#this is directed at a publishers weekly book review

[spaceshipkat]

look i admit that i may be alone in getting incredibly annoyed by this, but for the love of god stop i wish people would stop saying “John Smith, who uses they and them pronouns, blah blah blah” and just start saying “John Smith wrote their book because they really love eating wallpaper” people will pick up on it and you’ll stop fucking othering queer people while trying to be inclusive ffs. you don’t fucking see cishets who use their birth pronouns introduced as “Jane Doe, who uses she and her pronouns, blah blah blah” right??

#this is directed at a publishers weekly book review #but it’s also just. in general. #it’s gotten better in certain areas #but ughhhhh #i was up til 3am and my knees fucking hurt i am Not in a good mood

[esme-elora]

Weekly Update!

Hello my lovely readers! This is a big one.

Ordinarily, this would be a subscribers-only update, but it’s important, so I’ll be having it public.

(If you want to continue to see the details of what I've been working on, you can subscribe to my Patreon or Ko-Fi, whichever you prefer! On top of weekly updates, you can also get WIPs, first drafts, early releases, and exclusive content, as well as access to my Discord server. So if you like lesbian furries in dark fantasy settings with accurate disabled representation, look no further!)

But to business!

There’s actually a few things that I’d like to get into, so I’ll have headings to each topic.

Aurora Progress

I got about halfway through Chapter Seven when I hit a wall of combined disinterest and confusion. I knew, objectively, where it was going, but I couldn’t get it to go there properly. I decided it would be in my best interest to ask some (anonymous) colleagues in publishing and editing what I should do, as they have expertise I lack.

They broke down what I should fix and what I should keep, and as editing goes, it resulted in a very different story. The core of the story, of course, is the same; it’s a cozy lesbian romance focusing on trauma, healing, and self-improvement. However, so many details are different. I want to list them all out, but I also don’t want to spoil anything, because it’s going in such a better direction and I want you to experience the story in real time.

I will, however, reveal the biggest core difference.

For a laundry list of reasons I can’t get into, I’ll be leaning into Esme Elora being a succubus goat creature. Esme being a succubus is crucial to her character arc—in recovering from her past, in self-acceptance, and in her relationship with her future wife (who will be introduced much earlier now). It is so intrinsically intertwined into the plot that it must be emphasized in ways I failed to before. Art will come soon!

If you’re a spider fan, though, do not lose hope! Esme’s original design will be recycled into a new character I know you will cherish. Pietro, too, will remain the main supporting character, and his motivations are far clearer now than they were. The phaedrani remain central to the story, just not in the same way they were before. Further, Eva, Esme’s familiar, is still a character and retains an arachnid form. You’ll see why.

I will have the first version of Aurora up on Patreon for the $9 tier for archival purposes; however, in this form, it will be discontinued.

I hope all of this is not a disappointing update, but this is unfortunately how novel-writing goes. Sometimes, you have to try things out to figure out that they don’t work, and that requires a lot of patience and rewriting. I am still so eternally grateful that you’re still on this writing ride with me.

Other Writing Progress

The Pillow Book has not been reviewed, but as it provides lore essential to the stories of Aefarell, it is still in progress. Sethira is a difficult lady to write; she is strong-willed and determined, and she absolutely writes herself. It has made the story go in a different direction than I intended, but it complements well with the new version of Aurora. I’m sure you’ll like where this ends up.

Otherwise, I have some smutty short stories I’ll be posting; I’m reviving the Matriarch story from last year, just revising for pacing. I plan on writing many stories about the girls of that brothel, and one goes in a deliciously horrifying direction that I’m sure you’ll find intriguing.

I am not focusing on multiverse content. You’ll just have to do the handwave “because magic” when you think about Esme having internet access. For now, anyway. I want to focus on Aefarell and its development, and I’ll have to do a better job at surrogacy (thankfully, I’ve noticed the furry fandom loves this).

Also, I am no longer focusing on fan content, so all fanfics are on hold. If I work on any of them, it’s due to writer’s block. They are not a priority.

Subscription Update

If you’re new to my work and want to subscribe, I am now updating Patreon and Ko-Fi due to popular demand! Both will give you access to my Discord server. Now you can choose which platform you prefer!

My tiers are now:

$3 - Access to all early releases (one chapter ahead of public releases), weekly updates, and the Discord server*

$6 - Access to all previous rewards as well as WIPs and first drafts (two chapters ahead of public releases)

$9 - Access to all previous rewards as well as all archived and discontinued content AND exclusive background/worldbuilding posts and writing on the world of Aefarell

I’m still not doing commissions because I’m too busy, but I am so flattered that so many people are interested!

NSFW Update

I am no longer locking all adult content behind a paywall since I am, at the heart of it all, a romance writer, and I personally like sexual passion with my romance. It’s very hard to separate the two at the point I am at with my stories. I’ve had a lot of deep shame about being a romance writer, particularly since people act like romance isn’t “real writing.” I’ve tried very hard to diversify, but love is my favorite thing, and I love writing about love between women.

Patrons can now opt-in to NSFW discussion channels** but should assume all subscriber channels will have NSFW content. Further, there is a chance all chapters may contain sexual content.

I believe this covers everything I needed to discuss. As always, leave comments or chat in my Discord if you have any questions!

Esme Elora

*I have been asked if I’ll make a Telegram, since furries prefer it, and I’m at a hard maybe. I’m not overly familiar with Telegram and don’t know how to properly moderate it.

**The only reason I separate them is because I work and don’t want people in my office seeing hardcore furry porn when I’m just saying hello in my Discord. I’m sure other members are in the same boat.

#this took me hours #i shit you not #i am way too thorough #weekly updates

[cartograffiti]

Thank you Claire from Schuler Books: some data for Queen's Thief fans

The tl;dr of this post is that QT is having an unprecedented surge of interest right now, and I used GoodReads to deliver some facts and figures to the Discord (The Geninsula), and now to Tumblr!

Under the cut: sources of the uptick, beautiful numbers, and a couple fun excerpts from recent reviews.

Part 1: selling out is good

We can actually track the start of the surge back to 2020's publication of Return of the Thief, because the series being complete got it a lot of positive press, but the activity of the past couple months (especially February-now, I'm writing on May 31 2022), has been another thing entirely.

RotT, and Disney+ optioning The Thief, has meant we're getting a lot of new international editions. The UK is getting a beautiful release of new editions in paperback and audiobook. The series is being translated into Spanish and Italian for the first time, and we know in The Geninsula of translations underway into Hebrew and Bangla. (Parts of the series have previously been released in at least 15 languages, but until now only Romanian had kept up with the whole set.) MWT is currently on a tour of Italy and the UK to promote these new editions, and a number of giveaways and influencer spotlights were arranged by publishers to get The Thief | Il ladro in readers' hands.

In March, the independent bookstore Schuler Books (not, as it has often been misreported, a library or Barnes & Noble) *posted a TikTok* of some of their staff showing off books they wish they could read for the first time, again. (It's adorable, click the link if you haven't seen it.) This TikTok went viral, now with 17.5 million views, and it opens with Claire talking about The Thief.

Only two weeks later, The Thief was sold out in US paperback. I'm talking gone. Even Amazon cannot get you a new copy of either the 2017 (Joel Tippie) or 2005 (Vince Natale) covers anymore, previously readily available, let alone older ones. They have to reprint it! In the meantime, the Steve West audiobook seems to be doing very well, and the hardcover unremarkably. Several Geninsula members who are members of large library systems have reported long waitlists typical of bestsellers. I wholly attribute this attention to Claire. Claire is the best, our hero!

Lots of recent reviews (see below) also said Laini Taylor suggested it, but if there's a specific recent source for that (she's a known fan of long standing), I can't find it. Let me know if you know!

Part 2: GoodReads is useful sometimes

So GoodReads *has this nice feature* where they rank the top 200 books from each publishing year, with #1 being the one their users have most interacted with, and refresh it monthly [Edit: this was a mistype, it’s weekly]--so you can see which books of the same age have remained or become popular as of this month [Edit: week]. This does not mean it only accounts for what was interacted with within that month [Edit: week], just that it's that up to date.

Right now, The Thief is number 14 out of all of 1996. The books that beat it are all truly famous things like Bridget Jones's Diary, Angela's Ashes, Fight Club, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. (The only book ranked above it that hasn't been adapted for film is Neverwhere, which has received a radio play with a high-profile cast. [Edit: ...And is itself a novelization of a TV series.] [Edit: Infinite Jest has been a play, but not filmed.] I am making direct eye contact with Mickey Mouse.) Some of the other series marketed as fantasy it beats out include entries from Tortall, Discworld, The Witcher, and Redwall.

The Queen of Attolia is the only other one that is currently on the top 200 list for its year, but it's 77, above more Tamora Pierce, a boxset of A Song of Ice and Fire, and buzzy authors like Julia Quinn and Junji Ito.

The fact that a second book is ranking this high tells us people are currently working their way through the series in honestly what has to be large numbers. I won't be surprised if later books start ranking in the coming months.

It also tells us people really are actively reading them, not just marking the first one as possibly interesting--lots of users don't mark sequels as to-read until they've read the first, or the preceding one, etc.

Now, with the books ranked this high, how much interaction does that represent? Well, The Thief has 77,921 ratings, and 236,000+ shelvings, and considering that finishing without rating is somewhat uncommon…that's about 150,000 users who are planning to read, or currently reading, this book. The same math for QoA is less dramatic--about 20k people have it on the agenda--but when 20k is 50% of its all-time ratings, that's...still an explosion.

This of course only represents the people who a) use GoodReads and b) keep up with their to-be-read list there, so this is only a fraction of readers in general who are likely to read it in the near future.

Part 3: The reviews are in

Giveaways of advance reader copies in the UK led to a burst of reviews in February, which were a bit puzzling to read through, as a number of them seemed to me to have come from people who did not know the genre or even the age market for the book when they entered for it, and hadn't actually been drawn to the story therefore.

A much more striking wave of reviews came later, as the UK, Spanish, and Italian readers began to interact with it organically, and a large burst of people who specifically said they'd picked it up because of Claire from Schuler Books. (Or, more often, "A TikTok with a cute librarian [sic].") These reviews have the usual range of reactions, but an overall level of enthusiasm I feel is high.

Laini Taylor was the second-most successful recommender. Many people compared The Thief favorably to Rick Riordan, Leigh Bardugo, GRR Martin, and Sarah J. Maas. (This was the first time I'd seen the series pitched to SJM's fans! I haven't read her work, but hadn't thought it was in a similar niche.) I was delighted to see several people calling it the best fantasy of travel and landscape they've read since JRR Tolkien!

The apparent age range of reviewers is quite wide, which reflects my experience of the fandom, where I've regularly chatted with people from 13 to their 60s, and likely older. There were some very cute reactions from reviewing tweens and teenagers who said that they were surprised such an OLD book from the nineties held up.

Some other book trend remarks I found interesting: lots of surprise there was no romance, including some people who, looking for a potential romance among the traveling party, proposed both Gen/Sophos (fine) and Gen/the magus (insane, thank you so much, I have questions.) A number of people who remarked that they were pleased to find a fantasy that wasn't "too fantastical," lots of positivity about feeling it had a "timeless" style, and one person who said they have found it difficult to find engaging recent YA books with boy protagonists.

Delightful excerpts from reviews of TT:

a novel that is a credit to the English language.

