Helen Lowe's Blog, page 5

Celebrating Openings #4: “Pride & Prejudice” by Jane Austen

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”

~ Jane Austen, 1775 – 1817

I promised, in February, when I kicked off featuring some of the great book openings, that I wasn’t going to start with Jane Austen and Pride & Prejudice.

Unquestionably, though, it is one of the great opening lines, as well as being among the most universally enduring in the public psyche. So I feel that to leave it any longer would be remiss.

So m...

Just Arrived — “Wifedom: Mrs Orwell’s Invisible Life” by Anna Funder

It’s been a while since I’ve had occasion to do a “Just Arrived” post — which might be because the TBR pile has gotten somewhat high. All right, very high!

Wifedom however, does come very highly recommended by a friend and fellow reader — and the review quotes on the cover do seem to bear that out. We have an “Electrifying” from Kirkus Reviews, “Brilliant” from The Guardian, and “Spellbinding” from the Financial Times.

Many of you may already have beaten me to reading Wifedom, since it came ou...

A Coda On Last Thursday’s Quote

I had barely posted last Thursday’s writing quote, when I realized that I didn’t agree with it 100%.

Just to recap, the quote was from US author Ellen Gilchrist (1935 -2024)  and read:

“How often I have tried to tell writing students that the first thing a writer must do is love the reader and wish the reader well.”

I still love the quote and I definitely do think respecting and valuing readers is a really important part of the writing life. The “not 100%” lies in that, on reflection, I don’t ...

I Love This Quote from Ellen Gilchrist (1935 – 2024)

“How often I have tried to tell writing students that the first thing a writer must do is love the reader and wish the reader well.”

~ Ellen Gilchrist, 1935 – 2024

~*~

“Just a literary quote” for today’s post, but I think it’s a good one. It certainly resonated with me the first time I read it, similar to the AS Byatt quote on readers and writers.

For those who may not know, Ellen Gilchrist was a US author (from the American South), who the NY Times described as a “writer with an eye on the Sou...

New On Supernatural Underground for May — Great Leaders in Speculative Fiction #4

I think I’m building up a head of steam now, with this post series on leadership.

Leader number #4 is someone I’ve mentioned before, though not in such depth. Yep, it’s John Aversin from Barbara Hambly’s Dragonsbane, and I believe he ticks quite a number, if not all, the leadership boxes.

There may be a few overlaps to real life as well, but I’ll let you be the judge of that. You’ll have to rock on over and have a read, of course — but I gave it some oomph, so I hope you will.

To which end, t...

Meet Pha’Rho-l-Ynor: Meet The Minor Players in “The Wall Of Night” Series

UK/AU/NZ

The “Meet the Minor Players” post features the minor characters in The Wall Of Night series because:

“I think it’s the presence of the smaller characters that “makes” a story, creating texture around the main points of view.”

~ Helen Lowe (from my Legend Award Finalist’s Interview)

Sometimes, though, the minor character may exist in the story’s past while shaping its present. And sometimes, the character may be not one, but two individuals.

Both circumstances that apply to Pha’Rho-l-Yno...

I “Do” Know You’re Waiting!

I’m keenly conscious you’re all waiting for a book update, and that I said “soon” in January yet here we are, in the last week of April and I’m still saying “not quite yet.”

Yarp, still locked in that writing tower of doom & destiny…
art by Peter Fitzpatrick

 

The Wall muse, as you may have gathered, is more than a mite cantankerous, so saying “soon” was probably overly bold, because ever since then it’s been 2.5 steps back for every 3 forward. And what appeared to be just a few puzzle pieces to ...

April 25 Is ANZAC Day

The ANZAC stands for “Australia and New Zealand Army Corp”, and ANZAC Day in NZ commemorates New Zealanders that have served and died in war, most significantly WW1 and WW2.

It’s a day of remembrance, and for honouring service, sacrifice and community, but also, for many, a day for reflecting on the importance of peace.

ANZAC Memorial, Richmond 2022

Although ANZAC stems from the Australian and NZ forces that went fought in the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign in Turkey, its symbol is the Flanders po...

On This Day In 2016 — A Dragon Quote from “Thornspell”

Today is Easter Monday and a public holiday, so rather than writing something new, I thought I’d reshare my post from this very date in 2016 — which turns out to be a dragon quote from Thornspell, so doubly fun.

“Rue … was nowhere to be seen as he turned and stepped toward the fire. He snatched another glance back, in case he had missed her, and stopped short as a huge red and golden dragon soared out of the twisting streams of energy and reality. Sigismund stared, sure he must be delirious—or...

So How Are Those 1000 Nights Going?

You know, the Ray Bradbury 1000 nights in which he suggested reading a poem, a short story, and an essay every night.

You may also recall that I’ve had a l’il help from m’friends with a poetry chapbook and two short fiction anthologies from Scotland.

Sadly, I must confess to already falling short of the three per night. O-o!

Happily however, so far I am managing one per night — with a few classics, such as Robert Frost’s Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening, and William Carlos Williams’ This I...