Considering the mythology theme of this week, I thought it would be a good time to share a mythology retelling of my own.  In high school I took a mythology class, and for our final we had an in-class essay, retelling one of the myths we’d studied.  I can’t remember anymore if the teacher was expecting two paragraphs or two pages, but either way, I probably went overboard.  And then I spent the next several months stalking my teacher to get the copy of my writing back.  🙂  Once I did, I revised a little to end up with the story I’m sharing today.

I decided to retell the story of Jason and the Argonauts, from Medea’s point of view.  All my reading up until that point convinced me that Medea didn’t get nearly enough credit in that story.  Later mythology studies led me to realize that Medea’s point of view is better represented than I knew.  But it’s still true that she isn’t represented in the retellings for children, since I’d read a lot and been left with the impression that Medea was pretty well ignored.

But I won’t wax on about that.  There’s enough of that in the story.

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            Maybe you’re familiar with the story of the Golden Fleece.  Maybe you know about the golden ram who carried off a boy and a girl to save them from their stepmother’s wrath, about how the girl slipped off and drowned and was never heard nor thought of again, about how the boy survived to land in far off Colchis.  Maybe you know that the ram was killed and its beautiful golden fleece hung up on display.  Maybe you know about Jason, who came to take over his rightful kingdom and was sent by the usurper king to obtain the Golden Fleece.  Maybe you know that Argos built the Argo and that Jason filled it with any number of great heroes—Heracles, Orpheus, Castor, Pollux, the list goes on—and calling themselves the Argonauts they set off over the sea, dealing with storms and sirens and sea monsters to finally land in Colchis.  And maybe you know that he did steal the Golden Fleece and go back home again.

But I bet you don’t know my side of the story.  And I bet you don’t know that Jason was a lazy, good-for-nothing, ungrateful lout who couldn’t steal sheep’s wool to save his life.

I am Medea, princess of Colchis, and this is how I tell the story.

Continue reading “The Man with the Dark Brown Eyes” →

It’s been a little while since I shared a scene from Red’s Girl, so maybe it’s time to drop in on one of my favorite pirate captains.  You can click the category at right for past posts.

I’m going to pick up shortly after chapter two (posted here).  When last we left them, Red and Tam had just met, and Tam was helping Red escape from a lot of Navy soldiers who are searching the port for him.  This plan does not actually go all that well, as they end up on the same street as a few of those soldiers. 

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Tam’s Point of View

           “I hope you know a way off this street, kid,” Red said.  He didn’t sound worried, but he was walking faster.

            I struggled to bring my mental map of the town into focus.  It was fuzzier than I would have admitted to Red.  I had only lived here a month.  “Um, right.  Right at the next alley.”

            The soldiers noticed us—or they noticed Red.  I don’t think they cared about me.  I don’t know what made them notice him, if it was the vivid blue coat or the way he turned around so fast when he saw them.  Any case, they started following us and when Red picked up speed so did they—which makes it sound calmer than it was.  Everyone else on the street must have had an instinct that something was happening, because they were disappearing fast.

            We turned onto the alley I’d indicated, and came to an abrupt halt.

            “Left,” I said, staring at the solid wall cutting off this particular avenue of escape.  “I meant left at the next alley.”  Continue reading “Facing Down the Royal British Navy” →