Snowfire Premise

Hey everyone,

Thanks for letting me post this. I appreciate all the wonderful help
and support I'm receiving from this list! And for the listmember who
asked about copyright: if I can prove I am the owner of this email
address, posting a short chapter here actually proves my copyright,
so no worries about that. Good question, though!

Below please find a short chapter that details the premise of the
book, tentatively titled "Snowfire." If there is anything that seems
illogical in it, or you would like to correct for historical accuracy
(even though this _is_ a fantasy) please don't hesitate! I'm only
10,000 words into the book and want to catch any illogicalities (is
that even a word?) while the work is relatively young. So, without
futher ado...

---

My father had once been a retainer to the Emperor. The o'Diserah were
an old and noble clan, known for their faithfulness to the Peerless.
Endless feudal wars had reduced the o'Diserah to a single family, and
of that family my father was the last to survive. Such is life.

My father took service under the Emperor and was given the position
of Kanhake- one of the Emperor's bodyguard. It was honorable, and my
father was a skilled swordsman. He protected the Emperor as he would
have protected any lord- fearlessly, with honor.

Then my father fell in love.

The Emperor's youngest sister and favored concubine, Azami, returned
his affection, though neither dared to make their feelings known.
Still, it is hard to hide anything at the Winter Palace; and my
father had enemies.

Chief among those enemies was o'Shotomori Shanjushi Ieyasu, not yet
Jogun. He was an adept at intrigue and suspicion, and had risen far
to the position of Master of the Imperial Police. And he too burned
with a double passion- to serve his own ambition, and to have Azami.
When she rejected him- whether out of loyalty to the Emperor or love
of my father- he retaliated.

o'Inanke Kohenaki Azami was found guilty of intriguing against the
Emperor. False letters were produced, witnesses as well- though the
witnesses were all Ieyasu's creatures. The Emperor had no choice but
to pronounce her anathema- since her blood was his, he could not
order her suicide. Azami left the Winter Palace and vanished into
Edon. By the time the Emperor suspected he had been misled, she was
gone and Ieyasu was Jogun- the War Lord, and too powerful to be
dismissed. For the Jogun had become emperor in all but name, and the
Emperor an empty puppet.

My father, then, made his choice.

He resigned, left his post as Kanhake and left Odokyo the great city.
He searched Edon for Azami, and when he found her- driven mad,
trapped in a bordello, no longer able to return to her former station
even if she had been able to understand- he retreated to this
mountain village, far away from Edokyo.

I learned something that was not common knowledge that night: that
the Emperor had sent my father to find Azami. Find her he did, but he
did not return her to the Winter Palace. For she was broken in health
and in madness, a child-woman forced to live in the streets and
gutters, unprepared for the harshness of life.

"Azami had little steel in her," my father said, staring into the
fire. "It was why the Emperor loved her, I think. She was sanjin, of
course, and honorable... but she was a summer flower."

I nodded, pouring my father another cup of saki. I don't think he
would have told me some of the things he did that night had he not
been drinking steadily since the tale started.

My father stayed with her, barring her from taking further customers
and earning his living-and hers- by the swordmaker's trade, for which
he had been trained when young. The o'Diserah believed that to wield
a blade, you must know how it is made, despite the dishonor of
selling your skill like a merchant.

And eventually, Azami and my father produced me.

I do not know if my father cursed himself for breaking his honor with
the Emperor's sister. In his defense I will say that it was his only
lapse in a long and honorable life, and that had I been born a boy,
my father's dishonor would have even somewhat erased. The fault is
mine.

It was in the last year of Azami's life, as she grew round with
pregnancy, that my father learned the Emperor had been slain by
treachery. A new Emperor- a concubine's son- was enthroned in the
Winter Palace. And this new Emperor was the creature of- who else?-
the Jogun.

o'Shotomori Shanjushi Ieyasu, whose star had climbed so high.

