Comment on Mermaid and Captain by LiberLibelula
I love this! Where are the romace/fantasy novels you write? I would like to read them! (Yo hablo espanol, tambien. He traducido para los doctores de oncologia.) AND I have no idea how you get accents in Spanish on here, lol!
Hi Poetsiren! ¡Encantada!
For now, only one is published, and you can find it here in amazon: La dama y el bandolero. It's available in digital format and softcover edition (I guarantee that the print quality is very good), and you can read a good chunk in the preview mode. The story is set in the south of Spain in the first half of the XIXth century. Bandits! The church! Semana Santa! Angry bulls! All the topics ever known to existence gather in this book that I must admit, wrote without taking anything seriously. And then people liked it XD
Translating the accents can be tricky, specially such thick accents like Andalusians. I'm translating the novel to English, and the hardest things are the made up expressions, you know, common phrases. But luckily there's always some English equivalent ^^
For now, only one is published, and you can find it here in amazon: La dama y el bandolero. It's available in digital format and softcover edition (I guarantee that the print quality is very good), and you can read a good chunk in the preview mode. The story is set in the south of Spain in the first half of the XIXth century. Bandits! The church! Semana Santa! Angry bulls! All the topics ever known to existence gather in this book that I must admit, wrote without taking anything seriously. And then people liked it XD
Translating the accents can be tricky, specially such thick accents like Andalusians. I'm translating the novel to English, and the hardest things are the made up expressions, you know, common phrases. But luckily there's always some English equivalent ^^
I agree that translating from Andalusian Spanish is difficult! I do very well with Latin American and Central American Spanish, and that is mostly what is used in my area. However, I had a professor who only spoke Spanish as though she was from Andalucia - it was the most rigorous class I ever had. I was fine with the book work, but it was her oral teaching lessons, haha, that had me often stumped! I often tell people that there is a distinct difference - if the tongues were drinks, then Central/Latin American Spanish was like drinking ginger ale, and Spain was like drinking champagne! LOL! (No offense to anyone out there! That's just how my language student brain could tell the difference!)
As for the books, I am quite interested in period pieces, as well! My favorite, though, is a book with mermaids - for them I will read almost anything!
Best of luck on your new piece and translating your editions into English!
As for the books, I am quite interested in period pieces, as well! My favorite, though, is a book with mermaids - for them I will read almost anything!
Best of luck on your new piece and translating your editions into English!
No offense taken at all! It's true that Spanish from Spain sounds more... polished, and Latin Spanish is more musical, like more friendly. Funny thing is, I'd rather hear a video tutorial in Latin Spanish than my own, because it's easier to keep one's attention on their voices.
Ooouch, that professor must have been vicious to teach non-Spanish students in Andalucian accent! XD I tell you, every province has a different accent, and then every town and village have their own as well. In mine the accent is brutal. The foreigners that come here get bewildered. Most of us speak normally, but there's an age, specially in boys from 10 to 19 or so, where the accent is the rawest you can imagine. How could I describe it? I'll put an example:
Normal Spanish: "Ven a mi casa a comer cerezas y cerveza"
Andalucian Spanish: "Vente pa mi casa a comé zerezah y zerveza"
My town Spanish: "Vente pa mi caha' comé herehah y herveha"
When I got to college in the capital, my friends laughed their asses off everytime my accent slipped a little. And people said about me "But why does she have that accent so weird?". It was most funny XDD
Oh, mermaids! I've grown quite interested in them for a while and wanted to read a good book about them. I got "Waterfire" by Jennifer Donelly, but I found it quite disappointing. It was as if it was supposed to be a high-school-princess story, and in the last moment the writer changed humans for mermaids and legs for tails. These mermaids dye their hair and use makeup, play music (underwater), shoot arrows (Underwater???), sit (underwater?? You've got tails, what's the point of sitting? Just lay on a rock, you'll be more comfortable!). Along with undersea puns and stuff. I don't often mind those things, but I found it hard to get inmersed in that story, and since then I'm afraid that the rest of mermaid books will be more of the same.
Have you got any recommendations? (By the way, I'm on Goodreads, so if you're there as well we could talk about books!
