Mistborn

David Gemmell Legend Award, Updates, THE SPEED OF DARK

ccg@timewastersguide.com — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 21:46:55 GMT

First off, a note about the David Gemmell Legend Award. Named after the late, great UK writer of heroic fantasy, the award is in its second year and seeks to showcase novels "in the spirit or tradition of David Gemmell's own work" (for what that means, see here). Titles are nominated by publishers and then whittled down by online voting from fans. This year Tor has nominated both WARBREAKER and THE GATHERING STORM along with 11 other deserving books, making for a long list of 60 titles from all nominating publishers. Online voting on the long list of nominees has just begun and will continue through the end of March. At that point they'll tally up the top five vote-getters and start a new vote (vote totals don't carry over from the first round). I made the short list last year with HERO OF AGES (which wasn't even out in the UK at the time) and expected to get soundly beaten by Joe Abercrombie's LAST ARGUMENT OF KINGS, but instead the final nod went to BLOOD OF ELVES by Andrzej Sapkowski. Anyway, if you'd like to vote on the 2009 book you feel best fits the criteria, you can do that here. The committee has also started two new awards this year, the Morningstar for best newcomer and the Ravenheart for best cover art.

In the most recent MISTBORN 3 annotations I discuss the Lord Ruler's final message as well as Sazed's memorization skills and Breeze's nobleman status. New annotations go up every Tuesday and Thursday. If you haven't checked out the annotations before, they're like the director's commentary on a DVD—I discuss my books chapter by chapter, and so far I've talked about ELANTRIS, MISTBORN: THE FINAL EMPIRE, and MISTBORN 2: THE WELL OF ASCENSION. I'll also start posting WARBREAKER annotations sometime in the next few months, possibly before I'm done posting the MISTBORN 3: THE HERO OF AGES annotations. I figure that the dedicated fans who come to my website deserve some good bonus content, so here you go!

In this week's Writing Excuses episode I discuss tragedy with Dan Wells and Howard Tayler. Why write tragedy, and how to do it well? Give the podcast a listen.

By the way, my agent, Joshua Bilmes, also represents the talented Elizabeth Moon, and he wants help tracking down a mystery. Elizabeth's book THE SPEED OF DARK sells far more copies in trade paperback in the Salt Lake City area than anywhere else in North America. Why is that? What Salt Lake-area fans/booksellers have been recommending the book to all their friends and customers? Joshua is dying to know.

WARBREAKER at GoodReads, B&N, and Romantic Times

ccg@timewastersguide.com — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 01:09:06 GMT

Over at the Book Smugglers they've posted a guest spot from me on my favorite reads of 2009. As I've said before, I was sad that unlike a lot of you I didn't get to rush out and read a new Wheel of Time book this October. On that blog I share a list of what I did get to read instead.

There's been a lot of love for WARBREAKER recently. It's the December discussion topic for GoodReads' fantasy book club, and I'll be participating in the discussion there in January. The book also got the #4 slot on Barnes & Noble's book clubs Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Novels of 2009 list. (They discussed it back in July; see my Q&A thread there). But the biggest news is probably that WARBREAKER has garnered a nomination from the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Awards for Best Epic Fantasy of 2009. (See the full list of nominees here.) So far that's five fantasy novels out from Tor, five Romantic Times award nominations, and two wins (ELANTRIS and HERO OF AGES). Wow! If you don't know what all the fuss is about, I hear that Borders is a good place to buy WARBREAKER right now—they are the most likely chain to have copies in stock. (You can check your local store's inventory at the link.) Or of course check the list of stores that have signed copies.

In this week's episode of the Writing Excuses podcast, Dan, Howard, and I talk about antiheroes. Familiar with The Talented Mr. Ripley? Howard isn't.

In the most recent annotations for MISTBORN 3, I talk about Sazed putting on his metalminds and Spook's romance with Beldre as well as the death of Bilg. Don't remember Bilg? Umm . . . Oh, and I also put up an annotation for "Defending Elysium" (but be sure you read the story first).

Happy Koloss Head-Munching Day! (Free Short Story.)

ccg@timewastersguide.com — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:17:07 GMT

For the holidays this year, I thought I’d post a short story for you all. In fact, I’m posting “Defending Elysium,” which I generally regard as the best short story I’ve ever written. Now, that’s not saying a whole lot, as I’m a novelist. That’s the form I’ve practiced, and writing short stories is a very different art. I’m constantly in awe of what great short story writers (like my friend Eric James Stone) can do with just a few pages.

You’ll note that even this “short” story is actually more of a novelette. It even has several different character viewpoints and two or three sub-plots to go along with the main storyline and the main thematic elements. (I can’t compress my thoughts any farther. I guess I’m just a novelist at heart.) Also, note that if you’ve already read “Defending Elysium,” I’ve also added an annotation for you to give an explanation of the history of the story.

Anyway, thank you all for making this such a wonderful year. The tour was amazing, and the response to THE GATHERING STORM was incredible. I’m humbled by your response—including the responses of those who had complaints about the book. (Often legitimate ones.) There weren’t many of those, and the bulk of the ones I read were presented in a thoughtful, non-combative way. You are a classy bunch. Thank you for that.

Tomorrow is the long-celebrated, and often disturbing, Koloss Head-Munching Day. Munch a head and read the short story. Or, if you’re not into that, I believe there are a few other holidays coming up. . . .

Next year, I will be spending a lot of the early months blogging about THE WAY OF KINGS. A lot of people have been asking about it, and Tor has nudged me to begin speaking about it more. There WILL be more info about TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT too, but I’ll probably be holding off on that for a while. I know you’re hungry for more information. I’ll give you what I can, but I’ve been asked to be more secretive about these books than I normally am, and (as I have said before) I feel it is respectful to keep to Harriet’s wishes.

