Helen Lowe's Blog, page 324

After the Party …

… and what a party it was, with well over 400 of you coming through the door to check out why the joint was jumpin'!

And Heir made it to No. 29,000 on Amazon today.  I know that it's definitely "early days" because there's always that first rush and then 'wait and see', but still … Woot for the early rush!  There's two 5-star reader reviews up already: thank you Rebecca Fisher from FantasyLit.com (although I think that may technically be 4.5 on the FantasyLit site) and Sharon Stogner!

Spent the rest of the day working on the flood of launch stuff still rolling in—there's two more  blog interviews to complete, with a Q&A coming up. Time, as well, to start implementing my (nefarious!) plans for the AU/NZ release day on Thursday October 7. Stand by for more next week.

Meanwhile, tomorrow 1 October (US Eastern Standard Time) I'll be doing my regular first-of-the-month post on the Supernatural Underground—and because The Heir of Night is "just out" in the USA I did hear a whisper from Kate Nintzel, my editor at Eos, that there might be some kind of giveaway … Just a whisper mind you, but worth dropping by to check it out.

Licorice & All Sorts!

So much to do so little time—but a very important time to be doing all of it! And meanwhile, I still have this bowl of sweets from Claire Beynon to keep the party spirit going a little longer!

A Fantastic Party, But Seriously, It's All You …

I've had the best celebration day for the The Heir of Night going on sale, and I'd really like to thank you all for "making that so!"

I suggested, in the party invite, that people either post—and thank you so much for "knocking on my door" and doing just that —or "tell me why books and/or fantasy rock your world".

So although you can read all these wonderful ideas by reading through the comments, I thought I'd re-post some of them here, in "large and in lights", just to underline again what a wonderful party it's been. As well as those who did "simply post" in order to rejoice with me: how special is that?

Pretty durned special, I think: so here you all are: [Selected excerpts, anyway!]

"Ah Fantasy, some truths can only be spoken in metaphor, and some plots are just too fun to put down. Good fantasy has both, with amazing characters thrown in, what's not to love?" — AJ Ponder

"Why do I love fantasy novels? Because they are filled with imaginative worlds, complicated characters, and intriguing conflicts." – Violet

"Fantasy is one of my favourite genres because it takes you to new worlds and makes you encounter amazing things and creatures you can only dream of in real life." — Sullivan McPig & Carien

" … thank you for creating new worlds" — Harvey Molloy

"Oh, fantasy. The best way of saying true things that are made up." — Karen Healey

"F&SF – my favourite genre. No limits to the imagination…" — Anthony

"It's so thrilling to see all your years of hard work pay off… Looking forward to having the whole series in pride-of-place on my bookshelf! " – Joffre Horlor

"I want you to plant that kiwi flag right in the heart of the US of A. … (Yeah, I know books don't have passports… but just this once… for fun…)" — Mary Victoria

"Hooray!!! "– Jane Higgins

"Looking foward to toasting it together soon" –- Viki

"I loved HEIR from the moment I first read the manuscript a few years ago, and I am just so very thrilled to see it in print!" – Beth Miller

"It is such a wonderful story [image error] Looking forward to the next one." – Sharon

"It's always a pleasure to read good and fascinating fantasy books." – Seregil of Rhiminee

"Congratulations on the book release!" — Sami Thomson

"Hey, fantastic news!" — Rose-Marie Lillian

"I love this idea of a blog party, and you don't have to clean up afterward! "– Vanda Symon

"All the very best for your launch/es …" — Micah Timona Ferris

"Fab news – am very excited for you – will have bubbles in November … " – Jayne Richardson

"Woohoo! Am I late? Sorry. *hands over a magnum-sized bottle of Diamond draught* Go EASY on that stuff, it's a heady brew…" — Ciaran Fox

"I hope you get to do whatever is your favourite mode of celebration today and that the good news regarding Heir of the Night just keeps coming." — Nicole Murphy

"Such a blast to see all the great reviews and know that "Heir" is out there doing it's thing!" — Andrew

[That's "my" Andrew; so glad he could make the party, however briefly, even on a 'school day'! ]

"… go you. I look forward to reading it. Loved Thornspell." — Judith Stanley

"I have spread the news of the party on a prominent bird-related social networking tool, so I hope still more revellers (nice, well-behaved ones – not gatecrashers) will join in soon." – Tim Jones

"I have my best frock and hat on, Helen — what a great party!" — Claire Beynon

"I loved the book and it now sits on the Staff Recommends shelf of the bookstore I where I work (a bit of New Zealand in the middle of the USA as someone put it)…" — Georgette

Yes, it's you all this fuss is about!

Last Friday, I blogged (in part) about that proverbial  "journey of a thousand miles"—which may begin with opening your front door and walking out, or may commence when one half-begun manuscript is picked out of the pile and the resolution made to "finish it". But although all such journeys may begin with that single, first step they are rarely—if ever—completed entirely alone.

