THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED. At the eleventh hour, and due to some creative deadline calling, we reached 300 entries! That means as soon as The Husband gets his winner-picking program running again, I will draw winners for:
- One annotated copy of Fire in the Blood
- Two sets of the Brimstone Angels Saga
- Five signed copies of Fire in the Blood.
If you don’t win, you can still get the book at your local bookstore, or here at slushlush.com . (If you’re in Portland, I’ll be signing at Powell’s on Monday. I’ll also be signing at Fort Lewis McChord on Tuesday if you’re on base, and AFK E&E in Renton on Thursday for everyone! More details here)
Okay readers: It’s 40 days until Fire in the Blood is available to you and yours. That means….giveaway time!
Which also means a return to my tried and true answering-questions-I’m-assuming-you’re-asking format. Here we go!
KABLAMMO!
She looks pissed. What’s it about?
Fire in the Blood picks up shortly after The Adversary, as our heroes settle into the capital city of Cormyr, Suzail. And then everything goes crazy.
Crazy how?
Kidnapping attempts, secret agents of Shar, dead Harpers, a succession crisis, megalomaniacal ghosts, narcissistic nobles, disguise spells, possessions. A hellhound. Explosions. Sex, drugs, and war wizards.
WTF?
I’m not really getting better at answering that question, am I?
Here’s the better summary:
“As a consequence of a deal she made with a devil, Farideh and her twin lost seven years of their lives. She returned to find the King of the Hells had marked her for his own, and that the runaway noble her twin had fallen in love with had become engaged to Princess Raedra of Cormyr.
“Princess Raedra, however, has more pressing concerns than her fiancé’s tiefling mistress. The Forest Kingdom of Cormyr is at war, its king’s health failing, and when Cormyr’s Crown Prince goes missing and his heir falls ill, Princess Raedra finds herself responsible for defending Cormyr from spies, the Shadovar army, and would-be kings alike.
“When Farideh accidentally uses her Hells- given powers to spot a Shadovar agent in the princess’s inner circle, Raedra gains an unlikely ally. Farideh knows her sister is at odds with the princess, and the last thing she wants to do is use the powers given to her by the god of sin. But the Shadovar endanger them all, and if Farideh is to do her part for Cormyr, she’ll need to use every fell power at her disposal—and hope that doing so doesn’t lose her the allies she’s so recently won.
“In this fourth book of the Brimstone Angels series, SCRIBE award-winning author Erin M. Evans thrusts her signature character Farideh into a maelstrom of politics and intrigue that will have far-reaching implications for the Forest Kingdom in the Forgotten Realms.”
Oooooh. I would read that.
You can start with this sample chapter if you like.
I still have to wait 40 days for the book though. Why are you even bringing this up?
I told you: it’s giveaway time! And for this book, I’ve come up with a thoroughly awesome one. Here’s how to enter:
- Make a comment on this post. You are going to have to leave an email address to do this, but that’s good, because if you win, I will have to have a way to contact you! It must be on this post at slushlush.com, or I won’t count it.
- In your comment, call out your favorite fictional ruler. A king, a queen, an empress, a tyrant, a mayor—someone in charge who you find fascinating. They MUST be fictional, but you can draw from books, movies, comics, or TV. Feel free to include links—we all love being introduced to new stories.
From the pool of comments, I will randomly select a winner who will get a signed copy of Fire in the Blood.Now that 60 people have entered, I will give three people copies of Fire in the Blood.This is just amazing! Over 100 people have entered already, so I will give one winner copies of the entire Brimstone Angels Saga, and three winners copies of Fire in the blood.
BUT REMEMBER: If we get to 300, then the grand prize winner will receive something really special. I will annotate a copy of Fire in the Blood just for you. All the little behind-the-scenes bits, all the random trivia, all the lore that’s hinted at–I will write it in the margins and you will know the secrets (NB: You are not required to keep them secret.) Plus two winners of the full series and five copies of Fire in the Blood. So convince your friends to enter too!
And if we go much higher than that, I will think of something else. Last time I did this, the contest got up to 384 entries. I think we can beat it.
