Frequently Asked Questions

A lot of the questions have been re-structured from opinions, comments and critiques.

You can contact the author at: studio-era@hotmail.com

Q. How on earth do you pronounce your name?
A. It was to my great surprise to find my last name is not pronounced the same by every Foubister out there. My family pronounces it Foo-bis-ter, while others pronounce it Fow-bis-ter. (I prefer 'Foo' as in Fouby)

Q. Your website is confusing. I'm totally lost.
A. Gotcha. Here are two things that will help.
1. Most links will open in a new window/tab. (This keeps the original page open)
2. You can see the list of every page on TheAmazonChronicle.com here.

Q. I've found a mistake. Do you want to know about it?
A. Yes. Most definitely.
Whether a simple spelling or grammar mistake, or insight to the history related to The Amazon Chronicle, constructive criticism is always welcomed.

Q. Are you aware it should be written as 'Chronicles' with an "s"?
A. The definition of a chronicle = a story. Though most writers seem to choose to use 'chronicles' to give the impression of a large assembly of stories, I have gone in the opposite direction to indicate this is the definitive story.
(Also: It is correctly read as: The Amazon Chronicle)

Q. Who/What are the STORYTELLERS?
A. What? The STORYTELLERS are those Amazoi whose stories were transcribed into The Scrolls that were eventually translated by Prof. Orlov.
Who? I'm afraid the STORYTELLERS are not listed by name, and will not be known precisely until the end of Book IV. However, if you're one who enjoys digging for information, the answer can be found in:
1. By reading Professor Orlov's diary.
2. The Timeline that shows who dies and lives.
3. By noticing which characters we seem to follow most from Book II onwards.

Q. How many characters are there?
A. So far, I know of 97 named Amazoi, (or 104 if you want to include Ushi, Wada and some of the horses) and 81 named characters of other tribes.

Q. How many words do you have in the Osfer language?
A. Including those that are recorded twice or more because they can be used to represent various English words . . .
As of June 14, 2013, there are 1,034 recorded Osfer words.

Q. Is there a written word (alphabet) for Osfer?
A. Actually, there is.
There is mention of several Amazoi in Book III who were so impressed with the written words of the Southlanders that they strove to create their own.
I might post the written Osfer on this website when Book III or IV is published.

Q. What is the Hoorg Massacre?
A. It describes the merciless attack on the Amazoi tribe in Book I by three tribes, led by the tribe known by the Amazoi as the 'Hoorg'.
In Osfer, the event is called 'hoorg banta tent-lik' which literally translates as 'Hoorg + force of one's will upon another + completely + kill' and is technically as incorrect in Osfer as it is in English. The grammatically correct sentence should be 'hoorg banta-to amazoi tent-lik' with the past tense indicator to.

Q. Don't you think the swearing/vulgarities are a litte-too-much?
A. No.
I think we decide our moral-characters and then surround ourselves with like-minded people. This in turn feeds our ideals of what life "should be".
I have had female friends with mouths like drunken sailors. My wife and I swear in 3 languages almost daily. I believe there are many times and places when such vocabulary is not acceptable, but to cut-out portions of the voyeuristic act of following the personal life of characters in a book or movie is blatant censorship and rather petty.

Q. Are the grammatical mistakes (colloquial speech) in the books left in on purpose?
A. Yes.
I understand it may affect the illusion for some readers, but I would encourage those people to understand every language has its slang, informal phrases, and more importantly; improper use of their own words.
I have purposefully left out characters speech patterns such as: "I will go and see what lay ahead. Then I shall report back to you, my Queen."
It's fine writing, but it's just not complementary to the common-ness of the Amazoi.

Q. Why did you choose to include the stereo-typical 'lesbian' Amazon?
A. Similar to the reply on the vulgarities.
In my travels, I have lived in societies where no fuss is made regarding people's sexuality.
Quite honestly, returning to North America to see things like the nipples of classic art censored on national news just pisses me off. There is far too much influence of 'moralism' and a call to express one's opinions in these fine countries of North America.
This is most evident in the reality television fad and shows like Jerry Springer.
A lot of the social interactions within the story are written through my experiences. In other words, if I have seen or experienced these things, it isn't fantasy or out-of-place.
I also know in a society where people 'mind their own fires' like the Amazoi, relationships continue on as the people directly involved see fit. (See: Customs & Habits of the Amazoi: Sexuality & Emotions.) Besides, I can only name 3 lesbian relationships and 2 gay relationships mentioned through the entire four books. And from the viewpoint of once being a gay-hating teen myself, I have learned it was wrong of me to force my ideals onto people that I have nothing to do with, and consequently show my support of personal freedoms through my books.

Q. Why are some of the Osfer subtitles in the pilot spelled differently?
A. This was done for two reasons.
One: As the pilot was originally a marketing tool, I wanted the names easier to remember.
Two: Because I had not settled the Osfer accents or alphabet at the time of shooting.

Q. Do you seriously think an Indian people could have made it to the Caucasus?
A. Though the obvious answer would be yes, I'll explain why;
Seeing as the events are dated to be around 750BC, historically speaking, the Colchis region would not have been settled into a kingdom, Kutaisi would still have been independent and the Urartu would still be in the process of expanding.

Using the migration of the Vandals as an example. These people had to fight their way from present day Slovakia, through the tribes and Roman legions in Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Lybia and Tunisia, then, yes. Definitely. I can envision a large nation of people moving from the area of present day Pakistan to the Caucasus mountains before falling apart through war or dissent. (See: Speculated Origins of the Anshe )

Q. Are you a pagan / religious?
A. Religious as in a 'devout follower'? No.
Religious as in I believe there's a 'Higher Power'? Yes.
If anything, I like to hope in reincarnation for three reasons:
1. It is the one belief that satisfies most of my spiritual questions.
2. It would indicate a Higher Power necessary to organise such a system.
3. I have yet to find a group of people, that when drunk, don't eagerly and amicably join in the conversation on Reincarnation whenever I bring it up.

