Don’t touch that dial. You’ve found Lisa Burton Radio, the only show that brings you the characters from the books you love. Today my very special guest is an honest to God angel, or former angel, I don’t know how that all works, but we’re going to find out. I’m your host, Lisa the robot girl. “Welcome to the show, Lilith.”
“Greetings.”
“Lilith, my bio says you have a problem. There are rules in place that an angel must follow in order to stay in heaven. You disagree with those rules. Can you explain to our listeners what those rules are?”
“I reside in the lowest level of Heaven called Floraison. There are many laws for my kind but the two greatest pledges an angel makes are obedience and celibacy, which make for a boring existence.”
“I think celibacy is easy enough to understand, but obedience is a bit trickier…
I was originally going to write something similar to Monday’s post with a list of swords and some info about them. Then I remembered how many different types of swords have existed. Shortswords, longswords, flamberge, cutlass, rapier, saber, daggers, dirks, katanas, ninjato, hook swords, shotel, talwar, kampilan, gladius, claymore, broadsword, foil, epee, and the list keeps going. Some are categories while others are types, but it’s a massive list. Swords seem to have appeared in nearly every culture just like dragons and fearing your neighbors. Instead, I’ll do a few tips on adding swords into your story.
It isn’t always the pointy end that goes into the other man. While there are plenty of swords for stabbing, it isn’t the only way to hurt someone. Anything with a sharp edge can be used for slashing. Certain hilts like the basket hilt can deliver a blunt shot to the face for stunning and breaking bones. This also means that not every injury is a simple puncture wound and a character dying of a slash across the belly will be treated differently than a stabbed one.
Not every swordsman starts off a fight with the bellowing charge, especially if they see range fighters. I don’t know why some people think holding a sword turns a character into an idiot. Since the weapon requires that you find and possibly create an opening, a frontal assault isn’t very useful. In a big battle, it’s because everyone is charging, but one-on-one can start off slow as the two combatants size each other up. If the enemy has a bow then a smart swordsman takes cover and tries to sneak around or get the archer to run out of arrows.
The type of sword that a character uses can determine the rest of their equipment and tactics. If you wield a two-handed weapon then you won’t have a shield. If your weapon is a rapier that depends on flexibility and speed then platemail might not be the best choice. You also can’t have a speed fighter using a weapon that is bigger than they are unless you establish that as a thing for the world. I mean, Final Fantasy does it all the time, so I assume it’s part of the universe.
If you pick a unique sword shape then know what the use of it was or give some reasoning for it. Hook swords are a perfect example. Dagger-like pommels, crescent-shaped guards for blocking and slashing, and hooked ends to put the two blades together or trip an enemy. It’s a complicated weapon that needs a lot of training, so a novice shouldn’t be using one very well unless there is a really good reason given. I’m talking reincarnation of the inventor or they can imitate a fighting style by watching it and his father used them. By the way, the Flamberge’s design is to sound vibrations along a parried blade and slow contact. For so long, I thought it was done just to look like a flame.
Not every sword is created equal in terms of durability and quality. Consider this when arming a hero with a non-magical weapon. Weapon breakage typically only happens for the plot, but you can have it happen to enemies and supporting cast. This can also show that the warrior is more than the weapon because you really need to think on your feet if you only have a foot of broken blade left.
If you do use non-European blades in a fantasy world that is very European then explain the difference in style. Perhaps there’s another country that is more Asian, which is why katanas are around. Somebody could have recently created the blade after a lifetime of design. At the very least, explain why that weapon was designed. For example, Kira Grasdon uses a kusari-gama, which is a Japanese weapon. Yet, she comes from a Middle Eastern desert people. I explained the weapon’s existence there by pointing out that it helps in defeating giant scorpions. They can strike out of pincer range and get the chain around the stinger to have some control over its movements. Now, this isn’t a necessity, but people do get twitchy when you mix up cultures in a fictional world where those cultures and countries never existed in the first place.
