Showing posts with label folktales. Show all posts
Showing posts with label folktales. Show all posts

August 30, 2021

Released --> Damsels Overcome

 
Here is where to buy! 
 
Smashwords Stores for mobi, epub and PDF files
 
Apple Store  for epub

Barns&Nobles  > Nook, paperback, hardback
 
Overdrive < if you have the app
 
Baker and Taylor's, axis 306 < if you have the app
 
 
 
odilo  > must login
 
Scribd  > must be member

Amazon  > Kindle, paperback and hardcover
 
 order by my name, book title, or ISBNs
Hardcover - 987-942070-08-5
Paperback - 987-947020-05-4



Damsels have values, more than known and that we hear and read in folktales, legends, fairytales and news today.


January 21, 2021

Damsels Overcome soon in bookstores

 

Both males and females are important in social norms. I'm making a case about the male narratives that dominate - take the fable Turtle and the Hare; all characters males. Masculine pronouns lock us into male narratives and male norms. 


DAMSELS OVERCOME has 20 folktales from different times and many countries. Included are blurbs about my identity and dispute with the narratives about the damsels who appeared in these traditional male-dominated dialogues written in literature and folklore from the 6th to 18th centuries.

Launch date is August 30, 2021.

August 4, 2020

Folktales linked together create my genre.

Grouping folktale, legends, and myth became a form, even a genre for interconnected stories I told. The more I wondered a
bout the date and characters in the Asian Art Museum galleries, the more I needed a frame, sequence for telling the myths, legends, and folktales as I carved a path from statues of art the better my stories related.

On a stage for one to two, hours most storytellers connect their stories by a frame; the stories might have different characters, time, and settings; a novel uses scenes with the same characters. So I use dragon, tiger, anger, and justice through history in stories to relate as we travel on an ancient time path.

 
Today, I write the legends, myths, folktales that I told in the segue in a frame.
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Let's take the tiger folktales, each folktale is an event building the drama. A simple introduction, a tiger is born. A problem, tiger escapes from a man, roams, and dies. In a twist, the tiger is given life. The drama thickens; the tiger becomes greedy and embarrassed by a rabbit while he is in a pit once out tiger is injured hunting a pheasant. In the climax, the tiger hid in a cave and healed by a woman. With a satisfying ending, the tiger happily dances behind a drummer to a fest. A simple plot with maybe 12 folktales traveling through history with the tiger the character, which builds intrigue while hearing a simple history of Korea and the children did not suspect, either do adults.

Beware, one can enhance, adapt, modify, revision, embroidery, embellish, exaggerate and elaborate traditional tales; they have no copyright. Keep the plot lines; we all know the stories from childhood and enjoy the familiarity.

March 4, 2020

Family traditions and customs are included in my stories.

Including family traditions and customs in my stories is what makes them real.
The fun of writing is telling what I know. My life as analogies or metaphors are in my characters, usually the ole grandma, auntie or cousin names changed, places changed, and time changed. 

The stories of elves, trolls, pixies, fairies spirits and unwanted guests came from different places and times to the Oakgrove gardens (my yard). These characters from mythology arriving here for the adventure of living with humans. Each character brings a story (folk stories, myths, or legends), mostly from what I perceive and blended with what I have read, researched, experienced, or traveling.

AS I SAY, "Adapted, enhanced, re-imaged, embroidered, modified, elaborated, embellished, and fabricated from what I know and am into the story." 

The spirits from the other dimensions are especially interested in what the human youngster Lassie JooJee does her friends and the days of parties, holidays, and celebrations now and before. They compare what they know from their homelands (realm) to what they see and hear from the human Lassie JooJee. And so, the stories started.
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AS I SAY, "Story is my life from my early years fishing and haunting the gold museums in my Colorado, to backwoods travel in Alaska, and then nesting in the richness of diversity in the Bay Area of California. I know my stories through child, daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, and grandmother as well as art, teaching, writing, and verbal telling – everyone important to create an outstanding fantasy." 
St
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August 1, 2019

My writing taking me by surprise!

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Well, not writing specifically; verbal storytelling came in with a blast. Twenty years ago, the computer I used wiped from within and the floppy disk all my children's stories, a first draft novel I finished, and a family tree I had spent 3 years compiling.

 As I recovered on my couch, a thought ran through my mind, "Time for you to stand up and tell a story." To stand up and tell one of my creative stories, never. A disgusting, impossible idea, farther more where to start.

