Open for some serious writing business…

Today I ticked off another plot milestone for WALL#4 and the series, one that has been causing me quite a few headaches as I’ve jigged and rejigged the current section, endeavouring to get the denouement to “work.”

With anything that’s important to the resolution of the book and/or series, I have to get it right, otherwise everything associated with it, especially the storyline going forward, tends not to work. Absolutely no pressure, you understand!

Sometimes, feeding the hordes can be fun — & delicious 😉

It is a good feeling, though, when it all comes together—At Last! I’d like to say that a metaphorical, if not actual, Snoopy dance ensues at such moments, but more often than not I have to rush off to the next task in the Life Authorial, whether it’s banging out a blog post or throwing a few ingredients in the pot to feed the hungry hordes.

And tomorrow one must leap up, refreshed or otherwise, and embark on the next chapter. (If you’re thinking, “Just like any other job”, then you are quite right, imho.) Although when the next chapter involves a switch in point-of-view and narrative focus, I sometimes find myself reluctant to get going, because it’s so much more comfortable to bask a little longer in the completed milestone glow. Especially when the switch may also lead to plot-and-character wrangling headaches: you just never know…

In this case, I believe I’ll be OK because I already have some lead-in ideas jotted down, and a potential scene already rough-drafted in a moment of inspiration a few weeks back. So fingers crossed!

Essential for jotting down ideas…

In thinking about all this, though, I realized that one of the distinctive aspects of the writing life is that although there are ups and downs and milestones, so much of the “within book” achievement happens without fanfare and is largely invisible to anyone but the writer. I tend to think that’s as it should be, i.e. what the world wants, and should get, is the finished product, since that delivers the “reading experience.” But it’s always worth remembering that, as with any longterm project, there will have been a lot of lesser milestones en route to the big one, which is, of course, “The End.”

I also realized that this current section has several major series milestone/resolves in it, which like today’s have either been part of the story arc from the outset or from reasonably early on in WALL 1 or 2. So that’s part of the satisfaction in concluding a piece like today’s as well. 🙂

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Previous Inside The Writing Life Posts:

• A Little About The Writing Itself
• About Those Muses, Then…
• Naturally Self-Isolating
• Writing Novels, Posting Blogs

The Young Lions (1949) by Irwin Shaw is one of those books that I’ve “known about” for a very long time, but never quite gotten around to reading. So when a tattered paperback copy (“slightly abridged” according to the legend) arrived in the house a few weeks back, I decided it was time to take the plunge, particularly as The Young Lions is regarded as one of the defining novels dealing with World War 2.

The story follows three soldiers from immediately before the war to its end. Christian, formerly a ski instructor, is a sergeant in the German army, although he’s actually Austrian. Michael and Noah are American, the former older (but still in his twenties) and working in show business at the beginning of the war; the latter, the son of an immigrant Russian Jew, is employed in New York as a “playground director.”

Although predominantly about the war, the early sections of the book establish Michael and Noah in the wider context of their civilian lives: Noah newly married to Hope, who is expecting their first child when he’s conscripted; Michael divorced from a Hollywood starlet and with a succession of girlfriends. One of these, Margaret, has met Christian in Austria in 1938—this is by way of a ‘prologue’ to the rest of the book although it’s not presented in those terms.

Overall, I found The Young Lions a worthwhile read, although initially I struggled to get into it. I think this may be because none of the three main characters is particularly likeable. Noah is the most appealing of the three, but so diffident and un-get-at-able that he’s difficult to like as a character. There is, of course, reason for this. One of the themes in the book, with respect to Noah, is that of anti-semitism in US society and in the military, and how that plays a major part in shaping his experience and character, particularly early on in the war.

Having said that, the friendships that Noah does make are exceptional—and coming to understand that, among much else, is what the journey of the book is really all about, to my mind. It’s not about liking the characters, and certainly not about cheering them on, or cheering for them. It’s about understanding Christian, Michael, and Noah, and the way the war shapes and erodes them—and also those about them, more often than not for the worse. In this sense, The Young Lions is not a “read” or simply a “story”, but an experience—and with too much in it for a blog post to cover, except for some very ‘big ticket’ items.

I’ve heard it said that a title should ‘frame’ a book and act in some way as a key to its contents. If so, then in this case the ‘key’ is either deliberately misleading or profoundly ironic. To me a title like “The Young Lions” points to the idea of soldiers as heroes, or at least as valiant warriors, and war as an heroic business. This is the exact opposite of the book. None of the three main characters are heroic, although Noah probably comes closest, displaying presence of mind, resilience, and resourcefulness under fire. But he, like the others, is shaped by war’s juggernauts of brutality and violence, and the veteran soldier’s priority of survival. And the war is far from an heroic enterprise.

