Helen Lowe's Blog, page 291

There & Back Again

What I have been doing these past four days is sneaking away for what Bridget Jones, she of Diary fame, would call a "mini-break" —or in Kiwi (aka NZ) parlance, a "long weekend." I figured it was well-deserved, what with all the completing of The Gathering of the Lost—and besides, it was also my birthday. So I was determined to get over last week's midwinter ills and go—& go I did, to Marlborough, which is approximately four hours drive away, at the top of NZ's South Island.

Olde Mill House hall

Marlborough is most famous as one of NZ's two major, wine-growing regions (the other is Hawke's Bay) and we were based in Renwick, in the heart of vineyard country. We stayed in the Olde Mill House bed and breakfast, which I thoroughly recommend for a relaxed visit—the hosts are friendly, the house and surrounding garden beautiful and you get to look out over wine country to snow-capped mountains (since it is winter.) A breathtaking environment—and we visited a few of those wineries, including Highfield Estate where we also got to eat a lunch that matched the wine and the view. Definitely the best cuisine tried that weekend—and the wines were rather good as well.

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Hurricane at Omaka

One of the features of the trip was a visit to the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre which features a mix of original and replica World War One aircraft. There are two World War 2 planes outside, including this Hurricane, but the main focus currently is World War 1 and the exhibition of both predominantly British/French and German planes. I am not much of a museum person, yet did enjoy the planes—but was even more fascinated by the material on the—usually short—lives of the pilots and the 'cult of personality' around them, particularly on the German side, eg the "Red Baron."

Waterfront, Picton

It was not all wine and old planes, however—we also spent time in Picton, which is the gateway to the Marlborough Sounds, although we didn't have time to go any further. A fun, relaxing break—and yes, with some reading thrown in. I am now onto Ian McDonald's The Dervish House for my Hugo's reading and also had a sneak peek at Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris's Phoneix Rising (The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences)—so far, definitely so good: those first few pages of Phoenix were a fun read!

Tomorrow—now I'm back—I hope to bring you the second report on my Hugo's reading for Best Novel, which should be on Mira Grant's Feed. Just in case you missed it, my first report back was on NK Jemisin's The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, here.

Tuesday Poem: "This Will Be Us"

This Will Be Us

This will be us, one day —

faded photographs

for archivists and future

generations to pore over,

speculating on how

we must have felt, what

it must have been like …

… being lowered

from a high building

on ropes, or having one foot

amputated in situ

by a policeman to free

the rest of the body

from the rubble

of a collapsed building.

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Or perhaps these historians

yet to come may stare

at footage of suburbs flooded

by silt and sewerage

after groundwater was forced

up by the shock waves

and mains burst

everywhere; all the bridges

between Cathedral Square

and the sea closed,

bar one, and holes

opening in roads —

large enough

to swallow SUVs.

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Or will those to come

pause instead over photos

of the student volunteers,

shovels in hand

as they move en masse

to dig out half a city,

dust whipping up

into a grit storm

around them …  And yet,

how could that future observer

feel more

than a passing wonder,

a flash of empathy …

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… any more than we do now

when looking at old records

of past disasters:

the great pandemic, say,

that followed World War 1,

or the Wahine storm —

and only fleetingly imagine

the reality that these people —

flickers on a newsreel,

stills in a frame —

experienced, lived through,

endured.

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© Helen Lowe, 2011

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This poem is dedicated to the police and rescue services, and to the Student Volunteer Army, the Farm-y Army, and all the other volunteers who picked up whatever they had and "did for others"* after each of the major earthquakes of September 4, 2010, and February 22 and June 13, 2011, in Christchurch.

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* from Forever Young, by Bob Dylan

" … may you always do for others

and let others do for you …"

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To read the featured poem on the Tuesday Poem Hub and other great poems from fellow Tuesday poets from around the world, click here or on the Quill icon in the sidebar.

"The Heir of Night" Released in The Netherlands Today as "Kind van de Nacht"

The Heir of Night is being published in The Netherlands by Luitingh Fantasy as Kind van de Nacht—and will be on sale today as an e-book, with the hard copy due in shops on Wednesday 20. This is a red letter day for me as it is the first time I have had any of my works, whether novel, poetry or short fiction, published in translation.