I never heard a person tell stories, only lectures about specific subjects. (This was before YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, google blogs, before the cell phones and the videos we watch.) I did find a program at a Park and Recreation Center. Finally at Dominican University in San Rafael, I found a whole series on "How to Tell a Story." Verbally telling was precisely like writing a story; characters, plots, and scenes. And, there were thousands of public domain free stories, the TRADITION TALES, from all over our world to preform.

SO, I stood up and told a story.


NOW . . . TODAY - I write traditional fractured stories. That means I re-write or re-tell folklore by adapted, enhanced, re-imaged, embroidered, modified, elaborated, and embellished characters, scenes, and make subplots. I fabricated to suit my time and to create a better read. All folktales, fairy tales, legends, fables, myth are analogy, metaphors, or simile we use in writing. Traditional tales are the bones of today's movies and novels.


March 2, 2019

I use my feminine propective as an writer.

My feminine protagonists are the narrators in first voice and the present tense
BECAUSE as a child and young adult, I was a
--> female; second to a male;
--> lady; second to a lad;
--> woman; second to the man;
--> she or her; second to he;
---> heroine; second the hero!
Always second to male, lad, man, he, and hero, who were and still are the main narrators. He leads and solves the problems and dilemmas of our the world, unfortunately.

A girl and young adult pushed from the frame because of my sex. I needed a place in the story, in the plot. So I write from my feminine irrate voice - about strong maidens or older matrons, who battled against oppression by cause by 'him'.

I write about strong maidens or matrons who overcome tyranny and suppression by facing ignorant dominance. My protagonists make change in their worlds for us to witness so we can make changes in our feminine lives.


READ blogs.

In my last piece, PURSUED, a Russian Folktale, the ugly frog skin of a princess is burnt by a selfish prince, a fool. This young male needed to view what his enchantment was.The fool does not understand balance and equality in a partnership only that female's beauty is for his prestige.

A villain, a male antagonist, can devour a story. A heavy, destructive, villain dominates. I figure she or her needs to conquer his hateful messages as does Faery Rhyonna, who rids Zzuf from her realm.


December 21, 2017

Interview, Part 9 - FIRE, the Hunger

The best question, how does the storyteller work up their stories.

First to find stories liked, then print them out, and read over and over to see if plots are suitable. Then I make what I called a ‘Summary Page’: how long the story is, my first sentence, my last sentence, a summary of the plot, and where I told the story, adding notes about the telling that I need to remember. 


If I have enough stories on a theme like the FIRE stories, I make a frame, bridge, or a segue through them. That means I plot out each story; have 'character bios' as on FIRE, humans, gods, hummingbird, beaver, Grandma Spider, monkeys, hunters, Bertha Digby. Then make a 'motivation sheet' on each character about their driving concerns that moves the plot forward to the next story. 


The beginning, the gods have FIRE and humans and animals want its warmth and light. So, the middle events: Hummingbird gives to the Pines, Beaver gives to all trees, Grandma Spider throws light to the night sky. Until the climax event, a hunter steals the FIRE from the monkeys to the final event, FIRE burns up the forest. The ending conclusion, Bertha Digby replants the forest for all of us.

If you join my newsletter called the EVENTING. . ., I talk about writing and storytelling. As a new subscriber, you receive the Story Charts used for plotting, character motivation, scenes, framing or the segue, with the bonus of the hero’s journey. There are 12 charts in all. The charts were compiled from storytellers, who shared how they organize their stories. I give this information to whoever wants to craft their best stories to tell or write, please honor this.


December 16, 2017

Interview - Part 8, FIRE, the Hunger

Have you verbally told or written any of the fire stories before?

The FIRE stories came about when I went to Feather River Family Camp, 2005, the first week of August when the outdoors is hot and very dry. I told the stories around the first night's campfire to children and parents. Later, I presented more FIRE stories at night on the Open Stage. And I have a spot for evening stories in the Crafts Circle just before dinner, what better than FIRE stories.

After telling at Feather Family Camp, I told stories for Oaklandish, 2006, who were building pride in Oakland and having a campout at Oakland's Chabot State Park. The FIRE stories went well
 with the crowd of young adults.

Next, I told the stories for a birthday party, 2007. Parents of a young girl called me about stories; I asked if they could have a fire; the parents said yes. I narrated the FIRE stories around the pit and related how we must constrain FIRE because of the horror of eating everything, and that now FIRE was held in candles on a birthday cake and blown out for a wish. The young lady liked the stories.

