Greetings dear Chroniclers,

How is your summer starting out (or winter if you're in the southern hemisphere)?

Summer is one of my favorite times to jam out to different types of music. Lately my go listens have included a traditional instrument called the shamisen. You can see the geisha, Toshimana, playing hers below.

(image from Wikicommons by ZacharyOakes)

If you'd like to see what the instrument sounds like, here's one of my favorites by the Yoshida Brothers, called Ikzauchi. It's fast paced and really catchy. They've mixed the shamisen in with rock instruments and it works really well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1MisMgqhqs

Norm from Tokyo Lens was able to study under the Yoshida Brothers and he describes what it's like to play the instrument.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89U8eFyWIX0

And while I'm not usually a beatbox fan, I can't help but like this song by SomeLinez. (A trio with a beatboxer, shamisen player, and dancer.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DawMm5aRAAs

Hope you enjoyed the little musical journey!

FREE Books Ready To Download!

Can a reformed dark mage save an opera star from a deadly stalker?

Take me to Raven's Song!

Take me to the free books!

Free stories in the Liminal Chronicles universe are available for a limited time. So grab them while you can.

Claim your freebies!

Have you heard of the shamisen or have you heard the shamisen in music before? Do you have a favorite Japanese instrument? Let me know! (Mine is either the shamisen or the shakuhachi (a bamboo flute, played vertically).

Be the Difference. Be extraordinary.



All the best,

Amy

Sharing is caring!

Do you know someone who'd like to get my updates, too? Go ahead, forward this. If the email was forwarded to you and you haven't joined yet, the sign up is right here.

You are receiving this email because you opted to receive updates on Amy Winters-Voss' books (including the Liminal Chronicles Series).

P.S. If your email blocks the links in this message, here are the URLs. Just copy and paste them into a browser tab. (FYI for openness, I've chosen branded links so I can see what's of most interest to my readers. That's all I want from the info!)

• Free Liminal Chronicles Stories: https://go.liminalchronicles.com/freebies
• Raven's Song: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/kvpdl8p54s?tid=x7nznf46da
• June Free Sci-fi and Fantasy books: https://books.bookfunnel.com/scififantasy202606/12q2zhuemb

This newsletter © 2026 Amy Winters-Voss. All rights reserved. Cover images copyright the respective authors.