Friday, September 29, 2006

Annotation + Cool Sister

New Annotation, as promised.

I'd also like to point out how cool my sister is.  My father's birthday was yesterday, and he lives in New York.  Apparently, one of my baby sisters (she's 20 now, but as I repeatedly say, she's fourteen in my head) took the initiative to fly out on her own and visit him.  Nobody knew she was going--not me, not my mother, not my sister, nobody.  Not even dad.

So, Jane just showed up at his office having gotten a plane ticket, found a taxi, and made her way to the office on her own, all to surprise my father for his birthday.  May not sound like much, but keeping a secret like that and pulling it off is tough in my family.  My mother and sister were flabbergasted.

Note: My other sister is way cool too!  I'll post about her another time.

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Robot Reversal + Link Dump

 

We'll do an Idea of the Day in a moment.  First, a couple of very cool links for you to check out:

Mistborn Role Playing! 

A reader and fan of the book has set up a place to begin a Mistborn RPG on-line.  This is utterly cool!  If you have any interests in this direction, I suggest you stop by! 

Plus....SCALZI!!!!

Japanese review of ELANTRIS.  In Japanese.  Apparently.  All I see are question marks.  (Which is often a response to my work....)

Finally, a link to Alma Alexander--fantasy author--tackling the question "Where do you get your ideas?"  Fun post, good read.

Idea of the Day: Write a story about a human who lives in a world dominated by robots, and who wants to become a robot.

I'm a little tired of the 'real boy' syndrome.  It was fun in Pinocchio, interesting in Asimov, old by the time Star Trek tried it, and is now downright dead and buried.  Besides, it's completely illogical, and never quite seemed to fit with the idea of a robot that I have.

But, has anyone ever done the opposite?  A human who looks up to robots (yes, I know about the St:tNG episode about the boy who wants to be Data.  I mean for real.)  A human in a society where he wants to become more robotic, eventually joining with the ruling class. 

 

What kinds of things would the human want to experience?  Data wanted emotions.  Would this person be interested in feeling what it's like to interface? 

Just a thought.  Hope you can use it.  Annotation tomorrow.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

EMERGENCY! BRANDON'S EMAIL OUT!

 

ALERT!

If you sent Brandon an Email between 6:00 on Tuesday the 26th of September and 7:00 on Wednesday, the 27th, he DID NOT GET IT.  There was a problem with the spam filters on the server, and everything sent to me was automatically deleted.  That includes email through the form on my website, any replies to emails I may have sent you, and any just random "How are you doing?" emails that I might have gotten. 

I've sent out emails to those I think might have emailed me.  However, the people I'm most worried about are readers who sent mail through my website.  There's no way for me--obviously--to contact them and let them know that I didn't get their email.  So, if you think I might not have gotten your email, please go ahead and resend it.

Thanks!

Warbreaker + Elantris Reading Group

 

First off, it's Wednesday, and that means a new chapter of Warbreaker

For more info on Warbreaker--why I'm releasing it for free, that kind of thing--look on my Forums.  You can also find all of the older chapters there. 

Next, to shake things up, some more wedding pictures:

These two were actually unused engagement photos.  Big thanks to Jeff, my brother in law, for the digital manipulation on these, making us look far less goofy than we have any right being.

Finally, I've had several email requests for discussion questions about Elantris, in case people want to do the book in their book clubs or reading groups.  (And, can I say that I find this very flattering?  Thank you so much to everyone who recommends the book this way to their friends.)

So, just in case anyone is curious, I've posted them here with spoilers excised.  (I'll also add these to the Elantris Resources page, spoilers included.)

1)    Most people who read the book find themselves gravitating toward one of the three characters.  Which was your favorite, and why?  Did you find yourself disliking the time I gave to other characters, and if so, which one was your least favorite?

2)    The format of the book is a little bit unique.  I use a ‘chapter triad’ system, where I rotate through the three viewpoints covering roughly the same period of time thrice over.  How do you think this enhanced/detracted from the book?  Did you even notice?

