Behind the Scenes on "Live Fire"
Urban density and world design in my science fiction book Splintegrate
Spying on Correspondence in Magical Britain (A QVT Update)
Book Editing: Killing Characters With Mark Twain's Deadly WellLi-Wan’s Revenge: A Ghost Story
Halloween is coming, so here’s a ghost story for you.
Actually, there’s a bit more to it than that. See, I’m starting work on a book of folklore called Sa’adani Tales, a collection of folk tales from the Sa’adani Empire. This pastiche of origin stories, myth, fairy tales and more will give readers a unique feel for the culture and common sensibilities in the Empire and its birth-world, Àstareth. (If you’ve read my blog for a while, you may have noticed I have an ongoing fascination with folklore. See Related Posts below for some discussions in this vein.)
Not incidentally, both Empire and Àstareth are rpg settings too (sf and fantasy, respectively), and the stories I’ve written previously actually came out of rpg encounters and gaming needs. You can read more about that in this post, which talks about the larger Sa’adani Tales book project. You’ll be hearing more about this from me in the coming weeks and month, I’m sure.
ANYway (as PeeWee used to say), I was going through my short stories lately and noticed a particular one that is not just folklore but also a ghost story. Since Halloween’s right around the corner, I thought this would be a great time to share this with you. The story of Li-Wan’s Revenge also appears in Dragonsword, so if you’ve read my free fantasy novel, you may recognize it – but I guarantee the illustrations will be new to you. It’s worth downloading the story just to see Emily Vitori’s handiwork in illustrating the tale1. (Hey, I think all folklore should be illustrated. It makes the story come so much more alive – especially when we’re talking about alien or foreign cultures.) If you have a black and white screen on your ereader, you might like to take a look at the color .pdf to get the full effect. Thanks for your great work with this story, Em!
If you’ve never met Li-Wan before, all the better. I hope you enjoy this ghost story and the little taste it gives you of the Sa’adani Tales book. Let me know what you think about it in the comments below. Thanks, and Happy Halloween!
Download Links for Li-Wan’s Revenge
Formats
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1. Emily illustrated the pictures of people in the story. The peony flower is a detail from the 1861 work “Peony Branch” by Chosui Yabu.
Related Posts
Sa’adani Tales: Folklore in Short Stories
The Fae: Fairy Folk, or the Sidhe By Any Other Name
Fairy Tales, Symbols, and Readers’ Expectations
The Disneyfication of Children’s Media
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It was a pleasure working with you! Love the story!
Thanks, Em! The story would not be the same without your contribution.