Daughter Of Blood Is Out In The World -- And I'm Having Fun With That!

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US cover

A book launch is an edge of the seat, don't hold your breath, wild ride of a time, with interviews and guest posts, reviews and reader feedback all a-happening.

When I posted last month, Daughter of Blood (The Wall of Night Book Three) had just been published and everything was very new. So this month, I thought I'd share some of my highlights from the book launch journey between then and now.

Very early on, I did an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit Fantasy. I was a tad nervous, since the subjects I know nothing at all about include quantum physics, crochet, and the rules of croquet. (Just to name a few!) Luckily for me, none of those subjects came up -- but one Redditeer did ask me:

"What was your favorite part to write in Daughter of Blood? Was there a particular scene..."

And yes, there was. As I replied then:

"There are many favorite scenes, but one that I very much enjoyed but also seemed to be greatly enjoyed by my beta readers is a glorious charge against rather large, if not overwhelming odds--I did say above, that this is epic fantasy, right? At any rate, the charge is, like the character who leads it, glorious but when I was thinking of paring DAUGHTER back, I did wonder if I could delete both that character and therefore that scene. But my beta readers said, pretty much as one, "No, you can't!" And who am I to deny such conviction from my beta readers? So the scene is still in there and I hope readers may also enjoy it."

UK/AU/NZ cover

Meanwhile, in an interview on The Qwillery, I was thrown a real curved ball:

"Describe Daughter of Blood in 140 characters or less. /like a tweet/"

Like a tweet, thought, OMG -- this is like the dreaded elevator pitch only a kerzillion times worse! However, once I stopped hyperventilating and put my thinking cap on, I did manage this:

“Intrigue, war, & friendship in the face of darkness as two heroes race against time to find a lost shield and solve a 400 year-old mystery.”

Sound OK? I thought it would probably past muster. ;-)

About the same time, I also had a guest post on TOR.com,  Aikido: The Art of Falling. (AKA "Helen -- the Martial Arts Years.") I had a lot of fun writing this post, although it also contained a thread of seriousness:

 "Some moments are magic and you remember them forever—which pretty much sums up the very first time I ventured into an aikido dojo ... Aikido just clicked for me and although I drove home with a reasonable complement of aches and bruises (the first of many over the years to come) I also had this huge sense of wellbeing. I felt as if I was the right person in the right place at the right time—and doing absolutely the right thing. .."

To find out more about "how" and "why" click on through to TOR.com and:

Aikido: The Art of Falling


Just a grab-bag of highlights from this rollercoaster ride of book launch fun! Some of the other highlights include:

• A guest post on SF Signal: Writing Heroines: Malian, Myr, and DAUGHTER OF BLOOD
• An interview with Sharon Stogner on the ismellsheep genre site
• Write & Take Flight guest post: The Road To Story 
•  Functional Nerds podcast, Episode 264: a conversation with John Anealio and Patrick Hester
•  Fantasy Faction guest post: Five Legendary Swords of Fantasy Fiction

I hope you have as much fun checking them out as I had doing them all. :-)

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Helen Lowe is a novelist, poet, interviewer and blogger whose first novel, Thornspell (Knopf), was published to critical praise in 2008. Her second, The Heir of Night (The Wall Of Night Series, Book One) won the Gemmell Morningstar Award 2012. The sequel, The Gathering Of The Lost, was shortlisted for the Gemmell Legend Award in 2013. Daughter Of Blood, (The Wall Of Night, Book Three) was published on January 26, 2016. Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog, occasionally on SF Signal, and is also on Twitter: @helenl0we

Enter, "Daughter Of Blood"!

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USA/CAN

Yes, that's right -- on 1 January  I told you how much I was looking forward to seeing Daughter Of Blood published.

And now it is published: how cool is that?! (Pretty durned cool, I reckon. :D )

Daughter Of Blood has already had some nice attention from the pundits, too:

Publisher's Weekly:

“Returning fans…will delight in Lowe’s intricate worldbuilding and keen eye for politicking. The introduction of new characters and prophecies adds some depth of intrigue to Lowe’s impressive epic.”
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Romantic Times: 

“The world of Lowe’s Wall of Night series continues to expand exponentially, and this third installment is sprawling, vividly detailed and consistently intriguing…the result is a heady, imaginative tale full of Lowe’s haunting prose and bold characters, that builds to a startling climax that will leave readers anxious for more.”

Kirkus Reviews: "Can't Miss Spec Fic Round Up"

“This third book in The Wall of Night series (you have been reading this Gemmell Award–winning series, yes?) is a richly drawn and imaginative as its predecessors.”

And now Sharon Stogner at ismellsheep has chimed in with 5 "Blood Sheep" -- woot!

"There is constant action and I was absorbed in the complexity of the story and watching as all the pieces Lowe has been putting into place since book one start to fall into place ... The writing is amazing and I'm captivated by the world Lowe created."

