Announcing: A Nine Kings Fan Art Contest

Happy Tuesday, friends!

I know what you’re thinking: “I wanna hear a plug for the r/Fantasy AMA (Ask Me Anything) happening today (October 15)!”

…No?

Wait, wait–I’ve got it: someone JUST TOLD YOU that pre-orders are a thing. Here you go! Pre-order the hardcover, ebook, or audio version. Or even a signed copy!

Hold on… that’s not why you’re here either? Huh.

I KNOW. It’s because you’re looking for directions to one of the bookstores hosting the White Hot Book Tour, right?

Wrong AGAIN? Dangit!

Is it maybe because you want details regarding the NINE KINGS FAN ART CONTEST?

Oh! Well why didn’t you say so?

We are hosting a contest, right here in our tiny corner of the interwebs, for one month. Design your favorite Nine Kings card from any book in the Lightbringer Series, and email your submission to us. The grand prize will include your Nine Kings card design on the back of a custom deck of standard four-suit playing cards, and a stack of debut novels from Orbit’s 2019 New Voices. (WHOA!)

Fan Art from Elly

Loot: 

ONE (1) Person will receive:

  • A standard four-suit playing card deck with their winning design on the backs of the cards
  • A signed copy of THE BURNING WHITE
  • A stack of awesome debut novels from Orbit’s 2019 new voices:
    • The Gutter Prayer by Gareth Hanrahan
    • Velocity Weapon by Megan E. O’keefe
    • The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter
    • The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep by H. G. Parry
    • The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix Harrow
    • Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender

FOUR (4) Additional People will receive:

  • A signed copy of THE BURNING WHITE
  • An exclusive Lightbringer t-shirt of your choice (design choices will be shared in the next few days)

Rules:

1. Entries may be submitted starting TODAY (Tuesday, October 15) until SATURDAY, November 30 at 11:59pm Pacific Standard Time (PST).

2. Each entry must include:

  • An image file (JPG or PDF; no layered files please) showing your depiction/interpretation of a Nine Kings card from Lightbringer
  • Your contact information
  • Please make sure the email subject includes “NINE KINGS FAN ART”

3. International entries are allowed and encouraged!

4. Image may be digital, hand-drawn, or some combination thereof. A life portrait or photograph interpreting a card is also allowed.

5. Keep it PG-13, artists. (This means no graphic depictions of violence or sexuality. So if you’re considering “The Butcher of Aghbalu,” be mindful of our audience, please.)

6. You may submit multiple entries, but note that you can only win once.

7. Please email your submission(s) to the Dread Pirate CAPSLOCK, admin @ brentweeks [dot] com.

8. The winners will be chosen at random, by me.

9. Other: You must be 18 or older to win (younger participants are welcome, but by law we can’t give you a prize). No purchase is necessary. Odds of winning are based on the number of entries, but definitely higher if you submit. We will notify winners via email. You must respond to our notification within 7 days, or another winner will be chosen. That would be sad for you. They’d be happy. So maybe the net happiness would be neither increased nor decreased. We could try it out if you win.

10. Winners will be announced on Tuesday, December 10, 2019.

HERE is a nearly-complete list of cards mentioned in one or more books in The Lightbringer Series.

GO FORTH AND CREATE, BELOVED MINIONS!

Lightbringer Magic, Explained

We are so ridiculously close to unleashing THE BURNING WHITE upon the world, we thought it might be a good idea to share a couple of (brief!) videos explaining the magic system in the series. Y’know, as a refresher of sorts.

The first video is from Daniel Greene, and is completely spoiler-free:

 

The second is (mildly spoilery, but not really) from Best Fantasy Books HQ:

More Lightbringer fun tomorrow!

Real Life Fantasy: Sun + Water – Heat

Hey, look what’s back–Real Life Fantasy!

It’s been a while, so in case you’re not familiar: Real Life Fantasy is a feature where we explore phenomena in the Seven Satrapies that have crossed the spectral plane into the real world.

