Brent Weeks

It’s not often you get a chance to try to take one of these past Homeland Security.

Allegedly, a half-sized one of these guys is the prize for the first inaugural David Gemmell Legend Award for fantasy, for which I have made the short list. Made by the Raven Armoury, this is a replica of Druss the Legend’s axe from a number of Gemmell novels.

So, if you can spare me 8 seconds, I might have quite an adventure. (TSA agent: “Sir, do you have anything to declare?” Brent: “GAAARRRR!!!”)

1) Start my adventure by CLICKING HERE.

2) Find the most deserving book. Find my book.

3) Click the button next to my book.

4) Click “Vote.”

5) Check your watch. If it took you more than 8 seconds, that kindergarten diploma you’re so proud of is a forgery. Err, I meant to say, thank you for thinking so deeply about who truly deserves this award. Ahem.

Regardless of whom you vote for, if you like deep, conflicted characters and fast-paced stories with a side of redemption, read my books. Err, I meant to say, check out David Gemmell. I think you’ll like his work. (Please vote only once and please vote before May 31.)

Oh, and if I win, I will pose a cat with my battle axe. Some of you doubtless understand. Though I don’t know how my friends might take it:  ”Can I borrow your cat?” Why? “Um, I have this big, sharp battle axe…” You sick, nasty piece of work! “No, it’s not like that!”

Many of you probably already know Peter V. Brett and his debut novel The Warded Man (US)/ The Painted Man (UK). It’s a great book and I highly recommend it. This weekend, Peter has agreed to come to our forum and answer YOUR questions about his book and its coming sequel, The Desert Spear. If you have questions for Peter V. Brett, please join us HERE and post your questions by this Saturday, May 16th. (You’ll have to be registered to ask questions, but registration takes maybe fifteen seconds, and you won’t need to register to read anything.) If you’d like to jump straight to Peter’s homepage, it’s HERE. And of course, the obligatory Amazon link  (for Amazon UK click HERE). And thank you to Peter for agreeing to come by!

I am happy to report that Fullon Books has made, and I have accepted, an offer to publish the Night Angel trilogy in Complex Chinese. So far as my limited understanding goes, for publishing, China is split into two language “territories”: Simple Chinese and Complex Chinese. Complex Chinese includes Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao. Translating big epic fantasy books into Chinese is, I understand, a particular struggle because it simply takes so much more space–and thus more paper, and thus more printing expenses and fewer books per rack, and thus lower inventories, and thus lower profits unless you can sell a lot. So this is awesome, a great vote of confidence from Fullon Books and a cool opportunity. A big thank you to Gray Tan of the Grayhawk Agency and to Cameron McClure of DMLA.

So after being knocked off my perch on the New York Times Extended Best Seller List after a mere two weeks, it looks like I’m…

That’s right. I’m BACK. Yeah, keep scrolling. Further. Further. There I am! At number 35, out of–you guessed it!–35. Needless to say, this isn’t a bad place to be last place. The odd thing I learned is that my sales numbers have been pretty much rock solid over the last month, so my fluctuations up and down and off the list are either because other people on the list have had their sales fluctuate or because of that pencil-neck joke. But hey, I’m not complaining. Getting on the list for even one week is a whole lot more than most writers get. Ever.

So, cheers, New York Times, and if I make it high enough, I promise I’ll buy a print edition. (But $10 for the Sunday paper? Seriously?)

Recently got my copies of The Way of Shadows as translated into Dutch and French. I think now I can say, “I’m big in France.” (If only literally.)

Here are shots of the books next to their American counterpart.

(Click any to enlarge.)

How cool is that? It’s still amazing and very weird to think that someone with whom I couldn’t communicate if I met them in real life could read what I’ve poured so much of my life into. So thank you to my translators Peter Cuijpers and Olivier Debernard, and to editors Jürgen Snoeren and Stéphane Marsan of Mynx and Bragelonne respectively.