Mark Lawrence's Blog, page 24
May 17, 2012
Broken Heroes
I guest blogged on Bookworm Blues. My first such attempt.
Check it out
I discuss representations of disability in the fantasy genre and talk a bit about life with my disabled daughter.
Don't worry, it's not all doom and gloom :D
Check it out
I discuss representations of disability in the fantasy genre and talk a bit about life with my disabled daughter.
Don't worry, it's not all doom and gloom :D
May 10, 2012
King of Thorns manuscript auctioned for Children's Hospice Charity
I'm auctioning (for charity) the King of Thorns proof manuscript that I worked on.
Not only is it pretty and collectable, you'll get to read King of Thorns more than 6 weeks before its release!
get it here!
The money will go to a charity that runs three hospices for terminally ill and life-limited children, one of which I've been to quite often with my little girl.
Right now you can be highest bidder with a $1 bid! If the price rises beyond your means you might like to make a small donation here these places are a lifeline to families going through hell.
If you tweet the link, post it on Facebook, on your blog, wear it on a sandwichboard or as a facial tattoo I'm sure you'll feel good for knowing you've done a good thing!
Not only is it pretty and collectable, you'll get to read King of Thorns more than 6 weeks before its release!
get it here!
The money will go to a charity that runs three hospices for terminally ill and life-limited children, one of which I've been to quite often with my little girl.
Right now you can be highest bidder with a $1 bid! If the price rises beyond your means you might like to make a small donation here these places are a lifeline to families going through hell.
If you tweet the link, post it on Facebook, on your blog, wear it on a sandwichboard or as a facial tattoo I'm sure you'll feel good for knowing you've done a good thing!
May 5, 2012
More snippets, more voting!
Greetings blog-people.
Voting in the Gemmell Awards ends this month. We're into the shortlist so you can vote again even if you voted before. It takes one click below & one more to vote. No registration required:
vote in the Gemmells
Also, new stuff on my blog - snippets from King of thorns and scroll down for my reader zoo (with cartoons!)
Brother Maical
Brother Maical’s wisdom lies in knowing he is not clever and letting himself be led. The foolishness of mankind is that we do not do the same.
click for more...
Voting in the Gemmell Awards ends this month. We're into the shortlist so you can vote again even if you voted before. It takes one click below & one more to vote. No registration required:
vote in the Gemmells
Also, new stuff on my blog - snippets from King of thorns and scroll down for my reader zoo (with cartoons!)
Brother Maical
Brother Maical’s wisdom lies in knowing he is not clever and letting himself be led. The foolishness of mankind is that we do not do the same.
click for more...
May 1, 2012
I hear there's audio too?
According to the Record Books & Barnes and Noble websites the audio book of Prince of Thorns is released today!
I haven't been sent a copy yet. I'm not sure how I'm going to feel listening to somebody reading out what I wrote... it will be decidedly odd to hear Jorg speak outside my head rather than inside.
Anyway - if anyone does get to listen to it, let me know what you think.
I haven't been sent a copy yet. I'm not sure how I'm going to feel listening to somebody reading out what I wrote... it will be decidedly odd to hear Jorg speak outside my head rather than inside.
Anyway - if anyone does get to listen to it, let me know what you think.
April 26, 2012
April 12, 2012
UK paperback out today
It sure is pretty...
Also! It has the prologue and 1st three chapters of King of Thorns at the end!
you know you want it
...just sayin'
:)
Also! It has the prologue and 1st three chapters of King of Thorns at the end!
you know you want it
...just sayin'
:)
April 5, 2012
Interview question
A question and answer from a recently posted interview.
With such a coloured past as Jorg’s is there any chance in hell of redemption?
Religious folk often tell us there’s always a chance at redemption, again though the interest (often insistence) that I see in redemption strikes me as one of the more unsophisticated demands of the genre and one that it’s outgrowing. I hope my writing is entertaining. If I just wanted it to be important rather than entertaining or commercial I might turn to literary fiction (and likely fail to do any of those things).
