A few weeks back I posted on some of my favourite SFF covers and shared some reflections on why they drew me in as a reader.

Then I realized I had missed some really important “covers of all-time awesome.” Oh no!

For example, like this cover, created by Michael Whelan, for Joan Vinge’s The Snow Queen:

And it’s companion jacket for The Summer Queen sequel:

Speaking of Summer themes, I have always really liked artist Martin Springett’s Celtic style covers to Guy Gavriel Kay’s Fionavar trilogy: The Summer Tree, The Wandering Fire, and The Darkest Road:

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And then there’s the latest cover (by artist Adam S Doyle) in Maggie Stiefvater’s Raven Boys series, which also generated an “Oooh, yes please!” moment when I first saw the book—because it is awesome!

I love the richness of all these covers, but also the way they create a sense of myth, and magic, and mystery—which makes me want to know so much more about the story!

Which is exactly what jacket art is meant to do.

~ by Rebecca Fisher

I’m going to describe the premise of Strings, which you’ll recognize as following a very familiar adventure/fantasy trajectory. An old king commits suicide, only for his devious brother, Nezo,  to make it look like an assassination, thereby spurring the young prince (Hal Tara) into a quest to avenge his father’s death. In his absence, the evil uncle (and his hunchbacked henchman) consolidates his power and takes hostage the beautiful young princess (Jhinna).

But when the prince falls into the company of the rebels framed for his father’s murder, he finds himself falling for their spirited leader, Zita – though unbeknownst to him, his loyal retainer, Erito, has been told his family’s life is at stake if he doesn’t ensure the prince never returns. Once the truth comes out, it’s down to the prince and the rebels to win back his kingdom, save the princess, and restore balance to the land.

You’ve heard this story a thousand times before, so what sets Strings apart from the usual fantasy fare?

It’s all performed by marionettes.

Puppetry usually goes hand-in-hand with comedy, as with The Muppets or Team America, but this is a film that asks to be taken seriously. Directed by Anders Rønnow Klarlund and with marionettes designed by puppeteer Bernd Ogrodnik, Strings treats its puppets not as a novelty, but a medium through which to tell a story; an art-form as valid as animation or stop-motion.

But the truly innovative thing about it is that the characters know they’re marionettes, which forms the basis of the film’s world-building. An opening shot reveals millions of shining strings descending down from the sky, each one representing an individual’s “head-string”. Nobody knows where the strings originate or who (if anyone) is controlling them, but this self-awareness of the characters is incorporated into every facet of their lives.

Erito assists in the birth of his child

When a head-string is cut, the individual dies a permanent death. When a child is born, a golden string descends from the heavens and is affixed to the head of a baby that has already been carved by its parents, endowing it with life. If a moveable limb is severed, the individual loses the ability to use it, though (if they’re wealthy enough) they can claim a replacement limb from a collection of slaves who exist for the sole purpose of providing spare parts.

The practicalities of life as a marionette extend to the world’s culture and architecture. Naughty children “tangle” with each other, forcing their parents to diligently straighten out their strings. Weapons are long metal hooks, designed for reaching above a person’s head and severing the head-string. Prisons and gates are simple horizontal bars or grates – you don’t need to contain a marionette with four walls and a door, just restrict their mobility by positioning their strings within a small opening in a metal grid. And of course, when it rains, all the interiors are flooded – obviously there are no ceilings.

These marionettes can also climb, swim, dance and fight – at times you can tell the puppeteers are pushing the limits of what their tools and imaginations are capable of.

Prince Hal and his sister grieve for their father’s death

The English dub also boasts a fairly impressive cast, with the voice talents of James McAvoy (Hal Tara), Catherine McCormack (Zita), Derek Jacobi (Nezo), and David Harewood(Erito), as well as Julian Glover, Ian Hart, and Samantha Bond lending emotion and nuance to the otherwise emotionless faces and immovable mouths of the characters. Naturally this part requires some suspension of disbelief, and it can take a while to get used to the slow, methodical movements of each character.

As someone who loved the marionette sequence in The Sound of Music (you know, when Julie Andrews and the von Trapp children performed The Lonely Goat Herd) I was thrilled to watch a movie whose entire length was devoted to the art of puppetry. It’s certainly a unique film, and it won’t necessarily appeal to all, but if you’re after something that exists well outside the mainstream then Strings might just fascinate you for an evening.
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Next Time: “Safety Not Guaranteed”

Darius is a diffident intern at a magazine, wearily trudging through life when her boss calls her attention to a strange wanted ad in the paper. It asks for a time-travel companion, stating: “Must bring your own weapons. Safety not guaranteed. I have only done this once before.” Intrigued, Darius follows up on the advert and meets an eccentric but seemingly sincere man called Kenneth who insists he’s cracked the secret to time-travel.

