A question I sometimes get asked is whether I always know what lies ahead for each of my characters. The answer in the best tradition of Tolkien’s elves, is both yes, and no. Or in more Kiwi parlance, “Yeah, nah.”

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The “yes” response is that sometimes I do know, absolutely, what lies ahead for a characters. On the “no” hand, however, there are cases where (in exactly the same way prophecy works in The Wall Of Night books), there may be many, or at least several potential paths for a character, depending on the way the story evolves.

I think of the story arc as being like a journey with its beginning and final destination clearly marked, and with several equally clear way stations along the route – but the best path between them can sometimes be extremely hard to find.

So for example, I had always envisaged two of the charcaters in Daughter of Blood falling in love – but they absolutely refused to do so: there was just no chemistry between them, no matter how I wrote and rewrote their scenes. All of which was something of an authorial downer, as I am sure you can imagine! 😉

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Yet in the end, as soon as I accepted that the romance was not going to happen, I realised that what was happening instead was a much better outcome for the story. As the great Ursula Le Guin has said, “…the story boat is a magic one. It knows its course. The job of the person at the helm is to help it to find its own way to wherever it’s going.”

I just had to learn to listen to the story, and/or the muses, so I could chart the right course for the book.

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It’s almost exactly a year now since Daughter of Blood was published (gasp!) and in reflecting on that I also found myself reflecting on different aspects of storytelling.

Although my stories have multi-layered plots and action forms a large part of the story, the characters are still the key to the storytelling—and nowhere more so than in Daughter of Blood. (I do hope readers agree! 😉 )

The story is all about people in relationship, although rarely so obviously as in defined familial or romantic relationships, and yet it is the network of their often near invisible connections that hold the story together.

The central character in Daughter of Blood is Kalan, and the story’s network of relationships also centre on him. He is both the companion-in-exile and a loyal adherent to Malian, the exiled Heir of Night, and it is her cause that has set him on the course he must pursue through the book.

As a result of that path, he also ends as first champion, then Captain-at-Arms, to the shy and retiring Myr, the eponymous Daughter of Blood. Their relationship, which begins in necessity, evolves through growing trust and confidence to underpin the story—as the title perhaps gives away.

But there are other relationships that are almost as important: between Kalan and Faro, a terrified orphan boy who sees Kalan as his salvation from powerful enemies, and between Myr and the ensign, Taly, who is steadfastly loyal to her cause. Yet another relationship that defines the story is Kalan’s alliance with Tirael, the scion of an enemy house, when circumstances force them to deal with each other.

Yet whether born of chance and crossed paths, necessity or circumstance, it is the threads of these relationships, spun from one character to another, that create the web of story.

The Christmas & New Year period in New Zealand (& pretty much throughout the Southern Hemisphere) is also the summer holidays so definitely time to double down on reading material when you head away.

Here are four titles I read and enjoyed while also enjoying the break.

1. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: Paranormal Fantasy; YA

I’ve read a few Maggie Stiefvater novels now and I think this may just be my favourite, although I liked The Raven Boys a lot as well. The supernatural element in The Scorpio Races are Capaill Uisce — the waterhorses of Celtic legend and I really enjoyed the coming-of-age tale Ms Stiefvater wove around them. Great worldbuilding, engaging characters, and a plot that kept me turning the pages — what more could you ask of a holiday read?

2. The Bear And the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

Genre: Folktale Retelling; YA

As indicated in my Just Arrived post last year, I was lucky enough to receive an ARC (advance reader copy) of this title, which is a YA Fantasy debut (out tomorrow, on the 17th January in fact!) based on the retelling of several Russian folktales, most particularly that of Frost and the Bear of Winter. I enjoyed the book’s delving into Russian folklore, the interweaving of history and fantasy in the story, and the strength, intelligence and determination of the heroine, Vasilisa.

3. The Other Hand by Chris Cleave (also published as Little Bee in North America)

Genre: Contemporary Realism

In September I was honoured to appear at the inaugural National Writers’ Forum (NWF) and even more honoured to meet and hear the keynote speaker, Chris Cleave. The Other Hand, aka Little Bee, is his New York Times bestselling novel about what it means to be a refugee, arguably one of the major issues of our time. The Other Hand is very well written and the subject matter compelling, but it is definitely not for the faint hearted. While not the unremittingly grim slog of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, the book nonetheless challenges the reader’s complacency and there is no happy ever after. No surprises there, though: this is realism and the book is about a refugee and the conditions that create refugees.

