My First (Virtual) Author Visit!

As a student in the San Francisco Unified School District, I’d never heard of author visits. Due to the advent of California’s Prop 13, mine was the generation that had to do with 20-year-old textbooks and do without Band-Aids. And field trips? That was the stuff of TV and movies, not our reality.

It was only after I joined The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators that I learned that schools invited authors to speak at student assemblies or teach workshops. It sounded like the sort of opportunity reserved for traditionally published authors, especially since these arrangements often involve book selling/book signing. So I didn’t think I’d the chance to do something like that until I had an actual book in print.

I was wrong.

Last month, I got an email from my ballroom dance partner back when I was in grad school. Like me, Mark’s an engineering grad who no longer does engineering. Instead, he teaches fourth grade in Minnesota. We hadn’t been in touch for years, but thanks to the power of the Internet, he knew I’d gotten some short stories published and asked if I’d do a virtual author visit at his school.

I said yes.

Now, this was not a Yippee!-Can’t-wait-to-do-this yes. It was more of a Sounds-terrifying-but-this-will-be-good-for-me-as-a-writer yes.

Fortunately, Mark had hosted authors before, in-person and virtually, and gave me guidelines to work with. Based on his suggestions, I put together a 20 minute presentation that included photos of the horses who inspired “Rescue Buddy” and a video of the belt and pulley system at the Charles River Museum. We also arranged to have students read “Impromptu Performance” and “Rescue Buddy” to familiarize them with my writing.

So the visit was last week, and it actually went well!

I was concerned that Google Meets would fail us, but it did its job (though gauging audience reaction was difficult, especially when I was sharing my screen). I got through the presentation portion more or less as rehearsed, and the Q&A portion was surprisingly fun.

And unexpectedly, the Q&A involved anime!

The students asked about my pen name, and I told them I originally wrote fanfiction. After defining fanfiction for those unfamiliar with the term, I explained that I wrote stories about the anime I liked, and my pen name was a combination of favorite character names.

Well, there’s at least one anime fan in the school because the next questions I got were:

• Do you like dubs or subtitles better?
• Do you know the Seven Sins anime?
• What do you like best about Naruto?

Hahaha…Never thought I’d make a weeb connection during an author visit. But if it helps young readers relate, why not?

So thank you, Mark, for the opportunity! I gained valuable XP, and maybe one of these days I’ll level up with an in-person author visit!

Writing Historical Fiction and Adjusting History

Research is an important part of writing historical fiction. This is because getting the details correct makes settings authentic. Things like tomatoes in ancient Egypt or European units of measurement in ancient China drive me nuts, and I do my best to keep things accurate as possible. But I’ve learned since writing in this genre that sometimes accuracy must be sacrificed in the name of clarity. Because in the end, the goal is to write a compelling story, not a textbook.

I don’t like making that kind of compromise. Still, I found myself tweaking a historical fact last month due to a pacing issue.

Basically, my manuscript’s problem was that the conflict that sets everything into motion was not only complicated, it didn’t directly involve my main character. The conflict in question was the dispute over the Spartan throne after King Agis’ death. The two possible contenders were his half-brother Agesilaus and his son Latychides. Latychides, though, was rumored to be a bastard, and not just any bastard. He was supposedly the product of an affair Agis’ wife had with an Athenian defector. As for Agesilaus, no one questioned his bloodlines, but he was short and congenitally lame – not the type of guy the military minded Spartans were eager to see in charge.

It was stuff worthy of modern tabloids. It even involved an ominous oracle. In the end, Agesilaus came out on top, but the controversy didn’t die down (well, at least it didn’t in my story). And opposition to the lame king’s reign was what spurred his sister Cynisca (my main character) to action.

Unfortunately, up until her brother becomes king, she’s largely an observer. It’s not until Chapter 4 that she’s really making things happen.

So I was struggling for a way to shorten that backstory and get Cynisca into the action sooner when a new critique partner made a suggestion: cut out the bastard son and focus on the lame king controversy. After all, given what we know of them, Spartans probably would have objected to Agesilaus even without a rival.

I didn’t like the idea of cutting out Latychides, especially since he was such a juicy detail. But it had the potential to solve my problem so I gave it a try.

It worked.

Without having to explain the queen’s affair, I got from King Agis’ death to Agesilaus’s inauguration sooner. I also managed to repurpose the ominous prophecy in a way that gave Cynisca a part to play even before Agesilaus is crowned. And there was an additional benefit.

Something that I’ve learned in my critique groups is that unless a name is an American standard or something super famous like Cleopatra, it’s not going to stick quickly or easily. And the more unfamiliar names you throw out, the harder it is for people to keep track. My previous draft introduced six characters with Greek names in the first chapter, which turned out to be a stumbling block for my critique partners. After the change, I cut four characters, and the number of characters introduced in the first chapter went down to a much more manageable three.

