Australia Post

The location on the postmark
looks Aboriginal –
a smudged box number
provides no assistance.

I search for you in the gaps
between internet
and dog-eared telephone books,
the drift between continents,
listen to echoes,
bounce off satellites …

torn open,
your letter
lies unanswered.
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© Helen Lowe

Published in The International Literary Quarterly, Issue 14, February2011

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I thought it could be time for another Helen Lowe poem before I resume my re-feature series next week. 😉

Otherwise, you know the drill: to check out 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.

Suffrage Memorial, Christchurch

This week is NZ women’s suffrage week, celebrating the day NZ became the first self-governing country in the world to give women the vote in parliamentary elections—in a bill passed on 19 September 1893.

An “epic” event by world standards: so as a NZ author and an author of epic stories to boot, I decided that a very personal way in which I could celebrate 121 years of women’s suffrage was by celebrating the women characters from my books—the heroes, the villains, and a few of the less prominent characters for good measure.

Starting today with The Heir Of Night, The Wall Of Night Book One, since it was both the first novel I wrote (although not the first published—that honour goes to Thornspell) and not only the main character, Malian, but a swathe of other important characters, are women. (Shades of Sir Julius Vogel’s Anno Domini indeed ;-))

So here we go:

Celebrating NZ Women’s Suffrage & Meet Some Of The Women Characters From The Heir Of Night

USA

Meet Malian Of Night:

Malian is the only child and Heir of the Earl of Night, the warrior House of that leads the alien Derai Alliance who have brought both their aeons-old war and their enemy, the Swarm of Dark, to the world of Haarth. When the Wall of Night story opens, Malian is thirteen years’ old and the Derai-Swarm conflict, which has been smoldering for centuries, is about to flare back into life.  Here is the reader’s first introduction to Malian:

 “…a slight figure swarmed up one of the massive stone pillars that marched along either side of the hall. There was an alarming creak as the climber swung up and over the balustrade of a wooden gallery, high above the hall floor—but the timbers held. The climber paused, looking around with satisfaction, and wiped dusty hands on the seat of her plain, black pants. A narrow, wooden staircase twisted up toward another, even higher gallery of sculpted stone, but the treads stopped just short of the top. She studied the gap, her eyes narrowed as they traced the leap she would need to make: from the top of the stair to the gargoyles beneath the stone balcony, and then up, by a series of precarious finger- and toe holds, onto the balcony itself.

The girl frowned, knowing that to miss that jump would mean plummeting to certain death, then shrugged and began to climb, testing each wooden tread before trusting her weight to it. She paused again on the topmost step, then sprang, her first hand slapping onto a corbel while the other grasped at a gargoyle’s half-spread wing. She hung for a moment, swinging, then knifed her feet up onto the gargoyle’s claws before scrambling over the high shoulder and into the gallery itself.”

A young woman with an adventurous spirit: what do you think?

Meet Asantir, the Earl Of Night’s Honor Captain

Readers “hear” of Asantir, the captain of the Earl of Night’s personal guard, before she is first glimpsed across a crowded hall, but only meet her properly a little later in the story.

“Appalled, Nhairin sought out Asantir, finding her amidst the wreckage of the invaders’ last stand. The Honor Captain was surrounded by a tattered remnant of her guard and what seemed like a small army of the main keep garrison. One guard was binding up a bloody wound to the captain’s shoulder while a sergeant pored over plans spread out on the floor. Asantir leaned over his shoulder and nodded as his finger stabbed from one corridor to the next. The grim and weary troops surrounding them were either watching, too, or occupied with their own hurts and battered gear.

Nhairin hesitated as Asantir turned away from the plans to deal with fresh dispatches coming in…”

From that point on, Asantir remains central to the story.
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UK/AU/NZ mass market paperback

Meet Nhairin, High Steward of the Keep of Winds

The Keep of Winds is the chief stronghold of the House of Night and readers meet Nhairin, the High Steward, early on:

‘ “Oldest, first, and greatest of all the Derai Houses on the Wall, in deeds and duty if not in numbers,” a new voice put in, as though reciting indisputable fact. A spare figure rose from an alcove seat and limped forward. She was as dark and reserved as the minstrel was golden and flamboyant, and her face was disfigured by the scar that slashed across it from temple to chin …

She had soldiered once for the Earl of Night, until the fight in which she gained both limp and scar, and she liked to say that she soldiered still in the Earl’s service, but as High Steward of the Keep of Winds, rather than with a sword.’

