A writer only has one chance to set the tone. It is in the first sentence. The first paragraph. The first page. The first chapter. In the case of the Samurai Sisters, my chance was in the prologue.
This tale is a blend of a traditional storyteller's voice and the flavor of the Japanese culture I am obsessive with representing in this re-imagining of the traditional tale of "Snow White and Rose Red."
To fully appreciate the Japanese flavor, I created a list of terminology separated into categories. I will update if I find that I have not represented the terms well enough.
Names
Akabana - female Japanese name that translates to "Red Rose"
Setsuke - female Japanese name (when I original looked up, it related to "snow" but I cannot find my resource that gave me the name, but I'm keeping the name as I like it)
Katashi - male Japanese name that translates to "Firm, Hard"
Tomo - male Japanese name that translates to "Friend of"
General Terms
Yokai - Japanese demons
Dojo - a traditional Japanese martial arts school
Katana - it is a slightly curved sword that is usually part of a pair of swords known as a Dashio that samurai traditionally wear
Oni - a Japanese demon that resembles an ogre (there will be a future post diving into further details)
If you have questions about any of the terms or want to learn more about my decisions as a writer, let me know in the comment section.
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This is Waggish Writer signing off of this post. Stay tune for more about Samurai Sisters!
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