I understood far more than another child perhaps would have, having
grown adept at reading my father's silences as well as his words. My
father's enemy was my mother's enemy, and my father's enemy was also
mine.

"We are all that is left," my father said. "Last of the o'Diserah,
and last of the Emperor's retainers. What is our duty, o'Kohe-chan?"

I shifted slightly in seiza, easing an ache in my right
leg. "Revenge," I answered.

"Hai." My father examined the empty saki bottle. "If your mother's
name were to be known," he said, "you would be in grave danger. The
Jogun's spies know that I have a bastard child, but they have been
duped into thinking that her mother was a common low-born prostitute,
that I left the Winter Palace in disgrace for my complicity in
Azami's supposed treachery. The Emperor was careful to let them think
so. When he was murdered, my duty became clear. So I have raised you."

"Dai-pa," I leaned forward a little, "is that why I'm dressed like a
boy?"

"Hai."

"And why I learn the sword?"

"Hai."

"Do I look like my mother?"

"Hai."

"What am I to do now, Dai-pa?"

"Wait. Watch. Learn."

I set my tea bowl aside and put my hands on the floor, bent forward
until my forehead touched the mats. "Hai, Dai-pa."

He grunted. "Go to bed, o'Kohe-chan. Tomorrow we will start."

"Hai, Dai-pa."

I bowed again, then rose and backed away from him, three steps. Then
I turned and ran from the room.

I ran up the stairs and threw myself down on my bed. My eyes were
terribly dry. I lay across my bedding and sobbed without a sound. It
is a horrible thing, to learn that you have failed through no fault
of your own.

I should have been born a boy. A boy could learn the sword without
trouble and carry out revenge with little but the law and the Jogun's
retainers to dissuade him.

I, however, had been born female. And in doing so, I had failed both
my parents terribly.

I lay in the dark, eyes burning, body shuddering with silent sobs,
and heard the tinkling crash downstairs as my father threw the saki-
bottle against the hearth.

Lilith wrote:

Ummmm...

Okay. Here's the deal. I'm a past member of SFWA. I used to be a magazine
editor. Specifically, one of the magazines was Dragon Magazine. I got to read a
lot of fiction. I got to read some really good stuff, and got to read some
really bad stuff. There was very little that was in between. Some of the really
bad stuff we all (the magazine editors) tended to save up and present bits and
pieces -- anonymously, and in good humor -- at panels called "It Came from Over
the Transom" at WorldCon and other conventions.

I have to tell you, upon looking at this... what's the idea? Is it Japanese or
not? If it is, use Japanese names. If it's not, DON'T use Japanese names.
Especially really FAMOUS ones. It's that simple.

Don't use cutesy "kinda" Japanese words ("jogun"? come on! -- and it's spelled
"sake" not "saki" -- but if this isn't Japan, WHY is there "saki"?) instead of
the real one. As one of my mentors once said when I tried something like that,
either "do it," or get off the pot.

The pseudo Japanese will alienate the Japanophile, and only confuse those who
don't care one way or another about Japan as they'll think they're missing
something. If you want to see how to pseudo-fantasize Japan, look up a book
called "Ladylord" by a good friend of mine, Sasha Miller. The names aren't
Japanese. The words and titles are English. But the fantasy world in which the
tale takes place is a very sinified Japan (if you know Japan) and just a cool
fantasy world if you don't.

One of the great rules in fiction is "show, don't tell." This is far too
expository. By the third paragraph I was already skipping and scanning.

In all honesty (and since you asked for feedback), here it is:

As -- I think -- the only one in this group who actually dealt professionally
with fantasy fiction on the purchasing and publishing end, I have to say that my
reading would not make it to the second page, and it would be returned the next
morning with a form rejection letter.

Before you think that's not nice, consider this: I've actually given you more
solid feedback on what's wrong and needs fixing in this e-mail than just about
any professional editor who sees the ms will.

Sorry, but that's the way it is, in the eyes of this grizzled old veteran of
editorial panels at SF cons.

