Nearing the end of September and the month has flown by. Last weekend involved a trip to Birmingham to join FantasyCon 2021, an annual convention celebrating the weird and wonderful worlds of SFF.
Tag: fantasy
Women In SFF
Over at The Fantasy Hive, July has been the month to celebrate women in sci-fi/fantasy. I was delighted to get a slot for my book, The Warder, in which I shared an excerpt of Chapter One. One of the things I enjoyed about writing this book was the different age ranges of the three protagonists: 30(ish)-yr-old Suni, 18-yr-old Wanda, and 10-yr-old Luna; each with their own unique flaws, personality and agency. The excerpt is Chapter One, and Luna makes an unusual entrance…
Click here for my post on The Fantasy Hive.
Click here for last year’s interview with The Fantasy Hive.
The Fantasy Hive have also run this month-long event on Twitter, with a different prompt each day for readers to share favourite titles. I’ve enjoyed joining in, championing books that have stood out to me. I confess I missed the odd day, but read on for highlights of my selections. Some have already featured on my For the Love of Books posts, in which I give a more in-depth review; some are still to come. But for now, here’s an overview of my selection of great titles for #WomenInSFF month.
Starting big, with Lifetime Achievement Award for most influential SFF writer. I have a special place for Ursula Le Guin, her worlds and characters that continue to inspire, and her sheer range of titles that lead me to see her as a pioneer for women in the genre.
All-time favourite fantasy character? Hands down it’s Onye in the magical, realistic, dystopian fantasy, Who Fears Death. I adored her grit, her fight, her flaws, her love and loyalty, and her magic. She’s a character I would love to meet in real life. Onyesonwu, meaning Who Fears Death.
All-time favourite sci-fi character? Phoenix in The book of Phoenix. She is a genetic experiment, a Specimen in Tower 7, Manhattan. After discovering everything she has ever known is a lie, she goes to battle for justice and transformation. It’s a journey that spans America, Africa and beyond, literally to the stars. An awesome read.
Sisters are doing it for themselves – favourite self-reliant protagonists? Tenar from Tombs of Atuan, priestess to the earth’s nameless ones, is the epitome of self-reliant. For so long she had no one, and still she made it out. One of my all-time favourite stories, so haunting and memorable.
Witches, sorceresses, magicians – favourite magic users? I adore Sybel in The Forgotten Beasts of Eld, the sorceress, at home on a remote island in the company of a wise boar, a black swan, a black cat and a dragon.
Most Intelligent – favourite scholarly or academic characters? Lauren in Parable of the Sower. When society collapses, she develops the philosophy ‘Earthseed’ and leads by embracing change. If we consider intelligence as linked to flexibility and adaptability, this character has it in bucket loads.
Someone to look up to – favourite older character? Rabbit, in The Empress of Salt and Fortune. She is an elderly woman, a storyteller, and former handmaiden to In-Yo, Empress of the North. ‘Do you understand?’ she says at frequent intervals, as she tells her magical tale to the cleric, Chih. ‘Angry mothers raise daughters fierce enough to fight wolves.’
Beauty Queens – judging books by their gorgeous covers. Straight in with the sequel, When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain. Beautiful art to complement a colourful and lush story.
More Pride Less Prejudice – celebrating LGBTQA+ authors and stories. While mentioning the sapphic storyline in my own, Return of the Mantra, my vote went to Fire Logic: epic war fantasy fought in the farmsteads by characters that tick boxes for equality in the broadest sense.
In the name of love – favourite couples, favourite romance? Mehr and Amun in Empire of Sand. The whole story felt like reading an evocative dance, heightened by the unfolding of this relationship which encompasses respect, tenderness, friendship and sacrifice.
Favourite female friendships? Thinking Zelie and Amari in Children of Blood and Bone (such a great read!). Throughout all the ups and downs there is real feeling between them, which gives a great example of friendship beyond boundaries.
Most dynamic character, having gone through the biggest changes? Celka in Weave the Lightning stands out to me. Against a Russian inspired backdrop she is a tightrope artist in a travelling circus, storm-blessed, working to help the resistance. She must come to understand the depth of her magic, while her identity is challenged by the arrival of Gerrit, who threatens to expose everything she is fighting to protect.
Most travelled – who gets the biggest adventure? Toni, in Threading the Labyrinth. She’s an American owner of a failing gallery, forced to leave the New Mexico desert behind when she is unexpectedly called to Hertfordshire, after inheriting an old manor house. Filled with haunting and peculiar magic, the gardens of the house change in the twilight, and Toni encounters lives carried across centuries.
The Royal – favourite women in positions of power? Sinai in Daughters of Nri, especially since she’s not always comfortable with her power. I loved her reserved nature and stealth, and the complex relationships with supporting characters, in particular with the Namibian cook, Meekulu.
Starship Trooper – favourite sci-fi character? Aster, in An Unkindness of Ghosts. Set on a generation spaceship organised like the antebellum south, transporting the last of humanity to a supposed promise land, Aster gives us all a lesson on being industrious, working with what you’ve got, never giving up, and appreciating that there’s always choices to be found. Such an inspiring and memorable character.
Historic Retellings – Alternative histories? A random find in my local library, and glad to have discovered this trilogy. Morgan offers a new angle to the well-loved Arthurian legends.
