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Happy New Year! At the close of 2023 I am grateful that my family is warm, safe, and in good health. I am grateful for a career that 16 years in I still feel incredibly fortunate to have. I am grateful for the support of my friends and readers. I am grateful to be touring starting in March for the launch of The Hidden Queen (details soon!). I am grateful I will see familiar faces again for the first time since the Core book tour back in 2017.

2017 feels like a lifetime ago, right? You know what I mean. I see you. It’s been a long haul, but we’re still truckin’. Hold steady at the wheel, my friends.

2024 promises to be… a lot, to each of us in our own unique ways. But rather than start the year imagining all the things that might go wrong, I want to start with something hopeful.

I want to tell you a secret.

A secret I’ve been excited about for a long time. Something I will talk about more in 2024. Who says resolutions can’t be fun?

Over the last few years, I’ve been going on writing retreat with some author besties, and working on a new new. A creative vacation from demon books, and a chance to stretch some worldbuilding muscles. A few thousand words at a time, and with wonderful conversations with amazing authors about my hopes and dreams for it, a kernel of an idea I had more than five years ago began to grow. Now, on the cusp of 2024, it’s ready to burst from its shell and take root.

This is a piece I commissioned many moons ago from Dominik Broniek. An ivory pendant in the shape of the ancient goddess Eldermother. Her last icon in a world that has all but erased her.

Can even a god exist, if none remember them?

When the Strife killed nearly all the Goddess Eldermother’s worshippers, she led the last of them to safe refuge in Secret Lake, a tiny village hidden in the bowl of a dormant volcano, far from civilized lands. For over three hundred years, they lived there in peace.

Still the Strife hunted them, for when the Goddess’s last worshippers are dead, their gods can take her ancient power for their own.

When the Strife finds Secret Lake, four young souls escape. Eldermother’s last worshippers, and the only thing tying the goddess to the material world. She will do anything to protect them, and they to ensure she is not forgotten.

That’s all you get, for now!

Be kind in 2024. Even when you don’t have to be. Even when, sometimes, you don’t want to be. Being kind is like going to the gym. Sometimes you gotta grit your teeth to do it, but you never regret it in hindsight.

Posted on January 1, 2024 at 9:00 am by PeatB
Filed under Appearances, Craft, Events, Fans, Hidden Queen, Writing
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Hey everyone! It is that most wonderful time of the book production cycle: Advance Read Copies (ARCs)! As you all know, NYC apartments are not suited to accumulation of boxes of books, but my publishers keep sending them so clearly I have no choice but to give them away to fans.

I have five extra copies of the US ARC of The Hidden Queen from Del Rey Books, and I expect a like number of UK ARC copies of The Hidden Queen from VoyagerUK. I may be able to scrounge a few extras with some well-placed eye-batting and flattery.

That’s where you come in. I’ll be having a fan art contest, but don’t be afraid to enter, even if “art” isn’t your thing.

I am keeping the bar for entry low and the definition of “art” broad. Play to your strengths. If you are great at drawing or warding random objects, great. If you have an awesome Demon Cycle tattoo, the judges always love that. If not? We accept macaroni art. A commercial jingle for warded glass. Paper dolls. Dramatic re-enactments by adults, adorable children, or household pets. Closet cosplay. TikToks. Whatever.

No art or video editing skills? No problem! How about a photo of yourself reading a Peter V Brett book in an unusual place? Or a Nightfall Saga meme:

See? I made that in two minutes and I am barely a functional adult. Surely you can make something even better. Go wherever the muse takes you. While we love the readers who BRING IT, we also reserve a couple copies for those whose heart exceeds their “art” skills.

Enter from anywhere! I always pick some international winners, shipping costs be damned. Enter as many times as you like.

To enter please send your name (and a mailing address in case you win!) along with a digital copy of your entry and anything you’d like us to know about it, to: contest@www.petervbrett.com

My kids and I will begin picking winners on December 13. I won’t disqualify a late entry, but supplies will run out fast, and I want a a couple weeks to ship with hope of presents arriving in time to go under the tree or celebrate the new year.