So what should I do to commemorate this auspicious occasion?  Comment with your ideas—or just comment, this is a celebration so 'da rules' are flexible —and I will do a giveaway of 3 x sets of a signed Kind van de Nacht poster (A4 size), a The Heir of Night bookmark from Context, and a signed bookplate designed by PJ Fitzpatrick, to be drawn from amongst the commenters. The draw will close at midnight on Wednesday 20 July, NZ time.

"Tales for Canterbury": A Peek Inside "The Magician" by Janis Freegard

On June 23, I published the first "peek inside" Tales for Canterbury, an anthology of short fiction put together by Cassie Hart and Anna Caro and divided into three sections: Survival — Hope — Future. The anthology includes a range of short stories donated by both national and international authors as a fundraiser for the Red Cross Christchurch Earthquake Appeal.

The "peek inside" involves featuring the first paragraph 'or so' (if the paras are very short, but within the bounds of fair use) of some of the stories over the next while.  I do hope it will encourage readers to not just take my word for Tales for Canterbury's quality but also to give it a try for themselves.

I began with my own short contribution, The Fountain, which appears in the Hope section of the anthology and followed it on July 7 with Tim Jones' "Sign of the Tui." Today I am continuing with another short story from the Hope section, Janis Freegard's magic-realism short story, The Magician.

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The Magician

Janis Freegard

His loft is fluttering with doves; the garden shed is overrun with white rabbits (never lift them by their delicate ears); he has an upstairs dresser overflowing with a rainbow of silk scarves. But the magician is sighing.

He stands at his attic window looking out over the seascape he loves, the fishing boats, the little offshore island. I need to get away, he thinks. I need to get the magic back.

Carefully he folds his six best suits into a brown leather trunk: the electric blue suit, the burnt umber suit, the black suit with gold thread, the silver glitter suit, the suit made of Astroturf, the suit decorated with images of fruit. He telephones his strange, solitary neighbour to ask her to feed and pat the animals (hears her husky whisper, "Yes."). Looking distracted, he revs up the sparkling white Beemer in his garage and drives

the length of the dusty lane to the village railway station.

He has been a magician for thirty-six years, since that Christmas when his grandmother bought him a Junior Magic Set and he set about entertaining his admiring family with a disappearing Ace of Spades and a wand that bent double.

Now he needs a new trick.

…

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To read more, of both The Magician and the very many other great stories comprising Tales for Canterbury, and support the Christchurch earthquake recovery effort, consider purchasing your own electronic or hard copy edition of Tales for Canterbury, here.

To learn more about Janis Freegard and her writing, you can check out her blog, here.

To read Tim Jones' interview with Anna Caro, one of the co-editors of Tales for Canterbury, click here.

Hugo Awards Reading Report 1: The Novels—"The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms" by NK Jemisin

May the Reporting Begin …

Today I am beginning my reporting back on the novel finalists for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2011 with NK Jemisin's The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (Orbit.)

Just as a reminder, the complete list of finalists, by book title, comprises:

Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis (Ballantine Spectra)

Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold (Baen)

The Dervish House by Ian McDonald (Gollancz; Pyr)

Feed by Mira Grant (Orbit)

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin (Orbit)

My Criteria, As A Reader, for Evaluating the Hugo Award Nominees for Best Novel

An aspect that I consider very important with evaluating the Hugo finalists, as a reader and voter, is that the award is being made for excellence in speculative fiction. So while I need to consider whether the stories are compelling, well written and engaging as stories, I also need to give thought to strength/use of genre in the work.

In terms of what makes a story compelling, well written and engaging, my subjective preferences include that I really like emotional depth; I also really like interesting ideas. But I'm not so much into clever ideas for their own sake: without characters and a storyline that both engage me, cleverness alone won't cut it. Something that really matters, though, is continuity/consistency of both characters and plot. Even if I really like the characters or find the idea of the story fascinating, if there are plot holes I can drive a bus through, then I'm not going to rate that story. One possible exception just might be if there is a lot of humor to gloss over those holes. And I always award extra points for stories that raise a smile—and bonus points again for a read that makes me laugh out loud ("coughs": intentionally, that is.)

So those are the broad criteria and I'll certainly specify if something else comes up as I go along.

