Quarantine Warding Contest Early Winners
Hey All. I promised to pick winners every Friday for the warding contest, and I have done so, but I totally forgot to post last Friday’s pick. It’s almost as if some world-changing event is stealing some of my focus and ability to concentrate. No idea what that could be.
Things in the Brett household are as well as one might hope. Cassandra is adapting to google classroom and Sirena is bouncing off the walls, but excited to have her family home more. None of us have been sick, and since Lauren works for a large hospital system, her job is pretty secure. I’m making decent progress on The Desert Prince, all things considered. I am 2/3 of the way through the 2nd draft. It’s the most intense rewrite I’ve done since Warded Man, but I am genuinely thrilled with how it’s coming along. Publishing and the convention economy are in a dark place, as is my home city of New York, but I’m trying not to think about it too much. We could all use a distraction these days.
Speaking of which, there have been some AMAZING entries in the Quarantine Warding Contest (QWC)! You can see all the entries in this album on my public Facebook author page, but I’d like to call out a few special ones, before posting the current winners.
NOTE: ALL ENTRIES ARE STILL IN PLAY FOR PRIZES. See guidelines for entry in my previous post. I will likely add some other prizes once the world spins back up and it’s safe to haul piles of signed books to the post office.
This handsome little Deliverer is Arlen Connell, whose mother Montana made him a warded onesie to go with the warded necklace from Badali Jewelry that I sent to keep him safe until he’s old enough to protect himself from the things lurking in dark places.
I jokingly made a promise to send warded jewelry to every newborn named after a Demon Cycle character, and I am thrilled to report it’s meant a lot of shipments. Especially in times when real world problems are so pronounced, it’s easy to feel like entertainment work like mine is meaningless. Seeing little faces like Arlen’s reminds me that my work touches people in its own way. <3
We ward that which is most precious to us. Jasmyn Robinson submitted beautiful images of her artfully warded page edges, and they are just fantastic.
If only books had been so protected when the corelings Returned, the world of the Demon Cycle might be in a very different place. But it’s good to have the reminder that no matter how bad things get, there is always a way back for the world. Humans have a long history of picking up the pieces and building something better.
The wonderful Tracy Robinson (no relation to Jazmyn so far as I know) decided to represent some of her favorite books in a brilliant tattoo, and (quite wisely) included a mind ward.
Tracy is a longtime reader who I’ve met several times in book tour. She is always a bright spot and a welcome face in the crowd. On the Core tour she helped me find food after an evening signing ended after all the restaurants were closed.
Tracy is good people. She sent in another entry as well, a Minecraft ward, which absolutely THRILLED my eldest daughter. You can see it in the facebook album, and I will post here and on the socials soon.
On to the initial winners!
The first, announced two weeks ago, is Laëtitia from France, who I had the pleasure of meeting at a signing in Paris last year. Laëtitia had one of the very first entries with her embroidered water ward to protect against virus-laden water droplets, coupled with some sound advice.
Those who can, keep in safe succor. And take care of those who can’t—your Warders, Messengers and Herb Gatherers—in these dark and trying times.
Her illustration request was for a portrait of Leesha and Bruna, which Dominik Broniek is already hard at work on. I’ve seen the sketches and they are great.
The current week’s prize goes to Róbert Zelei, who also translated my books into Hungarian.
In his own words: “I work at a medical university as a secretary, so I see the work of doctors and nurses every day. I guess that was the main inspiration for the drawing: the unsung, tireless healer many rely on. The image, like some of my previous drawings, was adapted from a painting, by William Hatherell, of a nurse during wartime.”
If you’re interested in seeing the original Hatherell piece, here is a convenient link.
Róbert requested a portrait of Wonda Cutter, and gave a couple of great suggestions. I’m working with Dominik now to bring them to life.
Thanks to EVERYONE who entered so far, and if you’re feeling inspired, please read the entry guidelines and join in the fun. I’ll post more entries when I announce the next winner ~Friday.
Stay safe.