)
Ooouch, that professor must have been vicious to teach non-Spanish students in Andalucian accent! XD I tell you, every province has a different accent, and then every town and village have their own as well. In mine the accent is brutal. The foreigners that come here get bewildered. Most of us speak normally, but there's an age, specially in boys from 10 to 19 or so, where the accent is the rawest you can imagine. How could I describe it? I'll put an example:
Normal Spanish: "Ven a mi casa a comer cerezas y cerveza"
Andalucian Spanish: "Vente pa mi casa a comé zerezah y zerveza"
My town Spanish: "Vente pa mi caha' comé herehah y herveha"
When I got to college in the capital, my friends laughed their asses off everytime my accent slipped a little. And people said about me "But why does she have that accent so weird?". It was most funny XDD
Oh, mermaids! I've grown quite interested in them for a while and wanted to read a good book about them. I got "Waterfire" by Jennifer Donelly, but I found it quite disappointing. It was as if it was supposed to be a high-school-princess story, and in the last moment the writer changed humans for mermaids and legs for tails. These mermaids dye their hair and use makeup, play music (underwater), shoot arrows (Underwater???), sit (underwater?? You've got tails, what's the point of sitting? Just lay on a rock, you'll be more comfortable!). Along with undersea puns and stuff. I don't often mind those things, but I found it hard to get inmersed in that story, and since then I'm afraid that the rest of mermaid books will be more of the same.
Have you got any recommendations? (By the way, I'm on Goodreads, so if you're there as well we could talk about books!
)omg.... I am laughing at your Spanish accent differences! I mean, in America we all have different accents depending on the state we live in, so I can imagine that any country is similar in their tongues. I apologize that I am not speaking more spanish with you - even though I translated for a living, English is my primary language and I am a bit out of practice being surrounded for several years by English-speakers in med school. I was pleased to notice that just a few conversations in Spanish with Spanish-only patients brought some of it back. That was why I got into Spanish, I realized it was a gateway to getting a better medical education, lol. There was a need here for Spanish speaking providers, and even a need for translators. I have few extended family in Peru and Guatemala, so the interest was piqued in high school, but when college came around and I was working in a hospital, I realized JUST how much more useful I was to the doctors, and more importantly to the families, when I was ordered to go to the ER because the translation phone system went down in the hospital. I was only a Freshman in college, but had taken Spanish devotedly every year in high school and was in 3 Spanish classes that year in college. So I just kept my pre-med curriculum and, unfortunately, had to take an extra year of Spanish after graduating because there were too few Spanish professors to teach the higher level courses. BTW, I have translated for Cuban immigrants as well, and noticed immediately that their accents were different. One of the words..... hi'gado. It was a comical conversation in Spanish between myself and the patient to figure out that they pronounce it "fee-ga-do." I was like, where did the F come from???? LOL.
I cannot STAND the fishy-puns in books. And why have the sea animals speak like a Disney cartoon?! Ugh.... Pet peeves in mermaid novels! I have been reading a few Young Adult books in mermaids just because they are so much faster to read while I was in med school. I can tell you that you would NOT like "Sea Change." Unless you want to read puns along with a gaggle of 13-15 year olds drinking alcohol all the time and talking about having sex. I'm an older female, so that was a big HELL-TO-THE-NO. Unfortunately, once I start something - book or movie - I have to finish it. :/ Also, the "Forgive My Fins" trilogy - a fussy, coming of age FOREVER-PUNS run-on gags. It was awful.
I read every part of the trilogy. 
And yes, I laugh at the fact that I hated it so much, but still read it - all three of them. I will PM you my Goodreads account and you can see what I liked. Like I said, I read EVERYTHING mermaid. LOL. I read everything from erotica/romance to teen, lol. Similarly, you can skip the Amber Garr Syrenka series. The character was sooo fickle, couldn't EVER make up her mind, and the errors in it just killed it for me. Good promise, poor execution. Again.... a trilogy.
The ones I'm about to list are not from Teen or Young Adult books:
My favorites are 1) Shanna Abe - The Last Mermaid (made me cry it was soooo good! Very complex. Sweet.) It came out long before the throngs of mermaid books started pouring out. 2) Monstrous Beauty - the best new mermaid fable on the market as far as I'm concerned. Completely unique mermaid experience. Just written gorgeously. (Did I mention I LOVE ambiance? Well, I do. I have to have the descriptions to be fully immersed.) 3) The Mermaid's Knight by Jill Myles was an interesting retelling of a woman sent back in time as The Little Mermaid. She spends a surprising amount of time as a mermaid, which was nice. If you like that one, then also PC Cast has another one in her Goddess series - Goddess of the Sea. It was a fave until The Mermaid's Knight knocked it completely out of place because it's very similar in concept. 4) The SEABORNE trilogy - omg - a little more erotic but I could NOT put it down. 5) The Mermaid of Penperro was about 2 people who con others into thinking that a singer is a mermaid so that they can achieve something in the coastal town. Not really mermaid, but an interesting read. Of course,another one not really on my favorites list, but as an add-on for a different genre: there is a dark drama book called "In Great Waters." It's a lonely, abusive tale of a halfbreed of merman, stuggling to survive on land in medieval times. Sad, but I kept reading it despite how dark it was. It really painted an interesting picture of monarchs of the time.
