It is Less Than Three's fourth
birthday. So happy birthday to LT3!
Less Than Three is an amazing press,
run by amazing people who never cease to amaze me with how
professional, author oriented and cutting edge they are. Really, one
of the best (if not the best, but don't tell anyone I said that)
publishers in the genre.
Seriously sometimes I don't know why
they put up with me, but they do.
~~~
So this post was supposed to be about
Sherlock Holmes but issues came up so now it's about my very favorite
things ever:
The thing I love most next to writing
is pretty much a no brainer. I adore history, really truly I do and
I'm incredibly lucky that I do both writing and history for a living.
Usually when I tell people that I study
history semi-professionally they get a kind of glazed-over look
"wow!" they tell me "good for you, I always hated
history in school."
I've learned to smile and nod through
this since that's pretty much all I can do, I've always enjoyed
history, I've never had the experience of hating it or finding it
boring.
When I was a child was obsessed with
mummification. My mom thought that it was weird, creepy and
disturbing that her seven year old daughter loved pouring over
pictures of mummified corpses. Looking back on it, it was a little
weird and especially since my sister at the time was obsessed with
ballerinas and her best friend with horses. I just thought mummies
were awesome though, a person, who, in some cases, still looked like
a person from thousands of years ago. Mummies allow us to know what
people who have been dead for thousands looked like, what they eat,
how they dressed. In some cases tattoos have been preserved on
mummified flesh. The different kinds of mummification and what they
could tells us about ancient societies fascinated me, as did the
rituals around the way different cultures thought about death and the
afterlife.
When I got over my fixation with
mummies themselves I of course moved to being obsessed with Ancient
Egypt. The richness of Egyptian culture, the sheer amount of things
they left behind fascinated me and sparked my imagination. From there
I moved to obsessing over Crete and spent years researching the
controversies around Crete and Grecian history and archeology. The
first story I ever sat down and tried to write was set in a
mythological fantasy version of ancient Crete. I branched out into
the early history of the Celtic Isles during this time as well
although my love affair was brief.
In high school I moved on to become
fascinated by Richard III and the War of the Roses. What interested
me the most about this period of English history is the
historiographical debate surrounding legitimacy of sources. Late in
my high school career I began studying American women's history.
When I entered college I took a class
in Asian American history and another in queer theory and history
both of which changed my life. I have been studying both Asian
American history and the history of gender and sexuality ever since.
Also in college I studied Chinese history which was lots of fun and I
still continue that research as a little side avenue today.
When I study history I love to get
immersed into the culture, and society. I am a cultural and
intellectual historian primarily so I don't do a lot of political,
economic or military history. Instead I stick to what people did in
their day to day lives, the places they lived, the jobs they held,
what they eat and how they dressed. I also love to think about ideas
and how the way we think and view the world has changed over time. I
love to challenge myself to understand a totally different way of
looking at the world and try and find trace elements of ideas lurking
around in the historical archive.
It's really no surprised that when I
sit down to create my own fantasy worlds they are always based on
historical time period and cultures. Although I don't write
historical fiction I do love to base my world building on one or
possibly more historical settings. In fact writing first Heart of
Water and Stone was what got me interested in researching and
studying Viking age Scandinavia and Iceland which has been lots of
fun so far. After all, I'm always up for more research.
~~~~~
Give -Away:
in honor of my long standing love of
history I am giving away copies of all of my stories, published thus
far, with historical settings. So folks pretty much have the run of
my backlist (and all published by LT3). I am giving away one (1) copy of each of these books so
there is plenty of goodies to go around.
-Ebook copy of Heart of Water and
Stone (inspired by Viking age Iceland)
-Ebook copy of The Kraken Lord and
the Eater of the Sun (inspired by Viking age Iceland)
-Ebook copy of Zi Yong and the
Collector of Secrets (inspired by early Song Dynasty China)
-Ebook copy of Private Dicks:
Undercovers which includes "Regarding the Detectives
Companion" (inspired by 1840s Britain)
-Ebook copy of Changeling
Moon (inspired by 1820-1830 (ish) New York City, United
States)
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So to enter:
comment: include what book you want and
how I can contact you should you win it.
A nice note about the entry would be
wonderful too.
The giveaway will close at 12: 00 am
EST April 15th I will contact all the lucky winners on the
15th (after I wake up and have coffee) and if something
crazy happens we can go from there.
