Helen Lowe's Blog, page 27
April 5, 2023
Catchcries & Slogans
I was going to have “in Fantasy” in the title, except one of the most famous fictional catchcries is the legendary “All for one and one for all!” from Alexander Dumas’ The Three Musketeers – which however fabulous, is not fantasy.
“The” 1973 film version
Nonetheless, the genre has its share of slogans and catchcries. The one that sparked this post was “In the bright”, from Mary Victoria’s Tymon’s Flight trilogy. In the bright is a greeting, one that makes a lot of sense given her world is a gian...
April 2, 2023
On Supernatural Underground Now: The “Scooby Gang”
We all love a good “Scooby Gang”, right? Well, I do, anyway. 
Last month, I’ve focused on some of the seminal examples of “bands and brothers” in Fantasy literature. Although I did mention “Scooby gangs” (AKA – if only in Helen parlance – the “band of buddies”) the weighting was more toward the epic fantasy classics.
Yet as asserted in posts #1 and #2, the “Scooby gang” is equally integral to the genre, just deriving more from fairytale and folklore than the myth and heroic-legend end of the sp...
March 29, 2023
Q&A Thursdays #11: Jenny’s Question
I bet you thought I’d forgotten this series reprise, and it has been a while since the last post on 15 December. Howeverz, tis not forgotten and presto—today it’s Jenny’s Question. 🙂
USA
Jenny: My question is broader than just Daughter Of Blood, but I wondered what inspired you to create the series? And how you keep it all going?
I’ve talked about influences before in a number of places, and there are a lot of them, but usually I hone in on an early love of myth and legend, fairytale and folklor...
March 26, 2023
12 Favourite Sci-Fi Movies
Recently on Twitter, author Gareth L Powell of Ack-Ack Macaque and Embers of War fame listed some of his favourite science fiction films – which got me thinking, of course!
The upshot being my own Top 10 list, as follows – listed in year of release, rather than order of preference, because that can shift around somewhat from time to time, depending on mode and mood.
)
March 22, 2023
About The Characters: Meet The Minor Players In “The Wall Of Night” Series — Meet Myron
USA
The About The Characters post 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.
Initially, the series focused exclusively on characters from The Heir of Night, but now I’m continuing on with minor characters from both The Gathering Of The Lost and Daughter of Blood — in alphabetical order, by name, of course!
And I really do believ...
March 19, 2023
Sir Julius Vogel Awards — Open For Nominations Now!
Sir Julius Vogel Award
Nominations are currently open for the Sir Julius Vogel Awards for Excellence in the Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror genres — closing on 31 March.
The Sir Julius Vogel Awards are a reader-voted award made annually under the auspices of SFFANZ, the Science Fiction & Fantasy Association of New Zealand, to recognise achievement in Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror by New Zealanders or New Zealand residents. Like other science fiction and fantasy awards around the globe...
March 16, 2023
Fun With Friends: Photo #5 from Marion Drolsbach
Marion Drolsbach, translator extraordinaire 
Woo-hoo! We’re onto Instalment #5 of the photos taken by Marion Drolsbach when she was in Aotearoa-New Zealand late last year.
Marion is a book translator and we e-met when she translated The Heir of Night into Dutch. She is also a keen photographer and the photos were taken at the mouth of one of Canterbury’s many braided rivers.
This photo shows the shingle bank between the river mouth, which is effectively a lagoon, or hapua, and the sea — with ple...
March 12, 2023
A Writing Quote from Ernest Hemingway
“Write hard and clear about what hurts.”~ Ernest Hemingway, 1899 – 1961
~*~
I’ve featured another Ernest Hemingway quote before, but this is also a good one.
I believe it’s another way of saying that it’s important to write stories that really matter, as well as to entertain.
I also detect resonances to Haruki Murakami’s observation that:
“I like to write. I like to choose the right word, I like to write the right sentence… in the right place. That kind of engineering is exhausting, though: a d...
March 8, 2023
International Women’s Day (March 8)
Yesterday, March 8, was International Women’s Day – huzza! Even if some days (for example, when the head of the UN talks about 300 years more until full equality) it feels like a case of three steps forward and two back!
However, even when there is a long way left to go, I feel it’s important to recognize how far we’ve come. Some years back now, when New Zealand celebrated 121 years of Women’s Suffrage I featured women characters from my then published books by way of celebration.
Today, I’m pos...
March 5, 2023
Inside The Writing Life: The Pilot Star
Toward the end of Daughter of Blood (The Wall Of Night #3)there’s a point where the Sea House’s pilot star gets mentioned:
USA
“Nimor stopped, intent on the solitary star that could be seen through the Gray Lands’ cloud. “The pilot’s star,” he said softly, as even the wyr hounds turned their silver eyes skyward, following his gaze. No one spoke, but Faro knew they all understood that Nimor had not expected to see it again.”The Sea House are mariners and navigators—and Nimor their envoy to the r...