Or something like that.

This time around we’re looking at some optical physics: what happens when sunlight shines through water molecules in the atmosphere. While most of us are familiar with how water droplets refract sunlight–

Wing-Chi Poon – Jasper National Park, Canada

–here’s what happens when light is refracted through ice crystals in the atmosphere.

Lt. Cindy McFee – Public Domain

The photo above shows two pretty awesome sights: the first is diamond dust, those white specks hovering above the person’s head. Those are tiny ice crystals in the air, reflecting sunlight at just the right angle for the camera to capture it.

The second phenomenon, seen in both the photo above and below, is a parhelion, or sun dog: bright spots, usually diamond-shaped, flanking the sun.

As explained in the Wikipedia entry, parts of the 22° halo (the arcs passing through each sundog), a sun pillar (the vertical line) and the parhelic circle (the horizontal line) are also visible.

Similarly, there exists a fog bow, or “white rainbow,” which happens when light is refracted through… wait for it… fog.

(I snapped this picture a couple years ago, standing in my backyard. Yep, that’s a barn. Look closely and you’ll find faint colors in the fog bow.)

Looking at these photos, I can’t help but wonder what it looked like to Gavin and the Third Eye…

Show Spoilers

Something prickled on his skin, the lightest of touches. He looked over at the Third Eye.

She was grinning like a little girl. He didn’t understand. Then something touched his arm. He brought it close, but it melted before he could get a look at it. Snow?

It was cool tonight, but it wasn’t cold enough for snow. Not even close.

He could smell it now–the familiar mineral, chalky odor. Blue luxin.

More hit his upturned face, his arms. It was snowing.

“Blue delights in order,” the Third Eye said. “I know you can’t see it, but every flake is blue. Utterly beautiful, Lord Prism. I’ve never seen so stunning a harbinger of doom.”

-The Blinding Knife, p162

 

Interview with Daniel Greene

Happy Thursday friends!

Brent had a great time talking to Daniel Greene yesterday–about books, and writing, and YouTube, and literate potatoes*…

Wait, not potatoes. BookTubers!

 

Sit down with these two guys on your lunch break, leave an upvote and a friendly comment, subscribe to Daniel’s YT page, and of course make sure you’ve pre-ordered your copy of THE BURNING WHITE!

 

 

*c’mon, y’all, this is funny! Potato = tuber, YouTuber > BookTuber > potato that reads…. Why am I the only one who thinks I’m funny?

THE BURNING WHITE: Orbit Loot Giveaway, Amazon Book of the Month

Happy October, fellow Chromeriacs!

It’s officially Halloween season, and we’re officially THREE WEEKS away from THE BURNING WHITE’s Book Birthday!

The cover image to The Burning White by Brent Weeks

We have so much awesome stuff to share with you this month, and I’m so excited I can barely typegebbarghifayatholshawarmasceneofthartsegeinsen!

Ahem.

The first announcement on this first day of a month packed full of pumpkins, pre-orders, prestidigitation, paryl, parties, protuberances, and bawling into your popcorn is that Amazon has selected THE BURNING WHITE as one of the Best SFF Books of the Month. Gavin and Co are in good company on this list. Check it out, and make sure you pre-order your copy of the book, if you haven’t already. (That’s an affiliate link, FTR.)

Secondly, Orbit is hosting a Lightbringer Loot Giveaway.

 

 

Enter for a chance to win an exclusive hardcover boxed set of the complete Lightbringer series, plus a letter from the Man himself! All you have to do is share your email address with Orbit, then sit back and wait for a month.*

Happy Tuesday!

Dread Pirate CAPSLOCK

 

*Deadline to enter is Oct 31. We encourage you to wait patiently to hear who wins, because sitting on the edge of your seat with all your fingers and toes crossed sounds stressful. Also,  your butt would go numb eventually. Also, that can’t be good for your back. Also, you can’t eat Halloween candy with crossed fingers.