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SF:SE Schedule

Posted by Karen

Hey everyone! This weekend, Peat will be at Speculative Fiction Southeast (SF:SE) as a guest author.

SFSE

If you’re attending the convention and want to see him, here’s his rough schedule. When not on a panel or signing, you can also always look for Peat at his table in the Galaxy Ballroom (#29), various parties at the convention, or the hotel’s bar!

Friday 9/25

  • Peat will fly into Florida during the afternoon.

Peat doesn’t have any events scheduled for the day, but you might be able to find him wandering around the con.

SATURDAY 9/26

  • 11:30-12:30 Panel: Fear Itself (Phoenix Ballroom)
  • 1:30-2:30 Panel: Post Traumatic (Galaxy 4 Ballroom)
  • 4:30-6:30  Signing Party (Galaxy 4 Ballroom, books available from B&L books)
  • 6:45-7:45 Panel: But What Does It All Mean?! (Galaxy 4 Ballroom)


Sunday 9/27

  • Peat will be leaving SF:SE in the afternoon, so if you want to be sure to see him during the convention, pop by early on. He’ll be walking the con in the morning and will tweet office hours at his table (#29).

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

Posted on September 25, 2015 at 8:00 am by Hannah
Filed under Karen, SF:SE
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Surrounded Giveaway: Hiding And Fighting

Posted by Karen

Hey everyone! The deadline for our Surrounded Giveaway has officially passed. With that being said, I wanted to give a shout out to everyone who had been supportive of the contests and giveaways on Peat’s blog. We hope you’re enjoying them.

Here are the next selection of entries from the giveaway:

Start warding like the wind! I’ve done enough I could get fairly close. Really only need fire, stone, and wood around here. Maybe water near the lakes. Yeah, they’d be in the dirt, but I’d start small and use a stick to work my way out. With careful stepping I’d eventually have a huge number of concentric ward circles. Even weak wards should give me protection with that many overlapping.

And then the adrenaline would wear off and curl up in the fetal position for the rest of the night, unable to sleep in abject fear of the wind. -Arthur

This sounds like a solid plan, Arthur. Just keep your hands steady and hope that it doesn’t rain!

Honestly, I’d probably curl up into a fetal position and cry, hoping that just one of those people with their newfound warding skills manages to find me before it’s too late. -Amanda

Perhaps there’s a team-up with Arthur (or some other warding master) in your future. Great entry, Amanda!

I would try to get behind a wood demon, try to jump on it’s back (ideally between shoulder blades – jam something into the joint to hold on to). I would be hoping you can get yourself into a place that it cannot reach.

Now I think there are two choices – just hold for life. Hope the wood demon stops any nearby flame demons and can’t get a grip on you and isn’t smart enough to slam you off.

2nd choice – try to hold a torch (if possible) just in the eyeline of the wood demon. Hold it on the left side to scare it right, hold it on the right to scare it left. Try to make it run to a safe place (nearby farm).

Likelyhood of any of this working – almost impossible. Still the best idea I can come up with (without warding knowledge, etc.) -Simon

That. Is. Awesome. It might not be the safest option, but just think of how badass you’d look riding a demon!

I would find a sturdy tree that did not have any other tree’s close to it, and etch a warding circle into the lowest part of the trunk, (this would be quick warding since the circle is small, and would give me time for other warding) then I would climb about 15-20 feet up but not to the top of the tree, and find a nice branch to sit on and ward just underneath that branch, then ward again just above my head. It would have gaps in the ward but the demons could not climb up the tree because of the wards at the base, and wind demons would be hard pressed to find the holes and land on them. I would of course have a warded weapon to deal with them in-case that happens, and my weapon a short staff with short swords at the ends also has a small shield attached to it in case. I could also make the small warding circles all the way up the tree increasing their strength and safety. I would simply sit on the branch all night, plucking off leaves, and acorns, warding them and dropping them on the frustrated demons, watching as they howl in pain and frustration. -Jamie

Ha! This is such a clever idea. I especially love the last bit about messing with demons while safely out of reach. Great ideas, Jamie!

If you haven’t read Peat’s novella The Messenger’s Legacy yet, you definitely should. Set just before The Skull Throne, it’s an exciting and action-packed adventure that ties in seamlessly with events of The Demon Cycle. You can order The Messenger’s Legacy from Waterstones or Amazon.

Posted on September 24, 2015 at 8:00 am by Hannah
Filed under Contests, Fans, Karen, Writing
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Surrounded Giveaway: Surviving The Night

Posted by Karen

Hey everyone! Today we’re featuring the entry sent in by Nick (winner of our Creative Ward Uses Giveaway). It’s long enough to be a short story, but definitely worth the read!

Didn’t want to have to do this, but little other choice. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Hope he’ll forgive me. But I know in my heart he most likely won’t.

I coax the Thomas the Tank Engine out of his hand, and throw with all my might at the biggest throng of demons. The wail that erupts from him fills the demons heads with pain, and puts Rojers fiddling to shame. Noah, 2 years old, and no volume control. Don’t call it the terrible two’s for nothing.

Knowing it’s only a temporary relief I move on to the next part of my plan.

“Julie, I need you to load up Spotify” My wife of four years. She still looks just as beautiful as the day I met her. My best friend in the world. I can see the thoughts running through her head. She stares at me as though I’m crazy. Which I probably sound. “Just do it” I hiss at her. I see her hand moving on her phone, and need to trust her.

“Jack,” I say to my oldest, he’ll be 7 in a couple of months, I’m determined he’ll live to see it. He’s staring, transfixed, at the copse of wood demons. I hiss his name again. This time he looks at me, but his eyes are glazed over.