So far everyone in my critique group approves of the changes, and I, too, think it makes for a more streamlined story. Still, the stickler inside me wishes Latychides could have stayed, and if this novel gets published, I’m fully prepared to get that email that says, “You left out the part about the bastard prince…”

Research Ramblings: Horse Workout Sweat Vs. Nervous Sweat

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.

Not long ago I asked my horse ladies about the physics of horse sweat as described in this post. A couple days later I found myself with yet another sweat related question. This time, it wasn’t about the how but the when of horse sweat.

Sweating is not an across-the-board phenomenon in the animal kingdom. That’s why pigs lie in mud and dogs pant while horses and humans get drippy when temperatures go up. The thing about people though is heat isn’t the only thing that causes a sweat. Excitement or nerves can also put human sweat glands into overdrive.

So I wondered as I reviewed a scene where a charioteer’s palms grow damp right before race time whether his horses might be sweating nervously as well. A quick e-mail to my horse ladies ensued, and here’s the answer I got from the Boyz’ Mom:

Indeed they do, and like people, they can drip with sweat from excitement, frustration, nervousness. It isn’t foaming like when they are working. It is a clear dripping sweat that slowly foams. The working foam comes on quickly due to the exertion of muscles… Latherin, a soaplike protein in horse sweat and saliva, helps spread sweat over the coat, maximizing evaporation of water for heat loss, and causing the foam that we see when horses sweat profusely. Latherin is also found in saliva, which explains the foam often seen around a bitted horse’s lips.

Interesting! Not only can heightened emotions trigger a sweat response in horses, the sweat generated has different qualities than workout sweat!

So the take away (for me at least) is that a horse that has been working hard will look like he’s come out of a bubble bath while one who is jittery or excited will just be drippy. Wouldn’t it be interesting if the same were true for people, if nervous sweat was distinctly different than exercise sweat?

Research Ramblings: Horse Treats and Avoiding Culinary Anachronisms, Part 2

As mentioned in my previous post, ancient horsemen who wanted to give their horses a little something special didn’t have sugar lumps, but they did have access to fruit. Fruit, though, was both regional and seasonal in ancient times. For instance, oranges are an important crop in Greece now, but they weren’t introduced to Europe until the time of the crusades. And while it’s easy for North Americans to import fresh summer fruit from South America in the middle of our winter, the ancients didn’t have the benefit of modern transportation networks.

Fortunately for me, Dalby’s Siren Feasts lists fruit available to ancient Greeks. Among them are:

• Strawberry
• Apple
• Blackberry
• Sloe
• Plum
• Date
• Pomegranate
• Musk Melon
• Cherry
• Quince
• Watermelon
• Pear
• Mulberry

The Greeks also had grapes and figs according to Dalby, but because they were deemed luxuries, not staples, I didn’t include them for consideration. After all, you might have access to filet mignon and love your dog, but I doubt you’d feed filet mignon to your dog.

Finally, I ran the list past my horsy ladies to see if any fruit candidates were potentially toxic to horses, the way chocolate is to dogs. Julie responded by saying that horses can eat pretty much anything, with a few exceptions. For horse owners, oak and maple leaves (which can get horses sick if ingested) are more cause for concern than fruit.

In the end, I chose apples for a fall scene, and plums and blackberries for  summer scenes. I wasn’t able to find exact dates on their seasons in Greece, but Greece has a Mediterranean climate as does California, so I used California fruit seasons as a best guess.

When I shared my choices with the ladies, Julie had me add one more detail to the scene with the blackberries: stains. According to her, even if a horse is being as gentle as can be, there will still be squished berries.

Research Ramblings: Horse Treats and Avoiding Culinary Anachronisms, Part 1

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.

When Julie’s horses do well or if she just wants to spoil them, she gives them peppermints. I thought sugar cubes were the equestrian treat of choice, but in her barn, it’s peppermints. And it is an acquired taste. When she first got Elle and gave her a mint, Elle was very ho-hum about it. But after a few weeks, she’d start raising a fuss if she heard a whisper of cellophane. If Julie’s not quick enough unwrapping the mint, Elle will just eat the whole thing, wrapper and all.

Using special foods to show love is something I believe Julie’s ancient Greek counterparts would’ve done, but that raises the question of what they would’ve used. Many foods that are regional mainstays might not have existed in the area thousands of years ago. For example, potatoes became an Irish staple, but that was only after Columbus got to the New World.

Fortunately, I had A. Dalby’s Siren Feasts for help. In this book, he describes the food culture of the ancient Greeks. He even includes a simple fish recipe from an ancient cookbook. While diet did vary from Greek city-state to city-state, the text was handy in determining what basic ingredients would have been available in that part of the world.