(Progress on TofM is going well, but this is—in many ways—a much BIGGER book than TGS. There are a lot more viewpoints and plots to wrangle, including many people who were not seen in TGS. TGS was very focused by intention and design. TofM is going to feel very different, as we’re going to be expanding the scope a little to include all of the things we need to see to get ready for the Last Battle. That’s making the editing and revision process of what I’ve done go more slowly than I would have liked.)

Merry Christmas! Happy Chanukah! Happy Winter Solstice, Kwanzaa, or New Year! May you get books as presents.

Brandon

Tomorrow's the Last Day for Holiday Orders

ccg@timewastersguide.com — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:18:49 GMT

Just to let everyone know, if you were planning on taking advantage of the holiday specials—the Mistborn Trilogy Holiday Bundle or the MISTBORN 7-Pack—or wanted to give any other item including the Mistborn Table of Allomantic Metals as a gift this Christmas, tomorrow's the last day to get your order in. Actually, for most items except for the holiday bundles and the poster it's already too late unless you contact Becky to upgrade to faster shipping (and for international fans there's not much that can be done at this time). December 25th is just around the corner, so there's no time to waste! Both holiday bundles will be taken down at 11:59 p.m. Mountain time on Tuesday.

Even if holiday timing doesn't concern you, I'll be out of town for a while after the middle of this week (I'm doing a signing in Logan on Friday and in Idaho Falls on Saturday—stop by if you're in the area!) so I won't be able to sign any later orders for a while.

I do have a couple freebies for everyone that I hope to get up soon—this week if we get some backend issues addressed. Keep checking back!

In the most recent MISTBORN 3 annotations I talk about ***spoilers redacted*** and "Reen" and fantasy clichés.

This week's Writing Excuses podcast with Dan Wells and Howard Tayler talks about writing unreliable narrators. Check it out.

Finally, the news from Stacy Whitman is that Tu Publishing met its kickstarter goal. I'm happy whenever I see the community come together to help out a good cause. That has been demonstrated even more in the last few days, with the much more serious case involving Peter Watts.

Upcoming Signings + Typical Rambling

ccg@timewastersguide.com — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 23:23:18 GMT

A quick note about upcoming signings.

This weekend I'll be doing my last two signings in the Provo/SLC area. That means if you want gifts signed, then you'll want to come catch me today or tomorrow. The signing today (Friday) is at the Waldenbooks at the Provo Towne Centre Mall. This will be my last signing at this store, as it will be closing in January, which is very sad for me. Some of my best signings were at the store (including the release parties for Mistborn one and Mistborn two.) One of the former employees, Bookstore Guy Steve Diamond, is still a good friend. (Which reminds me, he sent an email earlier in the week and I forgot to reply...)

My first really 'Big' signing happened at this store four years ago, when I sold a whopping 70 copies of Elantris. (Coincidentally, this was the weekend after I met Pemberly for the first time. We went on a blind date, and I was smitten. I spent the entire signing hoping she'd come and see that I really was a big deal as a writer--though, of course, I wasn't really. She never showed up. I still tease her about that.)

Anyway, come say goodbye to the store and pick up some books for yourself or for gifts. I'll be there from 6-8:30 or so. (It says 9 on my events page, but we'll play it by ear. Most of the signings start to wind down after two hours or so.) If you want to come when you're sure I'll be there, come before 8:30.

Tomorrow, I'll be at the Sugarhouse Barnes and Noble. This store has an interesting story because once upon a time, the store was too exclusive for me to do a signing at. (I went in and asked, and they kind of turned their nose down at me for being a genre fiction writer, and told me I could sign at one of the other stores--but this was the "Big" events store.) Well, lo and behold, several years later a friend of mine from another B&N who was a big SF/F reader got promoted to be manager of this store. Feels like some very cool karma there. Now they have LOTS of sf/f writers in for signings.

The Sugarhouse signing is from 1-4, and Isaac Stewart (who did the maps and symbols for the Mistborn books) will be coming to sign your Mistborn books. He will also be bringing concept art for THE WAY OF KINGS. I'm very excited about the work he's doing, so if you want your first peek at what the artwork for the interior of KINGS will look like (the writing system, symbols, chapter glyphs, maps) then come have a look at what Isaac has brought. We'll probably stop the signing at around 2:00 and do a presentation about KINGS and maybe I'll do a reading. Good times.

Next weekend I'll be in Logan and then, for my final signing of the year, Idaho Falls.

Updates, Tu Publishing fundraiser/Mistborn mini auction

ccg@timewastersguide.com — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:02:00 GMT

The most recent MISTBORN 3 annotation talks about how the Lord Ruler needed to practice when he held the power. And the most recent Writing Excuses podcast discusses world-building gender roles.

A good friend of mine, Stacy Whitman, a former editor at Mirrorstone Books and a past Writing Excuses guest, is getting ready to launch a small press named Tu Publishing that will focus on multicultural fantasy and science fiction. To get the company started, Stacy has set up a fundraiser through Kickstarter. It's the type of fundraising drive where you pledge donations that kick in after the drive meets its goal. Stacy has set up rewards you can get for various pledge levels, such as advanced reader's copies of forthcoming books.

Friends of Stacy have also donated a lot of great stuff for a fundraising auction on LiveJournal. One of the items is a Mistborn mini from Garden Ninja Studios that will get a unique paint job. That auction ends early on Wednesday, and some of the others end Tuesday night. Check it out! Stacy is a great editor with excellent taste in books (she keeps bugging me to revise Scribbler). I hope she can get Tu off the ground!