Meet Rowan Birchmoon of the Winter People

Rowan Birchmoon is one of the nomadic Winter People and the Earl of Night’s lover and consort. Like Nhairin, she first appears early in the story.

“Malian … was struck again by how alien her father’s consort, the Lady Rowan Birchmoon, looked amongst the Earl’s dark-clad, dark-visaged household. Her skin was almost as white as the snows of her own Winter Country, her eyes gray and clear beneath slim brows. Pale brown hair hung down her back in a long braid, with pieces of shell and small feathers plaited into it; her long tunic and leggings of supple white leather were embroidered with beasts and birds. There was usually a white hound running at her heels, or a spotted, tuft-eared hunting cat pressed against her legs. Tonight, Malian saw with a pang of envy, it was one of the feather-footed hounds.

She did not, however, envy the ripple of disquiet that followed Rowan Birchmoon down the length of the cheerful hall. … How many Derai, Malian wondered, still believe she is a witch and my father ensnared in her spells?”
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French cover

Meet Sister Korriya

The priestess, Korriya, like Asantir, is first met properly a little later in the book.

“The watcher, swathed in a gray, hooded cloak, was concealed in the shadow of the gatehouse opposite, on its temple side. The cloak blended with the surrounding walls and the watcher stood so still that for a moment Nhairin thought the silent figure was stone. Her skin prickled, sensing a keen scrutiny from within the shadowing hood. “Who are you?” she demanded. “What are you doing here?”

“I might ask you the same questions,” the watcher replied, in a woman’s voice. “Except that I know the answers to both, Steward Nhairin.” As she spoke, the watcher lifted the hood back, revealing a face of indeterminate age. Deep lines tracked the corners of eyes and mouth, and like every face that morning, the watcher’s was etched with exhaustion.

Nhairin’s brows rose. “Korriya,” she said…”

Meet Jehane Mor:

Jehane Mor belongs to Haarth’s Guild of Heralds, one of a pair sent to the Wall of Night from the land known as The River.

‘ “Tarathan of Ar and Jehane Mor, heralds of the Guild,” one of Nhairin’s stewards roared out, above the hubbub. “From Terebanth, on the Great River.”

Absolute silence crashed down as every face turned toward the man and woman who stepped through the door. The man had multiple braids of chestnut hair flowing below his shoulders, while the woman was fair, with a single plait twisted around her head like a crown. They were both of middle height and clad alike in gray, their long cloaks cast back. A badge pinned each cloak on the left shoulder and a dagger was sheathed at their belts. Both their faces were drawn and weary, their clothes mired from the road, but they walked steadily through the watching, silent hall until they stood before the Earl’s chair. There they stopped as one and bowed, first to the Earl and then, slightly lower, to the woman at his side … The heralds straightened. “Hail, Earl of Night,” they said, their individual tones weaving together as if they had only the one voice between them. “Honor to you and to your House.” ‘

Dutch edition

Meet Lira

Lira is a warrior, serving in the Earl of Night’s Honor Guard. Readers first meet her toward the middle of the book.

‘ “Was that the Golden Fire?” Lira, one of the honor guards standing with Sarus, was staring at the cone lamps. “Has it come back?” Her voice was full of hope.

“Perhaps,” said Asantir. “But it may simply have been some property of the lamps themselves. Do not hope too much, Lira. We need to be sure.” ‘

Meet Eria

Eria is an initiate priestess from the Temple of Night. As with Lira, readers first meet her properly further into the story.

“The young priests had exchanged glances as the guards unpacked storm lanterns, then Eria had brought out palm-sized cone lights that were secured by a strap across wrist and hand. Silently, she had offered one to Asantir. The cones had caps that could be flicked off with a thumb, emitting a shielded beam that fell no more than a few feet ahead of the holder. “Useful,” was all Asantir said, but the look she had given Eria was very keen and the storm lanterns were packed away again.”