Is it for real? That’s the question at the heart of Safety Not Guaranteed.
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About The Reviewer:

Rebecca Fisher is a graduate of the University of Canterbury with a Masters degree in English Literature, mainly, she claims, because she was able to get away with writing her thesis on C.S. Lewis and Philip Pullman. She is a reviewer for FantasyLiterature.com, a large website that specializes in fantasy and science-fiction novels, as well as posting reviews to Amazon.com and her They’re All Fictional blog.

To read Rebecca’s detailed introduction of both herself and the series, as well as preceding reviews, click on:

Big Worlds On Small Screens

Today I am the guest editor on The Tuesday Poem Hub and the poem I have chosen to feature is by fellow Christchurch poet, David Gregory:

“Breathing You In

From up here it looked

as if the harbour’s lungs inhaled

the fog in through the headlands;

light as breathing, concrete coloured,

it set in for the day, giving us each a bubble vision

containing what little we know,

and out beyond the garden’s edge;

all life arrested.”
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To read the poem in full, click on:

Breathing You In

Please do consider leaving a comment there, because although I have written a commentary as guest editor, I always look forward to hearing what you think.

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To read the other great poems from fellow Tuesday poets from around the world, check out the blog roll in the Hub’s left hand sidebar.

Yesterday I talked about what’s coming up in an “event” sense, so today I thought I’d update you on the bookish front.

On December 18 I confirmed that the edit of Daughter Of Blood The Wall Of Night Book Three was done and dusted — as noted in the title of the post, A Journey Of (Considerably More Than) A Thousand Words…

Since then I’ve been on holiday from writing, although since the new year holiday ended I’ve also been trying to catch up on all the things that get neglected when you’re far out on the vasty deeps of Novel Writing — like “paperwork” and spring cleaning and gardening. (I still haven’t gotten terribly far with the latter, mostly becasue this summer is proving to be Really Very Hot.) Also planning to Live Heroically through the earthquake repairs on my house…And catching up with friends and family…aka all the stuff of everyday life.

Back to this…

Final Tweaks

But now my Final Tweaks on the DAUGHTER manuscript have arrived back from my US editor, the marvelous Kate at Voyager, so I’ll be busy wrapping those up over the enxt week or so. Once that’s done, the book will then go into production, which from my point of view means the copyedit and first pass proof stages, but for the publisher will involve further proofs and also the beginnings of marketing and promotion, which will ramp up into full swing once publication day approaches. (And before you ask, no, I still don’t have a date for that. But you’re welcome to ask the publishers directly.)

US cover

New Covers…

The other exciting happening is that although the UK covers will be remaining much the same, it looks like the US editions will be getting new covers. As part of that process, I am providing detailed notes on scenes and characters, including clothes, armour and weapons, which totally appeals to my History Geek soul especially as I get to look at lots of websites on all those topics. The process of thinking about new covers also sparked my recent post on SFF covers and what about my favourites has sparked cover love. If you missed it, the post is here:

SFF Cover Art Love: Some Favourites—& Reflections On Why They “Work” For Me

credit: B Miller

Getting Fictional On 2015—Plus A Contest

Again, in case you missed it, I started 2015 by getting all fictional on the Supernatural Underground, featuring a short story:

Bird Of Passage

There’s also an associated Tuckerization opportunity. That’s where your name is used for a character in a future work of fiction. The opportunity’s open until 1 March, but to enter you have to leave a comment on either one of the two Supernatural Underground posts, either Part 1 (above) or:

Bird Of Passage Part 2

or the link post here “…on Anything, Really”:

Now On The Supernatural Underground: Swinging Into 2015 With Story

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Very soon now, I’ll have to think about making a start on WALL4—but as Kristin Cashore recently advised: “Time off is so important to the creative mind…” I believe she is both correct and wise, but I also don’t want to delay too long so am thinking the tweaks will be a good refresher to get me thinking Wall Of Night thoughts again.

The Tuesday Poem:

First up, I’m the guest editor on The Tuesday Poem Hub this week and am delighted to be featuring a poem by fellow Christchurch poet, David Gregory.

David is a man who has  a mighty fine way with words, so I hope you’ll stop by the Hub on Tuesday to check out his poem—I’m pretty sure you won’t be disappointed.

