Q&A Thursdays #18: Adrian’s Question
For some time now, I’ve been reprising a Daughter of Blood Q&A series that featured in 2019 — and today we’ve finally reached the 18th(!) and final question.
The original post series ran over November 2019, which probably throws some light on why Adrian used Thanksgiving as the festival example in his question. 😀
![daughter-of-blood-by-helen-lowe](http://helenlowe.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Daughter-of-Blood_Front-Cover.jpg)
USA
Adrian: Is there a festival like Thanksgiving in your book?
Helen: There are festivals in Daughter of Blood, but not so many as in the second book, The Gathering Of The Lost. Most of the festivals in the WALL world are tied to the seasons. So Autumn’s Eve, the Ash Days, and Autumn’s Night, at the very end of Daughter of Blood, are all seasonal festivals, but because of the way the story unfolds, the characters don’t get the chance to focus on the festivities associated with them. Not only no dragons (see Jane’s question) but also no turkey or pumpkin pie!
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That’s the original Q&A — but in refeaturing it I realised that I have posted on seasonality and festivals, particularly in The Gathering Of The Lost, at different times.
Here are links to a couple, with a few words on what’s in each one:
![](http://helenlowe.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Celebration_Cherries-150x100.jpg)
Midsummer fare….
Celebrating The Seasons In The Gathering of the Lost
Although the title sounds self-explanatory, and probably is, the post does include a list of the seasons and their festivals
Inside The Writing Life: It’s Plum Blossom Time
This post also focuses on seasonality, with further links to the two “Influences on Story” posts that predate “Celebrating the Seasons…” (above.)
Plus these posts from Supernatural Underground may also be of interest:
A Season of Celebration—and of Storytelling
Three authors, three different takes on Christmas-New Year and holiday season celebration. 🙂
Eat, Drink, Magic: Fun With Food In Fantasy Fiction
Honing in on food as part of festive celebrations, in fantasy as in real life.
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Diversions aside, here’s the list of previous Daughter of Blood Q&A refeatures:
![](http://helenlowe.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Daughter-of-Blood-by-Helen-Lowe-650x1024.png)
UK/AU/NZ
2022:
March 31 — #1 Phoebe’s Question on Book Planning
April 21 — #2 Sam’s Question on Deleted Scenes
April 28 — #3 Sandy’s Question on Characters That Take Charge
May 19 — #4 Lindsay’s Question on Research
June 23 — #5 Chris’s Question on Tirael & “What Would Have Happened If…”
June 30 — #6 Rosie’s Question on the Web of Mayanne
September 8 — #7 Jason’s Question on Weapons & Names
October 6 — #8 Robin’s Question on Tuckerization Characters
November 24 — #9 Josh’s Question on Whether I Have A Favourite Moment in Daughter of Blood
December 15 — #10 Shannon’s Question re Sections or Characters that were Hard to Write
2023
March 30 — #11 Jenny’s Question re Inspiration and Keeping Going
May 18 — #12 Tom’s Question re Food and Feasts
June 15 — #13 Ashley’s Question on Writing Through the Christchurch Earthquakes
August 10 — #14 Bethany’s Question On A Villain
September 28 — #15 Andrew’s Question on Black Blades
2024
January 18 — #16 Forrest’s Question on Research
March 21 — #17 Jane’s Question on “Hard” and “Soft” Power