#finnish novel

[booksandtea12]

Smh I didn't realize this was magical realism... lol, sometimes you need to read the description before you start reading!

[ninevehsage]

Currently reading a cult classic:

SUDENMORSIAN (The Wolf's Bride), 1928 by Aino Kallas

"The Wolf's Bride is one of Aino Kallas' (1878 - 1956) central works. It is based on the ancient werewolf motif, long-lived in folk beliefs: Aalo, the young wife of a Hiiumaa forester, falls under a strange spell and transforms into a werewolf, snatching her away from her home and husband. She lives a double life, alternately as a human and then as a wolf, and has to come to terms with the fact that she has dared to step beyond the limits permitted for a human."

Aino Krohn Kallas (2 August 1878 – 9 November 1956) was a Finnish-Estonian author. Her novellas are considered to be prominent pieces of Finnish literature.

[samanthakgarner]

Filipino & Finnish mythology & folklore in my recent work

Today I'd like to share the Filipino & Finnish mythology & folklore I’ve incorporated in my work so far. This includes The Quiet is Loud, Seeker of the Lost Song, Seeker’s sequel, and my new science-fantasy novella Tempest Ascending.

Folklore/mythology from the Philippines:⁠

✦ Nuno sa punso, a nature spirit who takes the form of an old man living in a mound of earth⁠ ✦ Tikbalang, a half-horse, half-human trickster who lives in the forests and mountains ⁠ ✦ Siyokoy, a humanoid sea creature with a scaled body, large red eyes, and sharp teeth⁠ ✦ Engkanto, an umbrella term for various enchanted spirits⁠ ✦ A certain deity that I can’t reveal because it’s a spoiler but SO COOL⁠ ✦ Actually, make it two⁠, why not? ⁠

Folklore/mythology from Finland:⁠

✦ Tuonela, the land of the dead, popularly appearing in the Kalevala ⁠ ✦ Ukko, the god of thunder, the sky⁠, and weather ✦ Haltija/Haltia, a guardian spirit that protects places or people⁠ ✦ Spell-song, which is featured in the Kalevala and also in real-life poem-singing competitions called kilpalaulanta

⁠Honestly, nothing feels more life-affirming than combining the mythology and folklore of both of my wildly different cultures into a cohesive whole that works together. I don’t think it’s too cheesy to say that it feels healing.⁠

Väinämöinen sings Joukahainen into a mire, Joseph Alanen. Tempera painting with a motif from Kalevala 1912-1913.

[bookcoversaroundtheworld]

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West - Finland

When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?

[jitterbugbear]

as a regular thrift shop enjoyer and a fantasy reader, i've noticed that the amount of donated harry potter books has definitely increased A LOT over the past few years

[raapija]

God damn, Punainen Marli is such a fun song I love this 😂😂😂

Gonna be a challenge to translate, but LET'S GOO🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[no-where-new-hero]

We had gaydar!Andrew Murray, now we have…

…mpreg!Andrew Murray.

@alwayschasingrainbows

[refinedstorage]

Spotted while browsing my parents' bookshelf

[avokado-the-great]

Finished it:

from ml.books

[azurethevampire]

Am I crazy for participating NaNoWriMo this year when I know I won't be able to start writing until November 7th??

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

Nightwish - The Phantom of the Opera 2002

"The Phantom of the Opera" is a song from the 1986 stage musical of the same name, based on the 1910 French novel of the same name by Gaston Leroux, which tells the tragic story of a beautiful soprano, Christine Daaé, who becomes the obsession of a mysterious, masked musical genius living in the subterranean labyrinth beneath the Paris Opéra House. The song was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics written by Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe, and additional lyrics by Mike Batt. The song was originally recorded by Sarah Brightman and Steve Harley, which became a UK hit single in 1986, prior to the musical. Listen to it here! In its theatrical debut, it was sung by Brightman and Michael Crawford in their roles as Christine Daaé and the Phantom. Listen to it here! The Phantom of the Opera was the longest running show in Broadway history, and celebrated its 10,000th performance on February 11, 2012, becoming the first Broadway production in history to do so. It is the second longest-running West End musical, after Les Misérables, and the third longest-running West End show overall, after The Mousetrap. The original West End production at Her Majesty's Theatre, London, ended its run in 2020, its run cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka Nevalainen, and then bassist Sami Vänskä after the release of their debut album, Angels Fall First (1997). In 2001, Vänskä was replaced by Marko Hietala, who also took over the male vocalist role previously filled by Holopainen or guest singers.

