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:...
Without realizing it, I had made a big deal out of Yamabuki’s armor.
Introducing the reader to an unfamiliar constructed world takes patience, care, and research.
Historic fiction is a slippery slope. I am currently writing about Japan in the historic period in and around the Gempei War—a war of historic record. My main character is Yamabuki, a female warrior, a person who is recorded in some annals, but whose life is almost unknown. How much can a writer make up while entertaining her audience, while staying more or less faithful to the period? Some writers will go completely around this problem....
“The Pillow Book of a Samurai,” has been long in coming. I have been thinking on the main character, Yamabuki, for some time now. It’s a genre that is narrow and under served, at least in my view – heroic women who are more than superficial characters. I have been working at this, off and on, for a number of years, with my day job usually pushing away writing time....