Friday, May 16, 2025

The Art of Adaptation - Fantasy Monsters Part 1


Theresa Konigseder Haller dark-fae-finalSee full size image

 

Hello Sup readers and writers,

Let me introduce you to today's topic in the Art of Adaptation series. It's all about Monsters!

In Fantasy Fiction, there are many kinds of 'evil' antagonistic creatures: classic monsters reimaged, new monsters with historical twists, and monsters from cultures beyond our familiar Western tropes. Through these creatures, we explore the physicality and psychology of our darkest nightmares and how they have adapted and changed over time. 

Classic Monsters


Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is often cited as the first published SF/horror story. Exploring themes of humanity, divinity, power and abuse, it has been frequently reimaged. the results are everything from the comedic Young Frankenstein film by Mel Brooks to Pádraig Kenny's middle-grade read, Stitch

One of our own Sup authors, Merrie Destefano, has written an entire series in this theme, starting with book #1, Shade.

A dangerous holiday. A deadly curse brought to life.

When Mary Wollstonecroft Godwin accepted an invitation to Lord Byron's house party deep in the Swiss Alps, she hoped it would serve as a welcome distraction from her broken heart. Instead, she finds herself surrounded by enigmatic guests with their own dangerous secrets to hide....

Another classic monster is seen in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, an 1886 Gothic horror novella by  Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of bizarre occurrences between his old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and a murderous criminal named Edward Hyde. 

I think we are all familiar with at least one of the modern-day spinoffs, The Incredible Hulk. But this powerful monster has adapted to new motivations triggered by emotions. Through rage, he becomes incredibly powerful, but unlike the murdering Hyde, he often tries to help or protect others. 

Vampires Revissioned

The classic origin of vampires is usually cited as Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, Dracula. Here we see a hideous, ravenous monster, as portrayed in the film Nosferatu, but slowly, over time, a transformation in these creatures is occurring. The image of the vampire, still wicked and powerful, is now the alluring and attractive creatures of The Vampire Diaries and The Southern Vampire Mysteries

In more examples, four of our own Sup authors have contributed to the expanding genre with an anthology titled Supernatural Underground, Vampires Gone Wild! Have you read it?

A deeper dive into this relationship between readers, writers and vampires is HERE in The Evolution of the Vampire. One of the more intriguing aspects is ... not so much of the monsters themselves, but of our relationship to them. We don’t see evil like we used to! - From Vampire Evolution - 2011

The Fae and Other Forest Creatures

From Pixies to the Unseelie Court, books featuring Fae - revisioned or otherwise -  are extremely popular. Originally, we meet this brand of Fantasy creatures in the 1697 "Tales of Mother Goose," by Charles Perrault. It includes familiar stories like "Little Red Riding Hood," "Cinderella," and "Puss in Boots." 

Perrault's work was followed in 1812 by Grimms' Fairy Tales, which included stories like "Hansel and Gretel," "Rapunzel," and "Snow White". 

Many of these Fae from ancient folklore were dangerous, deadly so, but modern adaptations see them differently. Still risky and highly mercurial, contemporary Fae have something akin to a human heart. Consider Holly Blacks Folk of the Air, and Seanan McGuire's "Every Heart a Doorway.

Our own Helen Lowe began her Fantasy Fiction career with the publication of Thornspell - a reimaging of Sleeping Beauty from the point of view of the prince!

Further Shores - Dragons East and West

Chinese Dragon VS Western Dragon: Here's What You Need To Know

When dragons take the form of East or West, they split our cultural psychologies in half. They used to, anyway. Nowadays, you know when you are face to face with a Dragon, but you may not know what kind it is - one that brings the best day of your life, or the worst.

For example, Eastern dragons are benevolent, representing good luck and prosperity, a rain deity to be honoured, while Western dragons are commonly depicted as fire-breathing, treasure-hording, Smaug-like, destructive monsters that must be slayed. 

But contemporary storytelling in the West is changing as our dragons adapt to a more blended representation. Anne McCaffrey dedicated her life, intentionally or not, to this cause with her 25 volumes of Dragon Riders of Pern


Where to begin? Anne McCaffrey's first novel is Dragonflight 

In this world, dragons bond telepathically with a single human when they hatch, and then the pair spends their lives together protecting the planet from deadly Thread that falls from the sky. Those growing up with, or even reading her books for the first time, experience a new dragon psychology that is warmer, yet challenging, empowering, but full of risks. 


