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Twitter Give-Away

Upon recently reaching 5,000 followers on Twitter, someone had a great idea: I should give away something free! I think other people have had this idea for a long time. We call those BitTorrent geeks.

This time, however, they actually asked my permission! See what happens when you say please? (Note: please do not say “please” in the aftermath of this webpost. It only works once.)

Originally, I was going to select a winner in some way that is creative and fun. I was informed, however, that lawyers do not like creative and fun, and that I might run afoul of lottery laws if I did anything that burbled with personality.  So on Friday night I will be randomly selecting, with the help of some internet randomizer, 5 lucky winners! No purchase necessary!!

Oooh, prizes!


If you were not in the first 5,000, but you do follow me before Friday, it is quite likely that the randomizer will be simply too stupid to screen you out. (This is why I was a terrible disciplinarian when I was a teacher. The hard luck cases get me every time: “Ah, but Mr. Weeks! My syphilitic cat threw up on my homework!” “Um, yuck. Ok, turn it in tomorrow.”)

I will contact the Lucky Five on Monday. And remember, lottery games should not be played for investment purposes. Unless, you know

 

Bookplates Bonanza!–UPDATED–ALL GONE

For those of you who have not been able to come to any of my signings — and you had an incredibly good reason, right? — I want to give a limited, first-come-first-serve opportunity to get the next best thing to a signed book. If you don’t know what a bookplate is, mine look something like this:

I will be happy to sign and personalize bookplates for the first 200 people who email me with their snail mail address. Please put “bookplate” in the subject line. In the  body of your message, please include which book you intend to place the bookplate in, and to whom you want the bookplate dedicated. I will cover the postage for those first 200 (even internationally) and only ask that if you haven’t done so already, that you sign up for the Brent Weeks newsletter here. (I will not automatically put you into the newsletter list, and the newsletter only goes out 2-4 times a year. It’s an e-newsletter, btw. Those are just emailed out.)

 *UPDATE* All the bookplates are gone. Thank you so much for your fervor. I had wondered if I’d be pathetically flogging my free bookplates on street corners a month from now. My hand also thanks you… not so much. Give me a couple weeks to get these all done and in the mail.

Book Tour 2011 Appearances!

Below is the list of my 2011 appearances as well as I know them today. I will update as necessary.

Renovation (WorldCon): Wednesday, August 17, 2011 –Sunday, August 21, 2011

Reno, NV

— Postmodern Fantasy Panel: Friday, September 19, 2011 5pm-6pm

Where: D03 (RSCC) 

–Autographing: Saturday, August 20, 2pm – 3pm

Where: Hall 2 – Autographs (RSCC)

— KaffeeKlatsch: Saturday, August 20, 4pm – 5pm (10 spots open, book now!)

Where: KK1 (RSCC)

Live Streaming Ning Video Chat: Saturday, August 27, 2011 12:00pm PST (Web Post with Details Upcoming) *UPDATE: We will be moving this Video Chat in order to accommodate my Australian fans. Because of the tightness of my schedule, that means the video chat will be put off probably until Saturday, September 10th. I will post the new date and time on the main webpage.*

University Book Store (University of Washington): Monday, August 29th, 2011 7:00pm

Seattle, WA

Dragon*Con: Friday, September 2– Monday, September 5, 2011

Atlanta, GA

— Panel: How much violence is too much/not enough? Friday, September 3, 2011 8:30pm – 10:30 pm

Where: Manila / Singapore / Hong Kong (Hyatt)

—  Dragon*Autographs: Sunday, September 5, 2011 11:30am-12:30pm

Please note that there will be NO books for sale at this signing, so please bring your own copies for me to sign. (I will sign bookplates  for those who forget their books… but let’s be honest, that’s not quite as cool as a signed book, is it?)

Where: M301-M304 (Marriott)

— Possible Signing at nearby bookstore TBA

Powell’s Signing: Thursday, September 8, 2011 7pm

Beaverton, OR

Mysterious Galaxy: Friday, September 23, 2011 7:30-9:30 pm

Redondo Beach CA

Live Twitter Interview with Bryan Thomas Schmidt at #sffwrtcht  — 6pm PST, Wednesday November 2, 2011

OryCon: Friday, November 11, 2011 — Sunday, November 13, 2011

Portland, OR

Powell’s Mass Signing: Sunday, November 13, 2011, 4pm or 5pm

Beaverton, OR

 

*UPDATE: NOTE CHANGES TO THE WEBSTREAMING EVENT ABOVE*

Black Prism Reviews… already?

And now comes the terrifying time when I start to hear from reviewers–who often read differently than fans. Gulp. Here we go…

Grasping for the Wind says, “When I expected [Weeks] to zig, he zagged, and when I expected a character to be a certain type of person, Weeks would throw me for a loop…. Weeks has written an epic fantasy unlike any of its contemporaries. It is a truly visionary and original work, and has set the bar high.” Oh, hey, that wasn’t too bad.

Fantasy Book Review says, “‘The Black Prism’ is first and foremost a novel with tremendous narrative energy. It just grabs you and never lets go…. I am still awed at how Mr. Weeks infuses the story with so much vigor, while keeping quite a few balls in the air and never slipping a bit…. There are dramatic twists and turns and scenes that will just floor you….[and] The world building is superlative.” Yeah, definitely, I’ll take that!

*UPDATE*

But you know you’re in trouble when The Onion reviews you. “His prose rings like crystal; his dialogue is witty, chatty, and brisk; and his pacing is frictionless, even when he’s embedding convoluted exposition into action scenes… The narrative flies along…” No, no, wait! Don’t go! He didn’t actually like it. There’s a critical art called “damning with faint praise.” Check this out; it’s awesome: “Weeks does deserve props for his oh-so-slight deviation from the fantasy formula, not to mention his lively, engaging storytelling.”

