New Year, New Releases!

by Lillian Csernica on January 2 2019

Happy New Year!

 

Two of my stories have found new homes which are now available.

In The Power Behind The Throne, Ti Song, Celestial Lady, First Daughter of the Emperor, longs for more than tea, embroidery, and a secluded life. When she discovers the secret of her brother’s success in battle, she knows it’s the key to her freedom.

 

www.amazon.com

 

 

The Wheel of Misfortune has suddenly appeared on the streets of Kyoto, chasing Dr. William Harrington with lethal intent. With the help of the Abbot of Kiyomizudera, Dr. Harrington must go back to the early days of his career as a physician and right a wrong that has haunted him for ten long years.

www.bardsandsages.com

 

Best wishes for 2019. May it bring us all much happiness and success!

#atozchallenge: U is for Unseen

by Lillian Csernica on April 24, 2018

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Here’s the question: Why can some of the characters in my Kyoto Steampunk series see the gods and monsters of Japan, while other characters can’t see a thing?

Nurse Danforth When she sets out to make a deal with the Devil that will save Madelaine’s life (In the Midnight Hour, Twelve Hours Later), she opens her own mind to the supernatural powers present in Japan. Whether or not that was a one-time experience remains to be seen.

Dr. Harrington Being appointed personal physician to the Abbot of Kyomizudera is a great honor. The position includes a few duties Dr. Harrington is not aware of at the start. He has become one of the guardians of the Abbot, and as such is now on the radar of all things supernatural in Japan.

Madelaine Children are often more capable of perceiving the supernatural. Madelaine has the added advantage of intense curiosity.

Constance A practical, down-to-earth woman, Constance has all the psychic sensitivity of a brick. She does see the terrible yokai that comes after Dr. Harrington in The Wheel of Misfortune (Some Time Later). Some monsters are so formidable they make their presence known regardless of whether or not humans have psychic gifts.

Alexander Thompson The Undersecretary for Technology Exchange is a dedicated civil servant with very little imagination. This is a mercy, sparing him from sights that would surely bring on what the Victorians referred to as “brain fever.”

Fujita-san When Amatsu Mikaboshi confronts Dr. Harrington, Fujita-san can’t see him. I suspect Fujita-san may have more talents than I’ve discovered so far. His close working relationship with the monks of Kiyomizudera makes me wonder if Fujita-san knows more than he’s telling.

The Abbot and monks of Kiyomizudera One would expect ascetics pursuing a spiritual discipline to be familiar with the supernatural realm and the beings who inhabit it. This proves true in A Demon in the Noonday Sun (Twelve Hours Later) when Dr. Harrington’s call for help is answered.

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#atozchallenge: S is for Shinto

by Lillian Csernica on April 21, 2018

 

bhoffert.faculty.noctrl.edu

Until 1945, the national religion of Japan was Shinto. Japan is a very high context culture. People went about their daily business knowing they were surrounded day and night by all kinds of gods, monsters, and other spirits.

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Dr. Harrington comes into this situation knowing that his native Christianity has not had a long or happy history in the Land of the Rising Sun. He also knows that Kiyomizudera is a Buddhist temple. What he does not know is the animistic nature of Shinto, which permeates every aspect of life.

From Japan-Guide.com:

In contrast to many monotheistic religions, there are no absolutes in Shinto. There is no absolute right and wrong, and nobody is perfect. Shinto is an optimistic faith, as humans are thought to be fundamentally good, and evil is believed to be caused by evil spirits. Consequently, the purpose of most Shinto rituals is to keep away evil spirits by purification, prayers and offerings to the kami.

This is why I keep talking about the ofuda. When I visited Kyoto, I stood on the cypress veranda at Kiyomizudera. Believe me, that’s an experience that should be on everybody’s Bucket List. Seeing the gorgeous view from there, and visiting all of the shrines within the temple’s grounds really shows you why Japan is known as yaoyorozu no kami (八百万の神), an expression literally meaning “eight million gods.”

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With that in mind, I highly recommend Wen Spencer’s novel Eight Million Gods. That will give you a modern taste of what Dr. Harrington is up against!

 

#atozchallenge: L is for Loyalty

by Lillian Csernica on April 13, 2018

Living as a member of the British expatriate community within the city of Kyoto, Dr. Harrington faces many challenges. I deliberately put him into situations that force him to make difficult choices. Again and again, he has to decide where his loyalty lies.

Queen Victoria — Dr. Harrington must fulfill his duties and keep the Abbot in good health. Any lapse on his part will reflect badly on queen and country.

http://www.theguardian.com

The Abbot — The image above shows Seihan Mori, the current Abbot of Kiyomizudera, using a calligraphy brush to make the kanji for the New Year. This kanji means “north.”

Dr. Harrington has been given the honor of ensuring the Abbot’s health. The Abbot is eighty-five. In A Demon in the Noonday Sun ( Twelve Hours Later), Dr. Harrington supervises the Abbot’s first use of his new steampunk wheelchair. While the Abbot is in fine health for a man of his age, he’s still fragile. In The Wheel of Misfortune (Some Time Later), the Abbot himself sends Dr. Harrington on a mission that results in the Undersecretary forbidding the doctor to do anything of the kind.

 

Sir George William Buchanan

His immediate superior, Alexander Thompson, Undersecretary for Technological Exchange — The image above is my model for Dr. Harrington’s boss. Thompson is utterly correct in everything he does, an ideal civil servant. That means there’s no way Dr. Harrington can explain the supernatural creatures that drag him away from the straight and narrow path Thompson expects him to walk.

Constance and Madelaine — The safety and well-being of his wife and daughter are constantly at the forefront of Dr. Harrington’s thoughts. He accepted the posting to Kyoto in order to improve Madelaine’s prospects for a husband once the family returns to England.

