So since this is Thanksgiving here, how about we all take a moment to think of one thing that we're grateful for. For me, I'm grateful for many, many things but for this moment, I'm grateful for all the Star-Crossed Romance readers. You all rock!
Now grab one of the comfy seats and a cup of your favorite brew and a treat or two and enjoy our guest, author Echo Ishii who will be discussing Magical Objects.
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Magical Objects
Echo Ishii
For most fantasy stories, magical objects hold a certain fascination. Swords are ever popular, as well as knives, rings, necklaces, and amulets. And of course mirrors. Mirrors appear in a variety of stories. And because, thus far, there doesn't seem to be a technological innovation that replaces mirrors they are likely to stick around.
The spinning wheel, however, is increasingly rare. Spinning wheels are still common in some parts of the world, but in a society in which clothing is commercially produced, spinning wheels, looms, spindles, and such-common in folktales-are rarely used items that many people have never encountered.
In my novella, Mr. Rumpel and Mr. Grimm, one of the characters is bound to a magical spinning wheel. Spinning wheels are common in folktales and fairy tales throughout the world: two of the most common are Rumpelstiltskin and some versions of Sleeping Beauty. The Three Spinners, a lesser-known Grimm tale about a princess and three old spinners whose bodies are deformed through spinning, emphasize the role spinning played in the lives of all social classes.
Directly related to tales of spinning and weaving, a whole genre of folktales and fairy tales concerning magical clothing. Who can forget…The Emperor's New Clothes? A classic tale of expectations and extravagance mixed with human foolishness. In a A Swahili tale, The Cloth of the Serpent Pembe Mirui, in which a merchant's wife demands that her husband acquire a special cloth from a magical serpent to prove his love and devotion. And many Chinese folktales focus on special garments made of silk given magical power and significance.
This was not only a world in which items were handmade, it was also a world in which people had fewer possessions. A man would have one good pair of boots. A woman might have one fine dress and one work dress. Until the last century, that was standard outside of the very wealthy. Things were made by people others knew and made to last. In a world of mass produced clothing, there is still something special about handmade items. The modern hobby industry of knitting and sewing exists as part of a desire to create something on our own.
Echo Ishii writes fantasy and paranormal romance. Her M/M fantasy novella Mr. Rumpel and Mr. Grimm is out now from Less Than Three Press. (note: some explicit content) and at Amazon.com.
Website: http://echoishiizone.wordpress.com
Pinterest: mrsbookmark
Twitter: @mrsbookmark
Like her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/echoishii
Follow Echo Ishii on google+
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Lynda Again --
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Have a Blessed day!
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