Honestly, I absolutely adore how The Hidden Queen turned out, and I can’t wait for someone other than industry insiders to read it. All I want for Xmas is to see pix of happy people holding their Hidden Queen ARCs.

Please enjoy these last posts on this site before it undergoes a massive Darin Bales themed upgrade.

Posted on November 7, 2023 at 12:49 pm by PeatB
Filed under Contests, Fan Art, Fans, Hidden Queen, Warded Art
2 Comments »

Another crazy summer! I finished edits on The Hidden Queen and put it into production and out for translation. Del Rey Books is also re-leasing all five original Demon Cycle novels in trade paperback, with slick new covers and added material in the form of tie-in novellas, all leading up to Hidden Queen’s release. The re-released Warded Man is on sale now!

It’s awesome, but it also means I’ve been doing production on six books at the same time, and boy howdy, can that keep a body busy! I also have these smaller humans that seem to be around the house a lot more than usual in the summertime. Keeping them occupied feels like a full time job.

But there’s so much to talk about! I’m grateful that Mountain View Public Library in Mountain View, CA invited me to a virtual author talk this month as part of their “Sci-Fi September” celebration.

This event is FREE and available to all, regardless of where you’re from. It will be held September 13, 2023 from 6:30pm-7:30pm PST (Pacific Standard Time).

If that’s a little late for some of my friends across the sea, fear not! The talk will be recorded and posted on the library’s YouTube channel.

In addition to answering questions for my hosts, we’ll be opening the conversation up to questions from viewers, so if there’s something you’d like to ask, make a note! I’m happy to gossip about my books—past, present and future—writing in general, navigating 80’s and 90’s SF movies with GenZ and GenA kids, or whatever else you want to talk about.

The talk will be held over Zoom. You can register to join free at the MVPL event page: https://mountainview.libcal.com/event/10907832

Posted on August 31, 2023 at 5:45 pm by PeatB
Filed under Appearances, Craft, Events, Hidden Queen, Interviews, Writing
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It’s finally here!! The long-awaited cover to The Hidden Queen has arrived, and it is fantastic. Darin Bales is the moody nocturnal heartbreaker you never knew you needed in your life.

It was always the plan for The Desert Prince, book 1 of the Nightfall Saga, to feature Olive Paper as both main character and cover star, and for book 2 to feature Darin Bales in the same way. You may remember the Olive cover was done by the indomitable Tommy Arnold, featuring Olive in fighting fit out on the scorched and sunlit Krasian Desert.

Due to a scheduling conflict, Tommy was not available for book two, but we were immensely fortunate to have the amazing Martina Facová not only take his place at bat, but hit it out of the fucking park.

(Did I get that right? Sportball metaphors are not usually my thing.)

Anyway, I sent Martina a detailed description of Darin, along with a pinterest mood board I made for him, and some commissioned artwork by longtime Demon Cycle illustrator Dominik Broniek:

The results were nothing short of brilliant. I love Darin’s emo vampire farmboy vibe, with his precious pipes and the dreaded demon doorway frame, mirroring the detailed Krasian-style doorway framing Olive in book 1. Darkness is falling, and Darin’s night eyes are coming to life, along with the shadowy powers he inherited from his demon-eating parents.

Darin was already a favorite for many readers in The Desert Prince, but more than a few of you lamented that he was more supporting cast than protagonist. In The Hidden Queen, Darin truly has his chance to shine.

Darin Bales may have inherited some of his parents’ magic, but it has come at a cost neither of them had to pay. Darin’s senses are too powerful, feeding far more information than he can hope to filter and interpret. As with many sensory diverse people in real life, Darin’s gifts can often seem like a curse—an insurmountable barrier to having a normal life (if there even is such a thing).

Darin struggles to connect with people. To understand their jokes and facial expressions, to comprehend their feelings even when he can smell their emotions.

