Category: Random Ramblings

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Did You Know Birthdays in Denmark Can Get Rather Spicy?

Pepper Denmark Tradition

So, what’s been going on in my life lately?

Well, I turned 30 earlier this month, so of course my friends tied me to a lamppost and covered me in ground pepper.

Pepper Denmark Tradition

Let me explain:

In Denmark, it’s tradition to cover a person in certain spices if they reach certain age milestones without having gotten married. On your 25th birthday it’s cinnamon (I dodged that one) and on your 30th, as you can see, it’s pepper.

So, how did this tradition start? Well, I’m fairly sure it has something to do with how the Danish expression for an ‘old maid’ is ‘pepper maiden’ (pebermø). Don’t ask me about the cinnamon. For all I know, that might just have been made up by people who were afraid the jackass mate they wanted to harass would get married before he turned 30, so they needed an earlier occasion.

As far as I know, the Danes are the only ones with this tradition. Probably for good reason, since – if your friends are assholes – it can be a rather horrible (and borderline dangerous) experience.

I, however, know that my friends aren’t complete sociopaths who would go overboard with no regards to safety (google it if you want to see what I’m talking about), so I told them they could do it, but also demanded that if they were going to do it, they had to do it properly. Tie me to a lamppost or don’t even bother!

They were happy to abide.

I did get back at them, though. It was a windy evening, and my loose hair was whipping around and throwing pepper at everyone involved. It also felt like a bit of payback for all the times I have been compared to the girl from the Grudge. Fear the hair!

(Insert evil laughter here)

I also tried to hug people after I got free, but for some reason they kept running away from me…

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Yet Another ‘Yes, I’m Alive’ Post

Selissa character artwork

It’s funny how time flies, isn’t it?

I knew I had neglected this blog, but it somehow still came as a surprise when I looked at the date for my last post and saw that it’s been the better part of a year since then.

But then again, I do this a lot, don’t I? I wish I could say I have never had a friend turn up outside my door to check that I’m still alive because I have suddenly gone radio silent for a couple of weeks… but that would be a lie.

Really, I can’t even say I haven’t written this exact same thing in an earlier post, apologizing for another such absence. I might be in a loop where I can’t even remember what I have written here earlier, because it’s always been so damn long since I wrote it.

In regards to this blog, I believe I’m at least 1 convention and 3 LARP posts behind. Not to mention, I can’t remember the last time I posted an owl photo!

(Yes, Artemis is alive as well. That little demon will probably outlive us all.)

There’s not a lot of news on the book front. Progress on book 6 of the Angel’s Voice series is happening, but very, very slowly. I intend to rectify that in the coming months.

Apart from that, I wanted to share this super cool artwork of the series’ protagonist, Selissa, made by one of my good friends, Pidgero!

Selissa character artwork

He has known me pretty much since I started writing, and then he talked about replacing his old copies of my books with the new editions, I saw my chance to bribe him with a complete set in exchange for some artwork in the future. I feel like I made a good deal.

Hmm, what else do I have to tell you about? I need to pad out this post a bit more to keep my SEO plugin from complaining, but there’s only so much I can talk about from a time plagued by Covid and cancelled events. I have… played a lot of Dungeons & Dragons? Bought so many sets of dice that it’s bordering on addiction? Learned to crochet, just to make dice bags for aforementioned dice?

I promise, I’ll get around to uploading some Witcher School write ups soon. And maybe I’ll do a D&D-themed posts for the other diceheads out there.

Or maybe I’ll get distracted and it’ll be another year before anyone hears from me again (I hope not).

Stay tuned!

 

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We Interrupt Our Scheduled Owl Programming to Bring You an Alpaca

Alpaca Selife

I know it’s been forever since I last made an update. But the simple truth is that nothing interesting or inspiring has really been going on.

Which is why you’re getting a little fluff post. Pun intended.

The story is simple: Yesterday, my mother took me on a trip up north. At no point during the 1½ hour car ride would she tell me where we were going, so by the time we approached this forest in the middle of nowhere, I was fairly sure she was going to murder me and bury me in the woods.

Instead, I was handed an alpaca on a leash.

Alpaca Selife

Meet Jamil. Jamil likes to eat leaves and stare into nothing, and he absolutely won’t move unless he can see another alpaca’s ass in front of him.

So I ended up walking through a forest in North Jutland, with a bunch of middle-aged ladies – most of whom kept talking about sock yarn – one wayward husband, and eight alpacas. And while this made for some goofy photos and a nice headline, it makes for a very short blog post, considering alpacas are the most mellow creatures I have ever encountered.

But hey, I need to write something on here, right?

