Enjoy everyone! And please pass it around, let’s make this shit go viral! 😉
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Ross Campbell Lola and Bonnie Heads
For those of you who can draw (even just a little) – I’m going to run a THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE KING FAN ART CONTEST.
Grand Prize: a copy of the signed hardcover illustrated first edition of THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE KING with an original sketch inside by yours truly. Winner will also receive the mysterious “blue envelope,” 3 oversized postcards, 3 bookmarks, both flat bendable TGWWBK magnets, 4 stickers, AND a limited edition 8×10 signed and numbered first edition print of either Ross Campbell’s Bonnie Braverman or Lola LeFever heads (limited to only five ever!). (Your choice if you want Bonnie or Lola). Value of this prize is over $100!!!
Rules are simple.
Email me your TGWWBK related entry (jpgs only please) –Â to: 1979semifinalist[at]gmail[dot]com
BEFORE midnight PST on January 31st, 2013.
Check out the current fan art already up and the website in general for inspiration! Anything TGWWBK related is fair game (i.e. you don’t HAVE to draw Bonnie and/or Lola). Do try to avoid spoilers however!
Winner will be drawn at random from all entrants on February 1st, 2013. Winners will be notified on the blog and emailed. International entries are welcome.
If we get enough entries (let’s say, 15 or more) then I will give away TWO grand prizes. One to a winner drawn at random, and one to my favorite of the entries (note: “favorite” winner will then not be included in the random drawing.)
Put your questions (etc.) in the comments or email them to me. All entries, including the winners will be posted both on this blog and on TGWWBK Fan Art Page indefinitely. *I reserve the right of course to NOT post your entry if it’s offensive (or something – basically, don’t be a jerk).
NOW GO DRAW!!!!
Tags: Bonnie Braverman, Lola LeFever, TGWWBK Fan Art!, The Girl Who Would Be King
Got another great piece for the THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE KING Fan Art page, this one from The Literary Bandit of Lola LeFever, and it comes with this lovely comment about Lola:
“I have a soft spot for a well done super villain. Lola, here, is the best I’ve come across in years.”
That makes me grin like you have no idea. I too believe a “hero” is only as good as their “villain” and though I try not to put Lola in the “villain” box, it’s obvious that she checks a lot of those boxes (sometimes with glee) and I take great pride in the fact that Lola is at least –some would argue more— developed in TGWWBK as Bonnie is.
Many –in fact MOST– people that read TGWWBK love Lola. Well, people who aren’t called MY MOTHER. 😉
Buy your copy today and find out what’s so great about Lola LeFever. Also available on Amazon!
Lola LeFever by The Literary Bandit
Tags: Lola LeFever, TGWWBK Fan Art!, The Girl Who Would Be King, things made of awesome
Lola and Bonnie by Emily Carroll
I’ve finally got the The Girl Who Would Be King FAN ART section up on the website.
There are a few awesome pieces up already thanks to the brilliant Emily Carroll, a pair of sketches I commissioned from Kaylie McDougal, and absolutely awesome reader Rachael Stephen (@mythicflux).
As a comic fan I’m also a huge fan of seeing artist interpretations of characters, so I encourage any of you that read and liked the book to send in your submissions.
You can submit directly to me at: 1979semifinalist[at]gmail[dot]com
Let’s go! 
– Kelly
Tags: Bonnie Braverman, Lola LeFever, The Girl Who Would Be King
Bonnie vs Lola #2 by Stephanie Hans
Head on over to THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE KING STORE to get limited edition signed copies of the illustrated book, and plenty of swag including “the blue envelope” and VERY limited edition signed prints.
You can also buy the paperback on either Amazon or Lulu (for what it’s worth the Lulu copy is slightly superior in my opinion – even though the jpg color is off on the site).
And of course the digital copy remains on sale at Amazon (for the crazy low price of $2.99).Â
And as always, thanks for all the reviews and support guys, you’ve been awesome.
Tags: Bonnie Braverman, Lola LeFever, The Girl Who Would Be King
Photo by Eric Smith via Eric Smith Rocks Blog
So why write about superheroes as prose when they’re so visual?
