Sarah Tanburn 💙 📚 🖊️
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sarahtanburnwriter.bsky.social
Sarah Tanburn 💙 📚 🖊️
@sarahtanburnwriter.bsky.social
1.2K followers 1.1K following 270 posts
Writer, reader, sailor, hiker, based South Wales. Am querying BORN OF COURAGE, turning maritime histfic on its head. www.ladyturtlepress.cymru for Welsh fantasy collection Children of the Land. Also write essays & reviews.
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sarahtanburnwriter.bsky.social
Off on my hols this week so will catch up with #wipsnips, #histficmay and my riotous fictional dinner party when I get back. In the meantime, here are my toes on a genuine Roman mosaic in southern England. Yes, I was excited.
Two white feet stand on a Roman mosaic. The central pattern is a large urn with curved handles in a frame surrounded by abstract patterns. The tiles are dark brown and cream.
May 11, 2025 at 5:46 PM
sarahtanburnwriter.bsky.social
Choose 20 FICTIONAL CHARACTERS who you would invite to a Dinner Party.

1 character per day for 20 days. No explanations, just gifs or pics (names only in the ALT text). Day 18
A Black woman, heavily muscled, wearing a strong breastplate with leather straps and a belt, a sword at her belt stands against a blurred background of buildings, barrels and firelight. This is Nanisca, the Woman King of the film, called Nanisca, based the all-female warrior unit, the Agojie, of the army of Dahomey in the 17-19th centuries. As fictionalised she is a fascinating character.
May 10, 2025 at 1:46 PM
sarahtanburnwriter.bsky.social
Morgen of the Strait and her volcanic lover Magda shape their dream of a sanctuary made of ice water and fire. CHILDREN OF THE LAND (amzn.eu/d/cj46RtR) is love stories set ina world where geopolitics and climate change have made for strange bed fellows.
#wipsnips
#writingcommunity
#where
The text sits between two copies of the same picture, a close up of pieces of black pillow lava embedded in brown rock. Pillow lava is created when hot, erupting magma meets very cold water. There is some on the shores of Ynys Llandwyn in north Wales. I took this picture in Antarctica in 2016
May 10, 2025 at 1:42 PM
sarahtanburnwriter.bsky.social
Choose 20 FICTIONAL CHARACTERS who you would invite to a Dinner Party.

1 character per day for 20 days. No explanations, just gifs or pics (names only in the ALT text). Day 17
A woman with a short, mannish hair cut, wearing a black overcoat and a white shirt with sharp collar points, sits in profile, the left side of her face to us. Her right hand rests at her hip, a long finger curling over there thigh. She is painted against a severe grey background, the lower part of which resembles an extrapolated shadow. This is the cover of an old Penguin classics edition of The Well of Loneliness, a fundamentally important part of British lesbian history. When I came out, it was pretty much the *only* UK lesbian book around. I would love to invite Stephen Gordon to dinner, to show her that lesbians can be happy as women loving women, and that brevity is a virtue.
May 9, 2025 at 4:01 PM
sarahtanburnwriter.bsky.social
Is there a sequel to Wm's story in #amquerying BORN OF COURAGE asks #HistFicMay. Indeed there is: NOT ALONE takes her story from heartbreak and war to liberty, love & peace after Waterloo. She's not done wandering though: our last view of her is seeing a right whale off Portugal. Is this a trilogy?
The head of a right whale is just above the surface her eye glistening slightly. Around her is blue, slightly rippled sea water. This lovely picture is (uncredited) at https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/north-atlantic-right-whale. North Atlantic right whales are today endangered.
May 9, 2025 at 3:52 PM
sarahtanburnwriter.bsky.social
Adain tells us the background of the man who has come to the valley with his horses & hawks. This was the first story written in t CHILDREN OF THE LAND (amzn.eu/d/cj46RtR), and introduced me to the strange, future Cymru of those tales & wip WILDWOOD
#wipsnips
#writingcommunity
#college => #school
A few lines of text in a cursive script on lines on a background that vaguely resembles an old school text book.
May 9, 2025 at 3:46 PM
sarahtanburnwriter.bsky.social
Choose 20 FICTIONAL CHARACTERS who you would invite to a Dinner Party.