Give the Gift of Mistborn for Ten Days Only (Also, Posters)

ccg@timewastersguide.com — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 00:41:06 GMT

Today we've added two items to the store—the long-awaited Mistborn Table of Allomantic Metals cheap poster print, and a special item for ten days only: a steeply discounted $69.95 package of seven signed copies of MISTBORN: THE FINAL EMPIRE in hardcover that you can give as gifts this holiday season. Check it out!

Doctors Without Borders, Interviews, THE WAY OF KINGS

ccg@timewastersguide.com — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:51:36 GMT

Wheel of Time fansite TarValon.net is hosting another charity drive—this time in support of Doctors Without Borders. If you're interested, consider helping out at their team's donation page. It looks like they have a small number of "thank you" prizes as well, including one of the limited edition copies of THE GATHERING STORM.

I did a few more radio and podcast interviews in the last couple of days. They'll probably be the last in a while; if you didn't get a chance to see me on the tour (a few Utah and Idaho events are still coming up), I said a lot of the same types of things on these shows as I said at my appearances. (Though for details and sometimes videos of my appearances you can check out Dragonmount's Storm Leader reports.) Today I recorded for a show on CNN radio that should be airing soon. I also appeared on David Lemberg's Science and Society podcast yesterday, as well as another appearance on the Louie b. Free show, where I really got to go in depth about this amazing phenomenon I've had the honor to be a part of. My first appearance was on November 3rd (only the "Part One" link works, but that's the whole thing). My segment starts at the 3:03:14 mark (yes, that's three hours into the show). Scrubbing through the previous 3 hours I heard adult content disclaimers several times, so keep that in mind! My segment of yesterday's show starts at the 30:47 mark. Give them both a listen!

Then there's my own podcast. Though they did a fine job without me during the tour (such as in last week's episode about NaNoWriMo—by the way, how many of my fans won this year?), Howard Tayler and Dan Wells were happy to have me back for this week's Writing Excuses episode where we discussed mixing humor with drama and horror. Check it out.

I've gotten a bit behind in mentioning the Mistborn 3 annotations. The most recent additions mention the creation of Inquisitors and how to defeat Ruin, Spook as the Survivor of the Flames, Marsh *spoiler*ing Penrod, and Yomen's backstory.

Finally, it looks like Amazon has put up a new page for THE WAY OF KINGS—and this time it's for the real thing, unlike the old page with its hilarious reviews. The page count they list is optimistic (the text would have to be tiny; depending on how the book is designed I expect the final count to be north of 800 pages), but the rest of it, including the release date, should be pretty much right. Assuming I get my revisions done on time and to my satisfaction! Right now I'm back hard at work at TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT, which I'm guessing will come out more toward the end of November 2010 rather than exactly a year after THE GATHERING STORM. Anyway, there will be more here on THE WAY OF KINGS in the months to come. Stay tuned.

My magic duel against Jason

ccg@timewastersguide.com — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:08:15 GMT

So, Jason is on Tor.com again, talking trash and showing off the huge numbers of cards he's been lent to build the perfect deck to kill me.

If you're not aware of what's going on, tomorrow after my San Jose signing, I'll be having an epic set of Magic: The Gathering games against Jason Denzel (who runs Dragonmount, a Wheel of Time fan website). Read what he's said here and here.

I haven't posted a lot about this because . . . well, I just haven't had time. I've been running, city to city, signing books. In fact, I can only do this update because my plane is delayed in Portland for half an hour.

Now, reading those articles, Jason would have you believe that he's the underdog in this competition. He's been trying very hard to get your sympathy. And, well, some of the things he says may be true. Yes, I have more experience in the game than he does. But remember, I've put a severe limitation on myself in the form of requiring myself to use only cards I've been given by fans on the tour, so I can't reach into my extensive back stock of cards to build the perfect deck.

What are my thoughts? Well, I think it will be fun. But I am also so exhausted from the tour I can barely think most of the time. And the match will happen after the last day of the tour, following two signings on the same day, with me having gotten very little sleep on average across the last four weeks.

In other words, this is going to be by no means an easy win. Jason has been lent thousands of cards to augment his card stable. He's going to have very good decks, and I'm going to be so tired I won't be able to remember what day it is, let alone how many lands to put in my deck.

But I'm still confident. Confident, at least, that this will be a fun time. We'll set up a streaming video of the match, so watch the updates on my Facebook and Twitter accounts to get the url. Also, I feel it's my duty to let you know that Jason has been trying to CHEAT LIKE A DOG (asking Storm Leaders to steal or hide my cards, maybe give him clues as to what I'll be playing).

So I figure I'll just tell him. Here are the decks I'll be running:

A WoT-themed deck given me by a fan. I'll play it as-is. It's white, with lots of cards that they've written on and named after characters. Quite amusing.
A deck built from the Zendikar and other packs given me by the wonderful WoT fans. I've built this one out of the cards you've given me, and it's got 95% cards from Zendikar. Multicolor.
A deck sponsored by Joseph-Beth Booksellers using only cards given me by Brian, the Joseph-Beth sci-fi guy. Multicolor.
If there's time, a deck built from several other complete decks given me by fans on the tour.

I actually don't have these completely put together yet. I was hoping to do that today at the hotel . . . though this delay is going to make that harder. Either way, tune in tomorrow night to see what happens.

Hitting the West Coast

ccg@timewastersguide.com — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:40:21 GMT

Peter here again. Brandon has less than a week left on his tour, the remaining stops all being on the west coast. If that's where you live, check the schedule to see when he'll be in your area—today's stop is at Vroman's in Pasadena at 7 p.m.

This week's Writing Excuses podcast covers the business of writing comics, again with Jake Black filling in for Brandon (whose we-don't-ever-discuss-it stint writing the webcomic "American Bachelors with Mecha(s)" is not nearly as relevant as Jake Black's professional experience in the industry).