I loved the world MWT created, had it been an artwork it would perhaps have been more Claude Monet than Michelangelo

[Original review in Spanish, from Argentina] Gen is the best thing that has ever happened to me

The Thief also pairs very nicely with cheese and dried fruit.

The importance of narrators:

I'm giving this a 5 star rating because I listened to it as an audiobook and the narrator sounds like Henry Cavill and I have a crush on him. So, 5 stars.

And my favorite reaction to The Queen of Attolia:

This is shockingly...kinky???

Okay, thanks for reading! I'm really excited, since it looks like the fandom is in the process of...tripling? Something like that. If you have news about how the book is being promoted, or new translations/re-releases, I'd love to hear!

#Queen's Thief #The Queen's Thief #Megan Whalen Turner #The Thief #The Queen of Attolia #bookblr #long post

[tanenigiri]

Review #30: Seven Days

Japanese title: セブンデイズ (Sebun Deizu)

Story: Venio Tachibana

Art: Rihito Takarai

English publisher: SuBLime

Number of volumes: 2 (complete)

Ending this 30-day project with a story that talks about seven of them.

(This review contains story spoilers.)

Like I mentioned in my intro of this project, I was only introduced to BL manga earlier this year when I chanced upon the Given anime. This did mean that almost all of my exposure to BL so far has been very recent works, with a majority of the projects I’ve covered for this project being published or updated within the last few years. I’m a bit nervous to start delving into older works since I hear a lot of them have themes that I’m not really comfortable reading about, but I do want to find the ones that have the same vibe as the series I’m covering for this project. (That said, if you have any older titles that fit in with the series I’ve reviewed, I’m open to recommendations!)

One of the ones that I did find - and that I very much wanted to include this project - is Seven Days, which was published over a decade ago. When I read up on its premise - freshman student Seryo says yes to the first person who asks him out on a date on Monday morning then breaks up with them once the week ends, and this week’s person happens to be third-year student Shino - it was the same feeling I got when I read the premises of I Hear the Sunspot and Our Dining Table. It almost felt like it was mocking me with how interesting it was, and coupled with the praise I’ve seen for the story online, I decided to go ahead and get myself a copy. (The copy I got combined both volumes into one book.)

While Seryo is seen by the school as this player who treats his weekly habit as a game, the story surprisingly goes in the direction that this is all very serious to him. Seryo truly wants to find love, and for him, spending seven days with a person is already more than enough for him to decide. I thought this was gonna go the way of Seryo not taking it seriously and slowly realizing that he actually is falling in love, but I think the way the story handled it is much more interesting as it makes Seryo a lot more sympathetic from the start.

And true enough, Seryo already begins to realize that he’s falling for Shino halfway through the week, and I believe this revelation is where Volume 1 ends. But of course, Seryo is only half of the equation, as it turns out that Shino is the one who’s taking this seven-day date less seriously among the two. Since he already has a less-than-stellar idea of what Seryo’s about - both from his friend Koike, who was one of Seryo’s past seven-day dates, and from the fact that they’re both in the school’s archery club and Seryo rarely attends it - Shino initially thinks of this whole seven-day date as a joke that both of them are just taking a bit too far.

Very gradually, though, Shino’s view of this date shifts from being a joke he finds funny to one that he finds frustrating, as he doesn’t know how seriously he should take Seryo considering the circumstances. He asks Seryo about his previous seven-day dates several times, and each time Shino’s reminded of how he’ll just be one of them by the end of the week. While Seryo brings up that this isn’t necessarily just his decision - Shino has to say yes as much as Seryo does - the unique circumstances make it hard for Shino to actually take that leap and process these feelings the way he normally would.

(It's also worth noting that Shino is also coming into this seven-day date fresh from his own breakup, and a conversation in the first chapter makes it seem like it was because of Shino's personality. So Shino's view of love is also quite jaded by his past experiences, though not to the same extent as Seryo.)

It becomes even more complicated with the presence of one of Seryo’s ex-girlfriends, who also happens to be named Shino - which is why Seryo calls Shino by his first name, Yuzuru. Shino-the-ex seems to have been going out with Seryo’s brother, Natsuki, but she was fooling around with Seryo on the side. But Seryo distinctly describes this ex as “a woman [he] once cared about,” and I’m pretty sure that their past relationship has something to do with why Seryo’s acting quite desperately in order to find true love. This isn’t really explored that much, and I would’ve liked it if it were, but as it is I do think it’s an interesting conflict to add to Seryo’s character.

In any case, Shino finds himself feeling quite jealous of his namesake, as he quickly catches on that Seryo still has lingering feelings for her. It’s something that Seryo initially denied, but in later instances where this happens, you do get the sense that Seryo has truly gotten over his ex thanks to her namesake. But it’s these jealous moments that do make Shino realize that he might be taking this “game” a bit too seriously himself, and after some key conversations with Seryo - most notably the one where Seryo recognizes Shino’s flaws but says he likes him for it - he does realize what’s actually going on.

(I also wanted to note here that the story also features Shino slowly realizing that all of his initial impressions of Seryo were wrong. We get quite a lot of internal monologues from Shino where he highlights Seryo’s positive qualities.)

Looming over both of their minds, though, is the very real possibility that the other is only waiting for the seventh day to come and go. While this was initially Shino’s worry, the story does a good job in showing that Seryo begins to share this very same sentiment later on in the week, as he is the one that seems to be certain about his feelings between the two of them. But since Shino keeps bringing up both Seryo’s ex and the fact that their whole relationship so far has been based on a seven-day game, it keeps Seryo on edge, even if by this point Shino doesn’t want those seven days to end at all. It plays into that all-too-familiar but always welcome trope of unrequited love that’s actually requited, and it’s of course exacerbated by the strange situation that led to their meeting.

They finally get all of the clarity they need on Sunday, which of course features the confession. I initially didn’t think much of this scene - I thought it was cute but just moved on, like most of the other confession and response scenes across the series I’ve reviewed - but when I reread it, I appreciated it a lot more. Early on in the story, Shino finds out that Seryo seems to have a spiel already memorized for when he breaks up with the “girl of the week,” and he seems to have been dreading to be on the receiving end of that spiel for pretty much the entire week - or at least from the point when he realizes that he’s fallen for Seryo.

But instead of that spiel, what Shino does get from Seryo is how he wants to hang out with him more, even if it was just occasionally walking home together. Since Seryo himself is going into this conversation expecting rejection, he says this with the idea - or rather the hope - that they could at least stay friends. This is meant to be a stark contrast to how Shino has treated all of the previous “players” of this seven-day game so far, as he makes the effort to avoid them and even delete their contact information. Shino seems to realize immediately what’s going on, and after rejecting Seryo’s offer, he takes the opportunity to be the one to properly confess and ask Seryo out on a proper date. I really like how this scene built itself up, as you get the impression that both of them are thinking a mile a minute. But when they finally get that sense of clarity, you can see how overwhelmed they both are, especially Seryo.

A lot of the talk I’ve seen about Seven Days online recommends it as an entrypoint to BL, and I can definitely see why. It has a lot of the (healthier) tropes and presents them very earnestly, and it’s a pretty simple story that makes it easy for a reader to fall in love with its characters. And, of course, it has a killer premise that’s executed very well - I don’t think any of the other couples I’ve covered for this project have had a more interesting seven days than these two.

Random thoughts that I couldn’t fit elsewhere:

There was this whole plot arc about two tickets to a movie screening that was happening the following Sunday, which of course made both Shino and Seryo confused - did they both want this to continue past the seventh day? I wanted to talk about it above, but I’m still admittedly at a loss with how this plot arc ends - during a confrontation on Saturday, Shino asks for the ticket and tears it up, saying that he’s “made up his mind.” This leads the reader to believe that he wants all of this to end by the following day, but of course the next chapter sees the exact opposite happening. So by the end, I’m left wondering why Shino tore up those tickets? Is it because it came into their lives in the context of their “game” of a relationship? Is it because he wanted to buy those tickets so that they treated it as an actual date? Is it because he didn’t want it looming over his mind while he was thinking if he should pursue the relationship? I’m honestly not sure, and I’m definitely missing something here.

Two other minor characters introduced in the story are Koike and Utsumi, both of whom are Shino’s friends. Like I mentioned briefly above, Koike was one of the women that went on a seven-day date with Seryo, so quite a lot of Shino’s initial impressions of the freshman came from her. She also calls Shino out on how he acts, saying that he would never find his true love because of it - which is why when Seryo points out those same things as something he likes, Shino is taken aback. Utsumi doesn’t get nearly as much to do as Koike does, but the movie screening ticket I mentioned above came from him. What both of them do that made me laugh, though, was how they both individually catch on that Shino has fallen for someone, and Koike even entertains the idea of that someone being Seryo. By the epilogue though, it doesn’t really say if they know about Shino and Seryo - I’m leaning toward no.

I haven’t mentioned anything about the archery scenes yet, and that’s mainly because I don’t really know anything about archery so I couldn’t fully appreciate them. I did want to note that in quite a number of instances, Seryo notes how “beautiful” Shino looks while he’s holding a bow, and the story gives the impression that he’s had this thought way before the events of this story. That said, everyone in the archery club seems to share this opinion, but I can’t help but wonder if Seryo already felt attracted to Shino before their seven-day date, even if it was just superficial.

Thanks for reading! I always knew from when I started this project that I was gonna end it with Seven Days, as even if it’s the oldest of the manga I’ve covered, it has a certain charm to it that’s hard to find elsewhere.

#Seven Days #Sebun Deizu #Venio Tachibana #Rihito Takarai #Shino Yuzuru #Seryo Toji #BL manga #manga review #manga

[thehorrortree]

Deadline: November 15th, 2023 Payment: 1.5 cents per word Theme: Stories that 'rebel' and also use two somehow. Two points of view, two locations, etc etc. Note: Apologies for the late posting, this went live last month but we only ran across it today. The theme for our second anthology is “Two For the Show”. Two times the trouble. Two times the love. Two locations. Dual POVs. Dual time lines. We’re expecting things to get a little complicated this year, but we still want stories that excite us. Our goal is to introduce our readers to stories that could be mind bending, but also clear and easy to read. A short, sweet and simple story is good too! What we’re looking for: All fiction genres English language stories Stories that REBEL in some way Authentic artists who want to be paid for their work but aren’t in it for the money (We ARE paying, btw) Super Short Stories (1,500 or less) Short Stories (1,500 – 10k) What we’re not looking for: Previously published work, though we may make some exceptions. Please email our EIC to discuss details – Tiffany at RebellionLIT.com AI generated content. Non-Fiction. We’re not ready for that yet. Fully erotic stories. Heavy petting is cool, but not too many details… Poetry. We’re planning a full anthology for that. One moment, please! Anything that can get you or us arrested. Anything that is legal but will ruin our reputation. We’re only accepting submissions from authors with mailing addresses in the United States at this time. No international submissions. Payment The publisher will contract for publishing rights. First rights are not required but preferred (contact our EIC for details about previously published work). Authors will receive no royalties for book sales but will receive a semi-pro rate (details here) for the contracting of your work as well as 2 copies of the anthology for personal use upon its release. All payments are made in US currency. Pay rates are: Prose: 1.5 cents per word SUBMISSIONS – PLEASE READ EVERYTHING BELOW Failure to follow these directions will lead to an automatic rejection. Starting OCTOBER 1,2023: We are a small group, but we have high standards. Bring your A game. We cannot and will not accept every submission, so STAND OUT. Please be sure to proofread your work. Submissions with excessive typos, plot holes, or grammatical errors will be rejected IMMEDIATELY. We do not offer editing services before contracting. We want to see a polished product. Proper formatting is required: 1-inch margins, 12 pt font, double spaced, Times New Roman only. No exceptions. We are actively seeking submissions that match the theme of our anthology. This must be evident in your story. How to submit: Complete the following Google Form – https://forms.gle/fZa6r6x4qbuBfVxv8 Read everything, respond to everything. Make sure you upload the right file! Submissions close on NOVEMBER 15, 2023 We will review submissions weekly and email once your submission is received. If you don’t hear from us in 2 weeks, please email [email protected] for confirmation. We aim to have all works accepted or declined in 5-6 weeks AFTER the submission deadline. If we DO NOT accept your story, we will respond to your email with a form rejection letter. If you’d like feedback, feel free to contact us after receiving your rejection. If you’re curious about the types of stories we publish and adore, check out two of our stories that have been turned into audio dramas! Raven Queen by N.V. Devlin – Short, sweet, breathtaking in the scariest way. The Taste of Water: Part One by Ichabod Ebenezer – Epidemic, but nothing like COVID The Taste of Water: Part Two by Ichabod Ebenezer WE LOOK FORWARD TO READING YOUR STORIES! Via: Rebellion Lit.