3)    Some of the cultures in ELANTRIS were based, obviously, on ones from our world.  (JinDo, Duladel.)  Others were developed specifically for the book.  (The Elantris society, most of Fjordell society.)  Which culture felt the most real to you, and why?

4)    The ending of the book was devised to stand out from the rest of the work.  The chapter triad system broke down, the tone changed from ‘political intrigue’ to ‘outright warfare’ and the viewpoints began to speed up, moving in quick rotation.  Did you like the rushed feeling of the ending, or did you find it too overwhelming?  Why?  Which of the twists were your favorite?  Which ones did you see coming, and which ones surprised you?

5)    The magic in ELANTRIS was designed to be one of its more unique points...SPOILER REMOVED!  What were your thoughts on it?  Did you like the scientific approach to magic, or would you have preferred something more mystical?  What parts of the magic system and its plotting did you like, and which did you find unimportant?

6)    SPOILER!!

7)    Where do YOU think the Seons came from, and how do they relate to the magic of AonDor?

8)    Elantris was written as a stand-alone book.  That doesn’t mean, however, that I’m not planning to eventually do more in this world. What would you like to see in a sequel?

9)    SPOILER!!

10)    Would you read any more of Brandon Sanderson’s books?  (Hint: Mistborn is already out, and it’s really good!)

Link to Unedited Questions

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Say it Out Loud. It Works Better.

It's Tuesday, and you know what that means.... 

It's Bad Pun Day!

Hint provided by Wikipedia.(Warning!  Spoiler, even if you just mouse over!)

And, if you're looking for someone who is ACTUALLY funny--not to mention great at art, story, and character--you really need to start reading Sam and Fuzzy.  I'd recommend starting with this storyline right here.

Warbreaker Tomorrow.

(Please don't hurt me.  Evil Bert made me do it.)

Monday, September 25, 2006

New Annotation + Wedding Pictures

New Mistborn Annotation!

And, as promised, here is another round of wedding pictures for you all.  I figured that we'd focus on some of the best sword shots this time.  So, first off, my brother and I:

Me, looking dapper on the left.  Spriggan, looking like he's going to shoot fire from his mouth, on the right. 

As I've mentioned, one way I knew that I was marrying the right girl was how she responded to getting a sword for the wedding.  I'd told her I was going to buy swords for the groomsmen, and for myself.  She always said in a very small voice "but I want a sword, too!"  And, of course, my response to this was always "You have the ring!  That cost us enough."

I'm not sure if she saw through my ploy or not.  Of course I couldn't resist getting her a sword too.  I'm a push-over that way, you know.  Swords for everyone! 

And, speaking of everyone....

Here's a shot of all the groomsmen (plus one groomswoman, Annie) and their swords.   Yes, I did buy twelve swords to commemorate my wedding.  They were engraved with the names of (or from) my novels.  Yes, I'm quite loony.  I actually feel bad that I didn't buy more--there are a couple of guys who probably should have gotten swords but didn't, and I feel bad.  (My favorite, by the way, from this shot is CtlZed, the guy in the bottom right.  What a happy face he has!  That's the one who did the maps for Mistborn which I posted a few days back. And, he also happens to be the person who introduced me to Pemberly, so he gets extra points!)

Friday, September 22, 2006

Illusion+ Annotation

 

All right!  There's a new Mistborn annotation up.  It's a longer one, with some good info, so I hope you enjoy it.

In other news, I've been working on a forum banner for myself to use.  I've felt so left out, since I don't have a cool, shiny forum banner.  Well, I need not be ashamed any longer!  At least not for that!  Okay, maybe I still need to be ashamed about it, but at least I have one!

I think it looks kind of nice, though I think it's not quite balanced.  I considered throwing up an endorsement on it--something from Orson Scott Card or Robin Hobb talking about my work--but decided that would just be TOO blatant.

