You might remember me talking about Dave Wolverton over the years–aka David Farland. When I got back to BYU after my mission, I took a class on writing fantasy and science fiction from Dave. It was one of the main things that got me thinking I could actually succeed as an author. Dave has a great way of making the insurmountable seem very doable. He’s a great teacher, and a great author, having written a veritable slew of books, from The Courtship of Princess Leia to The Runelords series. He’s been a real mentor to many authors, from Brandon Sanderson to James Dashner to Dan Wells and more. The man truly is a scholar and a gentleman.
Last week, his son Ben was in a longboarding accident. He’s 16 years old, and he suffered severe brain trauma and is still in a coma. One thing authors don’t have access to is the nice company insurance policies many people enjoy. The medical bills for this accident are going to be real doozies. With that in mind, a book bomb has been organized for Dave.
A book bomb is a concerted effort to get a lot of people to buy a specific book all at the same time. The idea is that all those people buying books brings the book to the attention of more people, who then buy the book, too. Ideally, it starts popping up in Amazon’s top 100 list, which can make a real difference. Dave’s most recent book is Nightingale, and that’s the one everyone has agreed to “bomb.” It looks like the print-copies of the book are already sold out on Amazon (buying the used copies from other sellers won’t help–none of that money will go to Dave). Buy the Kindle edition if you have an eReader. If you don’t, consider buying some of his other books. I’ve read most of them and have enjoyed them all. The Runelords has a great magic system–it’s epic fantasy in the best sense of the word.
Please do what you can to pass this word on to as many people as you can. It’s a way you can support a great author and also get some great books at the same time. Best wishes and prayers for you and your family, Dave!
Done. David Farland has done me a good turn or two in my life, and I wish I could do more. He’s a great man.
Where did you meet Dave, Melanie?