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German cover

Heirs and Honor Captains,  senior clerics and high stewards, consorts and heralds, as well as rank-and-file warriors and acolytes: readers will find them sorts and conditions of epic women amongst the characters in The Heir of Night’s pages.

In that sense at least, it’s an equal opportunity world. 😉

—

To read more about September 19 and NZ women’s suffrage, check out:

Christchurch City Libraries: Votes For Women — 19 September 1893

Te Ara, The Encyclopedia of New Zealand: Voting Rights
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The Wall of Night Series map; design by Peter Fitzpatrick

The A Geography of Haarth post series is exploring the full range of locales and places from The Wall of Night world of Haarth. Each entry is accompanied by a quote from the books in which the place appears, currently either The Heir Of Night or The Gathering Of The Lost, or both.

Last week we finally bade farewell to our traverse of territories beginning with “T” and have passed onto the final pass(age) of “V” before descending to the plains of “W” and the conclusion of our journey through the reams of Haarth.

But fear not, the sightseeing is not yet over: we still have a few places of interest to check out! 😉

—

Vast:  a town in Emer’s Wyvernmark (Wymark), bordering the Southern March
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“…Kalan’s opponent was Ser Alric of Vast, a tall, broad-shouldered man with receding hair and a discolored front tooth. An exponent of the swing-and-hew style of swordsmanship, Kalan thought, dodging the initial sweep of the Wymark knight’s broadsword, which if it had connected would have cut him in two. But he was quicker on his feet than the taller knight, and despite one rough buffet when his dodge was not quite quick enough, was able to deflect the initial whirlwind assault and counterattack.”

~  from © The Gathering Of The Lost, The Wall of Night Book Two: Chapter 36 — The Sword Ring

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Michelle Elvy

My fellow Tuesday Poet Michelle Elvy wears several hats, including as a blogger with Awkward Paper Cut, where she curates the “Writers On Writing” page. The topic for September is:

“Creating Other Worlds: Fantasy and Adventure on Page and Screen.”

Way back in the euphoria of typing “the end” to the ms for WALL3, Michelle asked me to contribute specifically on “Finding Adventure in Fantasy” and (under the influence of said euphoria) I said “yes.” 😉

And in fact it was fun—and even more fun that Rebecca Fisher, who brings you Big Worlds On Small Screens (right here on “…Anything, Really”!) every second Wednesday, is also one of the featured writers and has posted on “Writing Imaginatively Under Constraint.”

Talking about adventurous Fantasy, as it happens!

Here’s a lead-in to my post, “Finding Adventure in Fantasy”:

“My writing style is primarily intuitive, with stories springing from an initial ‘flash’ of an idea, before evolving. So in terms of ‘finding’ adventure (or any other element) in Fantasy, I agree with Ursula Le Guin that: “The world’s full of stories, you just reach out” (Steering The Craft). But I believe we also reach out for the kind of stories that ‘speak’ to us most profoundly. In my case this will probably always include adventurous stories, because I love them.
…”

Rebecca Fisher

And here’s Rebecca’s intro on “Writing Imaginatively Under Constraint”:

“It’s an odd contradiction when you think about it: that writers for television have the luxury of more time than the average film to tell their stories (anything from ten to twenty-two episodes per season) but also less, what with the requirements of the weekly forty-five minute time-frame. Yet writers have long-since learnt to take advantage of television programming’s unique format. In melding the visual flair of films with the episodic structure of chapters in a book, television can offer complex plots that demand close attention and regular attendance from viewers.
…”

So what are you waiting for, go check out:

Writers On Writing: Creating Other Worlds: Fantasy and Adventure on Page and Screen.

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~ by Rebecca Fisher

Introduction:

Oh, Firefly. One of the shortest and yet most mourned sci-fi shows of all time, Firefly stands as a monument to how an interfering network can completely destroy a show.