The contest runs through October 11th. I will draw names and notify winners October 12th October 11th, since I’ll be out of town on Monday, so if you don’t win, you’ll still have time to get your copy. 🙂 Only one entry per person. May the odds be ever in your favor, etc.,etc.
I’m panicking! All I can think of is Papa Smurf and Fitz from Scandal! Everyone will laugh at me!
Nope. I promise. My fans are all kind (at least on this blog) and you will not be judged on the quality of your answers. Just go with your gut.
I already have copies of those books.
The nice thing about getting a signed copy of a book you already have is that it gives you a ready-made gift for someone else. Got a DM who’s gone above and beyond? Got a friend you know who would love some Realms novels but doesn’t know where to start? Got a Secret Santa coming up? Ta-da!
Get commenting! (And come back to check out other answers!)
Few additional questions:
If I buy a copy of the book through the esigning and I win, what happens?
You can choose to cancel your order, or have two books and be the coolest kid on the block.
If I won your last contest, am I ineligible?
Nope. Different book, different contest. The only thing that makes you ineligible to win is being me or a member of my immediate family. Because, come on. Especially, you, sister who is two books behind.
I am not from the US. Can I enter?
Yes! But be aware that I may need to choose a slower form of shipping to accommodate you.
King Azoun IV of Cormyr in the Forgotten Realms. I cried when he died. This was my first experience of feeling loss due to a fictional character dying. It sucked!
I think my favorite ruler would be Queen Elizabeth III of Manticore. She is strong, admits her mistakes, takes on her own government when needed, and stands by her friends and allies, sometimes at deep personal risk.
I would have to say Lady Sylvanas from WoW. I have always found the concept of her character intriguing.
The King of Marigold
David Bowie’s the Goblin King.
Is he creepy or is he cool? Who cares it’s David Bowie
Lady Cordelia Vorkosigan
“I went shopping”. Mic drop.
John Snow…….because I believe he will be declared the only living decedent eligible to rule. (that is my theory)
Thank you for providing an opportunity to win…….I look forward to your next novel and if I win more I will hand them out at work and get more people hooked!!!! (I followed you suggestion from Facebook…thank you)
Urza. He was a king before he was a Planeswalker…. briefly. lol
Sooo many to pick from, but I think I’ll go with King Joyse from The Mirror of Her Dreams and A Man Rides Through from Stephen R. Donaldson. Deceptive and running the long game to save his realm. Really great stuff.
i can’t help it, Jarlaxle is my favorite. He’s so complex and you never really know which way he’s gonna go on any situation other than it’s likely whatever is best for him, but sometimes, he still surprises me 🙂
Lord Ventinari of Ankh-Morpork. Without a doubt.
I gotta say “The Wizard of Oz”. I mean really, it took a girl in red shoes, a lion with courage issues, a dude fulla straw and a brainless tinman to get him to come put of the closet.
Aaaand I blew the punch line. Put/out.
Well, well, well. Favorite fictional ruler? That’s a tough one. The Song of Ice and Fire seems to be the obvious answer for source material, but there are so many rulers in that series from which to choose… I think I’m going to buck my initial thoughts and go with a really odd choice – Cersei Lannister. She’s evil, she (somehow) manages to be both amoral AND immoral and she’s a Machiavellian manipulator. I (like many others, I would imagine) started off hating her with a passion. But once we get chapters from her POV and we see where she’s come from and what she’s dealt with – I began to feel… pity? (I still can’t like her choices, but I can see where they’ve come from and feel that she’s been forced into the position to make those choices…) That’s a pretty interesting character journey. Of course, we’re not seeing the same character growth in the TV show (yet). Hopefully we’ll see some sign of it, but if not – it’s still there in the books.
Tyrion Lannister or Aria Stark from Game of Thrones
Richard Rahl is so far my favorite. Lia Cook aka Lia Hunter aka Ellowyn Demont from the The Legends of Muirwood is pretty up there, too.
I can`t wait for this to come out! It looks amazing from what I have seen so far.
My favourite fictional ruler would have to be Omin Dran, one of the Masked Lords of Waterdeep.
Jareth the Goblin King of course!
Why? Um… David Bowie, duh.