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Kate Sheppard Memorial — commemorating NZ Women’s Suffrage

Women’s History Month

March is Women’s History Month in Australia, the US, and the UK, corresponding with March 8—a month today!—as International Women’s Day and I am delighted and honored to have been asked by my friend and  fellow writer, Gillian Polack, to participate in a post-fest on her blog on the theme of “Staying the Course.” I’ll post more on this closer to the time.

This is in keeping with the US National Women’s History Project Theme: “Weaving the Stories of Women’s Lives.”

I’m kind of curious as to why it’s not celebrated in New Zealand, especially as the first country in the world to have given women the vote…something to look into for next year, perhaps.

In 2012, I talked about NZ’s chequered history of nationhood, but my belief that we still have something to celebrate every year on February 6. You can read more under:

Waitangi Day: “He Iwi Kotahi Tatou”

As a writer, one area where celebration is more than appropariate, in my view, is in NZ’s literature. In 2012, I looked at the significant contribution to NZ literature from authors who identify as Maori, with specific mention of Keri Hulme, Witi Ihimaera, and Patricia Grace.

Last year, I looked at books that had influenced me and which I felt “spoke” to New Zealand’s cross-cultural heritage in an authentic way, referencing authors as diverse as mid-twentieth century children’s writer, Joyce West’s classic, The Year Of The Shining Cuckoo, and Kelly Ana Moray’s more recent Bloom.

This year I am going to offer a few, even more recent, examples of the strong and vibrant cultural expression of Aotearoa-New Zealand through our literature, both from the perspective of Tangata Whenua (the NZ Māori people, literally “the people of the land”) but also different strands of Tangata Tiriti—all the people who live here in NZ legitimately because of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti O Waitangi) in 1840, including people of European descent (“Pākehā”) but also Pasifika, Chinese, Indian, and many other nationalities.

One of NZ’s standoutbooks of 2014 was Tina Makereti’s Where The Rēkohu Bone Sings, (Random House, 2014) which won the Ngā Kupu Ora Aotearoa Māori Book Award For Fiction. As the jacket says: “From the Chatham Islands/Rēkohu to London, the 21st century to 1835, this novel confronts the complexity of being Moriori, Māori and Pākehā” — and it would be hard to get more cross-cultural than that.

Another great cross-cultural work is poet Hinemoana Baker’s latest collection waha | mouth (VUP, 2014) which draws on both the Māori and Pākehā strands in the poet’s whakapapa (genealogy.)

Again in poetry, I was also impressed by Chris Tse’s How To Be Dead In A Year Of Snakes (AUP, 2014), a collection which addresses the story of Joe Kum Yung, an elderly man randomly gunned down in a Wellington street in 1905 by a Pākehā man who used the resulting murder charge to draw attention to his racist ideals.

As noted in Renee Liang’s insightful interview, “In examining this story, Tse lays out the tangled threads of culture, history and memory, questioning his own role as watcher and historian.”

The murder of Joe Kum Yung informs the early part of Alison Wong’s historical novel As The Earth Turns Silver, (Penguin, 2009) as well—but in the case of How To Be Dead In A Year Of Snakes, one of the poems that particularly struck me was the one Renee featured on The Tuesday Poem: SS Ventnor.

The poem addresses the story of the SS Ventnor – a ship wrecked off the Hokianga coastline in 1902 while carrying the coffins of 499 Chinese men back home to their families:

‘->

kawe mate
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The departed       cargo

thought doomed
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…………………………..to forgetful waters
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instead finds its way

to open shores
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……………………rescued by the people of the land.”
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As noted in the commentary on the poem:

“…After the Ventnor sank, all the coffins and the lives of 13 crewmen lost, some of the coffins floated ashore.  They were found by local Maori who recognised them as human remains and buried them in their own urupa (cemeteries). Kawe Mate refers to spiritual repatriation, the taking of memories and images home to family; te rerenga wairua is the place, at the very tip of Northland (Cape Reinga) where the spirits leap into the ocean, taking one last look back at the land they are leaving; karakia is prayer. In using these terms, Tse declares the universality of our cultural beliefs: “death is the common ground.” To die is to be claimed by your loved ones. Without family, without a place to ‘land’, you might as well have never existed.  But Tse touches on notes of hope. Stranded in a foreign land, others can take the place of family.”

In reflecting on themes of cross-culturalism in New Zealand literature in honour of Waitangi Day, I cannot think of  a more apposite poem or quote.