Don’t forget the scabbard. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but most swordsmen don’t walk around with a naked blade. The scabbard protects against the elements and prevent the character from looking like he’s about to stab someone. If the weapon is sheathed then it won’t hurt anyone by accident and there’s less chance of a fight breaking out over a misunderstanding.
Rave Reviews Book Club. One of the objectives of the club is to recognize outstanding talent in its membership. A literary group has been established within RRBC named Rave Writers – International Society of Authors (RWISA). This month the club is featuring these authors on a tour. I will be hosting them throughout the month and I hope you enjoy being introduced to some excellent writing.
PRISON WIVES
By Nonnie Jules
“From one of her upcoming releases, Nonnie Jules presents…PRISON WIVES.”
I am an unlikely character to tell these stories, but, I do know that each day that we are blessed to open our eyes, we never know what surprises, good or bad, that day will bring. No matter how much and how well we plan, the universe always steps in to show us just how much, we are not as in control of things as we thought we were.
I am a children’s book illustrator. I live and breathe children’s books. I play well with others, so I help children’s book authors develop their characters visually and bring the stories for their books alive on the printed page with colorful illustrations.
I am very rare among children’s book illustrators because I actually love to work directly with self-publishing authors as well as publishers. Why am I willing to work with self-publishing authors when others are not? Occasionally I find an author who values my time, talent and expertise.
When I read their manuscript I can tell it has been carefully edited for content and as well as grammar. They belong to an experienced SCBWI critique group or they have used a professional children’s book editor. They have taken the time to learn about writing for children and their manuscript clearly shows it. The language and word…
A while back, I was asked to write about the different types of shields. I’d already set up the posts for July to promote The Life & Times of Ichabod Brooks, so here we are in August. This takes a lot more research than normal for me because I typically only used three types: Buckler, Large Round (Targe) , and Tower. So, I’m just going to list all the types and be informative:
Buckler– These are small shields that are about 18 inches in diameter. This doesn’t help much against projectiles, so it’s more useful in close combat. Even then, it won’t protect much against large weapons, so one could see it more as an offensive weapon that you can punch with. Supposedly, the Buckler is partially responsible for the term ‘Swashbuckler’ because it was used to give some defense while depending more on offense.
Targe– Also called a Target, this is a concave shield that is round and are what you probably think of first. They tend to be iron or wood or a combination, but they are big enough to protect the main body and head. Not at the same time though. Not really sure why it’s a rectangle up there since all the pictures I found were circular. Anyway, this is what would be one of the three standard shield types and shapes.
Roundel– Also called a Rondache, the second type is a bigger circle made of boards of light wood and rope. Then it was covered with leather or metal plates.
Heater– This is the other common fantasy shield style with a pointed bottom and a straight top. It actually developed from the Kite Shield, which you can tell by comparing them. The Heater was made from leather over wood and, like the Targe, became used more often in jousting than combat. One thing to note is that this shield doesn’t protect the legs. Also, it’s the shape you tend to see with Heraldic Shields.
Kite– Just a quick note that this one was made for mounted cavalry. The narrow bottom protected the right leg and the rounded top protected the shoulder and torso. These were eventually phased out by large shields with flat tops and the more manageable Heater.
Pavise– These are shields that cover the whole body and are placed on the ground to protect archers. There were smaller versions for close combat and for soldiers to wear on their backs as defense. Many times you’ll see these called Tower Shields, but they aren’t exactly the same. Tower Shields might be the inspiration since they were one of two shields used in Greece. Every time I ran into the phrase it was in quotes too, so this might just be a vague term.
Scutum– These were adopted by the Romans and slowly evolved into a large rectangle that would be used in a phalanx. These are the ones you would see get held up as a shield wall. One thing that I read is that they would have a circular shield as an auxiliary called a Clipeus. The Scutum depended on maintaining a formation, so a break of ranks meant that this large shield lost its full usefulness. Eventually, it stopped getting used and was replaced by oval and round shields.
