Katie: Freshly mixed I might add!
Sharon: Yeah, we don’t want a repeat of *that interview, when everyone starting puking because the Kool-Aid was…er…nevermind.
Helen: I’m thrilled to be here with the ismellsheep team today! Love the moonpies and Cherry Kool-Aid (smiles widely: sampling cautiously.)
Sharon: Can you tell the Flock a little about your fantasy series, The Wall of Night?
Helen: The Wall of Night series (a quartet) is what I call epic or high fantasy. It’s a world of shadow and conflict where the alien Derai people are locked into aeons-old conflict with an ancient enemy, the Swarm of Dark (or Darkswarm.)—but have been divided by civil war with its legacy of prejudice, suspicion and fear. I wanted to explore that ‘fatal flaw’—so although the Derai vs Darkswarm conflict is still important and has its own twists and turns to play out, the focus of the story is as much on the Derai’s internal conflicts and their relationships with other societies. It’s also very much a story of alarms and battles, adventure and mystery, friendship and love, as well as what Robin Hobb has called “strange magic, dark treachery, and conflicting loyalties.”
The first book, “The Heir of Night”, centres on Malian, the Heir to the warrior House of Night, who discovers both the full bitterness of that legacy and realizes that she has to resolve it; and Kalan, a young man thrust into a hateful life who is fighting to break free. I won’t describe all the other central characters, only say that many of them resurface in “The Gathering of the Lost”. Several new and important characters are also introduced. The reader’s knowledge of both the wider world of Haarth and the central characters should deepen in this new book, although it’s still a story of tournaments and flights by night, plots and magic, duty and honor—as well as romance. The characters are five years older you see …
Sharon: Can someone pick up this book and start reading or do they need to begin with the first one Heir of Night?
Helen: My lead editor, Kate Nintzel of Harper Voyager, feels that it can be read on its own and it is realtively self contained as a story—but I do think it would be a lot easier to understand the characters’ relationships to each other, and the issues at stake in the world, if a reader has read The Heir of Night first.
Katie: How did you come up with the concept for this series?
Helen: I think it evolved over a long period. My earliest vision of a dark, wind-blasted environment began when I was a kid living in Singapore and had been reading the Norse myths, including the Twilight of the Gods. There are other influences I can point to, all centered around the evolution of the world and my fascination with epic. But this series really began developing when I decided that I wanted to write epic fantasy, yes, but get away from the tendency to simplify everything in terms of absolute “good” and “evil”—where all the characters need to do is sign up for one team or other. And then put on the correctly shaped or colored hat so everyone can identify them easily. Actual behavior, what the characters in fact do, did not seem to matter very much in some of the stories I was reading. So I wanted to approach the epic story from the angle of a ‘champion’ people, again yes, but also where there is a fundamental disconnect between how they see themselves and some of their collective—and also individual—behaviors. But the day I actually started writing was when I had the first ‘flash vision’ of Malian, fearlessly scaling the wall of the Old Keep despite the physical danger.
Katie: Where were you when this vision came?
Helen: I used to have a job that required me to drive a great deal, mainly through the isolated countryside that makes up much of New Zealand’s Otago and Southland provinces. The terrain is often mountainous as well, with sheer cliffs along deeply incised river beds, and I used to imagine what it would be like to climb fearlessly in an environment like that. (I know people who do and have lost some friends to mountain climbing as well.) During that time I was thinking a lot about the Wall of Night world and the Derai people as I drove. I can’t remember the specific place or time when that first vision of Malian came to me, but I do remember the sense of “a-ha!”—almost of recognition.
Sharon: The protagonists in your series are young. Would you consider this a Y.A.?
Helen: History is a major influence on my writing and in the context of a medieval style world, such as Haarth and the Wall of Night, thirteen and fourteen year olds (Malian and Kalan’s respective ages in “The Heir of Night”) would have been regarded as adult or near adult. (Shakespeare’s Juliet, for example, is fourteen; marriageable age at that time.) And like Elizabeth I of England, Malian has been trained from a very early age to rule. So I don’t think their age in and of itself necessarily makes the book YA, particularly as all the other central protagonists are adult. In this sense, “The Heir of Night” is not unlike the first book in George RR Martin’s “A Game of Thrones” where the pivotal characters, the Stark children, are all young—several of them far younger than Malian and Kalan in “Heir.”
Overall, I believe the decision to publish The Wall of Night series as adult fiction is the correct one, both for the reasons I’ve just discussed but also because the themes are dark and relatively complex—emotionally the story being told is an adult one. Having said that, I read adult books extensively when I was a teen and I do think the Wall of Night story will readily “cross over” between an adult and young adult readership. Although there is not only romance but also—gasp!—sex in “The Gathering of the Lost”, so that may change the perspective for some readers.
Katie: Were any parts of this latest story based on things that have happened in your life?
