The weather was not particularly clement over the Christmas — New Year break, but whenever the sun came out, even if only a break in the clouds, I tried to grab some photographic evidence of having gone “there and back again.”

I used this on the SU for Jan 1: it’s Raumati South on the Kapiti Coast, looking toward Kapiti Is. The ‘spike’ is a NZ flax flower.

Sometimes, though, the season even managed a skerrick of sunshine — chiefly when I was en route with a ferry to catch or commitment to keep, so couldn’t linger too long to enjoy it.

Looking south toward Mana Island

Still, as alluded to on Christmas Eve, I’m grateful (to both our government and my fellow citizens for all playing our part) to have been in the position to travel and be with family and friends at all.

Mana & Kapiti Islands again, seen from the Cook Strait ferry, leaving Wellington harbour

And indeterminate weather and fleeting clear moments or not, some of the photos still ‘paint a picture.’

Entering the Marlborough Sounds, at the top of the South Island

The crossing between the North and South Islands always makes for a sense of “return”, even with ca. half the island still to go before reaching home.

Rain or shine, some sights never pall: seal colony on the Kaikoura Coast

But the sun was definitely out by the time we reached Kaikoura township.

The beachfront at Kaikoura

I hope you’ve enjoyed this road journey slice of my “there and back again.”

Take care, wherever you are, and stay as safe as possible in what appears to be the darkest hour before the dawn of widespread rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine.

It’s here!

On January 5, Crown of Bones (Amassia #1) was published by Entangled Teen — and I was pleased to interview the author, Kim Falconer writing as AK Wilder, on the Supernatural Underground.

The interview is the first instalment in the Magic Systems in Fantasy series that is my theme for 2021 on the Supernatural Underground. As noted here on Monday, wherever possible I hope to not just feature a book that’s grabbed my interest in magic system terms, but to e-chat with the author to gain their insight into the magic within a book and/or world. As you may quite correctly surmise, this points to a focus on still-living authors for this year’s series. 😉

I hope this will prove to be as interesting for readers as it for me. 🙂 I’m also really pleased that timing meant Kim could take the first Q&A spot, because the path to publication for this book has encountered several delays, including a year for production reasons, and publication being pushed back again for Covid-related reasons. Now, though, it’s here at last — and a quick look at GoodReads indicates that the advance review response is very positive.

So I would love it if readers here would consider supporting Kim by reading the Q&A, and if that sparks your interest, by purchasing the book or requesting it to read at your local library. First up, though, here’s a taste of what Kim has to say:

“HL:  As one of the lucky advance readers for Crown Of Bones, one of the aspects of the book that I really loved was the magic system, especially the twinned concepts of “throwing the bones” and “raising your phantom.” Can you tell readers a little more about what these terms mean and how they’re integral to the magic in the book?

AKW:  You are right. These two concepts are cornerstones in the story world, really what all else is built on. “Throwing the bones” is a phrase used by all the peoples of Amassia, but only a select few, the black-robe Bone Throwers, learn this art of divination and utilise it. And these bones they throw are no ordinary charms. Every piece is carved into a whistle and etched with one of the 108 steps to An’awntia, the highest state a person can reach along the Path – the way to their perfected state of being. When played, they make up the song or story in the cast, revealing the message therein. …”

Raise. Your. Phantom.

To read the full interview — and see more of the lovely art generated for this book — go to:

Magic Systems in Fantasy: AK Wilder Talks Crown Of Bones with Helen Lowe on the Supernatural Underground

See you there! 😀

Happy New Year, dear “…on Anything, Really” friends. 🙂

Happy New Year!

I’ve been ushering the new year in on the Supernatural Underground (SU) as well — how not since the first of the month is my slot!

In 2019, taking a leaf from the book of friend and fellow author, Amanda Arista, I decided to have a theme for my SU blogging and embarked on a Year of Romance in Fantasy.

In 2020, it was the turn of Worldbuilding (again) in Fantasy, wrapped up here.

A Year of Worldbuilding wrapped up

This year, I’m turning the spotlight onto Magic Systems — and wherever possible, I’ll be doing this by e-chatting with fellow authors about the magic in their work. Starting with talking with my friend and fellow SU author, AK Wilder, about her new-out Fantasy, Crown of Bones, on her release day, which is tomorrow—5 January!

