Monday, July 30, 2012

Hugo Voting Deadline Tomorrow + Updates

Somehow I missed announcing that Writing Excuses Season Six was nominated for a Hugo Award in the Best Related Work category. The voting deadline is tomorrow (Tuesday the 31st), and you can vote if you are a supporting or attending member of this year's World Science Fiction convention in Chicago. Other nominations from the Writing Excuses crew in the various categories are Mary Robinette Kowal's novella "Kiss Me Twice" and Howard Tayler's Schlock Mercenary graphic story volume Force Multiplication.

Last week the Writing Excuses podcast had a microcasting episode touching on these topics:

  • How do you deal with bad reviews?
  • How do you apply Brandon's magic system rules to science fiction?
  • Dan, will you do the marshmallow voice for us again?
  • How do you keep tension high without exhausting the reader?
  • You've made your manuscript as good as you know how to. Now you need to make it even better, based on feedback. What do you do?
  • Any tips on creating suspension of disbelief?
  • How do you deal with annoying fans?

This week's episode is another one of our "project in depth" episodes; this time we cover Dan Wells's latest novel, The Hollow City. (Earlier we did the same thing with my novel The Way of Kings, Mary's novel Glamour in Glass, and Howard's graphic novel volume Force Multiplication.) Please note that all of these in-depth episodes necessarily contain SPOILERS, so it's best if you read the work in question ahead of time!

The most recent ALCATRAZ VERSUS THE EVIL LIBRARIANS annotation covers the final chapter. Just one annotation left to go.

Inside Mac Games has an interview with me on the subject of the upcoming Mistborn: Birthright video game. I also did a phone interview for the Chattanooga Times Free Press a couple weeks ago while my assistant was driving me to the airport for my flight to LibertyCon (which was a blast, and it was great seeing so many of you!). The transcript of that interview is here.

My assistant also uploaded another Twitter posts archive. If you haven't been paying attention to my Twitter or Facebook feeds, you may have missed the announcement that I've turned in the final draft of A MEMORY OF LIGHT to Harriet. Copyedits and the rest of the production process remain to be done after this. I'll have more of my thoughts in a longer post sometime this week, maybe tomorrow.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

My Chattanooga LibertyCon Schedule This Weekend

Today I'm flying out to Chattanooga to be Literary Guest of Honor for LibertyCon this weekend. Below is my schedule. See you there! And remember that I'll be at Gen Con, Bubonicon, and Dragon*Con in August.

Date: July 20–22, 2012
Place: LibertyCon 25
Address: The Chattanooga Choo-Choo
1400 Market Street
Chattanooga, TN 37402
Phone: (800) 872-2529

FRIDAY

3:00–4:00 p.m., Dealer's Room
Autograph Session, Brandon Sanderson

5:00–6:00 p.m., Centennial Theater
Opening Ceremonies
Eric Flint, Les Johnson, Don Maitz, Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Brandon Sanderson, Janny Wurts, Tim Zahn

6:00–7:00 p.m., Centennial Theater
Meet our LC25 Literary Guest, Brandon Sanderson
Q&A with our LibertyCon 25 Literary Guest

SATURDAY

11:00 a.m.–noon, Norfolk Room
Kaffeklatsch: Brandon Sanderson
This is the first year LibertyCon will have these with the Guests of Honor—each klatch will have 15 slots to sit and talk with the Guest of your choice. We are limiting attendance to one klatch per person, on a first come, first serve basis, so choose wisely. The sign-up sheets will be at registration, so sign up when you pick up your badge. If you sign up for more than one—you will lose all your slots—so pay attention.

12:00 noon–1:00 p.m., Finley Room
Plot/Characterization with Brandon Sanderson
The Professor expounds on literary technique—learn from the Master!