Hello! I'm right there with you on the history minus the studying it as thoroughly as you, though I'm always down for doing historical research. I always found it intriguing, and much like a book I'm living the aftermath of! :)
ReplyDeleteI'd love to be entered for "The Kraken Lord and the Eater of the Sun" if possible. Lost loves have an odd allure to me. <3
A very happy anniversary to LT3!
-Raelynn
Raelynnmarie at live dot com
Lost loves have an odd allure to me. <3
Deletefor me as well, so I'm glad I'm not the only one :~)
I was never into mummies as an art, but I love the history and culture of ancient Egypt. This has translated into interest in modern Egypt, so when I visited I was just as excited to see their government buildings as I was to climb inside the Great Pyramid. Egypt has such a rich culture so I really hope they can get their country back together soon!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I can choose to be entered for two stories, but I can't decide between Private Dicks and Heart of Water and Stone. Your stories in Private Dicks and HoWaS both sound really interesting! Please tell me if I can only chose one so I can flip a coin and get back to you.
mell88@nycap.rr.com
I would love to go to Egypt at some point. That whole area continues to be fascinating. I'm not interested in really in politics for international relations but I'm definitely all about studying Egypt from a post-colonial context.
DeleteYou should definitely add visiting Egypt to the top of your to-do list! You would absolutely love it, I promise you. But maybe you should wait a few years until the rioting dies down... Unfortunately, the crazy politics of the region right now trumps tourism.
DeleteWell, for me, it's always been Greek Mythology. I love reading about those times, the antiques of the Greek gods and goddesses and how they fit into Alice Walker's statement that we imagine God and bestow on him qualities present in ourselves (That's a paraphase :D).
ReplyDeleteI also love Egyptian history of course. Fell in love with the times, how they lived their lives. I think the first historical Egyptian novel I read was one that was based on the life of Ramses II. A lovely read.
Also found Henry VIII fascinating. His choices, his mind, and the fact that he allowed his daughters to be trained as men. Speaking of daughters, I also enjoyed the historical piece that I read on Elizabeth I. She was a woman in a man's world who lived her life the way she wanted, and didn't allow the society and what they thought to dictate how she would live. A truly inspiring woman.
Took History for my A Levels and I love it, and I think a career in history and writing, is truly a fulfilling one.
Can I have Changeling Moon pretty please?
siteno.ebulu@gmail.com
oh man I adore mythology. Which is something I only touched on here, but yeah Greek mythology, Egyptian mythology, Celtic and Norse mythology. Basically if someone somewhere has written down some folktales I'm all about reading them.
DeleteI love Ancient Egypt too! I've always been obsessed with Ancient Egypt, and when I was younger all I wanted to do (besides writing) was to become an egyptologist. I haven't really read up on it in years now though, but I would like to. My favourite thing about Ancient Egypt was the mythology itself as well as the female pharaos, especially Nefertiti. ^_^
ReplyDeleteI'm also quite interested in the Viking era. I studied Norse in my first year at university, but the rest of the degree did not sit well with me, so I quit. :-P I wouldn't mind going back to simply Norse and runology and stuff like that though, because it's simply fascinating. ^_^
I would very much like "The Kraken Lord and the Eater of the Sun". ^_^
Hugs!
TT
ttkove AT gmail DOT com
I really, seriously thought I was going to be an Egyptology for a long time. Unfortunately my inability to learn foreign languages nipped that in the bud. I still find it fascinating though. Writing my vampire story for LT3 gave me an excuse to get caught up on some of the more recent scholarship too.
DeleteI'm good at languages, so that wouldn't have been a problem for me. I just didn't want to go to Africa :-P
DeleteIt would've been so cool to get caught up on the reading and actually write something from Ancient Egypt. I'm really looking forward to reading your Vampire story! ^_^
Mummies creep me the fuck out. I stood outside the room at Le Louvre when I went there with Megan while she and Gomes looked around.
ReplyDeleteI will never profess that History was my favorite subject, but I didn't hate it--I think I just had bad teachers. The American History class (up through the Civil War) that I took in college I actually really thoroughly enjoyed. Plus all the Russian History I had to take for my major.
