Just before lockdown cut in (although in fact post is still an essential service) a new book arrived on my TBR table.

This one is Underland by UK author, Robert Macfarlane. I’ve been aware of the author for quite some time via Twitter, noticing his tweets regarding etymology and aspects of the natural world, all of which are always fascinating.

So I was naturally intrigued when his latest book, Underland, subtitled ‘A Deep Time Journey’, was published last year, to considerable public attention.

I knew it was nonfiction, and probably “creative nonfiction” at that, i.e. nonfiction that uses the style and devices of fiction to add depth and interest, while still maintaining a factually accurate narrative. (Deep breath!)

I figured, too, that Underland’s subject matter was something to do what what lies beneath in terms of the natural and physical world—but the inside cover blurb (there’s no backcover blurb) also indicates that myth and literature also play their part:

“Into the underland we have long placed that which we fear and wish to lose, and that which we love and wish to save . . . ‘

Underland is an epic exploration of the Earth’s underworlds as they exist in myth, literature, memory and the land itself … From the vast underground mycelial networks by which trees communicate to the ice-blue depths of glacial moulins, and from North Yorkshire to the Lofoten Islands, Robert Macfarlane traces a voyage through the worlds beneath our feet. He reaches back into the deep history of the planet, through the layers of rock and ancient buried objects, and forward to the future, the legacy of the anthropocene and the world we bequeath our descendants. Underland is Macfarlane at his dazzling best – the lyrical, the political and the philosophical come together in this profound exploration of the relationship between landscape and the human heart.”

Although I said there was no backcover blurb, which is true, there is a fabulous backcover quote, which I’ll leave you with until I report back on my reading experience:

‘The way into the
underland is through
the riven trunk of
an old ash tree…’

Cool, huh? I have to say, I am pretty keen to start reading…

Last week’s starring ‘Bubble fare.’

Bubble Fare might be another way of saying Bubble Babble, in hopes of avoiding Bubble Trouble (nods to the esteemed memory of Margaret Mahy), but of course ’tis Bubble Babble with a very specific focus, i.e. lockdown food creations. 🙂

“Bubble”, btw, is the NZ term for NZ’s Covid-19 lockdown, i.e. we’re all in our “bubbles”, staying strong by staying apart, in hopes of saving lives… Today is Day 19 (by my reckoning) of a projected 28, and it’s a case of a still-cautious “so far, so good” — as in, yesterday’s official update showed a marked decrease in new cases, following a week in which a decrease in infection rates began to manifest.

Autumn means it’s time for soup — tomato & onion goodness

Fingers crossed that the positive trend will continue and we will find a way to emerge from lockdown without resulting waves of reinfection… (Yes, I know, I know, I’m an optimist, but you already knew that, right, because no one who was not innately highly optimistic would ever embark upon a writing career. 😉 )

Nothing quite like damper bread to go with soup…

Anyways, as I mentioned in my lockdown post last week, one thing that’s been hard hit in the NZ supermarket aisles is flour (and other baking goods), leading to the observation (via a Twitter pal) that “Clearly NZ is going to bake its way out of Corona virus.”

A hot pumpkin & feta salad adds a welcome touch of autumn colour to the table

I also noted (as regular followers will already know) that I have some cooking and baking credentials anyway, but there’s nothing quite like being in a lockdown bubble to up the home-cooked food ante. As it’s autumn here, the recipes finding favour are those with a decided autumnal twist, as I hope the photos bear out.

A little mushroom filo goodness to nourish body & soul

Bon appetit, everyone. Keep taking care. Stay well.

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!

Today’s character is extra special, because Jan Butterworth is not only a character in The Wall of Night series, she’s also a real person whom I know and esteem from several NZ Natcons and through SFFANZ (Science Fiction and Fantasy Association of New Zealand) — as well as giving her name to the very first Tuckerization character in any of my books.

A Tuckerization, made famous by an early SF author, Wilson Tucker, is when an author uses an individual’s name for a character in a book. I’ve been offering a Tuckerization opportunity as part of the publication celebrations for each of the WALL series books—and Jan’s was the name drawn from the very first Sorting Hat, when HEIR was published.