In 2002, Nightwish released Century Child, along with the singles "Ever Dream" and "Bless the Child". Century Child was certified gold two hours after its release, and platinum two weeks afterwards. It set a record on the Finnish album charts of most distance between a first place album and the second place. An enduring favorite of fans is the band's version of "The Phantom of the Opera". The song was routinely played in concerts until October 21, 2005, when vocalist Tarja Turunen was fired from the band and later replaced with Anette Olzon, whereupon the band announced that they would never play the song live again. This would hold true for 17 years until November 27 and 28, 2022, when Nightwish was joined by Dutch singer Henk Poort on stage at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam to perform the song. Marko Hietala joined Tarja Turunen at a couple of her solo shows in 2023 to sing "The Phantom of the Opera" with her. They are set to tour together in Spring 2024 in Latin America on Tarja's "Living The Dream – The Hits Tour".

"The Phantom of the Opera" recieved a total of 82,7% yes votes!

[ninevehsage]

Currently reading:

MARRASYÖT, 2015 by Jenna Kostet

"Marrasyöt novel is a detective story inspired by Finnish folklore and mythology. The body of a young student girl is found in Nauvo's jatulintarha (stone labyrint). It soon turns out that the reason behind the death is a myth related to the jatulintarha. The November distribution period is coming to an end, and at the same time, time is running out to prevent something bigger from happening."

Marras = Marraskuu = November

Yöt = Nights

"Marras comes from a latin word mors, which means death."

[samanthakgarner]

Historical inspiration for my fantasy novel: Early Finns, Sámi, and “unnatural” magic

Seeker of the Lost Song, my latest completed novel, is historically-inspired fantasy merging medieval Finnish & pre-colonial Filipino elements. Some key historical inspirations for the novel are the Swedish rule of Finland, and the Scandinavian belief that early Finns and Sámi practiced unnatural magic.

In the years I spent writing this novel, I changed the setting twice. But I soon found myself stuck. During a conversation with a friend I started telling her about a vague “historical fiction in Finland” idea I’d had for a long time. The more we talked about ideas and inspirations, the more home it felt. The more urgently I wanted to be there instead. And so we said – why not just do it?

Could I really fold the historical Finland idea into my novel? It seemed like a perfect fit. Early Scandinavians thought Finns and Sámi were forest weirdos who practiced unnatural magic. Firsthand accounts by/about Finns were scarce to nonexistent, both before and during the Swedish rule of Finland. And I’d always felt that the Finnish story was missing in the Viking/Norse saturation of books, video games, movies, and TV (woe betide the poor soul who inadvertently gets me talking about how Finns are Nordic but technically not Norse/Scandinavian). BUT. ANOTHER new setting?! I’d spent so long working on this book. I just wanted to write it.

I wrote about this a bit more on my blog, and - spoiler alert - changing the setting again was a good idea!

___⁠

Photo © Samantha Garner, 2024.

[bookcoversaroundtheworld]

Legends & Lattes - Finland

After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword for the last time.

The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success — not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is.

If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won't be able to go it alone.

But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed.

[elodieunderglass]

Hi Elodie! I was wondering if I might ask about your process for choosing names for the daemons in His Delicious Materials? I have some daemon characters knocking about in the back of my brain, but I’ve never been able to settle on names for them. I know that in His Dark Materials, some daemons have more common names, and some have more fantastical, but beyond that I don’t know much about daemon naming conventions, and yours sound so delightful to hear and say.

