Helen Lowe's Blog

Behind The Scenes on the Blog

Just a headsup that there’s going to be  a bit more work happening ‘behind the scenes’ on the blog over the next week or so, which may require the site to go down for a short period.

…at my place

So if you can’t find it, or me, dinna panic (not straight off, anyway) but check back later. Just give things a bit of time, though, i.e. maybe a half day or day later.

If you’re on Twitter you can check in on me there as well: @helenl0we (the “o” in Lowe is a zero, just by the way.)

Not my place – but...

Now on Supernatural Underground: Tis #9 in the Leadership Series

Yes, it is that time again, and yes again, I do have a new post up on the Supernatural Underground.

As the title promises, it’s post number nine in the Great Leaders in Speculative Fiction series.

This month, I (again) couldn’t make up my mind between two characters, so I have featured both. And the characters are (drum roll), Katsa and Bitterblue from Kristin Cashore’s Graceling Realms series of novels.

Both characters appear in several books, but Katsa’s story is primarily told in Graceling...

w00t-w00t! “A Son’s Return Home” Is Funded!

I was absolutely thrilled over the weekend to see that NZ short film A Son’s Return Home made its’ funding target!

So the NZ Film Commission assessor who said “this film must be made” can now be happy — because it will be!

Boosted, like many crowdfunding programmes, is an all-or-nothing gig, so I will confess to some nailbiting on behalf of my friend—who wrote the filmscript—over the past few weeks. Needless to say, she is very happy, and I am happy on her behalf, because I know that making th...

Work-In-Progress Update: Section 2 (of WALL #4 Part 2) Done!

As in m’last update on August 11, I confirmed my June 9 commitment, that “Future updates will be on each section of Part 2 as I complete them. I’ll report on them here, under About My Books and About What I’m Doing, as that occurs.”

That’s Part 2 of the overall WALL #4 manuscript, by the way, in case of an doubt. (As I also mentioned on June 9, tis a book of two very distinct halves — diptych style, in fact. )

A Roman-style diptych

Today I’m talking about the second section of Part 2, and am v...

“This must be made” — A Trailer for “A Son’s Return Home”

“Absolutely moving, this must be made.” — NZ Film Commission Assessor

As you know from Monday 8 and Thursday 11, I’m very much supporting the Boosted fund raising campaign for A Son’s Return Home, a filmscript written by a good friend. And yes, I have already put my dime (and a little more ) down.

So I was very excited to see this trailer released by the filmmakers. It really does look as beautiful and moving as the NZ Film Commission Assessor suggested — click the link following to view:

A Son...

Speaking of Spring…

…and all that—which I was on Monday, with a little look at Spring and All by William Carlos Williams (1883-1963)—the willows along the river are definitely putting out their new, spring green right now.

And that, dear readers, along with the time of year, put me in mind of a Haarth spring in the The Gathering of the Lost: It even has a reference to spring rain, like the Kobayashi Issa haiku.

USA

“Spring came to the River in a flurry of blustering winds and driving rain that turned the local ro...

About “Spring and All” — William Carlos Williams, 1883 – 1963

We celebrated the First of Spring ‘down here’ (as opposed to autumn ‘up there’ ) on 1 September and have enjoyed some beautiful spring days since — but still with some icy winds, sub-zero mornings, and only some plants putting on their spring green and blossom.

Spring blossom; valiant on a vacant (demolition) lot

A state of affairs that always brings to mind the William Carlos Williams’ poem Spring and All. The discussion below is to give you a ‘feel’ for the poem and why I love it, but I also ...

More on Supporting “A Son’s Return Home” Fundraiser

On Monday, I posted a shoutout for the NZ short film, A Son’s Return Home, and its September-only (crowdfunding) fundraiser.

But when I talked about supporting the project, I forgot a really important piece of information:

All donors will be credited in the film!

So if you’ve ever wanted to see your name in a film’s credits, now’s your chance!

And Please, Spread The Word!

Whether you are able to support financially, or would love to but can’t right now, please consider sharing our campaign with...

Support A NZ Short Film: “A Son’s Return Home” — Fundraiser

“Absolutely moving, this must be made.” — NZ Film Commission Assessor

I’m excited to be sharing the fundraising campaign for A Son’s Return Home, a NZ short film project, with you today.

A Son’s Return Home is one of September’s projects on the Boosted (Te Tumu Toi: The (NZ) Arts Council) fundraising platform.

The reason I’m featuring it today is because the scriptwriter, Janine Sowerby, is a friend of very longstanding. So of course I want to support her project — although as you can see from t...

New On Supernatural Underground Now — It’s #8 in the Leadership Series

And the leader is — drum roll! — Dr Mensah from the Murderbot series by Martha Wells.

Although the focus of this particular post is All Systems Red, the novella that kicked everything off.

I am a great fan of Murderbot, and Dr Mensah really is a great leader — and intrepid galactic explorer, according to Murderbot.

Dr Mensah, in the TV show

If you would like to find out all the reasons why I think so, then head on over to the SU and check out the post:

Dr Mensah: Another Great Leader in the Sp...