Win an e-copy of Tatsania’s Gift, a new novella by Kim Falconer!

Watch the book trailer and see if you can guess exactly what Tatsania’s Gift is.


Kim will drop some hints in the comments below to guide you. Enter (in the comments) as many times as you like. If you have more than one idea, let’s hear them! Kim is giving away copies of Tatsania’s Gift to the best/closest/most interesting answers. If you make her laugh, you’ll definitely get one! Your choice of Kindle, Kobo or iBook.

About the story Six-year-old Kali is forced to fight for her life when her mother is dragged away by ASSIST and two cruel ′aunties′ turn up to take care of her. But her mother has left her something precious – a gift that can save the world. With it Kali discovers her own magical powers and joins the underground movement where she learns the skills she’ll need to survive on Earth. But no magic in our world could ever prepare her for what is to come . . .

Why a novella? When I finished Journey by Night, book three in the Quantum Encryption series, my publisher and I realised that the first six chapters told a self-contained story of life on 24th century Earth. We decided to start JBN at chapter 7 and turn these first six chapters into a novella, which is now Tatasnia’s Gift. For those new to the Quantum Enchantment and Quantum Encryption series, I hope this story will whet your appetite. If you have devoured the earlier works and are longing for more, this is it! Enjoy!

We are all looking forward to your guesses! See you in the comments.
Tatsania’s Gift is out offically on the 1st of September.

Kim Falconer is a speculative fiction author writing epic science fantasy novels set in the worlds of Earth and Gaela. Kim’s latest series is Quantum Encryption, the newest release is Tatsania’s Gift. You can find out more about Kim at kimfalconer.com or on The 11th House. IS_Foundation.

Highlights from the Byron Bay Writers’ Festival 2012

Yes, we are both Gemini; no we didn’t ring ahead to colour coordinate! Isobelle Carmody (left) and Kim Falconer (right) at the Byron Bay Writers Festival 2012

Last year, HarperVoyager had a strong presence at the Bryon Bay Writers’ Festival. I shared the stage with Fiona McIntosh and Traci Harding, and we had the time of our lives. We enthralled audiences with talk of magic spells, quantum physics, time travel, totems and how best to portray the sounds of screams from the dungeon. With our then Voyager publisher in the audience, Stephanie Smith, we were all on fire. The memory was so buoyant, I wasn’t sure how this year’s festival would measure up.

Being the only Voyager author, I wasn’t sure who I would connect with this time around, but that all changed in a flash. There was another speculative fiction author present and when I met her I was immediately reminded of the binding tie that makes fantasy authors kindred spirits no matter what ‘house’ they hale from. Sharing the stage on topics of fantasy, creativity, dreams and the spirit of the written word was the well known and loved fantasy queen, Isobelle Carmody. I had the pleasure of being ‘in conversation’ with her to a packed house of YA fans, a most enjoyable session. I can attest without doubt, the love of speculative fiction is alive and well! What a fabulous experience.

Other highlights included Wild Things, a tribute to Maurice Sendak. His books have expanded the way we think about children’s literature and what is possible to write, treating children as ‘people’ with strong emotions, drives and desires. On similar topics were panels addressing education, literacy and the future of books. A personal favourite of mine, ‘The Perfect Pitch’ was a lively panel where publishers, including HarperCollins publishing director Shona Martyn, listen to six hopeful writers try to sell their work. Very exciting!

At the extreme end of the reality scale was the ‘Righting the World’ discussion with Australian environmentalist Ian Lowe, author Niromi De Soyza, who ran away from her family home in Sri Lanka at 17 to join the Tamil Tigers and fight for her country’s freedom; Indonesian author Andrea Hirata; and American author Katherine Boo, who is known for her works on the disadvantaged and poverty stricken. They shared horror stories but every one of them ended in hope, a most moving and uplifting panel.

I was pleased to see again this year how every session at the Byron Bay Writers’ Festival began by acknowledging an empty chair. This is part of the PEN program and represents a writer who is in prison for writing what someone in power, somewhere in the world, believed is ‘off Limits’. Acknowledgement of the Pen empty chair reminds us all the freedom of expression we otherwise take for granted. Sobering.