Darin doesn’t like to fight. He can’t stand crowds. Or bright sunlight. He hates loud noises, strong smells, food with too many ingredients. He doesn’t like to be touched. When Darin’s senses get overwhelmed, there isn’t much he can do but hide and curl up, waiting for the offending input to pass.

But the demons have his mam, and Darin Bales will be corespawned before he leaves her to them.

The Hidden Queen will be available March 5, 2024, wherever awesome books are sold. If you love me, feel free to tap this link and pre-order it now: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/592628/the-hidden-queen-by-peter-v-brett/

Posted on August 2, 2023 at 8:52 am by PeatB
Filed under Audiobook, Craft, Desert Prince, Hidden Queen, US/Canada, Warded Art, Writing
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Night, has it been 15 years already?

Demon Cycle book 1, The Painted Man, was first published in the UK in late 2008, followed quickly by its American counterpart, The Warded Man, in early 2009. This not-so-little book I had spent the last seven years working on had finally become a real boy.

Up until that point I had been working in medical publishing, and while I never hated the work, I didn’t much like it, either. And I figured, you know what? I can always get another job I don’t like. Jobs you don’t like are usually pretty easy to get.

So I took a leap of faith and quit in late 2007 to focus on what I thought at the time would be a short jaunt of being a full time writer that I could cherish the memory of when I inevitably went back to a straight job writing emails in some grey cubicle in the Manhattan skyline. I didn’t really think writing fantasy full time was something I would get to do long term, but my book contracts offered me a guarantee of enough income to live on for ~two years, provided I turned my books in on time.

Reader, I did not turn the books in on time.

When making promises to publishers and agents and myself, my output estimates were built atop the baseless—and in hindsight absurd—assumption that I would be 3x as productive writing full time as when I was stealing two hours a day from my commute or sleep to get some words in.

LOL

Creativity doesn’t work that way.

Still, it turned out okay! For some reason, people really liked my books, and I wasn’t that late delivering manuscripts. Months, rather than years… or decades. (The bar in epic fantasy is famously low about these things IYKYK.)

So I thought I would be a “book a year” guy, like my hero Terry Brooks. Turns out I am a “book every 18 months plus a 6 month break to promote and tour” guy. I try to make up for it with really long books, though.

I am so immensely grateful to all the readers who’ve supported me on this journey, told friends, posted pix or reviews, attended launch events, shared beautiful fan art. I still can’t believe this is real life sometimes. Because of this little world I liked to escape to, I am now my own boss. I can make my own hours and spend real time with my kids every day. I can pursue my art. And when I read comics or play videogames, I can legitimately justify it as important market research.

Teenage readers who picked up that first Demon Cycle book are in their 30s now. I’ve literally watched some of them (and the children readers have named after my characters) grow up at consecutive book tour events over the years. It’s humbling, and joyful. As is the steady stream of new readers who came to the series along the way, with millions of books sold worldwide.

So it is my great honor to announce that in celebration of the Demon Cycle 15th anniversary, Del Rey Books will be re-releasing the entire five book series in trade paperback, its first US production in that larger and more readable format.

Featuring slick new cover designs by Szymon Wójciak with terrifying coreling art by long-time Demon Cycle illustrator Dominik Broniek, the printed books will also include bonus novellas and short stories (previously published separately) that are part of the series canon.

The Warded Man 15^th anniversary trade paperback releases TODAY, July 18, 2023, followed quickly by The Desert Spear and The Daylight War, both publishing November 7, 2023. The series concludes with The Skull Throne and The Core, on sale March 5, 2024.

This will also give readers new and old a change to get up to speed just before the launch of The Hidden Queen, book 2 of the Nightfall Saga, which releases concurrently on March 5, 2024!

I am not allowed to show you the cover yet, but my loves, Darin Bales is going to break your heart. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Posted on July 18, 2023 at 8:45 am by PeatB
Filed under Sales, Uncategorized, Warded Art, Warded Man
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