"The Heir of Night": Now Published in the UK—Plus Earthquake 'Launch-a-thon'

It definitely feels a little strange to have a book launch in the immediate aftermath of the February 22nd earthquake that has caused so much devastation here in Christchurch—but I do want to at least mark the occasion of The Heir of Night's release into the UK, and do so in a way that contributes to the earthquake recovery effort.

Scroll down to find out more–and enjoy the "unabridged version" of the wonderful release day graphic from Peter Fitzpatrick, who is also  responsible for the very special map for The Wall of Night series.

So what's happening today, March 3:

1. Firstly, I have a release day post on the Orbit blog: you can check it out here (if you haven't already.:) )

2. To mark the UK release, I'll be giving away 3 x signed book sets of:

the UK first edition of The Heir of Night (in large format trade paperback, no less!); and
Thornspell (Knopf, USA), which won the Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best Novel: Young Adult in 2009

To enter the draw, make a comment on this post before 8 pm, Friday 4 March, New Zealand time; or 7 am Friday 4 March, UK (London) time. The 3 winners will be drawn by random selection on Random.Org and the result notified here, on "… Anything, Really", on Saturday 5 March (NZ time.)

3. Last, But Very Far From Least—the 'Launch-a-thon': I would have preferred otherwise, but this UK launch has fallen in the aftermath of what may prove to be NZ's worst natural disaster to date. To show support for my city and community, I'll donate a dollar, up to a maximum of NZ$500, for every person who comments on the official launch post (or in fact any of my posts today, March 3) before 8 pm on Friday 4 March, NZ time (7 am, Friday 4 March, London UK time.) The money will go to the NZ Red Cross 2011 Earthquake Appeal.

Needless to say, I hope that a lot of you will comment!   I'm looking forward to reading what you have to say.