I managed to work her full name into The Gathering of the Lost, in a way I feel works with the story and the worldbuilding. I hope readers, and Jan herself, agree. The girl below is named Jan, of course, although that detail is revealed a little later in the chapter. 🙂

UK/AU/NZ

—

Jan Butterworth:  a girl from the village of Butterworth, in Southern Aralorn

“She rode into Butterworth as the poplar leaves became gold tinted. The village had an alehouse as well as a forge, with a crumbling stone tower on the edge of the nearby chestnut woods. “Although only owls live there now,” the girl who was sweeping the alehouse step told Malian, before bringing her a tankard of cool brown beer and filling the trough beside the step with water for the cob. “Shrines of Serru, is it?” She shooed away the hens that had come pecking around the door. “There’s none here, nor as far as Thorpe, from what I hear.” She gazed beyond the dusty yard and the hens to the nearby chestnut woods. “You could try the Ara-fyr, although—” She crinkled up her eyes, her tone growing apologetic, as if she feared disappointing her visitor. “They may not have shrines to Serru or even Imul. They’re uncanny strange in their ways.”

~  from © The Gathering Of The Lost, The Wall of Night Book Two: Chapter 53 — The Solitary Tower

Lockdown, Week 2

Two weeks ago when I did my first Writing In A Time of Corona Virus* post, NZ was on its way into full lockdown in an effort to get ahead of the Corona Virus curve before we went down the same path as Italy or Spain. Although we have a public health system, as a small country we faced a very real risk of that system being overwhelmed once the first cases of community transmission began to appear.

So the government made the decision to go into full lockdown and we’re currently in Day 12, Week 2 of a four week period—along with around one quarter of the world’s population by one estimate I heard referenced.

Lockdown, the Christchurch Rear Lines Style

River walk — & no one else there…

In terms of how it’s going, as noted two weeks ago, the surface conditions of lockdown don’t look that different from normal everyday life for a writer, i.e. I work from home anyway so in that sense it’s business as usual. I’m supposed to keep my walks to within two kilometres of home and that’s also my usual routine, although the options I use to mix the routine up by going farther afield are out.

Probably the main difference is that trips to supermarkets are now an exercise in strategic and logistical planning as many have considerable queuing in order to manage numbers in-store and maintain social distancing. (By all reports there’s no substantive issue in terms of supply.)

Another change is the burgeoning of Zoom meetups in my life, as this is now the new way for family and friends to touch base and interact. 🙂 All of which, I imagine, is pretty much the same for most of you who’re also on some form of lockdown, wherever in the globe you live.

Write on

It’s impossible not to be aware of the magnitude of the situation the world is facing, with so many countries struggling to cope and the juggernauts of life and health, social and economic wellbeing all under the Covid-19 gun. Yet I also felt, in going into lockdown, that it was important to try and take whatever positives I could from the situation.

Firstly, that it’s a great opportunity to go even harder on the book—to which end I’ve marked the first week in lockdown by dealing to one of the three-to-four major plot points in The Wall of Night series. I won’t say it wasn’t a steep writing curve—because it was—but it’s also a significant milestone and a great feeling to say, “Yep: done!”

Tis the season, for Michaelmas daisies

It’s also autumn here right now, which is the season for starting to get the garden sorted ahead of winter. With other pastimes offlimit I had no excuse for not getting out there this weekend, and spent quite a few productive hours repotting and replanting, as well as pruning and deadheading, and sweeping up the first piles of bronze and gold and crimson autumn leaves—with the promise of plenty more to come as autumn gathers speed.

Although it sounds like a lot of work, I also find it relaxing at a deep level, which I think is to do with working with the cycle of life and nature. I often find my thoughts turn toward what’s happening with my writing when my hands are busy in the dirt as well, and new ideas and fresh insights often shake loose (along with the dirt, lol!)

A silver lining for the birds 😀

One thing that took quite a hit in the runup to lockdown was the baking aisles in NZ supermarkets. As one person on Twitter put it (I paraphrase): “Clearly NZ is going to bake its way out of Corona virus.” 😀 Regular visitors here will know that baking is something I do anyway, but my first lockdown scones (that’s griddle cakes, btw, for North American readers) were not a success, emerging from the oven as flat as the baking tray they went in on. 🙁

Second time lucky for the humans

However, there always is a silver lining somewhere, in this case for the birds that got to feast royally for the rest of the day. Fortunately, too, scones are quick, so I whipped up a second batch which turned out fine, and breakfast was only a little delayed. Although there “may” have been intervening curses…

La Vie En Rose

One thing I decided from Day 1 was that I was definitely not going to mooch around the house in my pyjamas, or wear my oldest clothes, just because it was lockdown and I wouldn’t be seeing anyone most of the time. Instead I decided to take the exact opposite approach and dress up a bit, just for the fun of it. So I broke out a couple of new sweatshirts and have been making sure I sally forth in style for my walks. (Although maybe not quite so much of the lockdown chic when hard at it in the garden. 😉 )

Being autumn, the weather’s been quite mixed between grey and cold, sunny and warm, so my first lockdown appearance being on a very cold windy sort of day, I had to rug up for my walk. And although I’ve been dubbed “Helen in Black” for many years, I decided it was a time for La Vie En Rose as well as ‘in lockdown.’ 😀 I was going to try and work in a Raspberry Beret as well (yes, I do have one!) but the chill wind dictated a burgundy version instead…(Because it snugs down over the ears and never blows away: very important!)