[bookpublisher1]

Creating a Writing Routine: Building Consistency for Productivity

Writing is both an art and a skill, and like any other craft, it thrives on consistency and practice. Whether you're an aspiring author, a blogger, or a content creator, developing a solid writing routine can significantly boost your productivity. In this blog, we'll explore the easy ways to become a more productive writer and discover how consistency in your writing habits can lead to success. Additionally, we'll touch upon finding the best book publisher to help you on your journey to becoming a published author.

The Importance of a Writing Routine

Before delving into the specifics of building a writing routine, let's first understand why it's essential for productivity:

Consistency breeds success: Writing regularly helps you hone your skills and develop a natural flow, making it easier to express your ideas.

Overcoming writer's block: Having a routine can reduce the occurrence of writer's block. When you sit down to write at the same time every day, your mind becomes accustomed to the creative process.

Time management: A well-structured routine helps you allocate time for research, writing, editing, and other essential tasks, ensuring you make steady progress.

Accountability: When you commit to a routine, you hold yourself accountable for your writing goals.

Now, let's explore some actionable ways to become a more productive writer:

Define your writing objectives. Are you working on a novel, a blog, or an academic paper? Knowing your purpose will help you stay focused and motivated.

Identify the time of day when your creative energy is at its peak. Some writers are early birds, while others thrive at night. Schedule your writing sessions accordingly.

Designate a comfortable and clutter-free area for writing. A dedicated workspace can help you get into the writing mindset more easily.

When you're stuck, use writing prompts to spark creativity. These can be found in books or online resources, helping you break through mental blocks.

Use writing tools and apps to streamline your writing process. Tools like Grammarly and Scrivener can be immensely helpful.

Establish achievable daily or weekly word count goals. This gives you a sense of accomplishment and propels you towards your larger writing goals.

Maintain an organized filing system for your drafts, research materials, and ideas. This will save you time and reduce frustration.

Avoid the temptation to edit while you write. Focus on getting your thoughts down first, and then revise and edit afterward.

Share your work with trusted friends, writing groups, or beta readers for constructive feedback and fresh perspectives.

Reading a variety of genres and styles can inspire your own writing and broaden your horizons.

Finding the Best Book Publisher

If your ultimate goal is to become a published author, finding the right book publisher is crucial. Here are some tips to help you in your quest:

Research Publishers: Look for publishers that specialize in your genre or niche. Each publisher has its own focus, so find the one that aligns with your work.

Check Their Reputation: Investigate the publisher's reputation by reading reviews and talking to authors who have been published by them.

Submission Guidelines: Follow the submission guidelines meticulously. Most publishers have specific requirements for manuscript submission, and not adhering to them can result in rejection.

Prepare a Strong Query Letter: Craft a compelling query letter that showcases your writing and explains why your work is a good fit for their publishing house.

Consider Self-Publishing: If traditional publishing doesn't work out, consider self-publishing as a viable alternative. Many authors have found success through platforms like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing.

In conclusion, building a consistent writing routine is the foundation of productivity for any writer. By following the easy tips mentioned above, you can enhance your writing skills, overcome obstacles, and inch closer to your writing goals.Don’t forget to checkout the free resources at Brave Healer Resources Vault. And when the time comes to seek publication, remember to do your research and find the best book publisher to help you realize your dream of becoming a published author. Happy writing!

#writers circle #book publishing companies #book publishing #business coaching services

[jackhkeynes]

Fiellas Dimenja

Fiellas Dimenja (English: Sunday Sheets) is a weekly newspaper almost continuously published from Marsella since its incorporation in 1871. The paper's notional remit comprises entertainment and recreational news, although in practise it has regularly covered weightier subjects.

History

Fiellas Dimenja was established in 1871 by Corsican businessman Toscobardo Matutte in concert with the Guiraud Colloquium.

Fiellas was an early adopter of machinal [automatic] broadcast direct to homes via their tachygraphs [~fax typewriters], first offering digests in this form in the 1920s.

The paper developed a significant international readership through the twentieth century—by 1934 it was republished synchronously in Vascony and New Provence, and was even read in Collusion territory, despite the rising tensions of the post-Millstone Europe.

By 1950 it held the record for the longest uninterrupted weekly mass-market publication, without interruption by the 1937 Veldsvindung [global economic downturn] nor the Millstone War (although it briefly moved its printers to Manòsca during the worst of the bombings).

Fiellas' renown grew further after its significant role in the Furore of 1961, which (not undeservedly) earned the paper a reputation for investigative journalism alongside its ostensible purpose of delivering entertainment and recreational news.

Correspondents

Jacint Brunat (fl. 1950), reviewer of books and films

For the best experience I recommend you spend the afternoon drinking Empordan and singing as many songs of glory as you can think of. [The Ascendant (1934)]

This will be no classic: come only for the views (of beautiful forests, and a bevy of handsome actors, I concede) and two hours of mindless tragedy. [Zachariah (1950)]

#conlang #boral #conlanging #boralverse #alternate history #conworld #writing

[paolojcruz]

Laptop Soul for Analog Hearts

REVIEWS : MUSIC

The SaGuijo leg of the Fresh Filter Vol. 1 Bar Tour presents the vinyl revival as a vital part of the Pinoy independent music ecosystem.

Originally published on Bandwagon PH, June 2015

On paper, the Fresh Filter Vol. 1 launch show at SaGuijo would most likely send a more cautious business planner into fits of rage. One might argue that the whole set-up ran counter to The New Normal of the commercial music industry. On a humid, wet payday Friday, co-organizers Jam 88.3 and Satchmi put on a show at the longest-running independent music venue in Makati, and didn’t charge any entrance fee. (For context, most gigs hover around the PhP200 range, including a standard drink.) Instead, the free gig was like a de facto come-on for listeners to buy the Fresh Filter Vol. 1 vinyl compilation, which brings together a curated slate of independent local acts, including all the ones booked at SaGuijo that night.

It almost feels like a deliberate fuck-you to the conventional wisdom of how to sell music in 2015. Instead of sharing digital tunes in the cloud, as a way to get fans to pay a premium for the live show, the Fresh Filter crew is putting the bands in front of appreciative crowds gratis, in the hope that they’ll fork over cash for a physical record. Between sets, Fresh Filter host (and Jam 88.3 DJ) Russ Davis repeated the spiel that buying the record would give direct support to the bands involved.

It’s a bold approach, no doubt – for one thing, there isn’t much reliable consumer data about how many Pinoy music fans even own a vinyl record player. That opens up a related marketing opportunity for Fresh Filter’s partners at Satchmi – they also produce the Motorino, a portable record player that’s branded as a starter model for vinyl newbies. Sure enough, they even raffled off a Motorino during the show at SaGuijo.

In effect, the organizers established that the goods – the vinyl compilation and the record player – were the real focal point of this live event. So where does that leave the actual performers?

For what it’s worth, each act delivered a set worthy of the live experience – not just a sonic advertisement for their contributions on Fresh Filter Vol. 1.

Tandems ’91 opened the show, burdened with the difficult task of pumping up a crowd right out of their weekly grind. The group comes across like a gimmick band at first, with their affected preppy outfits and the air of eager fresh grads – as if Vampire Weekend had been formed at the Ateneo. But forget about their looks – there’s a genuine heart to their laptop soul. Channeling retro New Wave pop elements, the sound they coaxed out of their pads and controllers would not be out of place at a prom scene in a John Hughes movie. By the time they worked in familiar samples from “Careless Whisper” and The Eraserheads’ “Toyang”, they had won over the jam-packed venue.

In fact, their whole cyborg pop vibe pretty much set the tone for the evening, with electronics being a normalized part of the sound. Of all the acts on the lineup, it’s Autotelic whose songwriting hews most closely to the kind of straightforward, radio-friendly verse/chorus/verse structure that rockist critics hold so dear, and yet their sound is textured by Eric Tubon’s synth lines.

Up next were Flying Ipis, whose angular dance punk set the apart as the only group without any type of keyboard. It was almost like the inverse of what the other bands were doing – creating frenetic disco beats and danceable hooks with a traditional guitar, bass, and drum setup. The highlight was a newer song “Half Brain” with a memorable sing-along refrain – “You and I won’t be denied” – that could well be interpreted as an anthem for marriage equality in the Philippines.

After that, Moonwlk made their return to SaGuijo. Let’s put aside the TMZ-esque speculation about the reasons for the duo’s long hiatus. Whatever alleged drama happened between Nick Trinidad and Gabbi Buencamino, it seemingly had the benefit of intensifying their well-crafted electronic pop.

It’s worth noting that Nick’s laptop was fiercely emblazoned with a decal that said “REAL INSTRUMENT”. Maybe the producer doth protest too much? The pair led the crowd in a gender-split call-and-response of “Right now!” (women) and “Not yet!” (men) during “Your Electric Kiss Is Late Always”. The audience followed like a congregation to their minister. With a reaction like that, the defensive posturing seems a bit uncalled for.

Yolanda Moon’s smoothed-out Prince-ly indie soul felt like a comedown after the high of Moonwlk, but it was no less captivating. Singer Cholo Hermosa started things off from behind a keyboard decked out in blue Christmas lights. His vocal melodies hinted at middle-of-the-road yacht rock influences – and it felt more like self-confident attempt to broaden musical horizons than ironic appropriation. It seemed fitting, given how much the whole Fresh Filter Vol. 1 project is about embracing whole-heartedly the format of an earlier generation.

The final slot was reserved for cult favorites Cheats, and they’re tighter than ever. By now, they’ve just owned the whole Broken Social Arcade Stars comparisons, and focused on making that sound more cohesive. Their fans don’t mind that the group wears their Canadian indie rock influences on their proverbial sleeves, and just enjoy it for what it’s worth. All the familiar crowd-pleasers like “Crash” and “Accidents” resulted in fierce shoutalongs during the high-speed breakdowns.

At the end of the night, the Fresh Filter Vol. 1 gig was a study in contrasts. It showcased artists using the tools of the bedroom producer age – midi controllers, laptops, digital synths – to replicate or even fine-tune the sounds of previous eras. It’s easy to write this off as retro faux nostalgia, but ironically, the reason so much 20th century pop music is so accessible is precisely because it’s so readily available over the web.

