That title does evoke early childhood memories. 😀  But the recent holiday did give me the opportunity to watch more shows than everyday time allows.

First off the blocks was Arcane, Season Two. I really enjoyed Season One (having been alerted to its goodness by fellow Supernatural Underground author, Kim Falconer) so I was looking forward to the second. And I did enjoy it, just not quite so much as the first season.

The graphics were fabulous and I loved—and love—the characters, but was pretty much beflummoxed by what was actually going on, plotwise, much of the time, particularly in terms of the Big Bads, their motivations, and other aspects of the existential threats. It’s still worth your while, just not quite the tour-de-force I was hoping for.

Next up was Blue-Eye Samurai — and if two shows makes a theme, then you are indeed noticing an animé theme. 😀 Again, fantastic visuals, good characterization, and a coherent story. It’s also reasonably gory in places (in line with animé tradition) and with some action sequences that were so wildly improbable I had to laugh. Laughing with, though, because the wildly improbable is fundamental to much animé and also ninja tales, so not unexpected. Overall, I thought Blue-Eye Samurai was very watchable and am hoping for a Season 2.

Then there was The Jackal. Definitely not animé and equally definitely not The Day of the Jackal, either of Frederick Forsyth fame or the original 1973 film. However, if you can set that aside (which takes some doing if you’re a fan) and watch the TV show for what it is, it’s a reasonable sort of thriller with a more human ‘twist’ to Eddy Redmayne’s Jackal assassin. I also liked Lashana Lynch as Bianca, the MI6 agent hunting the Jackal.

A local reviewer touted Black Doves as the next “must watch” after The Jackal, but although it was a reasonable sort of a story and had some good action elements, I thought it was more ‘okay’ than ‘edge-of-the-seat.’ I also thought it suffered from the wildly improbable in places, without Blue-Eye Samurai’s saving graces of being both animé and fantasy. And also from the “Big Bads” being overhyped, and consequently feeling far less “big” or “bad” in the final confrontation. Nonetheless, it did manage a reasonable sort of ending and I would watch a second season. So no, I’m not panning it.

Last but not least, there was Ted Lasso, Season One, which was pretty much as good as innumerable peeps have assured me it would be. Fun, quirky, with a cast of great—and very human—characters. And, of course, “the beautiful game.” Or as one of the players (Dani Rojas) would say, “football is life.” 😀 I really enjoyed it and am very glad there’s a Season Two and Three already out there for ‘later.’

Much later now, though, with the holiday well and truly over. 😉

Posting an ‘About the Characters‘ instalment certainly feels as if I’m picking up the threads of the new year and reestablishing routines, after what proved to be a very full-on holiday period. A case of returning to the writing desk for a rest—or less hectic rushing about, at least. 😀

Just to run over the “Meet the Minor Players” drill it focuses on the minor (or more correctly—sometimes anyway—“more 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, 2013)

Paran, however, truly is a minor character, so today’s post is entirely ‘as advertised.’ So let’s go meet him!

Paran: Lord of Oath Hold, in House of Blood territory

…Paran of Oath rose in the final place, which reflected his Hold’s standing as Blood’s oldest satellite fort. … Currently, Liankhara had her head inclined toward him, apparently absorbed by his enumeration of Oath’s lineage and achievements. When she must have heard it a hundred times before, Myr thought. Huern was looking particularly saturnine, an expression that grew more pronounced when Lord Paran promised his own gleeman would sing the contestants’ praise.

~ from © Daughter of Blood, The Wall Of Night Book Three – Chapter 22, Honor Contest

“A writer is a world trapped in a person.”

~ Victor Hugo, 1802 – 1805

Or sometimes — or so it feels, inside the writing life — many worlds trapped in a person, all contending to get out. 😀

As for Victor Hugo, he needs no introduction at all beyond Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Since he knew a thing or two about writing, we may accept his wisdom, if not (necessarily) the opines of yours truly. 😉

“I know” — one is supposed to post on these matters before the clock ticks over from the old year into the new. But I, alas, am behindhand again.

In terms of my “Reads o’ the Year”, I focus on those books that leap out when I cast my mind back over the many I’ve read and enjoyed. In 2024, there were three clear standouts, starting with:

The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper by Roland Allen

The link to my in-depth, August 26 post is here.

Here, too, is a small sample of what I had to say:

“As the “compelling” suggests, I found The Notebook fascinating. It’s also accessible, engagingly written, and very, very readable. (Although I love historical non-fiction, it does not always, sadly, embody these three criteria.) I’m fairly confident, too, that anyone who not only loves history, but also the history of knowledge and advances in human thinking, will love it as much as I do.”

I sure hope you do!

My two other standout reads for 2024 were both Junior fiction, starting with:

Victoria M Adams’ The House At The End Of The Sea.

