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Posted by Peat

Hey, all. Since there was no Warded Wednesday this week I am personally taking over to crow over Punkt Zapalny, the Polish translation of Control Point, the award-winning first novel by my buddy author Myke Cole, published by Zysk.

It’s a pretty well established fact that Myke and I have been friends for some time. Remember that one time I shaved his head?

But I wouldn’t recommend a book I didn’t love. Control Point is a seriously great read, full of action, suspense, and magic. Myke’s real-world military experience brings amazing detail to much of the tale, but the story, told through protagonist Oscar Britton, a man unsure of his place in a rapidly changing world, is one most anyone can relate to.

 Of Polish descent himself, Myke told me how excited he was to have his work coming out there. He was positively beaming, as you can see in his own words:

“I’m also holding a patch I was given by the Polish Army (Wojska Ladowe), when I was on a joint military exercise with them. Half my family is from Kraków, and I’ve always been fascinated by the legacy of the Polish Winged Hussars (the Husaria) and the dramatic charge by Sobieski at the Siege of Vienna, so getting to work with the Polish army was a HUGE thrill for me. That patch is one of my prized possessions. 

I’m so incredibly psyched to be published in Poland, and can’t wait to visit someday. One of my big dreams is to see the Husaria armor in the National Museum in Kraków”.

For this week’s giveaway, Myke was kind enough to provide a signed copy of the book, along with one of the gorgeous minted Challenge Coins that represent Shadow Coven, a secret unit of combat sorcerers working for the US military:

As runner up prizes, I’m adding in signed Polish editions of The Skull Throne and The Great Bazaar and Brayan’s Gold!

In Cole’s Shadow Ops universe, magic has returned to our world. A small percentage of the population has come up Latent, able to channel magic. The result? An international arms race as countries draft Latent citizens into the military.

To enter create a unit (coven) of sorcerers for the Polish military. You must include:

A unit name.

A unit motto.

A unit symbol.

Examples can be found on Myke’s site under his Magic in Other Nations contest, like this one created by a fan for a unit of Vatican sorcerers:

You’re welcome to draw, use clip art, or any other medium creating your entry. Art skills not required!

All entries must be emailed to contest@www.petervbrett.com by Monday, October 12.

Punt Zapalny is published by Zysk. You can get your copy here! 

Posted on October 2, 2015 at 8:00 am by PeatB
Filed under Contests, Myke, Poland, Warded Man
Comments Off on Polish Contest: Team Up With Myke Cole!

Posted by Karen

HELLO GHOSTS AND GHOULS! I hope you’re all ready because this morning kicks off thirty-one days of spookiness!

While it isn’t Halloween yet, I can’t help but be excited. October is my favorite month. It’s a time for fear and scary stories and hiding from the dark creatures that lurk in the night.

Sound familiar?

To celebrate this month of terror, we’re planning something a little special. There will be two major contests…

One goes up tomorrow and is a collaboration with the incredible Myke Cole! It’s especially awesome because Peat has planned it personally. Be sure to tune in tomorrow and check it out!

Our other contest is one we’ve been considering since last year’s Halloween when a bunch of fans sent in pictures of their warded pumpkins:

A casual pumpkin-themed tweet from @civilianreader about making his own warded pumpkin showed there was still interest. With that in mind, we’re going to go ahead with our first ever Demon Cycle Pumpkin Contest! More details on that to be announced soon.

I hope you all are terrifiedexcited for the nights of horror to come. I know I am!

If you want to grab a hardcover copy of The Warded Man, you can get one on Amazon or Books-A-Million.

Posted on October 1, 2015 at 8:00 am by Hannah
Filed under Contests, Fans, Karen, Uncategorized
Comments Off on October Update/Contests

Posted by Karen

Hey everyone! Thanks for your patience. I know this last giveaway was a doozy, but we’re finally ready to choose a winner!

Well, almost. Before that, here are a few last-minute entries that made us laugh:

Play the violin and pray to God I can channel the spirit of Rojer and produce his mad skills. If by some miracle that works make all the demons dance around then kill each other. If not, which in all honesty is far more likely, put my head between my legs and kiss my ass goodbye. -Scott

There’s never a better time to unlock your inner musician than when you’re two seconds away from being demon chow.

Shit myself and hopefully the smell will make the demons run -Glen

Been taking lessons from Briar, have you?

Thanks so much for your submissions Scott and Glen! These were a great way to end the contest and we couldn’t be happier to get them.

And now, the winner for our Surrounded Giveaway and a hardcover copy of The Warded Man is:

The naked night used to scare me. It used to terrify me, to be more specific. Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water all rose up against my home – my family. It threatened to swallow me whole. The naked night meant death. That is, at least, until the Deliverer brought back hope. He says he ‘ent no Deliverer’ but deliver is exactly what he did. He gave us fighting wards. He gave us a fighting chance.

Fight is exactly what I intend to do.

Fear of the night has been replaced with the thrill of the hunt. I am not in the wild this night by accident. I did not lose track of time, nor was I cast out from the safety of the wardnet back home. I began preparing for this months ago, when word first reached my village that fighting wards had been returned. I gathered the necessary materials and went to work.

An undercoat of repelling wards sewn into the cloth; not painted. Paint fades, and my art was meant to last. With great care, I etched Forbiddings into every inch of my light steel armor and helm, interlocking defenses against the demons. I only wish that I had learned the wards for Night Sight that the Hollowers were rumored to have. Special care was taken to counter the behemoths, the Rock Demons. I’d heard stories of Old One Arm. Their might was undeniable.

