Helen Lowe's Blog, page 258
May 22, 2012
An Interview & Two Reviews for “The Gathering of the Lost”
I have another interview to share with you today, this one an indepth Q&A with Nalini Haynes of Dark Matter (Australia.)
Other interviews included in the current Issue 9 are with: Brandon Sanderson, Edward James Olmos, , and The Jane Austen Argument.
And there’s also a review of The Gathering of the Lost—but as there seventeen other books reviewed I’m not going to list them all here. 
Instead, to check out the complete Table of Contents, read online or download, both for free,...
May 21, 2012
Tuesday Poem: “The Longest Day of the Year” by Michael Harlow
THE LONGEST DAY OF THE YEAR
One word one word and then another,
one word and another, waiting for the
light to come stealing in, you ask what
is it that love dares the self to do?
All he wanted was to put his shoes out
in the moonlight. To hear music be the
saint of laughter again. And all that
time rehearsing his lines in the dark;
the love-mess of it all – when so much
forgetting is always about remembering;
on the long walk backwards to meet
himself coming the other way, but didn’t
It’s just that I’m m...
May 20, 2012
“Help Baby Jayden”: Please Welcome Wen Baragrey
Today I am welcoming friend and fellow SpecFicNZ-er Wen Baragrey to “…Anything, Really.” In her guest post she will explain the background to and purpose of the “Help Baby Jayden” fundraising campaign and also discuss the online charity auction on June 2.
Formerly a resident of Christchurch, Wen is one of those who helped me and many others out following the February 22nd earthquake by delivering water and essential supplies. I know many people here remember her kindne...
Fun With Food
Well, I tweeted about my dinner party prep & some of the dishes, so now here are a few photos: a dinner party photo essay, if you will! 
Like Clarissa, in 'Mrs Dalloway', I bought the flowers myself--amongst other things!
The apple, cinnamon & sour cream cake, fresh from the oven
The table...
...all ready for the guests
The orange, carrot & cardamom soup; aka "sunshine in a bowl"
Rack of lamb basted with a garlic, pomegranate molasses & za'atar blend, with autumn vegetable medley
And the wines were...
May 18, 2012
Two New Interviews
Hot on the heels of the Reddit Fantasy ‘Ask Me Anything’ with international Fantasy author Robin Hobb, I have two new interviews to share with you:
The first is from Burn Bright, the website of Australian SF-F author, Marianne de Pierres, where I was interviewed by Cels Jansink with her “Big 4″ questions.
To read the interview click Here
—
The second interview is with Ruth Todd for Women on Air, on Plains 96.9 FM, where we specifically talk about The Gathering of the Lost.
You can listen to it on...
Friends’ News…
Well, a few things as it happens.
Firstly, you may recall that last Sunday in “What I’m Reading” I talked about Jane Higgins’ debut novel The Bridge and how much I’d enjoyed it. I also mentioned that it was shortlisted for the NZ Post Children’s Book Awards. Well this week the Award winners were announced—and The Bridge received an Honour Mention in the Young Adult Fiction category.
Very well done, Jane! (Although in my personal, very subjective opinion The Bridge could easily have won…)
.
Coming...
May 17, 2012
Reddit Fantasy AMA With Robin Hobb: What A Blast!
So yesterday I did my very first “Ask Me Anything” session on Reddit Fantasy, hosted by international Fantasy author, Robin Hobb.
And I have to say it was huge fun—I had a great time although, boy, were those fingers flying across the keyboard. And I was rather tired at the end.
But there were also some very good questions that I think elicited some new information around my writing and process. And then there’s the famous toilet roll question, so far unresolved for posterity…
Interesting to h...
May 16, 2012
My Reddit ‘AMA’ Q&A with Robin Hobb Is On Today!
Reddit Fantasy Icon: 'You Shall Not Pass'
At 1 pm today, NZ time—8 pm US Central Time—I shall be live on Reddit Fantasy, hosted by well-known Fantasy author, Robin Hobb.
Robin Hobb; photo by Alex Ogdan
The intro post is here. (And you can already see a few early questions from Robin, which I have to say is very exciting!)
The idea is that you ask me questions and I do my best to answer them, which should be a lot of fun. And although I know it will be the working day for some of you and the wee s...
Frankfurt Book Fair 2012: An Aotearoa Affair—& the Blog Carnival Rocks On!
New Zealand will be the featured country at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair and as part of the run up the “Aotearoa Affair—from Kiel to Kaitaia” blog is now up and running. Part of the “Affair” is a monthly blog festival—and the fourth instalment, on the theme of “Bi–” has posted today.
This month’s carnival has been edited by Christopher Allen and there are many wonderful entries from Hinemoana Baker to Tim Jones to Michelle Elvy: definitely worth a look—Here!
And yes, I do have a post that is...
May 15, 2012
Some More Reader Feedback On “The Gathering of the Lost”
UK/AUS/NZ
On April 28 I posted some early reader feedback on The Gathering of the Lost, which you can check out here.
Meanwhile a few more comments have come through here on the blog, distributed across different posts, so I thought I’d pull them together for you in one spot.
(Although it’s possible you may not enjoy them quite as much as I did… )
Anyway, here we go:
“I’m reading, and thoroughly enjoying, Gathering of the Lost (after rereading Heir of Night to refresh my memory). What a fabulous...
