Monkey Around
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Nagual: Aztec (originally) magical creature and/or bloodline or magical propensity. Naguals can mate with humans to produce full-blooded naguals and are almost entirely embedded in human culture, serving traditionally as medicine people. They possess shapeshifter strength, speed, and beauty, the ability to shapeshift into an animal form (usually only at night,) their own power of invisibility and illusion, and can breathe freakin’ fire; plus they can manipulate ambient magic, like humans, when trained. Are constrained to the sole animal form associated with their birthdate (common forms include jaguar, dog, donkey, deer, coyote, etc.) which is also similar to the concept of a tutelary spirit or *cringe* “spirit animal.”
Nalusa Chito/Impa Shilup: Choctaw “shadow-creature” that appears literally as a semi-solid shadow; also can appear as a black panther. This monster is a soul sucker: it arises out of depression, or dark or evil thoughts in a person, and eats that person’s soul. Normally the nalusa chito is tied to the person who “called” it, and dies with them. Normally. Let’s hope that stays normal because … *shudder* … when operated upon with arcane magic and separated from their “caller,” the nalusa chito can eat at will, and grow in strength as it eats. The creepiest thing I’ve ever encountered, and that’s saying a lot.
Nhang: (from the Persian word for “crocodile”) the Nhang is an Armenian river-dwelling serpent-monster that can shapeshift into a woman (to lure men, natch) or a seal, in order to drag people underwater to drown them and then drink their blood (natch). Like any other mermaid creature, they’re more comfy in the water than on the land, although they can pass easily for landlubbers. They’re closely related to western-style dragons and—little known fact—like both eastern and western dragons, have an affinity for book learning, and a tendency to be know-it-alls.
Qori Ismaris: In Somali mythology, a man who can transform himself into a hyena by rubbing himself with a magic stick at nightfall, and by repeating this process can return to his human state before dawn. I’ve never seen this process and can’t attest to its validity. The few qoris I’ve met (definitely all male, tho’) tend to the usual canid predatoriness, but seem to be less pack-y than the bouda. Incredibly irritating laugh.
Vanara: Indian Monkey Shifters. Apparently the Indian monkey god Hanuman was a vanara who was gifted with superpowers by the gods. Ordinary vanara, however, can only shift between human and monkey, and have the usual shapeshifter strength and speed only. They’re very cool, though, with good senses of humor, and loyalty, courage, and adventurousness in spades. Also? All the ones I’ve met are pretty hot, which is standard for beast shifters, but still: a winning combo. Monkeys rule.
Werewolf: human/wolf shapeshifters forced to follow the moon’s phases, but can shift at will. Allergic to silver and feminism. Pack-up at the slightest provocation and can’t—thank god—reproduce. As far as we can tell, it takes more than a bite or a scratch to turn someone, which, also, thank god. Because they are nasty creatures with bad manners and more aggression than sense, who kill their way out of whatever problem presents itself and ask questions later, if ever. Have the usual attractive, healthy, shapeshifter glow, but don’t be fooled. Mostly straight, cis-het white bros.
Acknowledgements
This book couldn’t have been completed without the help of many people.
Love and gratitude to Barbara Jane Reyes for making her poem available to Maya and Chucha. Many thanks to Jaime Cortez, Patricia Wakida, and Marcia Ochoa, who helped with language, names, and concepts. Bryan Wu’s expertise with manga and anime was invaluable, as were the Occupy Oakland stories and experiences of Timmy Lu and Jessica Tully, and Noemi Ixchel Martinez’s research, translations, and notes on nagualism. Any mistakes in these areas are mine alone.
Noemi and Lynn Brown provided immensely helpful sensitivity readings, and I couldn’t have shaped this story without the support and critique of Jim DeMaiolo and Lexicats Charlie Jane Anders, Annalee Newitz, Liz Henry, Emily Jiang, and Sasha Hom. Special shout-outs to Annalee and Liz for reading and giving essential advice on two drafts of Monkey; and MVP goes to Charlie for going above and beyond and reading three full drafts and pushing each one substantially closer to the goal.
I was supported and helped through the querying stage by Charlie and Annalee again, as well as Victoria Feistner and the Rejectarinos, Jenevive Desroches, Michele Bacon, Allison Pottern Hoch, Mica Scotti Kole and Luke Dani Blue. A million thanks to the best agent in the biz, Amanda Leuck, for taking me on, loving Maya and Monkey, and making this whole thing easy. Another million to Kate Coe for seeing something worth publishing in this book, and making the process so incredibly smooth and joyful. Sam Gretton provided an amazing cover that I love, Jim Killen the easiest copy edit in the history of print, and Hanna Waigh (with Rosie Peat) a sound publicity boat to keep me from drowning.
There are too many friends who cared about this project, and my writing in general, over the years to name individually. You all know who you are. Thank you for being my writing community. Finally, gratitude to and for my gloriously excessive extended family for being largely supportive, and somewhat confused, about my various careers. Thanks Mom and Dad for being very supportive, and getting down to brass tacks, about everything. This novelist thing really is the happy medium between the humanities prof and the gallerist.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Claire Light (writing as Jadie Jang) is almost as organizy as her characters. She started a magazine (Hyphen) and an arts festival (APAture) with a cast of Asian Pacific Americans even more magical, if less supernatural, than the ones she writes about. She also got an MFA, went to Clarion West, and compromised between the two by publishing a collection of “literary” sci-fi short stories (Slightly Behind and to the Left) that maybe 100 people read. After wrangling arts and social justice nonprofits for 17 years, her already autoimmune-disease-addled body threw a seven-year-long tantrum, leading our then-house-bound heroine into an urban fantasy addiction. A few years, and a dozen Euro-centric-mythology-dominated urban fantasy series later, Claire sat up and said “I can do this!” and Jadie Jang, the part of her brain that writes snarky-fun genre romps, was born. She posts about monkeys every Monday under @seelight on Twitter.
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