Skip to content
the John Crane Ware house

From (Deep in the Heart of) Texas Hill Country

English: Texas Hill Country, on Route 187 head...
Texas Hill Country, on Route 187 heading North, just north of Garner State Park. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’ve spent the last few days in Texas Hill Country, visiting my aunt and working on a project. But before I tell you about that, let me walk you through her ranch.

My aunt Margie lives on a small ranch immediately outside of Utopia, Texas. When she first moved there a couple of decades ago, the smart-aleck kid I was thought the name was doubly appropriate; the idyllic climate and beautiful countryside were indeed paradisaical, and the location was, just like the original meaning of utopia, nowhere.

From (Deep in the Heart of) Texas Hill Country

An Outsider’s Perspective

Study for The Quarrel of Oberon and Titania by...
Study for The Quarrel of Oberon and Titania by Noel Paton: fairies in Shakespeare (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I just came home from opening night at the Indiana Reperatory Theatre‘s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I gave it a glowing review, but I wanted to comment on a technique they used which made the play more accessible. (And let’s be honest, Shakespeare often unnecessarily intimidates potential audiences, just because of the language and reputation.)

An Outsider’s Perspective

Yuki Onna photos

Yuki-onna (雪女, the snow woman) from the Hyakka...
Yuki-onna (雪女, the snow woman) from the Hyakka…

The yuki onna is a femme fatale of Japanese folklore. When travelers are lost or exhausted in the winter snows, the yuki onna (“snow woman”) appears to greet them — and they are never seen again.

/cue shivery music/

Yuki Onna photos

Rape in Life and Fiction

Tarquinius and Lucretia
Tarquinius and Lucretia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Now that’s not a pretentious blog post title or anything…..

As I write this, society (or at least social media) is still reeling with the verdict from the Stuebenville rape case, in which two high school athletes (illegally drinking) sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl (illegally drinking) and were convicted with minor sentences, possibly never carrying the sex offender label, with a warning from the judge to be careful “how you record things on social media that are so prevalent today.” That’s right, kids, if you’re going to rape, just be sure your friends don’t post incriminating evidence on YouTube.

My opinion’s clear enough in the above paragraph on that case, so I won’t spend any more time on that. But the trial prompted me to review a topic I’d been mulling occasionally already, on rape in fiction.

Rape in Life and Fiction

Japanese Folklore Panel in Indianapolis

Momijigari (紅葉狩, the demon-woman of Mount Toga...
Momijigari (紅葉狩, the demon-woman of Mount Togakushi) from the Konjaku Hyakki Shūi (今昔百鬼拾遺) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Did you ever want to know the difference between a mononoke and an ayakashi? Do you know how to escape a kappa, if one wants to eat you? Have you ever wondered if you were missing some in-jokes in your favorite anime or Asian film? (Yes, very likely.)

Japanese Folklore Panel in Indianapolis
Han Solo, image courtesy Wikipedia

The Music of the Spheres

Han Solo, image courtesy Wikipedia
Han Solo, image courtesy Wikipedia

Working on a science-fiction short and surprising myself with how much I’m enjoying it. One of my writers’ group last night commented that a character was “a mix of a symphony conductor and Han Solo” — and I’m pretty happy with that description.

I went searching today for some title ideas, and I happened across this nifty toy — tool — program — quest — thing, a computer code meant to blend mathematics and light and sound into a literal music of the spheres.
The Music of the Spheres

Persian slave, from the 1893 book Central Asia: Travels in Cashmere, Little Thibet and Central Asia.

On Today’s Slavery.

The Slave Market, by Gustave Boulanger
The Slave Market, by Gustave Boulanger

Serious post today, folks.

While writing Shard & Shield, I spent a lot of time researching Greco-Roman slavery, as slavery is integral to one of the cultures in the story. Research always leads one down unexpected roads, and I learned a lot about slavery in other areas of the world and in world history, too.

Persian slave, from the 1893 book Central Asia: Travels in Cashmere, Little Thibet and Central Asia.
Persian slave, from the 1893 book Central Asia: Travels in Cashmere, Little Thibet and Central Asia.

Most Americans, hearing the word “slavery,” think of the African trade to the American south, and they think it ended with the ratification of the 13th Amendment. That’s foremost in our cultural awareness — but it’s not quite the truth. In fact, slavery is far, far from ended.

There are more slaves today than at any previous period in world history.On Today’s Slavery.