“Those who want to write good poems should be reading good poetry, not how-to books. Indeed, every fine poem is a how-to manual.”

~ Billy Collins, in As the poet said… (1997)

Over the Christmas – New Year break I realised that I’ve done quite a few of what equate to “recommended reading” posts since I began blogging in May 2010, two of which were amongst 2013’s most-read posts:

My Favourite Fantasy Standalone Novels

Five Books That Changed Me (Warning: Not An Exclusive List!)

For those of you who love lists and recommendation, there’s also:

 My Favourite Epic Fantasy Series, Part 1

My Favourite Epic Fantasy Series, Part 2

If you look in What I’m Reading (under Categories, in the far right side bar) you’ll also find a list of ‘reports’ on books I’ve read and enjoyed over the past few years. 😉

Have Fun!

“The intense longing I feel for this book overwhelms me every so often. This is one of those moments.

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Ruth’s comment appeared on Wednesday’s post, which was a synopsis for Daughter Of Blood, The Wall Of Night Book Three.

The synopsis is here: Sneak Preview: A Synopsis For “Daughter Of Blood, The Wall Of Night Book Three”

I also posted a Daughter of Blood update on Monday:

The Tao Of Writing: “The Book That Can be Spoken Of Is Not The Book” — AKA A “Daughter Of Blood” Update

Also AKA: It’s been a Daughter Of Blood week! 😉

More Hobbiton fun to share… 🙂

The Wall of Night Series map; design by Peter Fitzpatrick

The A Geography of Haarth post series is traversing the full range of locales and places from The Wall of Night world of Haarth.

Right now, we’re in “M.”

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Minstrels’ Island:  one of the central islands forming the city if Ij; home to the College of Minstrels

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“…it was mid-afternoon before they turned toward Minstrel’s Island and the Inn of the Golden Lute.

The inn was located close to the great, golden dome of the College and was a substantial, three-storey affair, with the upper levels built around three sides of a large courtyard. Timber balconies overlooked the central area and the heralds’ boots thudded on the stairs as a servant led them to the topmost gallery. The afternoon air was heady with the scent of jasmine growing along the balustrade and a College bell rang out the hour.”

~ from © The Gathering Of The Lost, The Wall of Night Book Two: Chapter 2 — A Libation For Seruth

… my experience of it anyway!

The more I write, novels in particular, the more I feel that books are like rivers:  they know their course — and similarly may change it if and as conditions require. The role of the writer, then, is to chart the river’s course, from the headwaters to the sea, an experience that can very often resemble expeditions to discover the source of such mighty rivers as the Nile and Amazon. Yet when you get there, well—that’s certainly a moment.

Last week, I posted on Daughter Of Blood, The Wall Of Night Book Three making genre site Fantasy Faction ‘s Top 30 Anticipated Fantasy Books For 2014 — which was very cool.

But also very cool (I thought!) was the sneak preview on the synopsis for DAUGHTER:

“A Failing Wall, a Broken Shield… Malian and Kalan are pursuing separate paths back to the Derai Alliance – but already it may be too late. The Swarm is rising and the Wall of Night, dangerously weakened in the Betrayal War, is on the verge of failing. Everywhere, the Darksworn are on the move as the threads of an old pattern begin to tighten about Kalan, and Malian searches for the fabled Shield of Heaven, which every account agrees was broken… In Grayharbor and in the Red Keep, a child and a young woman are caught in conflict’s maw, as whispers gather around Dread Pass and a Darksworn prophecy points to Malian herself being the stake the ancient enemy will drive into the heart of the Derai Alliance.”

Oi writ it me ownself, oi did… 😉

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And for another sneak peek from the (now) edited manuscript, check this out:

Another Sneak Preview For “Daughter Of Blood, The Wall Of Night Book Three”

“Poetry is what gets lost in translation.”

~ Robert Frost, 1874 – 1963

Well, it’s been a while—quite a while…And one reason for that is the quote in the title, which derives from Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching. I have paraphrased the opening line, which (in my edition) reads:

“The Way that can be spoken of is not the Way.”

One interpretation of this is that the Tao or Way that can be spoken of or described is not the true Tao, which by implication can only be directly experienced.

The reason I’ve titled this post “The Tao Of Writing: ‘The Book That Can Be Spoken Of Is Not the Book’…”  is because I feel that the spirit of the Tao Te Ching quote is directly applicable to writing—that until the book is done and can be directly experienced by readers, then there is little of merit to talk about. And because books that are still being written are by their very nature fluid and elusive, trying to talk about them in any meaningful way is counterproductive—and may actually do harm to that fluid, elusive, but also fragile process of creativity.

In short, my dears, call me superstitious, but I dinna want to jinx the process!

So that is why I have been maintaining radio silence for so long other than a few snippets of: “yup, still writing”; “writing still, yessir.”

So what can I tell you that is true and avoids any jinxing, hexing, or otherwise stymieing of the creative process?  Here’s  a little Q&A that may those of you who’re “wondering” about WALL3:

Q: Have you finished writing Daughter of Blood, The Wall Of Night Book Three?
A: No, alas. 🙁

Q: Do you think it will be finished soon?
A: I am currently aiming for mid March, with a stretch goal to 1 April (nothing about the nature of the book being completed should be inferred from the latter date. 😉 )

Q: Do you know when it will be published?
A: No, that will be decided by my publishers, once I deliver the book and they accept it. But I’m “pretty sure” they’re as keen to get it to readers as I am.

Q: This book appears to have taken longer than before to write. Is that the case and are there any particular reasons why?
A: In fact, to date Daughter of Blood has taken almost exactly the same amount of time to write as The Gathering Of The Lost, but because I could start GATHERING well before HEIR was published, its writing time appears shorter…Otherwise, I think there are always circumstances around the writing of a book, some of which it may be interesting to talk about here—but to avoid any risk of the dreaded jinxing, not before the book is done, dear readers. In the meantime, what else can I tell you? That I have been working diligently and steadily on the book all this time, so you need not fear that I do not take delivering it to you seriously. But the WALL story, as you may have noticed, is a complex and multi-layered one and although another writer might be able to “do it all with a snap of his/her fingers while standing on his/her head”—I, alas, am not that writer. I am, however, very committed to delivering a story that will ring true when you read it, and although only you can decide whether it has been worth the wait, I hope that may prove to be the case.

In short, be assured of this: there is a book; it is very close to done — and I can only apologise if I am making you wait far too long to find out what happens next!

Q: When will the next update be?
A: When I can tell you that I’ve typed “the end” and pressed “send”! 😀

The Sir Julius Vogel Awards are New Zealand’s own science fiction and fantasy awards, which are given annually by SFFANZ.

The nomination period is open from 1 November 2013 to  15 February 2014, for works published in the 2013 calendar year — and anyone may nominate. In 2012, I posted on the Sir Julius Vogel Award nomination process, which may be worth a look if you’re thinking about nominating and have questions about eligibility and “how to” in particular.

SFFANZ also have a FAQ on How To Nominate and most importantly, a list of eligible works for the novel categories. SpecFicNZ may also post a list of members’ eligible works so it’s worth keeping an eye on their blog, here.

Alas, because of being so-o busy with the writing of Daughter Of Blood, I haven’t featured as many eligible works, either here or on SF Signal, as I was able to do last year, but nonetheless here are the handful that you can check out if you’re interested (in alphabetical order by author surname)—but warning: there are many more novels on the SFFANZ list!

Karen Healey, When We Wake (Novel)

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Philip Mann, The Disestablishment Of Paradise (Novel)

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Juliet Marillier, Prickle Moon (Collection)

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Freya Robertson, Heartwood (Novel)

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