Tony

--

Anthony J. Bryant
Website: http://www.sengokudaimyo.com

Effingham's Heraldic Avatars (...and stuff):
http://www.sengokudaimyo.com/avatarbiz.html

Grand Cross, Order of the Laurel:
http://www.cafepress.com/laurelorder

--- Lilith <lillith.saintcrow@...> wrote:

> Below please find a short chapter that details the
> premise of the
> book, tentatively titled "Snowfire." If there is
> anything that seems
> illogical in it, or you would like to correct for
> historical accuracy
> (even though this _is_ a fantasy) please don't
> hesitate! I'm only
> 10,000 words into the book and want to catch any
> illogicalities (is
> that even a word?) while the work is relatively
> young. So, without
> futher ado...

Tony got to you first--however, I'll say a lot of the
same things, I'm sure. But let me start by saying that
if you listen to ANYONE, please listen to him! I've
got no official research background or writing
history--he's got both, been published several times
in history, at least, and will tell you like it is.
Anyways, on with my comments...

> My father had once been a retainer to the Emperor.
> The o'Diserah were
> an old and noble clan, known for their faithfulness
> to the Peerless.
> Endless feudal wars had reduced the o'Diserah to a
> single family, and
> of that family my father was the last to survive.
> Such is life.

Names. Ouch. What's with the "o'everything"? Are we
Japanese or Irish? This needs serious work. Not to be
harsh, but speaking, as Tony put it, from the
"Japanophile" side of the house, I would pick up this
book, turn to the back cover, see that it's about
someone in the "o'Diserah" family, and immediately put
it down, lamenting the fact that no one writes good
fiction about Japanese history.

And strictly speaking, the Emperor himself didn't have
direct retainers. Everyone was technically a servant
of the Emperor, but he wasn't a feudal magnate, and
didn't maintain his own warrior house. Think of him
more like the Pope than a European king (and ignore
the whole Pope maintaining standing armies in the
1400's or so thing).

Kusunoki Masashige is one of the few examples I can
think of of someone truly dedicated solely to the
Emperor, and that was to GoDaigo, who TRIED to regain
rule from the Bakufu, in essence trying to act like a
king, rather than what the Emperor by this point
normally did.

> My father took service under the Emperor and was
> given the position
> of Kanhake- one of the Emperor's bodyguard. It was
> honorable, and my
> father was a skilled swordsman. He protected the
> Emperor as he would
> have protected any lord- fearlessly, with honor.

Is this supposed to be something like the Praetorian
Guard? Because that's what I'm picturing. There were
several Imperial guard forces, but service in them
wasn't REALLY how we imagine a bodyguard, following
around the Emperor like the Secret Service or P.
Diddy's posse. They were more like police or palace
guards, not personal ones. I can dig up descriptions
of them, if you like--Sansom's volume 1 history gives
a basic outline, but Karl Friday is a better
explanation.

> The Emperor's youngest sister and favored concubine,
> Azami,

She's his sister, AND his concubine? Um....yech. While
there doesn't seem to have been any issues marrying
cousins (since for a long time the Emperors married
women of the Fujiwara family, making their sons
half-Fujiwara, who then married back into the Fujiwara
family...you get the idea...), this wouldn't have
worked.

However an affair of the Emperor's wife/consort/etc
with another courtier isn't out of the realm of
possibility--look at the Genji Monogatari for an
example.

> Chief among those enemies was o'Shotomori Shanjushi
> Ieyasu, not yet
> Jogun.

Again, names. Ouch. Especially famous ones. I'll give
you a website to peruse at the end that will help you
with developing real-sounding Japanese names, and of
course you can run them by us all to make sure they
weren't real people, or at least really famous ones.
Ieyasu is a bad choice....also, I agree with
Tony--what the hell is Jogun? Either use Shogun, or
use another title--by using Jogun, you just look like
you can't spell correctly.

He was an adept at intrigue and suspicion,

> and had risen far
> to the position of Master of the Imperial Police.