2:00–3:00 p.m., Dealer's Room
Autograph Session, Brandon Sanderson

4:00–6:00 p.m., Centennial Theater
Guest of Honor Speeches
Tim Bolgeo, Eric Flint, Les Johnson, Don Maitz, Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Brandon Sanderson, Janny Wurts, Tim Zahn

SUNDAY

11:00 a.m.–noon, Dealer's Room
Autograph Session, Brandon Sanderson

12:00 noon–1:00 p.m., Centennial Theater
Wheel of Time—A Memory of Light
Brandon Sanderson and Jennifer Liang on the next installment of the series.

2:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m., Gallery A&B
Reading, Brandon Sanderson

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Mistborn Adventure Game Release Event in Provo

The printed version of the Mistborn Adventure Game from Crafty Games has finally shipped, and everyone who preordered should have received their copy by now or should receive it very soon.

Gam Den in Provo is going to throw a release event on August 4th for the book, and I will be there signing copies. If you didn't already order the hardcover, this is your last chance to order one, because only the trade paperback will be available in gaming stores. PREORDERS REQUIRED! (Call Game Den.) See below for details.

Date: Saturday, August 4, 2012
Time: 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Place: Game Den
2255 N. University Parkway #43
Provo Utah 84604
Phone: 801-852-4123

Price:
Softcover: $34.99
Hardcover: $44.99
Preorder Deadline: July 21st (this Saturday!)

For everyone who preorders a hardcover from Game Den for this event, we will also throw in a Table of Allomantic Metals poster, normally $10 in our store:

Again, Game Den is basing how many copies of the Adventure Game they order for this event on how many of you call in with preorders, so it's very important to call Game Den to get your order in now if you want a copy! I hope to see many of you at the release.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Interviews + Updates

The most recent ALCATRAZ VERSUS THE EVIL LIBRARIANS annotation covers the penultimate chapter, including the meaning of the name "Rashid" as in the Sands of Rashid.

This week's Writing Excuses podcast episode with Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, and me talks about the villain problem. By that we mean when the hero is less active than the villain and spends most of the book reacting to the cool things the villain does. We discuss what a writer can do about this issue.

There have been a number of interviews posted recently. First off, Suvudu put up a video where Christopher Paolini and I interviewed each other this past weekend at Comic-Con International in San Diego. (With a cameo by Robin Hobb.)

The Fictorian Era has a short interview where I talk mostly about the modern ebook market.

A Feast of Fantasy has another interview with me here, mostly about THE ALLOY OF LAW.

Invisible Vanguard has an interview where I discuss a few aspects of the writing process, such as the desire for each book to be better than the last.

Dark Matter has a 45-minute audio interview with me that I did with them when I was in Australia. The printed version is on page 49 of issue 9, which you can download here.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

San Diego Comic Con!

(NOTE: Scroll all the way down for my booth schedule.)

This is the first year I've been a Special Guest at SDCC. On top of that, Gen Con has me as their Author Guest of Honor and Dragon*Con is bringing me in (for the third time) as an invited guest. With this conflux of awesome conventions happening, I wanted to do some special things. For years, I've wanted to do con exclusives—something to make it worth the effort for people to go out of their way to come see me. And so, this year, we have some awesome things going on. Read below for an expanded list of my SDCC activities.

I do realize that not everyone can make conventions like this, and I'll do my best to make some of these items available to those of you who can't come. However, I'd like to make the con experience a great one for all involved. In addition to simply attending SDCC this year, I have a booth (for the first time) provided for me in Artist's Alley (#II-10). Isaac, who does much of my artwork, and his wife have decided to come and run the booth. I'm hoping this will prove lucrative enough for them that we can do things like this in the future. So please, do come stop by and see us. We will have freebies every day and awesome merchandise. If you know someone who is going to SDCC, send them by to pick something up for you!

EXCLUSIVE ONE: Feruchemical Table Fine Art Print
Price: $75
As a complement to the Allomantic Table we offered a few years back, we are bringing 100 signed, numbered copies of the matching Feruchemical Table. This wonderful artwork by Isaac Stewart is printed using archival ink and paper. There will be a limited edition of 300 fine art prints, all signed by both me and Isaac. They're absolutely gorgeous. We'll be selling numbers 101–200 at SDCC. The other two hundred are going to be for different cons and, most likely, for a small internet sale after the cons are over. Once these are gone, they're gone—though Isaac may do a smaller, unsigned poster-style print afterward. (Like we did with the Allomantic Table.)

