Guest Post On Orbit—"The Evolution of Character: Malian of Night and the Heroic Tradition"—Plus Giveaway!

I have  a guest post on the Orbit blog today, titled "The Evolution of Character: Malian of Night and the Heroic Tradition", which begins:

"Recently I was asked, 'what makes Malian, your main character in The Heir of Night, unique in epic fantasy? And what makes a hero, anyway?' My initial response was 'aargh, the pressure'—not just of an example, but of encapsulating what is often the slow delicate process of character evolution. And Malian of Night's character did evolve over many years...