Your book, your fantasy. But my understanding (someone
can correct me if I'm wrong) is that head of the
Imperial Police was a decent, but not fabulous, title
during the Heian period. During the later Sengoku,
which if I remember is your target timeframe, this
really wouldn't have meant a hill of beans. But, as
you said, you're creating this world. I would read
this and go "hmm, that's not right", but then move on.


since her blood was his,

> he could not
> order her suicide.

Never really stopped anyone in reality, but okay.

For the (SH)ogun had become emperor in all

> but name, and the
> Emperor an empty puppet.

Proudly puppeteering since 1185!

> He searched Edon for Azami, and when he found her-
> driven mad,
> trapped in a bordello, no longer able to return to
> her former station
> even if she had been able to understand- he
> retreated to this
> mountain village, far away from Edokyo.

Even a banished court lady wouldn't have been driven
to prostitution. Banishment meant being away from the
political and social center, Kyoto, not destitution
and complete misery. Again, your story.

> She was sanjin

Huh? You explain the title of (SH)ogun, which everyone
just about will understand, but no explanation here of
what this means. Just something to follow up on later.

> I nodded, pouring my father another cup of saki.

It's "sake". Saki is a literary pseudonym.

The o'Diserah

> believed that to wield
> a blade, you must know how it is made, despite the
> dishonor of
> selling your skill like a merchant.

Someone may correct me, but your sword maker's were
held in much higher regard than your average rice
broker.

A new Emperor- a concubine's son- was

> enthroned in the
> Winter Palace. And this new Emperor was the creature
> of- who else?-
> the Jogun.

Sounds very Fujiwara...interesting.

> "Dai-pa," I leaned forward a little, "is that why
> I'm dressed like a
> boy?"

"Daipa" is how the Japanese refer to Pampers, not how
you'd address your father.

The message got cut off--I'll go back and see if there
is anything else I had to add, but here's the website
I promised:

www.sengokudaimyo.com

Go to it. Now. This instant! Ordinarily I recommend a
part or a piece of it, but this will seriously help
you understand the world that your writing about.
There's a page on names and titles in the Miscellany
portion. There's pages on etiquette, manners, dress,
armor, games, etc...

Oh, and the author? He's that other guy that critiqued
your passage.

Nate





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WHOA, boys. Whoa.

In the first place, this is the seventh chapter of a book in the
rough draft, so by this time, the showing has already done and a
little bit of telling is in order. I just wanted a critique of the
_chain of events_.

As for names, if I'm not writing a book set in historical Japan, I
think the fantasy names are probably a better idea. Hear me out:
look, if this was a remake of Shogun I would certainly try to use
Japanese names. It isn't. It's a fantasy world very much like a
certain period in Japanese history, and I think trying to use real
Japanese names would actually cloud the issue.

For example, if I write a fantasy novel that uses the term "Shogun" I
am reprimanded for having fantasy aspects in what should be a work of
historical fiction. If I write with the term "Jogun" (which I thought
was a fair fantasy bastardization, if one exists) I'm slammed for it
being a knockoff. Help me win, guys. Help me find the right thing to
do here.

Again, this is the seventh chapter, in rough draft, taken out of
context, and a fantasy novel. I appreciate the critiques, and
apologize for not being clearer in defining my terms. It's great that
you guys are tkaing the time to set me straight on such important
issues, I love this sort of stuff.

Grateful,

Lili

--- Lilith <lillith.saintcrow@...> wrote:

> WHOA, boys. Whoa.
>
> In the first place, this is the seventh chapter of a
> book in the
> rough draft, so by this time, the showing has
> already done and a
> little bit of telling is in order. I just wanted a
> critique of the
> _chain of events_.

Okay, fair enough. But you did come to a history
thread saying you wanted to make things "accurate".
We're GOING to base our comments off of history, and
what was real. If you don't want to do things a
certain way, don't--it's your fantasy world.

