A Winter's Promise - Christelle Dabos

 Melbourne is finally nearing the end of its long lock down, and the threat of COVID-19 has diminished here, for the moment at least. I’m finally getting a few hours to myself now and then, and I can feel my creativity returning. It’s time to dive back into ‘life amidst the unreal’.

I have an idea for a book and some characters I’m excited about, so I’m having fun playing around with that at the moment.

Reading-wise, I read Midnight Sun by Stephenie Myer, which in turn led me to re-read the entire Twilight series. It’s an interesting experience, going back to it, looking at it more from a writer’s perspective. I can see the flaws that many others have criticised, but I can also see the author’s growth as a writer. As a reader, I can’t join in the literary snobbery though. I still love it.

Audio-wise, I’ve been listening to A Winter’s Promise by French author Christelle Dabos, translated by Hildegard Serle and brilliantly read by Emma Fenney. The variety of voices Emma brings to the reading is simply astounding, and all of them so convincing that I’m besotted with the characters. I wonder if it would be the same if I was reading the book instead of listening to it. There are flaws in the story – mainly slower bits that could have been cut down – but the unusual setting and characters, the lack of sappy romance (though romance is there simmering away unrequited), and the quiet strength of the protagonist, make for a compelling story. The cliff-hanger ending may bother some people, but I’ve quite happily moved on to book two, The Missing of Clairdelune, to seek the answers to questions raised by the first book (and listen to Emma read some more).

A quick summary of A Winter's Promise - In a world that has shattered into arks, descendants of the family spirits of each ark have special powers. Animist and mirror traveller Ophelia is betrothed to Thorn, a taciturn man from the Pole. In the months before her marriage, Ophelia must learn to survive this dangerous place full of enemies and intrigue. But who can she trust?

“Here, before you, I predict that your husband’s will is going to shatter against yours.” - Ophelia’s Great-Uncle A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos

The Future and the Past

The Future: Expiration Day by William Campbell Powell

Expiration day is an unusual futuristic novel. Although set in a dystopian future, it’s a poignant and heart-warming coming-of-age novel about what it means to be human.

To maintain peace in a world where few human children still exist, a corporation called Oxtet creates teknoid children for adoption. Tania Deely discovers only two children in her entire school are human. The rest undergo regular upgrades to give them the appearance of growing up. To maintain the illusion, most of them don’t know they’re not human.

In this confusing world, Tania writes a diary describing her life, loves, hopes, dreams, fears and doubts. But as her friends disappear one by one (even the human ones) Tania realises every family faces an Expiration Day.

I highly recommend giving the audio book a listen. Gabrielle de Cuir gives a terrific reading.

 

The Past: No Small Shame by Christine Bell

As the first World War begins, a young Scottish migrant is embroiled in her own battles at home in Australia. Mary’s determined build a better life for herself and her loved ones, but is hampered by a reluctant husband, an overbearing mother, and the general attitudes and opinions of the day.

Between all the heartache, Mary’s warmth and compassion shine through. Every time I put the book down, I found myself worrying and wondering what would happen, always hoping the best for the characters.

These two books couldn’t be more different and yet at their heart they both feature strong female protagonists who strive to make the world a better place.

Who decided who got to go where and when? Or what a person could or couldn't do? Who wrote the rule book? - No Small Shame by Christine Bell

Lockdown faves

It’s a bit over a month since a state of emergency was declared here in Melbourne, so thought I’d compile a list of lockdown faves so far.

Favourite TV series: The Man in the High Castle (Amazon)

A fantastic show full of compelling and complex characters set in an alternate history where the Nazis won the war. Rufus Sewell is particularly exceptional as Obergruppenführer John Smith, a ruthless man who will do anything to protect his family, including turning his back on everything he believes in, (and who happens to have the most tongue-twisting job title in the world. Props to the actors who had to say it repeatedly).

Favourite movie: I only watched one and it was dreadful. Hopefully something better comes along next month.

Favourite book YA: Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater

A book about dreamers and the dreamed. If a dream will sleep forever when you die, you have a lot to live for. It’s a great premise well executed. Can’t wait for book two to come out.

Favourite book MG: The January Stars by Kate Constable

Two sisters accidentally kidnap their grandfather from a nursing home and go on an adventure to find him a new place to live. A beautifully written, heart-warming tale with a sprinkle of stardust magic.

Favourite book PB: Cicada by Shaun Tan

I expect nothing less than brilliance from Shaun Tan and Cicada does not disappoint.

Favourite book A: Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe

Okay, I read this just prior to lockdown, but it’s the most recent book for adults I’ve read, so I’m including it in the list. A fascinating study of indigenous agriculture and development prior to European settlement in Australia. There is much this country can learn about environmental sustainability here.

Favourite board game contest: Scrabble

I lost, but as far as Scrabble games go it was a corker. I started with four Ns, a Z, and zero vowels. We backed ourselves into a corner early on and, with barely any room to move, it looked likely we’d have to start again. The addition of two letters to an existing word got us out of trouble and my son scored a triple word score with a long Q-word. The most remarkable thing of all: at the end of the game there were only two 1-point tiles left.

A very close second in this category was when I bankrupted everybody in Monopoly *maniacal laugh*.

Favourite small moment: Standing in the backyard listening to dozens of birds hold a raucous AGM in the Leylandii trees.

Hope everyone's finding their own favourite moments in lockdown.

News, Views and Beauteousness

I was planning to call this post News, Views and Reviews, but realised I didn’t have much to review, and as an online rhyming dictionary insisted that beauteousness rhymed with news (???), I’m rolling with it.

First the news: I have had a short story called Curse of the Swan Prince selected for the anthology South of the Sun: Fairy Tales for the 21^st Century. You can read about it here: https://australianfairytales.com/

This is my very first acceptance for publication of any piece of writing I’ve done ever done, so it’s super exciting.

I’d had the characters I used in the story hanging out in my head for quite a long time. Years in fact. I knew they had a story to tell, but as I was busy working on other things, I kept pushing them aside. I finished work on my YA manuscript around the same time I saw the call for submissions to the anthology and knew these characters would be perfect for a fairy tale. It had been a long time since I’d attempted writing a short story, but in another twist of serendipity, I’d been reading an anthology called The Ghostly Stringybark, which gave me a really good feel for how to structure the tale. It all came together rather quickly, and I was proud of the result. I'm stoked the selection committee liked it too.

To views and beauteousness: For our annual family holiday this year, we went to Tasmania. Best holiday ever! Check out the scenery:

Bicheno Blow Hole

Sleepy Bay, Freycinet NP

Richmond Bridge

Franklin Wharf, Hobart

Horseshoe Falls, Mt Field NP

Marakoopa Cave, Mole Creek

Mt Round Lookout

Mersey Bluff Lighthouse, Devonport

View of Mt Roland from Wilmot

This is just a small selection of the hundreds of photos I took. If you've never been to Tassie, tick it off your bucket list asap.