Thursday, August 29, 2013

Spokane 2015

Hey, all. This is a post that may not be relevant for everyone, but I thought it was an important one to make anyway.

I had the pleasure of being Guest of Honor a few weeks back at SpoCon, a sf/fantasy convention in Spokane, Washington. Well, it turns out that the same group who run SpoCon have a bid out for Worldcon in 2015. The voting will happen this weekend at Worldcon in San Antonio, which I'm attending. (Though kind of last-minute.)

Voting costs $40, and unfortunately it's too late to mail in ballots; it has to be done in person. Voting also gets you a supporting membership to whichever Worldcon wins for 2015—meaning you can vote in that year's Hugos as well (and get that year's Hugo Voter Packet), for cheaper than it will cost to buy a supporting membership once 2015 rolls around. And a supporting membership can be upgraded to an attending membership very easily.

Since I was just hosted by these people, I think I'm in a unique position to give them—and their Worldcon bid—a shout-out. The guest liaison team was top-notch, and the entire convention was extremely well organized. I was surprised by how pretty Spokane was this time of year to boot.

If anyone is debating where to put their vote for Worldcon, let me nudge you toward Spokane. I don't know anything about the other Worldcon bid teams, and I'm sure there are plenty of great people on them—but I know for certain the team in Spokane knows what they're doing. The city itself is pushing hard for the convention, even going so far to send city representatives to Worldcon this year to lobby.

Hats off to the entire crew. I had a wonderful time, and would love to return in two years for Worldcon. This is a bid to take very seriously.

Brandon

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Worldcon This Weekend

Worldcon in San Antonio (LoneStarCon 3) starts tomorrow. Here's my schedule! There are hundreds of industry luminaries at the convention, so be sure to check out all the great programming.

World Science Fiction Convention, San Antonio

Place: LoneStarCon 3
Address: Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center
200 E Market St
San Antonio, TX 78205

Schedule: August 29th–September 2nd, 2013

SATURDAY

6:00–7:00 p.m., 006A
Brandon Sanderson Reading

SUNDAY

1:00–2:00 p.m., Autographing Area
Autographing: John Maddox Roberts, Brandon Sanderson, John Scalzi, Laura Underwood

8:00 p.m., Grand Ballroom
The Hugo Awards
The Emperor's Soul is nominated in the Best Novella category, and Writing Excuses in the Best Related Work category. Best of luck to all the nominees! You can also watch the awards live on UStream.

Notes:

The "Firstborn"/"Defending Elysium" convention exclusive hardcover will be available in limited numbers at Howard Tayler's booth in the dealers' room.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Steelheart Preorders from Weller Book Works Start Today + My Gen Con Schedule

Tomorrow and Saturday I'll be at Gen Con. My schedule is below. See you there! But first, if you haven't seen the STEELHEART teaser trailer, the prologue, or teaser chapters, please go give them a look! The release date is fast approaching, so think about preordering the book from your favorite vendor. (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, Audible, Apple, Kobo, Google Play.) If you would like a signed and numbered copy, Weller Book Works will begin accepting orders TODAY for delivery on or very shortly after September 24th. (Or you can come to the release event at the Orem Barnes & Noble on September 24th. More details later.) Mysterious Galaxy and Shawn Speakman's The Signed Page will also have signed books available to preorder, but they won't be shipped until I sign them in October.

Steelheart Signed & Numbered Copies

Weller Book Works is excited to offer signed and numbered copies of Brandon Sanderson's Steelheart.

A maximum of two copies may be ordered per customer. The price is $15.19 per copy plus tax and/or shipping if applicable. That's 20% off the cover price of $18.99.

United States shipping is via USPS Priority Mail. You may choose to have orders for a single copy shipped in a padded envelope or in a box. Orders for two copies will be shipped in a box. Shipping prices are as follows:

  • US Domestic padded envelope - $7.00
  • US Domestic box - $13.00

In addition, orders picked up in-store or shipped to destinations in Utah will be charged sales tax of $1.04 per book.