Compare this to the novels released in the last few decades featuring Eastern Dragons, such as Alison Goodman's Eon and Eona. Can you feel the adaptations, in both directions?


If you are drawn to a specific type of 'monster', I would love to hear about it! 

And, be sure to check back next month for part 2 in the Art of Adaptation - Fantasy Monsters

:) Kim

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Other Posts in the Art of Adaptation 2025


February - The Art of Adaptation - Authors' Response to External Pressures

March - The Art of Adaptation - The Healing Magic of KDrama

April - The Art of Adaptation -  Reader Persuasion

May - The Art of Adaptation - Fantasy Monsters Part 1

June - The Art of Adaptation - Fantasy Monsters Part 2

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About Kim Falconer 


Kim Falconer, also writing as AK Wilder, has released Crown of Bones, a YA Epic Fantasy with Curse of Shadows as book 2 in the series. Currently, she is ready with the third book, out in 2025. TBA

Kim can be found on AKWilder.com, TwitterFacebookInstagram and KimFalconer.com

Throw the bones on the AKWilder.com site.. See you there!


Tuesday, May 13, 2025

From The Backlist: "Sex, Gore, and @!*&%! " by Dakota Banks

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Here on Supernatural Underground we love us a backlist post -- and we think you'll love a reprise on "Sex, Gore, and @!*&%! " by Dakota Banks

In it, Dakota takes 'a step to the right' (or maybe it's 'a jump to the left', he-he) on our core speculative fiction fare (SciFi, Fantasy, Horror, with more than a little Paranormal and Romance thrown in ;-) ) and hones in on the Mystery genre.

The "ratings" classifications of Mystery fiction, that is, based on their violence, sex, and bad/gory language content. Let's go check it out!
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Sex, Gore, and @!*&%!

by Dakota Banks

"In the mystery genre, there are general classifications that readers assign to books based on their use of violence, sex, and language--just like rating movies. Some readers are comfortable only within the classification that appeals to them and rarely read beyond it. Others, like me, sample from all parts of the buffet table. Let's take a look at these classifications and see if they apply to paranormal books, too.

  • Fluffies. These books drip wholesomeness, except for the fact that someone is murdered. Otherwise, they couldn't be considered murder mysteries at all. But the murder is sanitized and happens off-stage. For example, someone might get a phone call from the police informing them that Aunt Helen is (gasp!) dead. There is not even a hint of foul language and the only blood in the book will be there from the paper cut you got turning the pages. Fluffies are a fairly recent invention, created as a backlash when readers of the next classification of books started noticing language creeping in that made them uncomfortable. Thus, the fluffy was born. Guaranteed no encounters of the sex, violence, and foul-mouthed varieties. G-rated movies.

  • Cozies. Light on all three aspects. These stories frequently take place in small towns, or if not, within an extended family. The emphasis on character development and especially relationships among a group of people are the controlling aspects of the story. Again, the murder usually happens off-stage and the mystery may involve something like keeping family secrets or falsifying the will. PG movies.

  • Traditional. Now we get to mysteries with real meat on their bones, literally. While the murder might or might not still happen off-stage, the reader gets to see the dead body or bodies through the eyes of the lead character. The reader may see other characters in the book killed on-stage besides the initial murder. There may be couples having sex, but in a "fadeout" manner where the door closes or the blankets are pulled up just when things are getting really interesting. No lengthy specific descriptions of what's going on under those blankets. Language has slipped into usage of common curse words, and only the f-word is off limits. Or is it? Some of these books use the f-word in non-sexual ways as a strong expletive or something that is consistent with a particular character's manner of speech. These are generally the amateur sleuth books, where a character outside law enforcement becomes involved in a murder investigation, possibly to prove herself innocent of the murder. PG-13 movies.

