Tuesday evening saw a good crowd
gathered in the University of Canterbury’s UBS bookshop for the launch of The
Gathering of the Lost, the second book in Helen Lowe’s The Wall
of Night series. Lowe is the current Ursula Bethell writer-in-residence
at the university and the event marked the simultaneous release of The
Gathering of the Lost, in the USA, UK, Australia and New Zealand.
UBS co-owner, Philip King, hosted the
event and Dr Christina Stachurski, Co-ordinator of the University’s Creative
Writing programme, introduced Helen Lowe and the book, particularly mentioning
Lowe’s passion and commitment to her talent and craft, as well as her
contribution to and promotion of the creative writing community.
Dr Stachurski
also read a short statement from Lowe’s lead editor, Katherine Nintzel of
HarperCollins in New York, including:
“ … Helen is a true writer, the kind who
invests deeply in each word she puts to the page, and THE GATHERING OF THE LOST
is a novel that, though it is set in a world not our own, looks deep inside the
human heart and asks all the big questions.
It is also, I must say, quite a page-turner! I am thrilled for Helen on
this occasion …”
Helen Lowe’s partner, Andrew Robins (right),
Test Manager at local industry leader, Tait Electronics, also made a short
speech, speaking to the journey of this particular book in the context of its completion
during the devastating Christchurch earthquakes. The Gathering of the Lost
is dedicated to those who died in the February 22nd disaster and
also to the police, fire, rescue services and many volunteers who helped in the
aftermath of that event. Lowe also spoke of the influence of those events on
the book, particularly mentioning individuals whose help had made a difference
in getting the book to publication.
But despite reference to
the earthquakes, this was by no means a sombre occasion. Helen Lowe prefaced
and ended her author’s speech with two short readings from The Gathering of
the Lost, which the USA’s SF-Site has described as follows:
“Helen Lowe’s Wall of
Night series has the potential to become a classic, right up there with the
likes of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire . . . . Anyone who loves to read fantastic fiction
from a true talent should read this series.” – SF Site
Those gathered certainly
seemed in the spirit to celebrate and the evening was one of smiling faces and animated
conversation in which earthquakes did not feature. And judging by the
length of the signing queue, it was an evening of book sales as well.
2 comments:
Great to hear the launch went well and I can't wait to get my hands on the book
Kaiapoi
Thank you, JacquiBee.
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