> As for names, if I'm not writing a book set in
> historical Japan, I
> think the fantasy names are probably a better idea.
> Hear me out:
> look, if this was a remake of Shogun I would
> certainly try to use
> Japanese names. It isn't. It's a fantasy world very
> much like a
> certain period in Japanese history, and I think
> trying to use real
> Japanese names would actually cloud the issue.

Here's my take: either use Japanese names, or don't
use them. Don't make "half" names. If you want to use
a slightly Japanesey setting for your fantasy novel,
but don't want it to "BE" Japanese, that's cool--no
issues. But then don't have one character be an
Ieyasu. That's not a fantasy name, that's a historical
Japanese name, one what anybody who knows anything
about Japanese history will recognize.

Personally, I think you should go with Japanese
names--just make them non-historical figures. People
understand, or should understand, that it's
FICTION--by giving them actual Japanese names, that
doesn't mean they have to be real people, or even
based on real people. There's nothing wrong with
having a Shonai Masayori (a perfectly possible, yet
made up name) as a main character. If you use Ieyasu,
however, people are going to associate that with the
REAL Ieyasu, and look for parallels/connections to
reality, which is apparently not what you want.

Go one way or the other.

> For example, if I write a fantasy novel that uses
> the term "Shogun" I
> am reprimanded for having fantasy aspects in what
> should be a work of
> historical fiction. If I write with the term "Jogun"
> (which I thought
> was a fair fantasy bastardization, if one exists)
> I'm slammed for it
> being a knockoff. Help me win, guys. Help me find
> the right thing to
> do here.

Using the term "Shogun" doesn't mean you need to make
events match history. But like I said with the names,
if you don't want to be held to any history standards,
use something completely different. Jogun isn't a good
one--it's fairly obvious it should be Shogun. My
opinion, but the right thing to do is either use
Shogun (and I'm about as much of an accuracy Nazi as
you can get, but wouldn't have an issue with the use
of the term in an obviously fantasy/parallel world) or
make up something completely unrelated for use in your
world.

> Again, this is the seventh chapter, in rough draft,
> taken out of
> context, and a fantasy novel. I appreciate the
> critiques, and
> apologize for not being clearer in defining my
> terms. It's great that
> you guys are tkaing the time to set me straight on
> such important
> issues, I love this sort of stuff.

And again, write for your audience. Your audience may
not care if you spell "sake" as "saki". But understand
your audience here, as well. That's the kind of thing
that might make me put a book down at the bookstore
rather than take it to the register. Does it matter in
the grand context of your story? Probably not. But you
said you wanted help with accuracy, and, well, that's
what we're trying to give you. It's up to you then to
take it and go "no, my fantasy world doesn't need
that", or whatever.

I don't read fantasy fiction, and as such, I'm
probably not your audience. But again, it's so easy to
get some little details right that make all the
difference in wether someone like me would read it or
not. The storyline itself seems fine--parents
dishonored, kid raised to take revenge, etc. It's the
details that are going to make me throw it away or
stay up all night to get to the end.



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Hi Lilith -

I've been away and so out of this debate, but before anything
should point out I'm writing my own samurai fiction, which you
can read at:

http://www.samurai-archives.com/jzm.html

Re persons:
In an early incarnation, I decided to create a fictitious clan
and insert it into history. The name was 'Kabima', a concoction
from the names of my daughters, but on checking it out with a
native speaker, the word means something like 'mouldy cloth' or
'mouldy clothes' - not a good idea - if you're going to have
cod Japanese names, better make sure you know what they
mean.

(As it stands now, the Toda existed, and a daughter did marry
the father of Tokugawa Ieyasu, but there's a couple of extra
family members of my invention).

Re places:
I can't vouch for this, but I once had a discussion with an
avid fantasy reader who was amazed when I told him the plot of
a novel without having read it, because from the snippet he
told me I could see it followed the events of the Gempei War
(1180-1185). The author had lifted the whole thing, changed the
names and location, and wrote a fantasy bestseller which
no-one would identify with Japan.

