I say unexpectedly, because honestly, I did not know what to expect. Each country the book comes out in is wholly new territory to me, and even my agency only has limited track records for many countries, often with conflicting results. In some countries the books do really well. Amazingly well. Other countries, not so much. Why? I dunno. And sometimes there’s just no way to know one way or the other, because some markets don’t have a reliable system of tracking book sales.

But the news from Taiwan has been amazing. They are already translating The Desert Spear, and will have it out by Christmas. As part of the promotion, they sent me an interview to be posted online. I just started working on it, and came upon the following question:

10.    Female high school students in Taiwan enjoy “The Warded Man” very much, they adore Arlen, hoping they could be as independent as Leesha, and the maternal love of Rojer’s mother touched them. Male students share Arlen’s struggle to grow up. What’s you opinion on this phenomenon?

Well, obviously it’s because… Wait, what? “Female high school students in Taiwan enjoy The Warded Man very much”? Seriously?

The fact that my work has reached so many people, across language, age group, culture, race, gender and geography is just… mind boggling. And there’s good news on a lot of fronts.

Did you know The Painted Man was named ont of the 50 Books You Can’t Put Down by Australia’s national library system? They are using the book as part of their annual Get Reading! campaign.

I am even in the Australian iPad commercials. (Watch the “Now” commercial. I come in at 19seconds!)

The book just launched in from Epsilon in Turkey, where my publisher is offering the first 20 translated pages of the book free online. I am working on a Turkish interview, as well.

The Great Bazaar, as I’ve mentioned has just come out in Poland, with incredible interior art, as always, by Dominik Broniek. Just finished doing an interview for a Polish SF magazine.

And on the homefront, there are awesome YouTube Reviews from Sami J and Sarah Nicholas:

I also still have to post all the video from my trip to Epinal, France, and some of the ongoing awesomeness in Germany, Spain, Portugal, and the Czech Republic. It’s literally coming in faster than I can process it.

Truly we live in a golden age.

Lots of updated info on my appearances as my one of my favorite conventions, NY ComicCon draws nigh. Here is the latest:

Friday, October 14

Don’t be fooled by the name of my first panel. While there will certainly be discussion of steampunk and zombies, this is basically a showcase panel for  all of Random House’s genre offerings in the year to come (including epic fantasy by yours truly). Not to be missed!

The Del Rey Spectra Steampunk Zombie Invasion

Date: Friday, October 14
1:15 pm – 2:15 pm

Location: 1A23

Description: Join authors Peter Brett, Naomi Novik, Lia Habel, C.E. Murphy, Scott Westerfeld, plus Del Rey Spectra editorial staff as they reveal strange and ominous projects in the works. Limited prizes to be awarded, while supplies last.

Track: Sci-Fi / Fantasy

Signing: Peter V. Brett

Date: Friday, October 14
3 pm – 4 pm

Location: Del Rey Booth

Saturday, October 15

I will be going at 4pm to see my fellow JABberwocky authors Myke Cole and Jack Campbell at their panel:

Accelerate to Attack Speed: Military Science Fiction

Date: Saturday, October 15
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Location: 1A02

Speakers: Jack Campbell, Myke Cole, Taylor Anderson

Description: Military SF/F authors have kept readers at the edge or their seats by incorporating wartime experience and strategies of armed conflict into the far-future and alternate history worlds they create. Not since Luke Skywalker blasted the hell out of the Death Star have we seen such interest in war-inspired science fiction and fantasy. Perhaps a sign of the time we’re in (and whatever might be said, we all bow before Scalzi’s influence) people just want books about good guys defeating unfriendly space invaders and plausible visions of a future military. May the force be with everyone in the audience as Taylor Anderson, Jack Campbell , and Myke Cole, fire up their ammo and discuss this Semper Fi friendly subgenre of popular fiction.

Track: Sci-Fi / Fantasy

After that panel I will be running over to the Del Rey booth for another signing…

Signing: Peter V. Brett

Date: Saturday, October 15
5 pm – 6 pm

Location: Del Rey Booth

Then my big panel with another great JABberwocky author, Brandon Sanderson…

Winter Is Here: Epic Fantasy Takes The Throne

Date: Saturday, October 15
6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

Location: 1A15

Speakers: Brandon Sanderson, David Chandler, Nils Johnson-Shelton , Peter Brett , Philippa Ballantine , Rae Carson

Description: Long a staple of the SF/F genre, epic fantasy is poised to take a coup over the bestseller lists, thanks in part to HBO’s fantastically popular series based upon George R.R. Martin’s “Game of Thrones” novel.  This summer saw signing lines hundreds of readers deep (luckily none with swords in hand) for #1 New York Times bestselling author Patrick Rothfuss’ American appearance.  Now, in a special spotlight session exclusive to New York Comic Con, we pair internationally bestselling author Brandon Sanderson with Peter Brett and epic fantasy debut authors Rae Carson, David Chandler and Nils Johnson-Shelton talk about why swords and sorcerers, king-makers and kingslayers; dragons and high drama have renewed resonance in fiction.

