The Importance of Buddies (Plus Give-away!)

Giveaway Result:

Now I "think", if I've got this right, that Ilona is the only commenter eligible for the giveaway (since it would be just a tad naff if we Supe authors started giving the swag to each other. ;-) )

So that, Ilona, makes you the lucky winner--if you email me through my website, contact[at]helenlowe[dot]info I'll arrange to get your winnings in the post to you!

And otherwise--see you all again next month! :)

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The Supernatural Underground is about books. Statement of the obvious, huh? Which means that it’s also about storytelling, which is cool—well, I think so anyways! :)

But the Supernatural Underground is also about buddies. We’re a whole bunch of writers who hang out here because we all love what we do, and also love the opportunity to spend time with you—other folk who love paranormal/fantasy/SF as much as we do.

So because it’s Halloween, and because her hot new title Feast is about Halloween, I’ve been delighted to have my Supe buddy, Merrie Destefano, guesting on my “ … on Anything, Really” blog about how she personally gets in the mood for the 31 October festivities. It’s a fun post, so I hope you’ll head on over and check it out, here.

Here’s the thing though, reading Merrie’s post and generally being in October 31st mode made me think about what my favourite Halloween show might be. And because I’m predictable (I know, sad, isn’t it?) I decided that it really had to be the “Halloween” ep of Buffy, Season 2. Which got me thinking about Buffy and why I like the show—what is the magic, really? I wondered. Because, if I’m honest, a lot of the shows are kinda silly. A lot of fun, too, of course, but still …

The fun and vampyre slayage are both definitely important, but I don’t think they’d have kept me viewing for seven seasons. When I reflected some more on what did, I decided it was mainly about the buddies—the friends around the central Buffy character and the ups and downs of all their stories. That was the bit that was like real life—and maybe what kept my disbelief suspended and me watching the show.

Of course this got me thinking about all the other stories where the buddies are part of what makes the story rock. Star Wars is an obvious—with Artoo Detoo and See-Threepio, the wookie Chewbacca, and even Han Solo originally appears as the ‘lovable rogue’ sidekick to the naïve hero, Luke Skywalker. Friendship is the heart of another Joss Whedon series, Firefly, with the war buddy team of Captain Mal and Sophie forming the core of the ragtag crew. In another SF series, Babylon 5, friendship—both within the human crew and across species—is the tie that binds the show’s 5 seasons together. Again, in Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson shapeshifter series, it is Mercy’s friendships within the paranormal world, as much as her lovers, that empower her—and the same could be said of Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse.

We love buddy stories and buddies are a big part of what makes paranormal/fantasy/SF stories rock—just, I suspect, as they are a big part of what makes life rock.

So how about you? What do you think? Have a favourite buddy story, from a book or real life, to tell?

Give-away
And because we’re all HarperCollins authors here, I’ve got some HC swag to giveaway to a lucky commenter: a Voyager Worldcon bag with a matching HarperVoyager keyring, lanyard and 15th anniversary badge.

Just post your buddy comment here to go in the draw. You can earn points by

+1 Linking to this post on Twitter
+1 Linking to this post on Facebook
+1 Linking to the Supernatural Underground blog on your own blog/website
+1 for also commenting on Merrie Destefano’s post on my Helen Lowe on Anything, Really blog, here.

(Don’t forget to post the total number of points that you’ve earned in your comment!)

Eligibility will close at midnight, US Eastern Standard Time, September 2—just before my next Super(-natural) colleague is due to post. I will then post the result here so don’t forget to check back. And have fun!

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Supernatural Underground author Helen Lowe is a novelist, poet and interviewer. Her latest novel, The Heir of Night, the first of THE WALL OF NIGHT quartet, is published in the USA, UK, and internationally and recently won the Sir Julius Vogel Award 2011 for Best Novel. Her first novel, Thornspell, is published in the US by Knopf. Helen blogs every day on her Helen Lowe on Anything, Really site and on the first day of every month right here on the Supernatural Underground.