Helen Lowe's Blog, page 101
October 4, 2016
Just Arrived: “The Year Of Falling” by Janis Freegard
Last year I invited Janis to do a guest post here when her novel The Year of Falling was published by Mākaro Press — and she gave us a very enjoyable interview with her three protagonists: Selina, Smith, and Quilla. You can read the interview here:
Ever since then I have been “meaning to” read The Year Of Falling — so when I was in Wellington last month I took full advantage of the opportu...
October 3, 2016
Tuesday Poetry: “Breathing You In” by David Gregory
From up here it looked
as if the harbour’s lungs inhaled
the fog in through the headlands;
light as breathing, concrete coloured,
it set in for the day, giving us each a bubble vision
containing what little we know,
and out beyond the garden’s edge;
all life arrested.
There was a fog of the familiar
such that I could not see
all of the changes underway
between you and me.
But then the sun splashed down,
rinsing the hills, draining the fog to seaward.
Across the water, your ho...
October 2, 2016
What’s Happening — Supernatural Underground, “Queens & Courtesans”, & More
Firstly, Saturday was 1 October and that means my monthly post on the Supernatural Underground. This time I posted on a topic I’ve been giving some air time lately, that is, names in Fantasy literature.
Only I gave it a twist and made it about fashion in names, which is a case of fiction following real life – yep, even when it comes to names. 
October 1, 2016
It’s Spring!
And the cherry blossom is out in Chistchurch’s Hagley Park. I’m glad I made it back here in time to see it.
It’s International Coffee Day!
Apparently today is international coffee day!
As an officially designated ‘caffiend’ how could I not be into that?
But I don’t think I could say it better than Anthony Trollope —- “What on earth could be more luxurious than a sofa, a book, and a cup of coffee?”
(Whispers: Well, perhaps a sofa, a book, and a glass of wine…
September 29, 2016
Sharing The Love
[image error]Yesterday, I posted a review of Wendy Orr’s Dragonfly Song, because I loved the story and wanted to share that love.
I’m an enthusiast by nature so that’s what I tend to do when I love something. 
September 28, 2016
Recommended Reading: “Dragonfly Song” by Wendy Orr
Sometimes you read a book that bowls you over — for me, Dragonfly Song by Wendy Orr (author of Nim’s Island among many other titles) is definitely one of those books.
Dragonfly Songis Junior fiction and what I would describe as “legendary history”, i.e. it draws on what we know of real history, but also invokes the stuff of legends, in this case those of Bronze Age Greece/Crete, and includes at least a hint of magic.
The book tells the story of Aissa, the daughter of a priestess-queen who is...
September 27, 2016
Listening Revisited
National Writers’ Forum
On September 15, shortly before heading to the National Writers’ Forum, I posted here on listening in relation to writing, including confessing to be a shameless eavesdropper.
September 26, 2016
Tuesday Poetry: Dover Beach (Excerpt) by Matthew Arnold, 1822 – 1888
The sea is calm to-night,
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits; — on the French coast the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!
Only, from the long line of spray
Where the sea meets the moon-blanch’d land,
Listen! you hear the grating roar
Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
At their return, up the high strand,
Begin, and cease, and then again be...
September 25, 2016
Some Iconic “Inside Middle Earth” Fun for Monday
Although it did not feature in the LoTR films or The Hobbit, this view would still have to be one of the most iconic from inside NZ , aka “Middle Earth”.