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The burakumin — In The Wheel of Misfortune (Some Time Later), the Abbot sends Dr. Harrington on a mission that opens his eyes to the existence of the lowest Japanese social class, one that still experiences discrimination even today. Dr. Harrington’s efforts to act on the Abbot’s instructions jeopardize everything he’s come to Japan to achieve.

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Being true to himself — William Harrington is a physician, a husband, a father, and a loyal subject of Queen Victoria. He has taken the Hippocratic Oath. He’s an honorable man of great integrity. Even so, he does have his weaknesses. Finding the right adversaries to test Dr. Harrington’s mettle among the gods and monsters of Japan is one of my greatest pleasures in writing the Kyoto Steampunk stories.

 

 

 

#atozchallenge: K is for Kannon

by Lillian Csernica on April 12, 2018

japanvisitor.com

The Goddess of Mercy has many names. The most commonly known are Kwan Yin, Kanzeon Bosatsu, and Kannon. In the strictest sense she is a boddhisatva, a being who has achieved enlightenment and could merge with nirvana. Instead, she chooses to remain on earth and help others toward enlightenment.

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Throughout Japan there are many temples and shrines devoted to the Buddha and to the Shinto gods. Even when Kannon is not the main focus of a particular temple, you will often find a Kannon Hall where an image of the goddess resides.

Kiyomizudera, the Pure Water Temple, is a key location in the Kyoto Steampunk series. On its famous cypress veranda, Dr. Harrington meets Kannon herself.

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#AtoZChallenge: D is for Danger

by Lillian Csernica on April 4, 2018

http://collection.sina.com.cn

Many dangers lie in wait for Dr. Harrington, his wife Constance, and their daughter Madelaine when they move their entire household to Kyoto, Japan. While it is a great honor for Dr. Harrington to be chosen by Queen Victoria and the Emperor Meiji, it is a challenge that will demand all the strength, skills and social graces possessed by each family member.

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Nurse Danforth rises to the challenge of saving Madelaine’s life by confronting Amatsu Mikaboshi, the Japanese god of chaos.

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Madelaine, just nine years old and already a mechanical genius, must survive a life-threatening fever. Then comes the challenge of convincing Dr. Harrington the gods and monsters of Japanese mythology and folklore are real and must be taken seriously. When Madelaine is targeted by one especially clever monster, she must draw on her skills both mechanical and folkloric to protect her family.

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Constance exists in a state of endless bewilderment as she fights a daily battle to bring all the graces of Victorian England to the strange and incomprehensible world of Japan during the Meiji Restoration. This might not sound as dangerous as the threats faced by Dr. Harrington and Madelaine, but success as a hostess in support of her husband’s social position was a Victorian woman’s reason for living.

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Dr. Harrington takes on the lion’s share of danger. Amatsu Mikaboshi‘s determination to restore the balance of honor lost in his confrontation with Nurse Danforth puts Dr. Harrington in the perilous position of protecting the Abbot. Dr. Harrington also faces political and ethical pressures when he follows the Abbot of Kiyomizudera’s advice and does what must be done to escape the wrath of the wanyudo.

#AtoZBlogChallenge B is for Bakemono

by Lillian Csernica on April 2, 2018

japanesemythology.wordpress.com

Bakemono are the group of yokai (monsters) in Japanese mythology who are shapeshifters and tricksters. Foremost among them are the mujina (badger), the tanuki (raccoon-dog), and the kitsune (fox spirit). Also holding noteworthy rank among the bakemono is the nekomata, the split-tailed cat who can assume the form of a beautiful woman.

In Putting On Airs (Thirty Days Later), there’s a surprisingly large cat terrorizing the dogs in Dr. Harrington’s neighborhood. With the help of the monks of Kiyomizudera, Madelaine builds a trap meant to catch what she suspects is the real cause of all the trouble.

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In the second story of this pair, Blown Sky High, Constance is in charge of a garden party held in conjunction with the Blue Dragon Festival at Kiyomizudera. The party celebrates the Blue Dragon, an avatar of Kannon, Goddess of Mercy.  The party features Madelaine’s origami paper dragons and a wondrous clockwork dragon that adds just the right touch to the party’s symbolic rejoicing.

 

 

 

 

V is for View

by Lillian Csernica on April 26, 2016

www.a-to-zchallenge.com

One of the best parts of travel is just standing there and looking at the view.  There’s so much to see, so many details, so many shades of color and meaning.

 

Cliffs along the California coast

Born and raised here, I am a California native.  When life gets me down, I go to the seashore and let the power of the elements make me feel better.

 

Cypress veranda at Kiyomizudera

My #1 Bucket List item, accomplished.  This very spot is the setting for “A Demon in the Noonday Sun,” one of two stories I contributed to 12 Hours Later.  The view is truly spectacular in every season of the year.

 

The Rose Window in Notre Dame Cathedral

There I was, standing in Notre Dame on a Sunday.  The clouds of incense were so thick it was like trying to see the window through fog.  Glorious.  There’s no other word for it.

 

Fishing off the Four Mile Banks in Laguna Beach, CA

When I was in high school, my father and his friends from work would sometimes charter a boat to take them out fishing down by Laguna.  Dad took me with him.  The captain of the charter liked me because he thought I was good luck.  I always caught the first fish.

Carlsbad Caverns

There’s a whole lot to see on the surface of our planet, but don’t forget to take a look at what’s waiting under that very surface.  When I was a little kid, my parents took our family to see the Carlsbad Caverns. Scared the daylights out of me then, especially when the bats woke up.  Now I can appreciate the beauty and wonder of the rock formations.

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