Centipedes. Not Cute.
I always thought centipedes were on the cute end of the buggy spectrum. Okay, not butterflies, not ladybugs, but kind of sweet, with all those little wiggly legs.
That was before I met Japanese centipedes.
They are not just terrifying; they are poisonous. No wonder they feature widely in the folklore. There’s one giant centipede from Japanese mythology who ate baby dragons for lunch. And of course there’s the one I put in Deadly Flowers, who tries to eat my heroine.
Read MoreLitPick Interview
“Where do you get your ideas?” “Who’s your favorite character?” “What advice would you give aspiring writers?” LitPick has an interview with me up on their webpage today!
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Things Ninjas Didn’t Do (That You Think They Did)
This is not an accurate ninja outfit (although it does make a super cool nesting doll).
1) Wear all black.
It’s so easy to think of a ninja all in black, hood over face, that even books and other resources who get other historical details right usually fall for this one. The truth is, in pre-modern times, black clothing was both rare and expensive. (It takes a lot of dye to get cloth really black, so it costs a lot.) Even if a ninja could afford an all-black outfit, he or she wouldn’t be likely to wear it on a mission.
This might be a samurai (the two swords are kind of a giveaway) or ti might be a ninja pretending to be a samurai. Hard to tell.
In feudal times, the Japanese did have access to indigo as a dye, so dark blue would not have been uncommon or rare. For a night mission, that might have worked well. But most of the time, a ninja would probably have been wearing clothes that let him or her fit in–looking like a farmer, a peasant, a beggar, a monk, a nun, or whatever else would be inconspicuous. A successful ninja = someone who doesn’t look like a ninja. That means dressing like everybody else.
Read MoreSecret Ninja Tools
Deadly fingernail weapons, known as neko-te. (A more modern and fashionable version than a 16th century ninja would have had accessed to.)
If you’re a ninja, you might need to blind an enemy (at least temporarily), cross a swamp, or turn your hairpin into a deadly weapon. Check out this website to discover some of the tools you might have used! I haven’t encountered all of these in my research, but they sound at least plausible. And I might have to use the thing about the crickets in a book someday….
Read MoreSarah L. Thomson
A children’s book author publishing award-winning nonfiction, poetry, picture books and novels including…
“Thomson focuses on newfound connection, magic, and suspense to conjure a fast-paced, heartwarming mystery. Thomson’s world is populated by resourceful protagonists, fanciful creatures, and quirky supporting characters.”
—Publishers Weekly