Oh jeez sure! I unfortunately love making sweeping decisions and then forcing myself to live up to them.

(In reference to His Delicious Materials fanfic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/56658973/chapters/144024799 )

The only set HDM daemon naming constraints I can recall are that they’re set by the daemon’s parents and thus relate to the parental names and desires; this Stelmaria, Greek, “Star of the sea,” has a son Pantalaimon “multitude of blessings.” But other daemons, such as the nurse who was severed, have names like “Nicholas.” Thus they can be what feels right, I think, with reference to internal family-feeling. people from Lyra’s Oxford are clearly going for Greek names - even the character who’s a “kitchen boy” has the lofty Salcilia, which seems to connect to “salt” - but the witches in HDM give their daemons Finnish names.

I think where possible it can’t be the language you’re reading the story in - I.e. if you’re reading in English you shouldn’t have a daemon named Trustworthy - and be three syllables. It would be ideal if it secretly revealed a piece of character, but could also be an aspiration. Will’s “kirjava” (multicoloured) is a description.

I had a few constraints. I set them early on. I think constraints make things easier but that’s possibly a personality flaw.

One thing that doesn’t happen much in daemon AUs is that I had different species of human to consider. This made me decide that they had to have relatively distinctive naming cultures.

- Bee was the one who sprang into my head without invitation and instantly suggested “wouldn’t it be great if it lengthened into Bibelot, which is French for trinket?” And I was like, such a great idea bestie! Let’s write a novel about you! Maybe two! So if that happens to you, let that happen.

- this led to all half-foots having a daemon naming convention where they had to have three-syllable French names with the first syllable shortening to their everyday name and their long name being reserved for intimates; the short name should shorten to a word preferably in English. At first this was fine and made things easier because the only other half-foot daemons instantly presented themselves as Chatelaine and Chiendegarde. If you have a good convention/restriction it can make things easier at first and makes you sound confident.

- I felt that Greek-inspired names for daemons in OG HDM felt very cool in that setting. Laios is a Greek name IRL (Falin is Irish I think but ignore that) so I mentally fixed the convention of the siblings having Greek names.

- then I used Google Translate to find a word that meant gentle or feathery and found Elafros, which alludes to both, and also having the highly desirable -os ending which matches Laios and obviously creates a cohesive, family feel

- everyone reading this is probably like, no the hell it doesn’t

- I liked the three syllables and sense of parental expectation so I researched it a bit more and settled on it.

- I wanted Laios’s daemon to start with a P, three syllables, Greek and match Falin in some way. I scrolled through the P entries on a 1990’s website with a list of “dead words”. Palinode was chosen for being obviously a cohesive and familial resonance with Falin (rhyming first syllable.) it also shortens to PAL and has connotations of sounding like paladin. She’s Falin’s paladin.

- everyone reading this is probably like, no the hell it doesn’t

- Palinode’s a terrible name actually. Oh well moving on

- I wanted Marcille’s daemon to have a Greek name too, this choice feeling synonymous with a certain expectation of class/education as well as species to me. I wanted it to start with a P because at that point I had read more of the manga and she had a pet bird named Pipi.

- the pyx- beginning is super cute to me because I originally pictured Marcille as being a pixie.

- while scrolling through the list of dead words looking for Greek inspired names starting with py- I saw Pyxis and was instantly in love. It was listed as meaning “small pot for medicine and cosmetics” but upon more research I realised it was a constellation and apparently also means “compass,” all of which felt absolutely perfect.

- Pyxis is an absolutely crap moral compass though

- I wanted Anne to be named Anne but that needed to be longer, so I tried putting the word “shield” into Google Translate and cycling through languages until Welsh gave me Tarian. It means shield and shortens to Anne! It’s also a very pretty word.

- This then set the convention of dwarves getting Welsh names, and at that point I was happier for them to have proper names, so Aneurin (a Welsh men’s name meaning honorable, and shortening to Nye) and Gethin could just be chosen from a list.

- in conclusion it’s a lot of meaning+vibes!

- thank you for this question!