The Young Lions is a war novel in the tradition of The Red Badge of Courage, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and Catch 22. Rather than heroism and daring, chivalry and honor, it is about savagery and survival and betrayal, rations and constipation, banality, confusion, and anarchy. Amid all of this, there are instances of military resolve, among which Christian’s rearguard destruction of a bridge in Italy, and Noah’s D-Day conduct (for which he is awarded a silver star) stand out. Christian’s original commanding officer, Lieutenant Hardenburg, also exemplifies a relentless personal and military courage. Michael may be also said to find his own courage, albeit in a confused and desperate way, in the final confrontation of the book.

The film poster…

I believe, though, that there is at least one “hero” in the book, although not in any Marvel movie sense of the concept. Lieutenant—later, Captain—Green is a quiet, unassuming, and underrated man, who quietly does his competent best under fire and sometimes in extraordinary circumstances. In terms of the structure of the book, he is the counterweight to Lieutenant Hardenburg, who dominates much of the earlier action. Tellingly, Hardenburg ends committing suicide, while Green deals with ensuring his men survive, and restoring order and the values of life and decency when dealing with a liberated concentration camp at the end of the war.

The importance of this is encapsulated by Noah’s statement in the final passages of the novel, that: “When the war is over…Green is going to run the world…The human beings are going to be running the world! … There’s a lot of Captain Greens! He’s not extraordinary!”

“He’s not extraordinary” is of course the ‘key’ phrase for Captain Green, when in fact the rest of the book suggests that he may, in fact, be exactly that…I also felt a sadness in reading Noah’s statement of faith, i.e. that human beings would be running the world, with so much of what we’ve seen in recent years suggesting a winding back of that conviction. Including in the United States—although that, too, is predicted in the book, through the viewpoint of a Colonel Pavone.

I think, though, that one of the touchstones moments of the book, comes in an exchange between Captain Green and Michael, on the latter rejoining his unit late in the war.

Green peered sharply at him. “What kind of soldier have you turned out to be, Whitacre?” he asked.

Michael thought for a moment. “Miserable, Sir,” he said.

Green smiled palely … “I’ll keep that in mind,” he said.

That “Miserable, Sir” encapsulated the banality, confusion, and topsy-turviness of so much of The Young Lions, but also the tenacity of endurance and survival. I also believe it speaks to the way Michael has stayed grounded, and like Green himself, retained his humanity, compassion, and sense of perspective.

Although The Young Lions took me some time to get into, I found it interesting and insightful throughout, and ended with a sense of appreciation and reading satisfaction. I would recommend it to anyone interested in “big books” that deal with the the complexity of war and its effects on human beings, as well as in an ordinary soldier’s and “every man’s” experience of World War 2.

The Wall of Night Series map; artist Peter Fitzpatrick

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!

(The quotes, together with the covers, indicate the books in which the character appears.)

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UK/AU/NZ

USA

Keron: a House of Night honor guard, in Garan’s eight-unit

“There are Morning priests with the Stoners,” Keron said. He was another new recruit to the guard, but he had keen eyes. “I count six, maybe seven in House of Morning colors.”

~ from © The Gathering Of The Lost, The Wall of Night Book Two: Chapter 28 — Border Crossing
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UK/AU/NZ

USA

Garan groaned inwardly as he turned and saw Dalay and Sri in the doorway, with an apologetic Keron—who was supposed to have been watching the approach to their quarters—beside them. You could at least have coughed, too, Garan thought, his eyes meeting the young guard’s—but then decided he was being unfair. Keron couldn’t have anticipated that his eight-leader was going to give in to stupidity at just the wrong moment.

~ from © Daughter of Blood, The Wall of Night Book Three: Chapter 13 — Watch and Ward

The Fantasy Hive is a collaborative UK-based site that describes itself as “a hub for all things fantasy. Book reviews, games, author interviews, features, serial fiction.”

‘Fantasy, together’ is their motto, and they aim to “unify fans of speculative fiction through shared enthusiasm and appreciation of the genre.”

So I was very pleased to be interviewed as part of The Fantasy Hive’s current Women In SFF Author Spotlight feature — and enjoyed answering their questions. 🙂

So if you’re feeling like a little bit of author interview goodness, just click on:

Women In SFF Author Spotlight — Helen Lowe

It’s  a month-long feature so that means there are lots of other authors being interviewed, too. Here are some of the names I’ve spotted, but there may well be more:

Juliet McKenna

Anna Stephens

Rowenna Miller

Fonda Lee

Alix E Harrow

Andrea Stewart

‘Talking to’ the writing life in times past.

This weekend, I’ll be talking to the (Christchurch) Children’s Literature Hub, a subgroup of the NZ Society of Authors and a support network for those who want to create, edit and market books for children through to YA readers.

