RIP Fred Patten (1940-2018)

Early this morning, I received news that Fred Patten passed away at the age of 77 on Monday, November 12th. My relationship with Fred Patten was only through email correspondence, but if ever I had a personal, professional editor, it was Fred. 

I first became acquainted with Fred when I asked him if he would review Opal Wine for me and I was delighted when he said yes. The result was a wonderful review and one I am both grateful for and proud of and you can read it here.

Sometime later, he asked me to consider contributing to an anthology he was collecting and unfortunately life events prohibited any work toward his vision. However, in the ensuing anthologies, I worked with Fred on contributing three titles:

• To The Reader..., published in the anthology Gods With Fur (2016)
• The Shrine War, published in the anthology Dogs of War (2017)
• In Search of the Creators, published in the anthology Exploring New Places (2018)

It was The Shrine War that served as the biggest challenge to my career and Fred and I corresponded frequently over its creation. Throughout all the dialogues I had with him, Fred always remained professional, friendly, and polite and his recommendations for edits were always correct.

It was a delight working with Fred. He taught me a lot and I am very grateful that he was the one who inspired me to write The Shrine War. Up until now, Coventry House that was published in my Opal Wine collection has always been my best-known work. I believe that if my extended version of The Shrine War is ever published, that is the novel that will make my career and it will be dedicated to Fred Patten's memory.

In closing, a jaw-dropping list of his accomplishments is found here. 

#WIPJOY #31

What is my main character's favorite treat and her best trick?

Easy! Sen, being a kitsune and a servant of Inari Ōkami has, like all spirit foxes, an incredible weakness for rice.

Kitsune udon is udon with a fried tofu topping and their other favorite food is Inarizushi, fried tofu pockets stuffed with sushi rice. If ever you are visited by a kitsune, offer her these delectable treats and she may stay for awhile.

As far as a trick? In my story, all kitsune are able to cast illusions to fool the human mind. Case in point:

Quickly, (Christopher) snapped pictures barely taking thought to register what he pointed the lens at, but he snapped off several pictures in quick succession, capturing his hostess in a few of the shots. After taking fifty pictures, he scanned through them on the camera display when he came upon a photograph that centered on his host. 

Christopher felt the blood run from his face and a wave of fear and vertigo as he stared at the picture on the LCD. 

He looked up and saw Sen staring at him with a puzzled expression. “Are you well?” she asked. 

Christopher stared at the woman before him and then looked back down at the LCD on his camera. He flipped forward a few more pictures to where the shrine maiden again stood within the frame of the photograph. 

“All is well,” he stammered. “Arigatou gozaimasu, thank you so very much for allowing me to visit your shrine, but I must allow you to prepare for your special guests. You have been so kind.” 

He bowed and the miko bowed in return. He backed away a few steps before turning and walking out of the oratory, the LCD on his camera showing an anthropomorphic female fox clad in the garb of a shrine maiden, her nine tails sprouting prominently from behind.

#WIPJOY #30

So what would my characters in The Shrine War think about pumpkin spice?

Seriously, I do not think they would care for it. Traditionally, Japanese do not like very sweet foods and for those who have had their mochi and their ice cream would attest to this.

Even their Rabbit in the Moon Higashi (Wagashi Sugar) is mixed with soybean flour to kill the sweetness.

#WIPJOY #29

What does my main character think about the season of autumn?

Sen is a kitsune, intimately tuned into the seasons. I suppose she would love autumn just as much as the other seasons.

This is a kitsune who has watched the sunrise every morning, if the weather allowed, for the past 500 years. I think I portrayed very well she loves nature.

#WIPJOY #27/28

Today's challenge is to post a line about darkness or hope.

In the final section of The Shrine War entitled Incident at a Japanese Inn, the principals from the first two stories gather together to deal with a common problem. 

In the first section, I introduce Christopher Andrews, an American studying in Japan, and Liana, his kitsune housekeeper that eventually becomes his wife.