Nguni/African– This was a hard one to find info on because it has a bunch of names. Also, I kept finding sites that sold ‘Zulu Shields’ instead of giving any information on them. These are made from raw cattle hide and there are different styles, each one with their own use and name. They were the only pieces of armor and used primarily to deflect spears and arrows. You could also use them to land a stunning blow or knock an enemy off-balance. African Shields also had uses in dance and protection from the elements. Due to it not being as sturdy as the metal and wood ones, its use went into decline due to firearms.
Celtic– These were usually oval, but could be hexagon or round. They usually had a hollow Shield Boss, which is a round piece attached to the middle front of the shield. Celts had battle shields that were designed to be light and strong, but they could break and were seen as expendable. Some clans also had wooden shields that were used in ceremonies instead of combat.
Ballistic– This is the modern shield that you see used by SWAT teams. Designed to stop bullets and allow the person behind to see ahead, it’s an interesting design. Almost like it combines the Pavise and Targe since you can protect your body while shooting. Not a perfect combination, but it’s kind of there. This also proves that shields still have a use in the modern age.
Probably forgot other shields like the Coffin, Figure-of-Eight, Wankel, etc. One problem I had is that the information wasn’t always clear and many of the styles overlapped with other cultures. So some shields have multiple names and slight differences of style and use among them, but not enough to get a full entry. The key point is protecting the arms and torso though. That’s the area that they guard more because you have a helmet for your head and the legs were harder to hit than the main body. As for the arms, those were needed to continue fighting. One could still swing a sword with injured legs.
Anyway, feel free to add some shield info in the comments.
I kept running into the song ‘Engel’ by Rammstein this week and then I found an AMV that combined it with Neon Genesis Evangelion. Sadly, only the English version of the song has sound while the rest have been muted by YouTube. I prefer the German because it sounds cooler. There might some NSFW stuff in the video since NGE went a little (HA!) off the rails for the last quarter of the series. Haven’t watched it in a while and only saw the first movie of the remake. Need to find the others just to figure out why Asuka has an eye-patch at some point. Is it because of the thing that happened during the big thing near the end? Don’t tell me. Let’s get back to the category system:
Blogging
This week had two goals since I finished Derailing Bedlam last Sunday. That was to get all of the September posts scheduled and the December guest posts. I was doing a little of the first when I was too tired or busy for writing, so that was finished quickly. Some of the guest posts were rough, but I hit a stride on Monday and managed to get everything except the 3 interviews done. Those will have to wait until November. None of these posts have the links beyond social media and a ‘CHECK OUT THE REST OF LEGENDS OF WINDEMERE’ link at the bottom of it all. I’ll probably take a weekend to write the blurbs for Legends of Windemere: Warlord of the Forgotten Age. At least once the next part happens.
Laptop Adventure
I sent it out Wednesday afternoon since I’d finished everything. Almost instantly, I forgot what day of the week it was and didn’t know what to do with myself. Since there isn’t a holiday involved, I should get it back relatively quickly. Be nice if they fix it quicker, but I want it done. If this has to happen a third time then I don’t know what I’m going to do. At that point, they should just give me a replacement laptop and assume it’s a problem that can’t be found. Something like a broken wire or angry spirit of a guy who cut himself putting the sound card in. He died afterwards, but it was because a herd of water buffalo ran him over. Yeah, that makes sense for Texas.
Politics and Religion
NOPE!
Reading and Watching
Funny manga story. I’ve been reading ‘Claymore’ and was at the end, but had a wrinkle. I had volumes 25-27, but 24 wouldn’t show up. Seems the library I requested it from junked it soon after I asked or something like that. I had to get it from another county, which meant I had to binge read the last 4 volumes. A better ending than I saw people talking about online. I got a little tired of the main villain when she stopped talking and just slaughtered people. Still not sure how one of the good guys died too since others had survived worse. Heck, she was only sliced into 5-6 parts. They put her back together before it was too late and the head was attached to the torso. Yeah, you really need to work hard to kill these characters by the end.