Track: Sci-Fi / Fantasy

If you have the means, I highly recommend you attend. It’s a life experience not to be missed, and unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. Plus, countless hot people walking around in costumes!

See you there, I hope!

I consider it one of the great ironies of life that what would have been the greatest gift in the world when I was in High School/College and had endless free time is now a cause of great depression and shame.

Why? Because I want to read every one of them, but now that I’m a grownup with responsibilities, there just aren’t enough hours in the day to read even a fraction.

I feel even guiltier, because a lot of the books are manuscripts for new authors whose initial sales can be dramatically affected by a few kind words from established authors. I remember what that feels like. It wasn’t four years ago I was biting my nails at the thought that Terry friggin’ Brooks might read The Warded Man and blurb it.

So when I get books, I try to take a snapshot of the box and twitterface it, then put the books on my TBR (To Be Read) bookshelf. Whenever I finish a book, I peruse the TBR for what to read next. It’s usually a tough call, as the shelf is always overflowing. Even if I had nothing to do but read through all my waking hours, that pile of books would be daunting. If I were put in prison and told I would not be released from my solitary cell until I had read every one, I would be locked up for months.

Aside: How messed up is it that I might consider that a vacation?

As I have discussed before, writing as a career has made me hypercritical of not just my own work, but that of others’ as well. I used to never leave a book unfinished—as a point of pride if nothing else. Now I do it all the time. If a book doesn’t have a voice that grabs me in the first few pages, I am apt to put it down, sometimes for days or even weeks. If the story doesn’t have me by the balls by page 50, I am out. Even if I keep reading, gods help you if I find flat characters, flaws in your plot, deus ex machina, or inconsistencies in your magic system. I pass on blurbing books more often than not, because I’d rather say nothing than tell my readers I liked a book when I didn’t.

Anyway, a few months ago this book Prince of Thorns (PoT) by Mark Lawrence arrives in the mail from my UK publisher, Voyager. Included is a note from the editor saying how special she thought it was. Most every book comes with such a note, but the tone of this one was different. Voyager usually only chooses one big new author to push each year, and—having been one myself—I can account for their taste.

So I put the book on tier one of my TBR shelf: Books I might actually read in the next six months. There are about ten books on this shelf. I figure there’s a 40% chance I will read it in time to give the hardcover a blurb.

FYI, TBR tier two is books I might read if I get the flu and it’s the closest book I can reach from bed. These fill several shelves. The third tier is books I hope to get around to when I am retired and living in a rest home. Or if that prison thing happens.

About a month later, I was at the Boskone SF convention in Boston and found myself at a dinner with the book’s US editor, Ginjer Buchanan of Ace/Roc. We started having a debate about the use of villains as protagonists, and what authors were doing with that theme. I was generally pro and Ginjer generally con, but said she did support it when done well. She cited PoT as an example.

Where had I heard that name before? Ah, yes. Odds of reading now up to 55%.

But there planes to catch and bills to pay. Stories to write and contests to run. I had surgery and plenty of other stuff to keep me busy over the summer. And let us not forget that A Dance With Dragons was out, and that trumped all other reading commitments, so sorry.

So I gave the book to Rebecca in the interim. That girl reads like three books a week. Her review was somewhat mixed. She said it was well written, but harsh for her taste. That put me off a bit, and I missed the window to blurb the hardcover. I felt kind of bad about that.

Then I went to France for the Imaginales Convention, and had dinner with Trudi Canavan and Robin Hobb (both of whom are wonderful people, by the way. Cassie tested and approved). We’re debating up and coming authors, and what book does Robin start spontaneously raving about? You guessed it. Prince of Thorns.

I kept seeing good things and/or controversy about PoT on the twitterface, too, and everyone loves controversy. Finally I decided to take the arc along with me to Worldcon in Reno, with the intention or reading it by the pool (I am still not comfortable taking an expensive eReader poolside).

Boy, am I glad I did.

