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Fanart: Valentin’s Demon Drawings!

Posted by Karen

Drabble Contest Update: Thanks so much for your patience! After much deliberation, we’ve finally settled on the winners. Results will be posted on Monday, so look out for them!

In the meantime, we’re taking a day to feature one of our German fans. Currently studying stage design, Valentin has taken some time out of his busy schedule to make fanart of The Demon Cycle! Take a look…

Starting off strong, these ferocious flame demons ravage Arlen’s home town of Tibbett’s Brook:

FireDemon

Gruesome, but so, so cool. I’m really digging the fire on their tails and how craggy their bodies are. My personal favorite is the one breathing fire.

Next is this amazing interpretation of One-Arm! Awesome and also seriously scary.

OneArm

The texture of the rain is great and those horns are spot-on.

A sand demon in Krasia burns as the sun comes up over the horizon:

SandDemon

Love the layering of armor! You’d need some serious power to get through that. And look at all those teeth!

A swamp demon advances menacingly near Fort Lakton:

SwampDemon

The colors on this one are incredible! I really like the amphibious vibe and those frightening clawed-and-webbed hands. Wouldn’t want to see it crawling towards me on a dark night.

Last, but certainly not least, Valentin’s wood demon is seriously incredible!

WoodDemon

The gnarled hands look so great. I especially like the swirling whorls on its knuckles.

A huge thanks to Valentin for letting us show these off! All the demon designs are seriously gorgeous and creative.

The Warded Man hardcover is now available online only! Check it out on Amazon or Books-A-Million.

Posted on July 31, 2015 at 8:00 am by Hannah
Filed under Fan Art, Fans, Karen, Warded Art
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Peter V. Brett visits the tea lair!

Posted by Karen

We have a special treat today! In the last week, Peat took some time off to have tea with the delightful Emma Newman. During their meeting, they talked about interior decorating, chickens, and of course… mortal peril.

Tea and Jeopardy blends interview and audio drama into a delicious cup of awesome.

Check out Peat’s featured episode here!

 Emily dama'ting tea party

Here’s the lovely ‘curio’ that Peat brought to tea. Perfect for gutting demons or cutting tiny little cakes.

Renna Knife

The Skull Throne is now on sale in the U.S./U.K.! Snag your copy of the U.S. edition here or visit Waterstones or UK Amazon for the U.K. version.

Tea set by Emily, knife by the talented Freijya.

Posted on July 30, 2015 at 8:00 am by Hannah
Filed under Fan Art, Fans, Interviews, Karen
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Renna Cosplay: Freijya McNulty

Posted by Karen

Hey everyone! We’ve been working with some fantastic fans recently—from bakers to reviewers to awesome cosplayers. Today, we’re happy to feature Freijya NcNulty.

Freijya was one of our winners from The Skull Throne ARC Contest and  continues to amaze. Check out her thought process for this incredible Renna cosplay:

“I’m sure many people, like me, shipped Leesha and Arlen so the ending of The Desert Spear made me go “NOOOOOO!” and initially I thought her actions to be childish and that she would hold Arlen back. Re-reading the first two books before going onto Daylight War I felt I understood her more, I could empathise with her situation and really she’s reacting in a very sane way to all the trauma that has happened to her.”

Rennastanding

“Whilst Leesha was struggling between suitors, Renna dusted herself off and decided she would no longer be powerless and took control of her life. She became the strong female lead and I found myself surprised that I was cheering for Arlen and Renna’s relationship.”

wildrenna

“I was conflicted with Renna lying to Arlen and eating demon flesh. I understood she just wanted to keep up with him, and if he went down to the core she didn’t want to get left behind. But Arlen didn’t understand what was happening to him and so for her to follow that path only worried him – distracting him from what he should be doing. But in Skull Throne she grew once again! She still has a wild temperament but she is more in control now and is a very wonderful wife.”

Rennaintree
Perhaps being married myself I now understand the struggles and worries of husband and wife or maybe I just can see a bigger picture now reading the books side by side, who knows. She’s a fighter and seeing her growth despite the odds made me feel proud – it’s this that made me want to step into her….shoes? She doesn’t wear shoes at all does she?”

