Good morning, Readers!

Well, there really isn't anything to write about today.  There has been nothing I've read or heard between yesterday's post and today's that has made me angry enough to rant about in a public forum.  I'm almost upset about that fact alone, as, thus far, yesterday's rant has been my most popular blog post to date.  Thanks everyone who took the time to share it and comment on it.

If you're in the mood to listen to a rant, there this particularly good one by author Chuck Wendig about the whole naked photo leak that happened recently.  He's a sane voice against all the bullshit I've heard surrounding this story.  He also swears a lot, so it's almost like reading one of my rants.

Since there really isn't anything that I specifically wanted to talk about, I'm just going to fill you in on some things that are happening near me that you might want to attend.  They're all awesome things, I promise.

First up, fellow author, spoken performance artist and all 'round wonderful person Marie Bilodeau is performing in town.  They will be telling stories of the dangers of the sea.  She is performing Tuesday September 9th and Friday October 10th.  I will be going to the October performance.  You can read more details about it on her blog here.

Next up is the Chiaroscuro Reading Series.  This is an awesome series that promotes Canadian speculative fiction.  You show up, grab a seat, order a drink (or several) and sit down for a great couple of hours of stories and fun.  It is genuinely a quality event, and I will always go.  I even skip training to attend; it's that good.  If you think you can handle the awesome, you can find details of the September 23rd Ottawa event on their website and on Facebook.

Finally, because three is a magic number, there is Can Con.  This wonderful convention is for writers and readers of Canadian speculative fiction.  It has a long and wonderful history, and I have attended two years running.  This will be my third.  Yes.  I will be there.  Yes.  I will have a table there to sell my work.  I will also be reading from The Winter Wolf (eep!) and may appear on a panel or two.  So far I'm aware of only one that I'm on.  It hasn't all been set in stone, however.  Registration for this is now open.  It's very open.  And you should really come out.  There are great workshops, fantastic panels, the dealer's room is awesome (if I do say so myself) and it's just a fun place for people who write and those who love to read that writing.  Check it out.  This is their website.

Alright.  Well, this has been your Thursday P.S.A.

Oh, wait!  There's one more.  My latest obsession, The Quest, is having two back to back episodes tonight, and I'm excited.  That is all.  You may return to your day.

Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

Brace yourselves, a rant is coming.

Yesterday, friend and fellow author A. Laramey (followed a whole whack of other people shortly thereafter.  My friends know me well) posted this very interesting article on the recent corrections to a large number (archaeologically speaking, of course) of Viking burials in Britain revealing that almost half (46%) of the warrior burials were, in fact, women.  Which is to say, women warriors given proper warrior burials with their weapons.  These skeletons had previously been identified as male based purely on the fact that they were buried with weapons.

Yes.  You read that correctly.  Because they were buried with weapons, the skeletons were automatically designated male, with no further investigation thought necessary and thus not performed.

Then, because that fact alone is not infuriating enough, there are the comments beneath this article which refute the science with simple statements like, 'This is clearly a fantasy, the sample size is too small' or 'this is bollocks, 46% means nothing.' I'm paraphrasing, but that is the gist of a lot of the comments beneath this article.

Look, I don't mean to turn this into a feminist rant, but fuck it, I'm going to.  I've read a lot of misogynist shit recently, and I'm about ready for battle.  Come at me, bros.  I have swords.  Five of them.  And knives.  And a 43lb recurve bow.

There is this bizarrely prevalent line of thinking which still exists that supposes that because women aren't as physically strong as men, they obviously are so vastly different in every other aspect of existence as well, so much so that they would never participate in 'manly' things like battle willingly.  I see you nodding your head in agreement.  Sit down, shut up.  Women are not delicate little flowers.  Most of us won't faint at the sight of blood.  We obviously have been, and still are, extremely capable of going into battle since there was even such a thing as battle.

The desire to protect loved ones by any means possible - including the physical - is not a gender specific desire.  Neither, for that matter, is the desire for adventure, or perhaps more vainglorious desires like the perks of being thought of as a hero, or greedy desires like loot and slaves and status!  These are all human desires.  And women are, shockingly, I know, human beings.  Certainly not all women have these desires, but then neither do all men.

I doubt very much that much was all that different in the prehistory of humanity, either.

