“The ability of writers to imagine what is not the self, to familiarize the strange and mystify the familiar, is the test of their power.”

~ Toni Morrison

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.

Landward is the second entry under “L.”

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Landward:  an island in the city of Ij, immediately to the north of the river port and joined to Minstrels’ Island by a pontoon bridge, the Bridge of Boats

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“The walls on either side were high, the lane deserted, but the thoroughfare at its far end was crowded. A fresh burst of fireworks split the night over Landward and most of those in the busy street craned to look, apparently unaware of any disturbance in the Athiri palace.”

~ from © The Gathering Of The Lost: The Wall of Night Book Two; Chapter 4 — Dance of Shadows

I am currently running a blog “mini-series” titled “Here’s SpecFicNZ Wellington”in which my fellow members are introducing themselves using a series of  common headings:

Here’s Who: a short, first person introduction to the member
Here’s Why: the member writes or works in speculative fiction
Here’s What: an example of the member’s work
Here’s Where: you can find out more about the writer and their work—and I really hope you will!

And now I am delighted to welcome this week’s guest, Richard Parry.

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Here’s SpecFicNZ–Wellington: Featuring Richard Parry

Here’s Who:

I used to tell people I was an actuary, because telling people I worked on the statistics of when they were likely to die seemed better than admitting to my actual job.  The thing about working in IT (which I won’t admit to, usually) is that it’s worse than being a plumber: only one in ten people has a broken toilet, but everyone has a broken computer.

The cool part is, now I tell people I’m a writer.  It’s even mostly true – my debut novel, Night’s Favour, has been pretty well received.  It – exceptionally briefly – made it into Amazon’s top 50 in its genre.  When that happened, I felt a bit like a superhero.

Still, every superhero needs a day job, so let’s just agree that I’m not an actuary.

As Connor McLeod would say, I’m from lots of different places.  Born?  Philippines.  Raised?   US of A, until 7 or 8.  Cultivated?  New Zealand.  Travel?  Yes, through America, Japan, Australia, Italy.  Living?  The Hutt Riviera.

I’m at work on my second novel, Upgrade.

Also, I do karate.  This helps more than you know.
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Here’s Why:

Speculative fiction is an amazing genre.  It’s where we get to set an artificial premise – aliens, killer attack dogs, zombies, superheroes, star ships, dragons, whatever – for our characters to act against.  We get this chance to ask questions against a different backdrop.  What if the world was this way?  What would it mean for the people in it?  What would they do?

Stories are about people.  Imagining people against these fantastic backdrops is plain fun.  It’s exciting to write, and it’s exciting to read.  I can’t imagine writing in another genre.

It’s funny – the SpecFicNZ group I have coffee with talks about those other genres sometimes.  You know – like crime fiction.  Or romance.  I’m happy those genres exist – I enjoy a good crime fiction novel like anyone else (you’re totally on your own with romance).  But the stories that come into my head don’t fit into those categories.  It’s a curse: all my ideas come into life in realms fantastic.

It’s a neat curse to have.

Really, I like telling stories.  And I like telling stories about people – but with something a little less ordinary thrown in.  I’m going to keep on writing speculative fiction, because there’s no other genre that fits so well.
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Here’s What:

I’ve included a sample from Night’s Favour below.  You can get an ebook sample from Amazon too.

“Doc!  Stay down!”

Phillips looked at him, his mouth open.  “I —”

“Down!”  Val grabbed him by the shoulders, pushing him —

Friend.  Wise one.  Guardian.

— gently to the ground.  He swept an arm across Phillips’ desk, scattering notes, books, and the computer to the ground.  Then he grabbed the desk in both hands, the muscles of his arms and shoulders bunching under his shirt.  Leaning back, Val turned around and —

Strength.  By rock and stone and the ground that shakes.

— heaved the desk at the wall.  It punched a hole through the wall, lodging half in and half out of Phillips’ office.  Val took two steps towards it and — keeping his momentum up — put a foot against it, kicking it out and through the wall.  Sun broke through, catching dusty motes as they drifted through the air.  He turned to Phillips.

“Doc.  You’ve got to run.”

“I — of course.”  Phillips got up, and started to walk towards the door to his office.

Val grabbed the back of his shirt.  “Not that way, Doc.  Through the wall.”  He nodded at the hole in the building.

“What about —”

“I’ll get them.”  Val guided him to the hole in the wall.  “Just go.  Get away.”

