OK! In just over 3 months now, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms will launch. (February 25, 2010, to be specific; you can preorder now at most of the major online booksellers.) So I’m getting ready to go into hardcore promotional mode. Keep an eye on my own website for lots of changes in the coming weeks — a new look for the site, more giveaways, sample chapters, and more, all up to the big day.
But that doesn’t mean the Magic District will get short shrift. Ergo, I’m kicking things off here with the first of two Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) giveaways (the other will be at my site in a few weeks). Details below the cut.
YOU WANT IT DON'T YOU
Now, being a debut author, I need to make every one of these ARCs work for me. So here’s what you need to do for a chance at your very own — autographed! — ARC. Send me an email or reply to this post with a message containing the following:
- Your promise to read the book, because it’s a waste of an ARC for me to give it to you if you’re just going to put it on a bookshelf untouched;
- Your promise to, when you’re done, post a review at Amazon, Powell’s, B&N.com, Borders.com, or any other online bookseller’s site, or all of the above. Note: I don’t care what your review says. If you hate the book, say so. (Of course, I’m hoping you’ll like it.) I don’t need thoughtless praise, I need real word-of-mouth buzz, and that means honesty.
Aaaaaaand…. since The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is set in a world where gods take human form and frequently get involved in human affairs…
- Your one-paragraph description of a god you think would exist in this world. That’s right, this is the official Build-A-God ARC Giveaway Contest! See below for an example description. Be sure to a) include your created god’s name, appearance, and abilities, and b) exclude any gods actually honored by people in the real world (seriously, folks — don’t be an offensive ass). Feel free to include drawings/images!
Most interesting god wins. Simple, huh? And if the contestant is comfy with it, I’ll share the winning entry here. Now note: I won’t be able to use your god in Book 3 or any of my work; I prefer to create my own gods, thanks. But I’m looking forward to seeing what you guys come up with.
So to kick things off, here’s one of the gods you’ll meet in 100K:
Zhakkarn of the Blood is the goddess of battle; all forms of combat fuel, and are fueled by, her. She is a master strategist and logistician, and consummate warrior. Her preferred form is that of an enormous woman approximately seven feet tall and 300 pounds, much of which is solid muscle. At times she appears carrying a pike and clad in silver armor, on which glowing red-hot words (written in no mortal language) appear. Despite her martial nature, Zhakkarn is soft-spoken and unobtrusive in peaceful situations, preferring to observe from the background and speak only when necessary, like a good soldier. When roused, she has the ability to replicate herself thousands of times, becoming a literal one-woman army. Zhakkarn’s followers study strategy games, like chess, as a form of meditation.
Get the picture? OK, then. You have one week!
ETA: A reader emailed to note that 7’0 and 250 lbs would make Zhakka pretty skinny, whereas she’s closer to a female bodybuilder (sans ‘roids) in build. So upped her weight a bit to account for muscle. Still probably a little light. Let’s just say she looks like she can bend pretty much anybody short of Andre the Giant into a pretzel.
If you’re wondering, obviously the gods in the Inheritance Trilogy universe aren’t omnipotent, though they are phenomenally powerful. They’re not omniscient either. They can take any material form — a person, an animal, a rock, you name it. They’re all gods “of something”, though this is fairly flexible; it can be an emotion, a concept, a material object or event. But really, the sky’s the limit, folks; follow my rules or toss them entirely if they bug you.
magicdistrict.wordpress.com 
I do hereby solemnly promise to not only devour your book, but also to write a review for it on Amazon (where it’s already on my Wish List!)
Jandlor The Wry is the god of luck, cross roads, fools and children; he is delighted by quandaries aroused by inconsistencies, surprises, one’s inability to correlate what one sees with what one believes. Further, his very presence seems to arouse such conflicts in all but his chosen, such that he leaves a swathe of confusion, stupefaction, and ultimately new insight and enlightenment in his wake. He appears as a slender young man, stooped and always smiling, his face long and narrow, his shoulders hunched high and head held low. Yellow robes drape his form, and he carries with him a common looking staff that he is given to twirling when chaos begins to arise. His laughter is his hallmark, and all who are yet immune to to the rigidity of the world follow him as he goes, such that he seems to be always trailing a line of children, the insane, and the enlightened. None consciously choose to follow Jandlor; either you are of his ilk, or you are not.
I promise to read your book and then post about it everywhere they let me :D. Om nom nom ARC!