Helen: Not directly, no. The manuscript was completed and then revised within the context of the major Christchurch earthquakes between September 4, 2010 and June 13, 2011, but even by September 2010, two thirds of the story was already complete and directed how the remaining story would evolve. By the time the most devastating earthquake struck on February 22nd the manuscript had been completed: I was still undertaking substantial revision but within an established framework. So I think the effects arose more in terms of the environment of the work—trying to maintain the concentration and commitment that completing a book requires in the midst of so much destruction and trauma. Although that experience may very well flow through into future work, I feel it is too early to say to what extent that may occur.
In terms of any direct basis on other events in my life, not so much—or again, not directly. I am a great observer, both of my own behavior and that of others, so I will often draw on my observations of human nature and human reactions to inform characters in my stories, but this very rarely occurs in terms of specific incidents. There is one incident in “The Gathering of the Lost” though, that is drawn directly from an older friend’s stories of wartime experience in Nazi-occupied Holland. Her father used to hide beneath the ivy that grew over the roof of the family home when the German soldiers were rounding up men for the forced labor camps and industrial farms. And in one incident in “Gathering”, three characters hide beneath ivy on a stable roof to avoid their pursuers. So I guess you can say that my friend’s anecdote caught my imagination!
Sharon: What an amazing story about survival for your friend’s father.
Helen: Yes, and I still recall the ring of authenticity to the story as she related it. As a storyteller one’s ear becomes attuned to listening for those notes—and then striving to create the same sense of authenticity through one’s writing, i.e. ‘making it real.’
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Sharon: You address many issues about loyalty, friendship and sacrifice in your story. What do you want people to take away with them after reading this series?
Helen: Although I wanted to explore how conflicts within individuals and between people might play themselves out in an epic story like The Wall of Night series, I did not set out to write a ‘moral’ tale or to instruct in any way. To me, writing fiction must always, first and foremost, be about telling the story and telling it as well as I possibly can. I want the characters to feel like real people, even if they live in a fantastic world, and for what happens to them to matter to a reader. And I want the experience of the world to leave readers with a feeling of both richness and wonder. But most of all I want them to simply say: “That was a good story. I really enjoyed reading it.”
(Sharon: I’ve read Heir of Night and I just wanted to say it is a very good story and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it)
Helen: Thank you, Sharon—I can assure you that’s the kind of feedback no author ever gets tired of hearing! The kind of story I enjoy reading—and this is probably why I love epic fantasy—is one that centers on storytelling where there is a lot at stake and what’s at stake matters. In those circumstances, protagonists frequently find themselves placed in situations that seem overwhelming and a great deal is demanded of them—perhaps even everything is demanded of them. Some people will rise to meet such circumstances, while others crumble beneath them and a fair few muddle along as best they can. Duty and sacrifice definitely play their part, and so too do friendship and loyalty—and may be the only thing, as human beings, that gets us through. But sometimes even friendship and loyalty fail. I believe the reason these themes come out in my writing is because I am trying to make the characters’ response to their circumstances ring true. And if readers take that sense of authenticity away from any of my writing, then I will feel that I am close to hitting the ‘bullseye’ of ‘what it’s all about” as an author.
Sharon: Have you deviated much from your original idea of how the story would play out?
Helen: Ah, this is a simple answer: no, not in terms of the essential arc. Some ideas have expanded, while others contracted, and occasionally I have to change focus or adopt a new “slant” on unfolding events, but the essence of the original story has always remained true—so far!
Katie: If you could have any power what would it be and why?
Helen: A superpower, you mean? Since I’ve become a writer I’ve rather envied Hermione Granger the power she acquired in “The Prisoner of Azkaban” to ‘turn time’ so that she could literally do two (or probably more, knowing Hermione) things at once. I know she used an artifact, a ‘time turner’, but presumably still needed power to do so. Katie: And what would two things be you'd like to do at once? Hey! Sharon stop jabbing me that was an innocent question this time!
Helen: [Grins] Well aside from … But never mind that! As an author I would love to be able to both write the next book and do everything else a writer has to do at the same time—spend time with wonderful people like both of you and the Flock (waves), keep my blog and website up to date with interesting material, go to conventions and festivals, do my tax returns. (Actually, I would much rather not do that, but you know—have to!) Hmm, and I haven’t even gotten onto real life yet—I’m thinking this sounds like a job for three or four Helen’s, not just two: aka I’m a lot more like Hermione than I thought! [Looks around.] Now where is that time turner?
Sharon: There needs to be an app for that ;)
Sharon: Writing an epic fantasy like this one is an incredible undertaking when you consider the world building involved. What did you learn from the first book Heir of Night that you applied to writing the second one?
Helen: Both the story development and the world building felt like a natural progression from “Heir” to “Gathering.” In fact it’s probably fair to say that world building is a very natural process for me—once the first idea of a world comes, the rest tends to evolve organically from that point.
In terms of managing a series though, one thing I learned in “Heir” and applied to very good effect in “Gathering”, is that every time I introduce a new point-of-view character, the story expands. So to prevent the story ballooning out, I have learned to say a very firm “no” to even the most enticing character who whispers that, really, he or she should be in the story.
Sharon: lol, I guess that is where short stories come from
Helen: Or new book ideas …
Katie: If you could get one "do over" what would it be used on?