We join the bear hunt

And yes, we have put out soft toys for kids to spot, when out for their lockdown walks. 🙂

More Seriously…

As above, looking for silver linings and being determined to make the most of the enforced circumstances doesn’t mean I’m not aware of their seriousness. I do keep up with the news—but my (very small) job is not only to keep the lockdown and so try and stop the spread of corona virus in NZ, but also to keep up my own morale and not give in to fear and doubt. So actively working on the positives is an important part of that.

Otherwise, as I said in that first post, wherever you are, I know you’ll be trying to do your best in whatever the current situation is. So please keep being as careful as you can be out there, and as safe and well as it is possible to be.

He waka eke noa — we’re all in this together.

—

*Yes, I am riffing off Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Love In A Time of Cholera.;-)

This year on Supernatural Underground I’m celebrating the wondrous and wonderful worldbuilding of Fantasy literature with a closer look at some of my favourite worlds.

For April 1, I’ve honed in on contemporary paranormal fantasy very much set in this world with the worldbuilding tour-de-force that is Seanan McGuire’s Ghost Roads series, comprising Sparrow Hill Road and The Girl In The Green Silk Gown.

If you like ghost stories and Americana, urban fantasy and powerful worldbuilding then head on over to Supernatural Underground and read:

Year of Worldbuilding in Fantasy #3: “Sparrow Hill Road” (Ghost Roads #1) by Seanan McGuire

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#YoW YearOfWorldbuilding
#WiF WorldbuildingInFantasy

It’s been a while (8 October 2018) since I shared how much I’d enjoyed the first Murderbot novella, All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries) by Martha Wells (published by Tor.) Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to read and equally enjoy three more Murderbot novellas.

So I was thrilled to be offered the opportunity to read an uncorrected proof copy of the first of a new Murderbot trilogy, this time in full novel version, ahead of its publication date of May 2020.

Dear readers, I was not disappointed.

Network Effect continues the grand Murderbot tradition of the original novella quartet. This is space opera science fiction at its best, with a great, single-protagonist “voice” in the form of “Murderbot”, an autonomous AI in cyborg form. There’s also an engaging cast of supporting characters (not least Perihelion, aka  ART — the “Asshole Research Transport”, a spaceship in the best tradition of Iain M Banks’ sentient ship/AIs), and plenty of space travel, adventure, and action.

In my post on All Systems Red, I described the SF “universe” as: “Corporate Culture SciFi, i.e. in this version of the space future an awful lot of stuff is run by corporations”, but with overlaps to Military SF because the “corprats” maintain their own security forces and “because Murderbot is a security specialist and gets to fight things and fire big weapons when the chips are down.”

This is still the case in Network Effect and Ms Wells does an excellent job (imho) of telling a standalone adventure that manages the transition between the central storyline of the novellas (which involved Murderbot cementing its independent, as opposed to rogue, status and acquiring allies, while defeating a particular corporate, GrayCris) to a new story arc. The latter appears to involve Murderbot travelling with ART and its crew to undermine and counteract the most egregious ills of corporate colonization, a great premise for more Murderbot goodness to come.

So if you loved the Murderbot novella quartet, I’m pretty sure you’ll love Network Effect, too. If you haven’t read the novellas then I would strongly recommend doing so, not because I don’t think the novel stands on its own (because the author manages that transition well, too) but just because I think i) they’re a fantastic read; and ii) you’ll get a whole lot more nuance out of Network Effect.

However, if you’re looking for wider comparisons, then I’d say that if you like CJ Cherryh (particularly the Chanur series) or William Gibson’s cyberpunk, Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice or Iain M Banks Culture novels, such as Surface Detail, then you’ll almost certainly like Network Effect as well.

—

Disclosure: I read an uncorrected proof copy of Network Effect, 350 pp, supplied by the publisher.

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!

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

—

UK/AU/NZ

Jad:  an eight-leader in the Earl of Blood’s Honor Guard

Alert for danger, Kalan paused before stepping through the unlit door into what Jad had called a mausoleum. “Although it’s more of a memorial,” the eight-leader explained…A sequence of faded banners hung to their right, facing the bas-relief of a young, stern-faced warrior in full Blood panoply.

