Helen Lowe's Blog, page 47

Inside The Writing Life: Characters Behaving Badly

… or at least, proving singularly uncooperative.

I have vague recollections – without being able to point to specific examples, mea culpa – of other authors lamenting this phenomenon, which leads me to believe I am by no means the first to experience it.

It’s no secret either, that once begun, stories and characters tend to develop a life of their own – chiefly, imho, because both the narrative and the characters evolve as the story progresses. The characters respond to events, which leads them ...

Spending Time With The Best of Book Friends – I Revisit “The Riddlemaster of Hed”

Last Monday, I mentioned  “Loving the way the poems and books I heart always stay with me.”

And I know I’ve spoken in the past about the way books can be like old friends. You know, the sort where you can just be yourself, put your feet up, and relax into being companionable… (Yep, I am talking about books, but ’tis just as true of people. )

Another circumstance that directs me back to tried-and-true book friends is because, being in the endgame of WALL #4 (working title: The Chaos Gate), I am ...

On Supernatural Underground Now: Magic Systems In Fantasy #5 with Lee Murray

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Lee Murray

On Saturday May 1, I posted the fifth in this year’s Magic Systems in Fantasy series on the Supernatural Underground (SU) — this month featuring fellow NZ author, Lee Murray, talking magic and the supernatural in her short fiction and Taine McKenna series.

Lee is a multi-award-winning author-editor (Sir Julius Vogel; Australian Shadows), and a five-time Bram Stoker Award®-nominee. A third generation Chinese New Zealander, her work includes military thrillers, the Taine McKenna Adventu...

A Fabulous Writing Quote From Author, Melissa Marr — On “Writers’ Block”

“I suggest not thinking of it as a BLOCK, but as a part of the process.It’s a matter of your brain not working as fast as your fingers. Sometimes the best stuff needs to simmer, and we need to allow for that.”

~ Melissa Marr, author of the Wicked Lovely series.

—

I believe this to be fact, if not necessarily universally acknowledged… When I read the quote for the first time I stood right up and cheered.

Epic — & ANZAC Day Observed

[image error]As a reader and writer, I love the way the poems and books I heart always stay with me.

Some of you may have picked up that I like to get out into the great outdoors as well – and yesterday I set out amid a late afternoon that very much resembled Keats’ “season of mist and mellow fruitfulness”, with the mountains blue and clear across the plain, and the poplar leaves a burnished gold along the river.

A coastal environment is always a dynamic one, however, and just as I turned back a southerly sq...

A Reminder That There’s A Dedicated “The Wall Of Night” Facebook Group for Readers :)

In the process of doing The Chaos Gate (The Wall Of Night #4 – WALL #4 for short ) updates* recently, I realized that it was some time since I had reminded readers here that there’s a Wall Of Night Facebook Group “out there.”

The Group title is Haarth.

Haarth is a private FB group for Wall of Night series’ readers to meet and discuss the books and related topics – and the discussions do sound rather fun.

Rosie Cooper

The group was set up by the estimable and inestimable Rosie Cooper, shortly ...

The Wisdom of Haruki Murakami

In my recent The Chaos Gate (WALL #4) update, I discussed the current endgame sequence being a little tricky.

Reflecting on this also put me in mind of a Guardian interview with the great Haruki Murakami, which I first read awa’ back in 2014. I feel the interview is “one out of the box” on so many different levels: the insight into the writer, his work, the process of writing, and writing influences.

The Guardian: An Interview With Harumi Murakami

The interview is wide-ranging, but the parts tha...

About The Characters: Meet The Minor Players In “The Wall Of Night” Series — Meet Leto Ilvaine

UK/AU/NZ

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 alph...

Giveaway of WINTERKEEP (Graceling Realm #4) by Kristin Cashore: Result!

NZ cover

The Sorting Hat (aka RANDOM) has sorted and I’m delighted to announce that we have a winner for the giveaway copy of Winterkeep by Kristin Cashore.

My thanks to everyone who entered this giveaway for NZ readers only, leaving comments on my posts of April 2 or April 8. (Entries closed at 12 midnight, NZ time, on Friday 9 April.)

And now (pauses for Drum Roll and Trumpet Fanfare ) the lucky winner is:

Gabrielle

Congratulations, Gabrielle!

I’ll be emailing you directly, but ‘just in case’...

Reminder: Giveaway for NZ Readers of “Winterkeep” by Kristin Cashore (Graceling Realm #4)

NZ cover

Just a wee reminder, as per the heading, that entries to go in the draw for the hard copy of  Kristin Cashore’s Winterkeep (Graceling Realm #4) close tomorrow:
Friday 9 April, at midnight (NZ time.)

Up until that cutoff, you can still enter the draw by leaving a comment here on this post.

Also by way of a reminder, I’ll make the draw via Sorting Hat (aka Random) over the weekend, and announce the result as my blog post for Monday 12 April. I’ll also contact the winner directly via my w...