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#ScribesAndMakers Someone else promotion
Going to highlight a horror anthology written by an off Fedi friend. The stories are weird and dark and literary. They are exploration of different facets of humanity.
My favorite is a tie between Organ Grinder and Onerous Goat. If you are into weird horror, I do suggest.
https://www.amazon.com/Cornered-Speculative-Short-Story-Collection-ebook/dp/B0C7S1ZMV2
I have a vague publishing post that will not fully manifest until next year, but will say it will of course involve a story of toxic intercultural love story set in 7th century China, just different than my novel.
I've been getting obsessed with Ancient Chinese nail and flower art. I find it so fascinating that men and women alike starting in the Tang would wear flowers in their hair and grow out their nails if they were born in high rank.
The fashion would eventually become so elaborate that you would get the really long nail protectors from the Qing dynasty. Here is a really good blog post talking about nail fashion in Ancient China https://www.newhanfu.com/70867.html
I'm getting desperate so am turning to the Fedi for help. Boosts will be appreciated.
I really need to find a private tutor of East Syriac. I do know Classical Arabic which I've heard helps, but can't find any sources or courses.
@medievodons @histodons #Syriac #Academic #History #Medieval #Medievallanguages #language
I was thinking of @Forestofglory and a conversation we had a while back about cultural histories of the Tang. It made me remember this lesser known one.
This book is a cultural history of the city of Chang'An through the collected tales of failed examinees, women and foreigners. Also one of the books that sent me on the rabbit hole of foreigners and intercultural marriage in Tang China
@medievodons @histodons @bookstodon #China #history #bookstodon #bookrec #histodons #medieval
@NaraMoore @medievodons @histodons Yeah, I think getting every last detail will be impossible, but its important to try to gather as many details as possible when writing a story set in a historical era.
I love the Old Book of Tang. I'm reading it and randomly find this line about what officials and their wives had to wear:
八月丙午，诏三品已上服紫，五品已上服绯，六品七品以绿，八品九品以青；妇人从夫色。
For the non-Chinese, my bad translation:
Sept. 25, 630: It was ordered third ranked officials and higher would wear purple, fifth rank and higher would wear a deep red, sixth rank and seventh rank would wear green, eighth rank and ninth rank cyan blue; their wives would wear their husband's color.
@juergen_hubert looking forward to it
@juergen_hubert Was wondering if there was any more. I like how this one tries to establish rules for identifying vampires.
I'm wondering though if there's any relation to golens and Jewish golems.
I'm going to talk about the sahiqat (صاحقات) genre. In the pre-modern #Arab world this was the genre of sapphic or lesbian stories. It was regarded as the purest form of love because of how impossible it was.
Different than Western sapphic love stories, it re-affirmed their devotion to God. For example the most famous couple are al-Zarqa and Hind bint al-Nu'man.
@medievodons @histodons #history #medieval #medievalhistory #Arabicliterature
#WritersCoffeeClub How does your heritage show itself in your work?
I'm Arab Christian and a lot of my FMCs come from that bg. Even my amnesiac MC in my vampire story remembers her Arabic music and religion.
I rarely ever see MCs from my bg who get to just go on adventures and have things happen to them outside of political stories. If I am going to write, whether #SFF or #historicalfiction I want to write about the culture and bg I know without preaching the culture, just having it lived in
We finally have a #medieval #history group again!
@juergen_hubert @clew Thank you, I'm saving this so I can purchase both of them after my next payday.
@juergen_hubert I really do like this cause it does go with my working theory that folklore is tied to medicine and science because it was people trying to figure out why these awful things were happening without any proper tools.
@juergen_hubert @clew If you ever have any official publications, let me know. I'd love to read them and buy them by supporting the work that you do. I know the past couple days, talking with you about German vampire myths have helped me a lot as an author.
@juergen_hubert @clew Yeah, and I do agree on that end. I think when it comes to being an author/translator, it is best to go for the topics that have appeal before you can really dive into some of these little tangent rabbit holes that research can get you into.
@juergen_hubert I'm wondering how many of these tales originated from medieval vampire mania. A lot of these kill vampire by desecrating graves seem to end in destroying the corpse by beheading, burning and stakes.
@juergen_hubert @clew Yeah, folktales are much more fun and this is def a side research tangent.
@juergen_hubert @clew Yeah, I also like how wolfsbane was used for both vampires and werewolves and have to wonder if there's any studies about regional wards against vampires/undead.
@juergen_hubert @clew This is a good point. The use of garlic appears in some folkloric encyclopedias but there's no sure way to see that it was like that in all regions.