(As mine stands, I have to make guesses, although my study
wall is plastered with maps, pictures, etc. and my wife has
okay'd a solo holiday in Japan for me!)

***

I think if you're going to base a fantasy on Japan, then you
have to identify what it is that you like, and transpose it to
your own world - and identify it with your world, not back to
Japan - this is my opinion only, personally I put down 'Across
the Nightingale Floor' for that very reason - it's neither one
thing nor the other.

Likewise 'The Last Samurai' - it's a vehicle for Tom Cruise,
and that's all it is. What realy jars is when they change not
only the culture but the ethos to suit. 'Zatoichi' is a lot
more fun, just as much a fiction, but offers no offence to
Japan (which TLS does before the opening credits have even
finished).

My own work stemmed from what I understood of the the
samurai and his arts, through my martial art practice and
reading history - japanes ein translation - and the realisation that
most European fiction on the subject was grossly inaccurate.

I wish I could write like James Clavell, but from a purist
perspective Shogun is a crap book serving up the same old
nonsense stereotypes that perpetuates a load of bull about
Sengoku Japan which people mistakenly assume to be
'historically accurate'.

I neither read nor write Japanese, so am massively limited if
not totally hamstrung, but I follow the Bernard Cornwell rule -
I write what I'd like to read, and what I like to read is based
on history and reality, not fantasy, so I do as much research
as I can.

All that aside, good luck with the project,

Thomas

Lilith,
I read your chapter of "Snowfire" that you have printed on the website. I love it! I too, am a writer using the samuai culture in a book i am writing, but mine is not in japan, it's another world all together, but my pelines' are based upon allot of the ancient samurai. but I CAN'T WAIT for your book to come out! I will definaetly read it! Get a great cover illustrator, too. It sound like a real HOT book.

Lilith <lillith.saintcrow@...> wrote:
Hey everyone,

Thanks for letting me post this. I appreciate all the wonderful help
and support I'm receiving from this list! And for the listmember who
asked about copyright: if I can prove I am the owner of this email
address, posting a short chapter here actually proves my copyright,
so no worries about that. Good question, though!

Below please find a short chapter that details the premise of the
book, tentatively titled "Snowfire." If there is anything that seems
illogical in it, or you would like to correct for historical accuracy
(even though this _is_ a fantasy) please don't hesitate! I'm only
10,000 words into the book and want to catch any illogicalities (is
that even a word?) while the work is relatively young. So, without
futher ado...

---

On 11:48 AM 8/6/04, samuraihistory@yahoogroups.com said...

>Help me win, guys. Help me find the right thing to do here.

I believe they already have.

As a publisher, I concur with Tony and Nate's comments. I trust my
editors, as a rule, and if they were my editors then their opinions would
shape whether or not my company accepted a manuscript for publication.

FWIW, I have written or co-authored 12 published books and I have
contributed (as an editor, graphic designer and/or developer) to 48
additional published works. I do have some experience in this realm as well.

One of the hardest things about being an artist (including authors) is
rejection. The only thing that I find harder to deal with (other than
crappy sales ) is critique. When I create something I put a lot of pride
in it, and I love my "baby." So when people come along and tear it to
shreds it's easy to take personally. But as one must make an effort to step
back and remove the emotional filters, and re-evaluate the criticism.

Editors' words can feel scathing, but ultimately they are uttered with
the intent of providing an unbiased evaluation -- and from an objective
observer at that! Such critiques are priceless.

Someone once told me that if I'm writing for me, then it doesn't matter
how it reads, if it's accurate, etc. As long as I like it that's all that
counts. But if I'm writing for someone else -- especially someone whom I
expect to PAY for the privilege -- then the standards go up dramatically
and I better be prepared to make a lot of changes if necessary.

One question that comes to mind (putting on my publisher hat for a
moment) is: Who is your target audience? That is, who do you hope will buy
your book?


