Truthwitch by Susan Dennard is a wild ride into a new world of myth and magic. Welcome to the Witchlands. Safiya and Iseult are two unusual witches. One- Safi- bears the burden of a rare type of witchery. She is a Truthwitch, her magic granting the ability to tell truth from lie. Iseult is a […]
East by Edith Pattou is a delightful re-imagining of the fairytale ‘East of the Sun, West of the Moon’. Rose is born into a large, poor family, to a superstitious ma. The family is starving, the farm failing, when a mysterious visitor approaches them and says he will give the family an improvement of their […]
The Devil’s Standoff by VS McGrath finds Hettie and her companions in Mexico, at the village of Villa del Punta. They’ve come at the behest of Walker Woodroffe, to return Diablo to its creator, Javier Punta. He wishes to unmake his deadly creation. But Punta is in a coma, and a vicious cryptid is stalking […]
The Devil’s Revolver by VS McGrath throws us headlong into the world of Hettie Alabama. A world with magic and machine. All was right in Hettie’s life- as right as it could be with a sick sister- until the day she won a shooting contest, saved a man’s life, and saw her father kill a […]
Island of the Mad is the latest of Mary Russell’s memoirs, lovingly curated by Laurie R King. This adventure finds the intrepid sleuthing duo headed to Holmes’ least favourite place- Venice. Russell’s friend Veronica has asked her help in finding her aunt Vivian, who has gone suddenly missing, along with jewels and money that, to […]
The Murder of Mary Russell is a fascinating glimpse into the life of a person oft in the background, yet of a very essential nature in the life of Sherlock, and later of Mary. This story, despite the title, is about Mrs Hudson. From her earliest years, to current day, we learn all about the […]
In the last post, I laid out the basics of the Heroine’s Journey. What follows here is Christopher Vogler’s variation. *Ordinary World- this is where the journey begins, usually from some sort of subtle or overt imprisonment. The Heroine is trapped by the strictures of society and culture, whether she realizes it fully at […]
Murdock sees the Heroine’s Journey as a process of individuation. This is another concept of Jungian archetypal psychology. Individuation is the process whereby a person integrates the various parts of themselves through successful resolution of inner conflicts. In short…the psychologist’s answer to spiritual alchemy. ***Here is a neat Youtube link about the process of individuation […]
My goal, over the next few weeks, is to introduce you to the Heroine archetype, the Heroine’s Journey and a selection of heroines the world over, from the most ancient to the most modern. As with a great many things, this is just one perspective. If you find it useful, that is awesome. I’ve done […]
Meet Laure, a surly, sassy thief who may just save the kingdom. With a shoe. And ants. Laure is brash, headstrong, pessimistic. Of course, she has reason to be, being an orphan and all. A plan to rob a spice merchant’s stall in the palace market leads to a frantic chase through the market, and […]