Helen Lowe's Blog, page 223

A Little “A Song For Arbonne” Paean

Original US hardcover; K Craft art

As those of you who follow this blog may be aware, I’m a bit of a fan of Guy Gavriel Kay’s style of fantasy—most recently mentioning his Fionavar trilogy as one of my Favourite Epic Fantasy series, and Tigana as one of my Favourite Fantasy Standalone Novels. And I also did a book report on Under Heaven ‘way back’ in 2011.

Also recently, I found myself dipping back into another Kay favourite, A Song for Arbonne, and was reminded again of why I enjoy so much of...

Excitement—NZ’s Sir Julius Vogel Award Shortlist Announced

I was very pleased to see the announcement of New Zealand’s Sir Julius Vogel Award shortlist earlier this week, comprising a full array of nominations in both the professional and fan award categories. (To find out more about the Awards and the name, see my post here.)

For the full 2013 shortlist in all categories, please click here, on Sir Julius Vogel Award Finalists 2013.

My congratulations to all the finalists—but I would like to ‘particularly mention’ friends and SFF community members who...

A Geography of Haarth: Border Mark

The Wall of Night Series map; design by Peter Fitzpatrick

The A Geography of Haarth series features locales and places from The Wall of Night world of Haarth.

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Border Mark: the stone pillar that marks the boundary between the Gray Lands, which adjoin the Wall of Night, and the Barren Hills.

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“A thin, shrill wind had risen in the night and was blowing steadily from the north. It brought a cold dawn with it, creeping across the Gray Lands and around the Border Mark. The pillar of weathered stone h...

ANZAC Day & “The Walk Home” on Radio New Zealand National

Today is ANZAC day, the day in which NZ celebrates the Australia New Zealand Army Corps and our contribution as a nation in World Wars 1 and 2, and to a lesser extent subsequent theatres of war. The commemorative symbol of ANZAC day is the Flanders poppy.

I have written a number of ANZAC short stories with a more civilian focus on the ANZAC experience. One of these stories, The Walk Home, will be read on Radio New Zealand National tonight at 7.06 pm as part of their ANZAC Day programme. See “W...

“Here’s SpecFicNZ–Christchurch”: Featuring Elizabeth Gatens

Introduction:

Last week I heralded a new “mini-post” series on the blog, starting today, titled “Here’s SpecFicNZ-Christchurch.”

As I set out then, SpecFicNZ is the ” national association for creators, writers and editors of speculative fiction in or from New Zealand” and I thought some of my blog readers might enjoy “‘meeting” the members who live right here in the Christchurch area. As I also explained, effectively my fellow authors will be introducing themselves using a series of common head...

Tuesday Poem: In Memory of Sarah Broom, 1972-2013

Sarah Broom

It is with great sadness that I record the death of New Zealand poet, Sarah Broom, who died last Thursday, 18 April, after a prelonged illness with lung cancer.

My first encounter with Sarah was through her poetry, when I read and loved her first collection, Tigers at Awhitu (Auckland Universty Press, NZ; Carcanet, UK) in 2010. We never met in person, but did correspond via email when her health allowed—and of course, there was always the poetry.

For me, Tigers at Awhitu was the outs...

What’s Happening This Week of 22-28 April

Well, first and foremost I’m looking forward to getting back into some writing after two weeks away, by which I mean writing Daughter of Blood, The Wall of Night Book Three, of course.

Tomorrow will bring the regular Tuesday Poem, but I shall be taking a break from my series of poems in response to works of art (aka ekphrastic poems) to commemorate the death of Sarah Broom, a newer New Zealand poet whose first collection (Tigers at Awhitu) I admire immensely.

Elizabeth Gatens

On Wednesday I sh...

A Book Quote For Sunday from Samuel Butler

“Books want to be born: I never make them. They come to me and insist on being written.”

~ Samuel Butler, 1835 – 1902

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To find out more about Samuel Butler and those books that insisted on being written, you can read his Christchurch City Libraries’ biography, here.

What I’m Reading: Patricia Briggs’ “Frost Burned”

So right now I’m having fun reading Patricia Briggs’ Frost Burned–which I talked about in a “Just Arrived” post recently.

So how about you–what’s your weekend reading?

And are there any books you’ve heard particularly good buzz about recently and would like to share the tip?

A Geography of Haarth: Bonamark

The Wall of Night Series map; design by Peter Fitzpatrick

The A Geography of Haarth series features locales and places from The Wall of Night world of Haarth.

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Bonamark: one of the seven marks of Emer; a shortening of Bonacon Mark

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’Every other crossroads boasted a smithy or an inn, sure signs of prosperity, and the whole great valley of the Tenne, from the Bonamark border to the river Argent, was as fertile and peaceful as the River lands.’

~ from © The Gathering of the Lost: The Wall of Night B...