Rennainafield
Seeing the US cover art released for The Skull Throne was the perfect opportunity for me to do this, with the London Skull Throne book launch as my deadline I re-read all of Renna’s chapters to get as much of the details down as I could. I then shopped and shopped around for fabric that would work for the clothes.”

clothes

“Drawing up the patterns is fun, I get to cling film and masking tape my mannequin and draw the shape I needed then cut out and transfer it to fabric.”

patterndoll

“The Knife is made out of foam covered with worbla and then painted. Drawing on the wards to the knife and necklace, it made me glad I studied Japanese. Drawing impossibly small characters is my thing!”

Knife

“Putting it all together on the day I hoped to match the cover as much as I could.”

cover

“I was very pleased and I’m so humbled that Peter V Brett also loved it. Speaking with him, showing him my warded tattoo and the costume up close – he’s just a great guy and has the best fandom to be a part of!”

PeatandRenna

“I’m hoping for The Core’s cover, Ashia will be on the cover – I think I will do her next or perhaps a coreling….?”

“Thank you Peter for bringing us this epic world and for having time to geek out with us!”

It’s so thrilling to see people cosplaying characters from The Demon Cycle. Thanks so much to Freijya for keeping in touch and letting us show off her cosplay skills. Not only is her Renna amazing, but she’s also such a pleasure to work with!

Want to see more of Freijya’s cosplay work? She’s done everything from DC heroes and Attack On Titan to, of course, The Demon CycleCheck her out!

Interested in the photographer of these amazing photos? Feel free to follow them on Twitter.

If you’d like to see more cosplay from The Demon Cycle, click here!

Posted on July 29, 2015 at 8:00 am by Hannah
Filed under Fan Art, Fans, Karen, Warded Art
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The Skull Throne Reviewed!

Posted by Karen

Drabble contest winners will be announced soon! In the meantime, we wanted to take some time to talk about some wonderful feedback we’ve gotten. The Skull Throne has been out for a while now in the U.S. and U.K. and the reviews are piling up! Check out some of our favorites here:

Kitty G took things virtual by vlogging her review of The Skull Throne:

Here’s what other people think!

Borough of Books reviews The Skull Throne:

While these books have never been a picnic in the sun, this time it’s a much much darker tale – and people get hurt. VIP people. The people you thought were surely safe. While I’m totally cool with an author doing whatever he does, certain passages did cause me to hyperventilate or in fact had me shouting at the book and the cursed heavy pages, spluttering with fury, with rage, with tears in my eyes, with eternal loss. Just writing this, recalling how it felt, made me cry. This book hits hard.

Whatchamacallit Reviews – The Skull Throne:

All in all I loved The Skull Throne even as it left me positively shaking with disbelief with the events of the last 100 pages. Peter Brett is an amazing author and readers will clearly be clamoring. His characters are complicated, his story full of action and enough surprises to keep any reader guessing, and the book runs at a pace that will entrance even the most jaded of readers.

Roqoo Depot review of The Skull Throne by Skuldren:

There are moments of quiet happiness for the characters, times for the readers to rejoice and laugh out loud at choice bits of dialog. However there are also great moments of sadness and tragedy. It’s an emotional rollercoaster, but Brett’s penchant for storytelling makes it a delicious journey as it is so easy to lose yourself in the characters and this fantastical world he has created.

Fantasy Faction, the awesome group that organizes the annual Grim Gathering, gave talks politics and reality in their review of The Skull Throne:

I think a more accurate comparison is not A FEAST FOR CROWS, but The Empire Strikes Back. The world is very broken, and the final 100 pages of THE SKULL THRONE pack quite a few gut punches. It’s dark and sad, but complex and engaging.

You can always check on more reviews, interviews and publishing news on the News Page here.

The Skull Throne is now on sale in the U.S./U.K.! Order the U.S. edition here or visit Waterstones or UK Amazon for the U.K. version.

Posted on July 28, 2015 at 8:00 am by Hannah
Filed under Fans, Karen, Reviews, Skull Throne, UK
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Warded Cookie Feast!

Posted by Karen

Mari, on her blog Story and Somnomancy, has been hard at work in the kitchen baking some delightful high fantasy treats. She decided to perfect her sugar cookie recipe and, while she was at it, decided to add some fandom flare. Symbols from Game of Thrones, Mistborn, and the Abhorsen series made their way onto the icing and the result couldn’t be more lovely:

Fandom Cookies

Wards made for especially tasty magical symbols. No demon will eat these!

wardedmancookie

Thanks Mari for sharing your culinary endeavors! Be sure to check out the full post here.

Posted on July 27, 2015 at 8:00 am by Hannah
Filed under Fan Art, Fans, Warded Art
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