Those who were familiar with me before I published THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE KING are less curious since they know about my love of comics, and superheroes specifically. They also know I crave strong and complicated women in my fiction, I can’t get enough of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and love nothing more than sassy chicks that kick a lot of ass (hence, Buffy!), but even those familiar with my affection for these things sometimes wonder why I chose to write about superheroes as prose, instead of comics.
And the answer is simply this…I didn’t.
When I began THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE KING (way back in 2004) I started writing it as a screenplay. Now, that’s still not a comic, but films are obviously great places for excellent visual action and for good or ill, a lot of superhero movies have been made — certainly there was a lot more than I had seen of superhero prose in 2004. But as I tried to write this screenplay (I had written one before, it was terrible) I kept finding myself wanting to go deeper into the characters heads. To explore them more fully than I though I could in either film or comics. Now, thinking I couldn’t do that in those other mediums may have just been my lack of experience, but the end result was that I decided to try my hand at writing my superheroes as prose…and thus my first novel was born.
I had a lot of doubts over the years (even more than I had version of the book – which is saying a lot) – but when all was said and done I was really happy with my decision to delve so deeply into my heroes as prose. And once the book was done I found myself fantasizing about someday adapting it not only into a film (circle of life and all that) but possibly into a comic book. It intrigued me to almost go backwards, starting with a comic book idea, but executed in prose, and then taking it back to its more natural roots. It’s something I would love to try someday.
The added benefit is that while I spend a ton of my life trying to talk about women in comics, and getting more women to read comics, and understand how wonderful they can be, I love even more the idea that a lot of women and girls might love TGWWBK as a novel and then come along to read an adaptation of it, and thus discover comics.
That’s dreaming big at this point I suppose, but it’s certainly a place I’d like to go…and to have others follow me. You know one of the things that made doing TGWWBK as a comic book some day feel like a reality? All the amazing artists that helped make the book what it is – cover and interior illustrations artist Stephanie Hans, as well as comics creators Ross Campbell and Meredith McClaren.
Their work is too inspiring not to get any writer’s mind fantasizing about what might be next…
Lola and Bonnie heads by Ross Campbell
Tags: BookTrib, meredith mcclaren, ross campbell, stephanie hans
For a limited time and in honor of Lola LeFever’s birthday (today 11/7) the Kindle version of THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE KING will be on sale for 99 CENTS on Amazon!
Need more motivation? The book has 16 reviews on Amazon already and maintains a five-star rating! Amazing!
Head over and get yours today while the sale lasts!
The Girl Who Would Be King by Kelly Thompson, cover art by Stephanie Hans
Awesome Meredith McClaren Lola and Bonnie “itty” magnets that all the $50 and up people will be receiving. LOVE THEM!
Hey, kids!
Just a little update about THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE KING reviews and news and such.
First up, it looks like, thanks to my badass printers, the print editions may get to me by the end of the month! This is much faster than expected and I hope it works out so I can get this out to all of you as quickly as possible! Fingers crossed!
Secondly, I finally got THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE KING up on iBook. Barnes & Noble is up next and is already in process…hopefully it will go live this week. One word of caution – on iBooks it’s linking TGWWBK to another book by a different Kelly Thompson – this is NOT my book.
The reviews continue to come in and they are AWESOME. Here are two from independent blogs (and if you write a review on your blog make sure to send it in so that I can link to you!):
First up is Lewis Smith’s review from WITLESS PRATTLE who has said some of my favorite things ever about the book. It’s a great read!
Also up is this sweet review from Jessica Anderson.
And here are some badass excerpts from things people have said at Amazon US, Amazon UK, and Goodreads – I honestly could not ask for more wonderful feedback – THANK YOU EVERYONE – and, because I’m greedy – KEEP THEM COMING!
