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Windmaster by Helen Henderson |
Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, just a few of the holidays that are around the corner. Traditions can vary by culture or region, or even within a family. What you do when you have a houseful of small children changes when the little ones are now grown up with families of their own. The Windmaster Novel are based in worlds of fantasy. So why am I writing about holidays?
Early in my writing career (back when I traveled the dark side, non-fiction) experience told me one of the ways to make a world of imagination, in that case the historical past, was to ensure the article or book had points of commonality between the world they knew and the one they were reading about. That same theory carried over to fiction.
Changes of the seasons and gathering of friends and family are two things that can be associated with a holiday or special event. The question is especially difficult when the seasons are different or there is a different term for the world's circle around the sun. A "turn" is the same as an earth 'year,' so a Turn's End celebration is equivalent to a New Year's Eve party.
While there are no actual recounts of a Turn's End event in the Windmaster Novels, there are references in Windmaster and Windmaster Legacy. In the second book, the memory of dancing at a turn's end party transformed a hostile reception to one of old friends.
The following excerpt comes from Windmaster. Like the first it reference how the beginning of a new season is celebrated. To set the scene, Ellspeth is in her home port and has just been invited to a gala party in the king's gardens.
Ellspeth performed a fast mental inventory of what gowns were packed in the wooden trunks in the adjacent attic storage rooms. The green one she wore to the last turn’s end festivities piqued her interest. Eighth hour, she decided, should be just enough time to air the preserving leaves from the gown.
Now that you have been given a little insight into the world of Windmaster, whether they are with friends or family, large affairs or small intimate ones, enjoy your holidays.
To purchase the Windmaster Novels: BWL
~Until next month, stay safe and read. Helen
Helen Henderson lives in western Tennessee with her husband. While she doesn’t have any pets in residence at the moment, she often visits a husky who have adopted her as one the pack. Find out more about her and her novels on her BWL author page.
