Manspiration VI - Black sails

Me and Manu Bennett @ SupaNova Perth 2014

It's been a while since I've enlightened readers to my current manspirations.

There are of course, my usual manspirations, my husband, Jason Momoa (Game of Thrones, Star Gate Atlantis, Road to Paloma), Manu Bennett (Spartacus, Arrow, Hobbit) etc, but recently I've been utterly enthralled by Starz latest show Black Sails. If you haven't watched it yet, go buy the dvds and settle down for a rollercoaster ride of action and excitement.
 
A year or two ago, I listened to an audio book detailing the history of pirates in the America's most notably, Edward Teach (Black Beard), Charles Vane, Calico Jack etc... which sent me into a pirate researching spasm. So when I saw that there was a show about them, I was VERY excited.

Perth Actor Toby Schmitz as Calico Jack

The show follows the tale of the fictitious 'Captain Flint', but intermixed in the fictional narrative are plenty of non-fiction real life historical figures, such as Charles Vane, Anne Bonny, Jack Rackham etc. I was also blown away to realise that the actor Toby Schmitz, who acts as Jack 'Calico Jack' Rackham, is from my home town, and I met him on several occasions in high school and university. Perth is a really small place... He does a great job portraying Calico Jack and I really hope his career takes off from this.

Zach McGowan as Charles Vane

Then there is Zach McGowan who acts as Charles Vane. Charles Vane was a very brutal pirate in the day, and McGowan's portrayal is fantastic... not to mention the rather spectactular abs... Though for realism, I think I'd like a little more chest hair... not that I'm complaining... no...

Then there is Toby Stephens - a tasty older morsel - who portrays the character of Captain James Flint. I'm always partial to a good older-gentleman hero (he's not really old, only 45 in fact).  Stephens portrays Flint as a cold, shrewd and brutal pirate, and as I've not finished the series, I'm yet to discover what he's completely about. I'm intrigued.

In short, what I like; the actors and actresses do a really great job in this series and the costumes are wonderful. The story line is interesting, and the action engaging and not *too* gory.
What I don't like so much is the shiny teeth on everyone. I'd like a few more bad teeth, and some body hair on the guys (you do get a glimpse at some pubic hair on women though.) Additionally, the sexual violence towards the prostitute Max was a bit much, and perhaps could have been toned down.

Toby Stephens as Captain Flint

All up, Black Sails is a thoroughly enjoyable sojourn into later part of The Golden Age of Piracy 1715 - 1730 (also known as the Post Spanish Succession period) and if you're in the market for little piratey manspiration then you need look no further.

Enjoy the rest of your day :)

Inspiration, mythology and modern technology.

Where I would be without the internet I do not know. Although I have a veritable library of mythology books at home, I am regularly inspired by the internet. One of my favourite past times is cruising the net looking for images of cool mythological beasts, sexy heroes and perfect heroines. Today I'm going to show you a few images of things that have inspired me - in the hope that they too, may inspire you too.

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The first is an image I found whilst cruising the net looking for dragon pictures. I'm yet to write about dragons, but they were my first mythological love. I particularly like this picture because the dragon is small (like a nano-dragon from Cressida Cowell's How to Train your Dragon Series of books *love them*) and looks lifelike. I had this as my screen saver for quite some time! Dragons, like vampires are found in most mythologies from around the world. A fact I find intriguing. I always ponder if the myths of dragons were born from ancient people discovering dinosaur bones and trying to explain them.

[image courtesy:sugarpeep]

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This one is of the internal structures of a Naga. How cool is it?! This image really enthused me. I love imagining how mythological creatures could be biologically functional, and clearly there are other people out there who think the same! I was sorely tempted to go and start googling the internals of dragons, harpies etc, but really do not have the time... so will file it away for another blog post!

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This one is of Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow. I've been reading a lot about the real pirates of the Americas at the moment, so they're rather something of a current muse for me. And I just like Johnny Depp.

[Image courtesy: demigods.com]

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This is a rather alternative looking Manticore. I don't fly with with the whole Manticore with wings thing. From my research I've noticed that the wings are a more recent addition to myths... I could be wrong, but still I prefer my Manticores without them. However, this particular critter looks pretty beastly, and I like the idea of this being some sort of Chimaera.

Similarly, men are fodder for my writing muse. After all,  I like to study faces and see how brows move, how light plays in the twinkle of an eye, the line of a regal nose etc. I've said it before... It's a hard job but someone's got to do it....
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For the record I don't just use gorgeous men either.    .  .  .  .  . à
Some of my villains such as the Bomoh (in "Magical Redemption" ) have been inspired by something quite different. The Bomoh was inspired by a  book cover by Geoffrey Walker, called the "Bomoh's Apprentice". Which I bought whilst in Malaysia last year, and as you can see, there is very little charming or gorgeous about that image.

On that attractive note, I shall leave you and bid you all a good week, as I am off for a cup of coffee and some good ol'fashioned writing.

 



Inspiration

I love talking to other writers and particularly discovering how they were inspired to create their stories.

As I've said, "Magical Gains" was inspired by a biscuit advertisement.

I tend to find inspiration in odd places. For example, I have half-finished a story that is based on a second hand furniture shop, because I used to ride past one on the bus every day to work. I like creating a story around something that seems quite innocuous, something rather inane, that you see every day but you never really know what's going on behind those doors or those faces.

I am also planning on writing a short a story, that was inspired by a greasy hand print on a bus window. I imagine that someone was racing to catch the bus, and banged on the window to get it to wait - but the bus takes off anyway.

I hope I always keep finding inspiration in places like these as I think it makes for a great read later.