Helen Lowe's Blog, page 34
August 3, 2022
On Supernatural Underground Now: What Makes A Hero #6 — Charisma
I know, how can it be August already?!
But it is—which means that on Monday 1, US EST, I posted Instalment #6 of the What Makes A Hero series on Supernatural Underground.
This month’s theme is Charisma and in addition to checking out some charismatic heroes—and some villains!—I’m exploring whether charisma is necessary to the making of a Fantasy hero.
Aragorn: A charismatic hero — you betcha!
Here’s a snippet to get you started:
“Charisma—from glamour and the swashbuckling bravura that inspires...
July 31, 2022
The Hobbit: There & Back Again – 85 Years On!
Last week, I shared receiving a gift of The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien from The Wall of Night series’ publisher, Harper Voyager, and discussed Tolkien’s literary and fantasy legacy.
Only to realize, in retrospect, that I had omitted a salient fact, which is that another reason for the gift is because 2022 is the 85th year since The Hobbit was first published, away back in 1937!
I don’t know about you, but that feels like a significant numbers of years in print to me, and another amazing achievement,...
July 27, 2022
A Writing Quote from GK Chesterton — Plus the Giveaway!
― G.K. Chesterton, 1874 – 1936
.
Or not—depending on the story being told… 
In Case You Missed It – There’s A Giveaway!
I know, I know, it’s a Middle Earth Age since I’ve done one of these – but receiving a gift book myself moved my own gifting spirit, so to speak (as it were!) 
The full details are in Monday’s post, but the fundamentals are:
I...July 24, 2022
“The Hobbit”, Tolkien’s Legacy — & A Giveaway!
Relatively recently, I was surprised but pleased to receive a gift edition of the 75th anniversary edition of The Hobbit from The Wall of Night series’ publisher, Harper Voyager.
Since 2021, Harper Voyager has also been the publisher of the Tolkien Estate, which now includes a large number of works, but the most significant are (fairly unquestionably, I feel) The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
So I very much appreciated the gift of the book.
The Harper Voyager representative ...
July 17, 2022
Recommended Reading: “Maus” by Art Spiegelman
A big part of “wot I do” here on “…Anything, Really” is read and share m’thoughts on books I’ve enjoyed reading. Usually this is a pretty easy process, but I felt the stakes were higher with Maus, because of the controversy around it being removed from the Eighth Grade reading curriculum by a school board in Tennessee, USA. The reasons cited, I believe, were “content” and “age appropriateness.”
In the interests of avoiding knee-jerk reactions, I wanted to take my time over reading the book and ...
July 13, 2022
About The Characters: Meet The Minor Players In “The Wall Of Night” Series — Meet Malisande
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.”
~ from my Legend Award Finalist’s Interview, 2013
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 ...
July 10, 2022
The Wall of Night #4 (The Chaos Gate): Update Deferral
In April, I pledged another update on or around 7 July, but I’m going to defer that for now — albeit with many apologies.
Negotiating wild country… (Art credit: PJ Fitzpatrick)
The reason why is that I am currently in the middle of writing an important but proverbially thorny passage. While I am currently negotiating the briars, I prefer to keep my focus on maintaining momentum and reaching the other side of the ‘hedge of thorns.’ (Yes it does make me feel like I’m back in Thornspell territory,...
July 6, 2022
Just Arrived: “The House In The Cerulean Sea” — by TJ Klune
A friend highly recommended The House In The Cerulean Sea to me, and thanks to the good offices of the publisher’s (TOR’s) regional rep, a copy has recently arrived on my TBR table. Huzza!
I’ve already started reading — and enjoying! –what appears to be a story aimed at younger readers, while crossing over to the discerning of all ages. It is Fantasy—of course!—and one that, as reference to the inside cover confirms, comes with a swag of author recommendations and glowing reviews.
Many of you ...
July 3, 2022
On Supernatural Underground Now: What Makes A Hero #5 — Challenge
Yes, indeed, the first of another month has been and gone—which of course means that on 1 July, the 5th instalment of the What Makes A Fantasy Hero? series posted on the Supernatural Underground.
Continuing my “C” tradition, this month’s post looks at Challenge. It flows on from a premise in last month’s post on Courage:
“Often, in Fantasy tales, the protagonist must risk their life for others and/or to complete the heroic quest. Yet high risk consequences may also comprise unjust imprisonment,...
June 29, 2022
Q&A Thursdays Reprised #6: Rosie’s Question
Currently I’m reprising a Daughter of Blood (and by extension The Wall Of Night ) Q&A series that first featured in 2019—with some really great questions that I’m enjoying getting to read and think about again.
Today’s I’m refeaturing Rosie’s question on the Web of Mayanne.
UK/AU/NZ
Rosie: The Web of Mayanne is a fascinating part of the plot which really comes to the fore in Daughter of Blood. Can you tell us about how you came up with that kind of ‘thread magic’ and the influences behind it?
I...