After Joss Whedon’s pitch for a sci-fi drama about a renegade crew on the losing side of a war was green-lit by Fox executives, the network went on to sabotage the show every chance it got: insisting on a different pilot that focused on action rather than character, airing the episodes out of order, and eventually pulling the show before it had even finished its first season. It makes you wonder why they commissioned it in the first place.

But then something fairly miraculous occurred: the DVD box set sold so well and garnered so much attention that Joss Whedon was given the opportunity to wrap up his story in a feature film. It was a rather bittersweet success, as though Serenity managed to bring the characters and plot some sense of closure, you could tell that the material would have worked much better if spread out over the course of several episodes.

But the whole thing sharpened into focus a recent phenomenon: that supportive fans could have an impact on the future of a franchise. If fans could generate enough money and publicity over a particular project, then network executives were willing to give it a second shot (as is the case in shows ranging from Family Guy to Ripper Street). It’s hard not to lament the fact that in today’s world of social media, Firefly would have had a much higher chance at being brought back for a second season.

Premise:

Sometimes the premise of a show is ingenious because of how simple it is. The appeal of Firefly lies in the fact that it’s a fusion of the Western with science-fiction, using “it’s a whole new frontier” as its tagline. That’s brilliant.

Five hundred years into the future, the human race has left Earth-That-Was and colonized a number of terraformed planets. Some planets have access to supplies and technology, others live on the fringes of civilization with very little in the way of basic amenities. This division can be traced to the winning and losing sides of the War of Unification, in which the government body known as the Alliance defeated those that fought for Independence.

The defeat at Serenity Valley

This defeat led one such “browncoat” to abandon both his faith and his military position in order to buy a ship and fly it well out of Alliance control. Captain Malcolm Reynolds now makes a living as a smuggler on board his firefly-class ship Serenity (named after the definitive battle that lost the war) and surrounded by a loyal – for the most part – crew: fellow soldier Zoe Alleyne, her husband and pilot Hoban “Wash” Washburne, mercenary Jayne Cobb and mechanic Kaylee Frye. Renting out the ship’s shuttle is Inara Serre, a beautiful Companion (that being the polite word for a high-class escort) who conducts business both on and off the ship.

Occasionally they take passengers on board, and that’s when the story really starts. Simon Tam is a young doctor desperately trying to smuggle his sister River away from Alliance agents, having learnt that she was experimented on due to her hyperintelligence and psychic abilities. Simon is well aware that he needs to keep her a secret, and Mal (despite River’s unpredictability) quite likes the idea of keeping the Alliance’s prize hidden from them…

Captain Reynolds finds River in his cargo hold

Story:

The beauty of Firefly is that its premise allows for a wide range of storylines, from the crew partaking in heists and smuggling operations, to trying to avoid the ever-growing reach of the Alliance, to the life-or-death consequences of the ship breaking down. And I haven’t even mentioned Shepherd Book or the Reavers yet!

But perhaps the best part of watching Firefly is the exhilaration of being flung into a brave new world that never slows down for the viewer. The characters are fully immersed in the reality of their lives, and there’s very little exposition to help the viewer get a handle on how things work. Instead it’s a headlong journey into the distant future, where food is a rare commodity (instead people eat bland nutrition bars) and casual dialogue is sprinkled with Chinese slang.

The good ship Serenity, firefly class

And somewhere “in the black” are the terrifying Reavers, generally considered an “urban legend” to most people, but real enough to anyone who runs into them. Savage cannibals that attack almost anything that crosses their path, what they do to their victims is probably something that Helen wouldn’t want me to describe in any great detail on her blog! Of course, there’s a story behind the Reavers, but you’ll have to track down Serenity in order to find out what.

All things considered, it’s amazing how much this show managed to pack into fourteen episodes.

Characters:

Being a Western requires a specific type of ensemble cast, with all the familiar stock characters: the grouchy sheriff, er – captain, his loyal lieutenant, the amoral mercenary, the classy doctor, the mysterious preacher, and the hooker with a heart of gold. But everything here is given a sci-fi twist; in the case of the hooker, she’s actually a member of Guild of Companions, all of whom are accorded a huge amount of respect and prestige (far more than the smugglers, obviously).