EXCLUSIVE TWO: Infinity Blade: Awakening Hardcover
Price: $20
This novella, which I wrote for the Infinity Blade iOS game, never had an official print release. We've done a limited edition hardcover, signed and numbered, of 200 copies. These are signed by myself, Donald Mustard, and Geremy Mustard. (The founders of ChAIR Entertainment, developers of Infinity Blade.) Working on this story was a blast—it was something I did with friends, as opposed to something done for a buck. The response to it has been stellar. If you're a fan of the game, or you enjoyed the novella, this is a very unique item. Once these are gone, they're gone. We will be bringing numbers 1-100 to sell at SDCC. (Others will go to Gen Con and Dragon*Con.)

EXCLUSIVE THREE: The Way of Kings Taiwanese Notebooks
Price: Free at my solo panel!
During my trip to Taiwan earlier this year, I was blown away by the awesomeness of my publisher there (Fantasy Foundation). They released The Way of Kings in a cool boxed set with the novel in two parts and one of these nifty notebooks as a promo. They're mostly blank inside, with some planner-like notations on some of the pages. I was so in love with these, I asked if I could have a few to give away on my website. They gave me a whole box! So I flew them back as one of my pieces of luggage, and I've saved them for SDCC. As these were given to me for free, I'm going to pass them on to you for free. I'll be giving them away at my solo panel at SDCC to the people who arrive first.

My plan is to arrive a little early and distribute them to the people in line. If I am late (as I sometime am) I'll give them out to the first rows of people seated at the panel, starting at the person in the left front seat (if you're facing the stage) and working my way right. Then I'll move to row two, and keep giving them away until I run out.

I believe I have around fifty of these, but Isaac has the box and is driving to San Diego as we speak. So I can't guarantee numbers. I suggest that if you want one of these guys, you come get in line for my panel early. (This panel will include me doing a Q&A and a reading. Including, hopefully, a short reading from A Memory of Light!)

EXCLUSIVE FOUR: Wheel of Time and Mistborn Temporary Tattoos
Price: Free at my booth!
Each day on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday Isaac and Kara have a promotional temporary tattoo to give away. (A different one each day, while supplies last.) Two are Allomantic symbols, and one is the Snake Wheel logo from the Wheel of Time. (They also have the dragon symbol from the Wheel of Time, but that one misprinted to be tiny. They'll give those away too, but they look a little silly printed as small as they are. Be sure to ask for one anyway—and I believe they'll give those away on any day.)

Isaac and Kara paid for these themselves as promotion, so I'm hoping that when you guys stop by the booth, you have a look at the T-shirts they've brought. (A Wheel of Time shirt and a brand new Way of Kings shirt that I'll talk about next.) Isaac is an awesome artist, and he's put a lot of work into the Feruchemical posters and the shirts.

EXCLUSIVE FIVE: Szeth Shirt (from The Way of Kings)
Price: $20
Launching at SDCC will be the new Szeth shirt from The Way of Kings. Wear the Assassin in White proudly on your torso. :) This shirt is based off of the concept art Ben (Inkthinker) McSweeney did for Szeth when I pitched the series to Tor. I loved his rendition of Szeth so much, we ended up using Ben's image for the Szeth chapter icon in the books.

These will be for sale eventually on InkWing's website. But for now, the place to get them is SDCC!

OTHER THINGS FOR SALE
We will have copies of almost all of my books for sale at the booth, along with another T-shirt (the Matrim Cauthon by Seamas shirt from Ta'veren Tees). Prices for those will be the same as online. In addition, we've packed up a few foreign language editions. There are only a few of these, but I believe there is at least one book each in French, Japanese, Chinese (complex), and Spanish. So if you've been wanting an edition of my books in a different language, come early and snatch your copy up! There's also one set of the GraphicAudio version of Elantris.