“The writing is electric, relying on colorful imagery and breakneck pacing that brings to mind comic panels fed into a HD film projector … The whole thing comes off like if Neil Gaiman and Brian Michael Bendis had locked themselves in a cellar to determine what made superheroes great and what made a great superheroine and launched their results from a trebuchet at the internet.” – January Hooper, 5 Star Review, Amazon
“What a great book. Curveball of an ending, but a must read if you are at all interested in superhero stories. the narrative voice fits the characters so well, it is brilliantly self aware of its genre, and it just sweeps you right up into these two extraordinary girls’ lives. TGWWBK is a force to be reckoned with, and I cant wait to see more of Kelly Thompson’s work.” – Rachael Stephen, 5 Star Review, Amazon (UK)
“A Masterpiece of Classic Fiction and Comic-book Hero/Villain duality.” – Grant Hayward, 5 Star Review, Amazon
“Smart and grown up!” – Lauren Las, 5 Star Review, Amazon
“Once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down.” – Megan S., 5 Star Review, Amazon
If you like strong female leads and non-stop action, this is definitely for you.” – L. Cappelli, 5 Star Review, Amazon
“[TGWWBK] was everything I needed in a good book. It has it all. Adventure, mystery, and great characters. I fell in love with both Bonnie and Lola. Their Stories are both compelling and heart wrenching … a week later I still can’t stop thinking about this book.” – Lisa Higgins, 4 Star Review, Amazon
“[TGWWBK] is a totally original concept, and without giving anything specific away about the ending, this could EASILY be the first book in a series (although I would settle for a sequel). However, traditional publishers thought that we needed another vampire romance or dystopian trilogy more than we needed this book. I strongly disagree, and I suspect you will too. I highly recommend this book for mature teens, fans of strong female characters, comic book enthusiasts, and anyone who enjoys solid YA lit that doesn’t follow all the rules.” – Jessica, 5 Star Review, Goodreads
YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING!
Tags: Bonnie Braverman, Lola LeFever, The Girl Who Would Be King, things made of awesome
So who won the five deluxe THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE KING packages from the contest this week?
First, check out what they won:
1 signed limited edition hardback edition of The Girl Who Would Be King, including at least 9 full color Stephanie Hans illustrations, 2 Ross Campbell “heads” magnets (1 Bonnie, 1 Lola), 2 Meredith McClaren “itties” magnets (1 Bonnie, 1 Lola), 6 over-sized post cards, 6 bookmarks, and eight stickers.
Each package is worth nearly $70.00! Woo!
Here are the winners!
Lisa Higgins
Angela Graham
Leonard Ingram
Emmanuel
Cindy Mei
If you’re a winner, you’ll be getting an email from me today so I can get your mailing details. Packages will ship sometime in November when the hardback edition has returned from the printer and I begin shipping out Kickstarter rewards.
Thanks so much for participating everyone!
Tags: Bonnie Braverman, Lola LeFever, The Girl Who Would Be King
Thanks for all the entries everyone! Keep in mind that your entry will NOT show up in the comments – only I can see it – but be assured that I got it – today is the LAST DAY TO ENTER! Prize giveaway will happen tomorrow – Saturday October 13th – so come back (at noon Eastern Standard Time) to see if you won!
You can read the details and fine print of the contest here.
Here’s what you’re competing to win:
1 signed limited edition hardback edition of The Girl Who Would Be King, including at least 9 full color Stephanie Hans illustrations, 2 Ross Campbell “heads” magnets (1 Bonnie, 1 Lola), 2 Meredith McClaren “itties” magnets (1 Bonnie, 1 Lola), 6 over-sized post cards, 6 bookmarks, and eight stickers.
One of 5 packages worth nearly $70.00 and which will be given away in a drawing at the end of the week.
Here’s how you enter the drawing:
Write ABCDX at the top of your comment/ballot, then:
1 point for just entering your name, age (you must be 15 or older to enter), and email address.
You can also get additional points for all of the following:
2 points for a link showing me how you’ve promoted TGWWBK in some way – this can be a tweet, a blog post, a tumblr, whatever.
2 points for referring someone to the contest and getting them to enter (they must confirm you sent them in their own entry)
5 points for answering a question correctly from Part I of THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE KING. If you don’t have it yet, you can buy it on Amazon (for Kindle) or on Lulu (Nook and iPad).
You must include the code ABCDX on your comment entry, so that only I can see your entry form!
Today’s question from the book is:Â What is the name of the strongwoman that both Bonnie and Lola are hoping to meet at the end of Part I?
And we’re off!!!
Tags: Bonnie Braverman, Lola LeFever, The Girl Who Would Be King