  • Hard-boiled. Language, violence, and sex are explicit but according the author's standards, not used for sensationalism. Subject matter such as serial killers, rape, pedophilia, human trafficking, gangs, kinkiness, drugs, the whole range of the human condition--anything goes. Language can be coarse, bloody violence is shown to the reader, and hot sex is usually part of the story. The protagonists are usually people within law enforcement in some capacity, or private investigators--in other words, a small segment of society that fights to keep the rest of us safe. R movies.

  • Splatter books or erotica--Language has no restriction in either of these books. Splatter books detail scenes of bloody violence and torture that amount to wallowing in blood, which is the purpose of the book. Erotica emphasizes explicit, frequent, unusual, whatever, sex to the point that other story elements exist to support the portrayal of sex. X-rated movies or soft porn.
As I mentioned earlier, some mystery readers are loyal to one classification. Some will read only cozies, some hard-boiled readers think cozies are a waste of time and not real mysteries. You get the idea.
... "

To read the original post, click here.

To check in on Dakota, go here.

She also writes as Shirley Kennett, here.

Friday, May 2, 2025

Great Leaders in Speculative Fiction #4 -- John Aversin & "Dragonsbane"

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Just squeaking in under the wire here, but made it for May 2 -- phew! And am stoked to be featuring post #4 in the Great Leaders of Speculative Fiction series.

This month we're back to Fantasy with the legendary John Aversin, from Barbara Hambly's Dragonsbane.  

I always think of John Aversin as a fairly ordinary kind of guy, at face value. He is the local, and only, ruler left in what was once the northernmost province of an empire. The Winterlands province has been abandoned and the inhabitants left to fend for themselves for over a century. No light matter, when the fending off involves regular raiding by barbarian tribes, the return of demons and monsters as the population dwindles, and the brutalization of that human population as dangers, poverty, and deprivation deepen.

As the local lord, it falls to John Aversin to organise, equip, and lead the local militia against these threats and maintain the rule of law, thereby supporting the local community and sustaining civilization. All of which he does, from a commitment to the aforementioned civilization and the rule of law, and because if he didn't, all those seeking to maintain those values in the Winterlands would perish. 

So-o, just another smalltime, local lord, abandoned by the world's great powers and fighting a losing battle, so doomed to be forgotten by history. That's one way the story could go. Except that John Aversin has a claim to fame that has spread beyond the Winterlands -- because he has slain a dragon, something that is notoriously difficult to do. And completely impossible, as Jenny Waynest, the local witch, puts it, if the knight tries to take: 

"...a three-foot steel blade against twenty-five feet of (airborne) spiked and flaming death."

Needless to say, John hasn't done anything nearly that stupid. Consequently, he is the only living Dragonsbane, aka successful dragonkiller. So when a dragon (Morkeleb the Black) infests the capital city of the Kingdom of Belmarie, the crown prince (Gareth) seeks out John Aversin, to ride to the south and slay it. Initially, John has no intention of going, since as he points out to Gareth, he is the Winterlands' only knight and military leader, whereas the king has hundreds at his command. 

Although my summary is just the beginning of the story, I hope it's already clear why I consider John Aversin one of the great leaders of speculative fiction. First and foremost, he lives his commitment to his people, the values of civilization, and the rule of law, and puts himself at continual hazard to uphold those values. It is, in fact, the only reason he fought the dragon.

It's also the reason he does eventually go south to take on Morkeleb the Black -- because Gareth promises him, in the king's name, that if he does, then Belmarie will re-establish civil government in the Winterlands, and send the soldiers necessary to defend them. So once again, John will hazard himself to secure a future for his people.

When he (and Jenny) reach the capital, however, they find a court far from universally supportive of Gareth's mission. Worse, some factions are prepared to tolerate the dragon's depredations (devouring, destroying, and burning) in order to further their acquisition of wealth and power. John, therefore, rather than being welcomed and helped, finds his reputation disputed and his appearance and speech mocked. He is also hindered at every turn.

What makes John a great leader is that despite the baiting, verbal abuse, and obstacles put in his way, he continues to place the larger mission and the Winterlands' wellbeing ahead of personal affront. He also, despite his rough northern speech and patched armor, exemplifies the behavior of a true knight and person of honor, by defending the refugees that the dragon has forced into the city, including those of nonhuman species, who are being falsely accused of summoning the dragon and persecuted accordingly.  

