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New to Mythic Scribes

Hello! I'm new to Mythic Scribes. I came here by kind of a round-about way -- first following on Twitter, then joining the Goodreads forum, now I'm actually finally a member of Mythic Scribes. (I may have also joined the FB group a while back -- will have to check on that.)

Looking forward to getting to know all of you and browsing the forums to see what's happening. I write fantasy and read just about anything, but mostly fantasy & historical fiction. And history.

My day job is as an ecologist, which is why my characters spend so much time running around in forests and/or interacting with fantastic critters.

Say hi back and tell me a little about yourself.

Pura vida.

-Karin
 
Hey Karin. Welcome to Mythic Scribes.

Getting to know us shouldn't be a problem. We're a very friendly bunch, so feel free to jump in whenever you feel like it.

If you really want to know about me, I'm in India and I share a love for fantasy with everyone else here. Any type will do. Though historical or medieval fantasy does tickle my fancy.

Welcome!
 

Jeff Xilon

Minstrel
Hi Karin. I wanted to stop by in your thread seeing as how you kindly stopped by mine. Now let's see. Something about me. Well, I'm a Canadian, but I've spent almost my entire adult life living in South Korea. That is unless you count University years as adult years. I actually do, but in my experience many others don't (particularly Americans, but that's based soley on anecdotal evidence). I'm betting being an ecologist can really help give an interesting perspective to your fantasy fiction.
 
If you really want to know about me, I'm in India and I share a love for fantasy with everyone else here. Any type will do. Though historical or medieval fantasy does tickle my fancy.

Welcome!

Haha! Yes, I really do want to know about you. :) I've never been to India, but I imagine it as an amazing place to live, full of inspiring moments and places.

I like historical and medieval fantasy as well. I've been writing mostly medieval fantasy in recent years, though once I wrap up the current work in progress (probably in another year or so), I'm going to switch gears and try my hand at fantasy set in a Renaissance-style world.

Thanks so much for the warm welcome. See you on the forums!
 

CupofJoe

Myth Weaver
Hello Karin
Hope you are getting the feel of MS.
I have trained [a little] as an historian and archaeologist.
My part of the word is the UK and is looking fairly pretty today... there are little white buds on the trees.
 
Hi Karin. I wanted to stop by in your thread seeing as how you kindly stopped by mine. Now let's see. Something about me. Well, I'm a Canadian, but I've spent almost my entire adult life living in South Korea. That is unless you count University years as adult years. I actually do, but in my experience many others don't (particularly Americans, but that's based soley on anecdotal evidence). I'm betting being an ecologist can really help give an interesting perspective to your fantasy fiction.

Thank you for stopping by, Jeff! Are you still living in South Korea now, or are you back in Canada?

I've only been to southeast Asia once. My brother used to work in Bangkok, and we went to visit him there. Now he and his family live in Hong Kong.

I'm not sure if being an ecologist helps or hurts my writing. It certainly gives it a distinct flavor. But I also tend to get hung up on trivial biogeek things that no one else would notice or care about. Still, it's fun. There is so much inspiration to be found in the natural world for lovers of fantasy!
 
Hello Karin
Hope you are getting the feel of MS.
I have trained [a little] as an historian and archaeologist.
My part of the word is the UK and is looking fairly pretty today... there are little white buds on the trees.

Good morning, CupofJoe! The flowers are blooming in Kansas City, as well. But it is a grim cloudy morning, and last night was dark and stormy. That's okay, though. The day can only get brighter from here.

I loooooove history and archeology. You should check out the archeology series published by Hadley Rille Books. They have a collection of pre-historical fiction based on the archeological record. Might be something that appeals to you.

Thanks for the welcome, and I look forward to seeing you on the forums.
 

Jeff Xilon

Minstrel
Thank you for stopping by, Jeff! Are you still living in South Korea now, or are you back in Canada?

I am still living in South Korea now, yes. I hope to spend some time in Canada this summer, and I hope to move home in the next year or two. Along with trying to figure out this fiction writing thing I'm also studying copywriting in hopes of transitioning from teaching to freelance writing so that I will have a way to pay the bills when we move back home.
 

Chilari

Staff
Moderator
Welcome Karen. What kind of history do you read about? What sort of ecology do you focus on? Flora, fauna, land-based, water-based etc? What does that entail? Is it largely scientific or is it more hands-on? This really interests me.

Hey Joe, your part of the UK might be looking pretty but my part is looking decidedly damp. At least the daffodils and the crocuses are out, lending a splash of colour to break up the grey, dull wet green and the various beiges and browns of the scrubbier verges and the bare fields.
 

J. S. Elliot

Inkling
Welcome to MS, Karen. It sounds like you have a lot of things to tell us about. ^_^

I definitely have to agree that your focus would give the writing a unique flavor, but why do you think it would bore other people? I'd be happy to read it and see just how different it is. What is your favorite ancient culture, too, since you like archeology? Mine is Ancient Egypt. The intricacies of the culture make it very interesting to me, especially as it was one of the longest surviving empires in history, even if one that went through many dynasties. Of course, there is always more I can learn about it and other cultures.