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, Book One of The Inheritance Trilogy

To start, a brief synopsis from the back cover (ie I'm trying not to do spoilers here):

"Yeine Darr is an outcast … summoned to the majestic city of Sky – a palace … where the lives of gods and mortals intertwine. There, to her shock, Yeine is named one of the potential heirs to the king. But the throne of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is not easily won and Yeine is thrust into a vicious power struggle …"

I think the other important plot element it helps to know is that the backstory on which The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is founded is that of war between gods, which has ended with the defeated gods being made slaves to the human priests of the victorious deity. It is for control of this power that Yeine finds herself competing.

It's an interesting premise to start with and I have to say right up front that I liked this book—rather a lot, in fact. It "checked" all my boxes of interesting plotline and emotional depth of story combined with engaging characters. The central character of Yeine is very well drawn, as are other core characters such as the bound gods Nahadoth and Sieh—but this is not one of those novels where a few compelling central characters are accompanied by a host of "paper cut-out" lesser characters. In fact, there are no "lesser" characters in this book, although some are clearly of secondary or even tertiary importance to the unfolding story—but all are interesting and well drawn for the period that they are on the page.

Here's the thing I really liked about The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms though: plot-wise, the author managed to surprise me. I apologise if this sounds a little conceited, but it really doesn't happen often. Even George RR Martin has only managed to do it once, so far, in the A Song of Ice and Fire Series and he can be fairly 'tricksy' (as Gollum would have it. ) In The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms I definitely knew that something 'tricksy' was up—it was getting toward the final denouement after all—and there were any number of characters to be suspicious of, but I still didn't foresee the final plot-within-plot revelation. As a reader, I found that very satisfying. Although I am not a reader who needs surprises in my stories—good characters and a good story well told are generally enough for me—I still enjoy a good twist in a tale, especially when I haven't picked it in advance.

In terms of use of genre, I think the fundamental idea of the book, ie war in heaven and how this has subsequently played out on the mortal plane; as well as the way the magic of the bound gods and the world works, eg the floating city, all held together well. And as aforesaid, I found the basic premise interesting. I have heard that criticism has been levelled against The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by some genre readers because of the romantic elements in the story, but in my view the book is still unequivocally Fantasy and not Romance. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is also far from being alone in being Fantasy with clear romantic elements. All Anne McCaffrey's books are distinguished by this characteristic and romance is also a very strong element in much of the writing of leading names such as Guy Gavriel Kay, Robin McKinley, and Patricia McKillip. In terms of genre, therefore, I see The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms as definitely part of a well-established and honourable SFF tradition.

What didn't I like about this book, then? The answer is: no major quibbles at all. I did have a small smile at the very—um—cosmic, major sex scene—but I could blame that reaction on Hemingway*: he still has a lot to answer for in terms of sex scenes where the earth—or cosmos—moves for the protagonists. And it is a very small quibble.

So there you have it: my report back on The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. I think it is a very enjoyable read and well-crafted SFF novel and a strong contender for the Hugo Award for Best Novel.

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All going well, I should be back with Reading Report 2, on another of the finalists for best Novel, next Wednesday.

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* For Whom The Bell Tolls

It's Friday!

It's Friday—and what I've been doing this week is not very much at all. This is not because I am on holiday after completing The Gathering of the Lost, but because—as is so often the way after one has been really busy for a long time—as soon as I stopped I promptly succumbed to the nearest wandering ailment and so have been comfined to my authorial couch all this week, muffled in wraps and comforters, and imbibing various herbal and lemon-infused beverages, as well as knocking back aspirin at the minimum prescribed intervals.

The cat, needless to say, thinks it's just great—he gets to hang out in the room where the heater stays on all day. And when you're a cat in your 19th year, I suspect this counts as fairly close to bliss!:)

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Miss Agatha Heterodyne, Girl Genius

I haven't quite summoned the energy yet for those Hugo Awards reading reports—although I promise you that they are coming!—but rather I've been sneakily doing some fun reading of something I really enjoy: graphic novels. In this case, catching up with the latest instalments of Girl Genius Online, which I'd gotten a bit behind on while finishing Gathering, and starting the latest in the Angel series: Illyria, Haunted.

For those of you who don't know, the Buffy and Angel graphic novel series have continued on from where the tv series left off. In the case of the Buffy series (officially 'Season Eight') I haven't been able to really get into it—although I do keep trying because it's, you know, Buffy!—but I have really enjoyed most of the Angel instalments. I just think the stories are more coherent and more fun, and what they're doing with the characters a whole heap more interesting—which is pretty much exactly the opposite of what I felt about the tv series.