Before the events in Incident at a Japanese Inn become deadly, I introduce the couple who have come to the inn and put them into an idyllic scene to hint of hope after the terrible incidents that follow:

As Hoso emptied the luggage, Liana walked to the far wall and slid aside another paper door. 

The scene took Christopher’s breath away. A wooden platform served as a small porch that stood over a small steaming pond. Boulders partially covered in flowering vines lined the shore. 

In the middle of the pond, a large rock rose above the water. A small bonsai tree, its branches artistically trimmed and shaped, grew from its rocky support. 

“Isn’t the hot spring lovely?” Liana exclaimed. 

Christopher stared at the scene. Liana, standing with her three tails spread out behind her, added to the exquisite beauty of the view. 

This is the Japan that I have sought, Christopher thought, his heart suddenly aching from the vision before him. This is why I left my home to travel halfway across the world. This is what Lewis called the numinous. This is what I have always longed for. 

Liana turned and held out her hand. “Come, husband,” she said. “Come and share this with me.” 

Christopher smiled and taking Liana’s hand, drank in the conjoined enchantment of the spring and his exotic bride.

#WIPJOY #25

In today's challenge, I'm to answer the question, how would my main character react to seeing a ghost?

Well, since all my main characters are immersed in the world of Japanese mythology, their reaction would not be anything spectacular though some would be neutral toward it and some would see it as a weapon, depending on whether they are good or evil.

Sen and her kitsune sisters that oversee a hidden Shinto shrine have the power to summon and command an oni, a type of Japanese yōkai, synonymous with what westerners would call an ogre or a troll. I have taken liberties with the traditional oni and made it more like a ghost-like creature. Here is a description of an oni from The Shrine War when Sen summons one to fight for her:

Again, Sen’s fingers twisted the prayer chain within a complex dance of her fingers and suddenly an oni, a Japanese yōkai composed of pale, blue fire in the shape of a giant man, stood before her. Sen pointed at the Inugami who assumed a fighting stance. 

“I forbid you to shed blood in the oratory,” she said to the oni between gritted teeth. She pointed at the Inugami. “Humble it and remove its reason.” 

With a scream from the Inugami and a roar from the oni, Sen watched as they charged each other. 

The oni’s only potent weapon was possession. If it could grapple with the intruder, it would enter her body and render its victim helpless. 

Ignoring Sen, the Inugami spun about the oni using her katana to cut away segments of the blue fire. Sen could see her summoned creature diminishing before her as the oni lost its cohesiveness, and Sen felt panic for the first time in centuries. She had invested much of her magical power in calling the dæmon and she had stretched her reservoir of magic to its limits.

#WIPJOY #24

Today's #WIPJOY challenge is to take a line from my current work in progress that refers to death or dreams. 

In the First section of The Shrine War, five kitsune shrine maidens (known as miko in Shintoism, are defending their shrine against an invading force of Inugami, normal dogs transformed into sentient, anthropomorphic servants through evil Daoist magic. 

In the story, a lone Inugami breaks into the honden and is captured, killing herself through seppuku rather than remain a prisoner.

When the remainder of the Inugami force their way into the honden, Sen, the leader of the Kitsune shrine maidens, tries to explain why their companion is dead on the floor. The point that I'm making is that when you are birthed in pain and torment and forced to live as a slave, death is not to as feared as those who enjoy life and liberty:

Chiyo flung open the front doors. Outside, seven Inugami stood with drawn swords, two more of them supported by the others, barely conscious. “Enter, dogs,” Chiyo growled and turning her back on them she stalked over to Sen and sat down beside her. 

The Inugami entered, their eyes searching the shadows for possible ambush. 

Sen motioned toward the fallen Inugami. “Your sister died by her own hand,” she said quietly. “She died with honor.” 

One of the Inugami stepped forward, an Akita Inu shaped into human female form, her white fur stained with dirt and debris. “The Inugami care naught for honor,” she said. “I am Akumu of the Inugami. Do you surrender yourselves and your shrine?”

#WIPJOY #23

Today I'm to reveal my main character's childhood dream that will never see reality.