I do hope to chat with you soon, though. Seems like we could have some interesting discussions. ^^
 
Welcome Karen. What kind of history do you read about? What sort of ecology do you focus on? Flora, fauna, land-based, water-based etc? What does that entail? Is it largely scientific or is it more hands-on? This really interests me.

Thank you, Chilari.

I'm kind of eclectic with my history reading. Medieval/Renaissance history, particularly the women of these periods, has been an on-going interest. I also went through an early Christian Church phase some years ago. I recently fell in love with Richard Holmes' THE AGE OF WONDER, and would now like to read more about the Romantic period. I also know a few things about the history of Central America, especially Nicaragua & Costa Rica.

My specialty in ecology is behavioral biology. I've worked a lot with insects and spiders, and also a little bit with plants. Most of my field work has been done in the Neotropics.
 
Welcome to MS, Karen. It sounds like you have a lot of things to tell us about. ^_^

I definitely have to agree that your focus would give the writing a unique flavor, but why do you think it would bore other people? I'd be happy to read it and see just how different it is. What is your favorite ancient culture, too, since you like archeology? Mine is Ancient Egypt. The intricacies of the culture make it very interesting to me, especially as it was one of the longest surviving empires in history, even if one that went through many dynasties. Of course, there is always more I can learn about it and other cultures.

I do hope to chat with you soon, though. Seems like we could have some interesting discussions. ^^

Thank you Selene!

I didn't mean to imply that a biology focus makes my writing boring to others.

When I made that comment about getting hung up on trivial biogeek things, I was thinking about myself more as a reader. I'm the type of geek that might spend hours puzzling over the map of Westeros, for example, because something about its biogeography just doesn't make sense. Or the one that will complain about Jurassic Park, because no predator ever behaves like that -- killing, killing, and then killing again. They kill once, then lay around digesting for week. Of course, that would have made for a really boring story line, but I'm just sayin'...

Ancient Egypt is very cool, but I admit I don't know a whole lot about it, beyond a basic admiration for the art and architecture. My sister is the Egyptologist in the family. I think the cultures of Pre-Columbian Peru area also fascinating; I would like to write a fantasy set in a similar environment someday.

Nice to meet you & I look forward to 'seeing' you in the forums!
 

Chilari

Staff
Moderator
You know what, I'll leave the creepy crawlies to you. My great grandafther was a helminthologist and that just freaks me out; my Dad has some of his old books and the illustraations, at like 10x real size, is just yuck. Ew. Biology is all well and good when it's cute things of feather or fur, or even cool things with scales, but the bugs, no thank you. So you have fun with your spiders, and I'll stay over here comforting myself that Herodotus was wrong when he wrote about fox-sized ants.

Bees are the exception to my creepy crawly rule; I'm cool with bees. They crop up in ancient Greek myths a lot, and were very important to the economy of the Roman empire, especially the North African estates where they were the primary pollinator - hives were almost entirely untaxed (first five hives owned by a tenant exempted; one sixth of produce after that), while the imperial estates took a third of the olives, wheat and wine produced by its tenants, and a fifth of beans and vegetables harvests.

Ancient Greek is my main historical period, with Roman Britain in particular, but also Iron Age and Anglo-Saxon Britain to a lesser degree. Also rather fond of the Minoans - especially their link to Atlantis. And the early Church has been a recent interest for me too, since I read Karen Armstrong's A History of God; also because a friend is doing his PhD on the interface between Christianity and Mithraism in the 3rd to 5th centuries.
 
You know what, I'll leave the creepy crawlies to you. My great grandafther was a helminthologist and that just freaks me out; my Dad has some of his old books and the illustraations, at like 10x real size, is just yuck. Ew. Biology is all well and good when it's cute things of feather or fur, or even cool things with scales, but the bugs, no thank you. So you have fun with your spiders, and I'll stay over here comforting myself that Herodotus was wrong when he wrote about fox-sized ants.

Bees are the exception to my creepy crawly rule; I'm cool with bees. They crop up in ancient Greek myths a lot, and were very important to the economy of the Roman empire, especially the North African estates where they were the primary pollinator - hives were almost entirely untaxed (first five hives owned by a tenant exempted; one sixth of produce after that), while the imperial estates took a third of the olives, wheat and wine produced by its tenants, and a fifth of beans and vegetables harvests.

Ancient Greek is my main historical period, with Roman Britain in particular, but also Iron Age and Anglo-Saxon Britain to a lesser degree. Also rather fond of the Minoans - especially their link to Atlantis. And the early Church has been a recent interest for me too, since I read Karen Armstrong's A History of God; also because a friend is doing his PhD on the interface between Christianity and Mithraism in the 3rd to 5th centuries.

Bees are wonderful. In the early days of my career, I worked a lot on social behavior and cooperation among their close relatives, the wasps. That is a very cool piece of history that they were exempt from taxes during Roman times.

Most of my 'early Church' reading is work done by Elaine Pagels. Really good stuff. I'd never heard of Mithraism until today -- will have to learn more about it. :)

Thanks so much for all these nifty bits of history!
 
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