So a couple of weeks ago, I was pulling all-nighters every day while working on the second draft of The Desert Spear. I was essentially working till 4am every night, sleeping until the baby woke me up between 6-7, and then going back to sleep until about 10. One morning I hauled myself out of bed, feeling like utter shit. Sleeping 5.5 hours a night for months on end will do that to a person. I was tired, achy, and grumpy. I have chronic nerve pain that worsens when I am sedentary, so I decided to take a walk to get some exercise, take my mind off the book, and maybe get a bit of Vitamin D from the day star.
I was in pretty foul spirits as I put on my sneakers and went downstairs. I walked by the mail boxes, and decided to check the mail before leaving. I don’t know why. I always check the mail when leaving, even though it’s much more logical to check it on the way back.
So I get out my keys, open the door, and see a box sitting there. The kind of box you see when someone is mailing a videotape (if you’re old enough to remember what those are), or a small book.
I think to myself, “Hey, neat! I like videotapes and books.” So I open it.
But there was no tape or book. Just a bunch of stuffing, and a tiny black box. A ring box.
“Huh,” I said to myself, and opened it:
I literally gasped out loud.
Let me back up. Back in April, I received this e-mail:
To: peat@www.petervbrett.com
Subject: Drawing inspiration from the Warded Man
Dear Mr. Brett,
I also spent the better part of my adolescence playing Dungeons and Dragons, and inhaling every fantasy novel I could find, instead of doing something useful with my time. One upside being that I could use “Prestidigitation” in a sentence when I was twelve. Another has been a fascination with glyphs, wards, runes, etc, which has never left me.
I enjoyed your novel very much. I found the characters and the story refreshing and engaging, and I appreciate that it did not take you 1500 pages to tell the tale. The story, and the wards in particular, inspired me to make a little something I would like to send to you. To be clear, I am not interested in licensing or selling anything, nor do I wish to enter any type of business relationship. This is just a token of my esteem, and a gift. Do with it as you will. So I was wondering if you could give me a PO box number or somewhere I could send this?
Again, thank you for writing a great book.
Kindest Regards,
-Gregory Falkner, GG
It was an intriguing letter, but of course it was very vague. He gave no real hint of what this gift was. Dani didn’t want me giving out our home address, so I gave him my Literary Agency’s PO Box. I was psyched to see what it was , but days went by. And weeks. And months. And I forgot all about it.
But then, on a day when I was feeling low, this ring arrived as if by magic. I just stood there in my building lobby, stunned for several moments as I stared at it in wonder. Instantly, it had become too precious for me to ever part with. It was My Precious.
My hand shook when I tried it on, but like it was the One Ring of Sauron itself, it shrank to fit my finger.
Seriously. How the fuck did this guy know my ring size? It was creepy.
Greg’s explanation: “Sadly, I have been in the jewelry business so long I can now tell a persons ring size just from a photo.”
Depletion gilded sterling silver with Australian enameling. Ye, gods. Except for the Spear, it’s the nicest thing anyone has ever given me. (Sorry, other people who have given me stuff, but come on, you know this is awesome. Legendary, even.)
I will put these pics up permanently in the Fan Art section soon!
Posted on August 25, 2009 at 11:48 pm by PeatB
Filed under Desert Spear, Fan Art, Fans, Life, Musings, Writing
10 Comments »
Big thanks to Matt Bergin for taking over the Peephole for the Casting Call guest post. I want him to illustrate my blog more often. His picture was extremely accurate, except he put the painting of Arlen where my office window is.