#review #music review #fresh filter #vinyl #satchmi #motorino

[otherpplnation]

How to Write More Dynamic Scenes

In this episode of "Craftwork," author Peter Turchi teaches a lesson on how to use shifting power dynamics to write more dynamic scenes in fiction.

Turchi is the author of seven books and the co-editor of three anthologies. His books include (Don't) Stop Me if You've Heard This Before; A Muse and A Maze: Writing as Puzzle, Mystery, and Magic; Maps of the Imagination: The Writer as Cartographer; Suburban Journals: The Sketchbooks, Drawings, and Prints of Charles Ritchie, in collaboration with the artist; a novel, The Girls Next Door; a collection of stories, Magician; and The Pirate Prince, co-written with Cape Cod treasure hunter Barry Clifford, about Clifford’s discovery of the pirate ship Whydah. His short story “Night, Truck, Two Lights Burning” has been published, with images by Charles Ritchie, in a limited edition artist’s book. He has also co-edited, with Andrea Barrett, A Kite in the Wind: Fiction Writers on Their Craft, The Story Behind the Story: 26 Stories by Contemporary Writers and How They Work and, with Charles Baxter, Bringing the Devil to His Knees: The Craft of Fiction and the Writing Life.

Turchi’s work has appeared in Tin House, Fiction Writers Review, Ploughshares, Story, The Alaska Quarterly Review, Puerto del Sol, and The Colorado Review, among other journals. His honors include fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, Washington College’s Sophie Kerr Prize, an Illinois Arts Council Literary Award, North Carolina’s Sir Walter Raleigh Award, and having a quotation from A Muse and a Maze serve as the answer to the New York Times Magazine Sunday acrostic.

Born in Baltimore, he earned his BA at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, and his MFA at the University of Arizona. He has taught at Northwestern University and Appalachian State University, and has been on the faculty of the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference. For 15 years he directed The MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, North Carolina; at Arizona State University he taught fiction and served as Director of Creative Writing and Director of the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing. He currently teaches at the University of Houston, and in Warren Wilson’s MFA Program for Writers. Laura, his wife, is a Clinical Professor in English at Arizona State University, where she is curriculum director for “RaceB4Race: Sustaining, Building, Innovating” at the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies; she also co-directs the Shakespeare and Social Justice Project at the Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles. Reed, their son, is a musician (www.reedturchi.com).

***

Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly literary podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers.

Launched in 2011. Books. Literature. Writing. Publishing. Authors. Screenwriters. Etc.

Available where podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, etc.

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[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Over the last several years, there have been many opportunities to throw around terms like “fascist“ and “fascism,” typically in the context of the Republican Party and the wannabe dictator to whom many of its members have pledged their undying loyalty. In response, said Republicans have frequently gotten bent out of shape about such terms, insisting they’re totally uncalled for, not applicable, and say more about the hysterical people using them than they do about their targets. And yet…this sounds pretty fascist!

Per Insider:

"Amid the GOP’s nationwide push against teaching about race and sexuality in schools, two members of the Spotsylvania County School Board in Virginia advocated for burning certain books, according to the Fredericksburg-based Free Lance-Star newspaper. This came as the school board directed staff to begin removing “sexually explicit” books from library shelves, after voting 6-0 in favor of the removal, the Lance-Star reported. The board has plans to review how certain books or materials are defined as “objectionable,” the paper said, which opens the door for other content to be removed. Courtland representative Rabih Abuismail and Livingston representative Kirk Twigg both championed burning the books that have been removed. “I think we should throw those books in a fire,” Abuismail said. Meanwhile, Twigg said he wanted to “see the books before we burn them so we can identify within our community that we are eradicating this bad stuff.”

For those unaware of the historical precedents, book burnings have a long and dark history tied to censorship and oppressive regimes, most famously the one in Nazi Germany led by Adolf Hitler. In 1933, Nazis burned thousands of books deemed “un-German,” including the works of Jewish authors like Albert Einstein and those of “corrupting foreign influences” like Ernest Hemingway.

The directive to remove “sexually explicit” books was seemingly prompted by a school board meeting on Monday during which parents expressed concerns about literature students can access via the Riverbend High School’s digital library app. One parent was apparently alarmed by the availability of “LGBTQIA” fiction, the Lance-Star said, and found a book called 33 Snowfish by Adam Rapp especially troubling. The American Library Association named the book a Best Book for Young Adults in 2004. According to a Publishers Weekly review, the book is “dark tale about three runaways who understand hatred and violence better than love.”

The calls for book burning in Virginia follow the election of Glenn Youngkin, who said during his gubernatorial campaign that he would ban critical race theory on his first day in office, and ran an ad featuring a local mother who tried to get Beloved, the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel by Toni Morrison, removed from her son’s A.P. English curriculum. The mother claimed the book contained “some of the most explicit material you can imagine,” which is entirely true, given that it’s about the horrors of slavery, which many conservative parents would prefer their children not really learn about.

“What has taken us aback this year is the intensity with which school libraries are under attack,” Nora Pelizzari, a spokesperson at the National Coalition Against Censorship, told The Washington Post. She added: “Particularly when taken in concert with the legislative attempts to control school curricula, this feels like a more overarching attempt to purge schools of materials that people disagree with. It feels different than what we’ve seen in recent years.”

Also this week, the Post reports, a school board outside of Wichita, Kansas, said it was removing 29 books from circulation, including Morrison’s book The Bluest Eye, and writings about racism in America like August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize–winning play “Fences.” Last month, Texas state representative Michael Krause launched a “review” of books that “contain material that might make students feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress because of their race or sex or convey that a student, by virtue of their race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.” (Krause specifically flagged numerous award-winning books, from the 1967 Pulitzer Prize–winning novel The Confessions of Nat Turner to Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates.) Also in Texas, a school district recently told teachers if they have a book on the Holocaust, they must also provide a book with an “opposing perspective.”

#politics #us politics #news #vanity fair #book burning #gop #conservatives be like #conservatives #can conservatives read? challenge #republicans be like #republicans #business insider #nazi germany #va #Virginia #glenn youngkin #critical race theory #twitter #tweet

[queersatanic]

The Spotsylvania County School Board has directed staff to begin removing books that contain “sexually explicit” material from library shelves and report on the number of books that have been removed at a special called meeting next week.

...

The criteria for pulling books from circulation this week is “sexually explicit,” but the board plans to refine how material is determined to be “objectionable” for a further review of library holdings.

...

Two board members, Courtland representative Rabih Abuismail and Livingston representative Kirk Twigg, said they would like to see the removed books burned. “I think we should throw those books in a fire,” Abuismail said, and Twigg said he wants to “see the books before we burn them so we can identify within our community that we are eradicating this bad stuff.” Monday evening’s discussion was spurred by parents of a Riverbend student, who brought their concerns to the meeting. The mother said during public comments that she was initially alarmed by “LGBTQIA” fiction that she said was immediately made available upon accessing the library app. After doing more research, she discovered a book in the collection that she found more upsetting. The book, “33 Snowfish” by Adam Rapp, concerns three homeless teenagers attempting to escape from pasts that include sexual abuse, prostitution and drug addiction. Publisher’s Weekly described “33 Snowfish,” which the American Library Association named a Best Book for Young Adults in 2004, as a “dark tale about three runaways who understand hatred and violence better than love” and noted “readers may have trouble stomaching the language” and the subject matter. The review recommends the book for ages 15 and up.

...

But Abuismail said that whatever processes are in place “haven’t worked” and demanded an immediate audit of all school division library holdings. He said he doesn’t like the idea of Rapp’s book being on school division library shelves for one more night and that the fact that it is in a school library means public schools “would rather have our kids reading gay pornography than about Christ.”

#Book burnings #censorship #public schools #Spotsylvania #33 Snowfish #Adam Rapp

[richincolor]

Reimagining the Classics

As I typed the title, my mind jumped to several questions. Whose classics? Also – who has been determining which books are classics? Why do classics stay in the canon and why are they taught in schools for so very, very long? The questions around which works are considered classics are many, but for this post, I want to look at how contemporary authors are retelling these stories with a fresh perspective.

Feiwel & Friends is creating a series of such retellings called Remixed Classics which you can read more about at Publisher’s Weekly. Many books considered classics in U.S. schools are told from a white point of view and erase or ignore other possible narratives in their pages. This collection is an opportunity to shake that up and allow for a wide variety of perspectives. I was lucky enough to read an ARC of Bethany C. Morrow’s So Many Beginnings: A Little Woman Remix. I’ll review it in August nearer publication, but just know that it was incredibly satisfying and made me want to put it in the hands of everyone around me. In elementary school, I read a young people’s adaptation of Little Women and then read the complete novel many, many times over the years. I had unquestioning love for the original until I was older and started to wonder about some of the things I was reading and noticing missing voices–especially regarding enslavement during the Civil War that’s happening during the novel. This new remix addresses some of those concerns and retains all of the things I loved about the original such as the family love that knows no bounds. Morrow’s book will be the second in the series. The  first volume is A Clash of Steel: A Treasure Island Remix by C.B. Lee which shares the same publication date–September 7, 2021. These two will be followed by Travelers Along the Way: A Robin Hood Remix by Aminah Mae Safi in March of 2022 and at least on more is scheduled to follow.

Aside from this specific series, there are many other adaptations or retellings and books simply inspired by classics out there that we’ve enjoyed. Here are some we’d recommend.

Pride by Ibi Zoboi ~ Pride and Prejudice Balzer & Bray[K. Imani’s Review]

Zuri Benitez has pride. Brooklyn pride, family pride, and pride in her Afro-Latino roots. But pride might not be enough to save her rapidly gentrifying neighborhood from becoming unrecognizable.

When the wealthy Darcy family moves in across the street, Zuri wants nothing to do with their two teenage sons, even as her older sister, Janae, starts to fall for the charming Ainsley. She especially can’t stand the judgmental and arrogant Darius. Yet as Zuri and Darius are forced to find common ground, their initial dislike shifts into an unexpected understanding.

But with four wild sisters pulling her in different directions, cute boy Warren vying for her attention, and college applications hovering on the horizon, Zuri fights to find her place in Bushwick’s changing landscape, or lose it all.

In a timely update of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, critically acclaimed author Ibi Zoboi skillfully balances cultural identity, class, and gentrification against the heady magic of first love in her vibrant reimagining of this beloved classic.

A Taste for Love Jennifer Yen ~ Pride and Prejudice Razorbill [Crystal’s Review]

To her friends, high school senior Liza Yang is nearly perfect. Smart, kind, and pretty, she dreams big and never shies away from a challenge. But to her mom, Liza is anything but. Compared to her older sister Jeannie, Liza is stubborn, rebellious, and worst of all, determined to push back against all of Mrs. Yang’s traditional values, especially when it comes to dating.

The one thing mother and daughter do agree on is their love of baking. Mrs. Yang is the owner of Houston’s popular Yin & Yang Bakery. With college just around the corner, Liza agrees to help out at the bakery’s annual junior competition to prove to her mom that she’s more than her rebellious tendencies once and for all. But when Liza arrives on the first day of the bake-off, she realizes there’s a catch: all of the contestants are young Asian American men her mother has handpicked for Liza to date.