Not entering--though, that's probably obvious. ^_^
dead bodies of any kind used to scare the hell out of my brother, but his an archaeologist so he just needed to kind of get over it. Especially since one of the schools he considered seriously is known for their mummy collection. I luckily have never had that problem.n
DeleteI think history is definitely one of those fields you need to have amazing teacher to really enjoy. I've been very lucky in having some really dynamic history teachers, which may be part of why I love it so much.
I love ancient Egypt! The pyramids and cursed tombs fascinate me. It's such an old, rich history. I love it all!
ReplyDeleteI'm also kind of addicted to European castles, especially those in Germany. The history behind them all is amazing and beautiful and fairytale-like, which I love.
Oh! And I would love to read Private Dicks: Undercovers
morris.crissy@gmail.com
architectural history and the history of spaces is just now something I'm getting into. I think it's interesting though what the buildings we leave behind can tell historians about the people who built them. Very cool stuff.
DeleteThat is some amazing research. Awesome post.
ReplyDeleteI will admit to having had a hard time with history back in school but it fascinates me in fiction.
Also, should the universe grant the favour, I would love to read "Heart of Water and Stone."
AF Henley <3
a.freedom.henley@gmail.com
I was actually kind of surprised you haven't been a history buff for a while given how historical your own writing is. Still I really do think ones enjoyment of history comes from the angle you study it at. For instance I know I wouldn't like it nearly as much if the only kind of history I ever did was military history.
DeleteI've never understood why people hate history, either!
ReplyDeleteEgypt has been my longest enduring historical love, I think, paired with King Arthur. It was either castles and knights or pyramids and pharoahs. Now, it's pagodas and many kingdoms or Varangians and golden domes, too!
see! We have so many overlapping historical interests Egypt, China, the Byzantine Empire, the modern Asian diaspora ... Pretty amazing.
DeleteYay history! I love Ancient Egypt too, and have a pile of (non-fiction) books on it. I'm especially interested in reading about excavations. Which is why Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody series is one of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteI also love reading about ancient civilizations in South America - the Aztecs, Incas, & Mayans. As for more modern eras, I love reading about Henry VIII, his wives, and Elizabeth I, the 19th century, World War I & World War II.
In case you're not yet listening to it, I recommend the Stuff You Missed in History Class podcast from How Stuff Works, over here -
http://www.howstuffworks.com/podcasts/stuff-you-missed-in-history-class.rss
You might have guessed that I would love a copy of "Changeling Moon" (as I already have a copy of "Private Dicks"). :)
freifallen at yahoo dot com
oh cool! Another Elizabeth Peters fan ::high-five:: I've loved her books forever and the fact that her amazing Amelia Peabody mysteries are about Egyptology just makes them even cooler.
DeleteI'm actually lucky enough to be in a department which is known for it's focus on South American history, so I've been learning a little more about that which is awesome.
Oh, wow! Amazing! As someone who has a history obsessed family member (my father) I have to admit that I'm extremely envious of people who understand history. I think only someone really special and with an extremely good memory and high IQ can truly understand and appreciate history. unfortunately i didn't have the luck to have passionate history teachers that could make me love this subject. For me history is extremely difficult. I do have my father, who talks a lot about stuff from the Ancient Romans to World Word II, he knows all sorts of stuff and memorizes hundreds of dates and events, which is beyond me. But he has this habit of jumping from one thing to another and he confuses me so I can't understand a thing he says LOL
ReplyDeletei have to say, though, I do love history. Especially, as someone who loves Latin, I adore the period of Ancient Rome and Greece. I also love the Egyptian period, but other subjects leave me cold :P
Thanks for the awesome giveaway. Please count me in, either for the books inspired by the Viking age or the Asia inspired one. Hugs!
shaylamist@gmail.com
I actually think a lot of people stay away from history because of this idea that you need to be able to memorize names and date. While knowing names and dates helps, actually I find being able to look at lots of different details and put them together to form an over-aching picture is really more important. I actually now you don't need to memorize stuff to study history because I have short term and long term memory disorders so memorizing things is pretty much impossible for me. That being said my sister grew up surrounded by historians and finds some parts of it interesting but mostly prefers to do other stuff so it's definitely not for everyone.
DeleteI think we can all agree Ancient Egypt was awesome :~)
oh my short story Zi Yong and the Collector of Secrets which was inspired by early Song Dynasty China is a lesbian romance, if that makes any difference either way to you.