In the most recent MISTBORN 3 annotations, Brandon talks about Preservation's power and the working mechanism of Hemalurgy. He specifically does not say anything about Adonalsium. Writers can be so cruel.

Mistborn Minifigs Sale, Updates

ccg@timewastersguide.com — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:34:15 GMT

Brandon's assistant Peter here again. Brandon is still out on the road; at this moment he's at the Joseph-Beth bookstore in Lexington KY, hopefully with a fully recovered voice. Tomorrow he'll be in my old stomping grounds at Books&Co. near Dayton OH. (I used to ride my bike 12 miles to their original store location almost every Saturday, though I still haven't been to their new location. Some of my family members may show up to bother Brandon tomorrow. If you see them, say hi for me.)

A note about the Atlanta signings on Friday: There are actually two separate signings, one in Clarkston at 3:30 p.m. and one in Norcross at 7:00 p.m. Right now we only have details for the Norcross signing here on the site, but you can see the details for the Clarkston signing at Macmillan's tour page.

The folks at Garden Ninja Studios have announced a sale on their Mistborn miniatures/figurines (and also on their Goblin Quest miniatures). All are 30% off until the end of January. They also have a new Sergeant Schlock miniature (from Schlock Mercenary by Howard Tayler, who you should be familiar with if you listen to the Writing Excuses podcast regularly).

Speaking of Writing Excuses, in this week's episode comics writer Jake Black fills in for Brandon to talk with Dan and Howard about writing comics. Check it out.

Finally, in the most recent MISTBORN 3 annotations, Brandon mentions talking scenes and the number sixteen, the loss of half the sieging Koloss, and everyone's favorite Koloss, Human.

#1

ccg@timewastersguide.com — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:57:10 GMT

If you didn't hear the news, we got a call on Wednesday informing us that THE GATHERING STORM had hit the number one spot on the New York Times hardcover Best Seller list. This was accompanied by hitting number one on the independent bookseller's list and being the bestselling hardcover fiction book at Barnes & Noble and at Borders. (And at the last one, I believe, we were the overall #1 book regardless of genre, which is impressive.) We did, in fact, knock Dan Brown out of the #1 spot—by a wide margin.

How do I feel? Relieved. When I first began this project, my largest fear by far was that I would disappoint the fans. As I have stated before, I consider this your book and not mine. That doesn't mean I'm writing it to please the fans specifically—I'm writing these novels to be the best blasted books that they can be, narratively, structurally, and characterizationally. (Is that a word?) My goal is not to produce fan moments, per se, but to produce the best story possible, if that distinction makes any sense.

Either way, the last four Wheel of Time books had all hit #1, and I worried a lot that it would be on my watch where we failed to do so. It is a testament to the beloved nature of the series, mixed with the ardor of the readers, that we have weathered a change in authors without a dip. We actually outsold KNIFE OF DREAMS' first week, which is amazing.

The thing is, I don't feel I can take much—if any—credit for this. The reason this book turned out as well as it did (and thank you all for your kind emails, posts, and reviews) was because of the work Robert Jordan did before he passed away. He literally lay on his deathbead dictating scenes for you, too weak to write. He loved his readers dearly, and those of you lucky enough to meet him know that he was a truly kind and generous man.

Beyond that, the strength of this book is directly tied to the excellent storytelling that came before it. It doesn't take much experience with construction to realize that the foundation of a building is far more important—structurally—than the roof. Robert Jordan's skill with worldbuilding, characterization, and plotting was amazing. Working on these books has only increased my respect for his abilities.

None of you ran out to get the book because of me. My job was, and continues to be, to stay out of the way and let you enjoy the story that Robert Jordan wanted you to have. I am honored and humbled that so many of you have enjoyed the book. Thank you for what you have done in giving me a chance to prove myself to you.

Somewhere, Robert Jordan is smiling.

Updates, Signed Hardbacks

ccg@timewastersguide.com — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:15:43 GMT

Today I did twelve phone interviews with radio shows, which was quite an experience. I thought I'd only be doing four or so, but radioland had other ideas. The interview I enjoyed most was the one for the Louie b. Free show—I'd post a link, but their archives seem to be down. If they ever come back up I'll let you know.

Tomorrow I head to Washington D.C. for the next stop in my book tour for THE GATHERING STORM. If you're in the area, please drop by! For an idea of what my signings are like, check out the Storm Leader reports posted over at Dragonmount. There are also recordings of some of the live streams that have been set up at a few of the signings; you can check those out here. (Quality varies but at least you'll get the general idea.)

If I'm not coming anywhere near you or you've missed me at my previous stops, but you still want a signed copy of THE GATHERING STORM, WARBREAKER, or ALCATRAZ 3, I've put up a page explaining what booksellers you can get them from. Once the books have been out a year and it gets hard to find the hardbacks in stores, I'll be offering them here on the site alongside my older titles. Until then, please support your local bookseller.

You also may have noticed that I've put up a new item in the store—a holiday bundle of all three Mistborn hardbacks (signed) at a special price with the popular Steel Alphabet Medallion thrown in. And a note on shipping for the holiday season: to make sure a package arrives by December 24th, December 7th is the last day my assistant Becky can take orders with standard shipping. Orders upgraded to Priority shipping can be made as late as December 12th (the Mistborn bundle gets a free upgrade).

In the most recent Writing Excuses podcast, Dan, Howard, and I talk about how to write without plot twists. Give it a listen to see what I mean by that.

A Few More Words about Denver

ccg@timewastersguide.com — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:26:49 GMT

Brandon here. If you've been watching, you'll know that I've been having Peter update for me. This will probably continue in following weeks as the tour stretches onward.

