Geekdoms of many colors have spread the word by now about Peter David’s stroke in the final days of 2012. His wife Kathleen has been posting updates on Peter’s site about his status. Today she writes to explain how we as fans can help Peter and his family:
Even though we have health insurance we have co-pays and the like. And since this stroke fell at the end of the year, we have all the new co-pays to deal with (I can honestly see those of you who have had to deal with this nodding your heads). And there are things that the insurance company just won’t cover (more head nodding). So we are at the beginning of what is going to be a very expensive year even though we are only 4 days in.
The most direct way is to buy his books from Crazy 8 Press or from Amazon or Barnes and Noble websites. These are books that he gets the money from directly and the most per book.
Because of their higher returns to the author, she specifically directs supporters to:
- Pulling Up Stakes Part 1 and Pulling Up Stakes Part 2 — These are ebooks available for as little as 99 cents. Crazy 8 Press seems to be getting slammed right now, presumably with supportive fans, so here are the Amazon and Barnes and Noble links to them as well.
Sick of vampire books? Movies? TV shows? Yeah. So are we. Sick of the entire unlife of vampires? Yeah. So is Vince Hammond. Unfortunately, Vince is in it up to his (wait for it) neck. Because Vince is a young vampire hunter who lives with his vampire hunter mother in an entire community of vampire hunters, who in turn are part of a cult of vampire hunters going back all the way to the French Revolution, which many believe to be an uprising of the poor against the rich but was actually a massive purging of vampires from the French nobility (hence the guillotine). - The Camelot Papers — Available in ebook or print-on-demand paperback. If that link doesn’t work, here it is on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
A powerful ruler who’s considered by many to be simple-minded and vacuous and has serious father issues. A no-nonsense, polarizing woman who favors pants suits and pursues dubious agendas involving social needs. A remarkably magnetic leader of men with a reputation as a skirt-chaser. A scheming, manipulative adviser who is constantly trying to control public perceptions. A man seen as the next, great hope for the people, except there are disputes over his background and many contend he’s not what he appears to be. - The currently released Hidden Earth Saga (a third is in process): Darkness of the Light and Heights of the Depths
Crazy8 lists only the Nook version, but Darkness of the Light is also available in print and Kindle versions on Amazon, as is Heights of the Depths.
Whether you love comics, Star Trek, Babylon 5, or sci-fi novels, there’s almost certainly something in his prolific bibliography to touch your geek interests. Peter David was one of the first geek authors I fell in love with. At my first con, I sat in a huge ballroom for some popular guest I no longer recall behind a family with two small children. When the panel ended, the wife asked the husband if he knew where his panel was. I didn’t think much of it until I went to the next panel I wanted to see, which was Peter David. Lo and behold, I’d been sitting behind him for the last hour and had no idea.
I still laugh when I remember asking him to sign a book afterwards. I said I’d bought a new copy because I was embarrassed to show how tattered the original was. He said, “I’d rather see that one, since it means you love the book and aren’t just going to sell it on eBay!” (The next year I brought the tattered one.) He ended his panel by encouraging those who had come to see him to stay for a young, new writer with the undesirable spot of the last session on the last day of Dragon*Con.
His wife Kathleen I’ve mostly encountered from costuming and puppetry panels at Dragon*Con. I haven’t sewn a costume seam in years without hearing her in my head complaining about costumers who create something beautiful and then don’t clip the threads at the end. (I’m clipping, I’m clipping, I promise!) They’re both tireless contributors to so many facets of geekdom. If you’re a longtime fan, this is a chance to support someone who has influenced your fandom(s). If you’d never heard of Peter David until a few paragraphs ago, this is a chance to discover a writer you won’t regret meeting and to help a fellow human in the process.
