.<\/span>
\nTheme 1: Matters Pertaining to The Wall Of Night Book Four Progress & Updates<\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/FantasyHive_HelenLoweFEATURE_image-300x218.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
A theme that is both gratifying and also something of a “gulp” moment for the author, given this manuscript is an epic journey in itself! The posts that really caught your interest were:<\/p>\n
1. March 29 — <\/strong>For The Wall Of Night\u2019s UK & Commonwealth Readers: Book #4 (The Chaos Gate) Will Be Available To You!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nThis post arose when it came to my attention that questions had arisen around the availability of The Wall Of Night<\/strong><\/a> Book #4 (The Chaos Gate<\/em>) in the UK & Commonwealth. As a result I was able to answer a number of questions readers were asking around that. These clarifications still remain valid.<\/p>\n2. April 5 — <\/strong>As Promised, A \u201cThe Wall Of Night\u201d Book #4 (The Chaos Gate) Update<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nAs promised on March 29, I followed a week later with a WALL #4 progress update. The rest, I believe\/hope, is self-explanatory. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n
3. May 24 — Tweet O’ The Week, for WALL Readers \ud83d\ude42<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nThe tweet in question was the newsflash that Malian had reached “the” Chaos Gate — for which book #4 is currently named and a sign that the story is surely and steadily, if not as swiftly as we all would like, drawing toward its close.<\/p>\n
4. July 22 — The Wall of Night Book #4 (The Chaos Gate) Update (July)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nIn which I was able to share that the writing had reached the cusp between the endgame setup for the book and the denouement for both that and the WALL series, while also noting that some rejigging of the setup material was required.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Helen_Lowe_TWON_fan_495w-300x224.png\")
\n<\/em><\/span><\/p>\nTheme 2: The 10th Anniversary of the February 22nd, 2011 Christchurch Earthquake — & “The Sparrows”<\/em><\/span><\/h3>\nIn many ways it feels extraordinary that a decade has passed since 2011 and the earthquakes that destroyed lives, homes, and swathes of my home city of Christchurch (while leaving other areas largely unscathed.) I spoke of some of the effects of those events and their aftermath in a post titled “Faultline.”<\/p>\n
Yet the reason, I believe, that “…on Anything, Really”<\/em><\/a> got so much attention during that time was because NZ’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, concluded her commemorative speech by quoting from a poem I wrote in 2011, titled The Sparrows<\/em>.<\/p>\nThe speech was quoted in full and part in media throughout the world, and the UK’s The Guardian<\/em> newspaper linked to my blog and the poem. A sequence of events that is reflected in the year’s most-read statistics.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/PM_Feb-22_Nat-Remembrance-Day_2-300x203.png\")
PM Ardern & “The Sparrows”<\/p><\/div>\n
5. August 2, 2011 —\u00a0 Tuesday Poem — The Sparrows<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nThis is the version of The Sparrows<\/em> that The Guardian newspaper linked to, so although published in 2011, it definitely garnered some attention again this year.<\/p>\n6. February 22nd — <\/strong>Faultline: My Decade From February 22nd, 2011<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nIn this post, I endeavoured to both commemorate the events of February 22nd and chart the aftermath and effects on myself, over the subsequent decade.<\/p>\n
7. February 25: The Prime Minister\u2019s February 22nd National Remembrance Speech & \u201cThe Sparrows\u201d<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nIn which I talked about the poem and the PM quoting from it in her speech, and how I felt about it all…<\/p>\n
![\"Leaving](\"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Leaving-the-Red-Zone-208x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
.<\/span>
\nTheme 3: The “Having Fun With Epic Fantasy Tropes” Series<\/em><\/span><\/h3>\nI posted this series from 2018 through to 2020 (and there may still be a post or to in it: we’ll see!) and it’s proven enduringly popular, so much so that two posts were still in the top 10 most-read posts for this year, with another one, plus a direct spinoff,\u00a0 in the Top 15. So I’m guessing people are getting something out of them!<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Aragorn_Not-This-Day-300x240.jpg\")
Aragorn & Anduril<\/p><\/div>\n
The two posts in the top 10 are:<\/p>\n