“Where will I go?”  Phillips looked lost.  “What —”

There was a scream from the waiting room, cut off by a blast of gunfire.

Val looked at him.  “There’s no time.  Call the police.”

“Of course.”  Phillips started through the hole in the wall.  “What about you, Valentine?  What about you?”

Val flexed his hands in front of him.  He could see the feet of the dead man in the corridor outside Phillips’ office.  He looked at the hole in the wall, and the sunlight streaming in.  A smile lit up his face.  “You know?  I don’t think it’s cancer, doc.  I think I’ll be fine.” ‘

(c) Richard Parry
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Here’s Where:

My Internet ‘hood is found at www.rage.net.nz.  I keep the usual accoutrements of a writer there, and if you care deeply you can read my blog.

The best place to find Night’s Favour is on Amazon.  You can get a digital version for almost anything that carries electricity, or a paper version if that’s your thing.

Finally, my Internet homegirl Cassie Hart has recently put up an interview with me on her blog.

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The “Here’s SpecFicNZ–Wellington” series will be posting every Thursday for the next four weeks.

… but which makes sense, when you think about the two together:

Apparently Neil Gaiman’s Stardust was inspired by the early 17th century poet, John Donne’s, Song:

“Goe and catche a falling starre,
…Get with child a mandrake roote,
Tell me, where all past yeares are,
…Or who cleft the Divels foot,
Teach me to heare Mermaides singing,
…Or to keep off envies stinging,
………………….And finde
………………….What winde
Serves to advance an honest minde.
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Now I’m trying to think of any other books or films that owe their inception to a poem — suggestions anyone?

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Click here to read more about Christina Rossetti

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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 or on the Quill icon in the sidebar.

USA

Recently, The Gathering Of The Lost was shortlisted for the David Gemmell Legend Award, and as a finalist I was interviewed on a number of fora around the traps.

I was asked a number of great questions so thought I’d share a few of them—plus my answers, of course!—here on the blog over the next few weeks.

Sharon Stogner, of the ismellsheep genre site, asked a great question about what awards mean. Here it is:
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“Sharon: The Heir of Night … won the Gemmell Morningstar, and now The Gathering of the Lost has been nominated for the Gemmell Legend. How does this feel as an author?

Helen: You know, I do sometimes reflect on the relationship between writing and awards and ‘why they matter.’ Arguably, at one level they don’t, because the reason I write—and I imagine it’s pretty much the same for other authors—is because of the delight of storytelling, and because the stories are just there “in the air” and demand to be told. And sometimes you get the occasional ‘message in a bottle’ that lets you know you have connected with a reader; that he or she loved your story, which is what it’s all about.

Yet when I found out I had won the Morningstar it was just such a buzz, not just knowing “my story” had won an international award, but realizing people I had never met must have cared enough to vote for it.

And because writing is essentially a very solitary occupation–I sometimes refer to it as ‘the loneliness of the long distance writer’— winning an award like the Morningstar is a tremendous affirmation that you are, through those solitary scribblings, connecting with people around the planet. It’s the ‘message in a bottle’ scaled up a hundredfold, which is amazingly motivational and humbling at one and the same time!…”

“Lowe keeps a firm grip on her world and her magic systems to deliver a well written, well told story, and I can think of no greater compliment to give to another writer.”

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This comment appeared in Teresa’s review of The Heir Of Night, which I also featured here.

“Abandon the idea that you are ever going to finish. Lose track of the 400 pages and write just one page for each day, it helps. Then when it gets finished you are always surprised.”

~ John Steinbeck, 1902 – 1968

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“Abandon the idea that you are ever going to finish…”  Hmm, that does feel apposite right now…

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.

After a brief sojourn in “K”, today we venture “L” for the first time. 🙂

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Land Marks:  the Emerian administrative territories lying between the six inner wards and four outer marches, ruled by the Marklords. The marks are named for heraldic beasts: Allerion, Bonacon (called Bonamark), Chough, Griffon, Lyon, and Wyvern (called Wymark)

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“It was six weeks now since they had left the old fort, with the dark earth of the grave mounds scarring the green ground, and ridden back to Normarch—and three weeks since those going to Caer Argent had begun their journey south. The Summer’s Eve survivors had ridden close together throughout, as the Northern March gave way to the Land Marks and then the inner Wards that surrounded Caer Argent.”