This is what it is to be a writer: one review says “truly visionary and original” the next says, “oh-so-slight deviation.” Is there cognitive dissonance in this job? Oh yes.

I will be posting links to pretty much every review, good and bad, on the review page. The next time you see me, either my skin will be thicker, or my head will be. Thanks to all the reviewers for taking the time to read and write your reviews.

*UPDATE 2*

A couple more reviews have rolled in before I head out on book tour.

WordTipping has more of an analysis than purely a review, dissecting what makes my books tick. Although I’m definitely quoting that bit about “flat out great storytelling” and “the best male writer of female characters I’ve ever read.”

Janicu’s Book Blog also gave me such a nice review that I’m going to have to restrain myself from pulling too lengthy of a quote from it. (Ahem) She found the female characters “spot on…the world building unique and better than Weeks’ last series, and the twists and turns addictive.” It was “jam packed with epic goodness.”

*UPDATE 3*

The reviews are coming in faster now, so after this round, they’ll go straight to the REVIEWS page of my website. I take a pretty laissez-faire approach to reviews: I’ll post good and bad so long as they appear to be from book-focused blogs or review sites. I don’t post reviews that spring spoilers on you without warning. I always include links so you can see the whole review if you wish.

Civilian Reader gives it a “very highly recommended,” saying, “The dialogue is great (witty, intelligent, brisk); his characters are complex, realistic, and likeable; and the story is highly imaginative and original… this is brilliant, epic fantasy.”

The Bookbag (which was a little tough on the Night Angel Trilogy), says The Black Prism “is an excellent start to what promises to be a superb trilogy. Highly recommended.” “The size of ‘The Black Prism’ is only indicative of the huge imagination Weeks has.”

The Mad Hatter’s Bookshelf and Book Review says, “Weeks managed to surprise me again and again with the depth [his characters] have. His greatest strength to date has been hiding secrets in plain sight yet still making them difficult enough to decipher that you have to laugh at yourself for not realizing the truth.”

Alternative Worlds calls The Black Prism “an exhilarating thriller…. Fast-paced and character-driven.”

The Falcata Times asks, “Is [Weeks] a one world, one series author and [will] his next project expand on his creativity? What unfurls is a rich new tapestry…  Great stuff.”

Got Schephs gives it a 9/10, noting “the trademark humor…great characters…The fight scenes are some of the best I’ve ever read…. Ultimately, this book takes it to another level that even the NAT [Night Angel Trilogy] didn’t reach.”

LEC Book Reviews says “It establishes a thrilling world, fascinating magic system, and satisfying engaging characters.”

The King of the Nerds praises The Black Prism for having “extraordinarily entertaining characters absolutely bubbling over with vitality.”

Cover of Black Prism leaked!

So here I am, writing a book, trying to stitch together a subplot, when I oh-so-innocently launch Twitter. (Always a mistake. Always.) Turns out I have just been scooped. Some blogger posted my new, not-yet-supposed-to-be-released cover. In short order, in the way of the internet, so had someone else, with mild snark added. I’m not one to begrudge a legit scoop or a free side of snark, so a tip of the hat to The Mad Hatter Review and A Dribble of Ink. My lawyers should be contacting you any minute. (Just kidding. I don’t have lawyers; I’ve only got a crazy house elf who likes to sign Esquire after his name.)

Did I ever say that the internet age has weirded publishing? (Apologies to Bill Watterson.) I’m suddenly posting things on the internet about a book I Haven’t Even Finished Writing. I had a publication date before I had a delivery date. Things get out before they’re finalized. Amazon posts the book blurb that I made up Before I Wrote the Book. So…uh, the blurb on Mad Hatter’s page and on Amazon is all wrong. And spoileriffic. Not anyone’s fault. Orbit asked me what the book was about–you know, before the bought the book–and I told them as well as I knew at the time, including spoilers.

Strangely, I like to finish writing the book before I write the back cover blurb–then I know silly little details like What The Characters’ Names Are.

But hey, I’m just The Man, tryin’ to keep you down, Internet. (See, this is why I can’t begrudge free snark.)

And no, I’m not sure why I’m capitalizing random words. Pending German release, perhaps?

Anyway, here it is, in higher definition than you can find it anywhere else! If you can’t do it first, do it better, right?Black Prism cover(click if you can handle the awesomeness)

Did I mention I’m taking cold medicine right now? I think posting on the internet while taking cold medicine probably isn’t covered in my contract–but it will be next time.

Some things about this cover MAY change. But that will have to wait for another post. What do you think?

How to Verb Twitter

Confession: I tweet. (Twit? Twitter?) At first, it started as a whim, an experiment with the social experiment known as Twitter. At first thought, the whole thing reeks of narcissism. Why should anyone care about my latest trip to the dentist? Or what wine Joe Bob had with dinner? Then, a great college friend (whose own TWEETS are highly entertaining), sent me THIS thoughtful article.  So I tried Twitter, quietly. I’m not an addict. I can stop any time I want to. And no, it isn’t taking away from my writing: tweeting is a good medium for brief wry observations on life or circumstances. There are no dentists in Midcyru. (A flaw in my worldbuilding? Perhaps. Or perhaps in fiction it’s nice to escape the mudanity of the Muggle world.)

So if you’re into this sort of web 2.0 wonkery, you can follow me HERE. Or if you want to weigh in on proper verb form, you can leave a comment below.