So yesterday I did my very first “Ask Me Anything” session on Reddit Fantasy, hosted by international Fantasy author, Robin Hobb.

And I have to say it was huge fun—I had a great time although, boy, were those fingers flying across the keyboard. And I was rather tired at the end.

But there were also some very good questions that I think elicited some new information around my writing and process. And then there’s the famous toilet roll question, so far unresolved for posterity…

Interesting to have a look just to see it how it all works, though, so I hope you will if you get the chance.

The link through is HERE

And if you still have a question ask away. I’ll be popping back around mid-day NZ time, early evening US Central time, just in case there are any latecomers to answer.

Reddit Fantasy Icon: 'You Shall Not Pass'

At 1 pm today, NZ time—8 pm US Central Time—I shall be live on Reddit Fantasy, hosted by well-known Fantasy author, Robin Hobb.

Robin Hobb; photo by Alex Ogdan

The intro post is here. (And you can already see a few early questions from Robin, which I have to say is very exciting!)

The idea is that you ask me questions and I do my best to answer them, which should be  a lot of fun. And although I know it will be the working day for some of you and the wee small hours for others, I do hope a few of you will be able to make it along.

I also hope that there will be lots of questions, that I can type fast enough, and that my hands will stand up to all the typing!

Here’s how I think it works (so I hope I’m right):

To check out what’s happening, you click on this link Here

URL in full is:  http://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/tpy9e/hello_im_fsf_novelist_helen_lowe_ama/

I *think* you can then just read the evolving Q&A without doing anything further.

But if you want to ask a question, you do have to register and log in, so if you’re new to Reddit you may want to do that a little in advance. Apparently it’s very simple: you just click the ‘register’ link in the upper-right of the page.

Once you’re registered you ask away and I will do my best to answer!

Now—let’s go have some Q&A fun.

New Zealand will be the featured country at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair and as part of the run up the “Aotearoa Affair—from Kiel to Kaitaia” blog is now up and running. Part of the “Affair” is a monthly blog festival—and the fourth instalment, on the theme of “Bi–” has posted today.

This month’s carnival has been edited by Christopher Allen and there are many wonderful entries from Hinemoana Baker to Tim Jones to Michelle Elvy: definitely worth a look—Here!

And yes, I do have a post that is part of the carnival: Out of Middle Earth: Reality & Imagination- New Zealand’s Landscape Influence on The Wall of Night World.’ 

Die Erbin Der Nacht: The Heir of Night; forthcoming in Germany Aug '12

And because the theme was “Bi-” the pairings within the post include:

• landscape in reality and imagination
• “Middle Earth” in New Zealand, as opposed to its UK origins
• Central Otago (NZ) & The Great Dividing Range (Australia) as landscape influences on ‘Jaransor’ in The Heir of Night
• The Lord of the Rings and Middle Earth as epic fantasy imported into the NZ landscape; my own Wall of Night series as “homegrown”  epic.

You can click through to the full carnival to find it, via the link above, or go directly to the post, Here

Enjoy!

UK/AUS/NZ

On April 28 I posted some early reader feedback on The Gathering of the Lost, which you can check out here.

Meanwhile a few more comments have come through here on the blog, distributed across different posts, so I thought I’d pull them together for you in one spot.

(Although it’s possible you may not enjoy them quite as much as I did… )

Anyway, here we go:

• “I’m reading, and thoroughly enjoying, Gathering of the Lost (after rereading Heir of Night to refresh my memory). What a fabulous read. I’ve just discovered Malian and Kalan. I knew they were hiding there – well I was pretty sure of it anyway… And now I must get back to it. Thanks for such a great read, Helen” ~ Deb

USA

Deb, needless to say, you’re very welcome!

• “Well I think until the [next] book is published I will have to read the books again to curb my enthusiasm I have enjoyed the first two books I found that I was speed reading because they are so exciting I had to slow myself down and they were difficult to put down. This time I will be reading them at a more sedatespeed and enjoy the scenery more, brilliant.” ~ Steve

Steve, thank you—just to assure you that I am writing the next book as fast as I can! And in the meantime, there is also Thornspell, which quite a few adult readers have also enjoyed, as well a few short fiction offerings on my website, here (although they are not all FSF.)

• “… just finished “The Gathering of the Lost” last week and once again really enjoyed your work! The characters all have so much depth and the story carries me along into it as I read. It is also great to read the excellent reviews and hear others mention hearing them on National Radio. Well done, another excellent effort – and even more so that you achieved it amidst 1000s of nasty earthquake aftershocks and “all the rest” that goes with that. … Keep up the good work as I am now ready to read the next book (no pressure though). (<: “ ~ JennyG

No-o, [in hollow tones], no pressure … But seriously, I’m glad you enjoyed the book, Jenny, and very glad it wasn’t a disappointment after Thornspell and The Heir of Night.

.

Plus ‘wait there’s more’, a reader review from Robin Sutton on the WargamingNZ site, which you can read in full here.