Well, Sen is a kitsune who for the first century of her life was a normal fox living her life in the wilds of Japan. When she reached the age of a century, she was given the gift of sentience, the gift of an additional tail, and the privilege of serving Inari Ōkami, the rice goddess of the Shinto religion. So I guess her childhood dream was to eat enough field mice that she could actually feel full.

Now that she is in the form below, she feasts on inari-zushi and udon with fried tofu topping (kitsune udon).

#WIPJOY #20/21

For this weekend's #WIPJOY challenge, I'm to come up with a list of characters from other books, TV, or films who would be best friends with my main characters.

Well, as I said, I have a pile of main characters, but for this challenge, let's select as my main characters my evil Daoist sorcerer, Abe no Tadayuki.

I am a dedicated fan of the works of Sax Rohmer, a pulp writer who from 1913 to 1959, graced us with a witches coven of pulp novels that introduced an eager public to one of the most fascinating and controversial villains of all time: Dr. Fu Manchu:

"Imagine a person, tall, lean and feline, high-shouldered, with a brow like Shakespeare and a face like Satan, a close-shaven skull, and long, magnetic eyes of the true cat-green. Invest him with all the cruel cunning of an entire Eastern race, accumulated in one giant intellect, with all the resources of science past and present, with all the resources, if you will, of a wealthy government--which, however, already has denied all knowledge of his existence. Imagine that awful being, and you have a mental picture of Dr. Fu-Manchu, the yellow peril incarnate in one man."-- Nayland Smith to Dr. Petrie, The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu

It is unlikely Dr. Fu Manchu would have little love for his Japanese counterpart, but after defeating Abe no Tadayuki,  would force him to be a worthwhile servant.

#WIPJOY #19

Graphic credit below

The most misunderstood character in my currant work in progress is not an individual, but a race.

The Inugami are dog spirits created by evil Daoist sorcery. 

As the Inugami, Akumu, explains to Sen:

Tell me, shrine maiden and guardian, do you know how an Inugami is birthed?” 

“I have learned that Inugami are the creations of men who practice dark sorcery,” Sen replied. 

Akumu snarled. “Yes, so you know of our creation, fox. All of us were once dogs, dogs born to serve humanity. Then humans that we trusted and that we only wished to serve did terrible, pain-filled rituals, dark and evil tortures that twisted us into dark and evil servants.”

In magical tradition, an Inugami was originally a regular domesticated dog tortured to death in such a horrendous manner I will only refer to it obliquely in my story as I know that sorcerers in the ancient past actually performed these rites. I do not wish to glorify such monstrous activities. It is not difficult to understand why Inugami can turn on their masters. It would have been for a very good reason.

So, it stands to reason that creatures born from evil can only understand evil. In The Inugami, I introduce Shadō, an Inugami abandoned by her master and forced to live in a crawlspace. The creature is eventually freed by Kelly Robbins, an American studying at the University of Tokyo. Shadō struggles to accept that Kelly does not wish to use her talents for evil: 

“Welcome home, master,” Shadō said. “How may I serve?” 

Kelly shook her head. “You are not my servant,” she said firmly. “We are equals.” 

The Inugami looked up, her eyes betraying her emotion. “In the world of the onmyōji order and balance must be maintained even within the chaos of magic: student and teacher, servant and master. Without order, we surrender to complete chaos and in chaos there is only destruction. I am no longer hidden and my presence is felt in worlds seen and unseen. We will have visitors and some will come to challenge.” 

Kelly swallowed and placed her backpack on the dining table next to the ancient book of the Daoist sorcerers. It lay open to the page describing the paces of Yu, a shamanic dance that traced the nine stars of the Big Dipper to capture its supernatural strength. 

“The world has changed, Shadō,” Kelly said. “The onmyōji belong to the past. They must stay there.” 

Shadō sighed with obvious consternation. “You see an Inugami before you. You are aware of the presence of kitsune.” The Inugami came and knelt before Kelly. “The world has not changed. A part of it has simply been hidden and now it bursts forth. Soon you will see other marvels and some will not be friendly. You must prepare.”

