Helen Lowe's Blog, page 220

“Here’s SpecFicNZ–Christchurch”: Featuring Gareth Renowden

Introduction:

I am currently running a post “mini-series” titled “Here’s SpecFicNZ-Christchurch” in which my fellow SpecFicNZ-Christchurch authors introduce themselves using a series of common headings:

Here’s Who: a short, first person introduction to the writer

Here’s Why: the writer writes speculative fiction

Here’s What: an example of the writer’s work

Here’s Where: you can find out more about the writer and their work—and I really hope you will!

Today I am very pleased to invite you to meet Ga...

Tuesday Poem: “Ode On A Grecian Urn” by John Keats, 1795-1821

ODE ON A GRECIAN URN

Thou still unravished bride of quietness,

Thou foster child of silence and slow time,

Sylvan historian, who canst thus express

A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:

What leaf-fringed legend haunts about thy shape

Of deities or mortals, or of both,

In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?

What men or gods are these? What maidens loath?

What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?

What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?

Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard

Are sweeter; therefore...

Read & Enjoyed: Patricia Briggs’ “Frost Burned” (A Mercy Thompson Novel)

I am more than a little behind with my reading right now, mainly due to my energies going into writing Daughter Of Blood (WALL 3)—so much so that it was way back on 9 March that I did my “Just Arrived” post for this book.

What I wrote then though, was: “Given some time out and a sunny corner, I’ll give you three guesses what I might be doing this weekend…”

Well, it wasn’t that particular weekend, but when I did finally sit down to read, I did power my way through Frost Burned, having a thorough...

A Book Quote for Sunday: from AS Byatt

“Think of this – that the writer wrote alone, and the reader read alone, and they were alone with each other.”

~ A.S. Byatt, Possession

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I quoted this in my Monday post on Truth, Lies, & Storytelling—but I liked it so much that I decided to feature it today. I feel it captures something intrinsic about the writer/reader relationship, as well as the essentially solitary, individual experience that is reading.

Enjoy!

Tis the Season for Award Nominations: World Fantasy Award

World Fantasy Award Nominations are currently open until May 31st.

Those who were members of the Wolrd Fantasy Convention in 2011, 2012, or are registered for WFC 2013 are eligible to nominate, although the award itself if curated, ie there is a judging panel.

All nominated material must have been published in 2012 or have a 2012 cover date. Only living persons may be nominated.

For those who are eligible to vote—like me, yay!—the ballot is right here:

http://www.wfc2013.org/wfballot01.html

In ter...

A Geography Of Haarth: Caer Argent

The Wall of Night Series map; design by Peter Fitzpatrick

The A Geography of Haarth series is traversing the full range of locales and places from The Wall of Night world of Haarth—and today we’re into “C”: yahoo!

I do hope you’re enjoying this delving into the world building.

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Caer Argent: capital city of the Southern Realm’s dukedom of Emer

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“They first glimpsed Caer Argent in the late afternoon, sunshine flashing off the city’s famous spires as they emerged from an avenue of oak trees that s...

Around The Traps: A Review Poll; & A Gemmell Quote on Fantasy Book Critic

USA

UK/AUS/NZ

A Review Poll: The Gathering of The Lost “Could” Be Reviewed In June–With your Support

You may recall that last year I participated in the blog series on Abhinav Jain’s Sons of Corax blog—a series that I enjoyed very much.

Earlier Abhinav had reviewed The Heir Of Night, awarding it 10/10 stars (every one thoroughly deserved, of course!)

Now Abhinav is running a poll to determine the 7 novels he reads and reviews in June and The Gathering Of The Lost is on...

“Here’s SpecFicNZ–Christchurch”: Featuring Beaulah Pragg

Introduction:

I am currently running a blog “mini-series” titled “Here’s SpecFicNZ-Christchurch” in which my fellow SpecFicNZ-Christchurch authors introduce themselves using a series of common headings:

Here’s Who: a short, first person introduction to the writer

Here’s Why: the writer writes speculative fiction

Here’s What: an example of the writer’s work

Here’s Where: you can find out more about the writer and their work—and I really hope you will!

Today I am very pleased to invite you to meet Be...

Tuesday Poem: “Cathedral of the Poor” by Frankie McMillan

Cathedral of the Poor

Gaudi watches his father tend bees,

draws the shape of hives,

the pillars of Sagrada Familia

smoke pours

from a wooden box, his father rises

around his neck are baubles

seeds from the magnolia tree

Is there any better structure

than the trunk

of a human skeleton ?

But look

here is the four armed cross

the breath of the glassblower,

the ceramicist, ironmonger

Here is work, long as the prayers

of a Bavarian priest

Here are the trees that grow in the nave

the helicoid columns

the bees in his...

Truth, Lies, & Storytelling

Yesterday, I posted a wonderful quote from Ursula Le Guin, from the introduction to the science fiction classic, The Left Hand Of Darkness, all about truth, lies, and writing fiction.

I do really like it, and as an author I also understand it. But I also thought, as I reflected on the quote during the course of the day, that although notions of artistic truth are important—and alternately, the nadir of artistic truth’s zenith may be that fiction is, in fact, no more or less than a ‘pack of lie...