Almost here!

To read all about it, click on:

Ushering In A Year of Friends, Fellow Authors, & Magic Systems

And do check in tomorrow for my interview with AK Wilder—whom some of you will already know well as Kim Falconer. 🙂 Because this series is YA/New Adult she’s writing as AK Wilder, to mark the distinction from her adult series.

Keeping an eye on the horizon

As noted on December 24, Christmas Eve really is the beginning of the end of the old year in NZ—but December 31 is really *it*, the last day of the year.

As also noted on December 24, what an extraordinary and demanding year 2020 has been. Unquestionably, it’s been the year of Covid-19 everywhere in the world—but in finding out my top ten posts for the year it became clear that in coming here you were looking for something other than Covid.

Something I learned from the Christchurch earthquakes a decade ago is that it’s actually really important to keep going with your life and work, as best you can, despite extraordinary events and times. So I’m glad if my wee blog has been part of the antidote to some of the life events that have been weighing on us all.

Although I also get that it’s most likely readers were looking out for that signal that WALL#4 may be close to being done! 😉

At any rate, it is New Year’s Eve and so the best possible time to focus in on the ten posts that really grabbed your attention during the course of the year. You’ll note the posts are ordered chronologically (rather than in an exact ranking of “views”) from the year’s beginning to its end.

Enjoy! And Happy New Year for tomorrow — may it “exceed expectations” on 2020!

‘Exceeding expectations’ on 2020…

And Here They Are…

January 6 — Starting As We Mean To Go On

So much of what I said in this post, when reflecting on the times we’d come out of in 2019 and on what was already happening in 2020 with the Australian bushfires et al, as well as our responses to such challenges, could really serve as a summation for the whole of this year. So I’m glad so many of you found something worthwhile in the read.

January 13 — A Few Thoughts On “Word Of Mouth”

This post was kind of about books and getting the good word out to readers — but it was also about wine. But then, wine and literature do have a long history of keeping each other company. 🙂

February 17 — A Little Alchemy

This was the first in the sequence of posts that seemed to really interest you all, which — funnily enough 😉 — is about the actual process of writing The Wall Of Night #4 and the ins-and-outs, challenges and gnarly moments thereof (in both senses of ‘gnarly.’)

April 22 — Reflections On Writing The Long Form—And WALL #4 Progress

This was both a reasonably indepth look at the writing process around WALL #4 and an update on where the w.i.p. was actually at. It also heralded the “Inside the Writing Life” post series, since I was starting to grok that such posts do interest you…

May 01 — Inside The Writing Life: A Little About the Writing Itself

Inspired by a few insightful reader comments, I discussed a little of what I try to achieve when writing, especially when developing characters and wrangling plots.

May 11 — An Interview With AJ Fitzwater, Author Of “The Voyages Of Cinrak the Dapper”

AJ is a fellow Christchurch author and friend-in-writing, and I found CINRAK delightful, so was pleased to support the book release by interviewing AJ.

May 28 — Inside The Writing Life: Naturally Self-Isolating

This post in the “Inside” series focused on what it means “to write alone” and something of “the loneliness of the long distance writer.” (Although not, I hope, in a tone of self pity!)

July 23 — Inside The Writing Life: Another Milestone Ticked Off

Yes, that was another WALL #4 milestone! And yes, you were keenly interested!

Han Solo the quintessential “lovable rogue”

August 27 — Inside The Writing Life: ‘A Game Of Two Halves’

Following on from the July 23 post, I returned to the writing life to specifically discuss transitions between sections of the book in progress. And again, you showed great interest.

September 14 — Having Fun With Epic Fantasy #13: We All Love To Love — The Lovable Rogue

This year, I also returned to the Having Fun With Epic Fantasy post series and this instalment on “The Lovable Rogue” garnered particular interest. So did the follow up post on A Quintessential Female Lovable Rogue, although it didn’t quite make it into the top ten, which is why I’ve given it a related “honourable mention.” 🙂

Faith from Buffy — also a mostly lovable rogue

Wrappin’ Up

So there it is—the Ten Most-Read Posts for 2020. I’m glad you enjoyed them, and appreciate your dropping by to read and leave the occasional comment. Wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, I hope you may have a very happy new year.