Defending the weak and persecuted might just make John Aversin a hero. The reason I believe it also makes him a great leader, is because he is capable of convincing others to emulate the behavior he models. And because in doing so, he is motivated by the same values and vision that led him to slay the first dragon and be prepared to fight the second -- the commitment to civilized behaviour, the rule of law, and the wellbeing, primarily of the Winterlands community (his people), but also of all people.

So yes, when it comes to great leaders of speculative fiction, John Aversin is not only right up there. He rocks. 

~*~

About Helen Lowe

Helen Lowe is an award-winning novelist, poet, and lover of story. With four books published to date, she is currently completing the final instalment in The Wall Of Night series.
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Helen posts regularly on her 
“…on Anything, Really” blog, monthly on the Supernatural Underground, and tweets @helenl0we.


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Thursday, April 24, 2025

From the Backlist - What's in a Blurb

 

A desperate prince… a castle full of lies… and an ancient shapeshifter trapped in the form of a human girl. Mistwood by Leah Cypress

Hello to all Sup readers! Today, from the Backlist, we are looking at the topic of BLURBS. Though the contest is long over from this April 28, 2011 post by Leah Cypess, the question remains. Do book blurbs make a difference?

NOTE - For those interested in the history of book blurbs:

In 1907the writer and illustrator Gelett Burgess decided to satirise the practice of putting women on the cover of books, whether they were about women or not. He put a sickly sweet fictional girl named Miss Belinda Blurb his new release, “Are you Bromide?” to incite sales. His plan worked, or back-fired (not sure which) when Bromide sold so well that the term Book Blurb was popularized and all future books included one on the back cover. 

Miss Belinda Book Blurb (1907) from Buried Under Books


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What's In A Blurb 

by Leah Cypess

. . . Blurbs make an author feel good (trust me), but the constant question in publishing is: Do they actually have any effect on the reader? What I’ve heard from some people is that the answer is age dependent – in adult publishing, the consensus is that blurbs do affect readers; in YA, probably not to a great extent; and in mid-grade, probably not at all. 

Of course, as with most information in publishing, this is based on a strenuous and scientific review of five pieces of anecdotal evidence. So, I’m curious: do blurbs affect your buying decisions? Will they make you look at a book more closely? Do you even notice them?

Let us know what you think in the comments . . . Read the whole post and fascinating comments ..

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What is your take on Blurbs? Read them? Love them? Distrust them?

Let us know!


 

Monday, April 21, 2025

The Art of Adaptation - Reader Persuasion

What have we learned?
Riot says Farewell to Arcane in a Hauntingly Romantic Music Video 

Hello everyone! 

Welcome to another instalment of The Art of Adaptation in the written and spoken word. Today, we explore how the reader might adapt to the story world based on the author's ability to persuade... in other words, how the author might push readers out of their comfort zone and into new experiences and perspectives.

Can stories really do this? Cause us to change our attitudes in real life?

The answer is yes, they can!

Simply put, storytelling has the potential to effect change through a technique called narrative persuasion

What is Narrative Persuasion?


Current research on storytelling and its functional role in human experience, including how people use media to interrogate their own beliefs and feelings, shows that they can glean social meaning from books, film, TV series and games. (For a deeper dive, check out DillShackleford, K. E on the social psychology of our engagement with fictional narrative and its functional value. (2016) 

But for this phenomenon to occur, it must begin with the writer persuading the reader/viewer of the story world's truth. If successful, it may open the way to new or different responses to familiar, and possibly blocked,  situations. In this case, the reader adapts to the author's Narrative Persuasion by believing in and immersing in the story.

How?

Narrative Persuasion is an art in and of itself. Through storytelling (the narrative), readers/viewers are coaxed toward a fresh or alternate perspective, or at least the possibility that one might exist. In this process, it may be the fictional characters that have the greatest impact. Still, it takes a certain style of writing to bring them to life for the reader.

Generally, pounding the reader with exposition, info-dumping their way to justification of a new idea or alternate response doesn't work. Instead, narrative persuasion invites us to immerse ourselves in the story, and by doing so, bond deeply with the characters.