Debut newbies. My current read, The Third Magpie, a 2020 debut. A page-turning dystopian romance, chilling and gripping, challenging gender norms, while looking at the consequences of ‘othering’ in an insular world.
Independent Women – favourite self-published author? Kit Mallory, with this great dystopian read, Blackout. The UK has been split in two by the Wall. Skyler’s survival as an illegal Northern refugee in the South has been a relentless knife-edge balance between evading the corrupt Board and maintaining her reputation as the South’s best hacker. Until she gets the chance to enact revenge on the regime that destroyed her home and family…
Antihero – favourite morally grey characters? Assuming we can class vampires as morally grey – Shori in this vampire thriller, Fledging; a fifty-three-year-old vampire attempting to discover the reason for her amnesia. Who slaughtered her entire family and left her for dead? As we might expect from this great author, vampire society is complex and richly described, exploring power dynamics and imbalances analogous to contemporary issues.
Femme Fatales – favourite villain? I don’t know if I can call her a favourite anything, but Aunt Lydia in The Handmaids Tale is up there with most stomach-churning, ghastly and complex villains.
And last but by no means least, Queen of Fantasy, and, Queen of Sci-fi, one author gets my vote for both – Nnedi Okorafor.
What are you reading?
The Warder
What would you sacrifice for the ones you love? In a land of gifts and curses, nothing is as it seems.
Return of the Mantra came to an end, but there remained questions unanswered. How did a King ever become so completely consumed? What is this ancient power that has cast a shadow over the land for so many years?
And so The Warder was born, a story that delves into these mysteries as we revisit the land of Shendi ten years on.
The release date is yet to be finalised by the publisher, but it is coming soon, and I am thrilled to finally be able to share the front cover. Like its predecessor, this has been a labour of love, revisiting my characters ten years on, further developing their personal story arcs, while introducing some new faces, and a new land, into the mix.
Expect another character-driven, fantasy adventure, with themes of wildlife and the environment, animism, magic and dragons, and being true to oneself.
Blurb
The King has been defeated and the spirit of the Mantra has been restored, Suni has been reunited with her father and all is – not quite right.
Wanda and his cousin Luna are living in the valley beyond the mountains: Luna is possessed and dreams of dragons while Wanda, gifted with the ability to communicate with animals, struggles with the curse of Orag. Ntombi blames Wanda for her daughter Luna’s condition.
Meanwhile, in the town by the sea, Suni fears for Wanda, and watches over him using her gift for dreamwalking. Many, including Suni’s father, suffer from a strange affliction and the townspeople are blaming the Mantra.
Then strangers arrive from the sea bringing hope for the town: but in this land of gifts and curses, is anything what it seems to be?
***
I look forward to welcoming The Warder into the world, and will keep you posted on the release date. For those yet to read Return of the Mantra, this is a sequel but it also works well as a standalone. (Though why wouldn’t you want to read Return of the Mantra!)
In the meantime, for me more writing beckons, and Book 3…
Happy Reading!
Cause and Effect
A girl was walking the streets of Exeter dressed as a bee, carrying a placard with the simple message, ‘Tick Tock, Tick Tock’. She was one of hundreds of children and young people, striking from school, marching to the County Hall to deliver their impassioned message: it’s time to declare a climate emergency NOW!
Happy New Year – 2019!
As evening approaches, I imagine people discussing their resolutions for the New Year. I’m not one for resolutions. Instead I try to stick to the simple motto: keep trying to do better. In life as in writing, with practice, hopefully we improve.
Ooh, a 5* review for Return of the Mantra!
My Review- I had the pleasure of meeting Susie at Fantasy Con this year in Chester and after a lovely chat about her book. I asked if I could review it for her. Suffice to say it made my Top 20 reads of 2018 finishing in thirteenth place. I cannot wait for the sequel to […]
Storytellers
There’s a reason why people in the UK obsess about the weather, when all four seasons can happen in one day. Conversations often feature words like nippy, overcast, drizzling… and end with dismayed comments like, ‘I’ve got washing on the line,’ or optimistic comments like, ‘it’s turned out nice again’. So after weeks of an uncommon and persistent heatwave, variable weather is back on the agenda.
Diversity in Fiction
It’s the Monday after a gloriously sunny weekend spent at the Exeter Respect Festival: a fabulous event to celebrate our diverse communities. Among live music, singing, and spoken word, the park is filled with a bustling array of stalls, food, and campaigns. Whether you want to sample authentic Syrian cuisine, be amazed by flamenco dancers, or shop for handicrafts from all corners of the world… Exeter Respect carries the message, ‘all different, all equal’.
The Big Launch
I often think of writing as tapping into that introverted side of yourself. Time spanning hours, days, months and years are spent alone, with your own head for company, creating worlds, characters, themes and plots that will ultimately blend into your story. And all the while that story sits in the comfort of your carved out niche, told only to you and your nearest and dearest.
Getting Crafty
It’s a matter of opinion, but I was fairly amazed with what could be accomplished with coffee, masking tape, toilet paper, paint, glue, tinfoil and a batman mask.The fate of the natural world of Shendi is controversial, as history turned to legend and myth. Which story you believe depends on where your loyalties lie: with the old ways or with the King. It was the question I pondered as I prepared my two relics, straight out of the book