The last story, Bertha Digby was published in an anthology organized by the 4th Street Studio's Saturday Salons, The Livermore Wine Country Literary Harvest, ©2006. 'Saving the Woods' is on pages 67 to 69. My folktale honors a squirrel and all animals (a metaphor for people) who restore burnt forests that other humans destroy by one means or other.

The FIRE stories were bridged together by the desire for warmth and light and told monthly at a storytelling swap in 2008, which I helped run at the Orinda library.

The folktales were written out for the April 2017 NaNoWriCamp were enhanced, modified, elaborated and bridged together
 around one of the worst predator, who eats everything, 'FIRE, the Hunger.'

Now, the segued folktales are on wattpad, a great platform to connect with readers while writing and editing. Soon 'FIRE, the Hunger' will be posted on Bublish with 'bubbles' that appear on Twitter and Facebook for publicity.

December 1, 2017

Interview - Part 7, FIRE, the Hunger

What are the lessons learned about FIRE?

FIRE is our enemy, who eats everything but treated like a hero, a treasure to be sought, a prize to have as if a best friend. FIRE is a monster and humans, especially children, need to learn this and how to control its hunger.

FIRE is never to be free, never allow FIRE out of any container holding it. By container is meant keeping FIRE in a hearth of the bricks or rocks like our fireplaces, or a simple dirt pit in the ground. We must always keep FIRE confined.
When finished with FIRE while camping, cover FIRE with dirt or drown with water. If cooking on stove that uses gas flames, complete turn off the flame. If using matches, drown the burning part with water. If ever smelling smoke, investigate. Have a fire extinguisher ready and have the phone number of the Fire Department close. 

BE WARNED!

FIRE has an enormous, ferocious appetite, always hungry, and eats furiously. From the lava formed from melted rocks in the volcanoes to the lightning that dashes through the air; fire's priority is to consume everything. 


FIRE flickers with hypnotic light and dashes as it dances over a victim with penetrating heat to consuming its prey. Fire is formless and raises up to the sky as if praying. While eating victims, fire chants with sounds like hollowed crackling, sudden pops and snapping, or a long rumbling hum. Sometimes sparks like diamonds from FIRE spray quickly into the air reaching, this is to send FIRE to its next meal. Fire is dangerously beautiful, enchanting, and hypnotic.

REMEMBER!

FIRE is a trickster using charms of heat and light as magic, this is to hide a ferocious appetite and is it always looking, searching for ways to escape a confinement to burn, sting, and roast victims causing enormous damage and pain. After FIRE eats only ashes are left.

November 26, 2017

Interview - Part 6, FIRE, the Hunger



Are you satisfied with the way the stories follow each other?

Yes, I have made a specific point to use the animal's or the human’s desire for FIRE at the beginnings and FIRE’S horrible appetite at the end of each story to weave into the next story so the characters push the plot along. This is called bridging or the segue, in which ‘FIRE, the Hunger’ is desired for the warmth and light, and how each character managed to secure their desire, or not and the following tragedy FIRE starts. There is a difference in time when the Greek and Roman gods secure FIRE for their followers and how the animals secured FIRE in the folktales from the Americans, the ancient of all worlds.

November 13, 2017

Interview - Part 5, FIRE the Hunger

READ on WATTPAD.

How did you put the stories together?

First, I selected stories to prove my premise and compliment the theme, then arranged the order: the volcanoes and then the animals that helped to a hunter that steals FIRE to the tragedy of that theft burning down the forest, thus making the god Kaang’s warning true, “The human loss of harmony with the animals.” 

And for a constructive conclusion after the horrid FIRE ate the forest and homes, I added a creative story I wrote about a squirrel, Bertha Digby. who replants the forest. Which is fitting because if you ever lived among trees, squirrels are the busiest of creatures planting everything they get their paws on. In my yard, they are always in the Oak, Avocado, Magnolia, or Camille trees. And if they could, they would even plant apples and orange trees as they do the plum trees. The squirrels carry flowers seeds on their fur, and these seeds scatter around the ground while they dig in the acorns, walnut and avocado seed, which will grow into trees if not dug up for foods later.


  FIRE, the Hunger.



September 21, 2017

Interview - Part 4, FIRE the Hunger

READ on WATTPAD.

What is the theme that holds the stories together?

Fire’s personality is the theme. FIRE stays alive by eating, which is the horror of FIRE making it a monster. FIRE is a voracious, selfish, hungry, villain that has no guilt or shame and feasts on everything. FIRE eats oxygen out of the air, which is its very best friend.

