1 December has rolled around, which means I’ve just posted the last instalment of my 2023 theme on the band-of-brothers trope in Fantasy fiction — and the spotlight’s on Daughter of Blood.

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If you’re pondering whether there are bands of brothers in Daughter, the answer is yes, there definitely are! And at least one bromance — imho, anyway. 😀

To find out moar, you know the drill: click on the following link and rock on over to Supernatural Underground:

Bromance and the Band of Brothers in Daughter Of Blood

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And, of course, if you feel I’ve omitted the best example, let me know with a comment, either here or over thar. 😀

On Monday, in my Kicking For Touch post, I only supplied half (the most-apposite-to-the-post half) of the quote.

The full text is this:

Read as much and as widely as you can.
Make writing a part of your daily routine.
Be steadfast and unshakeable in both yourself and your story.
Have courage in both your writing and your life.
~ Kate Forsyth,

In do heart this quote in terms of capturing a flavour of the writing life, but in terms of how I actually live up to it… Let’s go line-by-line for the scorecard!

Read as much and as widely as you can.

Yep, totally there re the “as much.” I definitely strive for widely, too, although sometimes feel it’s a “could try harder” on the scorecard for that.

Books galore…

Make writing a part of your daily routine.

Although I consider this essential, it’s something I still struggle to really make sacrosanct. Chiefly because life, the universe, and everything is so good at intruding. And when the writing gets tough, as it does, the temptation to “tidy the yard” (or like distractions) can become very strong. Writers with immaculate yards… Methinks it hath the ring of an interwebs meme!

Daily routines

Be steadfast and unshakeable in both yourself and your story.

Absolutely 100% + to the story. In myself, to deliver what the story demands and merits? Sometimes, especially when the going gets tough (as above), that can also be a work in progress. But overall, yes: I don’t think I could have kept going this long if I didna back myself and the book.

Photo credit: Andi Buchanan

Have courage in both your writing and your life.

I do strive for both — but suspect the scorecard on both the writing and the life will only be in once they’re done. 😀 Nonetheless, I believe (again 100%) that the courage to embark on a book at all, and to keep faith with the muses (no matter how cantankerous they may be) is a vital ingredient of the writing life. And if I aim for that star and fall short, I hope to land on the top of the tallest tree. 😀

Sometimes, you even get to catch a morning star … 😉

That w.i.p is go-go-go

Yep, I am kicking for touch today, dear readers. That’s because I have two separate parts of the w.i.p. on the go at once!

How did that happen? you may ponder. Welp, it goes like this: there’s the part I’m currently working on, which is straight-out revision involving much careful unravelling and restitching to make the zig and zag of story into a cohesive narrative route: O-o!

Then there’s the other part, where I pop out for a walk to clear the authorial mind and a completely different section of the narrative leaps into the gap. In this case, one of the completely new sections that needs to be written to support the way the end section came together.

I’ve been mulling over it in the background, along the lines of how to come up with the best entry trajectory and deliver the required narrative in a lean, fighting-fit way (i.e. I don’t think even the most awesome of editors, the redoubtable Kate, would countenance a sudden breakout into Wheel of Time territory with its fourteen books, or even a leap into Dorne with new characters, storylines, and back stories, Game Of Thrones style.)

Anyway, there I was, trucking around the ‘hood at a fair clip when the story sprang into life. Think Athena from the brain of Zeus, dear readers — not that I have pretensions to being Zeus but am sure you get the drift. 😀 So, of course, I wasna going to anything but stay with it and write while the ideas were flowing.

Gotta get those good words down!

1.5 hours and a 1000 words later I definitely felt like I had made the right decision, but now I have to stay with both while they’re fresh and wrap them up. In which spirit, I feel this quote from Kate Forsyth is very apt:

Be steadfast and unshakeable in both yourself and your story.
Have courage in both your writing and your life.
~ Kate Forsyth,

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 order, by name, of course!

Currently we’re traversing “N”, and today’s character, Nherenor, is another of those whose page time may be “minor”, but is outweighed by his influence within the story — which makes me wonder whether I should have had a Between category as well. In the interests of simplicity, however, I shall continue to allow “minor” broad boundaries and include Nherenor here today. 😀

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Nherenor: Ilkerineth’s son, a Swarm envoy to Emer

The air around the dark watcher bent, the shadows billowing outward again—and a human form emerged, stepping away from the smoky swirl of darkness and folding what looked like a cloak across his arm. Nherenor, Malian thought, recognizing him from the audience with the Duke—and could have laughed out loud for the sheer surprise of the shadow cloak. They were in all the stories, but until you saw the transformation take place … And it explained how Nherenor had blended into the light as he passed the torch above the castle courtyard.

~ from © The Gathering of the Lost, The Wall Of Night Book Two – Chapter 37, Adept

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Malian frowned, recalling that misty dawn in Caer Argent and the Sworn youth laughing as he leapt to confront her. “Did you know Nherenor was Ilkerineth’s son?”