Conversations

Going to the shop
to buy more lemons
the wind riffles my hair

tells me a dirty joke
gleaned from old papers
blown along the street

we laugh together
are still laughing
when I walk home

put the lemons
into an azure bowl

winter sunshine
across the window sill

put the rest
into a lemon cake
on a Kosta plate

chrysanthemums
brushed around the rim
by an unknown hand

a message in a rare language –
until today,
untranslated.

© Helen Lowe

Published in The Christchurch Press, 2009

—

Last week I was the guest editor on the Tuesday Poem Hub, where I featured “VA Hospital Confessional” by US poet Brian Turner, from his 2010 collection Phantom Noise (Bloodaxe.) You may read the poem and my commentary by clicking here.

But because “VA Hospital Confessional” is very much war poetry, today I thought I’d post one of my own poems, which is possibly the quintessence of ‘domestic’ poetry. Both themes, I feel, have their place, and need to have their place, if poetry is to be an art that is part of the fabric (the ‘textured tapestry’, of course! ) of our lives.

To read the featured poem on the Tuesday Poem Hub and other great poems from fellow Tuesday poets from around the world, click here or on the Quill icon in the sidebar.

Robin Hobb; photo by Alex Ogdan

You may recall a while back, when The Gathering of the Lost Blog Tour was in full swing, I hinted that there might be one more stop on the tour, but it was all very much in the process of evolving at that stage.

Well, now it has fully evolved and I can finally share the very exciting news that I am to appear on the Reddit social news website’s Reddit Fantasy page this week in an “Ask Me Anything” q&a hosted and facilitated by Fantasy author Robin Hobb — who has already talked about it on her own blog here.

In terms of what and where for those who are interested, the session will begin at 8 pm, this Wednesday 16, United States Central Time.

This means that I will be live Thursday 17 at:

2 am, UK time

3 am French time

11 am, Australian Eastern Standard Time

1 pm, NZ time

I also believe you may have to register to participate on Reddit, whether asking questions in the ‘live’ session or reading my replies to what others have asked at some later stage–but I am hoping that that I shall see at least some of you there, to ask me some questions and see what questions Robin has to put to me as well. on Reddit Fantasy, Wednesday 16 May at 8 pm, United States Central Time.

I haven’t had a lot of time for reading lately because ‘there’s been  a lot happening’ with both trying to get some traction on writing the next book in The Wall of Night series and doing all the necessary and very important publicity around release of The Gathering of the Lost. Running-just-to-stand-still time, that’s for sure.

But in amongst all of that, I have still managed to read and thoroughly enjoy Jane Higgins’ The Bridge, which is future dystopian SFF for YA readers—although I feel it will appeal to discerning readers of all ages.

And I’m not the only person who thinks it’s  a great read: The Bridge won the Text Prize in 2011 and is currently shortlisted for the NZ Post Children’s Book Awards.

Both very well deserved successes imho.

—

I also recently finished reading Kristin Cashore’s latest YA Fantasy, Bitterblue (featured under “Just Arrived” here), which I also enjoyed. In fact  it may just be my favourite Kristin Cashore yet—yes, even though one of those previously read titles was Graceling.

And there is the possibility of an interview with  Kristin Cashore sometime in June—so watch this space for that.

—

So how about you? What are you reading and enjoying right now?

Vanda Symon

Recently I was privileged to have the opportunity to talk with Dunedin crime author and interviewer, Vanda Symon, on the NZ Society of Authors’ “Write On” show on Otago Access Radio.

It’s wonderful to have the opportunity to do an indepth interview, so I hope you will enjoy the scope of Vanda’s questions—and my replies, of course!

(Plus, for those of you who are not New Zealanders, our famous ability to reduce what for most of the English-speaking world is 5 vowel sounds down to around 2.5… )

To listen to the interview, please click Here.

(There’s a short intro but the interview begins about 1.5o minutes in.)

Children’s illustrator and author, Maurice Sendak, perhaps best known for the children’s picture book, Where The Wild Things Are died on May 8, aged 83.

The New York Times has run a full obituary, Here.

Not surprisingly, there are other tributes across the world, including in the Washington Post and the Guardian.

Farewell, Maurice Sendak: however much Where The Wild Things Are and your other work may carry on, you will be greatly missed.

I clicked through on to SF Signal last night—a regular blog stop for me these days and perhaps worth checking out if you haven’t already—and saw that they had a new ‘Mind Meld’ up—on the oh so fascinating topic of Book Trailers!

And there are some equally fascinating commentators, including my good friend and fellow author, Mary Victoria—carrying the banner for the Antipodes and the ladies!—as well as E.D. deBirmingham,  Cooper Moo and Mark Teppo, all from The Mongoliad project, Scott Sigler, and Simon Spanton of Orion Publishing.

I think there are some very interesting points-of-view included and the only sector I feel is clearly missing is that of Paranormal Romance—because I know my writing colleagues, the very savvy ladies of the Supernatural Underground, have considerable experience of book trailers!

But still, this latest Mind Meld is well worth a read—if only to see the amusing trailer from Neal Stephenson and the team at The Mongoliad project!

You can check it out Right Here.

(And if you’re so minded, do leave a comment!)