In The Inugami, I introduce the creatures as objects of pity, though many see them only as tools for evil.

The graphic above is copyrighted to Aimi of AimiArts and is the visual model I used for Shadō.

#WIPJOY #18

Today's challenge is to describe who "gets" the main character best.

Again, I have chosen Sen as my main character, the head Shinto shrine maiden leading her four sisters in a defense of their shrine against an overwhelming force of Inugami.

Her second-in-command, so to speak, is Chiyo. With her five tails, she is only half the age of Sen, but speaks and acts as if she is more of the matron of the group than Sen herself. She is also jealously protective of Sen, the other miko, and the shrine itself.

And she can be quite deadly about it as well:

As Kiku and Kuwa left the oratory, Sen turned to Chiyo. “Dear Chiyo, it is you who must defend Inari’s Mirror. They may try to come over the back walls. If they enter the honden then it is you who must stop them. If what they say is true, we are the last keepers of a Kitsune shrine; if all the other shrine objects are truly destroyed, then all of Inari Ōkami’s essence is enshrined in her mirror. Who knows what that may mean, but that the Inugami must not even see it, let alone touch it?” 

Chiyo nodded, her jaw tight and her eyes grim. “They will not get the mirror, sister. Not tonight. Never.” She reached into the left sleeve of her haori and pulled out a folded fan. With a flick of her wrist, it sprang open with a metallic whisper to reveal itself as a deadly weapon, its edge honed to razor sharpness. “I have not used my tessen in years past counting, but should the dogs attempt to enter the honden…” Chiyo spun the fan in her furred fingers, its deadly edge splitting the air with a fearsome hiss and blurring from the speed of its movement as she expertly guided it through a complex exercise. In her left hand, her prayer beads glowed with a dull azure light. Then, with a sudden movement, she flicked the fan closed with a sharp click and the prayer beads once again became simple tiny ceramic and wooden balls strung on a hempen cord. Chiyo slid her tessen back up her sleeve. 

With dignity, the sisters bowed to each other and Chiyo left Sen standing alone in the oratory.

#WIPJOY #17

Today, a line from my work in progress about grief or longing.

The selection I've chosen for today is a grief about a longing achieved. In my story, it is the goal of some kitsune to marry a human being and I use that for comedic relief in the first segment of The Shrine War. In the third and final section, Incident at a Japanese Inn, I reveal that Christopher Andrews actually did marry his kitsune housekeeper and at a Japanese inn, he muses on his good fortune:

Graphic credit below

 As Hoso emptied the luggage, Liana walked to the far wall and slid aside another paper door. 

The scene took Christopher’s breath away. A wooden platform served as a small porch that stood over a small steaming pond. Boulders partially covered in flowering vines lined the shore. 

In the middle of the pond, a large rock rose above the water. A small bonsai tree, its branches artistically trimmed and shaped, grew from its rocky support. 

“Isn’t the hot spring lovely?” Liana exclaimed. 

Christopher stared at the scene. Liana, standing with her three tails spread out behind her, added to the exquisite beauty of the view. 

This is the Japan that I have sought, Christopher thought, his heart suddenly aching from the vision before him. This is why I left my home to travel halfway across the world. This is what Lewis called the numinous. This is what I have always longed for. 

Liana turned and held out her hand. “Come, husband,” she said. “Come and share this with me.”

Christopher smiled and taking Liana’s hand, drank in the conjoined enchantment of the spring and his exotic bride.

Graphic copyright to Kacey.

#WIPJOY #16

Today's challenge is to discuss my main character's happy place.

Well, as I have been saying, I really don't have a main character, but for the sake of argument, I have been using Sen, the leader of a kitsune-led Shinto shrine as my reference even though she only appears in the first section of the work.

Sen is a 10-tailed kitsune, well over 1,000 years old, and for 500 of those years, she has served at a shrine to Inari, now, in the last century, she has been the leader of the other four miko and the shrine is her home and her love.

