Helen Lowe's Blog, page 184

Big Worlds On Small Screens Features Miyazaki May — & Rebecca Fisher Discusses “Laputa: Castle in the Sky”

~ by Rebecca Fisher

Introduction:

If the word “Laputa” is ringing a dim bell of recognition somewhere in your mind, it’s probably because you’re vaguely aware of Gulliver’s Travels. The floating city of Jonathan Swift’s famous novel is the inspiration for the eponymous castle of the film, though the concept is given the usual Miyazaki twist.

Both Laputas are huge islands that float in the air, and both are considered nothing but legends by the Earth’s population. Just like Swift, Miyazaki has a...

The Tuesday Poem: Refeaturing “The Foreign Office” by Victoria Broome

The Foreign Office

for Judy and Roscoe

He had two great passions and one dream,

Mozart, The Great Wall and romance. In soft

morning light he rode out on a rented bicycle

to see the Great Wall. Smoke and steam rising,

the sound of air rushing through wheels on

the broken road. He felt the hard saddle, his feet

in the pedals, he felt hopeful.

The breeze coolly lifted the hair from his neck,

every now and then he turned to watch autumn

colours bleed and fade out in his trail, people

flowed past, their voi...

Yet Another “Terribly (Un)Important Thought” On Writing ;-)

On March 13, I posted about the importance of solitude to the writing process, writing:

“My experience has been that in order to bring the colour and depth of the story in your mind — which one hopes comprises the richness of the world, the nuances of the characters, and diversity and complexity of the plot — to the page you need to minimise interference with the ‘signal.’ Solitude, and/or long periods of uninterrupted time, are both an important way of achieving that outcome. Why long periods...

I Am Interviewed By Kate Forsyth

Following on from Kate Forsyth’s enthusiastic review of Thornspell, which she has included amongst her favourite fairytale retellings, she has now interviewed me on her blog.

The interview is reasonably indepth and may well repay a visit for that reason:

Interview: Helen Lowe, Author Of Thornspell

Yup, that’s me!

You can also read my guest post on a few of my favourite fairytales, and their retellings, again featured on Kate’s blog:

My Favourite Fairytale Retellings

And just because I still reall...

Why I’m Re-featuring Tuesday Poems — & Poets

You may have noticed I’ve begun refeaturing Tuesday Poems from the past four years “by poet”, i.e. focusing on those instances where I’ve featured more than one poem by the same poet.

I’m doing this for several reasons. The first is because if a poem is worth featuring once then it’s worth relooking at as well. Poetry, in my humble opinion, is to be read, re-read, and returned to, not just a “one hit wonder.” In fact, I feel pretty much the same about literature generally… So yes, I am inflict...

A Geography Of Haarth: Shield-Wall Of Night

The Wall of Night Series map; design by Peter Fitzpatrick

The A Geography of Haarth post series is traversing the full range of locales and places from The Wall of Night world of Haarth. Each locale is accompanied by a quote from either The Heir Of Night, The Gathering Of The Lost, or both.

This week we’re still in “S.” (And an excellent thing that is, for is not ‘S’ a paragon of letters? )

—

Shield-Wall of Night: also known as the Wall of Night, the vast mountain range that protects the world o...

My Favourite Fairytale Retellings — A Guest Post On Kate Forsyth’s Blog

In response to her review of Thornspell & its inclusion amongst her favourite fairytale retellings — featured here yesterday — Kate Forsyth invited me to share my own favourite retellings on her blog.

Here’s a sneak preview:

“I have always loved fairytales, and it may come as no surprise – given that Thornspell is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty from the perspective of the prince – that Sleeping Beauty was always my ‘favourite” when I was a kid.

Later, Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid...

Kate Forsyth Reviews “Thornspell” — & Includes It Amongst Her Favourite Fairytale Retellings

Kate Forsyth, the well known Australian author of Bitter Greens and the Witches Of Eileanan series, amongst many other titles, has reviewed and loved Thornspell — so much so that she has also included it in her list of favourite fairytale retellings. The list includes several of my own favourties, too, as well as several I have yet to read.

To read the review, click on:

Kate Forsyth Reviews Thornspell

But here’s a sample quote:

“I absolutely adored this book! I love fairy tale retellings, espec...

The Tuesday Poem: Refeaturing Johanna Aitchison’s “Banana & The Battered Woman Group”

Banana & The Battered Woman Group

After the other battered women go

get chicken for their rolls, after

the coleslaw & instant coffees

& fruit bursts, after the video,

(in which the man says to his wife,

“Come here,” he drags her down

& tells her she looks hot & gropes

her boobs in front of their son,

she swats him off like a fly,

“Not in front of Jarred!” she says;

& he suddenly decides her sexy outfit

is not so cool if it’s going

to be taken out on the street

where other men will stare at it,

so he says to...

Oops, no Monday post yet — how can that be? But here’s a photo!

Oops, no Monday post until now — could the author possibly have been on holiday, swanning around the courntryside and playing hookie?

Well, that’s what happens when you live inside Middle Earth, you know, sometimes you just have to go there and back again, although I must admit I’m looking forward to the day when I bring home the chests of treaure!

No cargoes of “…diamonds, emeralds, amethysts, … and gold moidores” (Cargoes, John Masefield) this time, alas, but there was some consumption of “de...