The bachelorette situation Liza has found herself in is made even worse when she happens to be grudgingly attracted to one of the contestants; the stoic, impenetrable, annoyingly hot James Wong. As she battles against her feelings for James, and for her mother’s approval, Liza begins to realize there’s no tried and true recipe for love.

Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim ~ The Count of Monte Cristo Disney Hyperion

When Amaya rescues a mysterious stranger from drowning, she fears her rash actions have earned her a longer sentence on the debtor ship where she’s been held captive for years. Instead, the man she saved offers her unimaginable riches and a new identity, setting Amaya on a perilous course through the coastal city-state of Moray, where old-world opulence and desperate gamblers collide.

Amaya wants one thing: revenge against the man who ruined her family and stole the life she once had. But the more entangled she becomes in this game of deception—and as her path intertwines with the son of the man she’s plotting to bring down—the more she uncovers about the truth of her past. And the more she realizes she must trust no one…

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn ~ Historia regum Britanniae, Le Morte d’Arthur, The Green Knight and other Arthuriana – see Tracy Deonn’s essay: Every King Arthur Retelling is Fanfic About Who Get’s to Be Legendary Margaret K. McElderry Books[K. Imani’s Review]

After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.

A flying demon feeding on human energies.

A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down.

And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw.

The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates.

She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight.

Tigers Not Daughters by Samantha Mabry ~ King Lear Algonquin Young Readers[Q&A with Author]

The Torres sisters dream of escape. Escape from their needy and despotic widowed father, and from their San Antonio neighborhood, full of old San Antonio families and all the traditions and expectations that go along with them. In the summer after her senior year of high school, Ana, the oldest sister, falls to her death from her bedroom window. A year later, her three younger sisters, Jessica, Iridian, and Rosa, are still consumed by grief and haunted by their sister’s memory. Their dream of leaving Southtown now seems out of reach. But then strange things start happening around the house: mysterious laughter, mysterious shadows, mysterious writing on the walls. The sisters begin to wonder if Ana really is haunting them, trying to send them a message—and what exactly she’s trying to say.

In a stunning follow-up to her National Book Award–longlisted novel All the Wind in the World, Samantha Mabry weaves an aching, magical novel that is one part family drama, one part ghost story, and one part love story.

Shame the Stars by Guadalupe Garcia McCall ~ Romeo & Juliet Tu Books [Crystal’s Review]

Eighteen-year-old Joaquín del Toro’s future looks bright. With his older brother in the priesthood, he’s set to inherit his family’s Texas ranch. He’s in love with Dulceña—and she’s in love with him. But it’s 1915, and trouble has been brewing along the US-Mexico border. On one side, the Mexican Revolution is taking hold; on the other, Texas Rangers fight Tejano insurgents, and ordinary citizens are caught in the middle.

As tensions grow, Joaquín is torn away from Dulceña, whose father’s critical reporting on the Rangers in the local newspaper has driven a wedge between their families. Joaquín’s own father insists that the Rangers are their friends, and refuses to take sides in the conflict. But when their family ranch becomes a target, Joaquín must decide how he will stand up for what’s right.

Shame the Stars is a rich reimagining of Romeo and Juliet set in Texas during the explosive years of Mexico’s revolution. Filled with period detail, captivating romance, and political intrigue, it brings Shakespeare’s classic to life in an entirely new way.

Summer of the Mariposas by Guadalupe Garcia McCall ~ The Odyssey Tu Books [Audrey’s Review]

When Odilia and her four sisters find a dead body in the swimming hole, they embark on a hero’s journey to return the dead man to his family in Mexico. But returning home to Texas turns into an odyssey that would rival Homer’s original tale.

With the supernatural aid of ghostly La Llorona via a magical earring, Odilia and her little sisters travel a road of tribulation to their long-lost grandmother’s house. Along the way, they must outsmart a witch and her Evil Trinity: a wily warlock, a coven of vicious half-human barn owls, and a bloodthirsty livestock-hunting chupacabras. Can these fantastic trials prepare Odilia and her sisters for what happens when they face their final test, returning home to the real world, where goddesses and ghosts can no longer help them?

Summer of the Mariposas is not just a magical Mexican American retelling of The Odyssey, it is a celebration of sisterhood and maternal love.

A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney ~ Alice in Wonderland Imprint

The first time the Nightmares came, it nearly cost Alice her life. Now she’s trained to battle monstrous creatures in the dark dream realm known as Wonderland with magic weapons and hardcore fighting skills. Yet even warriors have a curfew.

Life in real-world Atlanta isn’t always so simple, as Alice juggles an overprotective mom, a high-maintenance best friend, and a slipping GPA. Keeping the Nightmares at bay is turning into a full-time job. But when Alice’s handsome and mysterious mentor is poisoned, she has to find the antidote by venturing deeper into Wonderland than she’s ever gone before. And she’ll need to use everything she’s learned in both worlds to keep from losing her head . . . literally.

*We didn’t include fairy tales. Happily, that could be an even longer list and will be a post for another day.

#retellings #YALit

[seyesnyl]

Examining the history of queer comics in the US

As previously mentioned, I am interested in creating graphic novels or comics during my practice as an illustrator. As a Nigerian, I also wish to include Nigerian elements in my comics and social commentary about the state of my home country. I want to comment on the injustices being faced by minority groups in tasteful ways in both metaphorical - like some of my favorite superhero comics- and literal as comic journalism. A particular social injustice I am interested in that the Nigerian government seems unwilling to budge on is its treatment of LGBTQIA+ people.

Considering the laws set in place against LGBTQIA people in Nigeria, a graphic novel about the situation will be controversial. I am intrigued to research how entertainment media (specifically, comics) navigated representing queer issues and topics in other countries that previously had unfavorable laws and attitudes towards queer people but have changed over time

The focus for this post will be the United States of America with a look at the correlation between the developments in the representation of queerness in comics and other mass media and the change in the country’s attitudes towards queer people.

In 1954, major U.S. publishers formed the Comics Magazine Association of America and its censorship arm, the Comics Code Authority (CCA 1954). This has been said to be in response to concerns over the explicit violence and sexual themes in depictions of superheroes (Bramlett, Cook and Meskin, 2016). The sexual themes that seemed queer in these comics were largely sub-textual and highlight the prejudice and paranoia against queer possibilities like what the Nigerian government currently emulates. This act of censorship brought to a halt any subtle references to gender nonconformity and same-sex attraction in mainstream comics.

Because of the restrictions in mainstream publishing, queer comic strips started to appear in underground comics and adult magazines in the 1960s. Chute (2008) talks about the rise of underground comics during this period as a reaction to the censorious content code that debilitated the mainstream industry and describes them as an influential cultural vehicle, challenging and arresting because they meditated on the violation of taboo. According to Murphy (2014), the world’s first gay comic strip was arguably Harry Chess: That Man from A.U.N.T.I.E., (Fig. 01) published from 1965 to ’66. However, other scholars like McGurk (2018), have pointed out earlier presences of queer comics - even though subliminal- like Lucy and Sophie Say Goodbye (Fig. 02) which was published weekly in newspapers in 1905, written and drawn by an unidentified artist. In the same decade as Harry Chess, Tuoko Laaksonen illustrated and released  another popular gay comic series titled 'Kake', under the pseudonym, Tom of Finland.

(Fig 01) Harry Chess That Man from A.U.N.T.I.E. https://glreview.org/article/the-lives-and-times-of-harry-chess/ 

(Fig. 02) Lucy and Sophie Say Goodbye, May 21, 1905. Chicago Tribune.

Unlike Lucy and Sophie Say Goodbye, which could be interpreted as an exaggerated parody of women's social behavior, Harry Chess and Kake were inherently sexual and left little for subtext. Murphy (2014) describes the publication of Harry Chess as a key shift in gay publications and gay politics, and Ajuan Mance in The Routledge Companion to books noted that the explicit sex in strips of the two comics “created both a space and a demand for broader portrayals of gay men’s lives”. (Bramlett, Cook and Meskin, 2016).

To provide context for where the United States was in laws concerning queer rights in the ’60s, Illinois had just become the first U.S. state to decriminalize homosexuality by repealing its sodomy laws, and several milestone protests including the Stonewall Riot occurred during the decade The Supreme Court had also ruled in favor of an LGBT magazine when a suit was filed against them after the U.S. Postal Service and FBI declared the magazine obscene material. (Milestones in the American Gay Rights Movement | American Experience | PBS, 2021). There had been little progress in legal rights compared to the country’s present status, but queer Americans were visibly fighting for them.

The late 1970s and early 1980s saw the next wave of queer comics like Wendel, It’s a Gay Life, Leonard and Larry, Poppers and Chelsea Boys, which were all published in gay magazines. These comics reflected their primarily gay male readership in that the characters “attended gay pride celebrations, shopped at LGBTQ bookstores, and responded to the AIDS crisis, the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell, all while falling in and out of love.” (Bramlett, Cook and Meskin, 2016).

It was not until about 28 years later in Marvel’s Captain America Vol. 1 #270 (1982) that either of the large mainstream comics publishers (Marvel and DC) featured a story-line depicting queer or trans characters (Bramlett, Cook and Meskin, 2016). In this issue, Captain America helps his childhood best friend, Arnie, by rescuing Arnie’s close friend, Michael. Through subtext, it seemed to become clear to Captain America that Arnie and Michael were, in fact, a couple. (https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Captain_America_Vol_1_270).

(Fig. 03) Cover of Marvel’s Captain America Vol. 1 #270 (1982)(https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Captain_America_Vol_1_270). 

Throughout the 1980s, more queer characters were depicted, although indirectly and still with subtext like Captain America’s Arnie. The CCA, in response to the greater inclusion of LGBTQ characters and themes in the film and other popular media forms, revised its Code to lift its prohibitions against queer characters and content. CCA-approved comics however were to avoid the graphic depiction of “sexual activity” and that depictions of adult relationships, “be presented with good taste, sensitivity, and in a manner, which will be acceptable by a mass audience” (CCA 1989).

Over the years to date, DC and Marvel have introduced characters explicitly stating their orientation, including Northstar, an X-Men character; members of The Runaways and the Young Avengers; and notably Batwoman, who came out as a lesbian. The popular Archie Comics in 2010 introduced a gay character named Kevin Keller (Fig. 04) who eventually had his spinoff comic in 2012. Ajuan Mance noted the debut of Kevin Keller as queer attracted a higher level of attention than any Marvel or DC character (Bramlett, Cook and Meskin, 2016). In 2014, Kelvin Keller got married to his spouse in the Life with Archie series (Fig. 05) a few years after New York and other US states legalized same-sex marriage and a year before the Supreme Court declared same-sex marriage legal.

(Fig. 04) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11661956-kevin-keller

(Fig. 05) https://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/2019/06/the-wedding-issue-pride-edition-kevin-keller-and-clay-walker/

Taking this study for use in the Nigerian context can be applied in different ways. In the US, when the laws were restrictive and limiting towards queer content, the creators of comics and graphic novels under mainstream publishers had to operate in line with the laws. The creators could merely represent queer people through subtext. Unambiguous representation was only viewed through underground magazines from the ’60s up to the ’80s. In today’s age, Nigeria still has comparable, if not more regressive laws, but the Internet provides a similar and arguably better platform than the 20th century underground comics did.

The ease of access and ability to self-publish can cut out the publishing middleman, and I can illustrate distribute the stories I want via the Internet and social media platforms. Of course, if I am fortunate to secure a publishing deal for other ideas I have, I can employ subtext to include queer elements. 