However, I do try to inject something of worth into what I write, and that comes in the form of my own poor effort to illuminate some corner of the human condition. The great writers (of which I am not one) turn the spotlight on us, reveal truths, reframe them and offer them up without judgement. If fantasy insists on heroes and redemption then the genre will never have anything any more important to say than do bodice-ripping romances or slick thrillers sold in airports.
I’ve always felt that a genre in which there are no limits in terms of imagination should not find itself corralled by simplistic expectations regarding its characters. Other authors have led the way in expanding the fantasy genre toward its full potential and I’m hurrying along behind.
With such a coloured past as Jorg’s is there any chance in hell of redemption?
Religious folk often tell us there’s always a chance at redemption, again though the interest (often insistence) that I see in redemption strikes me as one of the more unsophisticated demands of the genre and one that it’s outgrowing. I hope my writing is entertaining. If I just wanted it to be important rather than entertaining or commercial I might turn to literary fiction (and likely fail to do any of those things).
However, I do try to inject something of worth into what I write, and that comes in the form of my own poor effort to illuminate some corner of the human condition. The great writers (of which I am not one) turn the spotlight on us, reveal truths, reframe them and offer them up without judgement. If fantasy insists on heroes and redemption then the genre will never have anything any more important to say than do bodice-ripping romances or slick thrillers sold in airports.
I’ve always felt that a genre in which there are no limits in terms of imagination should not find itself corralled by simplistic expectations regarding its characters. Other authors have led the way in expanding the fantasy genre toward its full potential and I’m hurrying along behind.
March 31, 2012
King of Thorns stuff (v & vi)
part (v) here
& Gorgoth's pre-chapter snippet:
Gorgoth
Gorgoth is like no other. There is no mould for the leucrota. Twisted by the Builders’ poisons they fall broken from the womb and follow strange paths as they grow. The ribs that pierce his flesh and reach from each side are black and thick, his hide more red than blood, and the muscle beneath surges as he moves. And though he is shaped for war and for horror, there are few men in Adam’s image whose approval would mean as much to me – and most of them lie dead.
& Gorgoth's pre-chapter snippet:
Gorgoth
Gorgoth is like no other. There is no mould for the leucrota. Twisted by the Builders’ poisons they fall broken from the womb and follow strange paths as they grow. The ribs that pierce his flesh and reach from each side are black and thick, his hide more red than blood, and the muscle beneath surges as he moves. And though he is shaped for war and for horror, there are few men in Adam’s image whose approval would mean as much to me – and most of them lie dead.
March 28, 2012
March 20, 2012
Nothing says 'whatever' like Genericover (tm)
[phone] *rrrring*
[phone] *rrrring*
[Cheryl] "Yellow? This is Cheryl." (*)(**)
[phone] .....
[Cheryl] "Yuh huh. Yuh huh. Calling all the way from Generica you say?"
[phone] ....
[Me] "Who is it, Cheryl?"
[Cheryl] "Just the Don'tCareBear phoning in another cover."
So I discovered my Dutch cover for King of Thorns today. It's the one on the left. In the middle the cover of Chris Woodings' (reportedly excellent) The Braided Path. On the right, my US/UK King of Thorns cover.
continued here...
[phone] *rrrring*
[Cheryl] "Yellow? This is Cheryl." (*)(**)
[phone] .....
[Cheryl] "Yuh huh. Yuh huh. Calling all the way from Generica you say?"
[phone] ....
[Me] "Who is it, Cheryl?"
[Cheryl] "Just the Don'tCareBear phoning in another cover."
So I discovered my Dutch cover for King of Thorns today. It's the one on the left. In the middle the cover of Chris Woodings' (reportedly excellent) The Braided Path. On the right, my US/UK King of Thorns cover.
continued here...