The entire cast from left: Jayne, Inara, Kaylee, Mal, Wash, Zoe, Simon, Shepherd Book and River

All of them encompass one of Joss Whedon’s favourite themes: that of a ragtag bunch of misfits who form a family despite their differences. Even though some individual character-arcs sadly go unresolved (we never learn Shepherd Book’s backstory, or learn what was in the syringe that Inara was carrying – at least not in the show itself), the nine core cast members have a united plot-thread that sees them become a cohesive and well-oiled team over the course of the one and only season.

Along with plenty of banter, a staple part of any Joss Whedon show.

Conclusion:

To this day Nathan Fillion still makes jokes about how disappointed he is that Firefly was cancelled (his character on Castle often makes allusions to it). Though the feature film went a long way in giving fans the resolution they longed for, it’s still difficult to watch Firefly and not imagine what could have been if the story and character-arcs had been given the opportunity to unfold over a number of seasons. Let this show stand as a lesson to all interfering network executives: sometimes you just have to let the creative people tell their story – you never know what you’ll end up sabotaging if you don’t.
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Next Time: Batman, The Animated Series.

Around this time last year I did a review of the animated Justice League. Now seems as good a time as any to backtrack on that particular franchise and take a closer look at the show that kick-started the popularity of DC comic heroes in cartoon form – Batman: The Animated Series.
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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

July 1914

I

All month a smell of burning, of dry peat
smouldering in the bogs.
Even the birds have stopped singing,
the aspen does not tremble.

The god of wrath glares in the sky,
the fields have been parched since Easter.
A one-legged pilgrim stood in the yard
with his mouth full of prophecies:

“Beware of terrible times… the earth
opening for a crowd of corpses.
Expect famine, earthquakes, plagues,
and heavens darkened by eclipses.

“But our land will not be divided
by the enemy at his pleasure:
the Mother-of-God will spread
a white shroud over these great sorrows.”

…

an excerpt from July 1914  by Anna Akhmatova, 1889-1996

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This year being the centenary of the start of WW1, I have been looking at war poetry from the period and also trying to look beyond the UK poets I am most familiar with. One of the more impressive voices has to be Russian poet, Anna Akhmatova—not least because poems such as “July 1914” suggest she had a clear idea of what was coming. I have only posted an excerpt, but I definitely think searching out her poetry will repay your effort.

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Meanwhile, you know the drill: to check out 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.

Last Monday I posted on chairing the WORDChristchurch “Supernaturally” event with Laini Taylor and Elizabeth Knox.

But to go one better, Rebecca Fisher of “Big Worlds On Small Screens” renown recorded the event and you can now check it out for yourselves, either by:

Going to Rebecca’s It’s All Fictional blog and checking out the links she’s embedded there. Here’s the link:

‘It’s All Fictional’ Reports on WordChristchurch and “Supernaturally”

or

Go directly to the YouTube Playlist by clicking on the link below:

 “Supernaturally”: The YouTube Playlist

Enjoy! And a big thanks to Rebecca for her time and effort. 🙂

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Rebecca Fisher

Plus, Rebecca also took the opportunity to interview Laini Taylor—again on video—while the festival was on and the interview has now posted on FantasyLit.com. To check out the goodness click on:

Rebecca Fisher Chats With Laini Taylor

The Wall of Night Series map; design by Peter Fitzpatrick

The A Geography of Haarth post series is exploring the full range of locales and places from The Wall of Night world of Haarth. Each entry is accompanied by a quote from the books in which the place appears, currently either The Heir Of Night or The Gathering Of The Lost, or both.

I really and truly believe this is the final entry for our extensive traverse of “T” in the travelogue of Haarth!

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Towers of Morning:  principal stronghold of the Derai House of Morning
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‘Some of the Morning priests hunched their shoulders as though this jibe cut, but their leader shook her head. “They only see the stone wall in front of their noses,” she said to Asantir. “But they are right, whether we go on to the Keep of Bells or turn back for our own Towers, we are not equipped to cross these lands.” ‘

~  from © The Gathering Of The Lost, The Wall of Night Book Two: Chapter 29 — The Commander of Night

Today is the fourth anniversary of the 7.1 earthquake on September 4, 2010 that initiated what I mentally term the “Year of Awful” for Christchurch and surrounding area’s: from that first earthquake through the major events of Boxing Day 2010, February 22nd, June 13,  and December 21, 2011—and over 10,000 lesser events.