Raven nodded. “Nindorith’s presence in Caer Argent, and before that outside Tenneward Lodge, meant Ilkerineth had a hand in the game. When I saw the Lightning knights with their young lord at the tourney ground, I guessed the rest.”

Malian tilted her face to the sun, still thinking of Nherenor as she had last seen him…

~ from © Daughter of Blood, The Wall Of Night Book Three – Chapter 18, The Wayhouse

Yep, it’s a two-for-one Monday, with a “Just Arrived” shoutout for Nod Ghosh’s The Two-Tailed Snake (Fairlight Books), plus a quick mention of the latest post on Supernatural Underground.

Just Arrived: The Two-Tailed Snake by Nod Ghosh

Although I am sometimes slow to the reading party, this arrival is hot off the press as the launch was only last Tuesday (at the University Bookshop on a glorious summer evening.)

I haven’t been to a book launch for a considerable period, so I enjoyed the vibrancy of this one, including Nod and four other writers reading from their work.

Nod Ghosh is a fellow Canterbury author, already well-known for her flash fiction, short stories, and novellas. (For her official bio, click here.) The Two-Tailed Snake is Nod’s first novel. I always enjoy the wit and humour that characterizes her writing, and her overall way with words, so (unsurprisingly) I am very much looking forward to reading it.

As is my wont, I include the backcover synopsis for those who wish to know more:

“North-east India, 1945. Tensions are rising, but fourteen-year-old Joya doesn’t pay much attention to ‘political business’ – she is more concerned with doing well at school and having fun with her best friends. Yet when her father disappears without a trace, Joya’s life falls apart.

Extra, Extra, Read All About It! (An Additional Supernatural Underground Post)

So why an extra post? Welp, that’s because a fellow Supernatural Underground author, Kim Falconer (who also writes as AK Wilder) is currently recuperating after a hospital visit, so asked if I could cover her spot. (Kim always posts on 16th of the month.)

Naturally, I said “yes” — and could think of no better topic than:

Three Fabulous Reasons To Love Kim Falconer’s Books

I had fun writing it, too, covering the gamut of Kim’s books from her first Quantum Enchantment (Sci-Fantasy) series, through the standalone The Blood In The Beginning (paranormal urban fantasy), and right up to her current Amassia trilogy.

If you haven’t read Kim’s books yet, do check the post out! If you have and would like to give Kim and her work a boost, then please consider undertaking one or all of the Four Actions of the Reading Apocalypse: Buy, Request, Review, and Recommend. 😀 (New readers can do this, too, of course. 😉 )

One anecdote I didn’t mention last week, when posting on reading The Axeman’s Carnival by Catherine Chidgey, and then again when I looked more closely at some of the gorgeous words and turns of phrase that characterize the book, was that I read it when on my recent Auckland residency.

The residency, as I omitted to mention here, was in the realm of city lights and cafes on the doorstep (pretty much.) What I did mention was that while there I adopted a “ninja author” approach because “I wanted to take full advantage of the opportunity and keep all my attention on the book.”

So despite having cafes on my doorstep, I was only in them every other day or so. And in order not to get sandbagged by reading, which has been known to happen with a good book, I kept my reading time to when I was having one of those cafe breaks.

One interesting aspect of reading The Axeman’s Carnival in that way, was how many fellow caffiends approached me to ask about the book. For starters, because of the cover recognition (everyone, it seems, knows about Tama Magpie :D) and also the extent to which the book is known out there in the zeitgeist.(Am I envious — you bet I am! 😉 )

The Axeman’s Carnival did win both the Ockham NZ Book Award 2023 and the associated Readers’ Choice, as discussed here, so this circumstance is probably not that surprising.

What did surprise me a little, and fascinate at the same time, was that several people expressed diffidence about reading the book because they “don’t like birds.”

Fascinated, because although I prefer some animal (vs vegetable and mineral)  species over others, I don’t believe that would put me off reading if the story (in which one of the less favoured featured) was reputed to be good. What I said at the time, beyond that I was enjoying the book, was that it might help to think about the narrator, Tama Magpie, as a window into the story, rather than The Axeman’s Carnival being a book “about birds.”

For the low(e)-down on what I think it’s actually about, check out last week’s post. 😀

Having said that, the narrator is a magpie, and the narrative contains information about the species—both what we know of them as fact, and how we perceive them through folklore and myth—but it’s part of a much bigger story, as perceived slantwise, first through Tama’s right eye, then the left. And very occasionally, both eyes together.

Sometimes, when watching a TV series or film, whether short or long, a song used in the show will strike a particular chord and stay with me. Perhaps not quite the “…melody that haunts you night and day”, but creating a positive recollection of what I’ve viewed.

I’m being careful to say positive here, because if negative it would be an earworm! 😀

Here are a few that have struck that chord in recent times.

With or Without You (U2) as played at a funeral in Sex Education, Season 4:

Note: I’ve chosen this clip because the sound quality is better, but being from Sex Education there are a few (fleeting) graphic images near the end. It makes sense if you’re watching or have watched the show, but could be disconcerting for those that haven’t.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEcgqE1Fo64

I also loved the use of Van Morrison’s Days Like This in the Modern Love episode, On A Serpentine Road, With the Top Down:

Last but not least, the great What’s Up? by Four Non-Blondes, from the ‘karaoke scene’ in Sense 8.