1 character per day for 20 days. No explanations, just gifs or pics (names only in the ALT text). Day 16
Image of a young woman wearing a shirt and tie (loose at the collar) and a v-neck jumper (ie a school uniform). The picture is painted on to bricks, as a mural and a speech bubble from her says 'I'm the wee... lesbian'. Clare from Derry Girls (played by Nicola Coughlan), here depicted in a Dublin mural by Emmalene Blake. Brave (despite herself), loving, in need of love, very, very funny. So much to enjoy in a dinner guest.
May 8, 2025 at 9:32 AM
sarahtanburnwriter.bsky.social
Who is Wm Brown based on, #HistFicMay asks? Literally, on the slimmest of archival evidence. As a created character: a mix of people I know IRL, Nancy Blackett, Moll Frith, Aubrey, Tituba of Salem, Prospero & Caliban, Nanisca, Mintah & more. Survivors, tricksters, warriors, wanderers, leaders.
A white woman, shown head and shoulders, gazing upwards from a standpoint above the tempestuous sea. This is Helen Mirren in the 2010 film version of The Tempest where she played Prospero, Pic by Julie Taymor, from a discussion at https://www.maramarietta.com/the-arts/shakespeare/the-tempest-pericles/.
May 8, 2025 at 9:21 AM
sarahtanburnwriter.bsky.social
Not everyone in CHILDREN OF THE LAND (amzn.eu/d/cj46RtR) is human. Morgen is the genius loci of the Menai Strait. She is listening to her explosive lover, Magda, play the flute and overhears two men who want to evict Magda from her home.
#wipsnips
#writingcommunity
#give
Picture of a flute made from a long piece of bone, against a grey background on which the text is superimposed. This image, from https://minim.ac.uk/index.php/explore/?instrument=42556, shows an extremely rare, later 1800’s musical instrument now held in the Brighton Museum collection.
May 8, 2025 at 9:09 AM
sarahtanburnwriter.bsky.social
Many inhabitants of that future Cymru in CHILDREN OF THE LAND (amzn.eu/d/cj46RtR) show little mercy to their enemies. Mwyn has none for that spy within her mine who has betrayed her to a brutal fight.

#wipsnips
#writingcommunity
#hello
A picture of grey pavers lies behind the text. (I took this picture in 2015; I have no memory why.)
May 7, 2025 at 4:15 PM
sarahtanburnwriter.bsky.social
Choose 20 FICTIONAL CHARACTERS who you would invite to a Dinner Party.

1 character per day for 20 days. No explanations, just gifs or pics (names only in the ALT text). Day 15
Image of a teenage woman in a pink teeshirt and red jacket over jeans with a multi coloured belt. Around her neck are several chains and beads. She has long blonde hair and is sitting outdoors looking rather cross at something happening out of shot slightly to her right. The background is blurred grass and a few buildings, and a small, pink conical tent. Aimee Gibbs is played by Aimee Lou Wood in Sex Education. She suffers a s3xual assault on the bus and it’s a struggle for her to get past it. My wife (much more a fan of the series than me) nominated her so all the other fierce women can both help her to revenge and show her how when life kicks you in the ass, you can become kickass too. And she can show them how to thrive in the modern world of gadgets and transparency.
May 7, 2025 at 11:24 AM
sarahtanburnwriter.bsky.social
Choose 20 FICTIONAL CHARACTERS who you would invite to a Dinner Party.

1 character per day for 20 days. No explanations, just gifs or pics (names only in the ALT text). Day 14
Fiorinda, leading lady in the Gwyneth Jones quintet Bold as Love, is an extraordinary woman. Brave, determined, passionate, both loving and a Bele Dame Sans Merci, she would probably want to bring Sage and Ax with her. They might be allowed into this otherwise all woman space because they are so interesting. http://bryan-talbot.com/oldsite/Images/gallery10/Fio.jpg drew this image
May 6, 2025 at 9:47 AM
sarahtanburnwriter.bsky.social
CHILDREN OF THE LAND (amzn.eu/d/cj46RtR) includes some passionate affairs. Here is Dai, in Bones and Fire, recalling a first night like no other.