In my case, and that of The Heir of Night, I feel honoured both by the warmth shown in joining in my celebration today, and also by the confidence so many people have shown in The Wall of Night series. Firstly, the wonderful Kate Nintzel, my editor at Eos, as well as Diana Gill and the rest of the Eos team; my agent Robin Rue and Beth Miller, her assistant; my partner, Andrew, whose support never wavers; and so many readers, family and friends over this journey that–as always with a book—has taken years. More recently, there's the wider community of enthusiasts, interviewers and reviewers, librarians, booksellers and yet more readers I am meeting here, as well as on Out of this Eos, Orbit, and through the Supernatural Underground. What can I say, except that one and all:

AU/NZ Edition: Out Next Week!

You rock!

So now, as the grande finale of our blog party, I hope you will now all fill your glasses—at least in spirit—and drink with me: to the Muses and all the creative forms that they inspire, and to The Heir of Night going on sale today throughout the United States and Canada (and in Australia and New Zealand next week!)

Most of all, though, I hope you will accept my salute to you, because if there is still magic out there, it is only because separately and together, you make it happen.

Here At Last: Publication Date In the USA!

—

And in addition to celebrating right here on my blog, I have a guest post on Out of this Eos—and you can check out my interview on RisingShadow here and reviews on FantasyLit.com, Bookloons and again on Risingshadow: just click on the links! Otherwise, kickback, comment, or send me a post to generally join in the fun!

Tuesday Poem: "Out of the blue" by Frankie McMillan

Out of the blue

On a morning when I stare

at small things

like the curve of a spoon

or light on a rimmed plate

you ring, breathless

with talk of wild pigs,

how they swept down

from the Aorere Hills

on a moonlit night

to ravage your garden –

the winter cabbages

pale roots upended

like ghostly masts.

Once our mother buried

broken china in the ground

blue willow    blue willow

now you pick shards from the mud

the lovers, you say, still wave

from the arching bridge.

© Frankie McMillan
from Dressing for the...

Early Copies Here!

Only two days to go now …

Arrived today!

And early this morning a courier van turned up in my drive (why do they always come with the dawn chorus?)  "Are you Helen?" the courier asked, and I confimed that indeed, Helen I was—and am—so he handed over the small, awkwardly shaped parcel with the New York sender's address. Of course, I checked out the shape with my hands (as you do!) and guessed "books"—and books, once I cut the packaging open, it was.

Two early copies of the US edition of Heir...

A Day Closer … & Blog Interviews

Publication Day, minus 3 … Although as Jan commented this morning, it's the 28th in the USA that is "on sale day", and as US Eastern Standard Time is currently (with NZ's shift to daylight saving) 17 hours behind NZ, I should perhaps technically still be saying Publication Day, minus 4.

But as seven hours of our 28th will overlap with the 28th in the USA, I think I shall stick with the original countdown schedule. Official release date for Australia/New Zealand is still the 1st, so I get to...

Still Counting Down … & Some Thoughts on Reviews

Publication Day, minus 4 …

As you've gathered from a few of last weeks posts, this is the time in the writing cycle when reviews start to come in thick and fast—and also the time as a writer when you feel acutely aware of just what it means to put yourself and your work on the line.

Yesterday, I blogged about my eleven-year journey to get The Heir of Night (The Wall of Night Series Book One) to this point—and obviously, by the very act of publishing I am putting my work out there into the...

Being In Countdown Mode

US Cover

This week, as you'll have seen from earlier posts, I'm very much in countdown mode—double countdown in fact—to the official launch of The Heir of Night (The Wall of Night Series, Book One) in the USA (Eos) on 28 September and Australia/ New Zealand (Orbit) on 4 March. So what does that mean, in practical terms?

AU/NZ Cover

Well, for a start, it's a really big deal for me, not just as a writer but as (what I like to call) a "human bean" ("Being"—just in case you didn't get it! ) I...

Library Journal Review for "The Heir of Night"—& Cover Flat Giveaway

"The Heir of Night" Cover Flat

5 days left to go …

And my editor in the US has sent through a review from the Library Journal for The Heir of Night: (I have only reproduced the actual 'review' part, the [...:] comprises a summary of the story.)

"Lowe, Helen. The Heir of Night. Eos: HarperCollins. (Wall of Night, Bk. 1). Sept. 2010.
…

VERDICT Lowe's first novel, a series opener, calls to mind the inchoate evil of Barbara Hambly's classic  "Darwath...

Cover Flat Giveaway to Celebrate the Heir Publication Countdown!

Tomorrow, 23 September, to celebrate just 5 days to go until US and AU/NZ publication of The Heir of Night, I'll be giving away 5 signed cover flats of Heir's USA (blue) cover.

But if you don't want to wait, I'll include any comments on this post in the draw as well!

You can earn points (i.e. the number of times your name goes into the draw) by:

+1 Posting in the comments section
+1 Linking to this post on Twitter
+1 Linking to this post on Facebook
+1 Linking to my Helen Lowe on Anything Really ...