I finished watching season 1 of Shakugan No Shana too. Forgot how messed up some of the villains are. I mean, we’re talking one pair that would make the Lannisters get a little queasy. Since I only have today, the weekend, and two days next week to watch while outlining, I’m going to toss ‘Soul Eater’ in. Running out of anime and I prefer to watch on the TV, but the one in my room has no Internet access. For the free stuff on-line, I’d have to use the main TV and that means hearing my dad repeatedly ask questions. My favorite is this one from Fairy Tail:
Dad- Why do the women always have large breasts?
Me- Not all of them. That one doesn’t.
Dad- Which one? *starts turning back to TV and the scene changes to Lucy Heartfilia*:
Fairy Tail
Me & Wife- Never mind.
Book titles
Just a quick note about the question put up on Thursday. Most people liked the idea of Nightfall or Nytefall. Yet, it was pointed out that Nightfall is used a lot. So, the Dawn Fang series will be:
War of Nytefall
Nytefall is going to be the name of Clyde’s base and capital city. The enemies, the older vampires, have a city named Nyte, so he decides to be a jerk. In modern times, Nyte is used as a decoy city by the Dawn Fangs while Nytefall is where the real leadership and new vampires live.
The Future
What’s to say? The kid finished summer school on Tuesday and then he’s home until after Labor Day. I won’t be doing much in terms of writing. We have a busy weekend set up too, so I don’t get to ease into things. Right now, the only thing planned is finishing the school supply shopping before we have to pick from scraps. His backpack is falling apart, so that’s a priority. I’ll probably wait until the following week for any real outings. There’s a nature walk area that has ospreys, which I promised to show him. Beyond that, we’ll see what comes up. I’m getting worn on doing all these intricately planned outings when I know my son would be happy with just going out and having fun.
Goals:
Entertain the munchkin.
Work on outline and characters for another Sin story.
School supply shopping.
Continue getting used to the oral appliance.
Remember to mention Derailing Bedlam in next post. It’s done and the characters had fun. A few took a bigger role that made them almost equal to Cassidy and Lloyd. Guess that covers it actually.
Continue answering superhero questions. We made it through Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Justice League Action, Teen Titans Seasons 1-3, and now we’re on Batman Beyond. All we’ll be missing is Superman the Animated Series (on the way) and Batman the Animated Series (working on it). Guess the other Teen Titans seasons too, but I’m sure On Demand will put them up eventually.
Keep an eye on the laptop. Hopefully it comes back next weekend. Then I’ll have to put all the programs back on. Sarcastic yay!
This delightful collection of short stories twists and turns with Celtic magic from Scotland, to Ireland, to Fairyland. Fairytales retold, and with a heart and passion that is apparent in every word. None of the stories is particularly long or heavy; there is a lightness of phrase from the author which is refreshing and fits the ambience of the collection.
I found myself laughing, smiling and recalling tales from old – particularly with the Irish tale of Banoffee Pie and Black Pudding. This is a fine tale of fairy gifts and being careful what one wishes for.
The last tale –They Stole My Love Last Night was poignantly told, sad and moving with a bittersweet ending. It was a good finale to the collection.
I’d like to learn more about these characters, especially the half-wyndling Skye, and read more of her adventures. Definitely recommend this to readers…
Don’t touch that dial. You’ve found Lisa Burton Radio, the only show that brings you the characters from the books you love. Today my very special guest is an honest to God angel, or former angel, I don’t know how that all works, but we’re going to find out. I’m your host, Lisa the robot girl. “Welcome to the show, Lilith.”
I am a children’s book illustrator. I live and breathe children’s books. I play well with others, so I help children’s book authors develop their characters visually and bring the stories for their books alive on the printed page with colorful illustrations.
Legends of Windemere 