8. July 23, 2018 — We’re All Going On A MacGuffin Hunt<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nMacGuffins are objects or devices that motivate characters, both protagonists and antagonists, to undertake the actions that comprise the story. In most cases, particularly in Fantasy, this involves some sort of hunt or search\u2014aka the quest-journey.<\/p>\n
And the rest is history, but traversing it makes for considerable blog enjoyment. \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nThis post arose when it came to my attention that questions had arisen around the availability of The Wall Of Night<\/strong><\/a> Book #4 (The Chaos Gate<\/em>) in the UK & Commonwealth. As a result I was able to answer a number of questions readers were asking around that. These clarifications still remain valid.<\/p>\n 2. April 5 — <\/strong>As Promised, A \u201cThe Wall Of Night\u201d Book #4 (The Chaos Gate) Update<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n As promised on March 29, I followed a week later with a WALL #4 progress update. The rest, I believe\/hope, is self-explanatory. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n 3. May 24 — Tweet O’ The Week, for WALL Readers \ud83d\ude42<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n The tweet in question was the newsflash that Malian had reached “the” Chaos Gate — for which book #4 is currently named and a sign that the story is surely and steadily, if not as swiftly as we all would like, drawing toward its close.<\/p>\n 4. July 22 — The Wall of Night Book #4 (The Chaos Gate) Update (July)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n In which I was able to share that the writing had reached the cusp between the endgame setup for the book and the denouement for both that and the WALL series, while also noting that some rejigging of the setup material was required.<\/p>\n In many ways it feels extraordinary that a decade has passed since 2011 and the earthquakes that destroyed lives, homes, and swathes of my home city of Christchurch (while leaving other areas largely unscathed.) I spoke of some of the effects of those events and their aftermath in a post titled “Faultline.”<\/p>\n Yet the reason, I believe, that “…on Anything, Really”<\/em><\/a> got so much attention during that time was because NZ’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, concluded her commemorative speech by quoting from a poem I wrote in 2011, titled The Sparrows<\/em>.<\/p>\n The speech was quoted in full and part in media throughout the world, and the UK’s The Guardian<\/em> newspaper linked to my blog and the poem. A sequence of events that is reflected in the year’s most-read statistics.<\/p>\n PM Ardern & “The Sparrows”<\/p><\/div>\n 5. August 2, 2011 —\u00a0 Tuesday Poem — The Sparrows<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n This is the version of The Sparrows<\/em> that The Guardian newspaper linked to, so although published in 2011, it definitely garnered some attention again this year.<\/p>\n 6. February 22nd — <\/strong>Faultline: My Decade From February 22nd, 2011<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n In this post, I endeavoured to both commemorate the events of February 22nd and chart the aftermath and effects on myself, over the subsequent decade.<\/p>\n 7. February 25: The Prime Minister\u2019s February 22nd National Remembrance Speech & \u201cThe Sparrows\u201d<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n In which I talked about the poem and the PM quoting from it in her speech, and how I felt about it all…<\/p>\n I posted this series from 2018 through to 2020 (and there may still be a post or to in it: we’ll see!) and it’s proven enduringly popular, so much so that two posts were still in the top 10 most-read posts for this year, with another one, plus a direct spinoff,\u00a0 in the Top 15. So I’m guessing people are getting something out of them!<\/p>\n Aragorn & Anduril<\/p><\/div>\n The two posts in the top 10 are:<\/p>\n 8. July 23, 2018 — We’re All Going On A MacGuffin Hunt<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n MacGuffins are objects or devices that motivate characters, both protagonists and antagonists, to undertake the actions that comprise the story. In most cases, particularly in Fantasy, this involves some sort of hunt or search\u2014aka the quest-journey.<\/p>\n And the rest is history, but traversing it makes for considerable blog enjoyment. \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n
\n<\/em><\/span><\/p>\nTheme 2: The 10th Anniversary of the February 22nd, 2011 Christchurch Earthquake — & “The Sparrows”<\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/p>\n.<\/span>
\nTheme 3: The “Having Fun With Epic Fantasy Tropes” Series<\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/GatheringofLost_New_USA-188x300.jpg\")
.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Haarth-FB-Group-300x238.png\")
<\/p>\n