Here is the model I used for the shrine taken from a Wikipedia article:

The following is a diagram illustrating the most important parts of a Shinto shrine.

1. Torii – Shinto gate
2. Stone stairs  (absent from the shrine in the story)
3. Sandō – the approach to the shrine
4. Chōzuya or temizuya – purification font to cleanse one's hands and mouth
5. Tōrō – decorative stone lanterns (absent from the shrine in the story)
6. Kagura-den – building dedicated to Noh or the sacred kagura dance
7. Shamusho – the shrine's administrative office  (absent from the shrine in the story)
8. Ema – wooden plaques bearing prayers or wishes  (absent from the shrine in the story)
9. Sessha/massha – small auxiliary shrines
10. Komainu – the so-called "lion dogs", guardians of the shrine  (absent from the shrine in the story)
11. Haiden – oratory or hall of worship
12. Tamagaki – fence surrounding the honden
13. Honden – main hall, enshrining the kami
14. On the roof of the haiden and honden are visible chigi (forked roof finials) and katsuogi (short horizontal logs), both common shrine ornamentations.

I will describe the shrine, not through the eyes of Sen, but through the eyes of Christopher Andrews, an American who accidentally stumbles onto the shrine when doing research for a paper:

Following the bend of the stream as it coursed its way around a hillock, Christopher stared in stunned surprise. A vermilion-colored torii, a universal feature of all Shinto shrines stood before him. Acting as a type of open gate, the tall torii served to separate the sacred inner space of the shrine from the outside mundane world. On both sides, a high wall went to the right and the left until they were lost in the trees. Oddly, no road led to the torii, though a tiled sandō, the walkway that led to the shrine’s interior, began at the entrance. 

What surprised Christopher the most was the immaculate appearance of the torii, the wall, and the sandō. He had expected decaying ruins, but what he could see looked pristine. 

Taking out his camera, he took a series of quick pictures and then made his way up the tiled walkway. Large, ancient trees filled the shrine grounds, but the ground stood bare of leaves, more evidence the shrine had occupants that maintained the property. 

Following the path, Christopher went around another hillock and there he could see the rest of the shrine and its assorted features. 

The chōzuya, the purification fountain, sat under a small bamboo shelter. Beyond the fountain, he could see the Kagura-den where miko, the shrine maidens, would hold their sacred dances. Past that, there were three setsumatsusha, small auxiliary shrines to other minor kami. The oratory, where rituals and worship took place, stood as the dominant building, its entranceway comprising two double doors. Beyond that, protected by its own wall, stood the honden, separate from the oratory, where devotees to Inari Ōkami believed the goddess herself to be enshrined. Christopher smiled with delight to see both the oratory and the hondon displayed the Sumiyoshi-zukuri style that proved the shrine had been built well before Buddhism came to Japan and made dramatic changes to Shintoism. Absent also were the tōrō, traditional Buddhist stone lanterns so common in contemporary shrines. 

However, the most striking absence was the total lack of statues of Kitsune, the pure white foxes that served as Inari’s messengers. All of Inari’s shrines held two or more statues representing the creatures, many times with them holding keys within their delicate jaws. Without Kitsune statues guarding the entrance, Christopher had no assurance this was a shrine to Inari Ōkami at all. 

Christopher snapped several pictures with his camera, a small part of his mind feeling guilty for taking such liberties without the shrine priest’s permission, but strangely enough, the shrine lay deserted. Though the sense of being observed had never left him, no priests, miko, or worshipers walked the grounds of the shrine. The signs displayed the presence of caretakers, yet the grounds appeared deserted. 

Nonetheless, he had no desire to offend. Though no devotee of Shinto, Christopher knew that all visitors had to undergo the simple ceremonial purification rite known as temizu. The chōzuya for this shrine, where the temizu had to be performed, was a bamboo shelter that housed an actual spring that bubbled up into the fountain and overflowed into an ornate grate. 

Several bamboo ladles lay ready and with practiced ease Christopher took a ladle in his right hand and used it to scoop up water from the fountain. He poured the water into his left hand, switched hands, and poured water over the right. 