To read the poem and the commentary in full, click on:

The Tuesday Poem: SS Ventnor by Chris Tse

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To find out more about the writers featured today, and their work, click on:

Kelly Ana Morey

Tina Makareti

Hinemoana Baker

Chris Tse

Renee Liang — I also enjoyed this interview with Renee in the NZ herald last year: Twelve Questions with Dr Renee Liang

credit: PJ Fitzpatrick

The idea with this post series is that I take a word that means either a “bad guy”, eg ruffian or rogue, or a “rough diamond”, eg a roughneck, and match it with a character from my novels. As in the A Geography Of Haarth series, each entry will be accompanied by a relevant passage from the books.

The definitions are taken from Merriam Webster Online, my current go-to dictionary when writing—which is why we have a Part 1 and a Part 2 for “rogue”, since there are two quite different dictionary definitions, which fit with equally disparate characters from my books.

Click on The Rogue Part 1, to check out last week’s post.

Now onward into this week. 😉

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The Rogue, Part 2

Rogue: a mischievous person, [who may] cause trouble in a playful way

Now doesn’t that sound like Haimyr in the Wall Of Night series?

‘ The hangings were brushed aside and Haimyr the Golden surveyed the assembled company, a smile on his lips. The bow he made the prince was extravagant, and as soon as he straightened he strolled forward and saluted the heralds with equal flourish. “Did I not say that we should meet again? I am glad to see that I spoke true, despite the gloomy forebodings…”

…The heralds rose and bowed to the minstrel, their heads held at precisely the same, ironic angle, although they, too, kept their voices neutral. “We thank you for your faith in our safe arrival.”

The minstrel smiled. “I did have faith—so much so that I brought your horses with me from the city.” He switched the smile to Aravenor. “Although I promise the Lord Captain that all other Guild mounts remain safely stabled by the river port.”

Jehane Mor and Tarathan kept their one voice soft, looking at and through him at the same time. “We also thank you for our horses, but wonder how you knew to bring them? Just as we have wondered at your part in last night’s events, given your words at our last meeting.”

“What words were these?” asked Prince Ilvaine.

Haimyr turned to him. “The merest jape, my great-uncle and my prince, a lighthearted jest between friends.”

“They do not seem amused,” the prince observed. He turned to the heralds. “Do you accuse my great-nephew of designs against your lives?” ‘

~  from © The Gathering Of The Lost, The Wall of Night Book Two: Chapter 8 — The Demonhunter.
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I talk a lot about books and stories here on da blog and I do lists as well, but I don’t focus so often on a single favourite character or book.

But a question on t’interwebs prompted thought as to whether I could narrow those lists down, for example to the one book I’d snatch up if fleeing the house in a fire (the closest to hand, I suspect!), or whether I had one favourite fictional hero or heroine.

The pressure of “only one” when here are so many great fictional heroes and heroines out there is really tough, but in the end I reflected that I have always really liked Faramir in The Lord of the Rings novel (I didn’t really care for the film portrayal of his character.) In the novel Faramir is actually a really strong character, but in a quiet way through “knowing himself”, rather than flamboyant show—although in fact, when the chips are down he does everything he needs to do, and more. And although he is just a “normal man”, as opposed to a more remote,  almost superhuman hero like Aragorn, Faramir nonetheless refuses the temptation of the ring. So for all these reasons he has always been one of my favorite fictional heroes.

With respect to heroines, I am a great admirer of the mage Tattersail in Steven Erikson’s first Malazan novel, Gardens of the Moon. One thing I really like about her is that she is literally a big woman, but she is seen as desirable by men and has lovers who are desirable men. And although Tattersail is a powerful mage in a cadre of fighting mages, she always travels with her “wardrobe chest” (the soldiers make jokes about it)—and is proven to be both brave and smart. I would have liked to see a lot more of her, but the series didn’t progress that way, alas.

What about you? Who would you put forward as your favourite fictional hero and/or heroine, and why?

On Sunday I quoted one of Zadie Smith’s 10 Rules On Writing from the 2010 The Guardian series:

“Don’t romanticise your ‘vocation.’ You can either write good sentences or you can’t. There is no ‘writer’s lifestyle.’ All that matters is what you leave on the page.”

I completely agree that in terms of writing, all that matters is what you leave on the page. And certainly there is no one writer’s lifestyle—the lifestyles will be as diverse as the writers themselves. I also agree that it does aspiring writers no favours to romanticize the art.