Mark Arsenault
Sengoku List Taisho
----------------------------------------------
http://www.sengoku.com - The official site of the Sengoku RPG!

Hey all,

Thanks for all the help. I am still working out just how much of the
book is supposed to be 'fantasy' and how much is supposed to be 'real
and accurate', so this is TREMENDOUSLY helpful.

I am heading to San Francisco for a week and when I come back will
probably have a clearer picture. As I said, I'm only 10,000 words in,
so now's the time to do all the work, LOL.

Thank you all for your kind help- I will no doubt be bothering you
with more questions when I come back. You can relax, though- I won't
post any more of the book. (You'll be spared that much, at least.)

Thanks to all, and especially Nate,

Lili

--- Gloria Proctor <captainnemo12901@...> wrote:

> Lilith,
> I read your chapter of "Snowfire" that you have
> printed on the website. I love it! I too, am a
> writer using the samuai culture in a book i am
> writing, but mine is not in japan, it's another
> world all together, but my pelines' are based upon
> allot of the ancient samurai. but I CAN'T WAIT for
> your book to come out! I will definaetly read it!
> Get a great cover illustrator, too. It sound like a
> real HOT book.
>
>

Hi everyone. I've read that chapter too, and I like it
very much. Thanks ^_^
I'm a writer too, but not so good, I think...
There're a lot of writers in this list... But I'm the
only italian. Let me read your works :)

Sweet thinking

=====
Elisa

"L'esuberanza � bellezza" (W.Blake)



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--- Thomas Davidson <tom.davidson@...> wrote:

> I wish I could write like James Clavell, but from a
> purist
> perspective Shogun is a crap book serving up the
> same old
> nonsense stereotypes that perpetuates a load of bull
> about
> Sengoku Japan which people mistakenly assume to be
> 'historically accurate'.

The frustration is that it comes so *close* in so many
regards...aargh.



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--- Lilith <lillith.saintcrow@...> wrote:

>
> Thanks to all, and especially Nate,
>
> Lili

*blush* aw shucks..




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> I am heading to San Francisco for a week and when I come back will
> probably have a clearer picture.

Lillith
if you can, consider attending the SF Japanese Sword Show later this
month.
Three days of lectures, demonstrations, displays, buying, selling,
trading.
120+ tables, lots of nice people with similar interests.
Here's the link

http://www.ncjsc.org/SF_token_kai.htm

-t

Hello Lilith,
I'm a fellow writer, too. From all the historical novels that I have read, you make the "bones" of your book historical, and then flesh it out with the fiction. You have your "hero or heroine" interact with the historical. Am I making sence to you? My sister is a published author of historical novels and I do all of her research and critiqing before she publishes(writing is a side-line from her real love of teaching). And from what I have read that you have put on the website, I can't wait for the book to come out.
Yours truelly,
Captain Nemo(gloria)

Lilith <lillith.saintcrow@...> wrote:
Hey all,

Thanks for all the help. I am still working out just how much of the
book is supposed to be 'fantasy' and how much is supposed to be 'real
and accurate', so this is TREMENDOUSLY helpful.

I am heading to San Francisco for a week and when I come back will
probably have a clearer picture. As I said, I'm only 10,000 words in,
so now's the time to do all the work, LOL.

Thank you all for your kind help- I will no doubt be bothering you
with more questions when I come back. You can relax, though- I won't
post any more of the book. (You'll be spared that much, at least.)

Thanks to all, and especially Nate,

Lili




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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Sorry everyone but... how many writers are there in
this list ? :)
Tell me that, please... I like to write (but I'm not
so good) but I like very much to read.
Thanks.

elisa



--- Thomas Davidson <tom.davidson@...> wrote:

> Hi Lilith -
>
> I've been away and so out of this debate, but before
> anything
> should point out I'm writing my own samurai fiction,
> which you
> can read at:
>
> http://www.samurai-archives.com/jzm.html
>