What better way to keep away the demons of 2012 with your very own warded calendar! Margherita, winner of the Cosplay Contest, and entrant in the most recent Fan Art Contest, sent her creation to Peat. It happened to arrive while I was at his office, so I had the privilege of flipping through the decorated pages and snapping a couple of my own pictures to share with everybody.

Tattoos play a major role in The Demon Cycle series; the ink holds power when shaped into wards. It may be the most fitting and daring tribute to pay as a fan. So we are super excited to announce that Maria’s tattoo of Arlen and One-Arm (modeled after the beautiful French cover for The Warded Man) is done! Complete with an excellent forgery of Peat’s signature.

Here’s what Maria had to say about her experience choosing Arlen and One-Arm and what the process of getting such a complex tattoo is like:

Why did I choose this motive? I had to think about the right words for that. I had the artist first before I had the motive. When I first saw Benjamin’s work, I knew I had to get my next tattoo from him, and then I thought about the motive. Somehow, I found the L’Homme Rune picture, and I thought: Wow, that’s it; I need to get that. Then I asked Peter if he would mind if I stole that picture, and he said he’d only mind if I didn’t post a picture of it.

Then last year, in June or July, I went to the tattoo studio to fix a date with Benjamin in October. It’s not comfortable to get a tattoo in the summer because it’s so hot and sweating is not good for a new tattoo.

In August, I went to New York, and we met Peter there, and he signed all my books. That was a really cool experience, and I decided to put his autograph on my leg too.

The time went by quickly and October was there, and we had the first session. I was a little afraid of the pain, but it wasn’t that bad … but after 5 hours of getting tattoos it hurts like sh**. The healing process was okay, but the itching is even more annoying than the pain. But seeing how awesome the tattoo looked, I never minded.

Tattoo in Progress

After the First Session

In November, we had the second session, and this time it hurt a bit more. We did another 6 hour session.

After the Second Session

In January, we had the 3rd and last session, another 5 hours. It hurt again, and Peter’s signature hurt the most because we had to use thin needles for it. Now, two weeks later, it is healed and finished, and I love it. It looks so awesome, and I am warded against rock and mind demons now ) I’m looking forward to showing it to Peter in person when i’m in NYC again, maybe in September…

Oh and all sessions cost 800 euros together. That’s approx. 1,100 dollars …

Maria won Third Prize in the last Fan Art Contest for her beautiful tattoo. You can check out the original entry here.

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.

For all the Polish and European fans out there, Peat is going to Poland! He will be the Guest of Honor at Polcon 2012, which is being held in Wroclaw, Poland this summer August 23-26. Want more information? Visit the official Polcon website to find out more.

Speaking of Poland, Peat did an awesome interview for Polish blog Kocham Ksiazki. He talks about fan art, ebooks and what’s on his own bookshelf.

Like I said in the fan art blog post, fan art can come in all different mediums allowing fans to tap into awesome amounts of creativity. Birte, from Germany, has created some incredibly unique compositions inspired by The Desert Spear. This is what she had to say:

I wrote this piece after reading The Desert Spear, and it shows one important aspect of the storyline: the fight against the demons, but not on the actual combat level, but more on a level of the mind. The music sort of describes the concentration and the fear as well as the determination that drives the characters to act.

Each instrument represents one individual character: the flute is Leesha, the violin is Rojer, the cello is Jardir and the piano is Arlen / the painted man. I chose the flute for Leesha because for me it is a very female and strong and clear instrument. I can think of no other sound that might fit her better. The violin for Rojer explains itself. What else could be better? Jardir got the cello because I felt he needed something deeper, yet an instrument that still sounded very melodic and would be able to play difficult and fast scales and figures. I also believe the sound of a cello is quite sexy.

Arlen / the painted man got the piano, because he is the most complex character. By giving him an instrument with two lines in the system I sort of wanted to show his two identities: Arlen and the painted man. The piano is also an instrument which can be played very virtuously. It shows his strength and knowledge and his way of moving but also his solitude, as the piano is often used as a solo instrument, and only very rarely as an equal to any other instrument in a larger group (not counting accompaniment for any other solo instrument).

It begins with sundown. Rojer loves the sun and daytime so much, that of course he notices the approaching night first. Next is Leesha and after her Jardir. The last one to greet the night is Arlen. The joyful major of the day soon becomes a dark and melancholic minor. Everyone is readying themselves for battle. The long part with the repeating fast octave figure paints the picture of fear, excitement and expectation. Each character to his or her own extent, changing slightly at the end of the figure.

Jardir is the first to start his mental dance in the fight against the night. With sure movements, that are nonetheless very elegant and lyrical, he dances with his spear. Imitating Jardir’s last musical movement Arlen is next to stand up to the demons. His is a slightly more brutal approach in the beginning that still seems to lead to something simple. He then again is imitated by Leesha in his last movement. Her melody is not at all brutal: after stumbling a bit with Arlen’s method, she quickly finds a sure and straight way to fight in her own way. Rojer is last to develop the will to fight. There is actually a small intermezzo, showing again the anxiety of the men, Leesha being the one who is keeping the balance before the “nervous breakdown”. The flute is gliding above the tangled melody of the other instruments and is sort of the one thing the ear can really concentrate on for a moment. The others are never absent till then. Suddenly Rojer appears with a complicated high figure. At first he seems nervous and a bit unsure but very soon he discovers a small motive that is quickly picked up by the others, thereof guiding the battle that everyone fights on his own and all at the same time, but still this motive I call “courage motive” pops up again and again until the piano, that has temporarily vanished, seizes a solo. It shows the loneliness and determination of the painted man; his solitude and his exact and deadly movements that flow like water.

In the end all the instruments come back. I wanted to show that, in order to achieve something, everyone has to be pulling into the same direction. They have to stand together, at least in their determination.