Taking the ladle once again in his right hand, he poured water into his left palm and used it to rinse his mouth. He rinsed his left hand a final time, tipped the ladle up to let water pour down the handle, and placed the ladle back onto its stand. 

If there were any unseen witnesses to his ablutions, Christopher wanted them to know he came to the shrine respectfully.

#WIPJOY #15

What genre of art, music, or poetry (or all three) describes the main character?

I really don't have main characters per se, but I do have dominant characters that carry most of the story. In The Shrine War, Sen, the kitsune Shrine maiden appears in most of the story. In The Inugami, Kelly Robbins, the young American student starting her studies at the Tokyo University plays the biggest role, and in the third section, Incident at a Japanese Inn, the main character's responsibilities are divided among a number of characters as all the players in the first two segments all come together for a final denouement.

However, as this question too closely mirrors #WIPJOY #5, allow me to take a moment and share with you a museum that all of my characters would enjoy.

The Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. has combined the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery into one main building. It contains the largest collection of Asian art ever collected under one roof in the United States and the first time I was able to tour the building at leisure, I became lost in the maze of its corridors as well as wonder at the treasures collected inside.

Having undergone a recent remodeling, the museum has expanded its offerings into other arenas and as well as art from Japan, China, and Korea, one can now find examples of art from the ancient Near East and Ancient Egypt as well as art from historical works from the Islamic World.

Among some of the treasures is a knife made from a meteor that fell into Emperor Jahangir’s kingdom in the early 17th century, and Gallery 5 is dedicated to Shinto, Japan's native religion where Sen would most likely be found.

If ever, Gentle Reader, you find yourself in Washington, D.C., please take advantage of touring this wonderful repository of Asian wonder. I speak as a satisfied wanderer, it is well worth the time.

#WIPJOY #13/14

How does writing The Shrine War make me stronger?

When I was first asked my Fred Patten to write a story for his anthology, Dogs of War, we talked about various ideas until I came up with the idea of a group of kitsune shrine maidens defending their shrine against an invading force of Inugami. 

It was when the idea and proposal solidified, I then realized that my ability to write the story was hindered by an almost complete ignorance of Japan, its mythologies, and Shinto, its national religion.

I spent countless hours in research, pouring over books and Internet articles, reading everything I could get my hands on. The end result is that my library on Japan is formidable and the resulting knowledge has enriched me greatly to the point I now wish to visit Japan and walk the areas that in my story exist only in my imagination.

Also, writing is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger you get.

Want to be a good writer? First write at least 500,000 words of garbage. No matter how untalented you are, you do get better. Believe me. I speak as a satisfied customer, not as a paid salesman.

#WIPJOY #12

Today's challenge is to discuss how my antagonist is like me.

Um... none of them are. They are all dedicated to violence and evil, truly bad people motivated either for a love of power or a thirst for vengeance. As my antagonists have drives understandable to humans, I guess I could say they and I share the same vices except I refuse to act on them.

In The Shrine War, the main antagonist is Akumu, an Inugami who leads a force of invaders against the five defenders of a remote Shinto shrine. Created by evil Daoist magic, Akumu is completely motivated by hatred and a thirst for revenge.

Akumu sheathed her katana with a sharp click, walked up to Sen and squatted on the ground before her. Smoldering Inugami eyes looked into the serene eyes of Inari’s head shrine maiden. 

“Do you know how we came about, fox? You were born in the wilds of Nippon. Your destiny if you survive the first century of life is to grow an extra tail and receive the gifts of sentience and servitude to your rice goddess. Tell me, shrine maiden and guardian, do you know how an Inugami is birthed?” 

“I have learned that Inugami are the creations of men who practice dark sorcery,” Sen replied. 

Akumu snarled. “Yes, so you know of our creation, fox. All of us were once dogs, dogs born to serve humanity. Then humans that we trusted and that we only wished to serve did terrible, pain-filled rituals, dark and evil tortures that twisted us into dark and evil servants.”