Also for this line:
Sarah: “It’s not fair!”
Jareth: “You say that so often. I wonder what your basis for comparison is.”
The Ice King (Adventure Time) 90% crazy, 20% sympathetic.
I wanted to pick a scary, evil ruler, and skipped right past all the liches, mad kings, and guild masters.
Lotso the evil teddy bear tyrant in Toy Story 3 is just so frightening on every level. Personable, emotionally intelligent, and even cuddly. But he rules his band of toys through force and emotional manipulation, culminating in the sacrifice of sentient beings to terrifying monsters.
And that’s in a kid’s movie. I’m still traumatized from the melter scene where every one of my son’s Toy Story friends gave up on life and held hands, about to be ground up and melted.
Need to go with Bruenor Battlehammer!!! Tough but fair. And not one to judge someone on their outward appearance.
The ice king from adventure time, before he wore the crown he was so nice , and now his mind is so unhinged.
Lady Galadriel from LOTR. Grace, beauty, kindness, wisdom, she had it all. She always above everyone else, but never treated anyone any less.
The Symbol. Got to love a beautiful lady that can fry you where you stand.
Going to have to go with Tungdil Boloforge, later known as Tungdil Goldfingers of The Dwarves. Starts as a blacksmith, sent on a quest, legitimacy to even go on said quest challenged at every possible venture, only to succeed and be made king of a lost faction and ultimately of all the clans.
Manshoon because the black network rocks. Its good to be bad!
King Arthur
Crowley, the King of Hell from Supernatural. Such an interestingly written and superbly acted character.
Have to go with Bruenor Battlehammer. I’ve been reading about him for years, and i still can’t get enough.
My favorite FR ruler is definitely the Steel Regent, Alusair. Outside of the Realms, it’s got to be Robin Locksley.
Lord Manshoon of the Zhentarim
Ao
I am just a sucker for perfect order. He is the perfect libra.
Lady Alustriel of Silverymoon.
I would say Yukon Cornelius from the Rudolph claymation, but I’ll leave an actual book reference. First I should state asking for your favorite character (or book for that matter) is like asking which is your favorite child… it simply isn’t done! 😉
Kara Gillian, demon summoning detective from the Mark of the Demon series by Diana Rowland.
Ned Stark.
Martin Chatwin from Lev Grossman’s The Magicians.
Yvonnel Baenre ~ The “Eternal” Matron Mother.
I am quite looking forward to this next installment of the Brimstone Angles series. Your writings and style have you on track to be the next R.A. Salvatore of the Forgotten Realms world.
That said, my favorite fictional ruler – Regis the Halfling (now reborn as Spider Paraffin) for his time as ruler of the Calimport underworld. What could he not do with that spinning jewel?
From Dan Simmons’ Hyperion series: Whilw technicallt not “one” ruler, the Hegemony of Man is one of the primary human factions in the Milky Way galaxy. It rules the WorldWeb, a collection of colonized planets connected to each other via farcaster. The Hegemony rules over some 150 billion human beings and over 200 worlds connected by the WorldWeb. The Hegemony is ruled by a bicameral legislature consisting of the All Thing and the Senate, and a Chief Executive Officer who fills the executive role.
Westley “as you wish” from princess bride because who doesn’t want to hear that? 🙂
Fav fic ruler? Can I vote for Erin M. Evans, ruler of the Brimstone Angels? Hmm…in case that doesn’t count, how about Ao.
Does Mystra, the ‘kenny’ of the forgotten realms count?
Rufus Shinra from FFVII, no political platform, blatant nepotism, but the guy looks sharp in a white suit and shotgun combination.
Szass Tam, oh yes, definitely Szass Tam.
Bruenor Battlehammer
Jorg Ancrath from the Prince of Thorns and the rest of the trilogy. Not sure about favorite, but I recently purchased the final book in the trilogy.
Aragorn
My favourite ruler from fiction is Black Panther (T’Challa). In spite of the problems with many portrayals of the character, he’s an vital part of what makes the Marvel Universe so significant.
My favourite ruler is the Ruler of the Universe from Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – because he doesn’t want to rule the universe and tries not to whenever possible, and so is the ideal candidate for the job.