[literaryvein-reblogs]

hello! could I ask for a list of cat breeds(not all, but generic and well-known breeds)? along with their personalities and health issues linked with each breed.

Writing Notes: Cats & their Personalities

Some cat breeds are closely associated with specific behaviors.

Ragdolls - often viewed as relaxed, friendly and affectionate.

Russian Blues - considered more intelligent and reserved.

But a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports is the first academic paper to investigate whether felines actually show breed differences in behavior and how, or even if, these traits are passed down from one generation to the next.

As Nick Carne writes for Cosmos, researchers from the University of Helsinki drew on data detailing around 5,726 cats’ behavior to identify patterns among breeds and gauge heritability.

Overall, the team found that different breeds do in fact behave in different ways; of these behaviors—including:

activity level,

shyness,

aggression and

sociability with humans—around half are inherited.

The starkest differences among breeds emerged in the category of activity.

The smallest differences, meanwhile, centered on stereotypical behavior.

Prolonged or repetitive behaviors, like pacing or paw chewing, with no discernible purpose are called stereotypies.

In some cases, these abnormal behaviors are actually self-destructive.

“Since the age of about two weeks, activity is a reasonably permanent trait, whereas stereotypical behaviour is affected by many environmental factors early on in the cat’s life as well as later,” Hannes Lohi, study co-author and lead researcher of the University of Helsinki’s feline genetic research group, says in a statement. “This may explain the differences observed.”

To estimate behavioral traits’ heritability, lead author Milla Salonen, Lohi and their colleagues focused on 3 distinct breeds:

Maine Coon

Ragdoll

Turkish Van

The scientists’ full research pool included feline behavior questionnaire responses regarding almost 6,000 cats that accounted for 40 different breeds.

As Lohi explains in the statement, the team had ample data on members of the three breeds, as well as the chosen cats’ parents.

Additionally, Lohi says, the trio is “genetically diverse.”

The Maine Coon is related to Nordic cat breeds and landrace cats—domesticated, locally adapted varieties—

while the Ragdoll is related to Western European and American cat breeds.

The Turkish Van and the similarly named Turkish Angora appear to have separated from other breeds at some point in the distant past.

Salonen et al. (2019) surveyed Finnish cat owners on their cats’ behaviors, which included:

"tendency to seek human contact,"

"aggressiveness towards human family members, strangers, or other cats," and

"shyness towards strangers or novel stimuli."

In total, 5,726 cats were studied. The researchers then separated these cats into 19 breeds.

The researchers controlled for environmental factors including “weaning age, access to outdoors, presence of other cats,” and general characteristics (sex, age of cat) in their analyses.

They identified the breeds corresponding with the 10 following behavioral traits:

Aggression Toward (Human) Family Members

Most aggressive toward family members: Turkish Van and Angora (1st); Korat (2nd); Bengal, House cats (i.e., cats that are not selectively bred), Devon Rex (3rd)

Least aggressive toward family members: British Shorthair

Aggression Toward Strangers

Most aggressive toward strangers: Turkish Van and Angora (1st); Korat, Devon Rex, Russian Blue (2nd); Burmese and Burmilla, House cats, and Ragdolls (3rd)

Least aggressive toward strangers: British Shorthair, Persian Cats, Cornish Rex

Aggression Toward Other Cats

Most aggressive toward other cats: Turkish Van and Angora (1st); Korat (2nd); Bengal, House cats (3rd)

Least aggressive toward other cats: Persian (1st); Devon Rex, Maine Coon, Siberian and Neva Masquerade, Ragdoll, Norwegian Forest Cat (2nd)

Shyness Toward Strangers

Most shy toward strangers: Russian Blue (1st); House cat, Bengal (2nd)

Least shy toward strangers: Burmese and Burmilla (1st); Cornish Rex (2nd); Persian, Abyssinian, Norwegian Forest Cat, Korat, Saint Birman (3rd)

Shyness Toward Novel Objects

Most shy towards novel objects: Russian Blue (1st); House cat, Turkish Van and Angora, Bengal, European Shorthair, Siberian and Neva Masquerade (2nd)

