Teahouse Mysteries
Kanzashi
Mameko never thought she’d witness a murder.Her life consists of songs, stories, lessons, and the other social demands of a maiko. Mameko tries to be a good daughter and follows her mother’s guidance, though she is known to rebel against tradition when she deems it necessary. Even with her rebellious acts, she is poised to become one of the most prominent geiko in Gion.When Mr. Funaki is murdered with Mameko’s hairpin thrust into his throat, she becomes the main suspect. Mameko must resist the police’s efforts to get her to confess to the murder. As the news spreads and her reputation declines, she must find the true killer, or her dream of becoming a geiko will end.
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Hotaru
In Gion, reputation matters. Mameko’s reputation still recovers from her entanglement and investigation of Mr. Funaki’s murder. Adding to her stress: Mameko’s mother becomes the director of the upcoming Cherry Blossom Dances. In an effort to rebuild the family’s reputation, her mother forces Mameko to dance the event. Mameko, however, cannot dance as a geiko should. She knows she isn’t good enough to be the feature dancer, but her mother refuses to listen.
Suspicious fires break out across the district. In a city made of wood and history, fire needs little incentive to spread. Generations of work—collecting expensive kimono, shamisen, and the other tools of the geiko trade—could disappear in just minutes. These fires are too regular, too targeted. Police discover postcards and photographs of the victims at the scene of each arson. Yet, the stretched police force can’t find the arsonist, so the chief of police, Mr. Amano, seeks Mameko’s help.
When the arsonist targets Mameko’s friend, Mameko promises to bring the arsonist to justice. And a Katagiri keeps her word.
If she fails, all of Gion could burn. If she succeeds, her family’s reputation may be ruined. Either way, fate forces her to gamble with her life, all to keep a promise and protect the profession she loves.
Tamamo
Tamamo grew up in the imperial court, where the space between words mattered more than the words themselves, where battles were fought with poetry. As the favored of the Emperor Junnin, Tamamo knew well how poetry could cut. As the adopted daughter of a once-great noble family, she had no business loving the emperor, nor should he had loved her. After all, that was for the prominent Fujiwara family to decide. It didn’t help that she also had a secret: She was a fox.
Outside the capital, poetry had been exchanged for sharpened steel. Determined to return to power, the former empress and her family gathered their forces. Caught between the reality of war and the intrigues of the court, Tamamo and Emperor Junnin plan a life together and a way to unify the country without the need for blood.However, Tamamo’s adoptive father has other plans. Plans that involve the true nature of Tamamo’s secret, plans that shatter Tamamo’s heart.
Forced to join with the former empress to find answers, Tamamo must learn what it means to be a fox. The answers will change not only her destiny but also the future of the three great families.
Tales from Old Japan: Folktales and Legends from the Land of the Rising Sun
This collection of over 170 stories provides a glimpse into Japan’s rich folk literature. Japanese folktales include mysterious creatures often familiar to those of us in the West, such as kappa and foxes. But the tales also include stories about tools acquiring spirits and trees that marry men. Some stories undermine gender roles of their time, featuring female characters that defy the families’ wishes. Still others provide moral lessons and face the fleeting nature of life.Many stories follow the adventures of historical figures with the added twists of legends. Ghosts and spirits abound in these stories, but they remain vulnerable to the steel of a sword. But the rarest of stories end happily. Japanese folktales prefer to take a realistic view of life, embracing the reality of death and separation. Willows face the axes of men, and men must accept the reality of aging. Despite the age of many of these stories, they remain fresh and often poignant for today’s readers.
Come and Sleep: The Folklore of the Japanese Fox
Ideal wife and sexual vampire. Prankster and saint. Tree and train. The Japanese fox left her paw-print on Japanese culture. She challenges traditional, negative views of women. She brings harmony and division. She possesses and protects. She is the shape of Japan’s soul. Discover why the fox is Japan’s most storied animal.
Available on Amazon in eBook and Paperback.
Under the Cherry Blossoms: An Introduction to Japanese Tree Folklore
Murder. Love. Sacrifice. From stories about a willow who falls in love with a human to an old samurai who kills himself so his beloved tree can live, Japanese folklore venerates trees. Beyond the sakura, the famous cherry tree, Japanese farmers told stories about the trees that welcomed them home and supported every aspect of their lives. Trees not only support our lives by providing building materials, food, and warmth, but they also teach us how to be human.
Available on Amazon as an eBook and Paperback.
Tanuki: The Folklore of Japan’s Trickster
Once a vicious creature, the tanuki changed into a comical creature loved by Japanese children. He is the master of disguise. If only his intelligence was as sharp. Powered by his super stretchy scrotum, the tanuki leads us into a strange world of belly thumping, singing, and pranks.
If It Was a Snake, It Would’ve Bit Me! A Memoir
Without wage-slaves, people would go hungry, go naked (not that health regulations stop them from doing that now), and go home (finally!). But retail workers remain under-appreciated, under-paid, and under-medicated. From the day a man exploded in the bathroom to a woman having a seizure on my last night at the grocery store, I had seen (heard and smelled and felt) the strangeness of the American public. Funny and outrageous, I wouldn’t believe the public’s antics if I hadn’t lived through them. This memoir captures my experiences across my various public service roles, including a few as a public librarian.
Download this memoir as a PDF for free.
Immortality Isn’t What I Thought It Would Be
Immortality seems to have its perks, but when boredom stalks you over the endless centuries and you can’t escape it even by detonating a hydrogen bomb on yourself, you’ll learn immortality isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I wouldn’t wish what I have on any of the heroes that come to slay me. Imagine my surprise when I discover one such group of heroes carries the key which may free me from my boredom and the insanity that boredom inflicts on me. At least, I hope she proves to be the key to my freedom. I have nothing to lose by chasing that lead. Millennia of boredom makes you a little desperate for something new.
Download the complete light novel as a PDF for free.
Vixen Hunted
Pursued by the Inquisition, Kit only has her dim memories of home to guide her escape.
Timothy Clarke isn’t much of a shepherd. His youngest lamb gives him no end of trouble. When he ventures into the woods—yet again—to find her, he finds more trouble than a single lamb could cause.
Together, Kit and Timothy must avoid the long reach of the Inquisition and find Kit’s home. But they soon realize a threat they cannot escape: their growing feelings for each other.
Shepherd Hunted
Timothy and Kit join Honheim as the town celebrates its founding. Sister Tera stalks Kit in the name of the Inquisition, and Timothy’s mother watches for the chance to reunite Timothy with his long dead father.
Beneath the festivities, a greater threat spreads. A threat that cares little for the plans of a mother and a nun. A threat that changes the relationship between a shepherd and a girl.
Memory Hunted
The road to Belafonte shortens.
Kit, Timothy, and Yuzu follow Daeric deep into the trackless forest. They quickly learn not even this remote part of the world is out of the Vatican’s reach.
Caught between soldiers of the Vatican and a band of men determined to get revenge on the Church, Kit must face the end of her journey and the price memory demands.