“Remember Tae Kwon Do?” I say to him. He nods mutely at me. “Remember how that taught you to be brave, even when you were sparring with the bigger boys?” He nods again. “I need you to be brave again tonight” I can see he’s coming back to me, his eyes now have more focus, less wild eyed.

“You remember that baiters trick I taught you?” Understanding dawns in his eyes, and he slowly begins to sway from side to side. He nods at me, takes a deep breath to steel himself, then begins the shuffling dance from side to side. The nearby demons take notice, and begin following his steps. One, two, they can’t take their eyes off him.

I turn to my wife. She’s been busy on her phone the whole time. You need to play “the song of waning” by Rojer, Amanvah & Sikvah.

All of this has bought me some time. It has to be enough. I rake through Julies bag, and pull out the sheets of paper and crayons she keeps in there. Got to have something to keep the kids amused at a moments notice.

The whole time I’ve been putting my plan into action one hand has been manipulating my phone, till I was on the Wikipedia page for The Demon Cycle. I start rapidly copying wards onto the paper with the crayons, careful not to make any mistakes, knowing the slightest one could be the difference between life and death. Within minutes I have a working circle. Just in time, as the effect of the song of waning seems to be wearing off.

A wind demon swoops down, seeing Noah as an easy target to steal away, and is knocked back by my crude ward circle. Nearby demons lunge at the circle, but are all knocked back. One last idea, I look for the fighting wards. Got to love Wikipedia. Loading one up on my phone, I hold it out experimentally. A rock demon takes a swipe at the circle, but meets my phone instead. He howls in pain, and backs off.

It’s going to be a long night, there’s no doubt about that. But armed with a terrible two’s temper, Song of waning courtesy of Spotify, a highly trained Tae Kwon Do warrior able to distract them with his dancing, and fighting wards on my phone, we have a chance of making it. -Nick

That was a wild ride from start to finish! It’s amazing how many elements were integrated into this entry. I think this is a great plan, Nick. You’ll definitely survive the night!

If you haven’t commented yet, you still have some time! Responses to the Surrounded Giveaway will be accepted until TONIGHT (9/23). The winner will be announced Tuesday (9/29).

You can order your copy of The Skull Throne here!

Posted on September 23, 2015 at 8:00 am by Hannah
Filed under Contests, Fans, Karen
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Surrounded Giveaway: Awesome Entries!

Posted by Karen

Hey everyone! This is usually when we reveal the winner of our latest giveaway, give congratulations, etc… Well today is going to be a little different.

There were a bunch of amazing entries that came in and, quite frankly, that amount of sheer awesomeness can’t fit into a single post.

WardedWednesdays

Therefore, we’re going to switch things up. Instead of having a giveaway this week, we’ll be devoting the next few days to showcasing people’s responses for our Surrounded Giveaway.

Remember, the question we posed was:

Imagine you are out at night and surrounded by demons. What would you do?

Without further ado, here’s our first batch of awesome entries. Check them out!

I’d embrace the fear and hope it gives me clarity. I realize I have no warding skills and so my only options would be to hope that my actions in these final moments deem me worthy to stand before Everam, or more likely I’d immediately get scorched by a flame demon and torn asunder by a rock demon. It is Inevera. -Adventureless Hero

Dance and sing. Might well be the last time I get to do it and who knows, the demons might like it and let me escape in the process. -Flying Phoenix

Pray to God for strength. Then I would fight with every fiber of my being. I probably wouldn’t even put a dent in them without divine help, but at least I would die with my wounds on the front. Warrior. -Earl

I would fight like Renna until I’ve killed each one or die trying. -Joy

I’m 5’2, maybe 160 lbs., so I’d be tossed like a rag doll. I would try to put some distance between the demons and myself. If I came across a house that was warded I’d hopefully be able to hide out till morning. Or if they didn’t let me in, find something sharp or maybe a heavy cooking pan. Find a leather belt and some nails and make something like brass knuckles. If there were no houses close by and I had a knife…maybe make a sharp spear as best i could using nature. If I’m going out, I’m going out like a warrior. I’d prove myself to the heavens. Although, I’d really like to set mini traps for demons just to piss them off. -Angela

If you haven’t commented yet, feel free! After some deliberation, we’ve decided to extend the deadline of the Surrounded Giveaway. Responses will now be accepted until Friday (9/25) and the winner will be announced Wednesday (9/30).

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

Posted on September 22, 2015 at 8:00 am by Hannah
Filed under Contests, Fans, Karen, Writing
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Four Days Until SF:SE!

Posted by Karen

Hey everyone! It’s almost time. In just four days, Peat will be attending Speculative Fiction Southeast (SF:SE) as a guest author!

Peatatsfse

We’re super excited for this event! If you’re in the area and haven’t already gotten tickets, you can buy them here.

SFSE

Peat will also have a table in the Galaxy Ballroom for all three days of the convention. Feel free to swing by and get books signed or just pop over for a chat.

In addition to having a table, Peat will also be a guest speaker at certain panels. Peat’s itinerary looks like this:

SATURDAY 9/26

  • 11:30-12:30 Panel: Fear Itself
  • 1:30-2:30 Panel: Post Traumatic
  • 4:30-6:30  Signing Party
  • 6:30-7:30 Panel: But What Does It All Mean?!

As you might have noticed, Peat’s Saturday schedule is pretty full. That means that people participating in the LARPquest will have their work cut out for them tracking him down… Best of luck LARPers!

If you want to grab a hardcover copy of The Warded Man to get signed at SF:SE, you can get one on Amazon or Books-A-Million. There will also be copies of Peat’s books sold at the signing party.

Posted on September 21, 2015 at 8:00 am by Hannah
Filed under Events, Karen, Uncategorized
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