And Illyria is one of my favourite characters so I'm really enjoying my first Illyria-centred adventure. And yes, I was one of those fans who really hoped there'd be a Spike/Illyria spin-off tv series … (Sigh.) But in fact this graphic novel series is pretty durned good anyway, so there is still Whedon-verse happiness to be had.

So how about you? What would you read, if you were confined to your couch for a week? And if it was a graphic novel, which one would you go for?

"ismellsheep" Review Blog's Swagday Giveaway

It's crazy giveaway fun this week with Sharon Stogner on review blog ismellsheep running their monthly swagday giveaway from July 10 through 14.

Before I go on to what Sharon has to say about the swagday, I want to tell you just a little bit about Sharon, whom I initially met as a stalwart reader and follower of the Supernatural Underground (where, you may recall, I blog on the 1st day of every month.) Sharon was also amongst the first readers to win an ARE (advance reader edition) of The Heir of Night—and to tell me and the world how much she loved it. So, of course, when Sharon joined the ismellsheep team and approached me about contributing a copy of Heir for the swagday, I was delighted to oblige.

And without further ado, here's Sharon to tell you about ismellsheep and the swagday:

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From Sharon on ismellsheep & Swagday:

I Smell Sheep [Entertaining ewe, one monster at a time] is a review blog that covers all things Paranormal: Urban Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Fantasy and Sci-Fi. We review movies, books and comics as well as doing author, actor and director interviews. We hope to make you laugh or at least roll your eyes

Swagday is held on the 10th of every month. It is a way to introduce readers to new authors/genres. There are 5-8 featured authors each month who have offered up some special swag and/or book(s). There is also a large swagbag that contains swag from over 30 different authors! All you have to do is play a game (ex. match the author to the series-hints are given) and leave your answers in the comment section.

First Place winner gets:

1. to pick 3 of the authors that are new to you — you will get those books

2. Swagbag

3. a book and writing supplies will be sent to a soldier overseas in your name.

A second place winner will get a small prize donated by my Blogger Shout Out for that month.

http://ismellsheep.blogspot.com/2011/07/swagday-is-baaaaaaack.html

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So get going folks—participate in the swagday fun.

Guest Author Nicole Murphy Posts on "The Challenge"—Plus Giveaway!

Last Saturday I guest posted as part of  fellow Supernatural Underground author Nicole Murphy's guest series on Dreams and Fulfilment—a fabulous series by the way, which I do recommend that you check out, here with today's guest author, the amazing Kerrelyn Sparks.

The Dreams and Fulfilment Guest Series celebrates completion of Nicole's "Dreams of Asarlai" trilogy with the release of the third and final novel, Rogue Gadda. Today I am delighted to have Nicole here as my guest to talk about the challenge of completing a series—and beginning something new.

And Nicole also has a copy of Rogue Gadda to give away to one lucky commenter—so read on and do take the challenge.:)

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Guest Post: The Challenge by Nicole Murphy

And so, my third book in my trilogy is published.

A momentous occasion, not least of which for my sense of myself as author. After all, I've published three books now. Three books that have been well received by readers. I know I can write a good story, keep them hooked for page after page.

I've made it. I'm awesome.

At this point, it seems to me that I've got two choices. One is to believe that what I've just said is the end. The other is to believe that it's just the beginning.

If it's the end, then I'll just keep churning out the same books. I write well enough now to get away with the voice I have. Different characters, alter the plots a little… Yeah, that will work.

But if I believe it's the beginning, then I can't stop with what I've already accomplished. Yes, it's good. Yes, I'm good.

But I can be BETTER.

When I started writing, I had the dream of having a book, with my name on it. Having people love what I'd written. Well, I've done that. Three times.

So now, I have a new dream – to become a better writer. To ensure that each book I write is better than the one before.

I'm doing that by challenging myself. Making myself deal with characters, or plots, or ideas that are different from what I've done before.

For example, in Dream of Asarlai I've got one main antagonist, with a very clear goal. We even see her point of view from time to time, so the reader absolutely knows what Asarlai is up to.

But in the new trilogy, my antagonist is a group of people. Their goals are clear, but their actions are less so. And we don't ever directly see their point of view, so I have to work hard to ensure the reader understands it, even if the point of view characters don't.

