Philippa Ballantine - Author

Award-winning Author of fantasy, science fiction, and steampunk

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The first Geist review…and it’s a Harriet!

This is a bit of a nerve wracking time for me. My first big New York City book, and I am gearing up for the reviews.

So when my Google Alert told me that someone had reviewed Geist, I was excited and nervous… and then I found out it was from Harriet Klausner

The key to this great horror-fantasy is the belief in the magical world of Philippa Ballantine summed up by the Guardian and the Pretender when she says “If wishes were horses,” and he finishes with “I would never have to walk again.” Little touches like this bring alive the prime element of the Bond, which make the realm of Geist seem genuine. Sorcha and her two comrades are terrific characters who keep the story line focused even as the plot entertainingly switches from fantasy to horror. This is a wonderful thriller.
And if you don’t know who she is- have a read here

All I can say is, thanks Harriet. I feel like I have already arrived, and it was a nice start to the month of October!

Love and fire

A while back I wrote a short story for my good friend PG Holyfield. The Tales of the Children are set in the world of Caern, and supported the release of Patrick’s Murder at Avedon Hill.

Writing in another person’s universe was a really fun opportunity, and it was nice to get to play with genuine elves. I have always been of the opinion that elves (and the Fey) are not portrayed as dangerous enough.

This floaty, dreamy vision of elves never really flew with me, so when I got to write in Caern, I was determined to write about elves as I imagine them; sharp, deadly and a race you really, really do not want to annoy.

So what happens when humans do what humans do, and invade an elven island. Yep, they bring a whole world of hurt down upon themselves.

Can humans gain a foothold on the island of Kandriel? If Syliene, an elven warrior and priestess of Thei-Shan has anything to say about it, the answer is no.

Have a listen here

From out of the Cloud…

I’m writing this post, spurred by Speculative Fiction Writers of New Zealand (which just recently launched) and New Zealand Spec Fic Blogging Week. I was casting about thinking about what I could contribute- then I realised it was staring me in the face.

You see, this past week I submitted a synopsis and three chapters of Weather Child, for my agent to start pitching. I made some contacts at WorldCon that expressed an interest in it, and to say that possibility excited me would be a massive understatement.

Weather Child, if you are not aware, is my alternative history fantasy novel, set in New Zealand between the two World Wars. I podcast the first draft of the novel back in 2009, and it met with some fairly rabid appreciation from overseas listeners. It even got nominated for a Sir Julius Vogel Award.

In my third print novel, Digital Magic at least half the story was set in Wellington.

And in Ministry of Peculiar Occurence: Phoenix Rising (co-written with Tee Morris and coming in May 2011 from Harper Voyager) Eliza D Braun, a secret agent is a kiwi girl all the way. The national anthem and culture are all over the book- and a real part of what makes Eliza special.

Including and drawing on my New Zealandness has been a very clear conscious decision – after all we are often told ‘write what you know’. Also, it is a reaction against the New Zealand I grew up in- where to be a kiwi was to be vaguely apologetic about it. In the 1970s and 1980s there was the feeling that being a kiwi was almost embarrassing. These were the days when even our TV presenters sounded plummy and British, you had very little choice in kiwi music on the radio, and fashion came from New York or London.

Yep, when people tell you they pine for the good ole days they’re not telling you the whole story. The only New Zealand author who was making it overseas back then was Hugh Cook. One person.

That’s why I find things like the Speculative Fiction Writers of New Zealand so damn cheering. Finally we are producing authors that not only make it big here, but also overseas.

Now all we need to do, is write about our beautiful home.

It is my firm opinion that these days we have nothing to be ashamed of. New Zealand is an awesome country, and I am proud to have come from here. From my podcasting experience overseas listeners and readers are intrigued and we should absolutely be using that to our advantage.

After all fantasy readers are used to reading about worlds of all shapes and sizes- so Aotearoa isn’t that far fetched.

We sometimes tend to forget New Zealand has a lot to offer the world, and fantasy writing; a unique perspective, mythology, culture. And what a source of inspiration it is! When I was writing Weather Child I got so much pleasure out of being able to share the stories of my family and their experiences in this country (OK, maybe not the ones about being magicians… as far as I know no Ballantines can shoot fireballs or summon lightning)

So I have never thought about being from New Zealand as a disadvantage. In fact now I think it is a positive advantage.

So that and a good healthy measure of pride are the reasons I love writing about New Zealand. I hope plenty of other people that live here will feel the same.

We’re still here

An email from a concerned fan, made me realise that I have not addressed the large earthquake in New Zealand that happened on the weekend.

I was in Melbourne, Australia on Saturday morning, attending WorldCon. To put it in perspective, that’s almost the distance from LA to New York- so I didn’t feel it. However back home in Wellington, it was. However nothing was damaged.

The city that really had the devastation was Christchurch, which is in the middle of the South Island of New Zealand. The fact that no one was killed makes the whole thing more bearable, although plenty of people in that part of the country will continue to deal with the effects of the quake for months and months. Many of the lovely older buildings, made of brick and unstrengthened have collapsed or been damaged.

For those outside the effected area who want to donate check out this page

And for more information on what is going on the New Zealand Herald Site and Stuff.co.nz have dedicated pages to the news.

Blogging all around the world

I arrived home from a very fun, very informative, very useful WorldCon in Melbourne (blogpost to come on that), to find the uncorrected proofs of Geist. These are not the final product, but still being able to actually hold my bound words was quite the moment, and one more step towards the novel in stores.

Once it is, the market will decide its worth, but my aim is to make people aware of it. Yes, with all the books being published, getting yours noticed is the real battle.

So, as part of that effort I am doing a blogtour for three months. I’ll be talking about all sorts of things, but the first is an interview with Odin1Eye over at View from Valhalla. There were some pretty probing questions that made me think hard, and I hope you find it interesting.

Check it out here and see what other places I will be hitting.

In addition I have some beautiful Geist postcards to distribute- so if you can think of a place to put them where they would attract interest, then please email me motherabbey@booksoftheorder.com – I’ll send you a sweet treat to go along with it 🙂

Closing of the Veil

This may come as a shock to some of you, but I hope no one will freak out with this news.

You will no longer be able to buy a print edition of Chasing the Bard or Digital Magic from DragonMoon Press.

OK… wow that was like ripping off a band-aid. Hopefully you are all still with me.

So let me explain. I signed with DMP back in 2003, and I still recall the excitement when I got my offer from Gwen. It was my first print deal, and a validation for me as a writer. They picked up Digital Magic and through them I got to know and work with Tee Morris. They also let me podcast my novels in their entirety- something unusual in the publishing world.

They gave me me a lot, but things do change. Writing for a living is hard, and unfortunately it has been my experience that being with an indie press does not bring in enough dollars to keep body and soul together.

That may sound harsh, but this year has meant making some hard choices. That’s the difference between having writing as a hobby and having it be your business.

I wish Gwen and Grabrielle at DragonMoon all the best, and thank them for the time and effort they put into teaching me about writing and the industry.

If you want to snag a papercopy of either of these books then I suggest getting in now… they could become collector’s editions. 🙂

So it isn’t all dark clouds and grim news. Times they are a changing, but there will not be a shortage of paper books from me. In the next year I will have three books coming out with both Ace and Eos. So I hope you hang in there with me, and together we’ll see how the ride pans out.