I’ll be talking to the Hub from “inside the writing life”, chiefly about my journey as a writer and adding in any tips and wisdom I may’ve managed to glean along the way. 😉

I have chosen not to take on speaking engagements, workshops et al over these past few years, chiefly because although the contact time may be low, the amount of time required for preparation is usually really high and eats up significant chunks of actual writing time.

I suspect Saturday will be a little smaller… 🙂

But every now and then it feels important to support fellow writers and the community by fronting up, and even more so (I’m currently feeling) when we’ve been through an experience like the Covid-19 lockdown and are all looking to reconnect.

It’ll be fun to meet up with fellow writers again. And also to revisit those heady days when Thornspell and The Heir of Night were both making their bow to the world—before the Canterbury earthquakes rolled their juggernaut over Christchurch and the decade of “aftermath.”

Only to be succeeded by Covid-19, which is cutting a far wider swathe…

All good reasons (she types, shaking off introspection) to seize the day and talk the good talk of writing and books — entirely in keeping with the banner message below. 🙂

A little but wonderful every day, indeed!

Last week, I celebrated NZ author Tamsyn Muir’s Locus Award 2020 for First Novel, received for her debut book, Gideon The Ninth.

In the comments, Liz was kind enough to cite my own Morningstar Award with approval and asked if many other NZ writers had won similar international awards for speculative fiction.

I promised to put on my thinking cap and do a bit of google-fu, then answer this week.

While I can’t speak for “all time” on this topic, these are the other NZ speculative authors that I’m aware of, who have received international awards in the past decade.

Duly noting that I don’t keep close tabs, so if I’ve missed an author and book, please forgive the omission. Also, if you ping me with a comment I shall correct ‘interfrastically.’

2010: The Bridge by Jane Higgins — The Text Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing
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2012: The Heir of Night by Helen Lowe* — the Gemmell Morningstar Award for Best First Novel
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2016: The Chimes by Anna Smaill — World Fantasy Award for Best Novel
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2017: Silver Silence by Nalini Singh — Romantic Times (RT) Reviewers’ Choice Best Book Award winner (Paranormal World Building category);

In the same year, Nalini Singh also received the RT Career Achievement Award for Paranormal fiction—and she’s had more NY Times Bestseller spots than you can shake a stick at. #JustSayin’

I think this is pretty good testament to the strength of NZ speculative fiction writing!

Especially as for every win there are comparable shortlistings, both for the same authors and others in the field, such as Lee Murray, a three-time finalist for the Bram Stoker Award.

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* Yep, I know that's me, but I'm trying to do a "proper" list! :-)

This year on Supernatural Underground I’m celebrating the wide, wild, and wondrous worlds—and worldbuilding skill—of Fantasy literature. Why? Because worldbuilding, imho, is the vital glue that binds the different strands of the genre together: that’s why!

And also because, quite simply, fantasy worldbuilding is So Much FUN. 😀

This month, I’m featuring a very new Fantasy world, but one that’s already generating a lot of positive attention, with Award-nominations galore. Including, as I announced here on Monday, the Locus Award 2020 for First Novel.

Awesome, huh?! And it’s by a homegrown author — yep, I’m talking about Gideon the Ninth by New Zealand writer, Tamsyn Muir.

Year of Worldbuilding in Fantasy #6 — “Gideon the Ninth” by Tamsyn Muir

To give you the flavour, this is space fantasy with a pervading atmosphere of shadow and decay, along with plenty of necromancers & skeletons, duels and dungeon crawls and sorcerous rivalry, as well as featuring a lesbian love triangle at its heart.

#YoW YearOfWorldbuilding
#WiF WorldbuildingInFantasy

Last weekend delivered very exciting news for NZ author Tamsyn Muir, as well as for NZ writing and speculative fiction generally. The 2020 Locus Awards were announced during one of the many virtual events that have become de rigeur in 2020—and Tamsyn Muir received the award for First Book for Gideon The Ninth, published in 2019 by Tor Books (Macmillan.)

This is a tremendous achievement on the international literary stage and I would like to offer Tamsyn my warmest congratulations.

Gideon the Ninth has garnered a lot of positive notice since it appeared last year, including being nominated for both Nebula and Hugo Awards, both in the Best Novel category, the latter of which is yet to be decided. So there’s still a space to watch… 🙂

For the full list of Locus Award nominees and winners, across all categories, click on TOR.com’s:

Announcing The Locus Award 2020 Winners

And yes, I have read Gideon the Ninth and yes, I did enjoy it. If you’re wondering why I haven’t posted on it yet, one reason might be time and space — but the second, more compelling reason, is because I plan on featuring Gideon the Ninth’s worldbuilding, which I enjoyed immensely, in my Worldbuilding In Fantasy series on the Supernatural Underground. Forthcoming this very Wednesday, July 1, so another space to watch. 😉

Meanwhile, though, as a NZ-er, I’m just so pleased to see work by a NZ author garnering such accolades. Not least since NZ-based speculative fiction authors in particular pretty much have to be published overseas in order to have any hopes of a career.

