.
Yep, that's right! It's December (how did that happen already?!), which not
only means that cash registers are jingling and the goose (or turkey, but I was being
really traditional) is getting fat: it's also the Season of Lists.
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| Published 2016! |
So getting in the spirit, I thought I'd share 5 of my highlights from 2016 (to date, since there's still a few weeks of 2016 left):
January 26: Daughter of Blood, The Wall Of Night Book Three, is published
-- after a 4 year "slog to the finish" for me, and wait-of-saints from
loyal readers. And to date the feedback has been positive, with
Romantic Times calling
Daughter:
"a heady
imaginative tale full of Lowe's haunting prose and bold characters,
that builds to a startling climax that will leave readers anxious for
more."
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| FB Group Haarth |
May: The Wall Of Night series' got its own FaceBook group, fittingly titled Haarth -- it was set up by avid readers so they could discuss the story, the characters and the world. All good fun! It led to even more fun, too, with a Q&A on Twitter at
#TheWallOfNight I really enjoyed interacting with
The Wall Of Night readers in realtime.
.
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| L-R: Helen; Courtney Schafer |
June 5-8: Sydney -- this visit was primarily to meet up with friend and fellow SFF author,
Courtney Schafer, but I also got to meet the crew at both Hachette, my Australian publisher, and Galaxy, the specialist SFF bookstore, as well as other great Aussie SFF folk.
.
.
.
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| Also published 2016... |
July 6: A Twitter Q&A with Kim Falconer -- I had a great time doing this Q&A with Kim on
#thebloodinthebeginning to support the release of her paranormal, post-apocalyptic fantasy,
The Blood In The Beginning which stars feisty heroine, Ava Sykes. In fact it may even have been the year of the Twitter Q&A!
September 17-18: Masterclass on "Building Fantastic Worlds" -- I got to deliver this masterclass as part of the inaugural National Writers' Forum and it
was a blast. Great to talk about something I loved with a great group of people. Even better, they seemed to enjoy it, too, with one participant providing the following feedback:
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| Building Fantastic Worlds |
"My highlights were
Helen Lowe’s session on Building Fantastic Worlds (utterly worth getting myself
out of bed on a Sunday morning)..." (The Big Idea.)
So there you are, just a few of the highlights from my year. I'd love for you to share one or more of yours in the comments -- because it
is the season. :)
---
Helen Lowe is a novelist, poet, interviewer and blogger whose first novel, Thornspell (Knopf), was published to critical praise in 2008. Her second, The Heir of Night (The Wall Of Night Series, Book One) won the Gemmell Morningstar Award 2012. The sequel, The Gathering Of The Lost, was shortlisted for the Gemmell Legend Award in 2013. Daughter Of Blood, (The Wall Of Night, Book Three) was published this year.
Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog and is also on Twitter: @helenl0we
2 comments:
Helen, I'm late to the party, but I love your 5 highlights.
The Facebook page is wonderful, and I've been meaning to ask you: Are there transcripts to the National Writer's Forum masterclass on Building Fantastic Worlds? Recording?
Congratulations on the fab reviews and reception for Daughter. It's been a fabulous series.
What's next?
Hi Kim,
Sorry I missed your comment -- but Merry Christmas, meanwhile. :)
The Building Fantastic Worlds masterclass wasn't recorded so there isn't a transcript or other recording.
Thank you, too, re Daughter of Blood: it's been a thrill to see it getting such a great reception from readers.
In terms of What's Next, I think 2017 had better be the year of WALL4 -- gotta get that story, and series, finished!
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