Monday, November 25, 2019

Lure of the Fox: Month of Blood

Remember when I said that "Lure of the Fox" takes place in the colder months?

Well, as of now, I know exactly when it takes place.



Which is cool, considering what month it is right now...for the next five days anyway😛.

Ha ha.

Back in the Middle Ages, though, it wasn't called "November"--very much.  It was more commonly known as:

Blotmonað


Yeah, I have no clue how to say that, but that is how you spell it. 

And it means "blood month" or "the month of blood sacrifices".

See, back when the Anglo-Saxon calendar was a big deal, November was the time of year when it was likely that animal sacrifices were made so that the inhabitants could have a safe a relatively mild winter.

And stockpile for the winter as well.

Because, you know, food. 

These animal sacrifices were likely made when the leaves started to change color and fell off the trees, and it got stupidly cold.

But the sacrifices likely didn't begin until after the harvest was brought in, which was usually after All Saints Day.

Aka November 2.

Hence "month of blood".



November was also a time for bonfires and mischief, particularly because the previous holiday, Samhain, was when the veil between the living and the dead was thinnest, so it's also possible that the animal sacrifices were to appease any lingering spirits in addition to protection from the upcoming weather. 

Of course, Malbete would have his own twisted definition for "month of blood".

And he uses it. 

Especially when it concerns Jean-Luc. 

Because he's so very twisted like that. 




Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Lure of the Fox: Romani

I said last week that Sorcha and Tirzah can code switch right?

And that there's a reason behind that?

Well, the reason has to do with their genetic, ethnic and socio-economic makeup(a phrase that I absolutely love and will use at any given opportunity, and not just cause it's fun to say).

Sorcha and Tirzah are Romani.

The Romani Flag
(Also spelled "Romany"; also referred to as "Roma", "Rom" or  "gypsies"--which is actually regarded as a derogatory term among the Romani people because of the way this term was used--as a source of abuse and racial discrimination; though there is some evidence that this term came from a misunderstanding of the Romani's origin. This evidence suggests that the word "Gypsy" came from "Egyptian", since it was thought that they migrated from Egypt, rather than northwest India. But I digress...)

Actually, in France, they are referred to as "Gitans" but I'd rather not do an exposition dump in any of my plays, so I'm using "Romani".

Romani have intrigued me since I first read "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"--which has a highly glamorized (and some would say bastardized) interpretation of a Romani in the character of Esmeralda.

And researching the non-fictionalized Romani has been fascinating. For instance:

They are nomadic by necessity.
Romani were among the ethnic groups enslaved by noblemen of the regions they inhabited and were among those rounded up and sent to concentration camps in World War II.

Interested parties can find a little more info on this topic here.

Which explains why Sorcha and Tirzah are so capable of looking after themselves--not that non-Romani are less capable, but...you get the idea, I hope.

They adopt the predominant religion of the region they inhabit.
Romani have spiritual beliefs, and complex rules that govern respect, honor, purity and justice. But they don't follow a single faith. If they happen to be in a predominant Catholic area, then they practice Catholicism, for example. They also have thier own worldview, known as Rromanipé.

Which, while religion doesn't totally come into play, in "Fox", it helps back up a couple of plot points(like Jean-Luc and Tirzah's marriage...spoilers....)





Language

Romani speak a language known as Rromanës, which has roots in Sanskritic languages like Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu and Bengali; and some words have been borrowed from English. 

And this is why Sorcha and Tirzah are able to code-switch. They speak three languages. 


Family is the strongest value held in Romani society.

According to the Rroma Foundation, "Rroma never had a country — neither a kingdom nor a republic — that is, never had an administration enforcing laws or edicts. For Rroma, the basic 'unit' is constituted by the family and the lineage." 
How cool is that?!



Also, lends stronger motivation to Tirzah's actions in the plot of "Fox".


They still face discrimination, persecution and racism today

Romani in Auschwitz
Because or the color of their skin, and/or their culture, and/or anything-else-sure-to-piss-off-anyone-who-fears-and/or-doesn't-understand-a-culture-or-people-different-from-their-own. See nomadic by necessity above.

Also, guess what one of the underlying themes of "Fox" is?


If I piqued your interest, there's more to find out by following this link here.


Also, there is an amazing TEDtalk about the Romani here.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Lure of the Fox: Reflection of Personality

It's NOVEMBER!!!!

Which means it's NANO!!!!

Which means I will use this as an excuse to finish this draft of "Fox" by November 30th, so help me!!!!!

Meantime, here's another tidbit.


One of my favorite authors--Lauren Willig(who I talk about so much both on an off this blog I'm surprised people aren't sick of hearing it yet) said something somewhere about how the atmosphere and plot of a story/plot line can reflect the personality(ies) of the protagonist of said story/plot line.

(Lauren says it a lot more eloquently than I just did and I rooted around on her website for like an hour trying to find that exact quote but to no avail. Grrrr. But I got the gist, soooooo)

You guys, I'm finding that this is absolutely true.

Confession: when I started out writing what is fondly becoming known(to me, at least) as the Sherwood Cycle, I didn't intend it to be more than one show.

But, as it usually the case, I fell in love with so many of the characters(as is my wont) that I had to write more of their stories(and I'm repeating myself, I know).

Wolves of Sherwood took place in the summer.

Wolves of Sherwood was super swashbuckling.

There were 11 fights

(more in the Utah production, because we had three fight choreographers--one main choreographer and two fight captains/assistants--rather than one. Which was cool.)

 And, while there were some dark things that happened in the plot,

for the most part in Wolves of Sherwood, everything was light and frothy and gave you warm fuzzies.

However.

Lure of the Fox is not Wolves of Sherwood.  And not just because the title is different(ha ha).

It's darker.




Fox takes place in the autumn/early winter(the most important part is that there is no snow, cause I hate snow).

It's not frothy and whimsical and dappled sunlight and all of that.

There's shadows and cold and broodiness and darkness--both atmosphere and people-wise.

 It's grittier.



Fox's events occur in a war-torn country,

complete with mercenary thugs and the like,

and, it's me,

so of course there will be combat.

Just not as much--

and those fights are shorter, harsher, bloodier...

because why not(ok, fine, there is a legitimate reason, but still)....

It's heavier.

Stakes are higher.

Consequences are more dire.

Themes are more mature.

Get the picture?

It's sexier.

We get to see what happens when a tiger and a fox-bear get together.

Because yes.

'Nuff said.

It's more cerebral.

There's plenty of emotion and sword fights and the like,

but it's less swashbuckling,

and a lot more internal

 with a heist type plot line, rather than straight up action/adventure.

 Also, it's becoming a lot more character driven,

which is interesting,

as WOS was mostly plot-driven.

Also, also, there's more French.

A lot more French.



All of which actually fits Jean-Luc's personality to a T.

He's cerebral(an emotional cerebral, but still),

he's dark and broody,

he's gritty,

he's incredibly sexy (in my mind anyway, because y'all know how I feel about Dark Horses and their personalities, and it doesn't help my romantic heart that he still looks like Harry Richardson--who is Drake from Poldark--in my head:)

And he's like a dormant volcano,

with thoughts and emotions bubbling beneath the surface

that will explode if not released sooner or later.

But explosions always have consequences.

And it's always really fun to watch those play out!