Helen: With two books to go in the series, I think I’d still like to have that one in my back pocket for a while yet.
Sharon: You live in Christchurch New Zealand, which was hit by a massive earthquake in Feb 2011. How are things for you and your city?
Helen: Thank you for asking, Sharon. We’ve had close to 10,000 earthquakes now since September 2010, with 4 distinct major events, and the geo-scientists say we still can’t assume that the worst is over. So in that sense we are still very much “in it.” Even if the earthquakes were definitely finished, two thirds of the city’s infrastructure was taken out in under 30 seconds on February 22nd —i.e. water, power, and sewerage, as well as major damage to roads and bridges. So I expect readers can well imagine what I mean by saying I live in a “broken city,” one that is going to take many years of fixing. That takes its toll, as does dealing with insurers and recovery agencies, and I think it would be fair to say that we’re all more than a little weary. But there are really only two choices: to leave, or to keep going and make the best of it.
Katie: What's something super famous in New Zealand? I know sheep are big but what else?
Helen: Hmm, super famous … Milford Sound and Mitre Peak, in remote Fiordland, are pretty much part of the national psyche. And the All Blacks, of course, the national rugby team.
Sharon: Absolutely stunning! The natural wonders are nice too;)
Sharon: If you could have theme music play every time you entered a room, what would it be?
Helen: Oh dear [feeling out of her depth], theme music … I am rather fond of Tchaikovsky’s “Waltz of the Flowers.”
Sharon: I could listen to anything from the Nutcracker forever. Good choice.
Helen: Thank you.
Sharon: What flower would you say is your favorite? Helen: Ah [feeling on surer ground now]—if there ‘can be only one’ then I feel reasonably confident going with the iris.
Rapid Fire Round
Sharon: Hansel and Gretel or Little Red Riding Hood?
Helen: Hansel and Gretel
Sharon: Cause of the gingerbread house, right? I love gingerbread…
Helen: Mmmm, gingerbread… But I suspect it could also be because Hansel and Gretel have more agency—they save themselves.
Katie: Chocolate covered fruit or chocolate covered pretzels?
Helen: Chocolate covered fruit
Sharon: *pulls yucky face*
Katie: Both are a win in my book.
[Helen high fives Katie.]
Sharon: Paisley or plaid?
Helen: Urgh, do I have to choose? Yes? In which case I’ll go with plaid just to stay in true with my Scottish heritage.
Katie: Oh if you were a male the things I could say here…ok now THAT was a good time to jab me. *winks*
Helen: [innocently] I thought we were talking about plaid, not kilts, Katie.
Sharon: With Katie, everything goes back to kilts...or the men in them <G>Katie: So true.
Katie: Smart Nerd or Dumb jock?
Helen: Smart Nerd
Katie: Very good choice.
Helen: [smiles]
Sharon: Pepsi or Coke? (and you have to choose!)
Helen: Wine. (I truly really don’t drink either Coke or Pepsi & have never tasted the latter.)
Sharon: Well that explains why you can’t pick. If you had tasted Pepsi you would easily have answered so <G>
Katie: Says the Pepsi crazy person. It matters not cause she would LOVE Coke.
Helen: [rolls eyes] You two are on your own with this one…
Sharon: Maybe we should have two men in kilts come fight it out for us...in mud...
Katie: I love how I've rubbed off on your Sharon!
Katie: Tiny Tim or Kid from Jerry Maguire?
Helen: Tiny Tim
Sharon: Rubies or emeralds?
Helen: Rubies
Katie: Big Axe or Big Sword?
Helen: Big sword
Sharon: But what if the woodsman (Chris Hemsworth) is attached to that axe?
Helen: Hmm, that could be cause for a rethink … But then again, there’s Aragorn (Viggo) with Anduril in The Lord of the Rings movies … Some days, choosing is just too difficult!
Sharon: Robots or cyborgs?
Helen: Cyborgs
Sharon: Basket of cookies or plate of fruit?
Helen: Plate of fruit
Katie: Thriller or Action?
Helen: Thriller
Sharon: Short cut or scenic route?
Helen: Scenic route
Katie: Thank you for taking the time to chat with us Helen, would you like to add anything before we wrap?
Helen: Thank you very much to you both for inviting me along to day; it’s been a huge amount of fun. And you know, I think we’ve covered a lot of ground—I really can’t think of anything more to add. Big thanks to Helen for being brave enough to visit us and she has brought gifts...for you!
1 winner will get BOTH Wall of Night books- Heir of Night and The Gathering of the Lost
5 winners will get a Gathering cover flat + signed bookplate
This contest is INTERNATIONAL
To enter:
1. Leave a way to contact you
2. Do you have a favorite Fantasy book or hero/heroine?
*followers get double entries-you must mention how you follow
Contest ends April 16th at midnight
Helen Lowe is a novelist, poet, and interviewer. She has twice won the Sir Julius Vogel Award for achievement in SFF, for Thornspell(Knopf) in 2009 and The Heir of Night (The Wall of Night Book One) in 2011 and is currently the writer-in-residence at the University of Canterbury.
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