On December 31 I’ll fulfil what is now becoming an end-of-year tradition and post the ten most-read posts of this year here on my own “… on Anything, Really” blog.

I say “my own” because I do blog other places as well, chiefly on the Supernatural Underground on the first of every month, as well as the occasional guest spot like the Women in SFF interview on Fantasy Hive earlier this year. But yep, the end-of-year roundup is all for the home blog and checking out what m’visitors here (yep, all of you!) were into in 2020. 🙂

Before we get there, though, I decided I couldn’t really windup the year without another update on WALL#4 progress — and YES, it is progressing! This year I’ve wrapped up another major section of the book, think equivalent to the ‘Bride of Blood’ in Daughter of Blood, and another that’s closer in size and scope to the Grayharbor section in DAUGHTER.

Then (deep breath) shortly before Christmas, I commenced writing the intro into what is effectively the endgame of the book and series. I say ‘effectively’, because as I’ve indicated before, there is a lot of wrap up to do for this series. Nonetheless these are the sections that definitely wrap it up. And although I hope this will not prove to be wildly optimistic (touches wood, takes an even deeper breath, and casts a wary eye toward the muses), I am aiming for the middle of the year to reach the endpoint.

In the meantime, this post is to assure you that I am writing on, and the story is rolling toward its close. Good news, huh — if not quite the best, which will only come when its done. (Of course!)

I’ll try and slip in a few more “Inside the Writing Life” posts for you, too, while I’m getting there, since the most-read statistics suggest you like ’em. 🙂

Pohutakawa flowering: yes, it really is midsummer here…

Here in NZ, Christmas Eve always feels like the real marking point of the beginning of the end of the old year, because it’s not only the beginning of the Christmas-New Year break, but also the summer holidays.

Plus, because of that, everyone tries to cram everything possible, workwise, into those last few weeks before Christmas, as well as having all the “end-of-year” workplace get-togethers. In a word, it’s crazy, and we all collectively arrive at December 24 feeling utterly exhausted.

That’s in situation-normal times. Yet I think we can all agree that this year-of-covid has been far from usual. Certainly, over the past few weeks, I’ve been reflecting on how the year has simultaneously felt extraordinarily long, at the same time as rushing by.

Here in NZ we’ve been extraordinarily fortunate at the leadership response to Covid taken by the government, particularly in identifying pubic health and economic wellbeing as twinned, rather than mutually exclusive, goals. In simple, everyday terms, though, that means we’re looking at a holiday period where we can travel and gather with friends and family with a reasonable degree of confidence—while still being careful, needless to say. At a time of year that has come to be all about such gatherings here in NZ, that is no small thing.

At the beach: New Year in summer

I am very much aware that this is not the case in many parts of the world, and that many of you may not be able to be with family and friends this year, despite similar traditions being the norm. Some of you may also have lost family, friends, and colleagues to the pandemic, or to other causes but with the loss exacerbated by Covid related restrictions on travel and gatherings.

Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope you are and will continue to be as happy, safe, and well as it is possible to be. If you are travelling and celebrating, travel and celebrate safely, giving thought and effect to the safety and wellbeing of others. If you are not able to travel or be together with others in realtime, I hope you may still find ways to share and connect that are meaningful and fulfilling. And may we all find some joy, however small the moment.

“I’ll be back” here, in the usual way, before the holiday season and 2020 both draw to their close—but in the meantime, and again, let’s all take care, for ourselves and others.

KimFalconer

Over on the Supernatural Underground currently, fellow author and friend Kim Falconer has another post-of-excellence on Books, Tea, and Magic. Kim’s post looks at the wider literary connection between books and tea, as well as the direct connection to the tale told within her about-to-be-released new novel, Crown of Bones — which will be out on 5 January (2021: oh my!) Only 15 sleeps to go!

Books, Tea, And Magic — with Kim Falconer, writing as AK Wilder

Kim very kindly invited me to contribute to the post with a reference to tea in The Wall Of Night series, but unfortunately I didn’t receive the message until too late, being far awa’ in the vasty wilds of writing retreat and so off t’interwebs.