Although September 4 was the beginning, to date I have tended to focus my reflections on February 22nd, which was the event that resulted in loss of life (185 dead) and major injury, as well as almost complete destruction of the city centre. Nonetheless, on Tuesday night—during a leaders’ debate in  the current election campaign—Prime Minister John Key assured us that, four years on, Christchurch is “booming.”

So it seemed timely to examine that conclusion: is Christchurch booming, or is recovery and lack thereof more a “tale of several cities”?

To give you an idea, here’s some of the earthquake after-effects that have characterized the past four years: ongoing demolition and disruption; Red Zoning of whole suburbs and compulsory relocation; widespread flooding; chronic accommodation shortages, soaring house prices and rental costs, with many people living in damaged and unhealthy homes and resultant homelessness for those at the bottom of the market.

In addition, concern at the pace and adequacy of response from both the government Earthquake Commission (EQC: charged with all residential repairs under $100,000) and insurance companies (repairs over $100,000, aka “over cap”) has been a constant throughout the past four years. If anything, rather than diminishing, concern is increasing over:

• consistent government failure to acknowledge homelessness and the magnitude of the accommodation crisis in Christchurch and surrounding areas
• the  quality and competence of repairs being undertaken, with the most recent being last weekend’s The Press article: “Canterbury’s Creaky Homes Crisis”

I believe these two areas in particular constitute a huge failure of leadership, hand in hand with a substantive failure of the Christchurch/Canterbury community.

With respect to the Prime Minister’s observation that Christchurch is “booming” I also note that the ‘blueprint’ for rebuild of the city centre has yet to begin in any substantive way. The Press’s Saturday 30 lead article noted ongoing delays with commercial building consents. I believe this would not equate with “boom” in most people’s lexicon…

So what’s good? I still think SKIRT’s doing a pretty good job with the vital infrastructure rebuild, despite a lot of disruption, mainly traffic and congestion that goes with it—but that’s largely unavoidable given most infrastructure is in the roads.

It’s “around the edges” stuff when set against the core concerns of home and business repair and rebuild, but organisations like Gapfiller have done good stuff with “greening the gaps” projects—and we’re starting to see a few new buildings where you think: “hey, that’s interesting…”

I also feel it is worth noting that Christchurch is “a tale of several cities” because there are residential areas, particularly in the west of the city, that are relatively unaffected by the repair/rebuild woes.

But as Giovanni Tiso noted on “The Pantograph Punch” site, having visited Christchurch for the last weekend’s WORDChristchurch Readers and Writers’ Festival:

“…I returned to find a city still broken…Witnessing the continuing, raw extent of the destruction in and around the former red zone, which no still picture or televised report can quite convey, was very confronting…”

I believe this is a more accurate reflection of Christchurch reality than a central city that is largely filled up and booming (to paraphrase the PM’s reported words)—and there are still buildings like the Holiday Inn on Oxford Terrace that remain cordoned off, derelict and abandoned.

In my view, however, even if the city centre was rebuilt and bustling—which it isn’t—a city which still has significant people living in not only damaged but substandard homes, while others have been forced into garages and cars, and there are serious questions emerging about the viability of the repairs being undertaken—on a citywide scale—is far from “recovered.”

Realistically, I would not expect it to be either, four years after such a major series of disastrous events. But I do expect a commitment to putting the people of the city first and getting the rebuild work right—but four years on, that’s starting to look like the largest empty gap of all.

My 1 September post on the Supernatural Underground features 5 tips for aspiring writers—with a little Laini Taylor and Elizabeth Knox help from last Sunday’s “Supernaturally” event at the WORD Christchurch festival. 😉

Here’s a look at Tip 3:

“Write, not necessarily what you know (in which case no Fantasy would ever be written—a point both Laini and Elizabeth also made!) but what you love because…”

To read the post in full, go to:

“Supernaturally” Tips For Aspiring Writers