Helen Lowe's Blog, page 151
May 13, 2015
Magic In “The Wall Of Night” World
A few years back, Seregil of the RisingShadow site asked me for a guest post on magic in my Wall Of Night series — which no one had asked me about before, or since, so I thought it was time I shared the magic again with you today. 
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Magic In “The Wall Of Night” World
When Robin Hobb provided a cover quote for The Heir Of Night, the first novel in The Wall Of Night series, she spoke of “A richly told tale of strange magic…” That focus felt right, because for me, to be Fantasy there must be at...
May 12, 2015
“Plotter” Or “Pantser”
Recently, I was asked whether I was a “plotter” or a “pantser” — in other words, do I plan in copious detail before I start writing or do I let the story evolve organically as I write?
The ultimate “plotter”, by the way, was probably Kafka, who is said to have pre-planned not only every chapter but every paragraph! Although this may be an urban (literary) myth, if true I suspect it says a great deal about his personality.
Tolkien, on the other hand, is arguably the poster boy of the “pantsers...
May 11, 2015
The Tuesday Poem: “The Minotaur to Theseus” by Catherine Fitchett
The Minotaur to Theseus
.
Never trust a woman.
You don’t need her magic
ball of thread. She wants it to entangle you,
not to guide you. Just keep your head,
and your left hand on the wall,
or your right, it doesn’t matter,
as long as you’re consistent.
Reverse hands, and you’ll find your way
back out. I don’t know why
I’m telling you this, since it will lead
to my death, most likely.
I’m not the monster they make me out
to be. No danger to anyone
bold enough to do anything
but cower in a tre...
May 10, 2015
Stepping Stones To Publication Day…
On Thursday, I posted on The Sound Of Water, using examples from my books — including another sneak preview from Daughter Of Blood.
As alluded to then, I’ve decided to feature a number of snippets by way of a series of sneak previews (but strictly no spoilers) that I like to think of as “stepping stones” across the intervening months until publication at the end of January 2016. (Also to reassure you that there”really is” a book!)
Obviously I’ll keep you posted on other “stepping stones” as t...
May 9, 2015
Celebrating NZ Speculative Fiction For #NZBookMonthMay
Here’s my roundup of this week’s tweets celebrating NZ Speculative Fiction literature for #NZBookMonthMay:
Monday:
Keri Hulme, The Bone People (Magic Realism)
.
Tuesday:
Russell Kirkpatrick, Across the Face of the World (Epic Fantasy)
.
Wednesday:
Karen Healey, Guardian Of The Dead (Fantasy; YA)
.
Thursday:
Tina Makereti, Once Upon A Time In Aotearoa (Fantasy; Short Story collection)
.
Friday:
Adam Christopher, Seven Wonders (Superhero Science Fiction)
.
Saturday:
Jane Higgins, The Bridge (A...
May 8, 2015
Courtesy Of Professor Snape…
This wonderful quote and image came into my life courtesy of “Professor Snape.”
No, not the JK Rowling character from the Harry Potter books and films, but an “entity” (possibly/probably(?) a “bot”) on Twitter. (O-o 
)
I have since discovered that “I am a reader” is something of an internet meme doing the rounds.
But what a wonderful meme and one that I thoroughly “heart” — particularly given Monday’s post:
A Book A Day: Celebrating New Zealand SFF Literature for #NZBookMonthMayMay 7, 2015
Inside The Road Trip — & Middle Earth: Skippers Canyon
Lookout near Skippers Canyon entrance
This is it, the last instalment of photos from my recent road trip — but what a way to finish, with Skippers Canyon.
The Skippers Road is reputedly the 7th most dangerous road in the world (how this is measured I do not know!) but regardless of ‘rankings’ it is narrow, with precipitous drops for much of the route and one’s car insurance does not cover you for trips along it.
.
The road snakes away…
Nor would I be game to drive it if it did, to be honest....
May 6, 2015
The Sound Of Water
St Clair beach, Dunedin
I’ve been posting photos from my recent road trip recently and Kristen B’s comment on “About That Road Trip, Then…” caught my imagination.
“Oh,” Kristen observed, “but the sound of waves is magical anywhere!”
Indeed it is — and I immediately thought about how the sound of water, whether waves on a shore, the splash of a fountain or babble of a stream might appear in my books.
So, thanks to Kristen, here’s a selection to share with you today.
From Thornspell:
“The wind...
May 5, 2015
Big Worlds On Small Screens & Fantasy/Sci-Fi Films You’ve Probably Never Heard Of: Rebecca Fisher Discusses “Sound Of My Voice”
~ by Rebecca Fisher
In the dead of night two people drive to an undisclosed location. There they are given showers and new clothes before being blindfolded and driven to a nondescript basement where they’re promised something amazing is waiting for them.
It’s there that Maggie (Brit Marling) introduces herself. Shrouded in white and suffering from an unspecified illness, she claims she’s from the year 2054, having journeyed back in time from a post-apocalyptic future. Now she’s recruiting fol...
May 4, 2015
“Garden peas (Mendel’s Law, 1866)” by Helen Bascand
…………..Gregor Mendel
…………..in the orangery
…………..splits the pods of peas
the scent of grass bursts free
…………..round or angular,
…………..yellow, green
…………..count, record and check
the evening bell strikes night
…………..again next year
…………..cut free the anthers
…………..dust the stigma
…………..cross breed and count
seven thousand three hundred
and...