Also, yesterday, I had an idea for a story, and I thought I'd throw it up as an Idea of the Day.

Idea of the DayWrite about a species who communicates through illusion.  They craft illusions, either psychically or magically, that explain their thoughts and emotions.

Difficulty: You'd have to have a good reason why they don't just throw up illusions of text.  Why didn't they develop a written language?  How detailed are their illusions?  Is the viewpoint character one of these creatures, or a person visiting from the outside world?  

The thing that made me think of this was the concept of language and communication.  I like stories about aliens who communicate in odd ways--such as communicating through scent, or the like.  These make for very interesting settings.   I thought, "what haven't I seen before?" and this kind of popped into my head.  Maybe it's because I saw The Illusionist--the movie--on Wednesday.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

New Front Page Blurb

Folks: The front page of Brandonsanderson.com has a new blurb/interface on the front page. I'd appreciate comments on how this looks! Either on my forums or on my Livejournal page will work perfectly! I've copied the html over below, but it may not flow quite right in the blog format.

Let me know what you think!

IMPORTANT NEWS:

MISTBORN is OUT!
Please pick your destination from the icons below. Or, scroll down for more detailed options. Thanks!

Welcome to Brandon Sanderson’s website!
My name is Brandon, and I write epic fantasy novels. Right now, I have two books out. ELANTRIS (a stand-alone) and MISTBORN (first in a trilogy.) Links go to sample chapters!

Also, I am working on a new book, which I'm posting on-line as I complete chapters. It's called WARBREAKER.

Please feel free to poke around the website. There's a lot of information here! I do annotations for all of my books (Elantris is complete, Mistborn is in progress) and I tend to post those twice a week. (Mondays and Fridays.) New Warbreaker chapters are posted on Wednesdays. And, my blog is always active, with plenty of bad puns, "Idea of the Day" story prompts, and other funky material. If you prefer to get your blogs on Livejournal, I have a mirror of mine running there as well.

Be sure to check out the Elantris Resources Page for all kinds of goodies, including deleted scenes from the book. Also, I have a short bio and picture up, though my flickr account has a few more.

Still not sure what to read? Check out some reviews of Elantris, or some reviews I've written. And, always feel free to email me with comments, suggestions, or ideas!

Best,

Brandon Sanderson
September, 2006

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Warbreaker + Maps

 

First off, Wednesday Warbreaker!  This is chapter 25, for those keeping count, and marks the end of Part Two (at least philosophically.  I don't know if these divisions will remain in the book when it gets published.

So, to be helpful, I've collected all of Part Two together in a single download.  As always, find older chapters--including Part One collected--either on my website or in the forums for Warbreaker.

In other news, I had a comment on my blog last week (thanks, Sudyn!) wishing to see the kinds of maps I draw up for my books, before an actual artist sees them.  So, in the spirit of disclosure--and in the spirit of embarrassing myself--here's the original Mistborn map! 

A little rough, but not half as bad as the original Elantris map!  (I'll post that too, if I can ever find it...)

Anyway, in case you are curious, here's what the brilliant Isaac Stewart did with this:

 

You can see the transformation, perhaps.  I really like how this turned out.  It has a different feel from typical fantasy maps, and in a good way.  Thanks again, Isaac!

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

The Shire Community College, Class of 3019

New Amphigory Eleven!

Instructions:  Read, think, groan. 

Warbreaker Tomorrow.

Monday, September 18, 2006

Annotation + FAQ

 

As promised, here's the next Mistborn Annotation.  Also, I'll be posting a new episode of Amphigory Eleven (My Bad Pun Serial) tomorrow.  It might be later in the day, however.  My agent, Joshua Bilmes, is in town, and I've been driving him about to various locations.  Joshua's kind of amusing.  He likes to see the sights when he is in a city--but for him, "the sights" are all bookstores. 

So, we've been visiting every bookstore we can find in the area.  Quite Amusing. 

Now, onto the next part of the post.  I've had some confusion about the various things I like to post on the bs blog.  So, I've decided to answer that question here, so I at least have a place to refer people when they get confused. 