I did a series of interviews with the author (who is a friend of longstanding.) One of which was one of the ten Most-Read” Posts of 2024. You may also recall that I “blurbed” the book (although that came a little earlier):

“The House at the End of the Sea has it all: characters to cheer for, worldbuilding that weaves together the fantastical and the everyday, and magic that is curious, double-edged, and fraught with consequence. Definitely a story that kept me reading! HELEN LOWE”

My third and final standout for the year was the wonderful:

Pinch Perkins and the Midsummer Curse by Cathy Fitzgerald.

Definitely another book that I loved reading and will be recommending to young readers in my life — as I first observed as recently as December 16. I also said that:

I loved the characters, the story, and the imaginative use of fairytale and folklore to weave the tale — and was very often smiling as I read. It’s a fun, fastmoving, read with just enough scary to keep a reader on the edge of their seat.

So if you haven’t checked out either The House At The End Of The Sea or Pinch Perkins and the Midsummer Curse yet, or introduced them to the younger readers in your life, I’m still recommending both.

So there you have it, my three standouts for 2024.

As for what became of those other TBR contenders mentioned on November 7, they are definitely still in the running — but for 2025. 😀

Heat

Birds wheel, raucous

on the cool air

that will shortly burn away

as sun muscles

through the tracery of leaves

outside my window, its

heat hurled like arrows

shot by some elder god,

harsher than the cacophony

of birds darting

through the green, their wings

limned against a blue

that is already transmuting

from crystal to crucible

as dawn evaporates

into the vanishing point

of summer…
.

© Helen Lowe

—

The current NZ summer is under the sway of the sou’wester, which means it’s cool and bleak — but friend and fellow Supernatural Underground author, Kim Falconer, has been writing to me about the heat where she lives in northern New South Wales (Australia.)

As this poem was written in response to exactly that heat, as experienced in Queensland, it seemed a good time to reprise it.

Otherwise, I’m busy doing tax stuff. Hardly a fun start to the new year, but it needs to be done and I prefer to get it done and dusted now, immediately following the break, rather than build up writing momentum only to stop again.

So if you’re still on holiday, or having a relatively relaxed return-to-work, spare a thought for yours truly. You probably won’t find me, though, since my sector of Nu Zild is engulfed by the storm clouds of tax-related gloom and despair. (Tax and related matters being the antithesis of the Life Creative, you understand.)

I know, I know — I’m a day late. And posting late in the day as well, but it’s still holidays so that must count as my excuse.

I did post on Supernatural Underground for 1 January, but I haven’t decided on a theme yet so just contented myself with the traditional good wishes. For now — which you may take as either threat or promise. 😀

In the meantime, just in case you missed it, Kim (Falconer, that is) completed her ‘Choose Your Weapon’ series with a finale on Espionage, which you can check out here.

And I wrapped up the Grand Finale of Villainy with a retrospective here.

Otherwise, although I know it can be difficult to regard 2025 on the macro scale with equanimity, and some of you may face challenging or sorrowful circumstances right now, I nonetheless hope that the new year may bring you all good health and happiness at a personal level — along with at least a smidgin of creativity, prosperity, and success.

OK, I’m rethinking that. Why just a smidgin? Since the New Year is all about good wishing, I’m going large and wishing you all a cornucopia of health and happiness, creativity, prosperity, and success.

It’s that time, innit — when 2024 is in its final countdown for 2025.

While we may feel mixed about what the Year of the Wood Snake augurs, it’s become tradition for me to mark the year’s final days with a review of the ten most-read posts on my blog. As always, the ten are largely grouped in chronological order, but also by theme, to the extent possible.

Three Main Themes:

For 2024, the themes are very clear. The first comprises posts centered on The Wall Of Night series, which in turn comprise two subcategories, Revision Updates (& related matters) and matters ‘surrounding’ the series, such as updates on Group Haarth’s Read-Along and the Wall Of Night wiki. To keep things simple, though, I’ve just ordered all the posts chronologically under “The Wall Of Night Series.”

The second clear theme are the posts centered on “What I’m Reading”, while the third category centres on Other Writers and their takes on writing. So now, without further ado:

The 10 Most-Read Posts of 2024

Theme One: Anything (At All) The Wall Of Night

1. April 8 — The Great “Wall Of Night” Series Read-Along: “The Heir of Night” Part 2

In which Rosie Wadman of Group Haarth posted an update on completing the read-along of Part 2 of The Heir of Night. 

Which, I have to say, you seemed to like. 😉 If you’d like to join in, just click on the Group Haarth link — I know Rosie welcomes company. 🙂

2. April 11 — The Great “The Wall Of Night” #4 Revision: It’s Update Time!

I am pretty sure this one is self-explanatory, but clearly eagerly awaited. (Yes, I do know why, too.)

3. April 22 — Updates & Upsides: A Sneak Preview Into The WALL #4 Tuckerization Character

Yep, April was a busy month on da blog, and this “sneak look” at the WALL #4 Tuckerization character (strictly no spoilers tho’) found considerable favour.

