Reader Mail

I got an interesting email the other day.  I'm not sure what to make of it.  Perhaps you all can interpret for me:

I am furious at my new found understanding that there will be no further installment of Elantris. I was under the impression that Mistborn was the second installment of the series, but no, it a entirely different book altogether. I don't understand why your not making another book to at least finish the story that you produced through Elantris. The book is UNFINISHED. There is no ending. What happens to Roaden and the other elantrians? What happens to the war between the Elantrians and the Wyrm? You didn't explain one-fourth of the **** you wrote in that book, and I was expecting an explanation in the second and possibly third installment. You screwed me. I have these unanswered questions that will never be answered because you have forgotten a crucial rule to being a writer. You never leave a story UNFINISHED. I have to say that after realizing that you would actually do something as horrible as publish an unfinished piece of literature and then claim to not finish it, without a doubt makes you the worst author... no... you don't deserve to be called an author. An author wouldn't do this to his reader, his fan, his own **** creation. I do not regret to inform you that i will not be reading anymore of your trash in the fear that the book/garbage will not be completed due to you lack of professionalism. You don't deserve your hands, eyes and mind for this sin against literature. I know you won't care about what i write. You'll probably delete this and mistake it for a piece of hate mail. No, Brandon Sanderson this is not some trash talker trying to make you feel bad in hopes of making you feel like **** for what you have done, even-though that would be nice. No, this was a fan who you disappointed and caused that fan to lose faith in you, your writing, and your characters who's actions and morals were just lies that you couldn't give a **** for.  I hope you lose your ability to write so that you can fully understand and appreciate the joys that came with that of a completed accomplishment for you would! never know that feeling of joy again.

Sincerely, with all the malice and frustration i can muster without physically assaulting you,

[Name Removed by Brandon.  Also, some edits were made by Brandon to remove curse words.  Otherwise, that's exactly how I got it.]

So, what do you think?  I'm honestly not sure I even want to reply to that.  If I were to, I don't know even how to approach it.  I could:

1)  Explain that NO story is ever finished.  Is LoTR done just because Frodo is gone?  Do any stories ever end as long as there are people alive?  We have to choose, as authors, to end somewhere.  With Elantris, this is the ending I chose.

2)  Explain that in my opinion, the ending to ELANTRIS is very complete.  No, you don't know everything about the future of the characters, but the major conflicts introduced in the opening chapters are resolved by the end of the book.  Sure, there are hints that there is more, but I often do that at the end of stories so that the reader can continue to imagine where the characters go and what happens in the world.  I want my stories to continue to live after I finish them, even if I never return to that setting. 

3)  I've never been sure that I won't do an ELANTRIS sequel.  Just because I often say I have no concrete plans as to when I'll get back to the world doesn't mean I won't some day.  How long did it take Stephen King to get back to Dark Tower?  What about Orson Scott Card and his Alvin Maker series?  Chances are good that there will someday be an ELANTRIS sequel.  It's just not on the list of things I'm actively writing right now.

4)  Calm down!  I'm glad my story had such a powerful effect on you, but it's not worth this level of emotion. 

5)  Mistborn, by the way, DOES continue on and has some really nifty resolution in Book Three.  But...er...it's not out yet, so I can't prove that to you.

6) If you want to be more close to the ELANTRIS world, you could always buy a nice Aon pendant.  (Hint hint.)

Any other responses you folks can think up?  I doubt I'll actually respond to this; it's pretty negative.  But, then, those of you who know me understand that I'm something of a peacemaker at heart, and I like to try to smooth out negative emotions in people when I can. 

Either way, maybe the email there will be an interesting read for you, and give you a bit of a glimpse into what it's like to be a public figure, if only a minor one like myself.