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Posted by Meg

We had two fantastic entries for the Skull Throne ARC Contest focusing on the very last scene of The Daylight War. For those of you who haven’t finished the 3rd book, look away! Visual spoilers to follow …

Jai has created a beautiful rendition of the final fight scene between Jardir and Arlen with Leesha on the sidelines looking on.

Beautiful and atmospheric. Having Leesha watching makes this painting all the more striking. Thanks for entering, Jai!

Todd thought that the best scene was the very last moment, when Jardir and Arlen are falling off the cliff. I have to say, it makes for a pretty intense picture!

So awesome. You can feel the tension of that moment. Thanks for entering, Todd!

The contest is now over, but you can still check out all the awesome entries on Facebook and Pinterest.

The Skull Throne will be released on March 31st in the U.S. with translations to follow. Pre-order the U.S. edition from Random House today.

Posted on February 10, 2015 at 8:00 am by Hannah
Filed under Contests, Daylight War, Fan Art, Fans, Meg, Skull Throne, Skull Throne ARC, ST ARC Contest, Warded Art
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Posted by Meg

Thomas decided to try something a little different in hopes of scoring a Skull Throne ARC. Here’s what he had to say:

I am a huge fan of your books and wanted to try something different for the contest. I can’t draw and my wife would flay me if I tattooed my body with demon cycle art. I am however, a tradesman. So I Warded glass. This pane of glass has an ignorance and forbiddence net etched into it.

This is awesome. The wards are crisp, clear and look beautiful on the glass. Now, I am imagining how cool my windows would look warded.

Freijya went ahead and warded her arm!

In the center of her ward circle is a mind ward. Amazing.

Want to check out the other visual entries? We have albums on Facebook and Pinterest.

The Skull Throne will be released on March 31st in the U.S. with translations to follow. Pre-order the U.S. edition from Random House today.

Posted on February 9, 2015 at 3:00 pm by Hannah
Filed under Contests, Fan Art, Fans, Meg, Skull Throne, Skull Throne ARC, ST ARC Contest, Warded Art
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Posted by Meg

Hayden goes back in time to Rojer’s origin story for his entry. Check it out:

My entry for the Skull Throne ARC Contest is a depiction of the destruction of Riverbridge and Rojer Inn’s origin. I tried to depict it in a way where Rojer acts as a shade in the background telling his story through music. It is a lamentation of the loss of his home and parents, as well as remembrance of Arrick’s lullaby that night. I’ve always loved Rojer as a character and how his tragedy as a child and time with Arrick influenced him throughout the series, and I wanted to try to capture his past. I hope you enjoy it, I had a lot of fun making it.

One last quick note, the first image is a pen and ink drawing and the second image is pen and ink with Photoshop alterations.

Wow. Incredible work, Hayden. The images are so striking and I love the addition of the burned edges.

The contest is now over, but you can still check out all the awesome entries on Facebook and Pinterest.

The Skull Throne will be released on March 31st in the U.S. with translations to follow. Pre-order the U.S. edition from Random House today.

Posted on February 9, 2015 at 8:00 am by Hannah
Filed under Contests, Fan Art, Fans, Meg, Skull Throne, Skull Throne ARC, ST ARC Contest, Warded Art
Comments Off on Skull Throne ARC Contest: Rojer’s Origin

Hi All,

As you are no doubt aware, after more than two years since The Daylight War was released, The Skull Throne is now a thing that exists, at least in ARC form.

ARC is short for “Advanced Read Copy”. These are no-frills uncorrected proofs that go out to booksellers and reviewers so they can have an early look at the book before it goes on sale. Copies of ARCs are quite limited, as it is a small promotional print run.

I myself only get 5 ARC copies, of which I keep two and give the others as gifts to beta-readers or my mom. I can usually snag a few extra by begging/giving puppydog eyes to my publisher. These I use for fan art contests like the Skull Throne ARC Contest (which is still accepting entries!).

This time, however, Random House has provided me a loophole in their Fan Ambassador Program.

The deal is pretty simple. They have 50 Skull Throne ARCs and 250 Warded Man paperbacks to be put into a lottery. U.S. residents* enter your name, e-mail and mailing address for a chance to win.

Winners will receive an ARC of Skull Throne to keep for yourself along with 5 paperback copies of The Warded Man that we ask you to give away to people who haven’t read the series before. It could be friends, family, acquaintances, or just a random stranger you catch reading a fantasy book at the train station.

It’s that easy.

Right now, you can count on fingers how many people have read the final version of Skull Throne. I’m excited to share it first with people who will really appreciate it. 

Interested? Enter here, but be sure to check out the Official Rules first! Despite what the rules say (there are a couple of incorrect dates RH is fixing as of my writing this blog) this contest will run through February 12th, 2015.

There’s another way to win! Enter the Skull Throne ARC contest by February 8th!

The Skull Throne will be released on March 31st in the U.S. with translations to follow. Pre-order the U.S. edition from Random House today.

*Apologies to all my international fans, but regional distribution rules mean Random House cannot send books internationally without violating contracts. All contests that I run from this blog (including the Skull Throne ARC contest) are and always will be open worldwide, but please don’t fault the publishers when they cannot offer the same. There will be special publisher offers to come in other markets as well. News on those as they materialize.

Posted on February 6, 2015 at 8:00 am by PeatB
Filed under Fans, Skull Throne, Warded Man
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Posted by Meg

Nicole based her entry to the Skull Throne ARC Contest on one of her favorite Arlen scenes. And it is stunning. Check out what she said first:

So I decided on doing one of my favourite scenes when Arlen finds the spear and sand demons rise from the ground. I created this scene via photo manipulation, since I had no time to paint or draw it. It’s a free interpretation of Arlen walking among the rising demons through the ruins of Anoch Sun with the spear in hand.

from the Warded Man … “All Arlen could see was the object clutched in its bandaged hands. A metal spear. Sliding the weapon reverently from the corpse’s stubborn grasp, Arlen marveled at its lightness. It was seven feet long from tip to tip, and the shaft was more than an inch in diameter. The point was still sharp enough to draw blood after so many years. The metal was unknown to Arlen, but that fact flew from his thoughts as he noted something else. The spear was warded. All along its silvery surface the etchings ran, a level of craftsmanship unknown in modern times. The wards were unlike anything he had ever seen. … His heart pounding and his discovery forgotten, Arlen moved through the ruins with incredible speed and alacrity, vaulting fallen pillars and crumbled rock while dodging right and left around the solidifying corelings…”

Such an awesome image. I love the spear and Arlen’s stance. Fantastic. Thanks for entering, Nicole!

Want to check out the other visual entries? We have albums on Facebook and Pinterest.

Want a shot at getting your own copy of The Skull Throne? Enter the Skull Throne ARC contest by February 8th!

The Skull Throne will be released on March 31st in the U.S. with translations to follow. Pre-order the U.S. edition from Random House today.

Posted on February 5, 2015 at 8:00 am by Hannah
Filed under Contests, Fan Art, Fans, Meg, Skull Throne, Skull Throne ARC, ST ARC Contest, Warded Art, Warded Man
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