Nonetheless, I thought, “Why not feature Kim’s post here today and feature a WALL series reference by way of added interest?” So far, the chief reference to tea comes in WALL #3, Daughter Of Blood.

Mistress Ise, who is the former governess to Myr, one of the main characters, hails not from Myr’s House, which is Blood, but from the House of the Rose. Drinking tea, or tisane as Ise and Myr refer to it—since the teas they take are chiefly herbal—is definitely part of the Rose culture, although not so much in the House of Blood. OK, not at all, in the House of Blood… 😉

UK/AU/NZ

USA

The following passage introduces the reader to both tisane and the Rose custom:

“The night lamp in Ise’s sitting room was turned down, and Myr tripped against a low table in the dimness. Her heart pounded as she crouched down, steadying the antique silver tray on its stand. Each leg was carved into the shape of a dragon, with the tray held between their open jaws. When Myr was very small she had liked to rub the snarling heads and trace the moon-and-star patterns incised into the tray. Ise had brought the table with her from the House of the Rose and always used it for their court’s rituals of calligraphy and taking tisane. Now Myr left her note there…”

~ from © Daughter of Blood, The Wall of Night Book Three: Chapter 23 — The Midnight Keep

Now you may be thinking, Helen wrote: “So far, the chief reference to tea comes in WALL #3.” I wonder if that means that tea appears in some way in WALL #4?

The answer is yes, as the work-in-progress currently stands, it does. It doesn’t concern the House of the Rose either, but although I can’t tell you more than that right now, it may be the basis for a sneak preview at some stage in the future…

In the meantime, Kim’s book is coming out very soon, plus there’s that genuine in-this-world Ochee tea. To find out more about Crown of Bones, you can go here:

AK Wilder: Crown Of Bones

Or if you’re crying out for more details on the swag offer ( 😉 ), just go here:

Crown Of Bones Pre-Order Swag Offer

“Ten leagues beyond the wide world’s end”;
art by Peter Fitzpatrick

On December 3 I completed a year of Worldbuilding in Fantasy posts on the Supernatural Underground (SU), with a final post that Celebrated Our Supernatural Underground Worlds — which, if you haven’t read it already, is pretty awesome, imho. Entirely, reflective of my four fellow SU authors who joined me to share their art and insights, and make the final post rock.

With it being the time of year for wraps-ups, here is the entire series from go to whoa, all together in one place for those who love worldbuilding, whether to revisit or to check out for the first time:

2020: The Year of Worldbuilding in Fantasy

January: Welcome To My Year of Wonderful Worldbuilding
February: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia) by CS Lewis
March: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin
April: Sparrow Hill Road by Seanan McGuire
May: Palimpsest by Catherynne M Valente
June: Ship of Magic & the Liveship Traders series by Robin Hobb
July: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
August: Tymon’s Flight (Chronicles of the Tree) by Mary Victoria
September: Dreamhunter, Dreamquake, Mortal Fire, by Elizabeth Knox
October: The Many Worlds Of Kate Elliott
November: A Wealth of Fabulous Worlds
December: Celebrating Our Supernatural Underground Worlds

Faithful ‘droid companions…

This year I’ve been revisiting this post series, honing in on “the sidekick” and “the lovable rogue”, the two archetypes not being entirely divorced from each other. The third prong to this grouping is, I believe, the “faithful animal companion” — or ‘droid, of course: why hello, Artoo-Detoo (R2-D2) and See-Threepio (C3PO).

So I was gearing myself up to write the post when I realized, “Oh, right, I’ve done it already—over on Supernatural Underground on September 1, 2018.”

Balisan the Red

The post, as alluded to above, is titled:

Fantastic Creatures & Animal Companions — Don’t Ya Love ‘Em!” 

It begins as follows:

“Recently I posted here on Here Be Dragons. And also on Re-Discovering Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone. Meanwhile, over on my own blog, I’ve been Having Fun With Epic Fantasy Tropes. Between these three distinct trains of blogging thought, I got to thinking about the importance of companion creatures in myth and folklore, an importance which has flowed through into Fantasy fiction.

