Cold Rain

My historical fiction about a woman samurai who lived in ancient Japan and fought in the Genpei War.

Ever stare at the shelves at a bookstore or your own home library and think, “I wish there was a novel where the main character was [fill in the blank] and did [fill in the blank] but there’s no book like that. Hmmm. Why, in fact, if such a book existed, I would read it!” The next thing is the character takes shape in the person’s mind and the “adventures” of the character start to take form and soon you start writing the book you wished someone would write....

Many have searched for the ruins of the Taka compound that existed 850 years ago in ancient O-Utsumi prefecture–the alleged site is shown in this photo. But there is no trace of the clan. Not even the footings of the giant estate houses that overlook Great Bay. No trace of the gardens and orchards where Yamabuki and Nakagawa walked when the girl of eleven decided to follow the warrior’s path....

Painting the life of the common people in a world where the major daily chore was finding enough food, can lead readers to think they are indeed being presented with a bleak world. And yet, the Japanese culture has always been one of songs and dance and laughter. Some genre readers are excited by the swordplay, but wonder why the farmers (they are never called “peasants” in Yamabuki books) are included....

Yamabuki travels from the Taka compound to the capital of Heian-kyo.