Author Archives: Barbara Howe

Ghost Bus: Tales from Wellington’s Dark Side

Posted on 1 May 2021 by Barbara Howe

The stories in this small collection (eight entries) made me smile. Some even made me laugh. Not bad for a collection titled Ghost Bus: Tales from Wellington’s Dark Side. I’m generally not a fan of either horror or grim dark … Continue reading →

Posted in Speculative fiction | 1 Comment

Time and Again

Posted on 16 April 2021 by Barbara Howe

One January night in 1970, illustrator Simon (Si) Morley walks out of a New York City apartment and into the night of 21 January 1882. Si is a participant in a secret government project attempting time travel, but he hasn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Fiction, Science Fiction | Comments Off on Time and Again

Exhalation: Stories

Posted on 3 April 2021 by Barbara Howe

Exhalation: Stories is a collection of award-winning stories (at least five Hugos and several Nebulas between them) by American speculative fiction writer Ted Chiang. These moderately-paced stories are entertaining, but they are also examinations of ideas, touching on such serious … Continue reading →

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Night Sky

Posted on 19 March 2021 by Barbara Howe

On a dark night in Brittany in March 1943, Julie Lescaux, and her 7-year-old son Peter shelter from the wind and rain in a cleft in the cliffs at the water’s edge. They watch in horror as German occupiers converge … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Fiction | Comments Off on Night Sky

A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking

Posted on 5 March 2021 by Barbara Howe

Ironically I am publishing this in the midst of COVID-19, when we all started making sourdough at home and then started protesting police brutality. Suddenly a twelve year old book was actually relevant. Go figure. ― T. Kingfisher Meet Bob, the … Continue reading →

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The Wordsmith reminder

Posted on 19 February 2021 by Barbara Howe

It’s been a busy couple of weeks, with the book launch for The Wordsmith, the fourth book in my high fantasy Reforging series, coming up this weekend. If you want the link to the zoom event, contact me and I … Continue reading →

Posted in A Writer's Life | Comments Off on The Wordsmith reminder

Elatsoe

Posted on 5 February 2021 by Barbara Howe

As Ellie Bride’s cousin Trevor lies in hospital, dying of injuries from an automobile crash, he appears to her in a dream, saying he has been murdered and begging her to protect his family: wife Lenore and baby Gregory. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's Fiction, Fantasy | Comments Off on Elatsoe

The Wordsmith Book Launch

Posted on 25 January 2021 by Barbara Howe

For The Wordsmith, the 4th book in my high fantasy Reforging series, I will be having a virtual book launch, via zoom. You don’t have to be here in Wellington, NZ to join in. The event will be on Sunday … Continue reading →

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Arctic Dreams

Posted on 15 January 2021 by Barbara Howe

I learned this week that Barry Lopez, the American scientist and nature writer, died on Christmas Day 2020 at the age of 75. His magnum opus, Arctic Dreams: Imagination and Desire is a Northern Landscape, is a classic work of … Continue reading →

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2021 TBR

Posted on 3 January 2021 by Barbara Howe

Before the holidays I owned five of the books in Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London/Constable Peter Grant series. I had added the next book to my wishlist, and my family gave me four books in the series (from three separate … Continue reading →

Posted in A Writer's Life | 2 Comments