Returning to dragons, for example, Kim Falconer recently mentioned Menolly, from Anne MacCaffrey’s, Dragonsong, in her post on Music As Character.  In addition to Menolly’s music, however, I was always entranced by her companion fire-lizards — essentially miniature dragons. How cool is that? And, of course, the adult dragons, such as Ramoth and Mnementh, with their telepathic bond to their human riders, are both fantastic creatures and the ultimate in cool companions. …”

I could probably expand on the SU post, with further reference to ‘droids and also to animated films absolutely owning the “faithful animal (or ‘fantastic creature’) companion” in a raft of films, such as Frozen (Sven, the Reindeer) and the How To Train Your Dragon series. And then there’s the whole Harry Potter ‘verse, with owls like Hedwig, and all the fantastic beasts so beloved of Hagrid and Newt Scamander…

By and large, though, the bases are pretty much covered, so for today, I’m going to call it done — and refer you to the Supernatural Underground for the full post:

Having Fun With Epic Fantasy # 14: Fantastic Creatures and Animal Companions

Just to end, though, one of my favourite faithful companions is the flying unicorn, Imraith-Nimphais, from Guy Gavriel Kay’s Fionavar Trilogy (The Summer Tree; The Wandering Future; The Longest Road.)  I wrote a bit about her in Six Non Human Heroes of SFF, Part 2 — and about Iorek Byrnison from The Golden Compass / Northern Lights in Six Non Human Heroes of SFF. And I’ve always had considerable fondness for the seven fantastic creatures that are companion to the wizard, Sybel, in Patricia McKillip’s The Forgotten Beasts of Eld…

Fantail; credit, B Miller

They have their forbears in myth, fairytale, and folklore, of course: from Puss-In-Boots to Pegasus, Argos to Cavall—and from Odin’s ravens, Huginn and Muninn, to the small birds, including piwakawaka, the fantail, that accompany the demigod Maui on his adventures.

Previous Entries In The ‘Having Fun With Epic Fantasy Tropes” Series:

Introduction: Having Fun With Epic Fantasy—Meet the Tropes

Instalment 1: Having Fun With Epic Fantasy Tropes: A Farm Boy/Gal Goes On A Journey…

Instalment  2: A Prince/Princess Finds A Destiny

Instalment 3: Dreams and Portents, Prophecy and Destiny

Instalment 4: “Apocalypse Now”

Instalment 5: Meet The Big Bad

Instalment 6: The Sweep Of Time & Its Twin, War Without End

Instalment 7: Fortunately There was A Portal

Instalment 8: We’re All Going On A MacGuffin Hunt

Instalment 9: Artefacts of Power—And Doom—And Where To Find Them

Instalment 10: The Alchemy Of Numbers

Instalment 11: The Mentor

Instalment 12: Tried, Trusty, & True — The Sidekick

Instalment 13: We All Love To Love — The Lovable Rogue!

—

On SF Signal: The “Having Fun With Epic Fantasy” Series

1. “Making the Grand Tour” (aka the Road Journey);

2. .”The “Band of Brothers”; and the

3. . “Soul-Sucking Sword.”

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© Helen Lowe

USA

The About The Characters post series focuses on the minor characters in The Wall Of Night series, in large part because:

“I think it’s the presence of the smaller characters that “makes” a story, creating texture around the main points of view.”

~ from my Legend Award Finalist's Interview, 2013

Initially, the series focused exclusively on characters from The Heir of Night, but now I’m continuing on with minor characters from both The Gathering Of The Lost and Daughter of Blood — in alphabetical order, of course!

Recently we’ve been traversing the letter “L” and The Gathering of the Lost — but although still in “L”, today the focus is back on Daughter Of Blood.

—

UK/AU/NZ

Laer:  A Sea House weatherworker on the ship, Che’Ryl-g-Raham

Sea House marines, Kalan supposed—but it was the figure to the first woman’s left who held his attention. The man was tall, with the same twisted cables of hair as his companion, although his were mostly gray, framing a deeply weathered face. The breeze rippled the folds of his sea-green robe, the deep border a wave design in indigo and black. Power stirred, too, telling Kalan that he was in the presence of a Sea House weatherworker.

~ from © Daughter of Blood, The Wall of Night Book Three: Chapter 6 — The Pastry Thief