4. Havoc by Jane Higgins

Genre: Dystopia; YA

Way back in 2012 I was very impressed by Jane Higgins’ debut novel, The Bridge. The sequel, Havoc, came out in 2015, and it’s a case of “shame on me” that I’ve only just gotten around to reading it. I have to say, though, that the story was worth the wait. I loved the characters in the first book and they only get better in this second instalment, as does the Dystopian worldbuilding and the way the plot plays out. This is a story with gravitas, too, when it comes to the youthful protagonists making their way in a divided world. If you haven’t read it yet, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed — but definitely read The Bridge first.

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Additional Information:

I read:

i) The Scorpio Races, paperback edition, 404 pp, Scholastic 2013: purchased;

ii) The Bear And the Nightingale, ARC, 312 pp, Del Rey 2017: received via my publisher;

iii) The Other Hand, paperback edition, 374 pp, Sceptre 2009: purchased;

iv) Havoc, paperback edition, 342 pp, Text Publishing 2015, purchased.

What makes a hero?

An alternative term for epic fantasy is heroic fantasy and it’s certainly arguable that this particular type of fantasy turns on heroism. Most often, the stories centre on saving the world in one form or other and reader (and writer) discussions around the best type of stories not infrequently involve declarations of preference for good old-fashioned heroes, anti-heroes, or even outright villains as protagonist.

Outside of fiction, the term “hero” also seems to be bandied about quite freely and applied in circumstances where I question whether heroism, as opposed to good citizenship or simply doing a job one has signed up for, however well or with whatever level of integrity or dedication, makes one a hero.

So both as a member of society and a writer of epic, aka heroic, fantasy I frequently reflect on what actually makes a hero.

While not convinced that I have the definitive answer yet, I thought I’d share a few reflections today. Here are some of the qualities currently on my list:

1. There has to be a lot at stake.

The person involved has to be putting themselves on the line, potentially in terms of their life, but it could include their career (and by implication income), or acceptance in their community if espousing a view that goes against mainstream thinking (e.g “let justice be done, though the heavens fall.”)

The action/deed also has to matter, whether it is saving a life or lives at the risk of one’s own; standing up for what one knows to be right in terms of justice (e.g. whistle blowing); working for a good that is greater than one’s own personal situation or self-interest.

2. The Situation Has To be “Above and Beyond” the Norm

For example, a lifeguard rescuing someone in a swimming pool is undoubtedly a meritorious act. However, it’s not only their job, but in a swimming pool there is generally not a lot of stake, unlike a similar rescue in a flooded river or rip tide. Similarly for soldiers: service alone is not heroism; the awards for valour, such as the Victoria Cross, are given for acts above and beyond the normal call of duty, including seeing action.

A hero can be an exemplar…

3. A Hero Can Be An Exemplar But It’s Not a Prerequisite of Heroism

Heroes and  paladins are closely related concepts, a paladin being a champion who also aspires to live a virtuous life.  Perhaps because of this we often juxtapose our notions of heroism with ideas such as being role models or an exemplar of what our society values in terms of good or noble behaviour.

Often heroic acts result from decisions taken in an instant, so while aspiration may predispose individuals toward heroism, and exemplary behaviour subsequently adds to his/her heroic lustre, I don’t believe it’s a prerequisite for the accolade of “hero.” And heroic deeds are rendered no less so because the person who steps up is not a paragon in every aspect of their life.

There may be a continuum, however, because I remain unsure whether a person whose life has been given over to vice, violence, and/or crime can still be regarded as a hero despite one outstanding deed… A hero in the moment, perhaps, which is why the discussions over the relative merits of heroes or anti-heroes as protagonists in fiction continue. It may also be that some of the earlier considerations, such as someone putting themselves on the line beyond their own self-interest are what determines the answer in each circumstance.