I always consider writing style when reading and posting on books. And in Monday’s post on The Axeman’s Carnival, I mentioned that I loved the rhythm of the author’s prose and also the use of techniques such as repetition.

An early example of rhythm that caught my eye was this:

“Then, high above, a cawing and a screeching, and wide black wings that flashed with white, and rust eyes that fixed on Marnie, and Get out of here, get out get out get out, I’ll pierce your eyes and drink your blood and clean your bones. Down he swooped like a gale, like a god: my father.”

A little later, I was struck by the evocative quality of this passage:

“…But below the trees, down at the foot of the hill, I could see the yolk-yellow house, and hear the scree, scree, scree of the clothesline as it turned in the wind, all the dresses and shirts alive.”

Fear not, though — the gorgeous words continue all the way to the end. 😀

On October 5, as part of a Just Arrived post for Catherine Chidgey’s The Axeman’s Carnival, I mentioned that this book is both a popular and critically acclaimed work, and won this year’s Ockham NZ Book Award—aka the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize–for Fiction.

By implication, I am clearly late to the reading party! Nonetheless, herewith m’terribly important thoughts on The Axeman’s Carnival. 😀

Short version: I liked it a lot.

The reasons why are numerous, but I’m going to start with what it’s all about. The synopsis makes no secret of the fact that The Axeman’s Carnival is about a violent marriage, as seen through the eyes, and related via the narrative voice, of Tama, a magpie chick rescued and raised by the wife, Marnie. So the interest of the story is not in finding out ‘what it’s all about.’

And although the violent marriage is core, the story is about a lot more than that. It’s about magpies and woodchopping as a NZ competitive sport; it’s about rural communities and the changing nature of farming, a storyline that weaves threads as diverse as the Clyde High Dam project, and water rights stemming from the goldmining era, into its Central Otago setting.

The Axeman’s Carnival is also a tale of family dynamics, and last but not least of the potential and power of the internet — but also its limitations, particularly the ability to transform either enthusiasm or outrage into action in the real world.

Clearly, you may be thinking, it’s a big read. I believe that’s true in terms of the scope of the story, but not the size of the book (346 pages.) I consider it a tribute to the author’s skill that so many threads are seamlessly woven together. I really enjoyed the characterization as well, starting with Tama. Needless to say, being a magpie, he is not a reliable narrator. He is unquestionably engaging, though, and has captured readers’ hearts — as he does those of internet viewers in the story.

Marnie, her husband Rob, and Marnie’s family (mother, sister, brother-in-law) are equally well-drawn. I feel it’s a (further) tribute to Catherine Chidgey’s skill that even Rob, the violent husband, is portrayed in a nuanced way, with illumination of both his nature and family background. I also liked that this is a recognizably NZ story, and the overall ethos felt authentic in terms of my personal experience of growing up in a rural NZ community.

I really enjoyed the rhythm of Ms Chidgey’s prose, too, and her clever use of repetition, particularly phrases such as Tama’s, “I did not trust him and I was right not to trust him.”

One of the challenges in telling a story with a magpie as narrator, is that Tama’s point-of-view and understanding of events around him is more partial than usual, and necessarily limited. The attendant challenge for the author lies in keeping the reader’s disbelief suspended. My one “glitch” moment in reading the book was when Tama not only relates, but also interprets, a social media maven’s explanation of internet marketing. At this point, my disbelief was definitely suspended, i.e. I felt it was beyond even the most intelligent magpie’s comprehension.

Although I did lay the book aside at that point, I soon picked it up again and rolled with the rest of the story to the end. Overall, I enjoyed the book very much and do recommend it, especially for readers who have enjoyed works as diverse as Watership Down, Fiona Kidman’s The Book Of Secrets, Kate Atkinson’s Behind The Scenes At The Museum, and The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas.

By way of the ever-important disclosure, I read a paperback edition (346 pages), published by Te Herenga Waka Press: Victoria University of Wellington, in 2022, which I purchased m’ownself. 😀

Yep, yesterday was November 1 here in Nu Zild — & you know what that means!

Yes indeedy, time for another Supernatural Underground post. Not only that, it also means we’re looking at my 2023 post theme of the “band of brothers” in The Gathering of the Lost. Yahoo!

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Because I don’t know what you think, but I kinda reckon that The Gathering of the Lost (that’s The Wall Of Night #2 — though am pretty sure you’re onto that! But just in case… 😀 ) is band-of-brothers central. With more than a leaven of bromance thrown in. 😉

…with added bromance goodness 😀

All of which made it a pretty easy post to write. To check out the goodness, click on:

The Band-of-Brothers in Helen Lowe’s The Gathering of the Lost

And a modicum of romantic elements, too — ‘just saying’ 😉

And since it may not be the worst way to while away a Thursday or rock into the Guy Fawkes weekend, enjoy!