One thing I quickly determined with that sugar lumps were out. Ubiquitous as it is in our culture, refined sugar is a relatively recent development. The sweeteners available to the ancient Greeks were honey and date syrup, and those were luxuries. Not to mention, they’re not exactly amenable to feeding to a horse.

However, something our ancient horse folk did have access to was fruit, something I’ll delve into next time.

Research Ramblings: Growing Horses and the Labels of Adulthood

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 hopefully you’ll get some entertainment out of our exchanges.

Julie’s mare Elle is big as far as her breed goes. Morgans average between 14 and 15 hands (56 inches to 60 inches at the shoulder). Early last year, Julie was telling me and the Boyz’ Mom that Elle had gotten all awkward again because she had hit yet another growth spurt.

To which I responded, Elle’s STILL growing?

You see, I’d read that the cutoff between a filly and a mare is four years. At the time, Elle was already past her fourth birthday so she had to be a full-grown adult already, right?

Wrong.

While people do use the age of four to delineate between mature and immature horses, it’s no absolute. Rates of growth differ from horse to horse and there are definite variations between breeds. According to the Boyz’ Mom, Friesian horses don’t start training until they’re three and training continues on till they’re around six. That’s because they don’t fully mature until they’re six to eight years old. By that age, some thoroughbreds have already reached the end of their racing careers!

Once my horse ladies explained this to me, I felt a little silly. After all, I should’ve known better, considering what I’ve learned about ancient Olympic horse racing. The officials spent the month before the Olympics determining whether young animals would compete in the horse races or colt races. If physical maturity was simply a matter of age, they wouldn’t have had such a rigorous process.

So using age 4 to delineate between colts and horses is about as accurate as using age 18 to delineate between adults and children. I reached my full height (just over 5 feet) at age 15, but one of my guy pals kept growing well into his college years (I forget his exact height but he’s well over 6 feet tall).

By the way, Elle will be five this year, and her current height is over 16 hands and still going…

Research Ramblings: Horse Body Fluids and How They Fly

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.

I recently revised a scene involving messengers on horseback. My critique group  didn’t feel connected to the main character, and I decided to elaborate on the sensory details as these riders come galloping up.

The thing is, I’ve gotten close to horses before, but not after they’ve galloped for miles. And while I understand horses generate a variety of body fluids, I’ve no idea what their aerodynamics are.

So of course I went to my horse experts to find out if any of the following could happen:

A. Sweat from the horses landing on my MC
B. Foam( spit) from the horses’ mouths landing on her
C. Her getting a big whiff of the smell of horse sweat

The last one scenario, by the way, was based off my experiences with my runner husband. After a marathon, I can smell him coming.

As for the answer… apparently all of them are possible.

Julie said:

A horse that is accepting of a bit will have foamy drool, and it can fly everywhere, including all over their chest and front legs.  If the horse shakes its head, it could certainly fly all over.  Same with lather, again, depending on how hot the horse is.  If the horse is right in front of her, it would be breathing hard from a long gallop, so she could feel the horse huffing on her.  I don’t think horses stink with they are working, but i am probably immune.  Most people who work around horses are.

The Boyz’ Mom added:

Yes indeed … Julie is on the money.
Horse sweat smells sweet and warm like musk or sandalwood. I love it.
Horse sweat and saliva can goooo flying to be sure.
The sweat is foamy and the saliva can be like a big foam stringer. I’ve been pelted many a time. Most horse people get their share so no biggy.

I love her description of the aroma of horse. Perhaps perfumers should take note and investigate horse perspiration as a potential new ingredient. (Or maybe they already use it and we just don’t realize it :))

At any rate, I am indebted to my experts once more (thank you!!!) and reminded yet again that a horse-sized helping of gross is all part of being an equestrian.

Research Ramblings: Horsey Sound Effects and the American Animal Lexicon

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 hopefully you’ll get some entertainment out of our exchanges.

Once, during a manuscript swap, someone in my critique group commented on a word I used for a stable scene. The phrase in question was:

Squealing filled the air as thirty horses jostled and fought in the paddock.

He remarked that it sounded odd because “squeal” was a word he associated with pigs.

I certainly acknowledged his point. You’re more likely to see “squeal” in the context of pigs than horses. But I was intentional in selecting that word. Mainly because a couple months before I wrote that section, I was poking around researching at a stable, and an overly friendly pony scared the daylights out of me by running up and squealing at me.

Squealing, not whinnying. There is a difference.

It’s interesting how our lexicon has so many animal specific words to describe the noises they make. Dogs bark, howl, yap, or growl. Cats meow and purr. Sheep bleat. Horses have a larger list than most. They whinny, neigh, nicker, whicker, and occasionally snort. But any stable manager or groom can tell you that the range of noises they make go beyond this vocabulary.