Yes, the bs blog is rather eclectic.  It has some regular "features" which aren't really that regular, and some other random things that I like to do.  I do some of the normal blogging things--talk about my life, and about the creative process.  But, I also like to mention updates to various projects I'm working on or other bonus material on my website.  With various consistency, you will find the following things on the blog:

Annotations:  These related to specific books I've written.  If you haven't figured it out yet, I am a professional fantasy novelist.  Over the last few years, I've grown very intrigued by the bonus material one can find on DVD releases of movies.  I wanted to do something like that for my books, available on my website.

So, the book annotations are kind of like a director's commentary one might find on a DVD.  You can read a chapter or section of the book, then read my companion discussion of that particular section.  For more information, click here.  Also, note that I'll probably do a few FAQ questions specifically about the Annotations.  (However, just so you know, I will always place a LINK to the annotation on my blog, but never the annotation itself, so you don't have to worry about spoilers.)

Ideas of the Day:  These are story prompts.  Meaning, they're intended for people who are looking for an idea, or a sentence, or something clever to get them writing.  They're not necessarily ideas I'm planning to use, though some of them are.  They're simply things that occurred to me that I thought MIGHT make good stories.

They're not intended to be fully worked out yet--though I do appreciate hearing comments about what you thinks works and doesn't in a particular Idea.  I haven't researched whether or not I've seen the idea done--though I do like to hear from people who have seen similar ideas executed before. 

In short, if you get stuck in your writing and are looking for something to jump-start you, you can come here and look through the Idea of the Day posts and see if anything appeals to you.  They are generally sf/f themed, and I usually post about one a week. 

Bad Puns:  Probably self explanatory.  I like bad puns.  They amuse me.  I'm sorry.  (See Amphigory Eleven below.)

Warbreaker:  My next fantasy novel, after the Mistborn series.  I'm posting chapters of it on-line in their rough-draft form.  If I post one of these, and you haven't read them all before, you can find previous chapters collected in this thread.

They aren't polished yet, I know.  I do appreciate comments about them on my forum or on my Livejournal account.  Enjoy!  I'll do a separate Warbreaker section in the FAQ.

Amphigory Eleven:  Every Tuesday, I post a pun designed in a visual format.  Usually, the picture is such that you have to think about it a little bit to figure out what the pun really is.  Once you make the connection, I hope that you want to throw something at me.  This feature is probably going to be cross-posted eventually into a webcomic format, with Tuesday's comic being posted always at the top, and other blog posts being included as news posts at the bottom. 

Faq:  Occasionally, as they occur to me, I will answer Frequently Asked Questions on my blog. Those posts, then, will be collected into a Larger FAQ on this page of my website.

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Back! + Annotation

First off, here's the new Mistborn Annotation!  Sorry to miss the post on Friday.

As you may have guessed, I'm back from Denver. MPBA was a blast, as always.  I got to meet a lot of independent booksellers, and really enjoyed myself.  Nothing is better than being able to hand out a lot of books that someone else (in this case, Tor) paid for.  Hopefully, a lot of people will read them, then want to sell them to their customers. 

One thing about Denver, though.  It takes like FOREVER to get from the airport to the city.  Honestly, that airport is like a little city unto itself.  Someone told me that, by square mileage, it's bigger than Manhattan. 

Anyway, I also had a lot of fun at the Denver booksigning.  Thank you everyone who came, and particular thanks to Greg and Sue, who were my transportation for the afternoon.

New Annotation Monday as well. 

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Defeated Again! + FAQ

 

So, you may be aware that I'm going to Denver this weekend to take part in the Mountains and Plains Book Association conference.  Essentially, I'll sit and be pleasant while independent booksellers wander by and pick up copies (for free) of my books, which I will sign for them and beg them to read. 

