THE publishing world is in a tizzy over Filipino author Thea Guanzon's debut novel, 'The Hurricane Wars.' Within a week of its launching, it landed on the 12th spot at The New York Times bestsellers' list. It also landed on the bestsellers' list of The Sunday Times of London. Waterstones in the United Kingdom also published its own edition of the book; copies promptly sold out.

Published by Harper Voyager, a subsidiary of HarperCollins, the book is a romantic fantasy set in a Southeast Asian country torn by politics and hurricanes, a country that resembles the Philippines. Guanzon said: 'Two bitter enemies on opposite sides of a deadly conflict forge a volatile alliance in order to save their respective nations from a greater threat on the horizon.'