International shipping is via USPS 1st Class or Priority Mail for single copies. You may choose to have single copy orders shipped in a 1st Class padded envelope, a Priority Mail padded envelope, or a Priority Mail box. Orders for two copies will be shipped in a Priority Mail box. Unfortunately, we are not able to ship two copies 1st Class due to weight limits. Please note that 1st Class orders will not arrive until significantly after the release date. Shipping prices are as follows:

  • Canada & Mexico 1st Class padded envelope - $16.00
  • Canada & Mexico Priority Mail padded envelope - $21.00
  • Canada & Mexico Priority Mail box - $ 42.00
  • All other international 1st Class padded envelope - $23.00
  • All other international Priority Mail padded envelope - $25.00
  • All other international Priority Mail box - $62.00

Orders may be paid for with credit card or Paypal only. All orders must be placed via e-mail by e-mailing books@wellerbookworks.com.

When you order, please let us know how you would like your copy personalized. Tell us "signature only" if you just want it signed and numbered. If you would like it signed to you or to a friend, say, e.g., "Sign it 'to John.'" If you are paying by Paypal, please include your paypal email in your order so that we can invoice you. Please include your shipping address when ordering.

This promotion is limited to 500 copies of Steelheart, and all orders must be received and paid for by August 31, 2013.

E-mail books@wellerbookworks.com to order today!

Gen Con Indy

Place: Gen Con Indy 2013
Address: Indiana Convention Center
100 S Capitol Ave
Indianapolis, IN 46225

Schedule: August 16–17, 2013

FRIDAY

11:00 a.m.–12:00 noon, ICC Room 244 (SEM1345269)
Panel: Worldbuilding: Magic & Mysticism
Learn to weave magic into your setting in a way that drives the story and satisfies the reader.
Elizabeth Vaughan, John Helfers, Lou Anders, Dave Gross, Brandon Sanderson

2:00–3:30 p.m., ICC Room 500 Ballroom/Reception (ENT1350579)
Event: Epic Villains Bestselling authors Brandon Sanderson (STEELHEART, Sept. 2013) and James Dashner (EYE OF MINDS, Oct. 2013) introduce their new series and discuss the creation of the most horrifying villains within their fiction—past and present. For a chance to win an epic prize, collect some cool swag, and receive a limited edition signed poster, come check out this sneak peek!
Cost: $2.00

4:00–5:00 p.m., ICC Room 245 (SEM1345264)
Panel: Writer's Craft: Novel Outlines
Discover the techniques and tricks for creating effective, compelling, and pitchable novel outlines.
John Helfers, Jerry Gordon, Saladin Ahmed, Brandon Sanderson, Erik Scott De Bie

7:00–9:00 p.m., ICC Room 244 (SEM1350944)
Panel: Writing Excuses: Live Audience Session 1
Join Writing Excuses hosts Brandon Sanderson, Howard Tayler, and Mary Robinette Kowal for a live audience recording session Friday evening. The team will record four to six episodes of their popular podcast between 7pm and 9pm, interviewing special guests from the symposium and VIG's and others from the wider convention. During this session at least one episode will be a rapid-fire Q&A using questions taken from the audience, so be sure to bring some stumpers.

9:00 p.m.–2:00 a.m. VIG Lounge, ICC Rooms 116–117 (TCG1352591)
VIG: Magic: The Gathering draft and tournament with Brandon Sanderson
Come draft and play MTG with Brandon Sanderson, author of the Mistborn series and the continuation of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time saga. Prizes awarded! VIG and VIG Companions only.
Cost: $24.00

SATURDAY

12:00 noon–2:00 p.m., Exhibit Hall Booth 1749
Signing: Brandon Sanderson at Howard Tayler's Schlock Mercenary booth
Brandon's books (including this year's convention exclusive hardcover) will be available for purchase, or you can bring your own books. Howard Tayler, Jim Zub, and Tracy Hickman will also be at the booth at various times throughout the day. And you can also ask Brandon to sign your books any other time during the convention that you can catch him between panels.

2:00–3:00 p.m., ICC Room 245 (SEM1345288)
Panel: Exploring Genres: Young Adult
Get the inside scoop on what it takes to write fiction for the lucrative YA market.
Kelly Swails, David Farland, James Dashner, Ari Marmell, Brandon Sanderson

3:00–4:00 p.m., ICC Room 245 (SEM1345289)
Panel: Exploring Genres: Dark Fantasy
Explore techniques for writing fantasy with an edge as we discuss the darker side of the genre.
Paul Genesse, Kelly Swails, Chris Pierson, Lucy Snyder, Brandon Sanderson