See? Challenge.

Some of the challenges I'm setting myself may not seem that far removed from what I've done. Another example – I've just finished writing my first contemporary romance. My trilogy is full of romance, so it might seem that it's not that hard to write another genre of romance.

But it is. It's a much slower paced book, and doesn't have all the fun stuff like monsters, magic, explosions and so on. It's a simpler style, and it's also much more focussed on the internals of the characters. In every scene, I found myself wondering if I'm attacking it the right way, making the right choices, not going deep enough or too deep. Thinking a great deal about what makes story and character work.

More of a challenge than I ever anticipated.

And then there's the joy that is short stories. The great thing about shorts is that you can experiment wildly and because they don't take a lot of time to write, it's not too much of a problem if they fail spectacularly. And of course, succeed or fail, you learn from them.

I'm glad that people have loved the Dream of Asarlai books. I'm proud of them. But I hope that in future years, people will be saying "Yeah, they were good, but these new ones are GREAT!".

Giveaway question – enter the draw to win a copy of Rogue Gadda by telling me what challenges you think you should set yourself.
Plus:

Rogue Gadda Cookie:

As she got on the bus, Asarlai felt her soul shrink. Star, but she hated to commute with humans. She hated the stupidity in their gaze, that they looked at her and didn't realise what she could do to them. She hated the smug comfort they had in a world that wasn't what they thought it was. She hated the sheer, overwhelming numbers of them – they threatened to overtake everything.

That she had to do this was an abomination to her, and just made it all the more clear that she must succeed in her task, to save other gadda from this trauma.

…

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Nicole Murphy; photo by Cat Sparks

About Nicole Murphy:

Nicole Murphy has been a primary school teacher, bookstore owner, journalist and checkout chick. She grew up reading Tolkien, Lewis and Le Guin; spent her twenties discovering Quick, Lindsay and Deveraux, and lives her love of science fiction and fantasy through her involvement with the Conflux science fiction conventions. Her urban fantasy trilogy Dream of Asarlai is published in Australia/NZ by HarperVoyager. She lives with her husband in Queanbeyan, NSW. Visit her website http://nicolermurphy.com

To read another guest post by Nicole on "Loving Humanity – Why Speculative Fiction Rocks!", click here.

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And don't forget: Go in the draw to win a copy of Rogue Gadda by commenting here to tell Nicole what challenges you think you should set yourself.

Tuesday Poem: "Indifferent Planet"

Indifferent Planet

Taking out the rubbish

in the dark pre-dawn,

the stars still crisp

in the frost-black

overhead, the plastic wheels

on the bins jolting

over the gullies and ridges

of the old creek bed

that was once our driveway

before — before February 22nd

when the earth god stretched

again in his sleep, or was it Loki,

writhing to avoid the serpents' venom,

the earth also condemned

to writhe with him, while we,

like ninepins, were knocked about —

most to pick ourselves up again,

dust off, dig out,

but one hundred and eighty one

not so fortunate, fallen witness

to the random acts of violence

of an indifferent planet.

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© Helen Lowe, 2011

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This poem is dedicated to the memory of the 181 people who died in Christchurch's February 22nd earthquake.

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For more great Tuesday poems and to read the guest poet featured on the Tuesday Poem Hub, either click here or on the Quill icon in the sidebar.

Just Arrived: "Graveminder" & "Phoenix Rising"

Another happy post office box day today—I opened it up and found:

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Graveminder by Melissa Marr

According to the back cover it is " … a story of the living, the dead, and the curse that binds them."

And the action takes place in Claysville, a town that "lures you back."

It all sounds a little spooky and I can't wait to find out more–and may I also say, I "just love" the cover!

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Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel by Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris.

The cover has already told me this is steampunk with a capital "S", but what does the back say:

"Evil is most assuredly afoot—and Britain's fate rests in the hands of an alluting renegade … and a librarian."

No question: in both cases I must assuredly read on—and shall do so!

And who knows, all going well—maybe some blog interviews will follow. I do hope so!

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In the meantime, following on from last Wednesday's post, I am charging ahead with the Hugo Awards reading and hope to bring you my initial findings on NK Jemisin's The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and Mira Grant's Feed, both contenders for the Hugo Award for Best Novel. If not Wedneday (because tomorrow is Tuesday poem day) then definitely Thursday.