Giveaway In Honor of the Year of the Snake
I like snakes. Always have.
This is a bit ironic when you consider my debut novel features Korean characters, and Koreans, as a rule, hate snakes. They even have separate snake words indicative of size (and hence, scariness)–small snake, big snake, etc. Not only that, my Korean/Caucasian protagonist Kendra is pursuing a career in herpetology with an emphasis on reptiles. Oh, well, consistency is boring, right?
In North America, many are not overly fond of the critters either. Recall the Iroquois warning “speak with a forked tongue” to refer to a bold-faced liar or the phrase “cold-blooded” to indicate an insensitive jerk. Maybe we need some snake solidarity here, especially since today begins The Year of the Snake.
Here are some positive attributes. A snake person is wise. S/he is an intuitive, caring friend who can act with conviction. A snake craves love. Me. A snake loves books. Me, me. Oh, and you’ll love this one: a snake is fashion-forward. Ah, in my youth…
Yes, in case you haven’t guessed, I am a snake.
Let’s usher in this new year with some fun snakey stuff. Leave a comment with a snake fact, snake quote, snake lore, or snake poem. For each entry, I will put your name in a hat, and in the beginning of March I will draw a name to win a $20 Barnes & Noble card. I’ll start.
The world’s great age begins anew/The golden years return
The earth like a snake renew/ Her winter weeds outworn
–Percy Bysshe Shelley
I look forward to your snake comments. Good luck for the drawing! And please don’t call it Chinese New Year. Lunar New Year is celebrated in China, Korea, Laos, and Vietnam. I’ll be celebrating today with a goodly portion of duk guk, without which I may not grow a year older. Yum!
Oh, and Sae hae bok manee pahdu saeyo! May you receive many New Year’s blessings!
6 thoughts on “Giveaway In Honor of the Year of the Snake”
My ‘snake lore’ will come in the form of a story from my childhood. I grew up out in the country, about 7 miles outside of town in a very small rural housing area. So much of my time was spent outdoors having adventures. We used to take long walks out on an old cow trail as several people would dump their trash illegally out there and for kids that was an adventure too good to pass up. On one trip we were there and I saw some strange patterned thing laying on the ground and reached down to touch it and it moved. I swear I probably jumped 10 feet in the air as I realized it was a snake. We ran back and then watched it from about a dozen yards away as it slithered its way across the trail. At the time, and still in my imagination, the thing was enormous. It seemed like it took forever to cross the road. It was only a harmless bull snake albeit a thick bugger and fairly long. But I will always remember it as the kind of monster that you see Conan fighting in the old Frank Frazetta covered novel. LOL!
Yay! And you were the hero confronting the monster (though at a discreet distance). Well done! I wasn’t familiar with bull snakes, so I looked into it. They can appear pretty fearsome. Thanks for the story, Carl.
Interesting serendipity there Deb! I found your request to not call it the Chinese new year interesting, as my Chinese friends do just that, I’ll have to ask them about it now. 🙂
Hi Kristy,
Yes, you’re right. I think most Chinese (and Caucasians) call it Chinese New Year. Other Asians not so much. Thanks for your comment.
I have spent most of my life in Michigan, the land in which there is nothing in the mammal, insect, reptile, amphibian or fish world that can kill you, or want to eat you. We now have a winter place in Florida where our friends yell at us when we wander into the brush to hunt for golf balls or sit in the grass. My friend’s son taught me this ditty which I am sure all southern kids learn in school regarding coral snakes: red on yellow kills a fellow; red on white, the kid’s all right…so when I see a red, yellow and white snake, I’m going to take the time to look at the order of the colors? Not likely! I am a newcomer to goodreads and have never responded to the comments until now. I hope to get more involved in the site. I have published non- fiction and am venturing into fiction as a retirement plan!
Hi Cindy,
Welcome to Goodreads! There’s lots to learn about the site, and in my case I’m afraid I don’t know what I don’t know. I’m glad you chose Pen in her Hand for your debut Goodreads-related comment. You are the author of Chippewa Lake? I liked your book description, and the cover is lovely.
Thanks for the snake ditty. It made me laugh!