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So I have some good news and some bad news.

Actually, scratch that. I have some GREAT news which comes with a mildly unpleasant ripple effect that most of you will never notice.

For those of you who purchased the US hardback edition of The Warded Man (Left), you’re in luck, because it’s about to become a collector’s edition. Del Rey books has decided to retire the original cover design for various reasons. If you love that cover, or if you’re a collector, there are only a limited number remaining in stores and no more will be printed, so grab a copy now while you still can.

For those of you who didn’t love the cover (ahem) the great news is that not only will there be a new cover design for the US mass market paperback edition (on sale from all major US booksellers on March 23, 2010!), but that design will be the spectacular Larry Rostant cover that was used in various overseas editions, beginning with the UK version, The Painted Man. It’s a great iconic image, and I’m thrilled they’re using it.

Check it out:

Even better, this means that the US hardback edition of The Desert Spear will have the Rostant cover right from the start, which I am estatic about, because I fucking LOVE that cover. I’ll post it again here, because I never tire of putting it up:

Sadly, because of a slight production delay stemming from the decision to change the covers, the release of the US and UK editions of The Desert Spear will no longer be simultaneous, though both will remain in April 2010. The US version will officially go on sale April 13, 2010, whereas the UK hardback edition of The Desert Spear will still be released as previously scheduled on April 5, 2010 (though some individual stores may put it out on the shelves a few days early, as the UK is less strict about such things).

So once again, the UK edition will publish first, though only by about two weeks instead of 7 months as was the case with the first book. I think you’ll agree the cover change is worth the extra wait, even if it gives a slight edge to the UK fans. I think they’ve earned it, as they have all been quite forgiving after learning their version would be delayed a few months because I am such a slow-ass writer.

Okay, enough blogging. Back to work on The Daylight War.

The party never stops.

Posted on September 1, 2009 at 5:36 pm by PeatB
Filed under Desert Spear, Sales, Writing
9 Comments »

As you can see, the cover art for the Portuguese translation of The Painted Man, O Homen Pintado, has been finalized. I think it’s pretty badass, and it’s the first PM cover to contain spears and a warded shield, which are very significant items in the series. (You may have noticed that there wasn’t a single sword in The Painted Man. Don’t expect that to change in The Desert Spear. )

O Homem Pintado will publish in Portugal at the end of October 2009 from publisher Gailivro. My Portuguese ex-gf is thrilled. She’s going to tell her parents to look for it the next time they visit.

Something I love about living in New York City is that I know someone from almost every race, religion, or nationality. Some of them are close friends or family and others more distant, but so far, no matter what language/country the book has come out in, I have known someone from my life who speaks it or can claim ancestry in that place. Someone I can give a translated copy to.

That is a beautiful thing.

Posted on August 29, 2009 at 12:11 am by PeatB
Filed under Desert Spear, Sales, World Traveler, Writing
Comments Off on O Homem Pintado

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.

The window that faces a friggin’ daycare center full of screaming kids that make it impossible to work on nice days. But I digress.

Matt and I met while working in the same comic book shop 14 years ago, and have been attached at the lightsaber ever since (no, that is not a gay reference… not that there’s anything wrong with that). One time, Matt’s Death Priest totally saved my half-elf Ranger’s life. True story.

Anyway, Matt and I have been talking about the fairest and easiest way to pick the contest winners, and have agreed that I will make a master cast list, based on the options given by the participants. Each character will be assigned one point, and whomever has the most points in common with me will win, and the runner up will take second place. In the event of a tie… well, I’ll think of something. Maybe I’ll pick another minor character to cast and it’ll be winner take all.

If this is the case, it will be either: Gared, Wonda, Selia Barren, or Abban.

It’s going to be a couple of days before I can get to this, though, so let’s say all entries must be in by Sept. 10. Please keep your submissions to the comment thread for the original post.

The next contest will be for an Advance Read Copy of The Great Bazaar. Not sure what the nature of the contest will be. Feel free to submit ideas in the comments for this post.

Thanks to everyone who has participated so far! Keep ’em coming!

Posted on August 28, 2009 at 10:55 am by PeatB
Filed under Contests, Fans, Great Bazaar, Movie
1 Comment »

I’ve just made a new addition to the Excisions page, a deleted scene from The Desert Spear entitled Rojer’s Mummery. Normally I would wait until the book was published to print deleted scenes, but this one is spoiler-free and involves characters from the first book, so I thought it would be a fun thing to put up for those of you eager for the next book. I hope you enjoy it.

Posted on August 27, 2009 at 1:11 pm by PeatB
Filed under Craft, Desert Spear, Excisions, Writing
3 Comments »

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 »