There are so many books out there, Misfits. So many books. Usually, in my efforts to sample as many as I can, I will read the first book of a series, and if it’s good, but doesn’t grab hold of my core, I thank it for its story and move on. Very rarely do I move on to book two. Almost never do I preorder the thing.
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Travel is fun. You get to see interesting things, meet interesting people. And some places are special because of their relative location on the map, the fact of being place markers, or because of just how hard it is to get to them. Many of these places have traditions surrounding them, but the ones we’ll be discussing today are line crossing ceremonies.
A line crossing ceremony refers to a sort of ritual performed among the crew when a ship crosses a significant ocean line, usually the Equator, though there are specifics for other lines or landmarks as well. These ceremonies are usually performed by navies, merchant navies, and sometimes passenger cruises or sail training ships, as well. The important point is that by crossing a significant line in the ocean, you join a community of other people who also are considered well traveled sailors, called Shellbacks. Those who have not are called Pollywogs.
The tradition seems to date back to the 17th century, during the Age of Exploration, when the sea was teeming with ships and sailors, crisscrossing the globe in search of gold, exotic goods, land, and less respectable trade, such as slaves.
The ceremonies themselves had a wide variety of events, ranging from silly to bizarre to dangerous to outright brutal assault. The captain would sometimes dress as a priestess of Poseidon, or as the god himself, and direct the crew in various feats and tasks to prove themselves worthy of the sea. They may be forced to strip naked and crawl through disgusting substances like garbage and tar, they might have soap and paint put in their mouths, they could be made to endure a ducking stool (a notorious torture device used during witch trials), and there would often be beatings with such things as firehoses, wet rope, or rods. Some sailors were seriously injured and even killed.
So, why go through all of this? Well, the main reason is the same as the rationale behind hazing- shared trauma is great for bonding. It’s also thought to toughen up the crew because the sea can be harsh, and also it breaks down a person’s ability to protest an order, no matter how onerous the task. In a storm or during a battle, you have to obey commands quickly, and can’t stand around arguing with your commanding officer.
Today, though, it’s mostly for morale, entertainment, and for the honour of being able to call yourself a Shellback. Rules are strictly laid out, now, and are adhered to carefully. When the rules are broken, the consequences are severe.
In my short story, Martinette, Sulat joins a ship called Martinette, which is a merchant vessel. The route takes the crew through a rough and unpredictable patch of sea called The Squalls, but before they get there, they perform a crossing ceremony to bond the crew and prepare them for the ordeal they’re about to face. Sulat doesn’t see much of the storm, but she still has to go through the ceremony to earn the title of Lobster (the opposite being a ‘heifer’).
I won’t tell you what happens, though. You have to read it for yourself.
Happy new year, Misfits! I hope 2020 is treating you well, so far.
I started a new thing, over in the Merry Misfits Book Club on Facebook. This year, instead of picking one book to read, like traditional book clubs, or letting you choose your own books according to a theme, which I tried last year snd it didn’t work, this year, I’m picking a theme, giving you a choice between two that fit the theme, with the option to read neither and instead try one of my books.
It’s hard to say so early in the year if it’s working out any better yet. It’s certainly quieter, though I can’t tell if it’s the structure of the choices or just the madness of January. Who knows? All I know is I finished my book well ahead of when I’d planned to, and now I’m gonna get into it.
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One word: STREAMLINE
Two years ago, I found out about the One Word trend, where you choose a word to be your focus for the coming year. I did not achieve my goal last year, for a variety of reasons, so this year, I’m hoping that I can accomplish a new one, and perhaps the previous one, as a result.
So, my One Word this year is STREAMLINE.
To me, streamlining refers to removing blockages and complications to allow the free flowing of of a project- removing everything that detracts from maximum efficiency.
This applies to my personal life, as well as my work. I have been severely reducing, decluttering, and organising my life, and I’ve found it a wonderfully freeing feeling, allowing me to focus my attention and efforts on things I love, rather than acquiring heaps and heaps of things I hope will make me happy, and only ending up weighed down by a mound of crap.
For my professional life, streamlining means detailed planning of my social media strategy, writing blog posts and newsletters in advance, and automating Facebook and Instagram posts. The theory is that with social media posts (note: NOT engagement) done way ahead of time, I can focus on writing, editing, working with my team, reading for pleasure, and responding to interactions on my social media posts. I won’t be playing catch-up with myself, I won’t leave months and months of silence, I won’t need to be prodded by Breanna a week into the new month about what the Book Club theme is. I can be active, engaged, and relaxed in the moment.
Yes, it meant a HELL of a lot of work in December 2019, but I’ll be so much happier January-November of 2020, enough that I may be inspired to devote December 2020 to doing the same thing again.
Fingers crossed.
So what am I actually working on?
If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you’ll have seen my love of mermaids and my flood of posts relating to Siren Song. I have finished my first round of major edits and it is in the hands of my betas. I’ll need to make their edits, polish again, send it to my editor, implement her edits, compile the illustrations, format, and publish.
I’m aiming for a publication date sometime in May, during MerMay.
Watch this space for information regarding preorder and publication updates.
In addition, I have a number of inter-novel novellas and short stories set to be released here on my website to tide you over until the novel comes out.
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What about you? What is your One Word?
If you have been around here on my blog for a while, you’ll know that I published my two fairy tale retelling novels almost a year ago, exclusively for Kindle. I had a bunch of -I think- rational reasons for not wanting to publish in hardcopy, but the people kept asking. So here’s the breakdown of the pros and cons for digital versus paper books.
Y’all like historical fashion? You like weirdness? I really should title this series as ‘weird things people in the past thought were sexy.’ It’d be a whole thing.
The theme for May’s book in the Merry Misfits Book Club was ‘A book from a niche genre, or a genre you don’t normally read’. I chose Afrofuturism, and the internet as a whole seemed to recommend this book.
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Ooh, it’s been a while since we had a Storybook post, hasn’t it? About time, I thought.
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My sister gave me this book a couple of years ago because she met the author and I, well, I fucking heart Wales.
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I read this book, I think, in January, but because of, you know, life, I’m just now getting round to reviewing it.
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