And here’s my god:
Eran, god of lost causes and desperate hopes. Often appearing as an earnest young soldier with a deadly wound in his side, he watches over those who knowingly enter conflicts they can not win. Those who find themselves cornered will often offer prayers to Eran in the hopes that, if they can’t win, at least they can go out with a bang. Otherwise, praying to Eran or even acknowledging him is considered bad luck under normal circumstances and may doom a risky but viable plan to failure if he takes an interest. However, ignoring a god is never a good idea, so when people are about to embark on a new venture they leave colorful paper toys or long burning incense at his altars to distract him away from their plans.
I solemnly swear to read your book and post an honest review. (that’ll do, I think)
My god: (Yes dear?) I mean, my god’s name is Cherry, the goddess of all things good. She is beautiful, loving, kind, generous, all knowledgeable, thoughtful, all powerful, tolerant of mortals and everybody loves her. Wait the minute, that don’t sound like a god! You talking about me? Ahemmm… let’s continue… the goddess Cherry’s favourite form is that of a beautiful woman (Catherine Zeta-Jones), blue eyes, blond hair and creamy skin (Marilyn Monroe), curvaceous (Salma Hayek), and legs that goes on forever. ***I don’t think my god would ever exist, dont you?*** She is usually clothed in a white prada suit with understated lines and is simply elegant. Anyway, her followers are always of the “in” crowd without the bitchy attitude. *I gotta stop here because that paragraph busted my brains!!*
Re-posted your contest at http://contests-freebies.blogspot.com/2009/11/win-hundred-thousand-kingdoms-arc.html
I love love the pic of you and your book!
Congrats!
I have sent you an email with more info.
Have linked your post here to a giveaway link up.
Here is my imaginary god –
Seldarenias
She is the goddess of ultimate sexuality – she has sexual power over every living thing. She can take the form of any living thing’s ultimate sexual fantasy and does so frequently. She like the Greek gods loves to play with humans and to create drama between them and watch them as if she were watching a Jerry Springer show. It amuses her. She also does this for trade with other gods for more manipulations and pleasure. Her normal appearance is that of a normally attractive androgynous human woman of undistinguishable nationality or race in her mid 30s.
Shellie
Thanks for the repost, Cherry! And to answer the question mentioned there, this contest goes until Thursday. =)
Yes, I promise, I promise!
Elena Niobe is the goddess of Falling Things. She has no home, and no homeland, and is most often found in the company of caravaners, nomads and transients. She has control over waterfalls and rain storms, market prices and dominoes, meteors and stars tumbling into black holes. She is a perfect savant with numbers, and can speak any language, but she is completely illiterate.
The color of her skin and shape of her face changes to blend in with her current company, but her eyes are always black, and her dark hair is always streaked with gray. To discover Elena Niobe in human form brings immense fortune; to break her trust by revealing her to others brings the worst of calamities. And she cannot stay for too long in one place–for while she always has the power to make things fall down, the longer she makes a home for herself, the less able she is to stop things from falling. Her favorite lovers have all a bad habit of dying abruptly and tragically.
The best way of winning her favor is to do something truly kind for someone who has either lost their home, or who has never had one. Conversely, she does not look well on those who exploit the vulnerable.
If I’m the winner, I’ll post a review on Goodreads and Amazon, since those are two of my major sources when I’m curious about a book.
Anjuur the Two-Faced, Holder of Secrets
Much speculation surrounds Anjuur, even amongst those who worship the Holder of Secrets. Some claim with certainty that Anjuur prefers to take mortal form as a woman clad head to toe in robes, her face concealed by veils. They say that her attire is woven with magics that make her unremarkable to all but the keenest observers, and that those who pierce this magic quickly become certain that the most beautiful woman in all the world is hidden beneath, and often become obsessed with her (though none are known to have actually discovered the truth behind their certainty.) They go on to add that men have fought wars to learn secrets of sufficient value that they might be bartered for a mere glipse behind the veil. Those who worship this version of Anjuur worship her as a god of secrecy and subtlety, and she is particularly favored by assassins, undercover spies, thieves, adulterers, and actors, though any who lead any sort of double life may find it worthwhile to ask her aid. Actors are among the few who find her attention entirely safe, however, for true deceivers find that although she may be of great aid in keeping their secrets, her punishment for a secret that becomes known is harsh indeed.
