There are so many unusual-yet-cool events in an author’s life. I remember the first time I saw cover art for Traitor’s Blade, the first time I got notes back from the inimitable Jo Fletcher (picture a word document covered in red ink), the first piece of physical fan mail…there are a ton of these moments and they’re all wonderful.
One I never really expected was to see actual merchandise based on my books. That changed with I was approached by the very nice folks at USBMemoryDirect who said they were interested in creating some new designs based on novels and asked if I was interested.
So we talked back and forth a bit, experimented with designs, and finally settled on the ones you see above. Since the Spellslinger series deals with strange and esoteric playing cards, it was only natural that the USB keys should follow suit (hah – see how I worked the word ‘suit’ in there? Who says I’m not a real writer…)
We wanted to keep these as something special, so they aren’t for sale. My lovely publishers at Hot Key Books have some for contests and special events, and I have a few as prizes for when people are kind enough to come to my readings.
It’s such a strange thing to see your book cover on a USB key, and such unexpected fun. So, thanks to Taylor Chastain at USBMemoryDirect for bringing a little more spellslinging magic into the world.
Les vieux maîtres de sort aiment raconter que la magie a un goût. Les sorts de braise ressemblent à une épice qui vous brûle le bout de la langue. La magie du souf e est subtile, presque rafraîchissante, un peu comme si vous teniez une feuille de menthe entre vos lèvres. Le sable, la soie, le sang, le fer… cha- cune de ces magies a son parfum. Un véritable adepte, autre- ment dit un mage capable de jeter un sort même à l’extérieur d’une oasis, les connaît tous.
'I totally saw this coming,’ Reichis growled, leaping onto my shoulder as lightning scorched the sand barely ten feet from us. The squirrel cat’s claws pierced my sweat-soaked shirt and dug into my skin.
The way of the Argosi is the way of water. Water never seeks to block another’s path, nor does it permit impediments to its own. It moves freely, slipping past those who would capture it, taking nothing that belongs to others. To forget this is to stray from the path, for despite the rumours one sometimes hears, an Argosi never, ever steals.