~ from © The Gathering Of The Lost: The Wall of Night Book Two; Chapter 30 — The Welcome Cup

Recently I began  a new “mini-series” of posts titled “Here’s SpecFicNZ Wellington” in which my fellow members are introducing themselves using a series of  common headings:

Here’s Who: a short, first person introduction to the member
Here’s Why: the member writes or works in speculative fiction
Here’s What: an example of the member’s work
Here’s Where: you can find out more about the writer and their work—and I really hope you will!

And now I am delighted to welcome this week’s guest, Eileen Mueller.

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Here’s SpecFicNZ–Wellington: Featuring Eileen Mueller

Here’s Who:

I’ve been writing in a closet for the past four years—a sunny closet with great views of the bush surrounding Wellington, but a closet nonetheless. In 2013, I decided to open my closet doors and won the 2013 SpecFicNZ Going Global Contest with my first novel.

Upon winning the contest, I put my profile onto the SpecFicNZ website and to my surprise, it was voted best changed profile in the SpecFicNZ’s 2013 ‘Pimp Your Profile’ contest.

As well as writing, I have fun singing in Faultline barbershop chorus, running community tree-planting and makeover projects, and raising four children. My husband is a harmonica-playing wonder whom I met during a six year sojourn in Switzerland—KurtX just featured on New Zealand’s Got Talent. Videos of his music are available here on my blog. Our Wellington (New Zealand) home, nestled on the edge of the forest surrounding the city, rings with the sounds of blues harp, classical piano, violin, and Swiss-German. My kids and husband create great music while I clack away on my keyboard!

In my writing journey, I’ve discovered some fantastic resources that have shaped my work, helping it to grow into something larger and better than I could’ve produced on my own. I share these insights and resources via ‘Write On!’ a regular newsletter containing writing tips, articles, and courses. Sign up for my newsletter  ‘Write On! here on my blog.
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Here’s Why:

I travelled alone through Asia to Europe with my overactive imagination as my only companion, constantly prompting me with story ideas. When I finally settled back here in NZ (with Kurt and his 100 harmonicas) we had some challenging times with our young children—premature births, chronic illness, surgery, and even death of a child. I read speculative fiction (high fantasy, science fiction, contemporary fantasy, and paranormal romance) as an escape from the grind of dealing with tragedy.

I enjoyed re-immersing myself in worlds that I had often frequented as a teenager or child and eventually returned to writing. Now I’m hooked, driven by the endorphin rush that hits wherever I create new worlds, nail a gritty scene, or create chaos in my character’s lives as I craft upbeat, fun stories.
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Here’s What:

Dad’s Wisdom is a comic horror flash fiction piece in the Baby Teeth—Bite-sized Tales of Terror anthology. Baby Teeth is a fundraiser  for Duffy Books in Homes—a NZ charity that provides books for kids.

An extract from the beginning of  Dad’s Wisdom:

The dragon’s eyes were burning embers in the dark, making its green scales gleam. It licked the white tips of its fangs, grinning at me from under my bed. It was hungry.

Heart pounding, I reached for my lunchbox.

I fed the dragon stale crusts and left-over apple cores, but it wasn’t satisfied. Over the next few days I stole biscuits, then loaves of bread, and even dropped chunks of meat into my pockets at dinner to smuggle up to my room – desperate to keep the dragon’s hunger at bay so I could sleep.

When I told Dad about the hungry dragon, his advice was simple. “Hang your toes off the edge of the bed and he’ll nibble your toenails. You won’t have to cut them and the dragon will be fed. That way, you’ll kill two birds with one stone.”

Dad’s advice was perfect, although I couldn’t kill two birds with one stone. In fact, it took quite a few stones just to kill one bird… “

(c) Eileen Mueller
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A Wizard in the Works and Lucky Brake will be published in an anthology of fantasy stories based in Te Papa – New Zealand’s national museum.

I’ve written two young adult fantasy novels, am working on a third, and also write children’s picture books. These works are currently unpublished. With a marketing and public relations background, I’ve written numerous press releases which have generated news articles.
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Here’s Where:

Baby Teeth is available at http://www.paperroadpress.co.nz/baby-teeth.html

Eileen’s blog, story updates, and writing resources newsletter ‘Write On!’ are at http://www.eileenmuellerauthor.com

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The “Here’s SpecFicNZ–Wellington” series will be posting every Thursday for the next five weeks.