WHERE TO FIND BRANDON
I will be at my booth (#II-10) from 1:00 to 3:00 Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, and 2:00 to 3:00 on Friday. In addition, I will do an extra hour some of the days.
Thursday: 1–3, and back from 4–5.
Friday: 2–3, no extra hours. (I have two panels bookending this, then a signing in the signing area.)
Saturday: 1–4
Sunday: 1–3. No extra hours at the booth, but I might be playing magic in the evening at my hotel. Watch my twitter and facebook for confirmation.

It's possible that I will be hanging around the booth at other times, such as Wednesday Preview Night. (I will tweet to say when I am.) When I'm not there, Isaac and Kara WILL be, so if you want the exclusive items, show up earlier in the day. (I will leave signed books behind when I leave.) Also, feel free to tweet me to get something signed.

Once again, we're hoping this will be a successful experiment. I've avoided bringing merchandise to conventions like this because of the hassle. If people enjoy these exclusives, and the booth makes enough money to compensate Isaac and Kara for their time, there's a good chance we'll continue doing this in the future.

Thanks!

Brandon

Complete Schedule

WEDNESDAY, JULY 11

6:00–9:00 p.m., Artist's Alley Booth #II-10
I may go to my booth sometime during these hours; Isaac and Kara will be there. Follow me on Twitter and Facebook to see if I will make it.

THURSDAY, JULY 12

1:00–3:00 p.m., Artist's Alley Booth #II-10

3:00–4:00 p.m., Tor Booth #2707
Tor says I'll be signing copies of The Way of Kings, but I'll also sign anything else I've written.

4:00–5:00 p.m., Artist's Alley Booth #II-10

FRIDAY, JULY 13

1:00–2:00 p.m., Room 25ABC
Spotlight on Brandon Sanderson
Author, educator, and Comic-Con Special Guest BRANDON SANDERSON talks about his growth from a nonreader in his youth to becoming one of the most popular fantasy writers working today. Sanderson's books include his own Mistborn trilogy and his continuation of the late Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, which wraps up this year.
That's the official description; I will most likely read from a forthcoming book and take some audience questions.

2:00–3:00 p.m., Artist's Alley Booth #II-10

3:30–4:30 p.m., Room 6A
Epic Fantasy War
We've all seen the signs: war is coming; and this winter, hobbits will learn that one should never laugh at live dragons. Join the top names in fantasy fiction as they discuss how the key to writing a real epic fantasy novel lies in the word "epic"—which doesn't just mean ambitious in scale, scope, and size. Epic fantasy helps us decipher the bigger mysteries of life. Even though there might be dragons (and magicians; horselords and warlords), every word, and every detail of the world, must resonate on a fully human plane. Legendary editor Betsy Mitchell gets epic with panelists Brandon Sanderson (The Alloy of Law); Raymond E. Feist (A Crown Imperiled); Robin Hobb (City of Dragons); N.K. Jemisin (The Inheritance Trilogy); Christopher Paolini (The Inheritance Cycle); Rachel Hartman (Seraphina); Patrick Rothfuss (The Kingkiller Chronicle); Heather Brewer (The Legacy of Tril) and Lynn Flewelling (Casket of Souls).

5:00–6:00 p.m., Sails Pavilion AA09
Signing with all of the Epic Fantasy War panelists

SATURDAY, JULY 14

1:00–4:00 p.m., Artist's Alley Booth #II-10

4:30–5:30 p.m., Sails Pavilion AA18
Brandon Sanderson Signing

SUNDAY, JULY 15

1:00–3:00 p.m., Artist's Alley Booth #II-10

Evening: Maybe a Magic draft in my hotel somewhere, if this is possible. Stay tuned to Twitter and Facebook for details.