Least shy towards novel objects: Persian, Cornish Rex (1st)

Likeliness of Seeking Human Contact

Most likely to seek human contact: Korat, Devon Rex (1st); Oriental breeds (Balinese, Oriental Longhair, Oriental Shorthair, Seychellois Longhair, Seychellois Shorthair, and Siamese), Abyssinian, Russian Blue, Maine Coone, Cornish Rex (2nd)

Least likely to seek human contact: British Shorthair (1st); St Birman, European Shorthair, Persian (2nd); Siberian and Neva Masquerade, Ragdoll, Norwegian Forest Cat (3rd)

Activity Level

Most active: Cornish Rex, Korat, Bengal (1st); Abyssinian (2nd); Devon Rex, Oriental breeds, Burmese and Burmilla (3rd)

Least active: British Shorthair (1st); Ragdoll, Saint Birman (2nd); Siberian and Neva Masquerade, Persian, Norwegian Forest Cat, European Shorthair (3rd)

Wool-Sucking Propensity

Most likely to suck wool: House cat, Norwegian Forest Cat, Turkish Van and Angora, Maine Coon

Least likely to suck wool: Russian Blue (1st); Persian (2nd); Ragdoll, Cornish Rex, British Shorthair (3rd)

Excessive Grooming

Most likely to groom excessively: Burmese and Burmilla, Oriental breeds

Least likely to groom excessively: Persian, British Shorthair (1st); Norwegian Forest Cat, Siberian and Neva Masquerade (2nd)

Behavioral Problems

Most likely to have a behavioral problem, according to owners: Oriental breeds, Persian

Least likely to have a behavioral problem, according to owners: British Shorthair, European Shorthair

Interestingly, house cats (i.e., cats that were not selectively bred) were more aggressive and shyer than purebred cats.

The researchers note that such a finding may not be due to genetic differences. Although house cats and purebred cats in the study were similar in their current environment, they could have differed in their early life. Cat breeders may be especially inclined to carefully socialize kittens as they prepare them for sale or for show.

The researchers also found that the heritability of the studied behaviors was moderate, ranging from .40 to .53, which is similar to the previously estimated heritability of behaviors among dogs. This number indicates that approximately half of the variance in cats' behaviors can be attributed to genetic variations in the population. Therefore, nature appears to play a non-trivial role in cats’ personality.

Finally, the researchers identified correlations among both physical and behavioral traits in cats.

For example, more sedentary and longer-haired cats were less inclined to seek human contact. The researchers suggest that Ragdoll breeders, for instance, may have chosen to breed calm cats that would be fine with being handled and brushed by humans. Calm cats are also less active and thus may be less inclined to seek human interaction.

Although nature matters, nurture cannot be dismissed. Certainly, the human role in a domestic cats’ disposition is significant in multiple ways, shaping both their genes and environments.

Some Common Health Issues

Least aggressive: Ragdoll - Regular vet checkups are crucial for a Ragdoll’s health, as they might be prone to certain genetic issues including hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (thickening of the heart muscle), environmental and food allergies, and bladder stones.

Most cuddly: Maine Coon - It is a native breed that developed naturally over time. Despite this, there are still some genetic health issues to watch out for such as: Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, Hip Dysplasia, and Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Most active: Devon Rex - Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), Polycystic Kidney Disease, Hip Dysplasia, Luxating Patella

Least active: Exotic Shorthair - Health problems that their brachycephalic features can cause include: Jaw deformities, Breathing issues, and Eye problems; and Persian - Well-bred Persian cats can be healthy and robust. But there are still some Persian cat health issues you should be aware of: Polycystic kidney disease, Brachycephalic syndrome, Progressive retinal atrophy

Bravest: Abyssinian - They are commonly prone to: Gingivitis, Patellar luxation, Hyperesthesia, Renal amyloidosis, Pyruvate kinase deficiency

And some fun infographics I found for you:

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ⚜ More: References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

Hope this helps with your writing!