Do Real Heroes Exist? Yes, I Believe They Do

Certainly, there is always plenty of room for reflection in terms of what makes a hero, whether in real life or in fiction. I’ve been thinking about this post for a while, but part of what sparked it now was a small article I read in The (Christchurch) Press just before Christmas, about how the last member of the US helicopter crew that stopped the My Lai massacre had died. Here’s the key excerpt:

“…Colburn was the last surviving member of a US Army helicopter crew that ended the Mai Lai massacre of March 16, 1968. Pilot Hugh Thompson landed the helicopter between unarmed villagers and American troops … and persuaded members of Charlie Company to stop shooting.”

More detailed coverage of the incident is included in the following articles and other places on line:

NY Times: Hugh Thompson, 62, Who Saved Civilians at My Lai Dies

The Guardian: Hugh Thompson Obituary

NY Times: Larry Colburn, Who Helped Stop My Thai Massacre, Dies

Were these men heroes? Yes, I believe they were by most if not all of the criteria above. Eventually they were recognised for it, but I think the outline of their story as set out in those articles illustrates Hugh Thompson’s own observation:

“Don’t do the right thing looking for a reward, because it might not come.” (AP, 2004)

Do you think the phrase “ringing in changes” arises because church bells used to be rung to mark the new year? It seems likely, but then again, what seems a likely explanation of linguistic tradition frequently turns out to be “not so.”

However, that’s not what I’m talking about today — I guess I just got a tad distracted by my love of language. 😉

On New Year’s Day, I decided not to talk about resolutions, which was partly because I was in the midst of the great visiting family & friends Christmas-New Year road trip and partly because I was feeling somewhat poorly, having contracted a bad summer cold. Consequently, I did not feel resolute at all!

In any case, I tend to be a little chary of resolutions, because I find they are honoured mostly in the breach, if at all, and so seem to be chiefly be formed in order to be broken. So rather than resolutions I would prefer to talk about my main (personal*) aspiration for 2017 and the key decisions I’ve made to support that.

My 2017 Aspiration:

My main aspiration is for 2017 to be The Year Of The Book.

I say “the book” advisedly, as opposed to “writing” since many activities fall within the general heading of writing, including penning emails and letters of all kinds, sharing recipes, tweeting, and the thing I’m doing right now, i.e. blogging — to name just a few and without being at all exclusive.

All are writing but all are equally something very different from writing books. And the reason I decided to pursue the writing path, dear readers, was because I wanted to write books — and secondarily poetry, which like the ideas for novel-length stories, is pretty much always with me. The other reason (although not entirely disconnected from the first) is because the Muses were waking me up every night to demand an explanation as to why I wasn’t writing; specifically, why I wasn’t writing books.

Recently, the Muses have resumed their midnight visits (or visitations, depending on your point of view), although this time their demands appear to be centred on MOAR books. 😉

In fact, our aspirations in this respect are completely aligned, which is why I have decided to make this the year of prioritizing the book, as opposed to any other writing (although I am quite sure poems will creep in through the cracks: they’re tricksy like that.)

So  that’s New Year’s decision number one, with any others flowing from that — like the “how to” of prioritizing the book.

Putting up the shutters & goin’ writing — 2017 style

Supporting the Year Of the Book

The main one that will affect “…on Anything, Really” readers  is that after nearly seven years of blogging — which in itself probably means it’s time for a change — I have decided to cut my commitment back to at least one, but no more than two posts per week.

I don’t want to give the blogging up altogether, because I enjoy it, but I believe that one to two posts a week will still allow me to share any writing news, host friends, do interviews from time to time, as well as continuing to share a few of my ‘terribly important thoughts’ on life, the universe and everything…

So that, dear readers, is part of The Plan to facilitate the Year of the Book.

Another is to actively seek out more opportunities for sustained periods of solitude and uninterrupted time to facilitate the creative process, so expect to see an update or two through the year, letting you know how I’m going with that.

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In the mid part of last year I posted a few thoughts on names in both my fiction and Fantasy literature generally, including my enduring love affair with the long names of the genre and the use of names in both world-building and character development.

In rereading those posts recently, I also recalled that I was specifically asked about picking names for my characters in an interview with Fresh Fiction, not long after Daughter of Blood was released (into the reading wild. 😉 )

The question was:

Fresh Fiction: “You have some amazing character names. How do you pick the perfect names for your characters?”

