It’s been kinda quiet here on the blog lately. Part of the reason for that is because I’ve been recovering from the fundraiser, trying to catch up on my e-mail, and spending more time with my family because they got pretty short shrift while Worldbuilders was going on.
And I’ve been working on other things too. Dreaming dreams. Scheming schemes. Occasionally machinating.
The things I’ve been working will be showing up over the course of the year, some of them sooner rather than later. Many of them you’ll hear about first here on the blog, of course. Because I appreciate y’all stopping by and seeing what I have to say.
The Worldbuilders team hasn’t been letting the grass grow under their feet either. And yes, it’s partly due to the fact that it’s winter here in Wisconsin. And yeah, sure, it’s also because letting grass grow under your feet would be kind of a weird thing to do even if it was springtime….
Let me start again. What I meant to say is that the Worldbuilders team has been busy getting things done. In addition to packaging up hundreds of lottery prizes, they’ve been getting some new stuff ready for the Tinker’s Packs.
For example:
- Valentines Day Cards.
Okay, okay. They’re not *specifically* Valentines Day cards. But they’re appropriately love-themed greeting cards just in time for those of you who might be looking to impress a geeky special someone on V-Day.
Also, do you see something a little different in what we’re doing this month?
That’s right. These cards aren’t just Kingkiller flavored. This year Worldbuilders is going to be doing our best to partner up with more authors: making cool things you’ll enjoy, while making the world a better place. So this month we’re launching cards not just from me, but based on Jacqueline Carey and Neil Gaiman’s works as well.
The card on the far left is mine, by which I mean it’s really by the wonderful Jackie Morris, a stunningly talented artist. She made this piece of art just for us, inspired by a quote from The Wise Man’s Fear: “These old name-knowers moved smoothly through the world. They knew the fox and they knew the hare, and they knew the space between the two.”
You can get the card with the quote inside, or a blank version that you can wax rhapsodic all over on. Both are available here.
Anyone who’s read Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Legacy series will recognize the center card. The phrase “Love As Thou Wilt” is a core concept of the books, and a beautiful idea besides, so making it into a Valentine’s Day card was a no-brainer.
Lastly, there’s the card from Neil. It’s based on some excellent advice from him.
For those of you who are oddly terrified of clicking that link, a fan once asked Neil: “What do you think is the best way to seduce a writer?”
Neil replied with some of the truest words ever spoken.
Writers tend to be really good at the inside of their own heads and imaginary people, and a lot less good at the stuff going on outside, which means that quite often if you flirt with us we will completely fail to notice, leaving everybody involved slightly uncomfortable and more than slightly unlaid.
So I would suggest that any attempted seduction of a writer would probably go a great deal easier for all parties if you sent them a cheerful note saying “YOU ARE INVITED TO A SEDUCTION: Please come to dinner on Friday Night. Wear the kind of clothes you would like to be seduced in.”
And alcohol may help, too. Or kissing. Many writers figure out that they’re being seduced or flirted with if someone is actually kissing them.
Yeah. This is so true that it hurts. The majority of my relationships have started with girls kissing me, and me thinking, “Oh! Hey! She’s interested in me! Suddenly a lot of her behavior over the last few months makes much better sense!”
Because this strikes so close to home for me, I’ve wanted to make a card out of this for ages. I can’t thank Neil enough for giving us the thumbs-up.
So… yeah. Trust me. This card is really the way to go if you’re hoping to seduce a writer. If there’s someone in your life who’s really bad at taking subtle hints, get them this card.
- Curious Lovers print
(Copy of Wise Man’s Fear not included, but good at demonstrating scale)
Jackie Morris painted this for us faster than I could believe. Honestly, I think she said she got all of it done in a night.
Once we had it in our hot little hands, we couldn’t help but turn it into a print. It’s gorgeous. And if you want one of these beauties for yourself, you can get it right here.
- Copies of The Tiger’s Wife. Signed by Téa Obreht.
Téa was one of the authors who attended NerdCon: Stories this year. While we were there, she stopped by the Worldbuilders booth and signed some copies of her debut novel.
I just went looking for my goodreads review of this book, because I read it and *really* enjoyed it. But apparently that’s one of the books I only *meant* to give a gushy review to last year. You’ll have to just trust me. It’s a good read, and you can grab a lovely signed one right here.
- Copies of Level Up Your Life. Signed and inscribed by Steve Kamb.
I’ve heard good things about this one. It’s all about getting in shape and living a healthy life…but doing it in the nerdiest (and therefore best) way possible. You live your life like a character in a video game, movie, or book: you set goals and go on quests, find allies to help you with quests, train your skills, and level up all aspects of your life.
There doesn’t sound like any better way to get healthy, and these have been specially inscribed for us. You can get your own copy right here.
- Individual Vintish Court Rings.
We’ve had so many people over the years say that they wish they could get just one of the Court Rings, so we’ve finally decided to let you get just one Court Ring instead of the entire set, if you’re so inclined.
For a ring to give to your superiors, get the gold-plated ring. For someone of an equal rank, you’ll want the silver-plated ring. For those who are simply beneath you, the iron ring is the best choice.
- Special Promotion: Greeting card + Jewelry = 15% off both!
Since Valentine’s Day is coming up, we wanted to give you the option of doing all your shopping in one place. If you buy an item of jewelry from the specially-selected Valentine’s Jewelry Collection, as well as a greeting card, you’ll get 15% off both items. That is some unbeatable math.
Just so you know, The Tinker’s Packs usually puts up new products every month, but I don’t always mention them here on the blog. If you want to make sure you a heads-up about new stuff, it would probably be a good idea to sign up for the mailing list….
Later all,
pat