However, I do believe that writing is a vocation. A vocation, deriving from the Latin vocare, to call, is by definition something one feels called upon to do. Traditionally, the implication was of divine calling, for example, to a  religious life.

Dedicated pursuit of any occupation that is as artistically and economically uncertain as writing can only be regarded as a vocation—something the writer feels called upon to do. And my own experience of consistently waking up at nights, haunted by the recurring: “Why aren’t you writing? You should be writing!” is certainly in the nature of a “calling” or “summons”, whether one chooses to regard the source as an external muse or inner creative drive.

I think such callings contain an element of mystery, but not necessarily one that is restricted to creative occupations: I have met  people who feel equally called—or compelled—to practice medicine, to teach, and to cook, for example.  In acknowledging that sense of vocation in relation to writing, one is no more romanticizing one’s pursuit and practice of the art, than a doctor or nurse, teacher or chef, would be.

Nonetheless, I have experienced the process of writing as “mystery.” Mostly, as has been famously said, although the creative process needs inspiration, the bulk of what follows is perspiration, ie sheer hard work. But there are still transcendent moments: e.g. when an impossible plot conundrum suddenly falls into place; when a detail that seemed small in Book 1 suddenly becomes vital in Book 3; when you alter your original idea to remain true to the way a character has developed—and simultaneously illuminate previously obscure motivations and behaviours. Sometimes, too, the mystery can be as simple as why a name change alters not only the character but also their part in the story.

I suspect many of those practicing other occupations, such as the medical practitioners, the teachers, and the chefs, can point to similar experiences: the “eureka” moments that are often the source of breakthroughs in skill, learning, or knowledge.  My own experience suggests that wherever there is inspiration, hard work, and creativity, there will also be “mystery.” And to the extent that breakthroughs and eureka moments are serendipitous and exciting and amazing, I think it’s OK to romanticize a little–while still keeping one’s feet firmly on the ground.

Because Zadie Smith is still 100% right: no matter how hard one may work or how many moments of mystery one may experience, in terms of the writing, all that counts, in the end, is what is left on the page.

Some of those other matters may still matter a great deal, of course, in terms of the satisfaction in living one’s own life well, regardless of the writing outcome—but that’s another matter entirely.

The First Artist on Mars

Well, the first professional artist
There were scientists who, you know
dabbled
but NASA sent us –
me and two photographers –
to build support for the program.

The best day?
That was in Marineris.
Those canyons are huge
each wall a planet
turned on its side.
I did a power of painting there.

You can see all my work
at the opening. Do come.
Hey, they wanted me to paint propaganda –
you know, ‘our brave scientists at work’ –
but I told them
you’ll get nothing but the truth from me

I just paint what I see
and let others worry
what the public think.
Still, the agency can’t be too displeased.
They’re sponsoring my touring show.
That’s coming up next spring.

Would I go back? Don’t know.
It’s a hell of a distance
and my muscles almost got flabby
in the low G. Took me ages
to recover — lots of gym and water time
when I should have been painting.

But Jupiter would be worth the trip!
Those are awesome landscapes
those moons, each one’s so different.
Mars is OK — so old, so red,
so vertical. Quite a place
but limited, you know?

(c) Tim Jones

First published in Blackmail Press 15 (May 2006); republished in Tim’s second poetry collection, “All Blacks’ Kitchen Gardens” (HeadworX, 2007)

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About The Poem:

When I featured The First Artist On Mars on 20 July 2010—soon after I first started blogging and joined the Tuesday Poem community—he wrote that the poem

“…forms part of a sequence about the exploration of Mars called “Red Stone”. That sequence was inspired by Kim Stanley Robinson’s superb Mars Trilogy, but this rather conceited artist is entirely my own invention.”

I must admit that I have always loved the artist’s “rather conceited” voice, while the poem speaks to my love of astronomy, space exploration, and science fiction—all loves that I know intersect with Tim’s own interests. I am a fan of both Tim’s poetry and his short stories and am very pleased to be re-posting his previous “…on Anything, Really” featured poems over the next few weeks—an excellent way, I hope, to shine the spotlight on the poet.
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About The Poet:

Tim Jones is a New Zealand poet, author and editor who was awarded both the New Zealand Society of Authors Janet Frame Memorial Award for Literature and a Sir Julius Vogel Award in 2010. His latest book, co-edited with PS Cottier, is The Stars Like Sand: Australian Speculative Poetry (2014).

For more, see http://timjonesbooks.blogspot.com/
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To read the featured poem on the Tuesday Poem Hub and other great poems from fellow Tuesday poets from around the world, click here.