by CAPSLOCK
In his latest writing advice post, Brent discusses how to decide when you need to move on to a new project. Or why you might need to stick with it.
Along the way, he addresses perfectionism, opportunity costs, and making tough choices in writing.
Check it out HERE.
Also, new poll!
By CAPSLOCK
Brent’s made yet another “Best of 2012” list! This one’s over at the Barnes & Noble SFF blog, Explorations, run by Paul Goat Allen. The Blinding Knife came in second place, and Allen noted, “…honestly I could’ve chosen any number of the titles listed below as my #1 pick and been okay with it. The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks was even better than The Black Prism (and that’s saying something!)….”
Check out the entire list HERE.
And speaking of reddit award winners, Fantasy Faction is the little blog that could. They’ve come out of nowhere in the last two years to become one of the biggest fantasy blogs on the ‘net. This year, they captured the reddit award for Best Fantasy Blog. When I heard that they had mentioned me in some context in a “Best of 2012” post, I clicked over with great trepidation. “Best of” posts are usually where you go to see your colleagues praised. For good people, I suppose this is really nice. Yeah. Ahem. And because Joe Abercrombie released a book this year, I knew there would be weeping and gnashing somewhere in Oregon before the end of the post.
However! When I came across my name, The Blinding Knife was under “Pleasant Surprise of 2012” and said pleasant surprise was that “The Blinding Knife was… awesome.” In a brief paragraph, Marc airs at once some fair criticism and fannish praise that marks the very best of the blogging community.
So I figured I’d gotten off lightly. “Oh, this is one of those blogs where they just have lots of little sub-Best-Of’s. Next will be Best Book Featuring an Orc. Followed by Best New Non-Gritty Fantasy of the Year. My dental bill will remain intact. No gnashing here.”
But I was wrong. There it was. The dreaded Top 5 list. I scrolled slowly, savoring the pain. And there he is, at Number 2. “Dancing” Joe Abercrombie. (Seriously, I’ve seen the man dance. And he does even that better than I do.)
BUT THEN. Stop the presses, cue the “Hallelujah Chorus”. Who’s that dancing on Dancing Joe’s head? Who is singled out as writing THE BEST fantasy novel of 2012? Who’s the big winner? ME. It’s ME! ME me mememe ememememememe! ——> That guy.
Of course Joe and Marc are English. I spent some time in England this year, and the English are polite, reserved, and don’t believe in excessive celebration.
Thank God I’m an American.
Seriously, though, check out Fantasy Faction for all sorts of great discussions and check out that list to top off your To-Be-Read pile with some excellent additions.
Oh hey, I saw that I made another “Best Of List” over HERE. And Joe is, ahem, right above me. So, yeah, that excessive celebration? Never mind.
Reddit is a gigantic social news website that has many sub-sites (subreddits). The fantasy subreddit has more than 25,000 members. This past year, I had the pleasure of doing an interview with them, which they call “Ask Me Anything”. Needless to say, when I heard The Blinding Knife was up for Best Fantasy Novel of 2012, I was delighted but didn’t expect much.
If you’re interested in all things fantasy, I highly recommend checking it out. Even if you don’t like registering for things, you can freely lurk. In addition to having categories for Best Novel of the Year and Best Debut of the Year, /r/fantasy also voted on things like Best Blog, and Best AMA Comment. If you really want to dive immediately into fandom, this is a great place to find high-quality resources. Also, because the community is so huge, they have no trouble getting all the top fantasy authors to come by and talk with them. Those are still posted on the site and make for fascinating reading. (Look in the right-hand column of /r/fantasy for that list.)
I’d like to thank the reddit community and you guys, my awesome fans, for up-voting my book. And I’d like to thank elquesogrande for all the work he does to make that community so, so good.
I won I won I won!
File this under “Just for Fun”. An eagle-eyed Australian tweeted me telling me that my book had appeared briefly on a TV show over there. The show is The Almighty Johnsons and apparently follows the travails of a family who discover that they are getting the powers of the gods.
Here, apparently, is Rongo, god of food:
Fitting that the god of food has good taste, eh?
New marketing tagline: “The Night Angel Trilogy. Good enough for gods, good enough for you.”
I’ll be sending signed and personalized bookplates to the reader who tipped me off. If you see my book in any quirky or fun place, please let me know, and I will do the same for you!
by CAPSLOCK
Brent rounds out his month as Author of the Month at Drey’s Library with some thoughts on ugly characters in fantasy!
Check it out HERE.
by CAPSLOCK
Ok, it’s not an “all-time” favorite list, but it is his top five non-fiction reads of 2012. From the battlefields of 19th-century Afghanistan to the twisted mind of Picasso, Brent makes some eclectic choices. Check out his recommendations HERE.
by CAPSLOCK
In order to give everyone at least a chance at getting their bookplates in the mail before Christmas, I’m happy to announce that all bookplates have been personalized, signed, and mailed. Brent did all the international ones first, since mailing internationally takes the longest. All those went out by Wednesday, the 12th. Canadian and U.S. bookplates were all mailed by Thursday, the 13th, and digital bookplates went out on Friday the 14th. Brent wishes to note: his hand is tired.
For those of you who aren’t sure what a bookplate is or what to do with it once you receive it, I’ve made a short instructional video. (Enjoy my chrome-colored nails. If only I’d known Brent was having me make a video of them this morning!)
by CAPSLOCK
This December, Brent is the featured author over at Drey’s Library. That means he not only has a new interview over there, he’s also giving away 1 signed hardcover of The Blinding Knife and 5 signed paperbacks of The Black Prism! (International entries are welcome.)
In addition, Drey’s Library will feature a review of his books and two short posts by Brent later in the month: one about his favorite books and another on a topic of his choice. (We’ll let you know when those posts go live.)
So take a look at the Q&A and enter the giveaway HERE!
by CAPSLOCK
*UPDATE 5: If you made it into the giveaway, you should be getting an email from me, CAPSLOCK, within the next 15 minutes or so. Be sure to check your spam/junk folder if you don’t see one in the next 20 minutes and you think you made it in!*
*UPDATE 4: The giveaway is now closed! Thanks for your submissions*
*UPDATE 3: You’ll notice we crashed the site! We’ve been having people email me their mailing address and how they want the bookplate signed to CAPSLOCK at brentweeks.com (No spaces). So now that we’re back, feel free to use the form below for the next few minutes — as bookplates are going fast!*
*UPDATE 2: You will notice the form is now gone. We will be doing the contest again at 9:00pm PST, 5:00am GMT, so check back then if you missed your chance for a bookplate!
*UPDATE: We are shipping internationally! So if you live outside the U.S., feel free to enter!*
The first 100 entries (see form below) will receive a bookplate! You can choose either digital or hardcopy.(Click HERE for instructions on what to do once you get a digital copy.) We will remove the contact form once we’ve received the first 100 entries.
Also, we ask that you please don’t enter more than once. We’d like as many people as possible to get at least one bookplate. Brent likes to do giveaways (especially of bookplates, since he can’t possibly meet every one of you to sign your books!), so there will be plenty of opportunities for you to get another.
Indeed, the next chance for you to get a bookplate will be in 12 hours! So if you’re too late because you live on the other side of the world, check back at 9:00pm PST (5:00am GMT), when we’ll begin giving away another 100 bookplates.