Helen Lowe's Blog, page 262

Two New Reviews: One for "The Heir of Night"; One for "The Gathering of the Lost"

It's been a quiet time for reviews—but then two came though in the same twenty four hour period!

US

UK

So here they are: an in-depth look at The Heir of Night — recently shortlisted for the Gemmell Morningstar Award, here — from Paul Weimer of SF Signal. You can read it here

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USA Cover

UK/AUS/NZ

And a review for The Gathering of the Lost from SFFANZ reviewer Simon Litten — here

I Interview Fellow Author, Ian Irvine, on Orbit

This interview is not officially a stop on the Blog Tour, but is part of the launch of The Gathering of the Lost.

My fellow Orbit author, Ian Irvine, is also releasing an epic fantasy novel now: Vengeance, the first in his Tainted Realm series—and my UK editor, Jenni Hill, suggested an "epic fantasy interview swap." So that is exactly what we have done!

My interview of Ian Irvine is up first and you can read it now on the Orbit blog. And next week, Ian will interview me, again on Orbit. All...

Today's Stop on The Blog Tour: I Visit US Entertainment Site "I Smell Sheep"

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UK/AUS/NZ cover

For today's stop on the Blog Tour I'm stopping in at FSF Entertainment Site, ismellsheep, where Katie and Sharon have put together an excellent—and occasionally amusing!—set of questions for me to answer.

I also get theme music, which I think is awesome! And moon pies by way of virtual hospitality—excellent!

And Kiwi readers, take due note: I even got in a mention of the All Blacks—which just goes to show that bookish type or not, you may be able to take the gal out of t...

Tuesday Poem: "The Trojan Shore"

Ithaca Conversations:

The Trojan Shore

Tonight, the wind blows bitter
from the stony heights
beyond the city, gusts
at the thousand cook-fires,
lifts dust and grit from the plain,
driving through tent flaps
and into eyes, rank
with the stench of a siege camp –
combined sweat, wounds and excrement
assault every sense, beat at him
where he stands apart,
one more shadow on the beach,
one hand pushed hard
against his black prowed ship
while his eyes strain towards
the long horizon, strive
to see beyond it to the f...

Breaking News: "The Heir of Night" Has Been Shortlisted for The Gemmell Awards

The Heir of Night UK

I am thrilled to announce that The Heir of Night, The Wall of Night Book One has been nominated for the UK-based Gemmell Awards in the Morningstar Category for Best Fantasy Newcomer.

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I am also delighted that Frank Victoria has been nominated in the Ravenheart Category for Best Fantasy Artist for the cover art for his wife (and my friend and fellow author) Mary Victoria's novel,  Oracle's Fire (Harper Voyager Australia.)

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And Aaron Briggs, the son of friend & fellow

A Few More Photos From The Launch

I did an initial write up of the real time launch for The Gathering of the Lost the following day, on April 4, here.

UBS as people gather

And there was a far more official write up on Beatties Bookblog on Saturday here.

I am not going to say a lot more words here except to reiterate what I said in Wednesday's post—that it was a great evening and just such a nice feeling to celebrate with so many good friends—76 of you in all if I counted right—and the more so after everything life has thrown at ...

Currently on "The Gathering of the Lost" Blog Tour: An interview With Mary Victoria

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UK/AUS/NZ cover

Just a reminder that the current stop on the Blog Tour is with Mary Victoria, friend and fellow author of The Chronicles of the Tree trilogy.

Those of you who have read Mary's series will guess that she is a reflective and insightful reader as well as writer—and she has definitely asked some thoughtful questions about The Gathering of the Lost and Wall of Night series.

So do drop by—and maybe even leave a comment for me or Mary.:)

You can read the interview here.

The Tree

B...

UK Release Day Giveaway Result Announced!

Once again, I'd like to thank everyone who visited and commented, helping make the UK release of The Gathering of the Lost a real celebration!

But as with all really good celebrations, there were giveaways, and here's the outcome of the draw, which—like the Name/Character draw )

 ** The Absolutely Tremendously Fabulous "Helen Lowe" Gift Set Comprising —

1 each signed first edition of ...

The "Your Name For A Character" Draw: We Have A Result

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UK/AUS/NZ cover

The Gods of Randomness Have Spoken—

& here's what they say in respect of the draw to "Give Your Name To A Character in "Daughter of Blood, The Wall of Night, Book Three"

This draw was run over both release days for The Gathering of the Lost: 27 March for the USA, Australia and New Zealand; 5 April for the UK.

In terms of eligible entries, 1 comment per person for every distinct blog post published here on either of those two days, counted.

The Draw was made by a friend...

Next Stop On The Tour: I Chat With Mary Victoria

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UK/AUS/NZ cover

The last stop on the Blog Tour was with the excellent and estimable Gillian Polack, talking historical influence in The Gathering of the Lost and The Wall of Night series.

And as of today I'm touching base with Mary Victoria at her Chronicles of the Tree home. Mary is author of the Tree trilogy (Harper Voyager) that began with Tymon's Flight, a shortlisted work for last year's Gemmell Morningstar Award.

Mary, Gillian, Karen Healey and I were all on a panel together at...