Wallpaper: The Black Prism by BRENT WEEKS

The wallpaper all you Brent Weeks fans have been asking for is finally here, ready to take over your assorted computers, phones, portable-media-devices, facebook page, chat icons… ok I’m getting carried away. I’ve got the standard wallpaper sizes up for 99% of you to download, but if there’s a certain resolution/size you need that’s not there let me know in the comments, I’ll make it for you special.

Richard Jones did a great job with the in-your-face image of one of the awesome and unpredictable characters from the book.

The Black Prism has all the twists and turns readers have come to expect from Brent Weeks, along with a huge  cast of characters whose reversals of fortunes and motivations will keep you guessing right up until the last page. Download links after the jump. Enjoy!

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Mystery Cover Outtake 8.7.10

Truly a cover designer’s work is never done…a sunny hot saturday spent in the studio of fabulous photographer Laura Hanifin working on a top secret book cover for next season…I’ll just have to let you keep guessing which one until the final cover is released! Just wanted to share for your viewing – and squirming – pleasure. Now if only I could share the stink. Yuck.

A Wild Light Bookcast

To celebrate the release of A Wild Light (UK | ANZ) , the third of the Hunter Kiss novels, I’m taking readers into my home while I discuss Maxine Kiss and the troubles facing her in her latest adventure. Dark times are coming for my favorite heroine, but with stubbornness and love, will she find her way free of the shadows?

You can also read a free extract here.

Stormlord Rising out in the US!

Glenda Larke’s The Last Stormlord came out in March of this year to great acclaim. Reviewers called it:

“Another contender (for the title of best fantasy writer alive today) must be Glenda Larke, with the first book in a new trilogy, The Last Stormlord…The society is complex, believable and intriguing, and the characters, from the palaces to the gutters, are fleshed out with unusual care. You’ll be waiting for the next book.”  ―West Weekend Magazine, Western Australia, 19th December 2009

“What a tale! Can’t wait for the next installment. This is a GREAT book.” ―AurealisXpress, Aug 2009

“…a bold, inventively original world…a sweeping saga that unmistakably marks her as one of Australia’s best speculative fiction writers.”     ―Nexus, Issue 259, Dec 2009

The second book in the trilogy, Stormlord Rising, is equally brilliant to the first and has already garnered advance praise in the author’s native Australia:

“Stormlord Rising is possibly the best Book Two of a series I have ever read…” Australian Speculative Fiction in Focus, May 2010

“Larke’s many fans will be delighted by the complex plot and intriguing twists that augur well for the next book. In fact, Stormlord Rising will appeal to anyone who enjoys a well written fantasy. There are very few books that I find literally impossible to put down, but like its predecessor, The Last Stormlord, Stormlord Rising was one.” The Specusphere, March 2010

Check out Glenda talking about Ryka’s plight here. Follow her on twitter @glendalarke.

Stormlord Rising is out now in the US and available in the UK in November 2010!

Welcome to Hell

I’ve got this book out. It’s called Death Most Definite (UK | US | AUS),  and it’s about Death and it’s set in Brisbane and Hell. That’s Brisbane, Australia (not Brisbane, North Dakota, which Wikipedia informs me is a ghost town, so it would have been kind of appropriate).

Most of you have an idea of where the Hell is, but, probably, not so many would know about Brisbane.

So here’s what you need to know.

It’s Australia’s third most populous city.

The outer eastern suburbs rub up against the coast, the inner suburbs cluster around Mt Coot-tha (a low mountain, really more of a hill, that I can see from my window as I type this). And all through it the Brisbane River winds– a tributary of the River Styx, but then all rivers are. (more…)

A different kind of fantasy heroine: the pregnant, short-sighted scholar…

Firstly, so far so good. Stormlord Rising has been selling well in US, an indication that readers of The Last Stormlord want to know what happens next. I have my first Amazon reviews, and — as I am totally into watching Amazon ratings because I’m ridiculously pathetic — I am delighted that they are 5 stars; as are the ratings over at Barnes&Noble. (Yeah, I look at those too. Didn’t I just say I’m pathetic?)

So, for those of you haven’t read it yet, what’s Stormlord Rising all about?

It continues the story of Terelle and Shale/Jasper, as Terelle is caught up in the coercion of waterpainter magic and Shale is trapped by his nemesis, Taquar. Book 1 ended with a siege and a war, you may remember. Stormlord Rising also ends with a war and a battle — although a very different sort of battle employing a great deal more water magic.

But in many ways, this is Ryka Feldspar’s story. In many ways it is also (I hope) a touching love story, although not a romance…

Imagine this: you are a privileged woman aged about 29 or so, newly married and expecting your first child, when your entire world is turned upside down. You see your husband fall in a battle, and have good reason to think he is dead. Your side loses the battle, your home and family are destroyed, your whole life has vanished into the maws of your enemies. You see and experience unspeakable things. (more…)