The Lucky Seven Meme & A request for help

I've not been writing too much about serious issues for the past few days, and just kinda relaxing a little bit.  After Wednesdays Mashup I plan on being back on track with some more serious issues, but I thought that I would take this opportunity to thank Breeana Puttroff for sharing with me this Lucky 7 Meme.  


Here are the rules to the Game:
1. Go to page 7 or 77 in your current manuscript.
2. Go to line 7.
3. Copy down the next seven lines (sentences??) as they are – no cheating.
4. Tag 7 other authors.


So I am grateful for the opportunity to share a few lines from my novel "Crimes of the Umbramancer" with you today.  (Incidentally I was really glad that a few weeks ago I rewrote this part so it is a little more clear.)  Started at line 7 on page 7:

*     *     *

     And his mother's scream was crystal clear at last: "Run Sora!"


     He ran down the hall and various men in black ran out of the kiften following after him with fireballs in their hands.  Throwing his bedroom door closed he ran over to his bed and hid in the corner.  Footsteps and hard breathing echoed in his ears as he prayed for deliverance.  And just as one of them was about to grab him he woke up.


     These were the nights that Sora hated.  Usually they were infrequent, but for the past week he'd had the same dream at the end of the first sleep.

*     *     *

Here's my seven victims who you should visit their sites.  (Pretty much this is the Word Mongering Crowd.)  For the record, none of you are expected to do this.  It is a just if you want thing. :D


1. Morgan Dragonwillow
2. Moni-Marie Vincent
3. Julie Jordan Scott
4. Eden Mabee
5. Annie Grey
6. Asrai, Mavin of Mischief
7. Julia Indigo

*     *     *

And that is it.  I thought it worth mentioning that at an event called, "Writing for Charity" I learned that discovery writers like myself is that we tend to do a lot of rewrites of the stories that we are working on.  Which is why I've always found myself revising so quickly.  So I'm planning on figuring out what doesn't feel right about what I've written most recently and I'm going to go ahead and continue my novel from where I left off.  It makes the most sense, and besides it cuts down on the massive amount I need to begin working through in the next month.  But I can't say this time that I've spent researching and trying to figure out what has been wrong has been for naught.  I've learned a lot about martial arts, a little about asian culture, and I thought that this would be a good opportunity to ask you my readers for some help.


One of the things about the story that I am preparing to tell is that it going to take place in an asian culture similar to either Japan, China, or Mongolia.  I would really love some recommendations for books that I can read to learn more about these cultures so that my writing can be more authentic.  


I find it a little strange that I'm starting a story in a culture foreign to my own, but I'm pretty certain there will be quite a few similarities that I'll be able to work with.  Or at least I hope so.



In the meantime, the end of the month is upcoming so take another look at our books of the month: Tankborn by Karen Sandler and Dhalgren by Samuel Delany.  Both of these are excellent books and I'm giving them away this month to a lucky follower of the blog.  Cause I know that not everyone can follow my blog there are two ways to get entries.  One is to actually follow the blog this will get your name put into my hat three times, and the other is to leave a comment on the blog.  For each comment I receive on my blog during the month of March I'll put your name into the hat once.  I enjoy doing this because it gets me reading different books, supporting authors I love, and it allows me an opportunity to give back to you, my audience.

Wednesday will be my Mashup like usual, and on Friday I hope to have a blog on guns in fiction and gun control itself. That's all from me for now; I'm Jayrod Garrett and I'm the First OG.  Any recommendations on good asian literature?