I will carry out more research on the best ways to present these proposed comics. Do I go in the explicit and sexually charged direction like Harry Chess and Kake to show a boldness and an unapologetic display of Nigerian queerness? Do I go the route of illustrating average Nigerian queer people to reflect their humanity hopefully to convince prejudiced people that queerness is not an abnormality? Or do I represent queerness in my comics for the Nigerian queer people to identify themselves in the media? These questions relate to the audience I want to reach because they will inform the content I want to create.

References

Bramlett, F., Cook, R. and Meskin, A., 2016, The Routledge Companion To Comics, Taylor & Francis Group.

Chute, H. 2008, "Comics as Literature? Reading Graphic Narrative", PMLA : Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, vol. 123, no. 2, pp. 452-465.

McGurk, C., 2018, Lovers, enemies, and friends: The complex and coded early history of lesbian comic strip characters, Journal of Lesbian Studies, 22:4, 336-353, DOI: 10.1080/10894160.2018.1449502

Murphy, M., 2014, The Lives and Times of Harry Chess, The Gay & Lesbian Review , 21(2): 22– 24.

Pbs.org. 2021. Milestones In The American Gay Rights Movement | American Experience | PBS. [online] Available at: <https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/stonewall-milestones-american-gay-rights-movement/> [Accessed 12 January 2021].

[tabloidtoc]

Entertainment Weekly, December

Cover: Wandavision -- Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff and Paul Bettany as Vision 

Page 1: Contents, Melissa Gilbert on the Little House on the Prairie Set in 1977 

Page 3: Sound Bites -- special holiday edition 

Page 4: Editor’s Note 

Page 6: The Must List -- Between the World and Me 

Page 8: The Orchard by David Hopen, Freaky 

Page 9: Chris Stapleton -- Starting Over 

Page 11: A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir, Let Them All Talk 

Page 12: Batman/Catwoman 

Page 13: Nomadland 

Page 14: Soul, December Games -- Marvel’s Spider-man: Miles Morales, Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge, Immortals Fenyx Rising 

Page 16: My Must List -- Kenan Thompson 

Page 19: First Take -- Bob Odenkirk in Nobody -- the Better Call Saul star plays an unlikely action here complete with a bloody good makeover in this thriller about a family man who decides to seek revenge after a break-in 

Page 21: Pedro Pascal and Christian Slater -- We Can Be Heroes 

Page 22: Cover Story -- Wandavision a wonderfully weird send-up of sitcoms of the past is Marvel’s key to the future 

Page 30: Untold Stories: Holiday Movies Edition -- an oral history of The Family Stone -- Thomas Bezucha, Diane Keaton, Sarah Jessica Parker, Luke Wilson, Elizabeth Reaser, Dermot Mulroney, Tyrone Giordano, Brian White, Craig T. Nelson, Claire Danes

Page 36: Making the Scene -- The Muppet Christmas Carol -- fans of the Muppets’ 1992 take on Scrooge know a key scene is missing from the DVD version and it’s now the most beloved number ever left on the cutting-room floor, Closet Confidential -- Bridget Jones’ Diary -- Colin Firth and director Sharon Maguire reveal the secrets behind Darcy’s ugly sweater 

Page 37: The Merriest Movies Years Ever -- Jeremy Arnold the author of the TCM book Christmas in the Movies: 30 Classics to Celebrate the Season reveals why 1947 and 2003 were prime years for yuletide films 

Page 38: Role Call -- Mary Steenburgen -- the Oscar winner is a holiday movie MVP and here we look back at the roles that put the Mary in Christmas 

Page 39: Behind the Music -- The Preacher’s Wife -- Whitney Houston’s rousing 1996 film boasts one of the all-time great Christmas movie soundtracks and producer Mervyn Warren tells how it came together 

Page 40: Investigation: Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? It’s the debate that won’t die: does Bruce Willis’ 1988 action classic also qualify as a Christmas classic? With the help of some Die Hard alums we’re ready to settle this once and for all -- Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson, Dermot Mulroney, Zooey Deschanel, Mean Girls -- Christmas got a bit risque in the teen film’s memorial Jingle Bell Rock talent-show performance 

Page 41: 4 Things You Didn’t Know About Love Actually -- we actually unearthed some new tidbits from writer-director Richard Curtis about the much-discussed much-beloved Christmas rom-com 

Page 43: 3 secrets from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer -- it’s aired every year since 1964 but there are still some things you don’t know about the stop-motion Christmas special, 5-minute oral history -- Elf -- you’d better scurry for the story behind the film’s Baby It’s Cold Outside shower scene by Zooey Deschanel 

Page 44: Shondaland makes its Netflix debut December 25 with the swoony Bridgerton a Regency-era drama inspired by a series of romance novels 

Page 48: The Kane maker -- David Fincher and an all-star cast inhabit Old Hollywood for Netflix’s Manx the riveting behind-the-scenes story of Citizen Kane 

Page 52: In an era of rampant reboots it’s been awfully quiet on the Prairie so EW investigates why it’s taken so long for Hollywood to return to Laura Ingalls Wilder’s beloved town on Walnut Grove in Little House on the Prairie 

Page 57: 2020 Gift Guide 

Page 66: News + Reviews  -- It has spurred sales and served as a balm for concert-starved fans but the best by-product of Verzuz is its celebration of Black excellence 

Page 70: Movies -- from modernized classics to fresh newcomers the Hollywood musical is back in style with a new inclusive look 

Page 73: Indie’s New Queen -- with another major and wild big-screen performance in Black Bear Aubrey Plaza is emerging as an art-house icon 

Page 74: Meet Your Maker -- Alan Ball -- the Oscar and Emmy winner behind American Beauty and Six Feet Under and True Blood brings his most personal project to the screen: the road movie Uncle Frank and here Ball shares his iconic cinematic and literary inspirations 

Page 76: Comedy of My Life: Melissa McCarthy -- the Oscar nominee and Emmy winner flaunts some Superintelligence in her fourth movie directed by husband Ben Falcone 

Page 78: The Shot -- Silver Linings Playbook -- inside the creation of a classic scene 

Page 80: TV -- after years as the grounding force on The Big Bang Theory Kaley Cuoco is now flying high as The Flight Attendant at the center of a juicy murder mystery 

Page 82: Class is back in session on Peacock where Saved By the Bell revival debuts 

Page 83: The Crown 

Page 84: Small Axe 

Page 85: Q+A with Bryan Cranston -- in the limited series Your Honor the Emmy winner is breaking bad again starring as a judge whose son is involved in a hit-and-run 

Page 86: Unwrapping Christmas TV movies -- wisdom gleaned from a flurry of winters in Tinseltown 

Page 87: Role Call -- William H. Macy -- as he heads into the 11th and final season of Shameless he looks back on his most iconic projects, epic sci-fi series The Expanse is back with more cosmic chaos in season 5 

Page 89: What to Watch 

Page 96: Music -- Angus Young and Brian Johnson explain how AC/DC are back on track with a new album that honors late bandmate and brother Malcolm Young 

Page 98: Sam Smith 

Page 99: Q+A with legendary P-Funk bassist Bootsy Collins sheds light on his new album and his enormous collection of top hats 

Page 101: The Playback -- Joni Mitchell Archives: Vol. 1: The Early Years -- before she became an icon Mitchell was performing at local radio stations and recording homemade demos 

Page 102: A Band You Need to Know -- Sault -- the mysterious U.K. group has dropped two timely album-of-the-year contenders, Stupid Questions with Josh Groban -- the multiplatinum-selling golden-voiced baritone returns with Harmony but can he sing his way out of this comedic jam

Page 103: Epitaph -- Eddie Van Halen 

Page 104: Books -- Ernest Cline returns with Ready Player Two the sequel to his 2011 blockbuster and 2020′s most secretive novel 

Page 106: Comedians Rachel Bloom and Michelle Buteau have new memoirs but first they chat about bullying and Dick Jones and how Julia Roberts likes her eggs 

Page 107: High Anxiety with Cazzie David -- the writer and daughter of OG angster Larry David broadcasts her own neuroses in the essay collection No One Asked for This and here shares her deepest fears 

Page 108: The weirdest year in publishing history wraps up with an all-virtual literary awards season and here we break down the titles with their eyes on the prize 

Page 110: Screenwriter and director ad novelist John Ridley offers an alternative perspective in The Other History of the DC Universe 

Page 112: The Bullseye

#tabloid toc #tabloidtoc #wandavision #elizabeth olsen #wanda maximoff #paul bettany #vision #kenan thompson #bob odenkirk #the family stone #mary steenburgen #the preacher's wife #die hard #love actually #rudolph the red nosed reindeer #zooey deschanel #elf #bridgerton #david fincher #mank #little house on the prairie #verzuz #aubrey plaza #alan ball #melissa mccarthy #kaley cuoco #the flight attendant #bryan cranston #your honor #william h. macy

[whitehotharlots]

“Literal violence” and the death of the heterodox

I teach college students. This means I assign young people things to read. If the students don’t do the reading--if they consider it too boring or uninteresting or difficult--they don’t do well in the class. I update my reading lists every semester, because what was interesting to students a few years or even months ago might not click with the students of today. Sometimes students love what they’re assigned. Sometimes they hate it. And it’s very hard to tell if a piece is or isn’t going to work until I’ve assigned it and gotten feedback. 

As I’ve gotten older it has become more difficult to relate to young people. This is a completely normal part of life--nothing to be ashamed of or panic about, and I think almost everyone agrees that it’s more dignified to age gracefully than to try too hard to seem hip or with it. And so, over the past few years, as I’ve found it nearly impossible to find good, engaging writing with a broad appeal, I figured it was just because I, naturally, don’t relate to young people as much as I used to.

But lately--certainly since Trump’s ascendance, but perhaps going back as far as the early twenty-teens--mainstream writing has become incredibly predictable. Name any event and I can tell you almost word-for-word how it will be discussed in Jezebel vs. Teen Vogue vs. The Root vs The Intercept. And, increasingly, there’s been very little analytical divergence even between different publications. Everyone to the left of Fox News seems to agree upon just about everything, and all analysis has been boiled down to the repetition of one of a half-dozen or so aphorisms about privilege or validity. There is, in short, a proper and improper way to describe and understand anything that happens, and a writer is simply not going to get published if they have an improper understanding of the world. 

This, I think, is the result of our normalizing hyperbolic overstatements of harm and the danger posed by anything short of absolute fealty to orthodox liberalism. If it’s “literal violence” to express mild criticism and incredulity, people aren’t going to do so. Editors don’t want to risk accusations of “platforming fascists,” and so there’s been very little pushback against fascism being recently re-defined as “anything that displeases upper middle class Democrats.” 

Not long ago, it was commonplace on the left to celebrate the internet’s ability to allow writers to bypass the gatekeeping functions of old media. With mainstream liberalism needing a scapegoat to explain away the failures of the post-2008 Democratic party, however, the tone has shifted. 

Case in point, Clio Chang’s rather chilling piece from the Columbia Journalism Review that seeks to problematize an open platform called Substack.. Substack allows writers to publish almost whatever they want, outside of editorial control, and then charge a subscription to readers. As more and more websites and print media are being hollowed out and sacrificed to the gods of speculative capital, a large number of big-name writers have embraced this new platform. It has also allowed writers to report on stories that are objectively true but inconvenient to the Democratic establishment, such as Matt Taibbi’s admirable work debunking Russiagate bullshit. 

