Helen Lowe's Blog, page 208

Big Worlds On Small Screens: Rebecca Fisher Discusses “The Powerpuff Girls”

by Rebecca Fisher

Introduction:

Sugar… spice… and everything nice. These were the ingredients chosen to create three perfect little girls. But Professor Utonium accidentally added an extra ingredient to the concoction: Chemical X! Thus, The Powerpuff Girls were born! Using their ultra-superpowers, Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup have dedicated their lives to fighting crime and the forces of evil!

So goes the opening sequence of The Powerpuff Girls, the popular animated series that ran for six se...

Tuesday Poem: “Anthem For Doomed Youth ” by Wilfrid Owen

Anthem for Doomed Youth

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
– Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells,
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,—
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

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What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of good-byes.
T...

Fun Stuff: Kristin Cashore’s Bitterblue Talks With Malian Of Night

USA

USA

As part of being shortlisted for the David Gemmell Legend Award, I’ve been doing a few Q&A’s and also guest blog posts (I suspect you may have noticed!)

Last week though, I promised you something “special” coming up that was also under wraps in the meantime — but yes, right now on Kristin Cashore’s blog, you can read a conversation between her character, Bitterblue, and Malian of Night.

UK/AU/NZ Cover

UK/AU/NZ

Here’s Kristin’s intro, by way of a lead in:

“Last year, I spoke with New Zealand-...

Why I Write Epic Fantasy

UK/AUS/NZ

With The Gathering Of The Lost currently shortlisted for the international David Gemmell Legend Award, which celebrates the epic-heroic fantasy genre, I thought it was time to talk again about why I write and love epic fantasy — especially given the body of thought “oot thar’”, that alleges that the genre is misogynistic, reactionary and glorifies violence.

Now if NZ author, Kate de Goldi, is right that every writer has a “bone” he or she tends to “gnaw away at through their writing”,...

Spring Equinox, Spring Poetry Season

We’ve just passed the spring equinox here in Christchurch NZ and that means it’s also time to gear up for the Canterbury Poets’ Collective Spring poetry season — for which I have just received the programme and can tell you it’s looking like a mighty fine lineup.

Better still, you can see for yourselves:

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Canterbury Poets Collective (CPC) presents:

Poetry in Performance, 2013 Spring Season

Open mike and guest readers: Wednesday 3 October – 27 November at 6.30 pm

(Audience vote for the Best Open Mi...

A Writing Quote For Saturday: (Again) from Junot Diaz

“You see, in my view a writer is a writer not because she writes well and easily, because she has amazing talent, because everything she does is golden. In my view a writer is a writer because even when there is no hope, even when nothing you do shows any sign of promise, you keep writing anyway.”

~ Junot Diaz

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Like last Saturday’s quote, this observation from Junot Diaz is so on the nail (in my humble opinion) that I just had to share it.

A Geography Of Haarth: Hills

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. Today we’re still in “H” and Emer, sort of…

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Hills, (the): semi-independent hill region, lying partly in Emer, partly in Aralorn

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“On every raid,” Hirn concluded harshly, “they have left something behind—a weapon of Barrowdun in the Hillholt camp, a token of Hillholt in the ruins of a Barrowdun farmstead. Someon...

A Nice Shout Out From Christchurch City Libraries

It was very nice to see a post on my local Christchurch City Libraries blog yesterday, featuring my shortlisting for the David Gemmell Legend Award.

The post was even kind enough to describe my writing career as ‘stellar’, which was kinda cool.

I also smiled to read: “Publicly announcing you are writing a 4 novel series seems a very brave thing to do. Can you keep the story and characters credible over 4 books? Keep them interesting and maintain the standard?”

Mainly because one of the reasons...

“Magic In The Wall Of Night World”: A Guest Post On RisingShadow, Plus Giveaway

On Monday, I promise guest posts to come, and the first of these has now posted on genre site RisingShadow. Here’s the lead-in:

“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 least a glimmering of magic – but the Wall of Night series is absolutely full of magic, and some of it is indeed exceedingly strange…”

To rea...

Tuesday Poem: “The Charge Of The Light Brigade” By Alfred, Lord Tennyson

The Charge Of The Light Brigade

I

Half a league, half a league,

Half a league onward,

All in the valley of Death

….Rode the six hundred.

“Forward, the Light Brigade!

Charge for the guns!” he said.

Into the valley of Death

….Rode the six hundred.

II

“Forward, the Light Brigade!”

Was there a man dismayed?

Not though the soldier knew

….Someone had blundered.

….Theirs not to make reply,

….Theirs not to reason why,

….Theirs but to do and die.

….Into the valley of Death

….Rode the six hundred.

III

Cannon to right of th...