I was able to find a few moments, however, and thought I'd say a few extra things about today's signing. As Peter pointed out, this is an important signing for us. It's the first 'ticketed' signing I've done--where a bookseller has actually been forced by my arrival to rent out an auditorium space in order to hold those who (presumably) are going to come.

Before I got into this business, I would sometimes feel annoyed at signings where I was required to buy the book from that particular store (or buy a ticket) in order to get things signed. I didn't realize the cost involved for a bookstore in extra staff and (in some cases) auditorium space. It gets frustrating for booksellers to do that, then have everyone bring books they bought on Amazon. (I had one signing recently where 150 people came to get books signed, but the store only sold 25. That was okay, as they hadn't rented an auditorium, but they probably didn't make any money, considering the extra staff and time spent preparing and promoting.)

Regardless, my big worry is that we'll do this signing, and only 50 people will show up, making the Tattered Cover lose a ton of money on the event space. So if you live near Denver and know some sf/f fans, please pass along the news. I will be doing a reading and a Q&A, and we'll have bumper-stickers as well as other cool things. (We'll probably be giving away a big poster print of the cover, for instance, which I will sign.)

I hope to see many of you there. The Tattered is a great store, and deserves your support. As a note, I think that I WILL be able to sign multiple copies of the book (and my other books) so long as you buy one book from Tattered. In fact, I've heard that they'll let others come in and get books signed even if they didn't buy one or buy a ticket, once everyone else is done. (I'm not sure how this works, never having done it before.) Also, I think that buying Warbreaker from them will get you in too. (I'll check with them before.)

There's one other thing I want to mention. If you're not religious, you will probably find this amusing, but I wanted to speak out to those who might be uncomfortable coming to this event as it is on a Sunday. It's actually my first signing on a Sunday, as I usually ask for this day of the week off so I can have some time to rest and go to church.

Tor has been very accommodating toward me in this area, and I have several of the Sundays on this tour off. They felt it important that we do this event on this day, however, and I agreed to their request in the spirit of meeting them half-way. It had already been scheduled when I reminded them of my Sunday request, and canceling it didn’t seem right.

I believe that how people spend their Sundays (or Saturdays, depending on your religion) is a personal decision, one that shouldn't involve finger-pointing. It's between you and your God, and I'm not going to judge what is good for your family and your own well being. If you don't want to come, I understand and will leave signed books behind that you can pick up next week. If you feel that listening to me read is a good activity for this day (I’ll try to make it so) then I’m happy to see you there.

Personally, my biggest regret is that by doing this, I require bookstore staff to work who might otherwise wish to be home with their families. But I do love the Tattered Cover, and think that it is important to support independent booksellers. Sometimes, one must do as the job requires, and right now my duty is to make this a wonderful, successful signing for all involved.

Either way, thanks for reading.

Tattered Cover Denver Signing Tickets

ccg@timewastersguide.com — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:34:11 GMT

Peter again. Brandon asked me to give a shout out about the Denver signing on Sunday, November 1st. (Today's early afternoon signing in Las Vegas is about to start, so if you're in the area, head on down!)

The Tattered Cover is one of the best independent bookstores in the nation, and they've taken good care of Brandon in the past—even before he was picked to finish the Wheel of Time. For big events the Tattered Cover rents an adjacent auditorium for the author to speak in, and tomorrow's appearance is no exception. For that reason—to cover the costs of renting the hall—this is a ticketed event; the first 275 people to buy a copy of THE GATHERING STORM from any of the Tattered Cover's three locations will get a ticket to the auditorium to see Brandon speak. (He'll most likely be doing a reading, a short presentation, and/or a Q&A session.) Then everyone in the auditorium gets their books signed.

If you've already bought your copy of the book elsewhere, or if the 275 hall tickets have run out, you can get a free ticket to the overflow section starting Sunday at 1:00 p.m. (the store employee I talked to estimated there would be 200 of these available). Everyone in the overflow will be able to hear Brandon talk but must wait to see him until the actual signing line starts filing past.

Brandon wants to make sure that at least the event hall gets filled up to make this worth the Tattered Cover's while. Strong independents like this sticking their necks out for authors are still a huge portion of the lifeblood of the book market. For event details please see the Tattered Cover's website.

Housekeeping, Sam Weller's shipping

ccg@timewastersguide.com — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:29:47 GMT

Peter, Assistant to Mr. Sanderson, here again with an update. I'll probably be doing this a bit in the next few weeks while Brandon is on tour, since he's spending every decent stretch of time not signing books either sleeping or working on TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT. I hope he'll be able to chime in from time to time, but if not, he's at least posting quick status updates on Twitter and Facebook (many of them about where to find signed books—he's not just signing books in the official tour stores, but in any bookstore he happens to pass along the way, including airport bookstores).

Quick update on the Sam Weller's signed and numbered copies that 493 of you ordered. They started shipping them out last Thursday and the books started being delivered on Tuesday. But unfortunately after five days of shipping books and getting over 80% of them out the door, the US Post Office suddenly balked at the way the books are packaged (even though they didn't say a word the previous five days or every other time Sam Weller's has done virtual signings for Brandon). So a bit fewer than 20% of them had to be repackaged (Sam Weller's is picking up the tab for the difference in shipping cost) and didn't make it out the door until yesterday or today. If you're still waiting for your book to arrive, Sam Weller's apologizes profusely and we all hope you get your book soon.

The most recent Writing Excuses podcast is about how to turn an idea into a story. And the most recent MISTBORN 3 annotations cover Elend's conversation with Yomen and Vin's identity acceptance, TenSoon's escape and Kandra Blessings, Marsh and the Inquisitors' metal triangles, and how Hemalurgy works.

