Ceallaigh's Blog
I'm always hesitant to say 'this is the way it is' when I speak or write of Gàidhlig and the community; I don't believe I have that authority yet and might never have it. So this blog entry is only about a recent experience of mine, one that means a great deal to me.
I've just finished a brilliant week at Colaisde na Gàidhlig, where I received expert instruction in tin whistle, pipe chanter, Gàidhlig song and Gàidhlig language. Sean and Beth very much enjoyed their fiddle classes together as well.
I met many good Gaels this week and came to know a few more a little better. I also had the pleasure of coming to know my niece/foster daughter (in the old definition of Gaelic fosterage) much better, which is priceless to me.
Sean and I have come away from our experience even more committed to Gàidhlig, which needs every one of her champions. We're also excited to be practicing new instruments together, and I am resolved to dedicate more time to Gàidhlig song (quite a bit more, in fact, though I'm not yet certain what shape that learning will take).
Two new reviews for Scheherazade’s Façade are up, and both have positively mentioned my short story, 'The Daemons of Tairdean Town'.
Lokifan writes:
"The Daemons of Tairdean Town by C. S. MacCath is charming and heartbreaking and full of the unexpected."
and Andrea Blythe writes:
"As the title suggests, this anthology features fantasy stories with characters that exist outside the gender binary. Various characters in these stories shift genders at whim, have secret selves of the opposite gender, cross dress to hide their identity, are transgender, or perform other acts of gender bending. Through the book, the stories are consistently good with strong writing, interesting multi-dimensional characters, and fascinating worlds. Here are a few of my favorites:
I don't quite know why I haven't posted an update about my writing life lately. I've been busy, though! TWSP is still out looking for a home, six reprints are out looking for new homes, and two new stories and a poem are out doing the same.
I've also been worldbuilding like crazy, which has been loads of fun. Yesterday it was the effect of far-future climate change on plant and animal species, and today it was Tuvan throat singing (Tuva is a minority language spoken in Mongolia and southern Siberia).
And in two weeks, I'll be at Harbour Con-Fusion in St. John, doing the guest-writer-panelist thing, which promises to be full of awesome and delicious win.
Anyway, sin sin, as my Gaelic teacher used to say. That's that!
And here's some Tuvan throat music for you, from Huun Huur Tu:
#writing #worldbuilding #tuvanthroatsinging
We had the considerable misfortune to rent a home through VDL Property Management (www.letsrent.ca) upon first coming to Canada on working visas.
When Stella Van der Lugt showed the home to me, she withheld information about a serious mouse infestation and outright lied about the basement, porch and attic full of personal items the owner was storing in the home long-term. When my husband and I arrived from the States to take possession of the home a month later, she insinuated that we might be inclined to steal the owner's items and told my husband (while I was away at the bank) that I had approved their storage there. As we signed the lease and asked her whether or not we might move to a month-to-month contract at the end of our term (because we would be looking to buy a house), she told us this wasn't possible (and it is, under Nova Scotia tenant law).
Friend and author Deborah Blake shares her very witchy blog space with me today so that I can natter on about 'The Ruin of Beltany Ring'.
Barbara J. King, Chancellor Professor of Anthropology at the College of William & Mary, presents an elegant survey of a difficult topic in How Animals Grieve. In a tone both measured and sympathetic, King asserts that animal grief is a strong indicator of animal love, that 'animals grieve when they have loved'. Evidence for this assertion ranges from accounts of dolphin mothers mourning their deceased infants to captive bear murder/suicides, and in each case she demonstrates that while their expressions of grief might vary, animals do respond emotionally to loss.
Last night, I picked up an orphaned squirrel baby who had lost her mum and litter mate to a cat. She was a bit dehydrated, so I was up a couple of times through the night to rehydrate her, and now I'm starting her on a hydration/formula mix. Tomorrow I'll make the usual relay run to the causeway and leave her with another Hope for Wildlife volunteer, but for now, I thought I'd offer my customary blog entry on orphaned animal care, this time for squirrel babies:
Sean and I took in a double feature last night and came away with mixed reviews of the films we saw. Man of Steel was wonderfully science-fictional and human, full of imaginative Kryptonian technologies and glimpses at the emotional struggle of the man-who-would-be-Superman as he came into his own over many years. However, I have to point out that this is the third Superman movie of the last decade and the sixth of my lifetime, and since the 1978 Superman with Christopher Reeve there have been few blockbuster treatments of superheroines. I was pleased with Amy Adams' Lois Lane, who was more determined than plucky, but my opinion of superhero love interests is colored by my frustration at the lack of comic book films that feature female leads.
Here are the promised links to resources for cultural worldbuilding. Best of luck in your writing projects!
Links
Patricia Wrede's Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions
Building a world: Patricia Wrede's blog
The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell
The Abhorsen Trilogy Box Set, by Garth Nix