Archaic Words of the Day?

As some of you know, who have read Realmwalkers, archaic words were often used in the dialogue of Tiaerans.  I use the word "archaic" instead of "Old English" and will explain why.

Over the years, when reading historical novels and watching historical dramas on TV, I learned to appreciate and enjoy the words of old that are no longer commonly used today. Then AOL came along in the 70's and chat rooms were invented. I discovered the graphical chat rooms called "The Realms." What a joy it was to find beautifully decorated webpages filled with icons of AOL members talking in Old English, or what I thought was Old English. In any case, I jumped in and created my own realm through self-teaching and The Dark Forest Realm was created.

Dark Forest Realm map by EV Medina

When Jack and I decided to write a book together, I began to study more about the use of Old English only to discover that such was not really what we are all used to. The kind of Old English we hear in movies these days is a watered-down version of Elizabethan English or Early Modern English.
Even though we created a medieval world, Jack and I agreed we needed to keep Realmwalkers easily readable, so we made changes as Artistic License would allow. Not wanting our book to read like the King James Bible, we removed all the thee's and thou's and only used "thy" infrequently. But in an effort to keep the flavor of an ancient world, we checked various glossaries and dictionaries to show the Tiaerans spoke using words that were used around the 12th-16th centuries. I know I spent much time during the writing process to look up many many words in this endeavor.

Lately, it has come to me that some of these words should be shared here from time to time in the interest to educate and explain how the words were used in Realmwalkers.  I hope you wordsmiths find it interesting and entertaining, especially if you are an avid reader of historical novels.  Even roleplayers (RPers) may find this helpful with their roleplaying in MMORPGs or RP websites.

As I like to explain aspects about Tiaera here through my artwork and stories, brief posts on the Tiaeran "Common" language may also be of interest. Let me know what you think of this idea. I welcome your comments and suggestions.

Renaissance Festival Book Signing

Greetings Good Friends!

I am back from my trip to Phoenix and Apache Junction where I was invited to have a book signing at the 2013 Arizona Renaissance Festival, thanks to my friend and fellow author, Ann Chamberlin.  Here are some photos as promised.

 

 I worked up to the day before the trip sewing and getting last minute items to complete my costume.

At the motel Saturday morning before driving to the festival.

The morning was really nice, cool and sunny.  My husband, Lee, and I has stayed the night in Phoenix and then drove to Apache Junction where hundreds of cars lined up on US60 to enter the festival parking lot. Once inside the renaissance village with my rolling crate of books and book signing necessities I got to work setting up the table located outside Lady Ann Chamberlin's Book Shop.

You can see the table with the red and white tablecloth at the front. I was so glad it was shady there as the day got hotter as time passed. It was hard to believe it was winter as temperatures rose into the mid-seventies.

Passer-byes grew steadily in number until the road in front of me was filled and sitting at my table became impossible. So many passed by without stopping as there was so much to see. It was steep competition out there with so many talented merchants and entertainers vying for people's attention. I read that there were over 200 merchants and thirteen stages of entertainers plus a large variety of eateries and rides at this year's Renaissance Festival.

I stood to stretch out my hand and called out to grab people's attention. "Smile and sound excited," I kept telling myself. My aggressiveness paid off.  One person led to two, then three and more. People began to circle around my little table as I showed them my drawings and books. It was a good place to sell "Realmwalkers" and despite the competition and despite the fact that I am a new and unknown author, I sold eighteen (yes, 18!) copies in the six hours I was there. The only time I got to sit down was for signing the books and my poor feet were killing me. The throbbing still haunts me just to remember. Anyway, it was a good event and I met many people who enjoyed medieval fantasy books. Ann was pleased with how well the event went. 

The left photo shows my little feather brooch on my black velvet hat. I even took links from my belt to make the hoop earrings and hat brooch. If you look close enough, you might be able to see how the sides of my black surcoat are laced up with red/green ribbons. I almost lost a thumb while hammering the grommets into place. LOL! I was warm and comfortable while I pitched my book to the many visitors there that day.

Lee stopped by to check on me and brought me some lunch. He strolled the faire and even passed out some business cards. My friend, Vince, suggests I get Lee to wear one of those sandwich signs to promote the book signing next year. HAH! I don't think so. After the book signing, he helped get my rolling crate back to the car and despite my aching feet, I spent about a half hour wandering around the faire to see what was new.

There were the same events and artisans I have seen from previous visits. There were souvenir shops, rides, jousting, dancers, comedians, performers, and artists. I saw artwork there that made my drawings look like doodles. Such talent! I drank some cold Pear Cider and felt right at home in my scribe costume. It was a wonderful time!