Throwing Daggers, an axe, a spear, and a specially prepared chain were all laid out. Sometimes, it paid to be the son of a Blacksmith. They all waited, calling to me the need to be warded for war. As soon as I saw the fighting wards, I began my labor.

I started with a single throwing dagger, adding the fighting wards I had stolen a look at as a man claiming to be from Deliverer’s Hollow passed through. Testing it against a Woodie from the safety of my ward net, I was satisfied by its howls of pain. I engraved every weapon I owned. I even went as far as to carve them into my gauntlets.

All of my work, all of my sleepless nights etching, sewing, and sharpening. It was all meant for tonight. Tonight, I will not hide. I will not cower and pray. I will not wait for the day to burn the demons from my home.

Tonight, I’m going to kill them all. -Keith

Congratulations Keith!

As some of you may have gathered, there will be no Warded Wednesday this week. Instead, we have something special planned! Check the blog over the next few days to find out more.

Didn’t catch the Briar reference? You can order your copy of Peat’s novella, The Messenger’s Legacy, right here!

Posted on September 30, 2015 at 8:00 am by Hannah
Filed under Contests, Fans, Karen, Writing
1 Comment »

Posted by Karen

Hey everyone! Thank you for your patience. I know this giveaway has taken a lot more time than intended, but we thought it was important to give such great entries the attention they deserve.

We’ll be announcing the winner tomorrow. For now, here are the last (but certainly not least) submissions to our Surrounded Giveaway!

Play the violin and pray to God I can channel the spirit of Rojer and produce his mad skills. If by some miracle that works make all the demons dance around then kill each other. If not, which in all honesty is far more likely, put my head between my legs and kiss my ass goodbye. -Scott

Sometimes a life and death situation is just the encouragement you need to play a masterpiece.

I’m surrounded by demons in the night… and I couldn’t be more pleased. The demons are closing in on me, their prey, but I am in control. They don’t know that they will soon become the hunted. Smiling, I crouch and beckon to the demons. -Zachary

Love this vibe of this entry. I’m more afraid for the demons!

This is my technique so please don’t copy it lest the Corelings evolve to kill me.

I will have my copy of the warded man beside me, hopefully one of the pictures on the hard cover has a ward that can keep ’em away. ( God save me !!)

But the actual trick is here , Read at your own risk –

I’ll dig a hole and bury myself in the ground , Probably the corelings have a lot of free food about and don’t go into the trouble to dig me out ( moreover I guess it cant smell me under the ground –The power of the core is stronger down under)

Most Corelings materialize at the surface so I suppose that is my best bet. -Kannan

Clever idea, Kannan. Don’t worry, I won’t steal it unless there’s absolutely no other choice.

That’s all the entries we received for this giveaway! We sincerely hope that all you enjoyed it as much as we did. Don’t forget to check back tomorrow to see who won the Surrounded Giveaway!

You can grab a copy of The Great Bazaar & Brayan’s Gold here!

Posted on September 29, 2015 at 8:00 am by Hannah
Filed under Contests, Fans, Karen, Warded Man, Writing
Comments Off on Surrounded Giveaway: Final Entries!

Posted by Karen

Hey everyone! Okay, I’ve said it before, but we’ve gone some seriously great writings among The Demon Cycle fans. Check out this entry to the Surrounded Giveaway:

The naked night used to scare me. It used to terrify me, to be more specific. Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water all rose up against my home – my family. It threatened to swallow me whole. The naked night meant death. That is, at least, until the Deliverer brought back hope. He says he ‘ent no Deliverer’ but deliver is exactly what he did. He gave us fighting wards. He gave us a fighting chance.

Fight is exactly what I intend to do.

Fear of the night has been replaced with the thrill of the hunt. I am not in the wild this night by accident. I did not lose track of time, nor was I cast out from the safety of the wardnet back home. I began preparing for this months ago, when word first reached my village that fighting wards had been returned. I gathered the necessary materials and went to work.

An undercoat of repelling wards sewn into the cloth; not painted. Paint fades, and my art was meant to last. With great care, I etched Forbiddings into every inch of my light steel armor and helm, interlocking defenses against the demons. I only wish that I had learned the wards for Night Sight that the Hollowers were rumored to have. Special care was taken to counter the behemoths, the Rock Demons. I’d heard stories of Old One Arm. Their might was undeniable.

Throwing Daggers, an axe, a spear, and a specially prepared chain were all laid out. Sometimes, it paid to be the son of a Blacksmith. They all waited, calling to me the need to be warded for war. As soon as I saw the fighting wards, I began my labor.

I started with a single throwing dagger, adding the fighting wards I had stolen a look at as a man claiming to be from Deliverer’s Hollow passed through. Testing it against a Woodie from the safety of my ward net, I was satisfied by its howls of pain. I engraved every weapon I owned. I even went as far as to carve them into my gauntlets.

All of my work, all of my sleepless nights etching, sewing, and sharpening. It was all meant for tonight. Tonight, I will not hide. I will not cower and pray. I will not wait for the day to burn the demons from my home.

Tonight, I’m going to kill them all. -Keith

This is so incredibly cool. I love the tone and atmosphere of this. It’s more like a story than just an answer to the giveaway’s question. Really stellar job, Keith.

You can grab a copy of The Warded Man hardcover on Amazon or Books-A-Million.

Posted on September 28, 2015 at 8:00 am by Hannah
Filed under Contests, Fans, Karen, Uncategorized, Writing
Comments Off on Surrounded Giveaway: Fighting Free