#wipsnips
#writingcommunity
#bed
A magnificent photo of a barn owl in hunting mode, its wings high like those of an angel, captured against an orange full moon. The text is in orange across the black sky. The picture is not credited, and comes from https://www.countrylife.co.uk/nature/white-feathered-barn-owls-terrify-prey-submission-like-ghost-coming-202918
May 6, 2025 at 9:41 AM
sarahtanburnwriter.bsky.social
If I took William to dinner, we would talk about ships, about the sea and the wind and the call of whales. #HistFicMay, taking my MC out (more likely for a quiet jar, though she rarely drinks.)
Pic of a sailor standing on the rope beneath the yard on a tall ship. He is hard to seee as shot against the sun. The yard is heavy wood with a sail furled against it. The line upward from it are protected by furry sheaths (baggywrinkles and on the end of the yard are heavy blocks. I took this picture in the Southern Ocean. William is a woman disguised as a man serving on tall ships in the early 1800s. This image is anachronistic in that it includes more modern materials for sail and lines, and the crew member is standing on a metal rope, but you get the idea.
May 6, 2025 at 9:39 AM
sarahtanburnwriter.bsky.social
Choose 20 FICTIONAL CHARACTERS who you would invite to a Dinner Party.

1 character per day for 20 days. No explanations, just gifs or pics (names only in the ALT text). Day 13
Picture of a woman’s face. Her eyes fade into shade. Her mouth is covered in black (like a Covid mask but without ear straps). Nazareth, linguist genius in Native Tongue, would undoubtedly be excellent and stimulating company - and might help to manage the many egos I have managed to invite so far! Contrary to this picture, Nazareth talks plenty, and has a great deal of sense to share.
May 5, 2025 at 8:37 PM
sarahtanburnwriter.bsky.social
In CHILDREN OF THE LAND (amzn.eu/d/aotNCma), the story The Flow, takes Enfys on a journey in England. The River Thames (Tafwys in Cymraeg) is her ally, in his own fashion.

#wipsnips
#writingcommunity
#revenge
White text is superimposed on an image of a flooded river with houses to one side and boats in the distance. The pic, by Peter Glaze, is at https://www.mylondon.news/weather/new-london-weather-map-shows-28019512, illustrating how easily London will flood if/when the Thames Barrier fails.
May 5, 2025 at 7:53 AM
sarahtanburnwriter.bsky.social
The MC of #amquerying BORN OF COURAGE & sequel NOT ALONE is William Brown - a young, free Black woman. Born in St Lucia, imprisoned in England, she loses everyone she cares for & must make her own way in a strange land. She loves the ocean, her freedom, and a few people. Can she have them all?
A statue of a Black woman stands against the grey sky. She is heavily pregnant. She wears a simple dress . This is the statue of Solitude La Mulatresse, heroine of events in Guadeloupe in 1802, which stands in Point-à-Pitre. Solitude is an off-stage character in the books.
May 5, 2025 at 7:40 AM
sarahtanburnwriter.bsky.social
Choose 20 FICTIONAL CHARACTERS who you would invite to a Dinner Party.

1 character per day for 20 days. No explanations, just gifs or pics (names only in the ALT text). Day 12
Headshot of a beautiful woman of East Asian heritage in a richly jewelled headdress which suspends gold across her forehead. She is wearing a raised collar in purple embroidered with metallic thread and edged with more gold. (Courtesy of Starlight Media taken from https://variety.com/2016/tv/asia/chinese-actress-xiaoqing-liu-developing-empress-tv-series-1201918978/) I take this image for Wu Zetian, the only female emperor of China. She is not fictional, though there have been dramas about her extraordinary life and more should be made. She ruled 624-705 CE and certainly bears comparison to other great female rulers such as Catherine the Great or Elizabeth 1. However, she has the reputation of having been extremely cruel to any rivals. Learn more about her at https://www.asianstudies.org/publications/eaa/archives/wu-zhao-ruler-of-tang-dynasty-china/. As a dinner guest, she would be fascinating if frightening, and if she had any hand in preparing the food, we might also need a taster.
May 4, 2025 at 10:00 AM
sarahtanburnwriter.bsky.social
Today's #HistFicMay is fave quote from my writing. I found this difficult cos too many are rather (ahem) vivid or violent, or have massive spoilers. This is from Not Alone, the sequel to #amquerying BORN OF COURAGE. Wm has escaped Guadeloupe, is back in disguise & at sea, returning to Jamaica.
Some text in black in a black frame. Along the bottom is a line of four stylised drawings of a turtle, three going left to right and one going the other way. This drawing is the logo of my own micro publisher, Lady Turtle Press.
May 4, 2025 at 9:47 AM
sarahtanburnwriter.bsky.social
#WILDWOOD #amediting a new Welsh fantasy. Gwen returns to Wales.