On the nuts and bolt of writing side of things, I gave a workshop on writing, selling and promoting genre fiction. You can see the PowerPoint presentation with live links here. All in all, though I missed my Voyager sisters, it was a wonderful Byron Bay Writer’s Festival 2012.

Voyager at the 2012 Norma K Hemming Awards

5 Voyager authors have been shortlisted in the 2012 Norma K Hemming Award!  The Devil’s Diadem by the late great Sara Douglass, Hindsight by A A Bell,  Eona by Alison Goodman,  Road to the Soul  by Kim Falconer & The Shattered City by Tansy Rayner Roberts. The Norma K Hemming Award recognises excellence in the exploration of race, gender, sexuality, class and disability in Australian speculative fiction. Congratulations guys!

David Gemmell Awards 2012

Three Voyager titles have been nominated in the David Gemmell Awards! Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence is up for the Morningstar Award ( Best debut of 2011 ) & the covers for both Journey by Night by Aaron Briggs & Oracle’s Fire by Frank Victoria are up for the Ravenheart Award ( best cover art of 2011 ) Congratulations to all our authors & artists!

Vote for Prince of Thorns here:
http://www.gemmellaward.com/page/the-morningstar-award

and vote for either Journey by Night or Oracle’s Fire here:
http://www.gemmellaward.com/page/the-ravenheart-award

 

Machines with Soul

‘Biting the Sun’ by Celine Loup

In a recent interview in Uncanny Vernal Equinox, the Voyager author Tanith Lee said, . . . who, apart from the calmest among us, has never wanted to hurl their typewriter or laptop or cell phone through a window, since it has just deleted a vital something, gone to sleep . . .

I thought immediately, how Mercury Retrograde is that? But there’s much more to Tanith Lee’s views than a passing frustration at mechanistic ‘inanimate objects’. In her books, particularly Don’t Bit the Sun, Drinking Sapphire Wine and The Silver Metal Lover, she explores the nature of sentience, intelligence and the growth of soul in humans and their creations.

Machines, even if vastly physically like or unlike humans, are also ‘living’ in their own fashion, and probably more resemble us, as we them, than we normally care to notice. -Tanith Lee in PGB

The animistic view, where metal and rock, rivers and streams, storms and trees all have a ‘nature of being’ and are all part of the whole (M Theory anyone?), comes shining through Tanith Lee’s work and I know I have been strongly influenced by her beautiful prose and the elegant philosophies. In the interview, I am also deeply honoured to be quoted:

One of the things I love about (The Silver Metal Lover) is how Tanith explores the hard problems of consciousness without intruding on the story. It was only during times ‘away from the book,’ that I pondered her insights—how the erotic nature of love can grow souls. When I say erotic, I don’t mean pornographic. I’m refer-ring to Eros, the god of love—the original meaning is some-thing that brings two people together in such a way that it creates a lasting transformation. –Kim Falconer in PGB

What is this erotic, soul transforming writing of Tanith Lee like? Here is a glimpse, from a post I did on the Voyager Blog a few years ago. It’s one of my favourite passages. I said:

‘To begin with, Jane is far from individuated. She says, ‘My mother has a lot of opinions, which is restful, as that way I don’t have to have many of my own.’ Jane is sentient but has little self awareness. Then she falls in love:

Mother, I am in love with a robot.
No. She isn’t going to like that.
Mother, I am in love.
Are you, darling?
Oh, yes, Mother, yes I am. His hair is auburn, and his eyes are very large. Like amber. And his skin is silver.
Silence.
Mother. I’m in love.
With whom, dear?
His name is Silver.
How metallic.
Yes. It stands for Silver Ionized Locomotive Verisimulated Electronic Robot.
Silence. Silence. Silence.
Mother….’ TSML

Beautiful, isn’t it?

As we relax with Mars Rx and Mercury Rx we might notice all the ‘inanimate’ things in the world ‘come alive’ to deliver their messages to us. As they do, you might very much enjoy reading Tanith Lee, or even get acquainted with a certain ‘quantum sentient’ named Jarrod, the Juxta-quantum arranged rad ram operating determinant who comes to ‘life’ in Path of the Stray.

Any experiences to share? You KNOW I’m curious!

Journey by Night trailer

Check out Kim Falconer’s new trailer for Journey by Night. It’s pretty awesome, well done Kim!