Fan Art Tuesdays: Jinladeeda (Round 2!)
This is the second time we’ve posted work by Jinladeeda, but we like it so much, we had to share:
See more HERE.
Announcing the Brent Weeks Web Store
The official Brent Weeks web store is now open!
Our first product is signed hardcover copies from the first printing of The Black Prism. With your purchase, we’ll include a free copy of the new Black Prism dust jacket with your order! (So you won’t miss that Gavin smolder.)
We don’t currently have international shipping as an option; we hope to add that within a few months.
You can also access the Museum Replicas store for Night Angel merchandise via the web store.
This is a new endeavor for us, and while we think we’ve planned well and it should go flawlessly–books packaged to arrive in excellent condition, pay orders smoothly processed, and shipping handled with speed–it IS a new area for us. We will be making changes to the store as we become familiar with the process, so bear with us if we aren’t perfect immediately. (Or, you know, call for CAPSLOCK’s resignation. Angrily. Start a petition on Change.org. She probably deserves it.)
Halloween Photobomb Contest
We’re happy to announce our BIENNIAL Halloween Photobomb Contest! (No, we didn’t forget last year, we just like to keep things fresh. Fresh like pickled ginger.)
Grand Prize:
Signed Hardcopies of The Black Prism (with NEW cover! & old cover so you don’t miss out on smolderingly handsome Gavin), The Blinding Knife, and The Broken Eye — and the first 6 chapters of The Blood Mirror!
Second Place:
Signed Trade Paperback Copies of The Black Prism, The Blinding Knife, and The Broken Eye, or the new slipcover for The Black Prism.
Third Place:
A signed copy of The Broken Eye in Trade Paperback, or the new slipcover for The Black Prism.
RULES:
- Take a picture of any one of Brent’s books (must be identifiable, and for the sake of this contest, no e-readers) in any exciting, interesting, exotic, or funny locale or with an exciting, interesting, exotic, or funny celebrity or person in an amazing costume*. The picture does not have to be an actual photobomb…. but, uh, that would be nice, since it is in the title of the contest and all.
- To enter, email your photo with subject line “Halloween 2015 Contest” to elisa@brentweeks.com by Friday, November 6th at 5PM Pacific Standard Time.
- You can enter as many submissions as you like — but you can only win one prize.
Although I appreciate a good Photoshop job as well as anyone, heavily Photoshopped pictures will not be eligible for prizes. Obviously, touching up a real photo is fine. Even PhotoShopping in laser beams is fine–though that’s not the point of this contest, and we’ll do a Photoshop anything goes contest later. Photoshopping in Chris Pratt holding my book when he isn’t actually holding my book is not fine. (Because you would totally win if you actually could get a pic of him holding my book.)
*Don’t Photobomb inappropriately or illegally, yo.
International submissions are encouraged!
Limerick Contest
Once there was a boy who wrote books
He would do whatever it took
To please all his fans
Except guys named Dan
To give them an excellent look!
Our last limerick contest was a few years ago and we’ve decided to run another!
This time, the top five winners will each receive their choice of a brand new dust jacket for the hardcover edition of The Black Prism or a signed trade paperback of The Broken Eye.
Guidelines:
The last word in lines 1, 2, and 5 must rhyme and contain 8-9 syllables each.
The last word in lines 3 and 4 must rhyme and contain 5-6 syllables each.
All submissions must be sent to elisa@brentweeks.com by Monday, October 12 at 5pm Pacific Standard Time.
The subject line of your email should read “Limerick Contest”.
The BEST limericks have some kind of turn in the last line. (Not like Brent’s above.)
It must be about an event, character, or object in either the Night Angel Trilogy or The Lightbringer Series.
Famous limericks:
1. There once was a man from Nantucket
Who kept all his cash in a bucket.
But his daughter, named Nan,
Ran away with a man,
And as for the bucket, Nantucket.
3. There was an Old Man of Peru
Who watched his wife making a stew.
But once, by mistake,
In a stove she did bake
That unfortunate Man of Peru.
– Edward Lear
4. There was a young lady of Niger
who smiled as she rode on a tiger;
They returned from the ride
with the lady inside,
and the smile on the face of the tiger.
— Edward Lear
5. A wonderful bird is the pelican,
His bill can hold more than his beli-can.
He can take in his beak
Food enough for a week
But I’m damned if I see how the heli-can.
– Dixon Lanier Merritt
Fan Art Tuesdays: WeStandForSomething
Here’s something a little different for Fan Art Tuesdays — a very cool graphic:
Find more by this artist HERE.
Black Prism Book Cover
Know what I hate? I hate it when my book covers don’t match. Turns out I hate it even more when MY book covers don’t match.
I thought maybe some of you hate that too, so the following has been in the works a while.
What am I talking about?
Orbit came out with this cover for The Black Prism: rugged dude, dangerous, looks good. But the continuation to this, replicating that feel for the next few books, didn’t work so well… so when it came time to release the trade paperback edition, Orbit went to this. Now THIS is great. Light, magic, and a hooded man. (A hooded man? Well, looks like I’m destined for hooded men. C’est la vie.)
So check this out… if you match up all the paperbacks, they look like this.
But… what if you’re one of those amazing fans I like so much who buys in hardcover? Granted, you get the book a year earlier, but… that one not-quite-matching cover…
Some people can just let something like that go. I, sadly, am not one of those people.
So I started talking with Orbit. Orbit is amazing. They really bend over backward to make cool stuff happen for fans and authors. They were totally willing to redesign and resize things from the trade paperback to look awesome on a hardcover. (Thanks, Orbit!) They are also, however, owned by a much larger conglomerate. A conglomerate that has rules.