Prince of Thorns had me by the balls in the first chapter. I found myself stealing time to read just a page here and a page there, and whenever a rare block of time opened, I commandeered it in the name of PoT. Read the whole book in less than a week. This used to be nothing, I would read two books a week in high school and college, but these days even a standard 300pp paperback can take me weeks to finish. Too much to do. If I’m reading 50+ pages a day, that is a damn good book.

I was immediately pulled into Prince Jorg’s sociopathic little world, fascinated by the flashbacks of his past that hinted at how he became the amoral monster he was. Lawrence’s writing is a wonderful mix of vivid metaphor and tight, economical prose. There are no wasted words, each is beautifully chosen. His world, too, is a wonderful blend of medieval and post-apocalyptic fantasy. Jorg’s interactions with his teachers, foes, mercenary brothers and royal family are fabulously done.

After seeing mixed reviews and controversy, I expected PoT to be a lot more violent and disturbing than it actually was. I guess that shouldn’t surprise me. I think my own books are fairly tame compared to what goes on in the really real world, and yet there are plenty of reviewers who would have you think they are one long rape scene. Fool me once, reviewers, shame on you. Fool me twice…

Don’t get me wrong. Lawrence’s Prince Jorg is one delightfully twisted little bastard. But you may find yourself having a little sympathy as you get to know him.

Blink, and you might even find yourself rooting for him to succeed.

As you probably know, I love NY ComicCon. If you have the means, I highly recommend you attend. It’s a life experience not to be missed, and unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. Not only is it the second biggest genre con in the world after San Diego CC, but it is right in my backyard, and I can go back and forth from home in under an hour. No packing, airports and hotels!

I like being in new places, but I hate traveling. Ironic.

Anyway, they are starting to book me for events, and while there are more to come, like signings and the like, there are a couple already on the calendar, so I thought I would give folks a head’s up:

The Del Rey Spectra Steampunk Zombie Jamboree

Friday, October 14

Room # : 1A23

1:15PM – 2:15PM

Don’t be fooled by the name. While there will certainly be discussion of steampunk and zombies (and I will have my banjo handy) this is basically a showcase panel for  all of Random House’s genre offerings in the year to come (including epic fantasy by yours truly). Not to be missed!

WINTER IS HERE: EPIC FANTASY TAKES THE THRONE

Saturday, October 15

Room #: 1A15

6:30PM – 7:30PM

Long a staple of the SF/F genre, epic fantasy is poised to take a coup over the bestseller lists, thanks in part to HBO’s fantastically popular series based upon George R.R. Martin’s “Game of Thrones” novel.  This summer saw signing lines hundreds of readers deep (luckily none with swords in hand) for #1 New York Times bestselling author Patrick Rothfuss’ American appearance.  Now, in a special spotlight session exclusive to New York Comic Con, we pair internationally bestselling author Brandon Sanderson with Peter Brett and epic fantasy debut authors Rae Carson, David Chandler and Nils Johnson-Shelton talk about why swords and sorcerers, king-makers and kingslayers; dragons and high drama have renewed resonance in fiction.

Historically, if you put me and my nemesis Brandon Sanderson in the same room, we will debate all night. Add in some other up and coming debut authors, and you have con gold. Also, this panel is timed perfectly for me to hit a local bar afterward with a crowd of cool kids from the con. Make nice and you might get an invite!

Other events to come when the schedule is finalized. See you there, I hope!

I was, however, assigned an autographing slot, so if you’re planning to attend and would like to meet up without having to stalk me at the bar, you can find me there. Originally this was for 5pm on Friday the 19th, but as that conflicted with panels by Brent Weeks, Brandon Sanderson, and Pat Rothfuss, I figured it was rude of me to steal all their fans, and decided to go for an earlier slot. I will instead be signing at 2pm:

Peter V. Brett Worldcon Autograph Session:

Friday, August 19, 2PM-3PM, Hall 2, Reno-Sparks Convention Center (RSCC)

This change was too late for the Pocket Program, but it will be listed on Changes pages published at the con. I’ll also be attending most of the panels my friends and fellow fantasy authors are on, like Brent Weeks, Gail Carriger, Brandon Sanderson, Mur Lafferty, George RR Martin, Pat Rothfuss, etc.

And I’ll be hanging around the dealer’s room and con bars, particularly the Peppermill and Atlantis hotel. The salt & pepper beard is easy to spot.

I hope to see some of you there! And don’t worry. I will be bringing the iPad and working on Daylight War on the trip.