UK/AU/NZ

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!

(The quotes, together with the covers, indicate the books in which the character appears.)

—

USA

Kelyr: a House of Swords warrior, returning from the Southern Realms to the Wall of Night

The Sword warrior’s expression was bleary, his eyes bloodshot, and although he was watching Kalan and the horses, his demeanor remained incurious. One of his companions leaned forward. “I’m Kelyr,” he called in Derai, “of the House of Swords. Honor on you and on your House.” … His tone was friendly, although the warmth did not touch his eyes.

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

Recently, the world premiere of the TV adaptation of Eleanor Catton’s The Luminaries, screened here in NZ.

I was very keen to see the six-part series for a number of reasons: the novel is written by a New Zealander and is also set in New Zealand; it won the Booker Prize for fiction in 2013; and the novel’s author, Eleanor Catton, wrote the screenplay, so I felt the dramatization should be true to to the essence of the novel, which—gulp, true confessions!—I haven’t yet read.

By way of a broad synopsis, The Luminaries is an historical drama set in New Zealand’s 1860s gold rush era, with the action chiefly taking place in Dunedin, and Hokitika on the West Coast. The story weaves together the history of the era: with its explosion of gold mining bringing prospectors from all over the world, including a sizeable contingent of Chinese miners, into the the remoteness of regions such as the West Coast, the rohe of Ngati Waewae. Its multiple strands also encompass the era’s legacy of gold diggings, coastal trading, and licentiousness, including drunken-ness (Hokitika was famous for having a population of 25,000 and over 100 pubs), opium dens and brothels, as well as the astrological influence that give both the novel and TV series their name: The Luminaries.

The astrological influence makes its presence felt from the outset, with the simultaneous arrival in Dunedin of astrological “twins”: Anna Wetherell (Eve Hewson) and Emery Staines (Himesh Patel). Both intend seeking their fortunes on the goldfields but are almost immediately separated by the connivance of those they first encounter. Anna is drawn into the orbit of Lydia Wells (played by Eva Green), a psychic, fortune teller and adventuress, while Emery’s path crosses that of Lydia’s lover, sea captain and ex-convict, Francis Carver (Marton Csokas). Other significant characters include Crosbie Wells, Lydia’s husband, who has made a significant gold strike; Chinese miner, Quee Long; and Te Rau Tauwhare, a local Maori and greenstone hunter, although there are a cast of lesser figures.

The heart of the drama revolves about the astrological connection of Anna and Emery, the effect of Crosbie Well’s gold on the lives and fates of all the central characters, and the ruthless ambitions of Lydia Wells and Francis Carver in particular.  A lesser, but still potent influence is the friendship between Emery, Crosbie, and Te Rau Tauwhare.

Visually, The Luminaries is powerful, atmospheric, and evocative, with the West Coast landscape in particular a dark, brooding, and ‘distant’ influence. I feel that the dirt, roughness, and wildness of colonial-era Dunedin and Hokitika are also successfully evoked, and the cast of characters are diverse and intriguing.

Atmospheric & evocative…

The acting performances are strong, particularly Eva Green and Marton Csokas, but all the principal characters are convincing. I did, however, find the character of Anna, in particular, frustratingly lacking in agency throughout most of the series. Although this species of heroine-as-victim may have been popular in the Victorian era itself, it doesn’t accord with what I know of the history of the women, such as Queenstown’s Julia O’Malley, who survived and made their mark in NZ’s goldfields era. As a viewer, I found Anna difficult to invest in or care about.

The luminous & compelling Eva Green, as Lydia Wells

Initially, I was slow to warm to and become engaged in the story, but the middle episodes definitely drew me in. However, there was too much of the drama where the characters’ motivation and actions felt inexplicable in terms of the action. Much of Anna’s behaviour throughout fitted into this category, as did the coming together of the thirteen protagonists toward the end. Although I understood that their coming together was intended as significant in terms of the zodiac’s luminaries, many of the characters just hadn’t seemed that important in the story to date, so as a viewer I was puzzled by it, more than anything else.

A walk in Cornwall Park (I know that tree!): sorry, “Dunedin” 😉

Although historical in setting, the importance of the astrological influences, in particular, but also the ability of one character to physically translocate, shift the story into the magic realism end of the fantasy spectrum. The translocation, however, came at the very end and seemingly out of nowhere, which felt in the nature of a deus ex machina and correspondingly unsatisfactory.  The courtroom ending, too, felt overly  ‘pat’ and ‘neat’, compared to the rest of the story, so overall I was left feeling unsatisfied and that the series underdelivered.