Aftermath

Great fun last night - 50-60 people rocked up to Dymocks Carousel for the Hal Spacejock Second Course launch. I started signing books, and eventually the line had to be halted for a while so we could get a couple of speeches in. Then it was back to signing.

Dymocks did a great job, with trays of sandwiches, drinks and nibblies all round. It was great to see people from the first Hal Spacejock launch, as well as readers who'd picked the first book up since September. The store tells me they sold 65 of my books on the night, and the encouraging news is that 1/3 of those were copies of the first title.

Fremantle Arts were represented by the hard-working duo of Leone Dyer and Ray Coffey, both of them excited by the sight of so many people and the great reception the books seem to be getting. Back at head office, Nyanda has already sent out review copies and is ensuring the media get to hear about Hal Spacejock.

Remember, Hal 2 will be in stores across Australia on the first of March. Even if you couldn't make it to the launch, you'll be able to pick up your own copy of the book very, very soon.

No word yet on US or UK publishers, I'm afraid. If you live outside Australia or NZ the only option is to order from somewhere like the Australian Online Bookshop. I'm running a mailing list to keep people informed of any progress in this direction: just visit the mailing list home page to sign up.

Finally, the draw for a signed copy of Hal 2 closes in less than a week. Visit this page to enter. It's free, your email won't be used for any other purpose and it's open to all, whichever country you happen to live in.

Simon Haynes is the author of the Hal Spacejock and Hal Junior series (Amazon / Smashwords / other formats)