4:00–5:00 p.m., Crowne Plaza Grand Central Ballroom D (SEM1343796)
Panel: Scheming through Scadrial: Making Mistborn Yours
The Final Empire is hard on Crews but it's also tricky for Narrators. Join the creators of the Mistborn Adventure Game for an interactive panel about adventuring in Brandon Sanderson's unique world.
NOTE: This panel is a two-hour panel beginning at 3:00. Brandon will show up for the final hour of the panel.
Patrick Kapera, Brandon Sanderson

7:00–9:00 p.m., ICC Room 244 (SEM1350945)
Panel: Writing Excuses: Live Audience Session 2
Join Writing Excuses hosts Brandon Sanderson, Howard Tayler, and Mary Robinette Kowal for a live audience recording session Friday evening. The team will record four to six episodes of their popular podcast between 7pm and 9pm, interviewing special guests from the symposium and VIG's and others from the wider convention. During this session at least one episode will be a rapid-fire Q&A using questions taken from the audience, so be sure to bring some stumpers.

NOTE:
Brandon's books (including this year's convention exclusive hardcover) will be available for purchase at Howard Tayler's Schlock Mercenary booth 1749 in the Exhibit Hall.

Monday, August 12, 2013

Signed Perrin T-Shirt Charity Auction & Updates

Some quick updates today. But first, if you haven't seen the STEELHEART teaser trailer, the prologue, or teaser chapters, please go give them a look! The release date is fast approaching, so think about preordering the book from your favorite vendor. (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, Audible, Apple, Kobo, Google Play.) If you would like a signed and numbered copy, Weller Book Works will begin accepting orders on August 15th for delivery on or very shortly after September 24th. Mysterious Galaxy and Shawn Speakman's The Signed Page will also have signed books available to preorder, but they won't be shipped until I sign them in October.

Waygate Foundation has a new charity auction to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project. They're auctioning off a rare production sample of a Ta'veren Tees t-shirt featuring Perrin Aybara, signed by Team Jordan and me. You can't buy a shirt with this exact design. The auction ends on August 21st.

The Kindle Daily Post has an interview with me about STEELHEART and other topics. Also, Inspiring Insomnia is giving away (US-only) an ARC of STEELHEART. I often mention giveaways like this on Facebook and Twitter when I see them, but sometimes the giveaways are over by the time I compile a blog post. So if you want to keep track of things like that, Facebook and Twitter are the best places to follow me.

The most recent Writing Excuses podcast episode is another microcasting one where we touch on the following topics:

  • How do you manage your workload?
  • Are writing contests worth it? Which ones are good?
  • How do you make it clear that the weird aspects of your world are done on purpose rather than just being bad science?
  • How do you know when to take a break from your writing?
  • What are your word count suggestions for various markets?

SF Signal asked me to name two or three authors I feel haven't received the recognition they deserve. So I had to keep the list short, but you should check it out!

Tor.com's newest THE WAY OF KINGS reread post covers chapters 27 and 28. Chasm duty, Horneater stew, and smashing a lot of rock with a hammer.

Friday, August 09, 2013

Steelheart Preorder and Mega Vault Winners

It's time to announce the winners of the STEELHEART Mega Vault Fan Art contest. First, if you haven't seen the teaser trailer, the prologue, or teaser chapters for STEELHEART, please go give them a look!

STEELHEART Preorders

The release date for STEELHEART is fast approaching, so think about preordering the book from your favorite vendor. (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, Audible, Apple, Kobo, Google Play.) If you would like a signed and numbered copy, Weller Book Works will begin accepting orders on August 15th for delivery on or very shortly after September 24th. Mysterious Galaxy and Shawn Speakman's The Signed Page will also have signed books (without numbers) available to preorder, but they won't be shipped as quickly. When I'm on tour in October, I'll stop by both of these places and sign the preordered books, which will then be shipped out.

Mega Vault Contest Winners

We had a great response to the STEELHEART fan art contest. Take a look at all the entries over at my official fan site, 17th Shard. The fan art is just fantastic! There were so many awesome entries, in fact, that we had a hard time choosing winners. So we've made space for five winners and five runners-up.

The five winners of the Random House Mega Vault are, in no particular order:

Bleed by HeavenlyHedgehog

Steelheart by Archetype

Deathpoint by Kristal

He Was Majestic by Rodrigo

Legoheart vs. Deathlego by Neverland

The five runners-up will receive a STEELHEART poster signed by me, and their choice of one signed book from my online store. Here are the runners-up, in no particular order:

I've Seen Steelheart Bleed Poster by jlequire

What Are You Doing Here? by GalaxyFlyer

Steelheart Custom Binding by Stairdweller

Steelheart's Ultimatum by ktep

Steelheart Promo Video by Scott Capener

To the winners: My assistants will be contacting you through the 17th Shard message system.

