Helen Lowe's Blog, page 19

My Holiday Reading

On Monday, I honed in on books read during 2023, and at least one of those (Demon Copperhead) squeaked in under the 2023 wire by dint of the recent holiday break.

Over that same break I also read:

1. The Two-Tailed Snake by Nod Ghosh

Historical Fiction / Magical Realism Elements

As recently as November 20 I did a Just Arrived post for Nod’s book, which is set in India at the end of WW2  and through the Independence and Partition era of 1947.

The Two-Tailed Snake also has what I’m calling magica...

About The Characters: Meet The Minor Players In “The Wall Of Night” Series — Meet Nhenir

Wow, I can’t believe it’s been seven weeks since I last pasted on About the Characters  — my only excuse is getting sandbagged by the end-of-year and taking my eye off the “…on Anything, Really” ball. Mea culpa!

As you (almost certainly) know, the About The Characters series focuses on the minor characters in The Wall Of Night series, in large part because:

“I think it’s the presence of the smaller characters that “makes” a story, creating texture around the main points of view.”

~ from my Lege...

Reflecting On Last Year’s “Book Booty” (January 9, 2023)

Happy New Year again everybody! (Just in case I didna say it with sufficient verve last week.)

My chief reflection, regarding the post title above, is whether I read and reported on the books featured on January 9 last year. An important consideration before embarking on anything similar for this year.

The answer—hip-hip-huzza!—is that I have read all bar one, but not reported on them all, chiefly for reasons of time, writing, and general life busy-ness. I’ll recap them now, with either a link t...

New On Supernatural Underground Now: I Usher In 2024 — & A New Theme for the Year!

Here we are in 2024! Over on Supernatural Underground I’ve welcomed in the new year, with its myriad possibilities, and announced this year’s post theme.

The sun rises on a new year

Exciting, huh?! But to find out what, exactly, you’ll have to rock on over and read the post. Too mean, I know! But here’s the link to help you out:

Happy New Year: Ushering In 2024

I know some of you will be back at work, and others still on holiday, but wherever you are and whatever doing, I hope you’re well and l...

The 10 Most-Read Posts of 2023

Right here on …Anything Really, that is.

The reason I’m posting it on New Year’s Eve is not only because it seems—you know—fitting, but because tomorrow is my Supernatural Underground post day, so I’ll be kicking off the New Year there.

This, then, must count as my farewell to the old. As always, I shall largely post the 10 in chronological order, but also group by theme where appropriate.

So without further ado, here are the 10 posts that all of you were most into, in 2023:

Voyaging on…

.The...

Thinking About Christmas—And 2024!

I was going to post “oops, missed Monday’s blog”, except it wasn’t an “oops” but a deliberate decision.

One reason why, of course, is that it was Christmas Day, which this year involved a large family gathering. Nonetheless,  it would have been easy enough to post the pic to the right, along with a “Merry, Merry; Happy, Happy” for all oot thar.

In this case, I was also away from home and all the usual blogging supports—but again, it was imminently possible to do a mini post as above.

The main re...

Looking Ahead, AKA What May Help Get An Earlier Publication Date for WALL #4

Revision time.

Besides me completing the revision and delivering the manuscript (ms) that is. Needless to say, everything below is firmly predicated on where responsibility for that lies.

Nonetheless, on Monday, I did a “steady-as-she-goes” update for the Great Revision. And noted that I am currently “well into [revision task] #4”—which although “the largest and gnarliest of the 7 [revision] tasks”, still means that the next stage, which is called D&A: Delivery (my part) and Acceptance (publishe...

Steady-As-She-Goes: A Revision Update

Avante! It’s update time!

First of all, apologies because I know my “I’ll be back in three months” has turned into four. Largely because I’ve been striving to push through a gnarly piece of revision before updating, although end-of-year and a sprained thumb tendon have played their part: O-o!

Still, more than time, especially with the holiday season looming. That’s another “Uh-oh,” but I know I’m not alone in that at this time of year.

As the title promises, this is a steady-as-she-goes update—w...

Characters Behaving Badly Reprised

It’s that time of year — Christmas & summer!

Firstly, I promised a Great Revision update for either today or next Monday, and owing to a series of events it shall be Monday.

Some but not all of the events were unexpected — although I guess it’s the time of year for events and some of them are going to be surprises, like unanticipated visitors.

In this case, one event (neither expected nor unexpected) was Malian behaving badly when it came to cooperating with the revision process. I know I’ve ta...

The Great “Wall Of Night” Series Read-Along: Part 1 Complete!

Introduction:

Away awa’ back in August (oh my — feels like a Middle Earth Age distant!) I blew a ta-ran-ta-ra & tooted a vuvuzela for (FB) Group Haarth and the Great “Wall Of Night” Series (Re) Read-Along.

For those who’re new here, and otherwise by way of a reminder, Group Haarth “…was formed by and for readers who want to hang out together and talk all-things, you know, Haarth.”

Rosie Wadman

As the readalong coordinator, Rosie Wadman, shared in August, the purpose is to revisit the WALL story...