If you want my erotica recommendations or YA recommendations, let me know, I would have to use a separate post, lol, because I think that this page is long enough. HAHAHA!
Glad to meet another kindred spirit when it comes to mermaid books!
I cannot STAND the fishy-puns in books. And why have the sea animals speak like a Disney cartoon?! Ugh.... Pet peeves in mermaid novels! I have been reading a few Young Adult books in mermaids just because they are so much faster to read while I was in med school. I can tell you that you would NOT like "Sea Change." Unless you want to read puns along with a gaggle of 13-15 year olds drinking alcohol all the time and talking about having sex. I'm an older female, so that was a big HELL-TO-THE-NO. Unfortunately, once I start something - book or movie - I have to finish it. :/ Also, the "Forgive My Fins" trilogy - a fussy, coming of age FOREVER-PUNS run-on gags. It was awful.
I read every part of the trilogy. And yes, I laugh at the fact that I hated it so much, but still read it - all three of them. I will PM you my Goodreads account and you can see what I liked. Like I said, I read EVERYTHING mermaid. LOL. I read everything from erotica/romance to teen, lol. Similarly, you can skip the Amber Garr Syrenka series. The character was sooo fickle, couldn't EVER make up her mind, and the errors in it just killed it for me. Good promise, poor execution. Again.... a trilogy.
The ones I'm about to list are not from Teen or Young Adult books:
My favorites are 1) Shanna Abe - The Last Mermaid (made me cry it was soooo good! Very complex. Sweet.) It came out long before the throngs of mermaid books started pouring out. 2) Monstrous Beauty - the best new mermaid fable on the market as far as I'm concerned. Completely unique mermaid experience. Just written gorgeously. (Did I mention I LOVE ambiance? Well, I do. I have to have the descriptions to be fully immersed.) 3) The Mermaid's Knight by Jill Myles was an interesting retelling of a woman sent back in time as The Little Mermaid. She spends a surprising amount of time as a mermaid, which was nice. If you like that one, then also PC Cast has another one in her Goddess series - Goddess of the Sea. It was a fave until The Mermaid's Knight knocked it completely out of place because it's very similar in concept. 4) The SEABORNE trilogy - omg - a little more erotic but I could NOT put it down. 5) The Mermaid of Penperro was about 2 people who con others into thinking that a singer is a mermaid so that they can achieve something in the coastal town. Not really mermaid, but an interesting read. Of course,another one not really on my favorites list, but as an add-on for a different genre: there is a dark drama book called "In Great Waters." It's a lonely, abusive tale of a halfbreed of merman, stuggling to survive on land in medieval times. Sad, but I kept reading it despite how dark it was. It really painted an interesting picture of monarchs of the time.
If you want my erotica recommendations or YA recommendations, let me know, I would have to use a separate post, lol, because I think that this page is long enough. HAHAHA!
Glad to meet another kindred spirit when it comes to mermaid books!
I like to think that once you know both English and Spanish, half your language problems become easier, due to how extended these two are around the world. To me, English has been a lifesaver, both in my career, culturally and in the most mundane things. And Cuban accent! It's nice to hear, but it's true that they pronounce a lot of words their own way and very... loose and fast. My boyfriend and I watched a hilarious zombie movie called "Juan de los Muertos" (seriously, if you like zombies, watch it!), and even though they spoke Spanish, we needed to download subtitles because we couldn't understand a thing XD
Uff. High-school mermaids. I don't know, I see mermaids as either underwater creepy vampires, or fae-like water creatures, much similar to Andersen's version. As long as they keep some differences with mainstream humans and their habits and attitude are adapted to their habitat and written in a believable way, I think I can take it. Just no fishy puns. I love silly puns, but when I'm joking, not when trying go get inmersed in a mermaid story.
I'm definitely writing down all your recommendations! Those are a lot of books *w* Probably I'll have to get them in English, but well, you can't have it all XD Thank you so much for this!
Uff. High-school mermaids. I don't know, I see mermaids as either underwater creepy vampires, or fae-like water creatures, much similar to Andersen's version. As long as they keep some differences with mainstream humans and their habits and attitude are adapted to their habitat and written in a believable way, I think I can take it. Just no fishy puns. I love silly puns, but when I'm joking, not when trying go get inmersed in a mermaid story.