I did it last year, and it's a great experience.  Usually, at signings, I have to convince people to buy the book.  Here, I can just hand it to them!  Not exactly the best business model for a regular signing, but it is great here, because these people are booksellers.  Hopefully, they'll like the novel and want to persuade readers to buy it.

So, I got my itinerary via email the other day.  I opened it up, completely unsuspecting, and look what I found:

SCALZIIIII!!!!

He managed to get one step ahead of me AGAIN!  He doesn't even live in the MPBA area!  Not only is he arriving a day before me, but he's listed in all of the items right before me!  

This isn't even alphabetical order!  Coincidence,you say?  Poppycock!  Obviously, this is just another of his dastardly schemes.  I'll have to watch myself carefully and keep Scalzibane at hand.

In other news, I want to start up a new feature on the Blog.  The Brandon Sanderson FAQ.  Essentially, I'll be posting questions that I get very often, then giving answers.  These, then, I'll archive on a separate page on my website (which will be linked each time I answer a question.)  Sound good?  Well, since I can't hear your reply as you speak it to the computer screen, I'll just do it anyway.  But not today.  This post is already too big. 

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Wednesday Warbreaker + Idea

First off, let's get to the important thing.  It's Wednesday, and I have a new chapter of Warbreaker for you. 

And, because I'm feeling like it, let's do a story prompt.

Idea of the Day: Write about a world--or a species of humans--where the female is the larger of the species.  Optional Difficulty: No "Amazon Woman" style stories.

This idea comes courtesy of Pemberly, who mentioned it as a thought in passing.  It struck me as interesting.  There are lots of examples of species in our world where the female of the species is the larger one.  I believe that Black Widows are a good example of this. 

How would this affect a society?  How would human being society be changed if the women were larger--perhaps the workers.  And, by no Amazon Women, I mean resist the urge to simply turn the women into men with breasts. 

Gulp.  Nothing, Wonder Woman, ma'am. 

Please don't eat me.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

There's No Place like it.

 

 

By popular demand, I hereby declare Tuesdays to be Bad Visual Pun day! 

If you really want to laugh, I'd suggest this comic.  As opposed to me, this guy actually has a sense of humor. 

Warbreaker tomorrow!

Monday, September 11, 2006

Dutch Elantris, Denver This Week, Annotation, etc

 

First off, New Annotation for Mistborn!

Second off, check out the coolness here at this link to a Dutch website.  The Dutch version of Elantris is out!  This is very exciting.  I love seeing the new interpretations of my work.  So, now there are three foreign versions out (of the thirteen languages we sold.)  Dutch, Spanish, and Japanese. 

 

Utterly cool.  And, in other utter coolness, I'll be attending the Mountains and Plains Book Fair this weekend, Friday to Saturday.  I'll be doing a signing in Denver while I'm there.  Look for me at the Waldenbooks in the Cherry Creek Shopping Center at 12:00 on Saturday, the 16th.

The address is 3000 E 1st Ave #221

Phone number for directions is: (303)377-4432

If you live in Denver, please consider stopping by to say hello!

 

----

(p.s. Don't hate me because I'm beautiful.  It would be a shame if that got in the way of your hating me because I make fun of you.  --the editor.)

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Worlcon Panel Crew

 

One of the more amusing things that happened at Worldcon was to discover that on Thursday, we had virtually the same group of people on two separate panels.  I think there were some 500 people on the programming at this con, and somehow myself, Fiona Avery, and Alma Alexander all ended up on two panels together in the same day.  I think I even ended up on a third panel with Fiona, but I can't quite recall.  That's common for me.

Anyway, both ladies were quite eloquent and charming, not to mention the fact that they had a lot of very good writing advice on the panels.  Both also, coincidentally, have blogs where they talk about their Worldcon experiences.  Find Alma's blog here, with a nice Worldcon post here. 

Find Fiona's blog right here.  Fiona actually sent me a nice email after the con, and reading through it was the thing that reminded me that I wanted to post links to these blogs.  I went to check her blog, friend her, and only then did I notice something.  There, the first post on the page, were HIS footprints.  Again, he's one step ahead!  That nefarious nemesis himself....