Id love to read The Kraken Lord and the Eater of the Sun. I love that title,plus Vikimgs Domt get the respect and attention they deserve! I love urban history and the history and culture of built spaces. Fascinating class, race, and gender dynamics--plus fun!
ReplyDeleteUrb
brendurbanist@gmail.com
urban history and the history of urban spaces is awesome, I'm right now doing a long term research project on early Chinatown which definitely combines a lot of issues around race, class, gender and interestingly enough sexuality as well.
DeleteMy brother loves history so I always get fun facts whenever I call him. growing up, I loved the Norse and the Mongols (apparently, I was a slightly bloodthirsty child). I even made my own little yurt but my sister said it looked like a tea cosy. Anyway, I would like "The Kraken Lord ..." and (lexi.sack11@gmail.com)
ReplyDeletemy brother is really into archaeology so I'm forever going to him for advice especially on earlier civilizations. He's the one really obsessed with Norse culture actually so I've learned a lot through him.
DeleteI used to love ancient Egypt. I'm particularly fascinated by ancient (and modern) Pagan/polytheistic religions, so I was really into legends of the ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses. And as completely and totally cheesy as this is, I love the movie Prince of Egypt (I know it's Christian and I've just completely contradicted myself, lol). I'm also a fan of ancient celtic legends, including the Welsh language!
ReplyDeleteI would love the chance to read The Kraken Lord and the Eater of the Sun. (brilliant title, by the way!)
kaylabainvrba@yahoo.com
I love Egyptian mythology! In fact the story I just finished which is set in a kind of alternative Ancient Egypt as Set as a pretty important character. It was the first time I'd ever tried to write a God before but lots of fun.
DeleteI've never heard about queer theory before and frankly I wished I knew about such a class when I was in college. I can kind of see how you would be obsessed with mummification at a young age. All kids are curious at the age of seven about how certain things are achieved, how life is in an alternative dimension (or in your case a certain part of time in the past), etc(I know I was at that age).
ReplyDeleteI would love a chance to read "Changeling Moon".
humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com
queer theory is a fairly new academic phenomenon. Although some of its core writings happened in the late 70s and 80s it really did not blossom as an academic field until the mid-90s. It's still not well intrenched in the academic landscape, for instance there is no one in the history department I am part of right now who does it. I am dedicated to bringing the way it interrogates and reexamines things like community structures, family units, the way we think about societal norms, taboos and of course sexuality into my historical work. To do that though I spend lots of time talking with and taking classes over at the Cultural Studies department because they are the group on campus who does that stuff.
DeleteIn my experience kids tend not to be freaked out by things that adults find weird or creepy and are much more interested in understanding the way things work, as you say :~)
I admit I never really liked history in school because we never really had time for the interesting stuff. It would have been more fun to learn about mummies instead of the more recent history.
ReplyDeleteAnd since I love detectives I would like to read Private Dicks: Undercovers if I win. :)
goingtoreadnow (at) gmail.com
I am lucky and I know it having had great history teachers and professors and also having never had history taught to me as any of that "social studies" nonsense.
DeleteIt does make me sad to hear about people who had less than great experiences taking history classes but it also make me determined to teach history in a different way especially in my intro classes.
I think Ancient Egypt is so fascinating too. The day to day aspects of people's lives in earlier times are interesting to me too. I always wonder how they lived and coped, especially without all of the benefits of our modern conveniences. I would love to win Private Dicks: Undercovers.
ReplyDeletestrive4bst(At) yahoo(Dot) com
ancient history has always been a love of mine, even though I study a much later time period. I find archaeology fascinating as well.
DeleteI have to be honest, in school, history was about my least favorite thing. I don't know why that was because as an adult, I find it fascinating. Let's just say I was a late bloomer. Maybe no one really made me see how wonderful it was until I met my husband, lover of documentaries. Either I grew to love them or I spent less and less time with him. Now, though, when we travel to national and state parks, I love learning the history of each place. I'm still not a great lover of reading non-fiction history books, but I love fiction writers who make history come alive.
ReplyDeletecaroaz [at] ymail [dot] com
I love documentaries, I watch them for fun all the time. They are a great way to learn something about things I knew nothing about. I love living history museums too, they were one of my favorite places to go as a kid. I was lucky to grow up in a state which had a lot of them.
Delete