And as our favourite characters believe, so too may we.

Take the multi-layered metaphors played out through the characters in Persuasion by Jane Austen. First, society persuades Anne Elliot to betray her love interest, Frederick Wentworth. Through his deep love of the sea, he persuades himself to accept her rejection and move on. But, the results for Anne are miserable, and eventually both Anne and Frederick are persuaded yet again to give their love another chance. 

Through the experience of sympathising with this fictional couple, we may also be persuaded to change our own worldview, just like the cinematic characters in the film The Jane Austen Book Club. Played by Marc Blucas (the disenchanted husband who has given up on his marriage), and Emily Blunt (his wife, a high school French Teacher who has fallen for one of her students) becomes a persuasion, within a persuasion, within a persuasion!

Marc Blucas and Emily Blunt in The Jane Austen Book Club (2007)

In the plot thread of the film, we see the estranged couple try to love again while reading Austen's book.  As a reader/viewer, it is hard not to adapt to Austen's, and screenwriters Robin Swicord and Karen Joy Fowler's, persuasive writing as we follow the characters deeper into the story until they find renewed love.

Creating Engagement is Key


Persuasion stems from engagement and connection.

In the paper, Connecting the Dots between fantasy and reality we find that the main ingredient to identifying with the characters is the ability to get lost in a story. From the perspective of immersion in another world, the narrative persuasion urges us to adapt, changing our attitudes, beliefs, and even behavioural intentions to match the story world characters', if we are moved to do so.

This process relies on creating engaging narratives, well-developed characters, and emotional resonance to reduce resistance and increase acceptance of information and viewpoints. For example, consider how Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness has influenced our adaptation to changing personal pronouns over the last decades. (Even though the use of the non-binary they reaches back to Geoffrey Chaucer's 14th-century Canterbury Tales, the popular usage is recent.) It all pivots around our ability to relate to narrative.

Media psychologists use terms to describe this feeling of absorption and connection in a narrative with words like transportation, engagement, flow and presence.  I particularly like the term participation mystiquea process of interconnection where the definitive disappears, creating a spiritual experience or 'truth' within the story and its characters.

How is it done?

There are standard lists of advice for creating believable, engaging characters that can be persuasive. It begins with giving them goals, flaws, challenges and often some kind of secret.

In Delirium by Lauren Oliver, we find an engaging narrative, a YA novel that exemplifies a story of intimate telling that is 

1) easy to immerse in
2) provides a main character we can root for
3) is written in a persuasive form that touches on contemporary issues without excess exposition. 

Delirium offers a chance for readers to expand their world view of their own accord, without being told how or when to do so. 

The book has conventional chapters but uses epigraphs to portray our hero, Lena's, progressively adapting perspective. In a world that treats love as an illness, we follow her slow-boil rebellion with increasing sympathy. Here is an example below:


 Chapter One

The most dangerous sicknesses are those that make us believe we are well.
-Proverb 42, The Book of Shhh


As the story progresses in the deeply personal POV of the first person present, it's easy to become so immersed that we feel what happens to Lena is happening to us. When that occurs, the narrative persuasion succeeds. We no longer question the truth of the story world, but begin, outside of reading time, to question the truth of our own sanctioned beliefs. 

Concluding Thoughts


Have you read a book recently or seen a film that changed your worldview? Have you adapted to narrative persuasion and felt, in retrospect,  changed by it?

We'd love to hear your thoughts!

Meanwhile, all the Best for the Holiday Season!

:) Kim

***

About Kim Falconer 


Kim Falconer, also writing as AK Wilder, has released Crown of Bones, a YA Epic Fantasy with Curse of Shadows as book 2 in the series. Currently, she is ready with the third book, out in 2025. TBA

Kim can be found on AKWilder.com, TwitterFacebookInstagram and KimFalconer.com

Throw the bones on the AKWilder.com site.. See you there!






Sunday, April 13, 2025

From The Backlist: "Book Addicts Anonymous" by Kerrelyn Sparks

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I think we're all book addicts here -- right? Right!