For instance, horses grunt. Again, “grunt” is associated with pigs, but horses do it, too. I first time heard a horse grunting was at a show where one entry kept up a constant grunt-grunt-grunt the entire time she was in the ring. According to a lady familiar with that mare, that was a habit particular to that horse. When I mentioned it to my horse ladies, this is what they wrote back.

The Boyz’ Mom:

Titan grunts when he poops. They both make funny umph sounds when they are swimming in really deep water. Speaking of, when they poop while they are swimming it is hilarious.*Grunt* and in the wake “apples” floating.

If Titan is not in the mood to be bothered (like if it is really hot and someone stops to oogle him), he will grunt and stomp his foot as if to say GO AWAY.

When they are really happy and content, they make snuffy noises. Wrinkle up your top lip and do baby snorts with your nose and that is what it sounds like.

Julie:

Horses make all kinds of noises, so if you have a horse grunt or whine (yes, we have one that has a high pitched whine when he thinks he’s not getting a treat), it’s not wrong.  Steve makes a rumbling noise if you don’t bring his treat quickly enough after his lesson.  JP is the whiner.  Since Steve is next to JP, I always make sure that JP gets a treat, too, because he sounds so pathetic if you ignore him.

Snuffling, whining and rumbling! I guess this means the take-away message is that if you’re doing a story involving animals, it pays to spend time with an actual critter to get a feel for their “lingo.”

So to the animal owners out there, what kind of “out of category” noises do your beasties make?

SCBWI Summer Conference, Part 5: Karen Cushman and Strong Girl Characters

In addition to her keynote speech, Karen Cushman did a breakout session entitled, “Not Pale or Frail: The Case for Strong Girl Characters in Historical Fiction.” Actually, her talk was less an argument for having strong girl characters in historical fiction and more about challenging stereotypes. If asked for an example of a strong fictional female character, many might think of Wonder Woman or Katniss Everdeen, but Cushman argued that Charlotte from Charlotte’s Web is also one. She might be a spider that lacks physical strength, but Charlotte is the one who makes things happen and drives that story forward.

Cushman spoke at length about depicting females in a proper historical  context, and she warned against “putting boobs on a boy.” In other words, creating a girl character whose strength draws from masculine behavior and action. To be honest, I don’t think that that is something limited to historical works. I think that “strong” females who are essentially girls with boy attributes can be found across genres. So it was refreshing to hear Cushman talk about creating characters that exhibit strength even as they fulfill traditional female gender roles and work within boundaries such as limited employment opportunities and arranged marriages. That the strength one girl demonstrates in tending a sick parent is just as valid as that in another wielding deadly weapons.

She closed by having attendees call out elements that would be found in a strong female character. Some traits named were determination, compassion, sense of self, and the drive to survive. One attribute that Cushman stressed, though, was the ability, willingness, and courage to make choices. Because when decision-time arises, it is the strong character that does not hesitate–something that I think is true of either gender.

SCBWI Summer Conference, Part 4: Literary Agent Linda Pratt and Opening Lines

Linda Pratt of Wernick and Pratt Agency did a breakout session entitled, “To Market, To Market: Readying Your Manuscript for Submission,” which covered things to consider A) while creating a manuscript and B) once it’s ready for querying. In regard to the creative process, she focused on the basics, including the importance of a strong opening.

Much of her advice about openers echoed what I’ve picked up from other workshops and websites. That an opening should stir a sense of curiosity. That action can draw a reader in, but action alone doesn’t make an opener compelling. That whatever kind of opener we choose, it’s most effective when it’s evocative. And in the midst of that familiar advice, I had an “Aha!” moment.

To illustrate her point about evocative openings versus plain action, she used excerpts from a story about normal people dealing with witches (I didn’t get the title of it – sorry!). She first read the opening and then an excerpt from page 3. The opening did not contain much action but had a strong hook that hinted at the main character’s fear of witches. The other passage depicted kids running through a bustling marketplace. Pratt then went on to explain that the story would’ve been weaker if it started with the marketplace action because it would’ve come off as a generic market scene. In contrast, the first sentence took the most unique thing about the story (normal people and witches) and pushed it to the front.

That was where the “Aha!” came. I’ve heard time and again about needing a strong hook and starting the story in the right place. However, the part about picking the most unique thing about a story and pushing it to the front was new. Or at least this was the first time I really heard it. But it makes quite a bit of sense. If your story is about a guy trying to win back his girlfriend with his snake wrestling skills, you should introduce those elements upfront instead of starting with random horseplay with his best friend.

Of course, like many things, this is easier said than done. (I am currently on Version 5.2 of my WIP’s opener). But now that I’m better aware of what I should be aiming for, I at least have a better chance of hitting the target.