I dug this out of my original National Geographic, April 1982 photograph of a young Bedouin girl who was the early model in my imagination for Lirrel -- although I based her and her family structure on one of the matrilineal nomadic tribes in India that made their living through performance of song, dances, and acrobatics. Next, is a recent find by artist Dent Niggemeyer which had overtones of the Vaggers, a class of Oran travelers whose faces are covered with tree-like whorls. Last is a wonderful small watercolor by Australian artist Cherry Hood which reminded me of a younger Jobber.
"The slender woman slipped quietly into The Grinning Bird. Kai noted the way she moved with deliberate steps, her vagger's staff gripped tightly in one hand. Her almond shaped eyes matched the deep brown of her cloak and her facial tattoos deppened the color of her cheeks with dark swirling designs like the whorls of a tree. " (New Moon.)
Midori Snyder is the author of nine books for children and adults, published in English, French, Dutch, and Italian. She won the Mythopoeic Award for The Innamorati, a novel inspired by early Roman myth and the Italian "Commedia dell'Arte" tradition....
