Posted by Meg

Books are precious. As fans, avid readers, writers and fantasy geeks we know firsthand how important books can be (and are!). But living in a country where books are literally at your fingertips, we sometimes forget how hard it can be for other people in the world to get their hands on the books they want to read. Or any books for that matter.

Friend and fan David sent Peat this touching story about the power of reading and how ebooks can bring the gift of literature to people worldwide.

Here’s what David had to say:

On a recent trip to Romania ….

At my friend’s house, they had a 10 year old neighbor – Rosianu Ilie Constantin, his nickname is Calin. I did not speak Romanian but he wanted to practice his English which was really good. He was really smart also for his age. Showed him my Google phone, Amazon Kindle, etc etc. Then my friend told him I worked at Google. I already know the influence that the Google name has anywhere I go but I did not expect what happened next … he started to ask me a lot of questions about all the tech.

So I started to think and research and realized how hard it was for him to get a Kindle and access to unlimited books. Romania is full of hackers, that’s well known, and Amazon does not ship anything there and the UK price is ridiculous. After some analysis and testing him, I decided to give him my Kindle and to fund any books he ever wants to buy from now on. Everyone should have access to books. Period. Hacker or not.

I was still reading Desert Spear … cause I work too much. Of all the books on the Kindle, and there were plenty, he chose to read this and finished it in about 1 week. He loved it. I just gifted him Painted Man. He’s excited, it’s now like reading a prequel. He’s looking forward to the third book also.

I really enjoyed receiving and posting all the amazing artwork that came in throughout the month of December for the Fan Art Contest. We didn’t have a ton of entries, but it seems that each of the entries was chock full of hard work and exceptional artistic talent. So, first and foremost, Peat and I want to thank everyone who took some time to create something wonderful for this contest. Everybody will be receiving a prize for entering.

So, without further ado, the winners.

Grand Prize

The Grand Prize is a very special Stephen King Library Desk Calendar. A Science Fiction Book Club exclusive, this calendar features a gorgeous holographic cover, essays by awesome writers and facts, quizzes and trivia themed around Stephen Kind’s The Dark Tower. It has also been signed by many of  the contributors (including Peat!).

I am pleased to announce that the Grand Prize goes to Kym who created the demon horn from one of the last scenes in The Desert Spear with Leesha and Inevera and a beautiful warded box.

There is a lot more where that came from! Check out her full entry here. We also did another entry concerning the awesomeness that is Kym.

Congrats Kym! We are sending you this very special calendar.

Second Prize

Two copies of The Warded Man Graphic Audio Discs. Recorded like an old time radio show with sound effects and music, this is a whole new way to experience The Warded Man! Also, each winner will receive a poster signed by the cast AND Peat in shiny silver and gold pens.

Birte!

I am a huge fan of Birte. And her entry to the Fan Art Contest was no exception. Combing words, music and painting, Birte created a beautiful story. This is just a small portion of her creation.

Go to her original entry to see the rest of her fantastic mural and listen to her beautiful composition. Birte is also quite prolific. You can check out all other Birte-related posts here.

Margherita!

We love Margherita. She was the winner of last year’s Cosplay Contest with her beautiful reenactment of Inevera. For the Fan Art Contest, she created something really special: a Warded 2012 Calendar. She chose a ward for each month and decorated the finished product. Here are some choice shots of her calendar.

She also sent the whole thing to Peat! Quite the New Year’s gift.

Congrats to Birte and Margherita! They both made complex and beautiful projects that Peat and I found absolutely stunning.

Third Prize

Renna T-Shirts designed by Lauren Cannon (otherwise known as navate) and printed by Graphic Audio.
And the shirts go to …

Maria with her seriously kick-ass tattoo modeled after the original French cover of The Warded Man.

You can click her name to check out her original post. She later went back and got the rest of the tattoo done … complete with an excellent forgery of Peat’s signature. Check it out …

Carol for her beautiful sketch of Twilight Dancer. I am a huge fan of Twilight Dancer, and Carol’s picture is spot one and detailed.

Check out Carol’s other posts here.

And the rest!

A set of four warded dice in a velvet bag.

Congrats to everyone else! Check your mailboxes for these very special dice.

Peat recently did an interview for a Turkish blog. I just read the interview, and it’s has some really great unique questions on the topics of Peat’s inspirations, storytelling and who he would be if he lived in Thesa. There’s also some great information for Turkish fans about upcoming releases.

You can check out the translated Turkish post or read the original English version. You can also check out the Turkish release of The Warded Man published by Epsilon. Happy reading!

Peat received this amazing email from Jason, who was deployed in Afghanistan when he first read The Warded Man.

Dear Mr. Brett,

As I understand you must receive just an abundance of emails every day from avid readers and fans, so I do not expect a quick reply but thank you for your diligence in eventually responding to all of your emails. I just wanted to take the time to thank you for your great writing. I first laid hands on your book, The Warded Man, while in Afghanistan. A friend of mine had offered to let me borrow the book (it is very customary for soldiers while deployed to trade and lend books during downtime if any).

Before reading your book, I was not very keen to that particular genre of writing but your book changed my whole perspective on fantasy novels. I thoroughly enjoyed the development of Arlen’s character and easily related to him given my circumstances at the time. Arlen’s reclusiveness that derived from necessity and his utter perseverance against all odds, his complete dedication to his goal despite the cost, is something I could relate to while deployed. Not many soldiers are willing to talk about it, but the worst part about being deployed was the feeling of loneliness. Have you ever felt alone in a crowded room?…it¹s like that but times 10 and add bullets.

As I understand you gave away several signed bookplates to 500 lucky readers, which I think is absolutely outstanding and shows a true dedication to your fans. I was unfortunately not able to request one, as I was not in the country at the time (and didn’t have the best internet access).  I would be greatly honored if you were able to send me a signed copy of your book The Warded Man, I would of course pay for the hardcover and S&H. Your book definitely helped me during a hard time and I would like to have some keepsake to remind me of the joys of reading. Since reading your book I cannot get enough and read fantasy novels nonstop. I hope this email reaches you in good spirits and I eagerly await the next book and possibly movie.

Respectfully,

Jason

It’s always incredible to hear from people who are able to find strength and solace in an author’s books. Peat wrote back to Jason and since he already has The Warded Man, we are sending him a signed copy of The Desert Spear. Many thanks to Jason for letting us share his story on the blog.

Here is a beautiful entry to the Fan Art Contest from Carol, who has consistently sent in awesome things to Peat. During the Cosplay Contest, we got to see her as Renna and as Inevera. She also impressed us with her Homemade Heroes Contest entry and her Warding Contest entry, where she warded her own skin with kick-ass tattoos!

Carol’s entry to the Fan Art Contest is no exception to the rule. Her simple sketch of Twilight Dancer, the Warded Man’s horse, is stunning. Here’s what she had to say about it:

Would have loved to send in more entries for this but work is getting in the way of fun!

I have been very old fashioned and tried a pencil sketch of Twilight Dancer.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year,

Carol

Thank you to Carol for entering. The detail of the wards on Twilight Dancer’s armor is wonderful. Great work!