In The Inugami, the antagonist remains in the background and only actually appears in the closing scene. Abe no Tadayuki is a Daoist sorcer dedicated to evil.

A Japanese man sat at the dinner table wearing a travel-worn kimono. He motioned and Kelly entered the kitchen, her muscles responding to another will.  

The man sat erect, but relaxed, his hands on the pages of the book of Daoist sorcery as if he had been interrupted while reading. Thin, almost to the point of emaciation, he appeared to be quite old. Only his eyes, bright with life and intelligence, seemed completely alive. 

In the final section of the novel, Incident at a Japanese Inn, the antagonist is Kamo no Masahiro, the original master and teacher of Abe no Tadayuki. As he exists in a incorporeal form, he has no physical description except to possess the unwary.

I sincerely hope that except for the common vices I would share with all my literary creations, whether they be Inugami or sorcerer, the comparison would stop there.

#WIPJOY #11

Today's challenge is to discuss something that your main character sees as a weakness but is actually a strength. 

The difficulty in pinning that down is because I really don't have what could be called the main character. In The Shrine War, the two main characters are Sen, the kitsune leader of an Inari Shrine, and Christopher, my human protagonist who acts as a type of narrator to ground the story from being completely alien. 

In the second segment, The Inugami, my two main characters are Kelly Robbins who again acts as a human lens so my reader doesn't get lost in a story that deals with magic and mythical creatures, and Shadō, the Inugami that lives in the crawlspace under Kelly's apartment.

For today's challenge, I would have to say that Shadō sees Kelly's refusal to use her as an instrument of malice and destruction as a weakness, but even at the end of the story, still struggles with Kelly's adherence to virtues such as mercy and kindness (though she comes around in the final segment, Incident at a Japanese Inn.

#WIPJOY #9

Today, the challenge is to write a review of my currant work in progress (WIP) that would be considered my ideal.

Before I do that, a word about reviews:

Reviews are a writer's basic bread. We need them. In today's world, we compete against literally thousands of eBooks being released everyday and most small writers like myself can easily get lost as a very tiny frog in a vast pond of other frogs.

Now enter the algorithm. Amazon's algorithms determine what recommendations are made to those who peruse its tables and as a rule of thumb, books that have 50 reviews or more or displayed more prominently than others. That is why if you have read any of my works, please leave a review. It does not need to be a literary masterpiece. A simple "I enjoyed the book and recommend it" is more than sufficient. Please do it today while you're thinking of it. In fact, I would encourage you to leave reviews for all books that you read. I certainly do.

So, the ideal review I would like to see when The Shrine War is released?

Alan Loewen's vision of a Japan that never was is both entertaining and fascinating, introducing us to mythological creatures and the humans who interact with them as well as their everyday world so very different and yet so very much like our own. The stories kept my attention and when I finished the book, I wanted more. Loewen's stated purpose for writing is to entertain and he achieved that goal with The Shrine War. I look forward to his next literary adventure.

#WIPJOY: Day #3

Today, the challenge is to print a line from my current work in progress (WIP) about a theme or topic that you care strongly about.

Let me make something very clear. I write solely to entertain. I do not use my works as bully pulpits in an attempt to change somebody's mind or push an agenda. Nonetheless, there are topics I care about, but they will be secondary, if not tertiary, to the simple act of telling an entertaining story.

However, if there are two subtle themes that permeate The Shrine War trilogy they are the importance of family and community and the innate sacredness of nature. However, if a reader is not aware of that, she or he could easily read the entire work and not be conscious of an overarching motif.

Case in point is the opening of the entire work where I introduce Sen and Hoso. The themes are understated, surrendered to the simple act of telling a story without the need to beat a message into the head of the reader with all the subtlety of a crowbar:

An alternate cover for The Shrine War

“Sen-sama? The sisters have gathered in the oratory as you have ordered.” In the dim light before dawn, an observer would have seen the forms of two young women. Each wore the traditional garb of a Shinto shrine maiden: long, red skirts bound with an obi, a white kimono jacket, and white hair ribbons and ivory combs tying back long, waxed hair.

