Helen Lowe's Blog, page 83

The Most-Read “…On Anything Really” Posts of 2017

It’s that time of year again… Yup, you’ve guessed it (although the title was a bit of a  giveaway in that respect) — it’s the time when I take a look at the “…On Anything Really” posts that garnered the most attention from blog friends, followers, and visitors during 2017.

As with last year, I shall list the posts in the chronological order of their appearance on the blog, rather than ranking them 1-10 for views. (I know, I know — showing m’self up for a ‘co-operative’ rather than a ‘competit...

Happy Boxing Day!

Pohutakawa: the NZ “Christmas” tree

I decided to mix things up a bit this year and do my festive greeting post on the 26th, for several reasons.

Firstly, Christmas Eve and Day are always super busy for celebrations and catching up with family and friends in realtime, so it’s nice to have the time to relax and think about the post a little more, rather than squeezing it in between festive suppers, breakfasts, and dinners… (Oh, my!)

…all ready for the guests

Also, although the true origins of B...

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

USA

Recently, I resumed my “About the Characters” post series that focuses on 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.”

~ 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 Bl...

What I’m Reading: Something New

To lead into the holiday season, and quite possibly to bridge the old and new years, I’m taking a look at four of the more interesting books I’ve read in 2017.

And yes, you guessed it, the series is titled “Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, and Something Blue.” Original? Yeah, nah…Nonetheless, I hope you’ll find something of interest therein.

For “Something New” the book I’m featuring is Us & Them by Bahiyyih Nakhjavani, published by Redwood (264 pp; Stanford University Press)...

A Geography Of Haarth: Hills Of The Hawk (Updated)

The Wall of Night Series map; design by Peter Fitzpatrick

The A Geography of Haarth post series explores the full range of locales and places from The Wall Of Night world of Haarth.

From January 25, 2013 to November 25, 2014, the posts traversed locations encountered in The Heir Of Night and The Gathering Of The Lost.

Now the series has returned to gazette the geography of Daughter Of Blood (The Wall Of Night Book Three.)  The new series comprises updates of previous entries as well as new li...

What I’m Reading: Something Old

To lead into the holiday season, and quite possibly to bridge the old and new years, I thought I’d take a look at some of the more interesting books I’ve read in 2017, encapsulating them in a series titled “Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed” – and yes, you guessed it, I’ll have a stab at “Something Blue” for the last installment of the post quartet.

My entry for “Something Old” is The Sea Change by Elizabeth Jane Howard, first published in 1959 by Jonathan Cape. I’ve always bee...

About The Characters: Meet The Minor Players In “The Wall Of Night” Series — Meet Ser Bartrand Ar-Griffon

UK/AU/NZ

Recently, I resumed my “About the Characters” post series that focuses on 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.”

~ 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...

Artefacts Of The Writing Life #2: Dictionary & Thesaurus

Currently I’m taking a closer look at some of the artefacts* of the writing life, kicking off with #1: Pen & Paper.

This week it’s my trusty dictionary and thesaurus, without which, dear readers, I would be lost.

Both are absolutely essential to checking whether that word means what you really think it does and to finding alternatives to a word you’ve already used a ker-zillion times previously.

As well as my desktop versions (shown in the pics.), Merriam Webster Online is another “go-to” so...

A Geography Of Haarth: Hedeld

The Wall of Night Series map; design by Peter Fitzpatrick

The A Geography of Haarth post series explores the full range of locales and places from The Wall Of Night world of Haarth.

From January 25, 2013 to November 25, 2014, the posts traversed locations encountered in The Heir Of Night and The Gathering Of The Lost.

Now the series has returned to gazette the geography of Daughter Of Blood (The Wall Of Night Book Three.)  The new series comprises updates of previous entries as well as new li...

When “Minor” Doesn’t Really Do The Character Justice

USA

UK/Aus/NZ

Over the past few months I’ve reinstated the “About the Characters” series which focuses on minor characters in The Wall of Night series.

The reason for this focus is because “I think it’s the presence of the smaller characters that “makes” a story, creating texture around the main points of view.” (The quote is from my Gemmell Legend Award finalist’s interview, awa’ back in 2013.)

The major characters are easy to identify. They’re the central protagonists, like Malian and Kala...