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In case you missed it then, here’s my answer again:

HL: I keep working on them until I get them right for the character! One of the main players in Daughter of Blood is Myr, whose full name is Myrathis, but who is also known as “Lady Mouse.” The “Mouse” part was a constant from my first creative glimpse of the character – but I had to do a great deal of writing and rewriting of the opening scene to get her full name and diminutive “just exactly right”.

Yet because Myr is a leading protagonist who appears throughout the book, as well as being a nuanced personality, I knew I had to get her name – and its character ‘flavor’ – spot on from the outset.

Sometimes, too, a name will contain a “key” to the character. For example, the nickname of “mouse” is important to the development of Myr’s character through the Daughter of Blood arc. And the name of the Wall series’ main character, Malian, is based on a Greek root: “mal”, meaning “dark” – and it is not chance that Malian is also the Heir of Night.

As for Raven, whom another character calls “the Raven of Battle”, I hope his name speaks for itself … In short, a great deal of thought does go into the character names, not least because I find it helps the story to ‘flow.’ “

To read the interview in full, click on:

Fresh Take: Meet Helen Lowe

To check out those other posts on names, click on:

Use Of Names: Worldbuilding, Part 1 — The Wall Of Night Series

Use Of Names: Worldbuilding, Part 2 — Thornspell

Use Of Names: Character & Identity — When Names Have Deeper Meanings

Having Fun With Epic Fantasy: My Love Affair with Long Names, Part 1

Having Fun With Epic Fantasy: My Love Affair With Long Names, Part 2

People here (in Nu Zild) not infrequently comment on the fact that The Wall of Night books are epic fantasy and set in an alternative world, as well as being published overseas to boot, so in that sense are not really New Zealand stories. To which I reply (in classic Kiwi style): “Now hold on a minute, mate. These are books written in New Zealand, by a New Zealand born and bred author – you can’t get much more “homegrown” than that!”

I would also argue that there is plenty of New Zealand in my writing, only in a subtle way, rather than stamping every page – metaphorically speaking – with buzzy bees and No. 8 wire.

As proof of my point, here are five fun examples of Aotearoa influences woven into The Wall of Night series.

Block and tor mountains

Landscape – what could be more New Zealand, after all, than a braided river and a block and tor mountain range, with wild thyme growing underfoot and slopes covered in “scrambling green” (sweetbriar) and “dark twisting thorn scrub” (matagouri). Anyone who has crossed a Canterbury river or spent time in Central Otago will recognise their influences when the main characters in The Heir of Night (the first book in The Wall of Night series) cross into the region known as “Jaransor.”

Moko – in the second book in the series, The Gathering of the Lost, one of the secondary characters, Solaan, is “a short, dark woman with a spiral of blue tattoos across chin and cheeks.”

Admittedly, many countries and cultures have tattooing traditions, but I think this particular depiction owes at least a little to Aotearoa and tā moko.

Note: Aotearoa (Land of the Long White Cloud) is the Maori name for 
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Tokotoko – Mistress Ise, a secondary character in the newly released Daughter of Blood, uses a walking stick that has “mother-of-pearl eyes set into the knotted head.”

Now that particular walking stick might not have been influenced by the Maori orator’s tokotoko, now also associated with NZ’s Poets Laureate – but of course it was.

The tokotoko featured is from the collection of Te Papa Tongarewa, Museum of New Zealand

Taiaha – I myself missed this particular influence, which first manifested in The Heir of Night, until my Daughter of Blood copyeditor questioned my description of a spear having a “leaf-shaped blade with its collar of black, shining feathers.” (The feathers were the problem, not the spearhead.) So I sent him an image of a taiaha – and an assegai, as it happens. However, since I am a Kiwi gal and have never been to Africa or assegai country, I think it fair to cite the taiaha as the influence.

from Te Ara The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Admittedly, it is only a very slight influence as the spear in the Wall series is not a taiaha. Nonetheless, I was very sure of my ground when it came to the possibility of a spear being decorated with feathers. And although the black feathers might have come from a raven or a crow, the influence on my imagination could equally well have been the blue-black sheen of tui plumage, or the decorative significance of huia feathers in Maori tradition.