SCALZIIII!!!!

Friday, September 08, 2006

Cory Doctorow is a Gentleman and a Scholar (+ Annotation)

First off, new Mistborn Annotation.  This is a shorter annotation, to make up for Monday's super sized one!

Now, on to other business.  Some of you may know about the curious phenomenon known as the Hugo Awards.  They're like the Academy awards for sf books, only with fewer celebrities (fewer, not none, since we did have a member of the Firefly cast step up and accept an award this time.)

Well, I wasn't up for a Hugo this year, but I was up for the Campbell.  (Scalzi!!!)  I was very pleased to discover that Campbell nominees, however, do get a Hugo pin.  What's a Hugo pin?  Well, it's a nifty little pin you can wear on your lapel to show off the fact that you've been nominated for a Hugo.  Which I haven't.  But it's still cool.  It looks like a Hugo (see the dramatization below) but cuter.

 

Anyway, so the person who told me--via email--that I got a pin told me I could pick it up at the Hugo awards reception desk.  I either misunderstood him, or he wrote it wrong, because the actual pin came in the packet I picked up in the green room the first day of the Con.  It was tucked into the bottom envelope.  I never even noticed it.

So, I wandered over to the Hugo ceremony in my suit and tie, with no Hugo pin.  I asked for it, and they gave me blank stares, and told me it was in my packet.  Well, characteristic to my style, I was already running late, so I didn't have time to go back.

Enter Cory Doctorow: Superhero, blogger, advocate for the Creative Commons, and a truly nice guy.

 

I saw Cory at the party, and had always wanted to meet him.  I introduced myself, and asked him where he'd found his Hugo pin (he was up for an actual Hugo, having already done that Campbell thing years ago.)  He said it was in his packet, noticed that I didn't have mine, and immediately took off one of his two pins and handed it to me to wear during the party and ceremony.

All joking aside, it was one of the classiest things I've ever seen a person do.  I gave him his pin back at the after-party (by then, I'd fetched mine) then had a very nice, long chat with him about the creative commons.  Everyone, go read his books.  He offers them up for free download on his website, so you've got nothing to lose by taking a chance on them.  I've read his work, and it's excellent.  (Plus, it's not like anything else you're likely to find on the market.)

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Spontaneous Frogs

We haven't done a story prompt in a while, so here we go!

 

Idea of the day: Spontaneous Generation (Link Here) is real.  Frogs come from mud, mice are born out of old rags sitting in piles, maggots are created by rotten meat.

 


Ah, mice.  Always popping fully formed out of pots of meal, always looking for cheese, always speaking with random capitalization of words.

Anyway, I've always found this theory fascinating.  It seems so logical, but it's so far off.  It's one of the things I remember finding most interesting in my high school biology class.  (Yeah, I know.  The one thing I remember is the made up theory.  I really am a fantasy writer.)  However, I never paused, until a few days ago, to consider writing a world where this is actually the case. 

I think it would make for a really interesting setting.  What ramifications would this have on the world?  What other types of spontaneous generation can you come up with?  Is there a way to base a culture, a religion, or a magic system on the idea?

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Signing + Pictures + Warbreaker

First off, it's Wednesday, and I realize many of you are probably waiting for a new Warbreaker chapter.  So, without further argument, here it is:

http://www.brandonsanderson.com/graphics/WarbreakerCh23Parttwo-1.0.doc

Remember, this is actually the second half of the previous chapter.  I'm going to make them one file when I post them to the archives on my website and in the first forum post.  And, speaking of my Forum, find all the previous Warbreaker chapters there:

http://www.timewastersguide.com/boards/yabb/YaBB.c...

In other news, I'm doing my last signing for a while (probably until October) this Saturday!  Come see me at the Murray, UT Borders (Across the street from Fashion Place Mall) at 2:00.