Q. Are you going to write any more Chronicle books?
A. There is one idea to follow Tayna and her group (Book III), as it seems they would become the ancestors more directly influential in the Greek myths. And if one was so inclined to exploit the Homeric Question, one could argue Tayna's chidren would come to power about the time Homer wrote the Iliad and Odyssey.
The second idea would be to follow the descendants from the Final Defeat in Book IV. Perhaps seeking revenge on the Greek colonies of the northern Black Sea.
Both of those books would be more directly related northern (present day Ukraine) and the southern (present day Turkey) location of the Greek myths of the Amazon woman warrior.

But all that would depend on if The Amazon Chronicle is successful enough, or if I want to put the extra 2 years it would take to write.

Q. Are you going to put the books/website into other languages?
A. Eventually, I would like to, yes.
But I won't be able to do it alone, so if you're volunteering . . .
In the mean time, the Google Translate at the right of your screen will have to do.

Q. Are you a feminist?
A. No
I believe words take on a life of their own by the generation that uses them.
Unfortunately, I believe the word 'feminist' has been tarnished by bad experiences over the years. In fact, I know this is a shared opinion by many intelligent and educated women, as they find it difficult to find an agreeable place within its title.
May I offer my personal position within 'feminism' through an example:
To say I'm a Feminist, gives me the same feeling as if I say I'm a Black Panther.
Yes, I support the foundation of the groups' beliefs, but I certainly wouldn't fit in one of their meetings, now would I?
Thus said, I describe myself as an avid Anti-Sexist, though I know that perhaps the majority of people in the world take great pains to use their gender and accepted 'traits' as a way of self-identification. Nothing wrong with that, but there is also nothing that says I have accept the belief I have more in common with someone because he has a penis, than with my wife.
(Also: we need a word to replace 'empower'. God, I hate that word. It makes agreeing with people that use it difficult)

Q. Who's your least favorite character in your books?

Taysha
Yes, that may be funny to hear, but she is a focused and driven individual.
Though this is understandable seeing what she had gone through, I tend to avoid highly motivated people. They annoy me as much as I annoy them.
Rafeltu
I can't really describe why he bothers me because he possesses a lot of the same character traits as I do.
(Hmm. Maybe that's why. He may be how I view myself subconciously. Drat.)

Q. Who is your favorite character in your books?

Panona -Because she is basically the character of my wife.
Rafel -Because he is how I'd like to think I would have acted in such a life.
Piershta & Vloa -Because they're bubble-heads, yet kind, and total sweetie-pies.
Shaymo -Because she is kind and I empathise with her situation in the whole story.

Added bonus: Ulforta
I have a love-hate relationship with her as I feel I've grown up with her through Rafel, but she's like ... the only real bitch of the entire series.

Q. Why do you use American spelling on the website/emails when you use Canadian/British spelling for the books?
A. A life-time of American influence.
In all honesty, I chose Canadian spelling for uniformity in the books, but in my personal life, I choose simplicity over showing some form of nationalistic pride through spelling.
Speaking of that, when is America going to join the rest of the world and use the metric system? Seriously, guys.

Q. Where did you get the names for your characters?
A. I simply started by saying made-up words until it sounded right to my ears.
Then I thought of what the names might mean.
Over the evolution of the story, patterns emerged that made future names easier:
1. No two people were given the same name.
2. It was more often than not a combination of two words.
3. The female names were ending with an 'a' sound.

When the Osfer vocabulary started growing, it became easier for me to think of two or more words that could make up a name and then look up the words in the Osfer-English dictionary.

For the Anshe and Wedic: I researched ancient Indian names to give an indication of their heritage, but changed them up slightly to give the proper indication of a different culture and how the names may have been remembered by the STORYTELLERS.

For more info see: Names

Q. How do you say 'I love you' in Osfer?
A. Day na-no eed
It quite literally translates as: "I possess you"
Go figure . . .

Q. Have you thought about recording some of the Osfer?
A. For the purpose of hearing how it is supposed to sound/be pronounced?
It sounds like fun, but it would be a lot of work. But if I have the time and energy . . . Sure.
I think that would be kind of cool to have all the words/phrases/poems read-out.
Maybe one day.

Q. Is Linda Foubister your wife?
A. Why no, actually.
Author Linda Foubister and I are cousins of sorts, through my great-grandfather.
Meeting her was just another coincidence that came out from putting The Amazon Chronicle together. She is a published author on subjects concerning myths, and the 'goddess' image. Not to mention that she actually lives about 20 minutes away from me here in beautiful Victoria, B.C.

Q. You know you can't trust Wikipedia, right?
A. Yes and No.
Really. Come on now.
This is simply another case of "Using extremes to turn a truth into a falsehood".
No publication (including the dictionary) is free of error. Some are down-right lied about, even by historically famous individuals.

I think a person reading a column in Wikipedia and shouting, "This is all Truth!" is just as stupid as the person who cries, "Wikipedia is all Lies!"

Some is, sure. That's where it's nice to have an educated mind.
Follow links, cross-reference, accept every bit of information with a grain of salt and all will be well with the world.

Q. Dude! Why do all your links open in new tabs?
A. Sorry.
I feel the pain of those that really annoys, honestly.
But after literally years of using the web for researching for The Amazon Chronicle, I found it was nicer to have the one page I was focused on to be stationary and not have to jump back 3 or 4 pages after following a bunch of links.
This way, you can follow 3, 12, 100 links and still have your initial page open and ready for you to continue on with.
Still, I know how annoying it is when people set things up that you're not used to. Sorry.