Release party NOW (and live feed)

ccg@timewastersguide.com — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:52:40 GMT

Hi, Brandon's assistant Peter here with a quick update. Brandon is currently ensconced deep within the BYU Bookstore signing and numbering all their copies of THE GATHERING STORM in preparation for the release in a little over two hours. If you're anywhere near Utah Valley right now, consider heading over there to take part in the fun. The Storm Leaders headed up by Tamyrlin of WoT fansite Theoryland are working the crowd and handing out freebies. They've also set up several ways you can follow the release party from afar: they're tweeting at @MidnightRelease and they'll have a live webcam feed starting around 10:00. (If you're nowhere near the BYU Bookstore right now but still want to see Brandon and get your book signed, check out the full tour schedule.) The wait is finally over!

Update from MileHi Con

ccg@timewastersguide.com — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 05:21:34 GMT

I met with some wonderful people from a small independent bookstore here in Denver (where I'm attending MileHi Con) who have copies of THE GATHERING STORM in stock, ready to be shipped out on Tuesday. I thought it might be good to give them a little bit of a shout-out here on the blog, as I'll be doing a signing at the con tomorrow very near to their booth. Now, they're not going to be selling The Gathering Storm early (obviously.) But they WILL be able to carry a book over to me and get it personalized for you, then ship it to you next week. In fact, if you buy a book, they might be willing to walk over during the signing itself and hand the phone over to me, so you can tell me what you want me to write in the book yourself.

This is very much like the Sam Weller's thing we've already done, I realize, and many of you already have your book ordered. But if you missed that opportunity, or perhaps live in the Denver area and want a store where you can pick up the book in person rather than have it shipped, this is a great chance to support an independent bookseller.

If you want to contact them, use the following info. The first phone number is the bookseller's cell phone, and the second is the bookstore itself.

Nina's cell phone 7203208722

Broadway Book Mall 303-744-BOOK

info@BroadwayBookMall.com

I'll be doing the signing from 3-4 Mountain Time, but if you call too late, they can get the book personalized for you when I'm back in Denver next week. (You will have to wait a little while to get the book that way.) They're selling the book at cover price, with US shipping being $4.

Sam Weller's signing and my MileHiCon schedule

ccg@timewastersguide.com — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:40:12 GMT

Yesterday evening I went up to Sam Weller's and signed and numbered 500 copies of THE GATHERING STORM for their virtual release day signing. (My hand hurts. Now I'm really looking forward to signing 1,000 books within 24 hours next week.) Anyway, a grand total of seven of those books were not already spoken for through preorders. If you call Sam Weller's this instant you might be able to snag one of the remaining copies (assuming they haven't already been claimed since yesterday). Now, I will be signing there again on November 2nd as a regular stop on the book tour, so if you can't make any of the tour dates and want a signed book, calling Sam Weller's is still a good option—anything signed there after yesterday just won't have a number and won't get shipped out until a week after the book is released. Which is just seven days away, folks.

This weekend I'm going to be the Toastmaster at MileHiCon in Denver. Pre-registration is already closed, but you can register at the door. My convention schedule is below.

(Also, don't forget that I'll be appearing at the Koelbel Library on Thursday, before the convention starts. And I'll be back in Denver on November 1st during the tour.)

Friday October 23

4:00 p.m.–4:50 p.m.
Panel: Bringing Characters to Life
(with C. Felice, N. Kress, R. Owens, and J. Skillingstead)

5:00 p.m.–5:50 p.m.
An Hour with Brandon Sanderson
(includes a reading)

7:00 p.m.–7:45 p.m.
Opening Ceremonies

8:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m.
Signing in Autograph Alley

Saturday October 24

10:00 a.m.–10:50 a.m.
Gaming with Brandon Sanderson
(Playing Magic: The Gathering. Bring your cards. Small group, signup required.)

3:00 p.m.–3:50 p.m.
Panel: The Craft of Writing
(with B. Hambly, N. Kress, and J. Van Pelt)

7:30 p.m.–9:50 p.m.
Masquerade/Literary Auction

Sunday October 25

11:00 a.m.–12:50 p.m.
Guest of Honor Speeches/Awards
(with M. Gunn, B. Hambly, N. Kress, and J. Picacio)

2:00 p.m.–2:50 p.m.
Panel: Understanding Point of View
(with H. Bell, G. Gillette, A. Lickiss, and J. Stith)

3:00 p.m.–3:50 p.m.
Signing

5:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m.
Closing Ceremonies

Contest, Prints Sold Out, Updates

ccg@timewastersguide.com — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:38:06 GMT

Over at Pat's Fantasy Hotlist, Pat is running a contest where one person will win one autographed copy of THE GATHERING STORM. The contest has no geographical restrictions, so check it out. (And if Pat isn't already on your blogroll, stick around and see what else he has to say about what's new in the genre.)

The Mistborn Table of Allomantic Metals sold out its limited edition print run within about the first 30 hours. I did not expect that to happen, but I'm pleased at its reception! I'll let you know when we get the cheap poster versions ready for ordering, and we'll certainly be doing more things like this in the future. (Though I do hope the next one will take much less than a year from initial design to availability.)

In the most recent MISTBORN 3 annotations I discuss the Urteau cache (including a spoiler) and more about the first ball scene in Fadrex.

In this week's Writing Excuses podcast Dan, Howard, and I talk again with Larry Correia, "that guy who did everything wrong and still got published." This time we discuss self-publishing and the pitfalls inherent in it. Give it a listen!

Time running out! Also, World English release of Mistborn

ccg@timewastersguide.com — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 21:39:14 GMT

It appears that I completely underestimated you wonderful (read: crazy) people. I had thought, foolishly, that 100 Allomantic Table prints would last a few months at least. Well, after 24 hours, we've sold 85 of the 100 prints.

