What I’ve Been Doing … And What’s Coming Up
I have recently spent some time in Wellington, NZ’s capital city. I went up for the memorial service for fellow Tuesday Poet, Harvey McQueen, which was held in Old St Pauls on Friday 28 January. The ceremony was moving and inspiring, as well as sad, and I am glad I made the effort to attend and farewell Harvey, even though I had only known him for a relatively short time compared to many others there.
While in Wellington, I also took the opportunity to meet up with fellow Tuesday Poets and also with speculative fiction author, Mary Victoria, and attend the Red 5 Book Group (a lively speculative fiction book group) on the evening of Monday 31. As authors we work so much in isolation that the chance to spend time with fellow writers was a very welcome one—and of course with ‘so much to talk about’ and not nearly enough time!
Right now is a particularly exciting and busy time for Mary because her second novel, Samiha’s Song, is being launched today in the Weta Cave. And speaking of Weta, I also got to have lunch with Mary and her husband, artist Frank Victoria, in the dining room for Weta Studios—right at the ‘beating heart’ of the NZ-based film industry. And with The Hobbit film in-train just around the corner, I am enough of an SFF geek gal to feel that my cool cred. has increased exponentially as a result. 😉
Back home again in Christchurch, it was time to work on blog interviews—with Beth Anne Miller for the Supernatural Underground and my own blog, and also with Mary Victoria for February 15 (watch this space.) I’m also working on finishing off my “Writing Strong Women” guest post for Mary, as part of the guest author series she’s running around the release of Samiha’s Song, and also another guest post for Concatenation, a UK based SFF site, ahead of the launch of The Heir of Night in the UK on March 3.
Yup, March 3—the UK launch really is that close and later in the week I’ll be bringing you a sneak preview on some of the celebratory excitement that will be happening here on the ‘big day.’
The main thing that’s been happening this week though is that I’ve been waiting for the ms of The Gathering of the Lost (The Wall of Night Series Book Two) to arrive back on my desk from my editor, Kate, in the US—and arrive it finally did yesterday, all 4-5 inches of it (!), so I am going to be very busy working on that over the next while. But I’m looking forward to it, because so many ideas have been revolving around in my head over the past month since I completed the ms that it will be good to get back into it and begin working through them. And this next round is my favourite part of the process, where you take the basic form of the story and start to add the subtleties—texture, nuance, depth …
Oh, Helen, you’ll have so much fun with that walloping big manuscript/proof set! Good luck to you, and I hope the gods of good work hover closely through the revision of this book.
Thank you, Melissa—it is a doorstep sized wodge of paper, for sure and I do have an invocation in to the Muses, that they may be kind!
Wow. That is one thick pile of paper! I can’t wait until we get to read it!
I can’t wait until you get to read it either—but I think there’s a wee bit of work for me between then and now! 🙂
Wow! That’s one walloping wad of paper. 🙂 You must be itching to get stuck into it.
That UK launch has crept up… where did the time go, eh…
Btw I saw Tim at the launch today, along with Simon! And very briefly met Alicia, Sally and Kay of the specfic group. (Isn’t Alicia also a Tuesday poet?) It was a real treat to have them there, anyway.
Wished you could have been there…
Where does time go … I think there must be a “great big timey-wimey”* wormhole out there that sucks it all up. (*I think “Blink” is my favourite Dr Who ep ever, closely followed by “Silence in the Library.”)
Congrats on your launch, Maty—I am really sorry I could not be there, but am sure it was da bomb. Am so glad that Tim , Alicia and Sally (I’m thinking McLennan, of “Deputy Dan” fame) et al could make it along, too. 🙂
(And yes, Alicia is also a Tuesday Poet.)
Yes, that’s right, Sally McLennan. I’ve since heard that Pat Whitaker tried to make it too, but his car broke down on the highway (scary!) which put paid to the trip. It’ll be for another time…
You wouldn’t want to break down on the highway here today—it is seriously hot! One of those days where you just want to climb into the refrigerator!
It was lovely to meet you again, Helen, and other Tuesday poets. Hope the rest of your time in Wellington was great.
HelenR—ditto on the meeting up again; and yes, the rest of my time there was a lot of fun, although I am not sure I returned any less tired than when I went away!