FIRE has hypnotic powers to maintain a spell-bound entranced viewer. I witnessed this as a kid watching the hypnotic flames flicker back-and-forth sometimes yellow or orange and maybe green or blue fueled eating FIRE eating its wooden victim. As FIRE reached up into the sky, it popped sparks to escape the trees to satisfy its ravished appetite.
Where I live now, FIRE burned the dried ivy from the house next door eager to eat the house and sleeping victims and damaged our shed in the backyard. Years later an enormous FIRE came from smoldering roots in the Public Park up the hill behind our house. The wind blew the smoking embers into flames, which roared down the hill eating homes, pets, and trees. When ashes fall, and the smoke gathered around our house, I panicked. I took weird things, like the dogs, chickens, phones, frozen chicken, and all our coats. And, all the photos I had because I worked on my Father’s family tree. That FIRE was drowned by Firemen just two blocks away from our home. The just last month, the horror of FIRE, crawling and eating all the plants, animals, buildings of 7,000 people and businesses in the North Bay area of San Francisco.


FIRE is a monster and the humans needed to know this and how to control its hunger.



 

August 16, 2017

Interview - Part 2 - FIRE, the Hunger

FIRE, the Hunger

Why did you pick the FIRE stories you selected?

I wasn't sure if there were stories that talked about the beginnings of FIRE. I knew there were ancient stories about discovering the wheel. So I went the online library and came across about 10 suitable stories. Plus, a few stories about FIRE gods:  Pele and her anger, and Greek and Roman gods, and a story from South America about the god that protected FIRE in the heath. Some worked and most did not. Then I came across stories from the Native Americans about who spread FIRE: Hummingbird, Beaver, Spider, and then the Monkeys who helped a lost Hunter with FIRE. Finally, I found a warning from the bushmen God Kaang, who "If humans had FIRE no harmony would last between trees, animals, and the humans. No longer could they speak with each other." That became the premise, the theme, for the plot - the dangers of FIRE and fear in animals. And as a child, when camping we had FIRE contained in a pit, and it was dangerously hot and tried to continually escape to eat whatever FIRE could.


August 2, 2017

Interview - Part 1 - 'FIRE, the Hunger'

FIRE, the Hunger

What made you decide to tell fire stories with the intriguing title ‘FIRE, the Hunger’?

When I was a child, I grew up in Colorado and loved the mountains. My Dad, cut timber up Highway 24 by Woodland Park, which at that time was not a city. My intrigue with Fire started then we kept it in the pit and burned our garbage and everything, tin cans, and shoes. Fire was very feared because it would burn the forests and take my dad’s job of cutting timber for buildings and making telephone poles.
When my Dad retired from that job because lumber was scarce in Colorado, we went camping every summer. I think every weekend. My Dad loved the outside so did my Mom; she was from the small farm in Limon, Colorado.
At camp, at night, my uncles made this big fire in a rock pit. They built the pit making sure no trees and no roots were near. They brought their wood or cut the dry wood for the trees. Cutting fire wood is not allowed today, too many fires burnt too many forests. 
We had a beautiful warm, actually hot, Fire at night with dancing sparks. When I looked into the air, the flames danced in the darkness. We were never allowed to start the fire or to feed it the wood. However, we could to roast hot dogs on long sticks and after wards melt or burn marshmallows.
 After the camp dinner, the men sat around the fire while the women cleaned up the dishes and put away the foods. Like a hunter's camp only in the summer with the kids and women could come. The men fed the fire and talked about their fishing adventures they had during the day. Now and then, they would drop into their hunting adventures. As the kids, we got to listen.
When the fire ate all the wood for that night, it was put out. Either smothered with dirt or drown with water on the glowing embers. The men killed Fire, so as not to have it escape into our camp or the forest. Sometimes the kids killed the fire.
Fire did burn if touched, always entrancing, magically, and ate all we gave and could turn into a monster taking what FIRE wanted eating everything in its path. As happened in our neighborhood about 20 years ago; 3,000 homes burnt. Now in North Bay in San Francisco where many friends and relations live. FIRE is a HORROR!
Children should know FIRE's charms and dangers.
FIRE, the Hunger

June 26, 2017

STORY, STORY, and more stories

STORY, STORY, and more stories ...

For the next month through NaNoWriCAMP, their July 2017 camp. I am pledge to write 10,000 words eight stories about FIRE, actually how gods of the ancients knew the humans should not handle fire---> which does escape from a dirt pit and eats everything around.

My writing progress will be posted with the Clarion Foundation Write-a-Thon for 8 finished stories.  And, stories will be published on my wattpad page called, 'FIRE, the Hunger.'