“Ammaran,” Kalan said, reading the inscription beneath the warrior’s mailed feet.

Jad nodded. “He was the last Heir of the old line of Earls. The family died out shortly after the Betrayal War, when he and his Honor Guard escort were lost.”

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

Putting up the shutters on public contact — but still writing.

Update:

With Covid-19 cases increasing every day here in NZ, the government yesterday announced an immediate shift to Level 3, moving to Level 4 and full lockdown except for essential services at 11.59 pm, Wednesday 25 March, for four weeks.

Basically this means everyone who is not in an essential business or service should be isolating in their own home as soon as possible, but definitely from that point. The intention is to prevent exponential spread of infection and the NZ health system being overwhelmed, and to save lives.

I 100% support the decision by the government for all of the above reasons, but I know it may be very tough for many people. So my thoughts are with you all—as well as with all those internationally who are dealing with the pandemic in similar or other ways.

In NZ, I really hope we can step up to staying home and keeping part, and get through this together. Kia kaha, New Zealand: stand strong together by standing apart.

—

I know many of you are already dealing with the Covid-19 corona virus in your own countries, and that in some of those countries it is overwhelming health services. Over the weekend New Zealand moved to Level 2 of a four level process, with some public health professionals arguing that we should already be at Level 4: Lockdown if we are to avoid being overwhelmed.

In short, we live in fairly frightening times, especially—although by no means exclusively—if we have family members or friends who are among the most at-risk groups. At such times it’s really important to look out for each other as best we can, but also to heed the public health advice.

Currently in New Zealand that’s to avoid all unnecessary social contact, including working from home where-ever possible and avoiding non-essential travel. Those over 70 and in high risk health groups are being advised to self-isolate in their home environment regardless. For those wanting to know more, and why it matters, there’s a really good article here on The Spinoff:

What Does “Level Two Mean — And Why Does It Matter?

I believe the graphic, in particular, really encapsulates matters—and puts the knife’s edge we’re all teetering on clearly in perspective.

In terms of what I can do within those parameters, as a writer and ordinary-person-on-the-suburban-rear-lines at such a time, the obvious one is to keep writing—which I am doing and shall continue to do. There is, after all, a book and a series to be completed. In that sense, I guess working from home and staying put is “business as usual” for a writer.

In terms of also being a family member and a friend, as well as part of a wider community, I am maintaining contact with family members but also working with six to eight friends who live in the same community to establish an email/phone support network. The idea is to keep each other updated re our status in terms of work and health, and to provide support if required in terms of picking up groceries or prescriptions. If and when a community-wide lockdown is implemented, we may also look at doing our updates via skype  or something similar (assuming the internet holds up to all the additional use.) In our case, we also have elderly neighbours so will be making sure they have our number to call at need.

And that’s pretty much it. Although the potential economic fallout from this pandemic is also quite scary, along with the health consequences, all we can do is hang in there and do our best to look after ourselves and others, even if a great deal of it must be at armslength or via the internet.

Wherever you are, I know you’ll be trying to do your best in whatever the current situation is. So be as careful as you can out there, and as safe and well as it is possible to be.

Worldbuilding is central to the art and craft of writing Speculative* Fiction but it never pays to lose sight of the real world. 🙂

In this case the sun rises out of the Southern Ocean, which is part of the immensity of Te Moananui A Kiwa: the great ocean of Kiwa, aka the Pacific. In this case, the sunrise is off the east coast of New Zealand’s South Island (Te Wai Pounamu — The Waters of Greenstone), making it among the earliest places in the world to see the new day. The birds on the shingle banks are parekareka, the NZ spotted shag (a species of cormorant): scientific name Stictocarbo punctatus.

The sun rises out of the Southern Ocean…

A little bit of world and worldbuilding inspiration for all our weeks. 🙂

*Speculative Fiction: Although I would argue that all fiction is speculative, 
the specific term is now applied to the literature of Science Fiction, 
Fantasy and Horror in all its diversity and excellence.

Last week, I let you know that I was currently reading Teresa Frohock’s Carved From Stone And Dream (Los Nefilim #2) — and now I’ve finished reading so it’s time to share my thoughts!

