Win *signed* copies of THE HIDDEN STARS

[nixie]

Your right there Kelpie...it's just annoying when you want a particular book and don't want to use Amazon cause you end up spending more than you can afford.I'll be glad when Ottakers opens as they stock a wide range of fantasy.

[GOLLUM]

Hidden Stars arrived for March release in MMPB in Melbourne. Retails at local price of $20, which is pretty standard for MMPB here and therefore more affordable than the TPB for those in OZ who've yet to buy the book.

Also spotted Mark Robson's Book 1 Imperial Spy for the first time here as part of the March release....

[Teresa Edgerton]

I hadn't expected it to reach Australia so fast -- or to be so reasonably priced, considering how they gouged you for the trade paperback.

Thanks for telling me, Gollum!

* * * *

Meanwhile, I wasn't able to send the prizes out on Saturday as I hoped. Let's just say that there were ... adventures ... involving the maps and two different printers. But I did manage to get everything mailed this morning. Books, maps, and bookplates are on their way.

[Marky Lazer]

I'll be staring at my mailbox for the eyedrops

[scalem X]

huuuzaay, now only trust the mailing service.
really exciting.

[nixie]

Thanks Kelpie....

[Mark Robson]

Indeed, many thanks. I look forward to seeing the bookplate. It's something I've kept meaning to produce for mine, but haven't got around to. Besides which, there can't be many copies of my books out there that aren't signed already!

[Teresa Edgerton]

I should point out that since the bookplates are homemade, there might be a bit of a challenge getting the backing off of the sticker paper ...

At least it wasn't easy for me when I tried it out -- but then I'm a bit deficient in the fingernail department. If you have someone in the house with a good set of talons, you might want to enlist their help.

[Winters_Sorrow]

I'm going to sound really ignorant here, but what is a signed bookplate anyway?

[Mark Robson]

It's a decorative piece of paper or card that normally has a little message on from the person who has given the book, or in this case, from the author. This is attached inside the front cover, or on the first page (if blank). The sort of messages can be anything from:

This book belongs to ...

to ... well just about any sort of message you can imagine really. I'm glad Kelpie has said that hers are home made, as they are somehow more personal that way. I have made some book plates for book prizes given in competitions before, but I wasn't particularly happy with the design. I'm a bit of a numpty when it comes to things like that.

[Teresa Edgerton]

Most of the time, bookplates are pasted inside books to identify who they belong to -- particularly useful if you're in the habit of loaning out your books to friends and would like to get them back. Usually you can buy them in bookstores, and they can be plain or decorative according to your taste.

But a secondary use is when someone would like a writer to sign their book and there is little or no chance of their ever being in the same place at the same time. Sometimes a reader will send one of their own bookplates for the author to sign; sometimes they'll just ask if the writer has any bookplates to send out. Obviously, it's cheaper (and less risky) mailing little pieces of paper back and forth, rather than the books themselves (thereby inviting the post office to lose them). Once it's pasted in, you've suddenly got a signed book.

Until now, when someone asked for a bookplate I sent something generic from the bookstore, but I recently decided to print up my own -- perhaps not as pretty as the kind you buy, but as Mark says, it seems more personal. (Also, weirdly and obsessively, I decided I wanted mine to color coordinate with the cover art.)

Mark, I used the same drawing program that I used for the maps, along with some decorative fonts I downloaded, and then a lot of cutting and pasting and tinkering with colors. Whether they turned out to be worth the effort you can decide when you receive yours.

[Mark Robson]

Originally Posted by Kelpie

Mark, I used the same drawing program that I used for the maps, along with some decorative fonts I downloaded, and then a lot of cutting and pasting and tinkering with colors. Whether they turned out to be worth the effort you can decide when you receive yours.

Sounds great. I look forward to seeing your creation. I think I managed a fancy leaf border and some calligraphy style writing on my last effort. I'm afraid artwork is not my forte at all.

[Winters_Sorrow]

Ah, thanks for the explanation Kelpie & Mark.
I am illuminated.
Just as well I asked, for some reason I had this idea it was some kind of lithograph or wood-carving...

[Teresa Edgerton]

Ah. Well full-page illustrations inside of books are also sometimes called plates (here we have the subtle difference between bookplates and plates in books -- another little quirk of our beloved English language) because those in very old books would have come from wood blocks or lithographs. As, come to think of it, early bookplates did as well. So your confusion is understandable.

For the history of bookplates:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookplate

The maps I sent out, if they had been bound into the books, would qualify as full-color plates in the other sense of the term, though they're printed on an inkjet printer, not a printing press.

I tried to make the maps look old, filtering the colors through tint after tint, then printing them up on parchment paper. The illusion is not very convincing, but I hope it's at least artistically pleasing. (Ironically, if the post office is unkind, they'll probably acquire some genuine wear and tear along the way -- and maybe more than I bargained for.) Also, there are several versions of the map in various scales, with different fonts and colors and decorations, and I sent each of you a different version. So until I print more up, they are, for now, each one a unique piece of computer "art." For whatever that's worth in the great scheme of things.

Anyway, I had fun making them, except when the printer was acting up.

[Teresa Edgerton]

I wonder if any of the packages I sent out have arrived yet? Some of them should be reaching their destinations about now.