“A Woman’s Destiny” – the first Science Fiction novel written in New Zealand is held to be Sir Julius Vogel’s Anno Domini 2000: A Woman’s Destiny (1889). The premise of the book is that women have achieved suffrage and gone on to hold major positions of authority in politics, law and industry. So it is perhaps fitting that one of the observations frequently made about The Wall of Night series is the number, prominence, and variety of women characters and the matter-of-fact gender equality of the main Derai society. From Sir Julius Vogel in the nineteenth century to Helen Lowe in the twenty first, it’s nice to know that I’m writing speculative fiction in the Kiwi tradition – and exporting it to the world.

So the next time someone says to me “not really New Zealand stories” I shall reply: “Yeah, right. Get off the grass!”

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This post first appeared on the blog of Karen McMillan on 7 March 2016.

… & here are some photos from one of my favourite gardens, The Giant’s House in Akaroa. Enjoy!

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Happy New Year, my friends.

I have a January 1 post up on the Supernatural Underground, in which I marry the real life and epic fantasy traditions of “road trip” — with photos, no less. A spot o’ fun for the first day of the year, which you can check out via the following link:

Happy New Year, Supernatural Undergrounders

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And a nice bit of news that came through on the tail end of the old year was that Daughter of Blood made Fantasy Literature.com’s Best Books of 2016 list — very exciting and added some gloss to my New Year’s Eve. 🙂

Fantasy Literature: Our Favorite Books Of 2016 — & Giveaway

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Enjoy the rest of your New Year holiday.

It’s the time of year for lists and I can think of no better day to share the Top 10 posts that featured here  “…on Anything, Really” this year.

To mix things up a bit year I’m listing them chronologically, so I hope you have fun with that. 🙂

Now, here’s that list.

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The 10 Most-Read Posts of “…On Anything Really”, 2016:

1. January 26 — Here At Last: Let’s Welcome Daughter of Blood!

Now, that was a moment: so glad it made it into the “most-read” list for the year. 😉

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2. February 5 — Daughter Of Blood: Deleted Scene — Malian & Raven In Aralorn

Delighted, too, that some of you wanted moar!
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3. February 23 — Leaving The Red Zone: Poems from the Canterbury Earthquakes — An Anthology Edited by James Norcliffe & Joanna Preston

I felt honoured to have work (poems) included in this very important publication.
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Guy Gavriel Kay

4. July 4 — An Interview with Guy Gavriel Kay

Yes, doing that interview was definitely a ‘moment’, as I am a longtime fan of the great GGK.
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KimFalconer

5. July 21 — Guest Post: Kim Falconer on “Narrative Point Of View”

Kim’s guest post was part of her blog tour celebrating publication of The Blood in the Beginning — and her insights into narrative point of view appear to have rocked “…on Anything, Really” readers’ world. Great stuff!
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6. August 1 — Trees in Fantasy Fiction

Trees were something of a theme this year, but this post put them into a Fantasy context. So glad you all seem to have enjoyed the exercise.
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Kristen Blount

7. August 12: The Wall of Night Character Series: Kristen Blount Features Raven

This series arose from a mystery giveaway I did here on the blog — and decided to let everyone who entered be a winner. (Why not?) Readers seem to have felt Kristen Blount’s guest post on Ser Raven, International Man of Mystery, was a winner, too. 🙂
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8. August 27 — Use of Names, Part 2: Character and Identity — When Names Have Deeper Meanings

This post was part of a Use of Names post series (or mini series) but although its fellow instalments were popular this is the one that seems to have really struck a chord.

9. October 20 — The 50th Anniversary of Dune & Why It’s Still Significant

Invoking the title, Dune, is probably a case of “enough said.” But although the actual 50th anniversary was last year (2015), I wanted to expand a little on why I think the book remains significant and still speaking to us, 50 years after it was first published.
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Paul Weimer

10. December 8 — An Avid Reader Special: Paul Weimer’s Top 5 Reads of 2015

It’s always a thrill when a blog contributor makes the Top 10 & ‘three times counts for all’ — so I’m delighted that Paul’s Top 5 SFF reads of 2016 have found favour with readers. A post that well repays the investment of your reading time if you havena read it already.

Enjoy — both the list above and your New Year’s Eve!