So here’s what I can’t do: get a design, print out a bunch of covers at a professional printer, and send them to you at cost. I can’t sell them AT ALL… unless I buy the rights to the design, which would run me $12,000. Printing costs, over another $1,000; shipping, over another $1,000. (It’s $6.80/cover just to cover the cost of printing, shipping, and packaging the cover so it doesn’t get destroyed in the mail–without counting labor of redesign for the larger size or my assistant to pack them, track them, and go to the post office to send them.)
I love y’all, but I am so done with eating Ramen. And trying to just cover my costs at that rate would look like a huge cash grab because I simply don’t have the economies of scale that a publisher has. I want those of you who bought in hardcover early to get something nice, but it has to work for all of us, whether a lot of you are interested in getting that cover, or only a few.
But… Clever Brent is clever.
Since I’d never intended to make money on getting these to you, how about… we call it a promotional deal? We could do contests and stuff? And give them away free?
So. Orbit worked up the design—thanks Lauren and Alex and team! And I got some professionally printed on my own. Now, giveaways!
HOW DO I GET ME MY SHINY NEW COVER, WKS!!!!?
1) Book Tours. If you come to a signing I do, I’ll have a small number of these with me. Ask me if you want one. Covers are challenging to bring without denting, but I’ll do my best.
2) Skill Giveaways. Like a Limerick Contest, coming tomorrow! (What? Writing limericks is totally a skill!) Or our upcoming Halloween Photobomb Contest.
3) Other Giveaways, including random drawings for FB and Goodreads followers. (To be announced soon.) Pretty much, any time I do a giveaway, I’ll have the cover be an option until I run out.
4) Last, I’m opening a small Web Store soon. If you buy a hardcover of The Black Prism, I can sign it, and I’ll throw in the new cover for free. (More details to come!)
These, however, are the only ways you can get this cover for now.
So I probably should have given this up, but just look at this line up:
Ah, doesn’t it make you feel better inside?
Fan Art Tuesdays: Tiegan
Elene and Uly!
You can check out more of the artist’s work HERE.
Fan Art Tuesdays: apinck12
Retribution, Poisoner’s Knife, and More
Nope, check the date. Not April 1. Nope, this isn’t a Kickstarter. It’s here. It’s now. It’s for real. Well, a real replica. This one doesn’t do magic. Believe me, I tried.
May I present to you Retribution as covered by the black ka’kari.
I’m really impressed with the quality of the work Windlass Steelcrafts has done. It was a huge concern of mine to only be associated with work I can be proud of. I’m proud of this. Windlass got their start outfitting the British Gurkha regiments with kukris and has supplied not only a lot of Hollywood with props and replicas, but also a number of the world’s militaries with their swords. Retribution and the Poisoner’s Knife are 1085 high carbon steel, hand forged and heat treated in a computer controlled oven. This is considered “battle steel” and although more pure now than what sword smiths of old would have used, is basically what would have been used if the story were non-fiction. They’re full tang for added strength, will hold a good edge, but are flexible enough to take a blow. A sharpening service is available.
So… should the Zombie Apocalypse occur… this purchase could really be considered insurance… right? Right? And with that black finish, it won’t give away your position to other raiders. Er, raiders, I mean. Not other raiders. My fans would be only good guys, right? Right?
Also, for a limited time, when you buy Retribution or the Poisoner’s Knife, you will receive a certificate of authenticity, hand signed by me.
Purchase the replica of Retribution HERE.
The language on the sides of the blade and down the length of the scabbard is comprised of a real font designed in the Middle Ages to speak to immortals. If yours doesn’t auto-translate into a language you can read, check your ka’kari. 😉 If you’re rusty on your Hyrillic, it says Mercy down one side and Justice down the other. The scabbard says Retribution. The sword belt has vials for your favorite poiso–err, colored water! Or could hold spikes that would definitely not be for throwing, especially in the states of New York or California. You can find the scabbard and sword belt HERE.
About a different kind of translation: In the books, the Poisoner’s Knife was a dainty thing, almost concealable in your hand. We tried it. It didn’t seem right. Sort of like if you look at Michelangelo’s statue of David from the ground, he looks all sorts of awesome, but if you were to look at him straight on, his proportions are all weird. Why? Because Michelangelo crafted David to look awesome for the way his audience was going to encounter him, rather than slavishly making his proportions “correct.” I believe in the same principle. In the books, a tiny dagger could be badass because it’s tiny–but that just doesn’t work when you’re doing cos-play or you want to show your friends This Cool Thing. Ergo, the Poisoner’s Knife here is NOT small: it’s awesomely big. I think it works better this way, and I like to trust other artists to tweak things in the medium where they’re the experts. Similarly, we tried other things with Retribution (it IS a shape-shifting sword after all). We tried different shapes or even bigger, and they just didn’t work as well as we thought this does. This is one rendering of these blades, and if you prefer the ones in your imagination, great! The power of books is to engage your imagination; the power of costuming is to see and hold and feel a real, particular object.
And kill zombies with it.
Purchase the Poisoner’s Knife HERE.
And last, the perfect complement to your wetboy cos-play or to fend off zombie bites — I didn’t put zombies in Night Angel, did I? Why didn’t I put zombies in Night Angel? — these awesome vambraces are available HERE.
I hope you love the work we’ve done. It’s taken a lot of time. (How much? Well, you might notice we managed to sneak in the sword design into the Graphic Novel. Thanks, Andy MacDonald for the extra work!) See? Foreshadowing!