Also, I now intend to replace Artemis with a small herd of alpacas. After yesterday, I’m absolutely convinced that three alpacas will be easier to handle than one tiny, one-legged owl. Not to mention, I would never have to weed my garden. I see no flaws with my reasoning.

My landlord might, though.

Alpaca eating leaves

And now I have truly run out of things to say about alpacas.

Oh, except they’re soft! But you guys probably knew that already…

 

 

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Top Ten Tuesday: Books with Colors in the Titles

Color Book Covers

Due to a couple of crazily busy weeks, I have skipped a few Top Ten Tuesdays, but now I’m back!

This week’s prompt by That Artsy Reader Girl is Books with Colors in the Titles. I decided to only choose books I have either read already or that are on my TBR list, and let me tell you: The task turned out harder than I had expected! Which is why I stretched the definition a little by including things like metals and gems as colors.

I guess my taste in books is just not that colorful…

The Colour of Magic Terry Pratchett

The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett

Okay, it might not have the name of a color in the title, but it does have a color! Of course it’s Octarine, the eight color of the rainbow and the color of magic, but just because it’s a fictional color does not mean it doesn’t count.

(No, I’m not trying to justify borderline cheating with this list. What are you talking about?)

A Darker Shade of Magic V. E. Schwab

A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab

Look, if The Colour of Magic counts, so does this…

I Shall Wear Midnight Terry Pratchett

I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett

The Midnight in this title refers to a shade of black that the protagonist Tiffany Aching intends to wear when she gets old.

City of Brass S. A. Chakraborty

Kingdom of Copper S. A. Chakraborty

Kingdom of Copper S. A. Chakraborty

The City of Brass, The Kingdom of Copper and The Empire of Gold by S. A. Chakraborty

Metals are often used to refer to certain colors, so the books in the Daevabad Trilogy totally count.

The Black Prism Brent Weeks

The Black Prism by Brent Weeks

This might just be the only book on this list that irrefutably belongs on it!

Jade City Fonda Lee

Jade City by Fonda Lee

Jade is green. End of story.

Blackwing Ed McDonald

Blackwing by Ed McDonald

Blackwing has got ‘Black’ in it, right?

Red Country Joe Abercrombie

Red Country by Joe Abercrombie

I had to scour Amazon for a last book to add to this list, so I guess I have to read this now…

So, tell me: Did you guys also have to cheat ever so slightly to fit ten books on this list?
Please tell me I’m not the only one!

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July’s Book Haul

July Book Haul Fantasy

Okay… I know I already bought a ridiculous amount of books in June, and shouldn’t be buying more any time soon, but it’s not my fault! What else am I going to do when my mom says she has free shipping and a 15% discount code and asks if I want some books added to her order?

But mind you, there’s only 7 books on July’s list.

(Luckily, the 9 I bought on August 1st doesn’t count yet.)

July Book Haul Fantasy

The books I got were:

  • The Kingdom of Copper by S. A. Chakraborty
  • The Empire of Gold by S. A. Chakraborty
  • The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant
  • Truckers by Terry Pratchett
  • Diggers by Terry Pratchett
  • Wings by Terry Pratchett
  • War of the Spark: Forsaken by Greg Weisman

As usual, there’s some Terry Pratchett in the haul, as well with some sequels to books I read in June. Oh, and one new author!

Daevabad Trilogy

I enjoyed S. A. Chakraborty’s The City of Brass, so of course I had to get the last two books in the Daevabad Trilogy, The Kingdom of Copper and The Empire of Gold. And they’re beautiful, but it’s going to drive me absolutely crazy that The Empire of Gold isn’t the same height as the first two books…

The Kingdom of Copper and The Empire of Gold

The Court of Miracles

I believe Kester Grant is a debut author, and I look forward to reading her first book, The Court of Miracles. It promises criminal guild wars and personal drama in a Paris where the French Revolution failed, and I’m so in for that.

The Court of Miracles Kester Grant

The Bromeliad

July’s Terry Pratchett purchase was the Bromeliad books, one of his YA series. And for once I got a matching set!

It won’t be long before I own all of Pratchett’s books, but the next time I buy any, I will have to clear another shelf for this author…

(He already got two full shelves.)

The Bromeliad Terry Pratchett

War of the Forsaken

I continue my quest to learn about Magic: The Gathering lore with War of the Spark: Forsaken by Greg Weisman, the sequel to War of the Spark: Ravnica. This one is focused on hunting down the narcisstic necromancer Leliana Vess, and I have always had a certain weakness for necromancers…

War of the Spark: Forsaken Greg Weisman

That’s it, guys! Stay tuned for August’s book haul post, which will include half the contents of the discount boxes in Boghallen in Copenhagen…

Now, I’m off to rearrange my bookshelves!