The article above mentions the Scandinavian cultures of the Viking era.  I know better the stories of the Celts.  They are my people, after all (you know how some people identify as Viking, even though they're North American and despite the fact that Viking culture was superseded by a greater Christian European culture LONG before their own ancestors ever came to the Americas (yes, obviously Vikings made it to the Americas, but they didn't stay, and besides that's not the settling/invasion I'm talking about) anyway?  Yeah, like that, but with the Celts).

There are many stories about women warriors in Celtic societies.

Roman Diodorus Sicculus says of the Gaulish women, "...are almost as tall as the men, and rival them in courage." (uchicago.edu)

Ammianus Marcellinus notes that “…a whole band of foreigners will be unable to cope with one [Gaul] in a fight, if he calls in his wife, stronger than he by far and with flashing eyes; least of all when she swells her neck and gnashes her teeth, and poising her huge white arms, begins to rain blows mingled with kicks, like shots discharged by the twisted cords of a catapult.” (uchicago.edu)

Another Roman Marcus Borealis writing during an invasion of Rome by Celts says:

"The women of the Celtic tribes are bigger and stronger than our Roman women. This is most likely due to their natures as well as their peculiar fondness for all things martial and robust. The flaxen haired maidens of the north are trained in sports and war while our gentle ladies are content to do their womanly duties and thus are less powerful than most young girls from Gaul and the hinterlands." (Google it)

In the same period, an unidentified Roman soldier said that, "... a Celtic woman is often the equal of any Roman man in hand-to-hand combat. She is as beautiful as she is strong. Her body is comely but fierce. The physiques of our Roman women pale in comparison." (Google that too.  I'm tired)

D'awwww!  I think he had a crush.

There is mention of 'Female Champions from Ireland' in the old tales (as in, pre-Middle Ages) of the surviving Arthurian Cycle who lent their military might to Arthur in his fight against the Anglo-Saxon (and let's not forget the Jutes) invasion.

Women can, and did, go adventuring.  They went to war.  They fought.  Some survived.  It's right there in the archaeology, and still some people think that a woman's only 'natural' desires were, are, or should be for the hearth and home, and that a culture where women regularly accompanied their husbands to war was never a thing.  Such possibilities are not even entertained, because, well, women, ammirite, guyz?

Well, fuck that noise.

Now I wonder how many other burials were immediately dismissed as male simply because of the presence of weapons.  How much history have we failed to understand because of our own modern, sexist preconceptions about the roles of women?

Oh, and before you go spouting off about the difference in physical strength between the genders, may I take the time to logic that away.

Yes, on average, men are stronger than women.  However, you don't need to be the strongest fighter to win.  You just need to be strong enough.

Women were and are strong enough.

And might I say, weapons are a great equaliser.  Anyone who knows how to handle a sword knows that it isn't the strongest competitor that will win a match, it's the smartest (it's really not the size of the sword, folks).  It's the one who moves their feet at the right time.  It's the one who finds just the right angle to take advantage of the weak points in the armour/body.  It's not the strongest fighter.  It is the most skilled, the most able to move, and, most importantly of all, the one best able to think.

Greater physical strength on average may belong to the males of our species.  But the rest?  Well we women have it too - in spades.  It is entirely conceivable that women went to battle, and were baller at it.

So before you dismiss women's roles in historical battle, or even the possibility of women's roles as warriors, and competent ones at that, as 'fantasy' think to yourself, "Am I actually just being a sexist little shit?"  Because the answer is, "Yes.  Yes you are."

Oh, and in case you were confused about the status of women in ancient times, know that not all women were relegated to a lesser class.  As Peter Ellis notes, even modern Western women aren't nearly so well respected.

“In the area of women’s rights, much of the long struggle is only to regain what was once enjoyed by Celtic women fifteen hundred years ago.” 
 - Peter Berresford Ellis (Celtic Women, 15)

I was born in the wrong era.  I'm off to write.

Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

How is everyone doing today?  So sorry I didn't post yesterday!  It was Labour Day here in Canada, and I slept in late and, being in holiday mode, completely forgot about writing a blog post.  I also forgot to schedule one before the weekend hit... because I was apparently in holiday mode Friday as well.

Nevertheless, I have now retroactively posted a blog entry for yesterday.  Even though I technically posted it this morning, it is dated for yesterday, which means most people will be none the wiser about my oversight.