So what am I saying? If you want one, you probably only have a few hours left. So might I suggest some expediency?

And, in the same vein, if you want a signed, numbered copy of THE GATHERING STORM, your time is running out there as well. Sam Weller's has a few of those left of their 500 limit, but I'll be going in to sign and personalize them on Monday. So this is just a gentle reminder. I think they're going to be able to ship them in a way that gets you the book on the release day. It would be very nice for them to have sold through their 500 when I go in to sign on Monday, so if you were thinking of getting one of those copies, your time is quickly running out.

Finally, the UK. It has been a long and surprisingly difficult path getting my books released in the World English market. As it stands, I've sold rights to my novels in some twenty markets so far, but for the longest time the only way to get the Mistborn books in the UK, Ireland, Australia, or New Zealand has been to either import them or (in the UK) go through the UK science fiction book club.

I've wondered why this is. Part of me thinks that these areas, already having a stable of strong fantasy and science fiction writers locally, didn't need to bring over some uppity Yank's books. Still, the large numbers of import sales indicated that there was a strong desire to read the books, and I think the release of THE GATHERING STORM in a few weeks will drive more eyes toward MISTBORN. My agent thinks that the World English markets were hesitant because they originally passed on the books, and now worry that enough people have imported them to dull the market for them.

Either way, we finally—at long last—have found a World English market publisher who is willing to take a chance on the books. Gollancz (a fine publisher) is releasing the books in these markets one at a time, a few months apart. (Book two is in December, I believe, and book three to follow around February.)

I've had a lot of complaints from people in these countries that they can't find my books. Well, with how difficult it was to get a publisher to take a chance on us, I'd certainly like to make a good showing now that the books are out. So, if you live in the UK, Ireland, Australia, or New Zealand, now would be the time to go and give the books a look. (Or maybe nudge your friends into doing so.)

Table of Allomantic Metals limited edition available immediately

ccg@timewastersguide.com — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:31:52 GMT

I know it's been about a year now since I first mentioned its impending release on the blog, but at long last the Mistborn Table of Allomantic Metals is now available in the store. To begin with they're available only in a $50 24"x18" numbered limited edition of 100, signed by me and by the artist, Isaac Stewart. This is an archival art print intended for framing and display. There will be cheap (and bit smaller) poster and desktop wallpaper versions available at a later date.

I mentioned earlier that number one wouldn't be available, but I've changed my mind: numbers one through ten (and all but a couple numbers between 11 and 100) are available, and you can get them on a first-come first-served basis. So for example, if you're the third person to submit an order, you get print #3/100.

We're guessing that these will last through the holidays, but they could go very quickly. If you want one, it's a good idea to order now.

I've been thinking of offering more collector's items like this in the future. What do you think? Do you like that I'm offering this Allomantic Table print? Should I get Isaac to make Feruchemy and Hemalurgy tables? What other items are you itching for? I'm considering having a swordsmith make Nightblood replicas, but they would run about $250 and that doesn't even include a sheath. Do I have fans who would go for something like that? (And how much would a sheath be worth to you?) You can let me know on LiveJournal, Facebook, or my forum.

MileHiCon, Signing Deadline, Allomantic Table, Updates

ccg@timewastersguide.com — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 23:53:57 GMT

I haven't really mentioned it on the blog here, but I am going to be the toastmaster at MileHiCon in Denver next weekend, October 23rd through 25th. I'll post a specific schedule next week of where you'll find me at the con. I'll also be doing a signing on the 22nd at the Koelbel Library in Centennial that's open to all (convention registration not required). This is all before the release of THE GATHERING STORM, though, so Denver residents should also keep in mind that I'll be back in town on November 1st during the book tour. For details please see my Events page.

I'm going to be signing and personalizing Sam Weller's Bookstore's copies of THE GATHERING STORM on October 19th starting at 5:00 p.m. Mountain Time, so if you want to order a copy from them, that is the last moment you can request a personalization. They'll still accept orders after that for the remainder of the signed stock, but you'll be limited to a signature and a number unless you call them before 5:00 on the 19th. For details please see Item #4 on the Release Events page.

The limited-edition Mistborn Table of Allomantic Metals art prints have been delivered here to Dragonsteel Entertainment headquarters, and artist Isaac Stewart and I will be signing them tonight. We'll start taking orders probably tomorrow; expect a big announcement here on the blog.

In this week's Writing Excuses podcast, Dan, Howard, and I talk with Larry Correia, author of Monster Hunter International, about plot-driven vs. character-driven fiction. Go check it out!

The most recent MISTBORN 3 annotations involve the trilogy's first ball scene in quite a while. Chapter 30 was a lot of fun for me to write; I hope it gave many readers fond memories of MISTBORN 1. Part 1, Part 2.

Alcatraz 3, Maze Runner, Names

ccg@timewastersguide.com — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 22:42:49 GMT

Here are a few items I thought I'd let you guys know about. First off, remember that there's a signing this Saturday at 2:00. It's the release party for ALCATRAZ VERSUS THE KNIGHTS OF CRYSTALLIA. The book is pretty much sold out across Utah, so if you want one, this is the best place to get it. I'll be numbering the copies there (though I won't be starting at #1, as a few people have already gotten to me for signatures—I think we're on #4.). The bookstore will have plenty of copies, which are pretty much (as far as I've seen) the last available copies in the state. So, come get some books! As always, I'll be signing all my other books too.

I think this is my last Utah signing before the tour for THE GATHERING STORM. So it's your last chance to chat with me and get books signed in a more relaxed atmosphere.

Secondly, James Dashner—a good friend of mine and an excellent writer—just released what is hands-down the finest book of his career so far. It's called THE MAZE RUNNER, and I absolutely loved it. I've read a number of James's books, but this one is on a different level entirely.

