Helen Lowe's Blog, page 159
February 21, 2015
Four Years On: Commemorating February 22, 2011
This had been my gym
Today is the fourth anniversary of the devastating February 22, 2011, earthquake that devastated much of my home city of Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 185 people and badly injuring many more.
Today, I would like to remember those 185 people and also their families: I am sure the gap left by their loss will always be deeply felt.
I would also like to remember those people who were badly injured, many of whom now have to live with the constant ongoing pain of injuries, su...
February 20, 2015
Something New On The Supernatural Underground
Yup, we have a new look goin’ down!
After 5 years—yes, da Underground kicked off in 2010—I think it’s probably time for a change. Authors and their writing change and evolve, after all, so why not the sites we post on?
Anyway, I ‘heart’ the new look, which you can see most clearly in the header, but would also love to know what you think. To take a peek, just click on:
Supernatural Underground: A New Look
(I was going to say “A New Hope” but that would have been having a Star Wars moment. 
)
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Cred...
February 19, 2015
Ruffians And Roughnecks: The Villain—Or In This Case, Villainess
credit: PJ Fitzpatrick
Currently, I’m taking a word that means either a “bad guy”, e.g. ruffian or rogue, or a “rough diamond”, such as a roughneck, and matching it with a character from my novels.
As in the A Geography Of Haarth series, each entry is accompanied by a relevant passage from the books, which could be drawn from one of the two Wall Of Night series novels currently published, or my Kids/YA standalone, Thornspell.
The definitions are taken from Merriam Webster Online, my current go-t...
February 18, 2015
Just Finished Reading: “The Little Friend” by Donna Tarrt
Donna Tarrt is a significant name amongst American writers. Recently, she won the Pulitzer Prize for The Goldfinch (2013) and the novel I have just read, The Little Friend (Bloomsbury, 2005 edition; first published 2002) won the WH Smith Literary Award in 2003.
Ms Tarrt is also from the American South—and so, too, is The Little Friend. I have never set foot in the Americas but I have read the works of Mark Twain, William Faulkner, and Harper Lee, and knew at once that I was in the American Sou...
February 17, 2015
American Heart Month: A Few Tips For Heart-Conscious Living
Heart Health Month
As an author published in the US, I was pleased to be able to say “yes” when the American Recall Center asked me to blog on heart health as part of American Heart Month.
I am very aware of heart health because my father died of a heart attack when he was only 54: far too young, I know you will all agree—and I and all my family would have liked to have had him around a whole lot longer.
When you look at the Recall Center’s feature post on How Bloggers’ Celebrate Their Hearts, y...
February 16, 2015
The Tuesday Poem: Refeaturing Tim Jones — “Thinning”
We age in birthdays and anniversaries, gatherings
of welcome and farewell. “You’re looking good,” we say,
despite receding hairlines, bellies rounding by the year -
too little exercise, too much time
spent in front of screens. Babies
are now children; children, amazingly, teens,
embarked on their own, mysterious journeys.
With offspring pairing up and parents fading,
we will soon be grandparents, elders,
joining Grey Power, plotting world cruises,
or clinging on bravely till a resentful State
th...
February 15, 2015
More On Book Covers: The Illustrations Of Pauline Baynes & A Fellow Artist’s Tribute
Martin Springett cover
Recently, I have been taking a look at a few favourite book jackets and reflecting on what makes these covers “speak” to me as a reader.
The initial post was:
SFF Cover Art Love: Some Favourites—& Reflections On Why They “Work” For Me
The second, posted just last week, was:
SFF Cover Art Love: More Favorites
which included the covers for Guy Gavriel Kay’s Fionavar trilogy created by artist Martin Springett. When I checked out the artists’ website I found a sub-page titled:
Pau...
February 14, 2015
From Around The Traps: Thought Provoking Articles & Cool Links
Gail Carriger
First up, some personal library goodness, via Paranormal-Steampunk author, Gail Carriger (who may be coming to our part of the world this year, I believe) and the site Apartment Therapy:
“Curl Up in One of These Cozy Libraries”
Wouldn’t you love a library like these? I know I would!
Psst: I really liked this too:
17 Ways To Squeeze In A Few Extra Books
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In quite a change of pace, I found this article by Garett Reppenhagen on Salon extremely thought provoking:
“I Was An American Sniper,...
February 13, 2015
Just Finished Reading: “Ghostwritten” by David Mitchell
David Mitchell is probably best known for his novel The Cloud Atlas but as I observed on 31 January, has (allegedly) said he’s writing an uber-novel, so I thought I’d better start with his first book, Ghostwritten.
And although The Cloud Atlas may be Mitchell’s best-known work, Ghostwritten was (is) no slouch either. It debuted to critical praise in 1999, went on to win the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize (for the best work of British literature written by an author under 35) and was shortlisted for...
February 12, 2015
Ruffians And Roughnecks: The Thug
credit: PJ Fitzpatrick
The idea with this post series is that I take a word that means either a “bad guy”, eg ruffian or rogue, or a “rough diamond”, eg a roughneck, and match it with a character from my novels.
As in the A Geography Of Haarth series, each entry will be accompanied by a relevant passage from the books, which could be one of the two Wall Of Night series novels currently published, or my Kids/YA standalone, Thornspell.
The definitions are taken from Merriam Webster Online, my curr...