Chang begins with a lengthy description of Substack’s creation. She stresses that no one—not even the site’s founders and most successful writers—consider it an ideal replacement for the well-funded journalism of old. Chang focuses on one particular Substack newsletter called “Coronavirus News For Black Folks” which appears to be moderately successful (the piece cites 2000+ subscribers, and its founder is earning enough to have hired an assistant editor). Even after describing how the platform has given large grants and stipends to other newsletter run by women and people of color, the fact that this one particular newsletter isn’t as successful as others is held up as proof of the platform’s malignancy.

​“Coronavirus News For Black Folks” may be somewhat successful, but Chang implies that it rightfully should be even more successful, and that something evil must be afoot. Simple arithmetic tells us that a specialized newsletter—one pitched specifically to a minority audience and only covering one particular issue—is going to have a smaller readership than a more general interest piece. Rather than accept this simple explanation, Chang instead embraces the liberal tendency to blame a lack of desired outcomes upon the presence of evil forces.

While Chang provides a thorough overview of the current, fucked state of media and journalism, at no point does she grapple with the role that mainstream liberalism has played in abetting the industry’s collapse. This is surprising, as a quick google search suggests she generally has solid, left-wing politics. This omission reveals a problematic gap in left analysis, and bodes poorly for any hope of leftism accomplishing any material goals while the movement remains aligned with more mainstream identity politics. Even as she cogently explains the destruction of media and the hellish future that lay before writers, Chang still embraces the mystical fatalism that liberals have been leaning on since 2010 or so, when it became clear that Obama wasn’t going to make good on any promises of hope or change. She blames our nation’s horrors not elite leadership, but on the presence of people and ideas she doesn’t like. In this case, Substack is problematic because many of its writers are white and male, and some are even conservative:

When [Andrew] Sullivan joined Substack, over the summer, he put the company’s positioning to the test: infamous for publishing excerpts from The Bell Curve, a book that promotes bigoted race “science,” Sullivan would now produce the Weekly Dish, a political newsletter. (Substack’s content guidelines draw a line at hate speech.) Sullivan’s Substack quickly rose to become the fifth-most-read among paid subscriptions—he claimed that his income had risen from less than $200,000 at New York magazine to $500,000. When I asked the founders if they thought his presence might discourage other writers from joining, they gave me a pat reply. “We’re not a media company,” Best said. “If somebody joins the company and expects us to have an editorial position and be rigorously enforcing some ideological line, this is probably not the company they wanted to join in the first place.”

I’m no fan of Andrew Sullivan, but the man has spent decades building and maintaining his audience. Of course he’s going to have a larger readership than someone who is just starting out. This isn’t a sign of anything nefarious. It’s basic commonsense. But there’s no other conclusions that can be reached: things are bad because people haven’t done enough to root out badness. Things are bad because evil exists. The only way we can attempt reform is to make the evil people go away. Anyone who says anything I don’t like is evil and their words are evil and they shouldn’t be published.

Chang doesn’t make any direct suggestions for remediating Substack, but her implications are clear: equity requires censorship and ideological conformity. Providing any platform for people who are disliked by the liberal mainstream, be they too far left or too indelicate with their conservative cruelty, equates to harming vulnerable people—even when those vulnerable people freely admit to making money off the same platform. There is no room for dissent. There is no possibility of reform. The boundaries of acceptable discourse must grow narrower and narrower. Only when we free our world from the presence of the bad ones will change magically arrive.

NOTE: I wrote a follow-up to this piece that I think does a better job of articulating the points I was trying to make.

[sweetbitgaming]

The Development of the Zelda Oracle Games

Sweet Bit Gaming Mysteries: The Legend of Zelda The Seed of Courage

The Legend of Zelda Oracle series of games is often overlooked when it comes to focusing on the franchise as a whole. Certainly, there are more popular handheld Zelda games out there than the aforementioned pair; however, what if the entire concept for these games was fully realized? What if the trilogy Nintendo had promised fans was a reality and not just the topic of the day? Within this article, I’ll go over the development of the Oracle games. From many name changes to cut storyline ideas, this is the history of the Legend of Zelda the Oracle games. 

Some of the earliest information out there in regards to the Triforce Series of games came to the public on July 28th, 1999 within an article published by IGN. IGN would state that Nintendo is “hard at work” on six different Zelda Gameboy Color titles. Within the article, it mentions that four of the new Zelda titles were being produced in conjunction with the Japanese design studio Flagship. This development studio was headed by Resident Evil lead Yoshiki Okamoto. Okamoto had revealed earlier in the year that Flagship would be working closely with Nintendo’s EAD team in regard to future titles on the Gameboy Color. Within this same interview, Okamoto would also reveal that Flagship’s work was restricted to the design of scenarios and storylines. While not much information was given, this “leak” would take place roughly a month before Nintendo’s Space World 1999 event was set to take place.

Any hope for the public to demo the game was seemingly heightened by an IGN web article published on August 20th, 1999. Their source of information would be cited as Weekly Famitsu. IGN within the headlines were promoting they were the first to have screenshots of the upcoming Game Boy Color exclusive Zelda game. This article was published roughly a week prior to Nintendo’s Space World 1999 event, which took place on August 27th-August 29th of that year. The game at the time was believed to be called The Legend of Zelda: The Mysterious Acorn and was also cited as being published by Capcom and Nintendo.

In the preview of the game within the article, IGN would mention that Princess Zelda was managing the four seasons within the Land of Hyrule. Zelda would be kidnapped by Ganon and it would be up to Link to manage the Rod of the Four Seasons and track down the eight pieces of the Triforce to save Princess Zelda and also bring balance to Hyrule. With Hyrule’s seasons becoming jumbled up, chaos would ensue and Link would have to travel between Hyrule and this “other dimension” while being guided by spirits residing in the “Tree of Mystery” and also a strange “Uura Tribe” which would be found in this alternate dimension.

Ricky the Kangaroo and Maple the Witch were mentioned briefly within this article as well. Not much information was given on these characters other than they would be allies to help aid Link in his quest to save Princess Zelda.  Also mentioned were more details about the Rod of Four Seasons and how it would be required to solve certain elemental puzzles throughout the game. Possibly the most infamous amount of information detailed within this article is the mention of the Link System and how there would be three upcoming Zelda Gameboy Color games and they would all be a coherent story without getting lost within each other due to the Link System that Capcom and Nintendo were developing. 

With Space World 1999 taking place, a lot of hype and media focus was still latched onto the Nintendo 64 DD, another story within itself. Zelda Gaiden, later to be renamed The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask was also playable at this event. Demo copies of The Seed of Courage were also seemingly playable at this event. An interview would be conducted with Miyamoto by Nintendo Power Source and Miyamoto would give more detail and insight on Zelda Gaiden and the recently renamed The Legend of Zelda: Mysterious Fruit.

Q: After hearing rumors of Ura Zelda for Nintendo 64 Disk Drive, Zelda Gaiden for the Nintendo 64 cartridge format was a pleasant surprise. Can you tell me how these two games came to be developed?

A: We are working on two follow-ups to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. "Ura Zelda" uses the same system as Ocarina of Time but uses the 64DD to add game data. The story in "Ura Zelda" will be similar to Ocarina of Time but with new maps and scenarios. Zelda Gaiden, on the other hand, is a completely different game, although it too uses essentially the same game system as Ocarina of Time. Everyone has enjoyed the Zelda series but there's typically at least a 3 year wait between sequels! People who are in Junior High School when they play one Zelda game would be in High School by time the next game comes out, and those in High School will graduate before the next game came out! So, we wanted to make a new game in the series sooner. "Ura Zelda" will use the existing Ocarina of Time cartridge but with different dungeons, and new locations for the treasures. Since the 64DD media is cheaper than a new cartridge, this is an inexpensive way to make a sequel. We may also consider using network technology for "Ura Zelda." Right now, most of the staff is concentrating on Zelda Gaiden.

Q: How involved are you with the different Zelda games?

A: As time goes on, my direct involvement has become less. On the first Zelda, my involvement in directing the game was, say, 100%. With Ocarina of Time, my involvement was about 60%. For Zelda Gaiden, it will be about 20% and for Zelda: Mysterious Fruit for Game Boy, only about 10%. Until Ocarina, I was the Producer and Director of the game-not of everything but some parts. For Zelda Gaiden I will be in a Producer role. In that capacity, I'll decide the overall direction of the game, but I won't write the actual specifications myself. If Zelda Gaiden turns out to be fun to play, from now on we'll see new entries into the Zelda series with shorter time intervals in between. And, I'll probably have less direct involvement in the games. I've been saying all along that I have a lot of confidence in my teams, and I think they will make some good games.

Q: What kinds of things do you do as a Producer?

A: I just tell the staff members what kind of game it should be. The staff then figures out the details of the scenarios. So far, we've had thee big meetings to reviews the game's scenarios. As Producer I approve and disapprove of ideas in these meetings. Mainly I say things like, "If you try to go in this direction, you will never finish the game!" I help set the development priorities, and make staff recommendations. Q: So, what are some of the overall directions you have given to your game developments teams on Zelda Gaiden? What are some of the things that you want the players to experience in this game? A: I had several ideas that I wanted to incorporate into Ocarina of Time but that didn't make it. I've already given those to the staff. In Zelda Gaiden, players will meet some characters that they previously encountered in Ocarina of Time. There were many characters in Ocarina of Time who were in the background-- those characters will be more involved in the story of Zelda Gaiden. You'll talk to them more, and in the end you'll feel a deeper connection to the story of Ocarina of Time. Another thing we want to work on is time in the game. In so many games, you have, for example, eight dungeons. Finish four of them, and you're halfway through. You can guess how far you have to go. But that's not the true nature of interactive entertainment-it shouldn't be like reading a book and knowing you're halfway through it. That's not just something we're working on for Zelda Gaiden, we need to improve this for all of our games. The beauty of interactive media is it is different from other types of media, so we need to concentrate on those differences. Finally, we really want Zelda players to come away from this game feeling that they've played something totally unexpected. Q: In Zelda Gaiden, the moon is slowly falling towards the planet, and the player has a limited amount of time to save the world before it is destroyed. So how does the time limit in the game work? A: What can I tell you….hmmm. There are certain time limits in the game, but, you can play it again and again. If you don't do something in one game, you can try to do it in the next game. The amount of different things you actually do in the game will depend on the player's ability. This isn't a totally unique concept, but we do want to try something new with game time in Zelda Gaiden. To do that we are working on improving the "density" of the world. For example, say you have three days of game time. We are trying to see how many different events we can fit into those three days. That is why we need the Expansion Pak for this game-to keep track of all the events that are happening simultaneously in the world. Q: So the world actually exists and different things happen in real-time, even if you're not there to see them. OK, how about the masks? How many different ones do you think will be in the game? It looks like there is space for a lot of them on the Subscreen! A: There are three main masks-these are the only ones that make you actually change, or morph, into something different. Several other masks will have "human" like faces, and will be necessary to trigger certain events. You can use these masks to disguise yourself as different people. As for the actual final number of masks in the game, that will depend on time. I'm aiming for just under 30 different masks, but that depends on how long things take to develop.Q: You mentioned that the story in Zelda Gaiden will be closely connected to Ocarina of Time. How about the Running Man-will you finally be able to beat him?