“Well done, Hoso-san. Arigato.” For a moment, they watched the sun rise above the horizon beyond Mount Tomuraushi. As the growing light illuminated the mountain’s summit, what little mid-summer snow remained glowed with a brilliant radiance. On the lower slopes the small hardy bushes and wildflowers turned the slopes a verdant green.

As the gloom dissipated in the growing warmth of morning, sunlight reflected from the eyes of the two watchers, eyes that were brown and a fitting shade and shape to match the white-furred, fox-like faces of the pair.

“You enjoy watching the sunrise, do you not?” Hoso asked.

Sen remained silent for a moment and Hoso wondered if her superior had heard her, but after a pause Sen slowly nodded her head. “If the weather allows, I have not missed a sunrise in the five centuries I have been here at the shrine.”

Hoso stared with envy at Sen’s nine tails, one for each century of her life and the greatest number a Kitsune could acquire. For a moment, and not for the first time, Hoso regretted her youth. Only two tails emerged from a cleverly designed slit in the back of her skirt and Hoso had seven more centuries to go before she could enjoy Sen’s status and glory.

Ashamed of her jealousy, Hoso bowed to Sen, her furred hands with their dainty claws sliding down the front of her thighs. “We will await you, Sen-sama, but I humbly ask that you not tarry. The Inugami emissary will be here soon.” With that, she turned and left.

Sen watched as the risen sun turned Mount Tomuraushi into a brilliant and shining beacon, and wondered if today would be her last opportunity to revel in the gift of a new day. She turned to see the sun gleaming off the red tiled roof of the hodon. Surrounded by its protective bamboo wall, the hoden served as the most sacred part of the shrine where Inari's mirror stood in glory and splendor, primal and serene. In front of the hodon, stood the haiden, the public oratory where her sisters waited. All around her, the peace of the shrine lay inviolate, but Sen feared it would not be so for long. An invading force of the Inugami were coming. The emissary only served as a pretense of peace. With a shake of her head, she turned to walk up the tiled sandō to join her sisters.

#WIPJOY: Day #2

Today, I have the challenge to provide the backstory and goals for The Shrine War, my currant work in progress (WIP).

In May, 2016, I was asked my anthologist Fred Patten to provide a story for his upcoming collection, Dogs of War. After a lot of discussion, we decided I would write a tale about a band of kitsune defending their shrine from a band of invading inugami.

However, after I was done with the negotiations, I realized I knew nothing about Japan and very little about its mythology. I cannot tell you how many books I have purchased and read and the amount of info I have scoured in my desperate attempt to make The Shrine War as accurate as I could.

The story took me a total of  three months and 24 days (or 116 days total) to complete the first draft. Fred accepted the story, but I had fallen so much in love with my characters that I went back to the story and expanded it with subtle changes. I had a number of people read the rough draft and make excellent comments and by the time I was finished with the expanded vision, it had turned into a 12,000 word novella.

A possible cover design.

At that point I decided to turn the work into a braided novel with three independent novellas that when read in order told a much greater story. 

I started The Inugami in January, 2017. In this story, American Kelly Robbins moves to Tokyo to begin her studies at the Toyko University. Renting a small house, she learns that an inugami resides under the crawl space. I finished the 13,000 word story in April of this year and immediately dove into the third installment, Incident at a Japanese Inn where I bring all the characters together in the first two tales and wrap up all the loose ends.

I confess I'm having a difficult time with the third part of the novel as there are some characters that will meet an untimely end as they join together to battle a great evil and I am struggling to, quoting Stephen King, "kill my darlings."

Nonetheless, I have made a commitment to focus on the work for the month of October and submit it for review to a close group of friends in mid-November.

My goal? Simple. To have it published in 2019, and my hope is to obtain an agent for publishing through a traditional venture and not self-published as all my other work has been. Unfortunately, my first brush with an agent was very satisfactory as she behaved in a very unprofessional manner and once burnt, twice shy. Time will tell.