Who has two thumbs and is the co-Guest of Honor at Bubonicon 45?

THIS Guy! 

So, if you missed the Epic Tour of Awesomeness in 2012, and can’t wait until his next book tour, buy your Con tickets, book your hotel and prepare your books for epic-author-signage to Albuquerque, New Mexico on this August 23-25.

He’ll be participating in a number of panels and giving a special Guest of Honor presentation along with Tim Powers (the other Guest of Honor), Diana Rowland will be Toastmistress, and Alan F. Beck is 2013′s Guest Artist. Other attendees include George R.R. Martin, Samwise Sykes, Mario Acevedo, Carol Berg, Adam Jarmon Brown, Craig A. Butler, Peri Charlifu, Steven Gould, Darynda Jones, Jane Lindskold, M.J. Locke, Victor Milan, Pati Nagle, Scott Phillips, Joan Saberhagen, Debbie Lynn Smith, Melinda Snodgrass, Gabi Stevens, S.M. Stirling, David Lee Summers, Ian Tregillis, Robert E. Vardeman, Carrie Vaughn, Walter Jon Williams, Connie Willis and Courtney Willis.

Thanks to all the dedicated fans who voted via Twitter, Facebook and comments on BookSpot Central, The Blinding Knife beat King of Thorns in a crushing victory. It wasn’t even close. I dominated: 50.7% to 49.3%. Okay, maybe I was nervous for a second or two.

And because CAPSLOCK likes it when I quote myself:

I won, I won, I WON! But I have one thing to say to the worthy @mark__lawrence: Neener neener neener! *ahem* I mean, “Good show, old boy.”

— Brent Weeks (@brentweeks) April 22, 2013

Brent’s first novel, The Way of Shadows, is now available in Turkish, HERE. 

To celebrate the launch, Brent’s just given an interview to Turkish book blog Tuğçe’nin Kitaplığı. You can find their review of The Way of Shadows HERE.

And if you’re interested in Turkish books in general, be sure to like the publisher’s Facebook page or visit them at their website.

First, there were 64. Now, battered and bleeding, lacerated by readers’ votes and critics’ comments, only two remain. But…

It’s the battle of sharp pointy things! 

No, but seriously. After losing The David Gemmell Award (twice), after losing to Victor Gischler in 2009 for this SAME AWARD, and after losing the Suvudu Cage Match last year, I think it’s my time. Look, people, I even put off my book a year so that next year you won’t have to compete with me! What more can I do?

No, but seriously, seriously, this BookSpot Central March Madness contest is just a lot of fun. It’s purely for bragging rights and to discover other books that lots of readers love. The opportunity to spank a fellow author is just icing on the cake. Don’t let me be spanked! I’m not into that. Go HERE to vote.

Author David Wolverton (pen name: David Farland) needs your help. His son Ben was recently in a long-boarding accident, and the Wolverton family does not have medical insurance. His son is in a coma, and to help cover the staggering medical costs, the SFF community is banding together to help. We’d love it if you’d join us. Here are three ways you can help:

1. Purchase Nightingale, one of Dave’s books which he owns full rights to, and will therefore make the most profit possible. (Go HERE.)

2. Use that same Amazon affiliate link the next time or the next few times you shop at Amazon. Even if you buy totally unrelated items, the Wolverton family will make 7-8% on your total purchase. (This won’t change the prices of any of the items you buy, it simply bumps some of Amazon’s profit toward the Wolvertons.)

3. Donate directly and find out more about Ben’s condition HERE.

by CAPSLOCK

The Blinding Knife has made it to the semi-finals! The Blinding Knife is contending with The Dirty of Streets of Heaven by Tad Williams. Go HERE to vote.

(Also, new poll!)

by CAPSLOCK

The Blinding Knife has made it to Round 4 thanks to fan votes! It’s now facing The Straits of Galahesh by Bradley P. Beaulieu. Go HERE to vote now!

by CAPSLOCK

Brent’s book The Blinding Knife is now competing against Elizabeth Bear’s Range of Ghosts. Go HERE to vote!

I’m delighted to finally be able to announce why my forthcoming Lightbringer novels have been delayed, perhaps indefinitely. I’ve been working on a delightful new series for children, called Ninja Kitty. I’ve already signed on with Rover, a new imprint of Orbit, for six books. While I understand that some fans will be disappointed to hear that it will be 6-7 years until the next Lightbringer book comes out, I’ve always felt that it’s important for an artist to be brave enough to go in new directions, even if he is, unfortunately, in the middle of another series. I believe that the Ninja Kitty series will also be a great way to introduce young children to my work, so that by the time they’re 10 or 11, they’ll be ready to be introduced to the themes of cannibalism, prostitution, and murder that are so central to the Night Angel books. In addition, kitties give me a great way to tie my work to existing memes. Think of any kitten pic you’ve ever seen on the internet. Now think, NINJA KITTY printed over that. Great, huh? That’s actually how my agent pitched it. Being an artist is great, but at the end of the day I’m here to make money. Lots of it. And I’m not supposed to say this, but there have been some really exciting preliminary talks with a certain director who brought the much-beloved movie about bending air *cough cough* to the big screen.

I’ve answered some questions about the book below:

Why did you decide to write a children’s book?

Well, six books, and that’s just to start. 1) Children’s books are easy. 2) Have you seen the crap parents will buy for their kids? Why not get in on that? 3) Market synergies. I’m not going to leave a dollar on the table.

What’s it been like to write in an entirely new genre?

Easy, and my assistant fixes all the minor details, like when I forget the kitties names and or the plot. I find I can write one of these in a couple days, max.

When will the book be published? 

As soon as we can get all the media tie-ins organized.

Oh, and I suppose that I should post the official press release from Orbit:

“Orbit is pleased to announce their new children’s imprint, Rover. The launch title, by New York Times Bestselling Author Brent Weeks, will be One Kitten, Two Kitten… Ninja Kitten! and leverage synergies with Orbit’s many corporate partners to create a multilateral bifurcated print/digital/collectible platform. Senior Editor Devi Pillai says, ‘Rover seemed like a natural next step fr us. As a part of a corporate mega-conglomerate, Orbit feels a duty to monetize as much of its customers’ lives as possible. We realized we’d been shamefully neglecting early childhood thus far. Plus, kitties.’”