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.

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.

Posted by Meg

As we know from Peat’s last blog post, Myke Cole’s book Shadow Ops: Control Point went on sale yesterday! In honor of Myke’s publication, Peat is giving away 3 copies of the book.

If you win, you will receive a paperback copy of the book plus a signed bookplate from Myke Cole himself and a challenge coin.

What’s a challenge coin, you say? Myke describes them as business cards that are actually more like shiny medals used in the military. He designed and commissioned (with the help of Peat) his own set of challenge coins based on the Supernatural Operations Corps in Control Point. Here’s what they look like:

Hop on over to Myke’s blog post to learn more about the making of these beautiful coins.

The signed bookplates and challenge coins will be sent out by Myke himself, separately from the books.

And so … the giveaway ….

The first 3 fans to respond correctly to the following question will win the book, the signature and the coin:

What did Myke originally want to call the “hydromancers” in Control Point?

The clock is ticking! Please leave your answers in the comments.

UPDATE: We will be giving away more copies of Control Point sometime next week!

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.