Wednesday, February 1, 2012

“The Gathering of The Lost”---Another Fabulous Cover & Author Quote!

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Last month I welcomed in the New Year with the big reveal for the US cover for The Gathering of the Lost, which is Book Two in my The Wall of Night series and will be published on 27 March. I am really very excited about that, one because it’s a new book out and nothing beats that feeling—but also because getting the book finished at all in the midst of our ‘year of 9000 earthquakes’ (here in Christchurch, NZ) took just about everything I had to give. So being able to kick back, say “it’s not only done but here’s this amazing cover that I can share with you” is a special moment.

Something that made 1 January extra special again (but it was New Year, so hey!) was that I got to share the wonderful cover quote from Juliet Marillier as well. (Here—just in case you missed it last month.)

Today though, there’s more!

Because you see, as of 4 April, The Gathering of the Lost will also be coming out simultaneously in the UK, Australia and New Zealand—and because I have a different publisher in those countries I get a different cover as well. Double the fun!

But just before we go to the fabulous UK/AU/NZ cover, I also feel very, very privileged and honored that Nebula Award winning author Catherine Asaro has recently advance read the book and had this to say:


“Helen Lowe writes wonderful stories, yes, but her work also speaks with lyricism to deeper questions of how we treat each other.  With lovely prose that brings vivid life to her characters, she creates a universe with people we care about. This is an author with a gift for fantasy.” 
~ Catherine Asaro



As I said last month, this is probably the highest honor one author can pay another and I feel very grateful to both Catherine and Juliet for taking time out of their own very busy writing schedules, first to read and then to provide a quote for The Gathering of the Lost.

So without further ado, here is that second wonderful cover. In this case Duncan Spilling of Orbit’s in-house design team has created the artwork—and I think he’s done an absolutely fabulous job. (Look below for what it says on the back cover.)

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SHE WILL NOT STAND ALONE.
Five years after the Darkswarm assault on her stronghold home, 
Malian of Night remains missing, believed dead in the wilds of Jaransor.
 
But not all accept her death and now her enemies and are on the hunt. Suspicion falls on the heralds Tarathan and Jehane, who find themselves caught in a web of intrigue and murder during the Ijiri Festival of Masks. They flee bearing word of a death on the Wall – and a call to duty and honour that Malian must answer or be forsworn.

Yet after five years of searching, the legendary weapons of the Derai’s greatest hero remain lost. Without them, a return to the Wall of Night promises only defeat and death.”


As always, thank you for letting me ‘share the goodness’ with you here today.

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Supernatural Underground author Helen Lowe is a novelist, poet and interviewer, and currently writer-in-residence at the University of Canterbury. Her latest novel, The Heir of Night, the first of THE WALL OF NIGHT quartet, is published internationally, and won the Sir Julius Vogel Award  for Best Novel in 2011; it is currently nominated for the UK-based Gemmell Awards in both the “Legend” and “Morningstar” categories. Helen blogs every day on “Helen Lowe on Anything, Really” and on the first day of every month right here on the Supernatural Underground.

9 comments:

Jan said...

Fantastic cover, wonderful quotes, awesome blub!
So looking forward to the next chapter.

Sam said...

Quite a differnt feel from the US cover.

Wonder why that is?

Barbara E. said...

I really like this cover, and even though the US one is nice, I'm jealous that UK/AU/NZ get to have this one.

Llehn said...

Congrats on the gorgeous cover, Helen!

Helen Lowe said...

Jan: me too! :)

Sam: I think publishers see their markets differently in different countries, but in this case, Harper Voyager (USA) are focusing more on the feel of the world, while Orbit (UK/AUS/NZ) are concentrating on the character of Malian of Night.

Barbara E: I love both covers to bits, but with this cover I really like the slightly eerie sense, but also a hint of the romantic ... With the US cover I love the sense of adventure and 'High Fantasy Romance'--and both covers are very true to the story, which is amazing given that they are quite different.:)

Llehn: Thank you!

Sharon Stogner said...

wonderful cover, again :) Catch your breath now, cause it is going to be a whirlwind once the book comes out :)

Helen Lowe said...

I shall trust in your prescience, Sharon. :)

Bonnie said...

Wow, I love both of the covers. The blurb is great too. I can't wait to read it.

Helen Lowe said...

Thanks Bonnie--I shall hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Hmmm, thinks about writing environment of earthquakes plus--maybe a little more than I enjoyed writing it, ie I hope your reading milieu is more relaxing! ;-)