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"But what," you quite rightly cry, "about the story?"

UK/AU/NZ

Last month I gave you two 'taster' excerpts: this month I'll introduce you to the Daughter of Blood herself, aka Myr the Mouse:

"Outside, the latest Wall storm had blown itself into a brief respite of calm weather, but inside the Red Keep the storm that had been raging between the ruling kin for weeks continued to generate acrimony and raised voices. Although, Myr thought, wrapping her arms around her drawn-up knees, “raised voices” was only her former governess Ise’s way of being polite. Anyone else would say shouting, usually over the top of whoever else was yelling at the same time.

She stared out over league on league of cloud wrack and bitter peaks toward the dark smudge that concealed the farthest limit of the Wall of Night. Sometimes, when the sky was more overcast, she caught the flicker of lightning through the smudge and would shiver, thinking about all those who kept watch over that dark boundary. Today, though, the sky was as close to clear as it ever got on the Wall of Night.

Peaceful, Myr told herself, thinking of the dispute that still rumbled in the keep below her..."

To read more, click on:

Lady Mouse 

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To read the first three chapters in order click on:
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Prologue

Chapter 1: Lady Mouse

Chapter 2: The Serpent Prince

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Enjoy!

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Helen Lowe is a novelist, poet, interviewer and blogger whose first novel, Thornspell (Knopf), was published to critical praise in 2008. Her second, The Heir of Night (The Wall Of Night Series, Book One) won the Gemmell Morningstar Award 2012. The sequel, The Gathering Of The Lost, was shortlisted for the Gemmell Legend Award in 2013. Daughter Of Blood, (The Wall Of Night, Book Three) was published on January 26, 2016. Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog, occasionally on SF Signal, and is also on Twitter: @helenl0we

Looking Forward To 2016 — And "Daughter Of Blood"

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New Year is an exciting time — but even more exciting for me this year, since Daughter Of Blood, the third novel in my The Wall Of Night series will be published on 26 January.

And there is absolutely nothing more exciting than Publication Day!

Although the build-up to publication can be a lot of fun as well. You may recall that the new US covers were featured "side by side" on SF Signal in September —and they still look cool!  As do the UK covers, below. :)

No matter how cool, though, a book is more than a cover: it's also about story and that means the words on the page.

So, again on SF Signal, the very first words from Daughter Of Blood were unveiled on November 16: 

"Tongues of lightning flashed out of a bruised sky, the wildfire flickering along a broken colonnade before splitting apart around a man’s tall figure. Dead leaves drifted to either side as the rift in the air closed, but no ripple disturbed the length of the newcomer’s surcote, white over blue-black mail, or the fall of his long hair as he passed beneath a crumbing arch and into an open court, bounded by twelve paired pillars. A wide pool lay on its far side, with shallow steps leading out onto a stone platform where a woman gazed into the motionless depths. Her gossamer sleeves stirred in a slight breeze, but otherwise she was as still as the surrounding water and did not turn when the man joined her ..."

To read more, click on:

Prologue  

 

The second chapter featured on B&N SciFi only t'other week: 
 

“The three hooded figures came up Grayharbor’s Sailcloth Street just as the rain swept in off the sea for the second time that day. The deluge brought a swirl of leaves and rubbish down the deep gutters on either side of the cobbled thoroughfare, and all three leapt for the portico of Seruth’s temple where Faro had taken shelter. He heard one of the strangers curse as his boot came down in the flood. The fine black leather was soaked in an instant, and the man cursed again as he followed his companions into the porch. Faro moved further back, into the corner closest to the temple door, wary of the long black cloaks and deep hoods that did not fall back even when the newcomers sprang for shelter. They were carrying swords, too. He recognized the shape of hilt and scabbard beneath their cloaks

and knew that likely meant other weapons as well …”

For more, click on:
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Chapter 2, The Serpent Prince

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And there will be yet more to come — at least one more chapter preview, but possibly two, and I thought we might have some fun with deleted scenes as well.
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(Lots of those! O-o)

And there might be a giveaway or two somewhere in the mix. First though, I shall have to see some printed books — and we're not quite there yet. 

It must be close now though, very close...

So as you can see, I have a lot to look forward to early on in 2016!

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Helen Lowe is a novelist, poet, interviewer and blogger whose first novel, Thornspell (Knopf), was published to critical praise in 2008. Her second, The Heir of Night (The Wall Of Night Series, Book One) won the Gemmell Morningstar Award 2012. The sequel, The Gathering Of The Lost, was shortlisted for the Gemmell Legend Award in 2013. Daughter Of Blood, (The Wall Of Night, Book Three) is forthcoming on January 26, 2016. Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog, occasionally on SF Signal, and is also on Twitter: @helenl0we