<maniacal laugh>

Don't worry readers, Karma has you covered.  I got very sunburnt yesterday playing cracked court tennis.  I should have known better than to go outside at midday without sunscreen.  Alas, I've lost my sunscreen.  I packed it to bring with me to Australia.  I boarded the plane and never saw it again.

That, however, is not what I wanted to talk about.  What I wanted to talk about was the fact that in my writing journey I have met some of the most awesome people possible.  I seriously mean that.  There is, obviously, the Amazing Flatmate (who arrived home last night and I am so happy she's back).  Technically, we didn't meet in my writing journey, but she's been with me practically the whole way and I owe her a lot.  Like, a lot.

I digress.

There are those who volunteer to be on my little Nights at the Round Table panels for Silver Stag Entertainment.  There are the fellow writers who have been so welcoming and awesome.  There are the people I met at conventions who became fans and friends simultaneously.

And then there are all the people I've met online that I met when struggling to find a way to get noticed.  They have become some of the best people I think I know.  They have been companions and cheerleaders for me, celebrating my milestones and commiserating with me on my many, many failures.  Some of them I've known since the very beginning of my writing journey.

One of them I'm in almost constancy contact with.  The fact that she also happens to be my cover designer may have something to do with it, but it's also because she has been very supportive of me and my work, and I of hers (seriously though.  I don't like romance as a genre, and I can tear through one of her books with ease and actually enjoy myself!  They're good books).  This is, of course, a wonderful lady by the name of Laura Miller.  She writes under Jaimey Grant, and you should really check out her books.

By the way, if you happen to need a cover designer, you should really check out her stuff.  She's fantastic at what she does, and I trust her always to do a great job.  She has never failed me.  Here cover design website is HERE.

As it happens, she and I love to play games - specifically Xbox.  The game that convinced me to buy an Xbox at long last was Skyrim, a fantastic game by Bethesda.  I am obsessed with Skyrim.  You have no idea.  Seriously.  None.  Her husband is exactly the same, though probably not obsessed.  He just likes to play.

However, he did buy a new Xbox when his old one died recently just so he could play Skyrim.  I laughed, because I basically did the same thing.  We got into a discussion about this obsession of mine, and I expressed jealousy that her husband had the Legendary Edition (the one with all the DLC content: Hearthfire, Dawnguard and Dragonborn).  Being poor, I would have to save up for that stuff.

Or not, as it happened.

Two days later, I got this in the mail:

I squealed with delight as I ran around the house.

No word of a lie.

If the cats could give testimony...

Well, it wasn't until last night that I opened it up to have a look at this most awesome very early birthday gift.  When I opened it up, I squealed with delight again.

That's right.  I'm now the proud owner of a map of the Province of Skyrim.  You guys, you have no idea how happy this makes me.

I love fantasy maps.  Like, an obscene amount.  I already have a fantasy map on my wall:

I've wanted a proper map of Skyrim since I first saw a couple of Let's Plays on YouTube.  Skyrim is a world, like Middle Earth, in which I can enter in my imagination and stay for ages and ages. And ages.

Alas, I have no wall space to put up my new map.  It's now safely tucked away in the game case awaiting my dream home which, in addition to the armoury, library (where my map of Middle Earth shall go - once it's properly framed, of course) and stables it will have, it shall also have a gaming den.  There, proudly on my wall will hang this map of Skyrim, and it shall be treasured.

(The next map for my fantasy collection, which will go in the other gaming room (for non-electronic gaming) will be the map of Everealm.  Because I'm a nerd like that)

All of this, just because Laura and her husband are simply awesome folk.  I haven't even met them in person.  I only know Laura and I've never actually so much as emailed her husband.

<happy sigh>

Here's the thing, I was saving up to buy the DLCs for this game, as well as one of THESE (gaming recording device) so I could record my pathetic playing with some commentary in a Let's Play segment on my YouTube channel.  Or perhaps on the Silver Stag YouTube channel.  I have't decided yet.  It was going to be my treat for myself this Christmas.

It still is, but now I'm a little less poor for it.

Seriously, though.  Sometimes, people are awesome, and I'm so glad that I know them.

Thank you so much, Laura and... uh... Laura's hubby (what's your name?  Seriously, though.  What's your name?)!

Now please excuse me as I daydream of being a Bosmer slaying dragons and collecting their souls...

FUS RO DAH! (Ciao)