the true fate of Sakura’s brother, Enju not only becomes more compelling a character but the lines of good and evil become blurred. With members of the court actively manipulating Sakura for their own purposes, conflicts are no longer solely about humans versus Youko. While this makes the story more interesting, the court’s hot/cold attitude toward Sakura is still confusing, and whether or Tanemura-sensei can get all these elements to jibe remains to be seen.

In Summary

We finally get resolution on Sakura’s and Aoba’s true feelings for one another. Having settled that, we move onto something infinitely more interesting: the mysterious Enju. Tanemura-sensei does a good job of blurring the line between friend and foe, but the exact relationship between humans, Moon people, and Youko and Sakura’s place in all of that remains to be clarified.

If you’re looking for beautiful shojo Heian-era artwork, Sakura Hime has plenty of it, but weak plotlines make you cringe, steer clear.

First published at the Fandom Post.

Research Ramblings: Horse boogers and human Kleenex

My current work in progress involves chariot racing, and given its substantial equine components, I’ve recruited the aid of horse owners Julie and The Boyz’ Mom to keep it real. (For more about them, read this post.) They love sharing about their horses, and I love learning from them, and hopefully you’ll get some entertainment out of our exchanges.

So a couple of months ago, I posed this question:

Do horses sneeze?

Maybe some of you are laughing now, but it is a valid question. Just because we can do something doesn’t mean an animal can do it, and vice versa. For instance, we sweat, but pigs don’t (ergo the whole mud thing). And while gender is an established-at-birth characteristic for us and many other organisms, it’s not for sea slugs, which are all born male. (As to how the female sea slugs come about, I’ll let you discover that for yourself.)

Anyway, back to the question. It arose when I was writing a scene that included a candle and a horse, and I wondered if the horse could accidentally blow out the light. I vaguely remembered that horses don’t burp, and if that was impossible, could they generate enough puff to blow out a candle, physiologically speaking?

So I went to my horsy experts. My e-mail went something like this: Is it possible for a horse to snort hard enough to blow a flame out? On that note, do horses sneeze?

The Boyz’ Mom responded promptly:

 Most definitely… They also snort, snuff , snuffle and hack.  All of which can be done with quite a lot of force when you consider a human sneeze is at approximately 100*150 miles per hour…The sneeze bath is something everyone needs to experience…hee hee.

Sneeze bath?! That was not what I expected. But it got my imagination going all sorts of places so I wrote back:

I get the feeling that both of you have experienced the wonders of the horse sneeze snot bath… So when they’re done, do big boogers hang out their nostrils and do they wipe them off on themselves? Or do they maybe treat you like a human Kleenex and wipe off on you?

Here’s Julie’s response:

lol – They always have crap hanging off their faces or dripping out of their eyes.  And no, they could not care less that they have crap all over their faces.  Anything works to wipe the gunk off – towel, shirt, sleeve, hand. They are pretty gross and there is a reason they are not invited into most people’s homes.   I am not even going to get started on Blondie and how she sucks in part of her tail when she is pooping.  Then she gets all offended when you try to pull it out.

Blondie, by the way, is Julie’s American Saddlebred mare and, despite her aforementioned tail sucking habit, fancies herself a princess.

And the Boyz’ Mom wrote:

Well…for me they usually snort it all out in a spray of nasty all over me….I am however the human kleenex they wipe on me , eye rub they rub on my shoulder, butt scratching post squish me against whatever to get a good scratch and forehead rub on my back… It’s awesome to be loved!

If that’s horse love, I’ll keep a respectful distance!

Well, that was quite enlightening! Portrayals of horses, at least in the media I’ve been exposed to, tend to wax majestic, giving the impression they’re above boogers and butt scratches. Can you imagine the Black Stallion wiping his snot off on Alec Ramsey? Even in the abscess scenes in Disney’s Secretariat, the big racehorse still came across as regal.

At any rate, I got my answer along with some laughs, a new level of respect for my ladies, and the inspiration for a little humor for my manuscript. My main character probably hates me for it, but as you can see, a horse-sized helping of gross is all part of being an equestrian.