A: Maybe you didn't see him in the Space World version, but there is a Running Man who is four times taller than the one in Ocarina of Time! We are experimenting with this character to see if we can make him interesting and fun. Did you see the dogs? In Ocarina of Time, they would follow you. In Zelda Gaiden, their reaction will vary. When you morph into a Goron, they will bark at you and run away. As a Zora, they will approach you. Don't try to become a Deku Scrub if there are dogs around, though! They will try to bite you! Q: What about the other fairy that is shown with Navi in the introductory cinema scenes? A: I don't know, I need to ask the staff about that! I have a feeling it's going to be an important character! Q: Things are busy on the Zelda front with the Zelda games for Game Boy Color that Capcom is developing. How did that deal come about? What is the plan for these three titles? A: Well, it's the same situation as when our team develops a Zelda game-the quality has to be high. Mr. Okamoto (head of development at Capcom) is a young and energetic game developer who says he came into the industry because of games like the original Donkey Kong and Zelda. He came to me and was very serious about developing a Zelda game. He has great teams of developers and he promised to use his best people on this project. A company called Flagship has 20 or so people who are working on the scenarios. Some people have asked me if this means Nintendo will be allowing other companies to develop games using our characters. But this is a very special case. I felt good about Mr. Okamoto and his team. We're not going to be letting everyone work on our characters. We'll be checking the quality of these three titles. Q: What is the connection between the three titles?

A: This project originally started to convert the original NES Zelda to Game Boy Color. So one of the titles will be a perfect conversion of NES Zelda. However, in working on this game, we have come up with a lot of new ideas, so there will be some new features. Basically I can tell you that there is a connection between the three tales. You can start with any one of them, but if you play them in a different order than someone else, the two player's games will be different....

 In January of 2000 IGN would publish an article stating that a new Zelda game was planned to be released every six weeks. The first of these Gameboy releases in the “Tri-force Series” was set to be The Legend of Zelda: The Mysterious Acorn: The Tale of Power. After this initial release The Legend of Zelda: The Tale of Wisdom was set to be released and then the trilogy would conclude with The Legend of Zelda: The Tale of Courage. These games were also mentioned within this article to have the capability to link up with each other and exchange data. Miyamoto would do an interview with IGN on May 11th and state that the games would link up using a “password system.” No other details were given about the games during this interview.

By May 13th Nintendo would officially release some promotional images in regards to the Tri-force series games which were now titled: The Legend of Zelda: Mythical Seed of Power, Zelda, Mythical Seed of Courage, and Zelda Mythical Seed of Wisdom. Also on May 13th, IGN would conduct another interview with Miyamoto about the Triforce Series games and Miyamoto would disclose:

IGNpocket: What is your opinion on the Legend of Zelda trilogy in the works for Game Boy Color?

Miyamoto: Mr. Okomoto from Capcom is the producer on the games for the Game Boy Color, and he has been giving me the materials for the games. And what we have now is the games are becoming late, especially because of the "link system". With the link system, we're thinking about letting the gamer play whatever game first, and what happens in one game affects another game. And with that, the variable scenario is just increasing the work, and that's why we are late in schedule. But we can release the games later this year.

IGNpocket: How does the link system interface work?

Miyamoto: Well, for example, there are similar events in all cartridges. So if you've already finished one event on one cartridge, it makes the quest in another cartridge a little easier. Another example is if you find a specific item in one cartridge, then something special will happen on another cartridge.

IGNpocket: But how does that information get from one cartridge to the other?

Miyamoto: Password system.

By July 24th, Nintendo of Japan would decide to cut one of the games out of the Triforce Trilogy. It was reported that this was due to numerous delays and difficulties getting the link system to work properly. This was an effort to still have the other two games out by Christmas of 2000. Nintendo within this press release didn’t mention which game was on the cutting room floor. Nintendo of America hadn’t commented on the cancellation of the game at the time and it was unclear if the two remaining games would still be released six weeks apart from each other.  By October 20th the concept within the unique release schedule was scrapped and rumors were abundant on IGN that the games would release sometime in January of 2001 in Japan.

By November 9th, IGN would report a brief “Chapter” of the latest Zelda game, now being titled The Legend of Zelda Chapter of Time and Space. This is the game that had been covered mostly in American publications through screenshots and leaked information while the remaining Gameboy Color game would go without much new information being provided. This other game in development would be rumored to go by the name The Legend of Zelda: Chapter of the Earth. It was suggested that this game would play much like the other Gameboy Color game and a link system was still set in place for the two games.  By January of 2001, more information would be released by IGN in regards to the Chapter of the Earth title. This article would feature screenshots and storyline concepts for the upcoming games. By the end of the article, it was mentioned that the two games would be released in February and a potential American release date was planned before the start of Summer.

In an article published by Nintendo of Japan on their Director Interview series, Hidemaro Fujibayashi would be interviewed and give details on the origins of Capcom becoming involved with Zelda on the Gameboy Color.  Here is that interview:

t seems that you first started making Zelda with Capcom.

Fujibayashi　Yes. At first, it seems that my Okamoto  (Yoshiki Okamoto, managing director) had proposed to Shigeru Miyamoto,  "I want to make Zelda with Capcom." That was about two years  ago. After that, a free man started making 2D games based on the Famicom  Disk System "The Legend of Zelda". The concept is to convey  the goodness of Zelda in the NES era to children today.

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■ Was Mr. Fujibayashi also a Zelda  fan?

Fujibayashi　Yes, when it came to the Famicom Disk System, I  went to a toy store first to buy it. I remember squeezing New Year's  gifts and running to buy them.

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■ Did Mr. Fujibayashi participate  in the project from the beginning?

Fujibayashi At　first, I participated in the form of a clerk  who summarized the overall opinions. At that time, I was only told about  the concept, but gradually I became involved in the game production  itself. First of all, I decided to give a presentation to Mr. Miyamoto,  so I wrote a proposal based on Okamoto's concept.

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■ Was the content of the game  decided at the time of the proposal?

Fujibayashi　Almost the pillars of the current game have  been decided. In other words, it should be released as a Color Game Boy,  use the four seasons, and retain the taste of 2D Zelda. It was decided  that it would be released in a series of works, so I thought of a link system  as an idea to make use of it. For example, if I missed a bad guy in the  first game, I wanted to make the software so that the bad guy would appear in  the other game. Since Zelda is a game with a solid view of the world, I  thought that even a Game Boy could fully bring out the "living feeling"  of the characters expressed in the 64 series.

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■ How was Mr. Miyamoto's reaction?

It　was  your first time to meet Mr. Fujibayashi Miyamoto. I  went to a presentation with Okamoto, but it was my first time to work  directly with Okamoto, and I was thrilled because I was going to meet a  famous person from another company. While explaining the proposal, Mr.  Miyamoto was silent from beginning to end, so I was nervous. But when I  finished reading, I was told, "I was thinking of going into it because  there would be various holes, but it looks like it's done." I liked  it, "I think it's good."

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■ After that, do you work at  Capcom?

Fujibayashi　That's right. After that, I proceeded with  the scenario while reporting the situation to Okamoto. As a role, I am a  director and planner.

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■ I heard that Capcom games create  scenarios first.

Fujibayashi　Yes. However, I think that the scenario came  out in the Zelda series after the hardware specifications went  up. Originally, Zelda in the early days was a pure action RPG, and there  wasn't much talk about it. This time, I was hoping that the two could be  fused. However, at first I was supposed to make a work that was one  tenth of the current volume. However, as I made it, it got bigger and  bigger, and it gradually became my own work.

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■ Did you make "Chapter of  the Earth" and "Chapter of Space and Time" by different teams?

Fujibayashi　No, the same team made them in order. At  first, I was interacting with the scenario team alone. So, while I was  making the scenario, I secretly talked to the graphic artists and programmers  who thought "I like it" in Capcom. Such personnel were  actually decided by Funamizu (Producer Noritaka Funamizu), who reports  directly to me, but I thought it would be better for me to consult with him  first. I was angry at Funamizu, saying, "It's my job," but I  was able to get the staff I wanted.

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■ After that, I think it's the  work of actually making a game, but please tell me the procedure easily.

Fujibayashi At　first, I'll start with an image. After  thinking about what kind of terrain it is, start making a map. After  making it roughly, I thought about the character next. We will modify  the scenario while making the game.

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■ Do you sometimes rewrite the  entire field?

Fujibayashi　That's every day. If you actually move it  and think it's different, fix it. When about 60% of the total was  completed, Mr. Yamada of Nintendo participated as a supervisor. From  that time on, I had the opportunity to hear Mr. Miyamoto's story. So I  absorbed something like Mr. Miyamoto's view of Zelda.

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■ Are there any interesting  episodes about the joint development with Nintendo?

Fujibayashi I　was playing Nintendo games and thought that  every game had a common scent. When I met Mr. Miyamoto, it became clear  that there was a way to make sense in the game that Mr. Miyamoto  thinks. It was a great learning experience for our team to get  it. After that, Mr. Yamada and his colleagues ask the character that we  casually placed, "What is the name of this  character?" Certainly, giving a name brings the character to life  and makes the staff feel different. It seemed as simple as "give a  name", and the important thing was that I was surprised. That's  just one example, but I feel like I was taught the know-how of Nintendo's  "making warm games." What I was most happy about was that both  Mr. Yamada and Mr. Miyamoto treated me as if I were an employee of  Nintendo. Rather than Nintendo or Capcom, he talked to me as a staff  member who made games together. In the end, I think that kind of  personality is reflected in Zelda.

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■ At the same time, I think this  is a game that has a Capcom feel to it.

Fujibayashi It's　more about the individuality of Capcom's Zelda  team than it is about Capcom. I tried to make the world view interesting  with a slightly dark character. What is the difference between Kyoto and  Osaka? The place where a little outlaw character appears may be  Capcom-like. However, I don't think there is any difference in the  system in the game.

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■ Please tell me if there is a  story behind this.

Fujibayashi In　"Chapter of Time  and Space", there is a tower called "Tower of Darkness",  and there are people working there, but there are lines that say "I  can't finish my charge" and "I can't go home". Some of  our team couldn't go home (laughs), so I put them in a parody. However,  we are a very homely team, so I was happy with the Nori. The person who  came to give the message was involved in the meeting and talked for about 2  hours.

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■ That kind of homely atmosphere  may be oozing out in the game. Then, what are the highlights of  "Mysterious Tree Fruit" from Mr. Fujibayashi's point of view?

Fujibayashi　This time, Zelda was created with the  individuality of the entire team. The highlights are the many events and  mini-games, and the dungeon gimmicks. I thought about various big tricks  that Game Boy can do. The ideas of all the staff are included, and I  think it's quite full.

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■ What do you recommend for the  link system?

Fujibayashi If　you play the two software as a continuation of  the story using "Aikotoba", you can enjoy a deeper view of the  world. You can also experience the true ending after the story is  over. There will be new characters and there will be many events, so  please give it a try.

 On May 14th, 2001 both of the games, now titled the Oracle series, would release here in America. The games would receive positive reviews and critical praise for the link system that Nintendo and Capcom had developed. Over the years, the games have seemingly faded out of the minds of Zelda fans. Only hopes and rumors of potential remakes are the only true discussion these games draw these days. The concept within the trilogy of games was very similar to Ura Zelda to where Miyamoto wanted what was done in one game to affect that area in the other game. Also, did Majora's Mask overshadow these games? The development of these games runs parallel with each other and Majora's Mask is a beloved game within the Zelda community. Here's to remakes of these games happening on the Switch here in the near future. 

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