Other worshippers of Anjuur scoff at that telling as heresy. They claim that the Holder of Secrets is an unnaturally pale white-haired man who could pass for albino were it not for his eyes — not pink, but rather pure black, almost seeming to be miniature black holes set into his face. He refuses to appear in sunlight, and favors dimly lit rooms, back alleys, and other places where the shadows that he controls as extensions of his will are at their strongest. They claim that he is a broker of information, willing to share any secret so long as the price is right — though he is fair, in a sense, in that the price is always within the means of the one asking, even if it may be something only the foolish or the desperate would be willing to pay. Many who believe this is the true nature of Anjuur worship him purely in the hopes that it will raise the price for anyone seeking information on them, though he is also often favored by police, military leaders, spies, merchants, and anyone who might realize that information is power with a desire to grasp at it. Both sides agree that Anjuur never speaks above a whisper, and yet has no difficulty making himself (or herself) heard.
Only a tiny fraction of worshippers realize that these are two aspects of the same being. Even those who worship Anjuur the Two-Faced know little more about him/her than an amalgamation of the two aspects, however. Most theorize that Anjuur’s nature as a god(dess) of secrets prevents any deeper knowledge of his/her nature. A smaller number suspect that Anjuur simply eliminates anyone who comes too close to the truth.
I solemnly swear to devour this book in all it’s literature richness. If I am to win the contest, I will post a review at Indigo.ca, as well as tell customers of my local bookstore and friends of what this new world transpires.
Keljad is the god of misfortune. Many curse his name, as insult or sign of frustration. Any form of chance give way to opportunity that Keljad can take hold of, thus giving him power on near anything, if he even chooses to take hold of it. He is a cruel opposite to that of Lady Luck, the much preferred deity of gamblers and such risk takers. Keljad is more of a traveler of sorts as luck is never just at one place. He frequents the gambling local and drinking establishment, as do most people with bad luck. When around mortals he prefers to keep a merely average form to not raise too much attention. Tall or large, thick or thin, dark or light, no preference aside from his long raven hair. As much as he is the good of misfortune he finds the task unfortunate himself. Mostly having a glum attitude as everything around him just seems to be so negative. But this does not make him depressive all the time. He finds peace when he is near places that have nothing to do with luck of any kind, like meadows or libraries. But when angered, Keljad is feared as much as death. When the occasion demands, he utilize his ability of hexing to turn anyone’s day sour. Usually hexing an inanimate object, mostly common coins, the owner or target of the hex will have the worst luck of any kind. Without groveling for forgiveness and a vow of repent, the victim is not too often found to have ended their life. Such adds to the disheartened cause of Keljad. The followers of Keljad (the few that he has) trade good’s that have concealed glyphs of chance to allow a further reach of potential.
I promise to read the book and post my review on my blog and B&N if I win this contest!
Pierre, protector of the tree of life
Pierre is the son of Phylamus, the God of goodness. He has the ability to heal wounds and the power to read minds and control weather. At seven-years-old, his uncle Corvisothys, the God of evil abducted him and put a black heart in him. For years, Pierre was instilled with evil thoughts and raised as Corvisothys’ successor. Phylamus couldn’t get his son back as Pierre was hidden in the underworld, a place where goodness couldn’t enter.
Pierre then fell in love with a goddess name Crystlene, who possessed great beauty, wisdom and kindness. Crystlene was also in love with Pierre. Determined to save Pierre, she took out Pierre’s heart and replaced it with her own – a pure, untainted heart. Her willingness to sacrifice touched the heart of the ruler of all, Zeus and He granted Crystlene with a blue heart – one that can purify all evil.
Pierre was then appointed as the sole protector of the tree of life. He lead a blissful life with his wife Crystlene.
This isn’t an entry, because, hey, I have a copy! (Thanks again Nora!) And it’s pretty damned good. Which, coming from me, is high praise as it’s pretty hard to impress me with fantasy (I’m not a regular reader of the genre, but long ago I was.)
Should I wait a bit to post a review/discussion/whatever after finishing it? I should be getting to the end of the book this month (yeah, I’m a slow reader, and I also only received it in October by post, and have been busy as @*^#$!), but anyway, I can post closer to the release date if you like.
And I’m glad to see you’re doing well. At least, if the maniacal laughter that picture just about exudes is any indicator! I hope it is…
This design is steller! You obviously know how to keep a reader amused.
Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost.
..HaHa!) Wonderful job. I really enjoyed what you had to say, and more than that,
how you presented it. Too cool!