But here's the great Kerrelyn Sparks on that very subject:

"I love to read, and that love led me to writing. I love the whole business of books so much that I get swamped. One time I was so engrossed in writing that I got a phone call from the elementary school. School had let out twenty minutes earlier, and I'd forgotten to pick up my daughter! How embarrassing! Luckily, my daughter never held it against me. She understood, because she already loved books, too. Fellow readers understand the addiction... and the consequences. Supper gets burned. You go to work after a measly two hours of sleep."

Hard to beat, huh?! 

To read the full post-of-awesome (from our equally awesome backlist) click here.

And to catch up on Kerrelyn's books-and-writing latest, go here.

Enjoy!! 

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Great Leaders in Speculative Fiction #3 -- Pyanfar Chanur & "The Pride of Chanur"

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Roll up, roll up, 'tis time for Instalment #3 in the great leaders of Fantasy and Science Fiction series.

If I'm being true to the theme, it's very very difficult indeed to go past Pyanfar Chanur, from CJ Cherryh's now-classic Chanur series.

The opening standalone is The Pride of Chanur, on which today's post is chiefly based, but I believe my comments apply equally to the subsequent trilogy: Chanur's Venture, The Kif Strike Back, and Chanur's Homecoming. The fifth novel, Chanur's Legacy, is a spinoff that follows another member of the spacefaring Chanur clan. 

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As you've probably gathered from the covers, Pyanfar Chanur is not human. She's a Hani, from a lion-like race where (in pride fashion) only females go into space, to trade and deal with a range of other species, some oxygen, and others methane breathers. Collectively, they call their space system Compact space. 

The Pride story starts when Pyanfar's ship (the titular Pride of Chanur) is docked at Meetpoint station, where an unknown creature is loose on the docks. Hani and spacer practice is to mind one's own business and leave well alone, but Pyanfar and her crew's luck is out, because the stray makes a determined incursion into their loading bay, then the ship itself.



The stray turns out to be a human being, a species previously unknown in Compact space. Tully was a crew member on an exploration vessel that was pirated by another species called the Kif, who are inclined to raiding, kidnap, and torture. Tully is the final survivor and has managed to escape, but the Kif want him back and are prepared to go to any lengths to get him. 

Dockside skirmishes, interstellar pursuits, and space battles ensue, because this is space opera at its finest, and Pyanfar and her five Hani spacers are a riproaring, swashbuckling crew. In the midst of the furor, Pyanfar definitely leads from the front. But what begins her transformation into a great leader, rather than a courageous fighter alone, is when her moral line of sand becomes a line of blood, spilled on the Pride's deck. One that she's not willing to cross -- or to back away from.

When Tully seeks refuge on the Pride, he speaks no Compact language and is completely different to any species Pyanfar has previously encountered. She also knows that taking something the Kif want will bring down a world of trouble, not only on the Pride, but other Hani ships. The easiest course would be to hand Tully over and forget all about him.

The reason Pyanfar won't do that is because she realizes that Tully is a sentient being and should be accorded full Compact's rights in that respect. Her leadership shines in not only about holding to that point herself, but convincing others, both Hani and other species, to do the same -- despite a general reluctance to cross the piratical Kif. Her journey also involves a shift in  perspective, from seeing the Compact and its species from a purely Hani point-of-view, to comprehending a much bigger picture -- one that encompasses dealings with new species like humans, as well as the existing Compact members.

Pyanfar's ability to see that picture not only enables her to discern that change is needed, both in the Compact and within Hani society, but to be the change that will bring it about. Ultimately, this leads her to become (by the end of the trilogy) the equivalent of a president of Compact space, whose work has become wrangling the differences between its species, in order to preserve the cooperation that Tully's arrival threatened.  

Not by handing him over to the Kif, turning her back, and walking away, though. And the fact that Pyanfar Chanur can always be relied upon to kick-arse and take names, just makes her journey from spacer captain to galactic leader all the more enjoyable for readers. 

~*~

About Helen Lowe

Helen Lowe is an award-winning novelist, poet, and lover of story. With four books published to date, she is currently completing the final instalment in The Wall Of Night series.
.
Helen posts regularly on her 
“…on Anything, Really” blog, monthly on the Supernatural Underground, and tweets @helenl0we.


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