As I also shared last week, I’m both a friend-in-writing of Teresa’s and a fan of her writing, which I’ve discussed previously in the following posts:

Miserere — An Autumn Tale

The Los Nefilim Novella Trilogy

On the Supernatural Underground: Year Of Romance #8: Endless Love in Where Oblivion Lives

So onto the most important question first: did I enjoy it? And the answer is, perhaps not so surprisingly: Yes, I definitely did — enough to finish reading it (from about a third of the way through, gulp!) in one evening sitting. (Yep, I had reached “point non-plus” with my own writing for the day! 🙂 )

The Los Nefilim Storyline

Just to give a quick outline, the Los Nefilim series commenced with a series of three linked novellas (Los Nefilim) set in pre- Spanish Civil War Barcelona. The central premise of the series is that the eternal conflict between angels and demons is  largely played out on the human plane between foot-soldier armies of nephilim, the hybrid offspring of human pairings with angels or demons respectively. (The ‘nefilim’ of the series title is simply the Spanish form of ‘nephilim.’) The nefilim are not immortal, but are eternally reborn to serve in the war-without-end between heaven and hell. For this reason, the nefilim’s maxim, “Watch for me” is both invocation and prayer, farewell and blessing, but may also be a curse if spoken to an enemy or betrayer.

In Teresa Frohock’s story, begun in Los Nefilim, the cosmic conflict both mirrors and intersects Spain’s descent into Civil War. The main character, Diago, is unusual for a nephilim in that he is of both demon and angel descent, although he has chosen to serve with an angel-aligned cohort of nefilim, led by Guillermo. The other main characters include Miquel, Diago’s husband and Guillermo’s second-in-command; Rafael, Diago’s son, whose mother was also an angel; Ysa, Guillermo’s daughter and heir-apparent; and Jordi, Guillermo’s half-brother and the antagonist who wishes to usurp his leadership of the Spanish nefilim.

The Los Nefilim story continued in the first of three novels, Where Oblivion Lives, at the very outbreak of the Civil War, with the action split between Spain and (Nazi) Germany. The recently released Carved From Stone And Dream is the second of the novel trilogy and brings the reader forward six years, to 1939 and the end of the Civil War, when the Republican government’s forces are effectively defeated and fleeing Spain and the reprisals of the Nationalist (rebel) forces of General Franco.

My Thoughts On The Story

Given Where Oblivion Lives ends in 1933 and at the beginning of the Civil War I was surprised,  on reading the back cover, to learn that the Carved From Stone And Dream story had leapt over the six years of the Civil War to the Republican defeat. Huge events took place during this period so I was curious to see how Teresa would handle the time jump without suspending my disbelief (or in this case, belief 🙂 ) as a reader.

Needless to say, being Teresa she did it in masterly fashion, by means of a prologue of dispatches that swiftly bring the action from 1936 to 1939 and the flight of Republican adherents: both their troops (which include Guillermo’s Los Nefilim) and civilian refugees. I also reminded myself, in the spirit of my current worldbuilding post series on Supernatural Underground, that Los Nefilim is not about the Spanish Civil War as such. Rather, the civil conflict forms the backdrop to much of the worldbuilding, particularly the intersection of the paranormal and human worlds. But the main story is about the paranormal conflict and Diago’s endeavour to reconcile his demonic and angelic heritage. Secondarily, it’s also about the conflict between Guillermo and Jordi, with control of Los Nefilim, but increasingly the fate of the human world, at stake.

Nonetheless, the aftermath of the Civil War plays an important part in framing the paranormal story, from Diago and Guillermo’s flight through the Pyrenees, the dreadful conditions of the camp where Spanish refugees were interned in France, the often-eroded loyalties of the defeated, and the imminence of World War 2, which is this story is being orchestrated by Jordi in alliance with the German nephilim. In Carved From Stone And Dream Miquel in particular is tested by the brutality of the the fascist-aligned regime Jordi is orchestrating, as well as by the attempt to raise an army of fallen angels.

The heart of the Los Nefilim story is always the relationship between Diago and Miquel, and their relationship as parents with their son, Rafael. The latter in particular, now fourteen and on the cusp of adulthood, plays  a more prominent part in Carved From Stone And Dream with his insight into his own song (aka nefilim power) influencing a deeper understanding of Diago’s own.

When I featured the  Year Of Romance #8: Endless Love in Where Oblivion Lives post on the Supernatural Underground, I wrote that: “If challenged to come up with a single adjective to describe Diago and Miquel, the word would be “fidelity.” In Carved From Stone And Dream the quality of fidelity extends beyond their personal relationship and immediate family, to choices about where they stand and what they are prepared to do to survive the darkness of the Civil War and the about-to-break storm of World War 2.

If you’re already a Los Nefilim reader then I’m sure you’ll enjoy Carved From Stone And Dream. Publishers Weekly certainly did, awarding it a prestigious starred review. Similarly, if you like well researched, well crafted historical fantasy then I think the entire Los Nefilim series is definitely worth checking out.

As for Los Nefilim #3, like other readers of the series, I shall be watching for it. 🙂