And, if you can't make it, here are some action shots of me at my Sam Weller's signing!  (Which, by the way, was a blast.  They have the best reception area for readings and lectures of any bookstore I've visited.)

In this case, "Action shot" indicates a picture of me with a very stupid expression on my face.  Huzzah! I'm just trying to make you people underestimate me.

That's a whole load of MISTBORN copies.  Wow.  You'd think I was building a wall to keep out the rampaging Mongol Hordes.  (Oh, no!  We'll never capture China now!  They've got several thousand copies of Brandon's new book lined up!  Do you know how heavy those things are?)

Thanks a bunch to Mike Mandell for the pictures.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

How you know you married the right girl (+ Annotation.)

 

First off, New Annotation!  This is a good one, the first really meaty one for the book, I think.  It's got hidden text and everything.  So, enjoy!

All right, so Saturday was Pemberly's birthday.  (She, by the way, is a good three months older than I am.  I take every opportunity I can to point that out.)

We were at dinner at one of her favorite restaurants.  Now, I am a husband who likes very much to see to the needs of his wife.  When she, therefore, mentioned that she was in a silly mood, I hastened to do some silly things in order to accommodate her mood.

That was, of course, my only motivation.  Her needs.  Yup, I'm all about her needs.  That's why I took up my straw and fired a bit of ice directly at her.

She, however, was rather annoyed at this.  (She did manage to keep a straight face, though she had to grit her teeth against the cold to keep from crying out as the bit of ice slid down her skin.  Very impressive.)

I pointed out that she'd said she was in a silly mood, to which she replied "Well, now I'm in a serious mood."

I replied.  "Well, then.  Let us discus something serious.  How about Mitosis?"

Her reply?  It was instant, without even a heartbeat of thought.  "That's great.  Mitosis cold.  Sometimes, mitosis hot.  And, occasionally, mitosis even dirty."

Ah, I love that girl. 

Sunday, September 03, 2006

Reader Mail

 

Two pieces of email here I think I'll post replies to.  (Though I sent email replies as well.)  I thought you all might be curious to read some of these.

Email #1 

Swiffy writes, "Is there a significance to eleven spikes [in an Inquisitor's body], or was it just a convenient number?

My Answer:  Yes, there is a significance to the number.  Good catch!  You'll get more in future books.  I can't explain it now, however, because it's something of a spoiler!


I can say this.  Each of the three Mistborn books deals with one of the magic systems.  In book one, the focus was on Allomancy.  That same amount is there in book two, but we also add Sazed as a viewpoint character and begin talking about Feruchemy.  In book three, we add an Inquisitor as a viewpoint character, and begin talking about Hemalurgy--the magic that keeps the Inquisitors alive and gives them their powers.

 

Email #2: 

Jen writes: "After I finished reading Mistborn, I went around for days trying to tap into my allomantic powers. It was such a funny sensation--not my powers, but the fact that I thought I had them--that I would laugh out loud. This brought questions, and so I told everyone about the book."

My response:  Ha!  That's one of the most amusing things I think I've ever read.  Please, don't try jumping off any buildings and counting on Allomancy to save you. 

Tomorrow I'll post another annotation, and I've also got a doozy of a bad pun my wife used yesterday, so I'll post that too.  Be afraid!

Friday, September 01, 2006

Ninjas + Annotation

First off, let me post a New Annotation

Secondly, let's talk a little more about those screwy friends who built me the Scalzi award.  Worldcon was a lot of fun this year, partially because of the fact that I was able to go with so many good friends.  I don't have pictures of them all, but there were several valiiant men who DID get their pictures snapped, and I'd like to give them credit.

This is them--Isaac, Bryce, Dan, and Kimball--searching our ceiling for passing ninjas sent by Scalzi to steal our pop tarts.

 

And, of course, the action pose--with Kimball showing his ninja powers of disappearing by making himself half invisible.

By the way, if you didn't make it to the Nippon 2007 party on Friday night, you missed out on some very cool headbands.