4. May 30 — The Compleat List of Daughter Of Blood Q&A Posts

Over the course of 2022-23, with the final wrap-up in 2024, I reposted a series of reader questions and my answers, on various aspects of Daughter of Blood (and indirectly The Wall Of Night series, in some cases.)

The individual posts were always well read, but my compilation of the complete (or compleat 😉 ) list consolidated that interest into a Most-Read placing for 2024.

5. July 11 — Announcing The Wall Of Night Wiki on Fandom.Org

I was very pleased to be able to announce, not only that the WALL series has a wiki on Fandom.org, but that it was in the process of being revived, chiefly through the good offices of Nicolas Fitzgerald. To find out more, click on the link, or just go straight to: The Wall Of Night wiki. I know that Nicolas, like Rosie & Group Haarth, welcomes company.

Theme Two: Reports on “What I’m Reading”

Or more correctly, have read.:) I’ve listed all three in chronological order but won’t comment otherwise — as with any review, ’tis best to just click on the link and read (if you haven’t done so already.) I will say, though, that I’m gratified you find my (‘terribly important’ – ha!) reflections on “wot I’ve read” valuable.

 

6. August 12 — To Say Nothing Of The Dog by Connie Willis

7. August 28 — The Notebook: A History Of Thinking On Paper by Roland Allen

8. September 23 — Night Train To Lisbon by Pascal Mercier

Theme Three: Other Writers

9. July 8 — Myth & Magic, Fairytale & Folklore: Influences on The House At The End of the Sea (2) by Victoria M Adams

Victoria M Adams, aka “Mary”, is a good friend and fellow writer, so I was delighted to have the opportunity to interview her when The House At The End of the Sea was published earlier this year. I posted the interview in three instalments, and the third and final part, on myth and magic in the book, was so fascinating I begged for a more indepth dive. Mary was kind enough to oblige and the “most-read” statistics tell me that readers shared my fascination. It’s the stuff for which we fantasy readers and writers live! (Imho.:) )

10. September 9 — “On Writing A Novel” by Haruki Murakami

As those who visit regularly know, I’m a huge fan of Haruki Murakami and his observations on writing as process, art, and craft, always resonate. This particular quote, and/or my further reflections upon it, also appeared to find favour with “…on Anything, Really” readers and followers.

And there you have it — the most-read posts of 2024! I won’t say “roll on 2025” but it will come regardless of anything I may say or do. 😀

If I don’t post again before the Eve & Day — Happy New Year, one and all.

Yes , it is — so I’m taking a wee break from the writing desk to spend time with family and friends.

Wherever you are, if you’re celebrating the Christmas-New Year break, then I wish you the best of times.

Otherwise, I promise to return soon to the ranks of those for whom it’s “business as usual” with the customary routine of home, work, and whatever we do in between.

I also hope a WALL #4 milestone update may follow shortly thereafter. In the meantime, whatever your circumstances, may you be as well, happy, & “sorted”* as circumstances allow.

*In NuZild joke, driven by a 'maladroit' politico quote this year

I don’t know about you, dear readers, but I am more than ready for a break — although that feeling of being rushed off one’s feet, thus needing to put them up with a wee cuppa, is partly due to it being the “end of year”, with the Christmas and New Year holidays immediately ahead.

Plus, you know, all that shopping: for special food and drink, and gifts for family and others you may be spending Christmas with. Not to mention the frantic cleaning and tidying ahead of guests arriving, at least at my place — because tis a truth universally that housework is one of the first casualties of the writing life.

Nonetheless, I do enjoy the festivities, including the special food and the getting together, and I suspect I may have a little hobbit in my ancestry because I also love both giving and receiving presents. 😀

And amid all the ‘noise and haste’, have hopes of that cuppa and some feet up time very soon.

In the meantime, I was very chuffed when the NZ Society of Authors chose a quote from my poem, Christmastide, for their end-of-year email. I include what it looked for, below. It’s a very Southern Hemisphere take on Christmas, but I hope your enjoy the difference.

 

Songs from the Sea

Songs from the sea sighing
in beneath the spindrift to the land’s
curve, lying long beneath green bush
where the nikau palms stand sentinel
all along that shining margin
between sea and land, where the wind
goes walking through the wild grasses
and sea birds glide, sailing the currents
of the air above shifting saltwater
tides, plaintive, melancholy, crying
to the wide and empty skies.

All their songs are sung for you,
sough of the wind and sigh of the sea
are your lullaby and your requiem
where you now lie, in the green earth
of this country you loved so well
that in your passion to embrace it
you leapt too high, like Icarus flying
into the heart of fire, into the sun –
and so fell, back into emptiness
beneath the sky, where quiet now
in earth you lie.

(c) Helen Lowe

Published in Yellow Moon 17 (Australia) 2005

I wrote this poem in memory of Rod Thornton, aged 27, who died while mountain climbing on New Zealand’s West Coast. I wanted it to speak to his memory and to the landscape of the West Coast, which he loved. I believe it still does.

I’m reposting it today, because poetry, like the memories of friends and family members we’ve lost, both need to be revisited.