Monday, July 09, 2012

Final 2012 Creative Writing Lecture + Updates

There's a new ALCATRAZ VERSUS THE EVIL LIBRARIANS annotation on the site. There are only three left after this one, which mentions that the end of a book is the best and worst part, among other things. My assistant has also uploaded another Twitter posts archive.

Two more Writing Excuses podcast episodes are up. The first covers what we call the problem of originality: Is it possible to be too original? Do we overvalue originality? Then the second episode is another one of our "project in depth" episodes; this time we cover Mary Robinette Kowal's latest novel, Glamour in Glass. (Earlier we did the same thing with my novel The Way of Kings and Howard's graphic novel volume Force Multiplication.)

Scott Ashton uploaded my final creative writing class lecture of this year. This one mostly covers revision, plus touching on a few other topics.

Thursday, July 05, 2012

My Comic-Con Schedule

I'm a Special Guest at Comic-Con International in San Diego next week. My schedule is below. I'll also have a table in Artist's Alley (#II-10) where I will often hang out (and maybe play some Magic if it's feasible) when I don't have a scheduled event. Kara and Isaac from InkWing will be manning my table even when I'm not there, selling books and T-shirts. We're also going to have a convention exclusive hardcover (details to be announced later), so be sure to stop by.

Comic-Con International, San Diego
San Diego Convention Center, 111 W. Harbor Dr., San Diego, CA 92101

THURSDAY, JULY 12

3:00–4:00 p.m., Tor Booth #2707
Tor says I'll be signing copies of The Way of Kings, but I'll also sign anything else I've written.

FRIDAY, JULY 13

12:00–1:00 p.m., Room 25ABC
Spotlight on Brandon Sanderson
Author, educator, and Comic-Con Special Guest BRANDON SANDERSON talks about his growth from a nonreader in his youth to becoming one of the most popular fantasy writers working today. Sanderson’s books include his own Mistborn trilogy and his continuation of the late Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, which wraps up this year.
That's the official description; I will most likely read from a forthcoming book and take some audience questions.

3:30–4:30 p.m., Room 6A
Epic Fantasy War
We’ve all seen the signs: war is coming; and this winter, hobbits will learn that one should never laugh at live dragons. Join the top names in fantasy fiction as they discuss how the key to writing a real epic fantasy novel lies in the word "epic"—which doesn’t just mean ambitious in scale, scope, and size. Epic fantasy helps us decipher the bigger mysteries of life. Even though there might be dragons (and magicians; horselords and warlords), every word, and every detail of the world, must resonate on a fully human plane. Legendary editor Betsy Mitchell gets epic with panelists Brandon Sanderson (The Alloy of Law); Raymond E. Feist (A Crown Imperiled); Robin Hobb (City of Dragons); N.K. Jemisin (The Inheritance Trilogy); Christopher Paolini (The Inheritance Cycle); Rachel Hartman (Seraphina); Patrick Rothfuss (The Kingkiller Chronicle); Heather Brewer (The Legacy of Tril) and Lynn Flewelling (Casket of Souls).

5:00–6:00 p.m., Sails Pavilion AA09
Signing with all of the Epic Fantasy War panelists

SATURDAY, JULY 14

4:30–5:30 p.m., Sails Pavilion AA18
Brandon Sanderson Signing

Tuesday, July 03, 2012

THE HOLLOW CITY Release Party Tonight

My good friend and Writing Excuses cohost Dan Wells' new book THE HOLLOW CITY is out today. The release party is tonight at Weller Book Works (the bookstore formerly known as Sam Weller's, at their new location, which has parking!) in Trolley Square.

Mary, Howard, and I are going to be there, and Dan hopes to see many of you there as well to get the new book (or any other book of his) signed. This is also one of the last chances to see Dan before he and his family move to Germany for a year. Details are below.

If you want a preview of the book, Tor.com posted a couple of chapters. Check it out! Dan also introduces the book on his site here, and talks about what's in store at the signing.

Location: Weller Book Works
607 Trolley Square
Salt Lake City, UT
801.328.2586
7:00 p.m. July 3, 2012