Today we’re getting the cover to Brandy Ackerley’s new Kitsune Ken installment! Brandy and I have known each other through our shared Japanese folklore interest for a long while, and we last saw each other while sitting together on an Asian media panel at the 2019 When Words Collide conference.
You may remember Hunter’s Gambit, and Lord’s Curse is the sequel. Let’s jump straight to the reveal, okay?
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I’ve been thinking a lot about Japan lately. Just over a year ago I was on a dream trip through the country, visiting historic sites both famous and less touristy, and I am anxiously waiting for 2020 to play through to see if I can make my scheduled trip this fall, where I plan to hike the Kumano Kodō (熊野古道), a network of millennium-old pilgrimage trails through the south.
But while I wait, I’ve been reminiscing.
Author and Tōkyō resident Susan Spann was my guide to the best of Hakone, from the hotel where we were personally greeted to the little Italian restaurant where the owner brought in a wood-burning pizza oven. (Fair warning: I’m going to be talking up her books, both her historical mysteries about the murder-solving ninja/Catholic priest duo and her upcoming memoir about climbing 100 Japanese peaks in a year to change her inner and outer life.)
But today, let’s just talk about Ōwakudani.
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I promised to share them! These are the Japanese history videos I put together for Anime Central 2020 Online, now bundled into one convenient playlist.
There are 9 videos in all, ranging from 8th century history to modern cultural fun. Here’s the list:
Continue readingHave you been enjoying my short stories about superhero women in WW2 United Kingdom? I’ve got good news!
You’ve read Fire: Dragons, Demons, & Djinns. You’ve read Earth: Giants, Golems, & Gargoyles. And now you can have Air: Sylphs, Spirits, & Swan Maidens.
Presenting the cover of the latest elemental anthology and its glistening table of contents!
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