I'm definitely writing down all your recommendations! Those are a lot of books *w* Probably I'll have to get them in English, but well, you can't have it all XD Thank you so much for this!
Yes, I have alot of books on my Goodreads. Still a GREAT many more in the "want to read" lists, LOL!
I think you would really like my first 3 recommendations that I listed. Glad to share!!
As for Spanish movies, my 2 favorites since having watched them in my Spanish Cinema class are El día de la Bestia (which I remember hearing that it was actually illegal in Spain) and El espíritu de la colmena. (HA! Accents transfer when copying/pasting!) As a kid I LOVED horror. As an adult I'd rather watch action or romantic comedies. But I had to write a paper on El espíritu de la colmena, but I loved that move. I also had to write a paper on the movie "La Lengua de las Mariposas" and, although the movie wasn't a favorite, the paper I wrote WAS! Good memories!
Anywho, let me know what you end up reading!
I think you would really like my first 3 recommendations that I listed. Glad to share!!
As for Spanish movies, my 2 favorites since having watched them in my Spanish Cinema class are El día de la Bestia (which I remember hearing that it was actually illegal in Spain) and El espíritu de la colmena. (HA! Accents transfer when copying/pasting!) As a kid I LOVED horror. As an adult I'd rather watch action or romantic comedies. But I had to write a paper on El espíritu de la colmena, but I loved that move. I also had to write a paper on the movie "La Lengua de las Mariposas" and, although the movie wasn't a favorite, the paper I wrote WAS! Good memories!
Anywho, let me know what you end up reading!
I'm currently inmersed in the "Shatter me" saga by Tahereh Mafi. It has every topic from young romantic/dystopian stories, but somehow the writer manages to make everything new and appealing. It might be the only time I've been pleased with a romantic triangle (and I HATE them), because she does it in a quite realistic way that I love.
Spanish cinema is... tricky. It's only been about a decade since luckily some younger folks have been making their way with horror and comedy, and they've brough some fresh air in the panorama. They don't take themselves so seriously and that's great. Most of people really loathed Spanish movies because they were the most sperpentic and gut-revolting thing ever. Also, always focused in the same themes, which honestly weren't my cup of taste. But that was before. Now things are getting better!
I personally like the REC saga a lot, specially the third one. So crazy! (zombies) "El cuerpo" was a murder thriller, very exciting. "The orphanage" was cool too, but I recomment getting subtitles instead of putting the volume up, because the scares can leave you deaf. "Pagafantas" and "Tres bodas de más" were silly comedies, but I rolled on the floor with them. Some memorable scenes!
I haven't seen "El día de la Bestia", but it's like a classic. I still don't know what it's about... I should watch it. I don't remember it being illegal, perhaps there was some fuss about it, the same as with Dan Brown books. See, the kind that only fuels its popularity XD I haven't watched "El espíritu de la colmena", it's the first time I hear about it XD
Ugh. "La lengua de las mariposas". Screw that movie. They put it in my class when we were all about 10-11 years old and you can imagine our faces. I personally had a bad time watching it. Besides, we were too young to understand it, and now that I think back, it was clearly obvious that they were trying to put political ideas in our heads. I hate that. I wish I could wipe some scenes from my head >_<
Spanish cinema is... tricky. It's only been about a decade since luckily some younger folks have been making their way with horror and comedy, and they've brough some fresh air in the panorama. They don't take themselves so seriously and that's great. Most of people really loathed Spanish movies because they were the most sperpentic and gut-revolting thing ever. Also, always focused in the same themes, which honestly weren't my cup of taste. But that was before. Now things are getting better!
I personally like the REC saga a lot, specially the third one. So crazy! (zombies) "El cuerpo" was a murder thriller, very exciting. "The orphanage" was cool too, but I recomment getting subtitles instead of putting the volume up, because the scares can leave you deaf. "Pagafantas" and "Tres bodas de más" were silly comedies, but I rolled on the floor with them. Some memorable scenes!
I haven't seen "El día de la Bestia", but it's like a classic. I still don't know what it's about... I should watch it. I don't remember it being illegal, perhaps there was some fuss about it, the same as with Dan Brown books. See, the kind that only fuels its popularity XD I haven't watched "El espíritu de la colmena", it's the first time I hear about it XD
Ugh. "La lengua de las mariposas". Screw that movie. They put it in my class when we were all about 10-11 years old and you can imagine our faces. I personally had a bad time watching it. Besides, we were too young to understand it, and now that I think back, it was clearly obvious that they were trying to put political ideas in our heads. I hate that. I wish I could wipe some scenes from my head >_<
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