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Tokyo Shorty (aka Alex Hurst) wrote about the celebration of Star Festival in Japan. Her article is very informative and caught my attention. Her post on Goodreads has excellent details and graphics and was of particular interest to me. She also posts it on her blog. I am working to a deadline of two weeks from today when my first full length novel, Haru, subtitled, Broken Swords, will be going to the professional editor for an line-by-line read with feedback....

The wooden practice swords used by author Katherine M. Lawrence. Writing about sword fighting comes from having taken some fencing lessons, Japanese style, and sword fighting has led to the writing about a Japanese fencer. Hazard Sensei suggested using walnut oil (available from most supermarkets) to keep the blades moist, especially for the shinai (the one in the middle). Although I do not re-enact the sword fighting scenes from Yamabuki, I do use them to remind myself of the reach of the katana (long sword)....

My first experience with Shakespeare was a good one. It was Hamlet. As a fifth grader much of it was over my head, but the ghost carried the day. Black and White, the film adaptation starring Lawrence Olivier sparked my interest. Recently I ran across video about Shakespeare, the first having to do with original pronunciation (OP) and the seconds having to do with Shakespeare in Asia. Having grown up in the West in an English-speaking country, Shakespeare is expected....

Life is a journey, not a destination. —Ralph Waldo Emerson A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man. Joseph Campbell The journey of 1000 li begins beneath one’s feet. Lao Tsu And so, beneath my feet, the first words I write go down on the printed page:...

What if? What if I had super powers, could fly, and bullets would bounce off of me? What if I solved crimes that stumped the police? What if I had a lavish expense account, stayed at the top hotels, had a lot of hot sex, and a license to kill? What if I was on a spaceship full of people who traveled faster than light and every week I encountered a new civilization and boldly went where no one had gone before?...