It's in the YA postapocalyptic genre—so, like THE HUNGER GAMES. It's about a group of boys who wake up without memories trapped inside an enormous maze filled with deadly traps. It's getting a big push from the publisher, so if you follow YA, you'll probably hear a lot about it in the near future. Really, it's an excellent novel. If you're a fan of fast-paced thriller-style writing, I think you'll enjoy it.

Finally, progress on TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT is continuing at a fair pace. As always, there are sections that turn out beautifully and sections that don't. (The latter get thrown away and rewritten, the former get kept and rewritten. That's just how this goes.) I'm feeling very good about my deadlines on this one. It's going to be tight, but I think you'll get it next year as planned.

One of the things I felt could be improved on from THE GATHERING STORM is my use of names. Robert Jordan had a distinctive way of using names, and I think that some of my names for the book didn't quite hit the right mark. We're talking about very minor things—people who are named and don't appear, or maybe who speak one line or another. Anyone more major than that generally had a name already (or if they didn't, I pulled a name from one of Mr. Jordan's unused names files).

The thing is, a good epic fantasy like this uses dozens and dozens of new names in a book. I wanted to take a stab at approaching the naming in the way Mr. Jordan did. During my very first ride with Harriet, coming back from the airport two years ago to her home in Charleston, I remember her talking about some of Mr. Jordan's names. One came from a street we passed, another from a person he knew, and another from a word he saw on a sign. His goal was to hint at our world far in the future—or perhaps far in the past—by giving occasional hints to our world through legend, story, song, and name. Hence we get names like Thom or Artur, which are direct adaptations of names from our world.

Therefore, for TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT I've been using a list of names from our world as inspiration. I chose the list of donors for the charity event that Tar Valon.net did last spring, and I've been posting the names on Twitter and Facebook as I choose them. So if you're curious about this, you can watch and see who gets chosen. I'm certain someone out there is keeping a list of them all as well. (I've got one here, and may post it eventually.)

I don't want to make it seem like I'm playing favorites or soliciting praise in order to get people into the Wheel of Time, and so for now I'm using this list ONLY. If we decide to do another charity event, I'll let you know. If you don't want to find out about the names, I won't post them here on the blog, but those who do wish to know can follow along. Remember, these are very small characters, often just mentioned by name but not seen. I'm adapting all the names, so the name I post is not what will appear in the book—it's just the inspiration for what will appear.

Still, I think it will make some people very happy and will allow me to try a method that Robert Jordan used in making these books. Perhaps it wasn't so conscious for him as it is for me, but one of my duties in writing these novels is to try—to the best of my abilites—to maintain the proper feel of the Wheel of Time. I think this will help. We'll see; I've got Harriet and Team Jordan backing me up, and so if any of the names stand out to them, they'll vanish and get replaced with something more appropriate.

(And, as I've said before, remember that the Wheel of Time turns, and people are constantly spun in and out of the Pattern. Those who are alive today could very well live again during the Third Age, and so it's not so odd at all for people who loved these books during our time to get pulled into Rand's ta'veren web and spun out again during the events of the Last Battle. . . .)

Also, note that the Mistborn Posters are almost ready. We'll be doing a big announcement about them next week.

Release Parties, Giveaways, Annotations, and John Brown

ccg@timewastersguide.com — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:29:00 GMT

On Friday I talked about this coming Saturday's release party for ALCATRAZ VERSUS THE KNIGHTS OF CRYSTALLIA. Be sure to read the entry if you missed it. Now, some of you are more interested in the release of THE GATHERING STORM that's coming up at the end of this month (though if you haven't read any ALCATRAZ, you're missing out). I recently found out about an alternative to the event I'll be doing at the BYU bookstore. If all you want is to get the book right away, standing in line for hours isn't your idea of fun, and you don't care about meeting me or getting my signature in the book (I understand, who cares about that Brandon Sanderson guy? You just want to know what happens to [insert character name here] ASAP!), the Provo Waldenbooks is also going to be open at midnight with plenty of copies on hand. They've put details up on Facebook. I'm going to be on the other side of town, of course, but the Provo Waldenbooks has hosted a couple of my release parties in the past, and it's a great place to buy books. (I won't make it to that store on this tour but am sure to stop by there sometime after I get back.) I imagine it will be a more relaxed way to get your hands on the book than the official release party—at which I still hope to see as many of you as possible. (By the way, the Dragonmount folks have put up Facebook calendar items for every stop of my tour, including the official release party. You can go add yourself to the events you're attending, if you like to do that sort of thing.) I haven't heard about any other special events or midnight openings at non-tour sites coinciding with the book's release, but if I do find out about any others I'll let you know.

I mentioned this on Twitter and Facebook earlier, but Tor.com is sponsoring a giveaway of EYE OF THE WORLD and MISTBORN 1 over at SF Signal. If you already have both books (and I assume a large percentage of you do), they at least make great gifts. Check it out. The deadline is Monday the 12th at midnight.

In the most recent annotations for MISTBORN 3, I discuss guns in fantasy and other perceived anachronisms. I also talk about Breeze and Sazed's relationship in the period since the end of MISTBORN 2. On many occasions I have details worked out that just don't end up in the book. Some of them go into the deleted scenes section of the Library, but many others end up in the annotations. If you're the type of fan who is always wondering what happens between the lines of my books, the annotations are for you.

John Brown joins the Writing Excuses team once again for this week's podcast, which deals with how to get over writing depression and how to evoke emotions in your readers. John's first book, SERVANT OF A DARK GOD, comes out from Tor next week. I enjoyed the book and gave it a quote, which seems to have been chopped down to a single word. Anyway, you can read the first seven chapters on his website.