#wipsnips
#writingcommunity
#force
A white man in a grey shirt faces a white woman in a white shirt. They are glaring into each other's eyes. He has one finger raised towards her face. Image generated by AI and not wholly fitting to the idea in my head but I am no visual artist. Words to the right of the picture, all enclosed in a black frame.
May 4, 2025 at 9:36 AM
sarahtanburnwriter.bsky.social
In #amediting WILDWOOD, Gwen is given an impossible choice by Rhys, who she thought was her friend.

#wipsnips
#writingcommunity
#apparent

CW: small swear.
Water reflects the black of the hedge and the gold of the sun. Text is superimposed over the gold. Photo taken by me in 2014, of sunset on the River Fal in Cornwall, England. No real relationship to the text, but sufficiently abstract to pass.
May 3, 2025 at 2:10 PM
sarahtanburnwriter.bsky.social
#HistFicMay #amquerying BORN IF COURAGE. A lifetime of inspiration & influence. Maybe CLR James meets Patrick O’Brian, all directed by Maryse Condé.
À Blaxk man wearing sailor’s slops is surrounded by white officers in Naval uniform. He is pointing upwards while looking round at a Marine, and speaking. Around them are hints of warships (rope, sails, bulwarks) and battle - a haze of smoke blurs the background, one of the officer’s has his head bandaged and the Marina is aiming his gun where the Black sailor is pointing. This is a detail from Louis Daniel Maclise’s vast painting The Death of Nelson. It shows a Black man on the bridge of HMS Victory pointing to the sharpshooter who had killed the Admiral. Maclise made this painting some 60 years after the battle of Trafalgar and interviewed people who were there. This painting is further evidence of the presence of Black sailors in the British Royal Navy in the late 18th & early 19th centuries. Regulations prohibited enslaved persons serving as sailors, so we can assume this man was free. There is other evidence of named Black sailors, including George Ryan who is shown on Nelson’s column. The Maclise painting also shows women aboard Victory, working as nurses.
May 3, 2025 at 7:13 AM
sarahtanburnwriter.bsky.social
In #amediting WILDWOOD, war is in the planning. Islwyn is the first man to die.

#wipsnips
#writingcommunity
#over => #covered
A swarthy man (possibly dual heritage or Native American but definitely, to me, Celtic) with short dark hair, lies, eyes closed and mouth slightly ajar on a trestle table. There are big wounds on his foreheads, stitched shut. A woven blanket in earthy tones of blue, red and yellow covers him. Pic generated by me using Canva. Text snippet next to it. All enclosed in a black frame.
May 2, 2025 at 9:15 AM
sarahtanburnwriter.bsky.social
Choose 20 FICTIONAL CHARACTERS who you would invite to a Dinner Party.

1 character per day for 20 days. No explanations, just gifs or pics (names only in the ALT text). Day 11
A woman with long blond hair stares out of the picture. She wears a round helmet sealed at the neck but see through, and underneath a flowing robe and cape. She stands on red soil. This extremely unlikely image is the result of asking Canva to show me Maya Toitovna on Mars. Maya was one of the First Hundred in Kim Stanley Robin's Mars series, a fearsomely brilliant, determined and volatile scientist. I want more scientists at this party! She lived a very long time, was extremely active in the debates around aeroforming and independence. I love her and think she would be an amazing guest. For anyone interested in the fictional stories of Martian Independence, @mikeduncan.bsky.social is currently making an extraordinary series of podcasts in his (otherwise historical) massive set of Revolutions series which is a another way of thinking about the complex interplay of power, ethics, nature and resources.
May 2, 2025 at 8:11 AM
sarahtanburnwriter.bsky.social
in #HistFicMay I'm talking about BORN OF COURAGE: #amquerying 92k maritime novel upending the genre. We know of Wm from this London interview in May 1815. This Black female sailor was lying, from the muster books of HMS Queen Charlotte. So who was this consummate trickster & survivor?
A page of tightly typed newsprint from May 1815, kept in the National Archives at Kew.
May 2, 2025 at 7:54 AM