Thank you again for entering the contest, and thanks to Random House for providing these awesome Mega Vaults and posters as prizes.

Wednesday, August 07, 2013

Spokane this week!

Tomorrow I'm heading out to Spokane for SpoCon, and I'll also be signing at Barnes & Noble. Details are below. There's no signing listed at SpoCon itself, but I will sign books if you find me between panels. See you there!

Barnes & Noble, Spokane

Date: Thursday August 8th, 2013
Time: 5:30–7:30 p.m.
Place: Barnes & Noble Booksellers – Northtown Mall
Address: 4750 North Division Street
Spokane, WA 99207
Phone: (509) 482-4235
Notes: This signing is in conjunction with SpoCon, but you don't have to be a SpoCon member to attend the signing. Please consider attending SpoCon as well though, since they are flying Brandon out and he'll be doing many more events there this weekend.

SpoCon 2013, Spokane

Dates: Friday August 9th–Sunday August 11th, 2013
Place: SpoCon 2013
Address: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel - Spokane City Center
322 North Spokane Falls Court
Spokane, WA 99201
Phone: (509) 455-9600

Fri, 08/09/2013 - 15:30 to 16:30, Parkside II
Writing For the Youth Market
Do you enjoy telling your children stories? Do you remember childhood stories of your own? Would you like to share them with other youth; to help shape and put a bug of creative imagination in to their minds? Why just infest your own children's imagination, or that of friends and family, when you can tweak the youth of the world's imagination. Buahaha...
Brandon Sanderson, Jessica Rising, Deby Fredericks, Fallon Jones, Shelley Martin

Fri, 08/09/2013 - 18:30 to 19:00, Salon 5
Opening Ceremonies
Come join SpoCon Staff and distinguished Guests as we celebrate the opening of SpoCon 2013; see our Guests introduced, and hear about some of the great things that SpoCon has to offer this year! As usual, SpoCon's opening ceremonies are not something to be missed....
Brandon Sanderson, Kaja Foglio, Phil Foglio, Mark Osier, Scott C. Brown, Andy Dopieralski, Christian Doyle, Beau Prichard

Fri, 08/09/2013 - 19:00 to 19:45, Salon 5
Marmot Talk
Sitting in for the Mad Marmot himself will be the one and only Scott C. Brown with his mostly fearless sidekick Tim Martin. Join us for a style of talk show only SpoCon can produce. On the schedule is a Q&A with our distinguished Guests. We are pretty sure you won't want to be missing this...
Scott C. Brown, Brandon Sanderson, Phil Foglio, Mark Osier, Kaja Foglio, Tim Martin, Christian Doyle, Andy Dopieralski, Beau Prichard

Fri, 08/09/2013 - 20:00 to 21:00, Shades
Reading - Brandon Sanderson
Come and enjoy a reading from SpoCon's 2013 Guest of Honor, author Brandon Sanderson. Brandon will read a number of selection, and will include some of his works for younger readers.

Sat, 08/10/2013 - 12:30 to 13:30, Parkside II
World-Building: Creating a Magic System
Learn how to tackle the challenges of creating a magic system for your world or universe from true masters of the art.
Brandon Sanderson, S.A. Bolich, Rhiannon Louve, Shelley Martin

Sat, 08/10/2013 - 15:30 to 16:30, Spokane Falls Ballroom B
The SpoCon Unquisition!
So, you think you know The Wheel of Time? Bring your questions to SpoCon's Unquisition - Our panel of Unquisitors will listen to your question about The Wheel of Time, that may NOT contain any name, or direct reference to anything IN The Wheel of Time series. Should our panel of Unquisitors deem the question "correct", our Guest of Honor will then answer the approved query in any manner he so chooses.
Brandon Sanderson, Debbie Lentz, Christian Doyle, Molly Lloyd

Sat, 08/10/2013 - 20:00 to Sun, 08/11/2013 - 02:00, Spokane Falls Ballroom D
Magic the Gathering Draft with Brandon Sanderson
Brandon loves playing Magic the Gathering. Brandon enjoys it so much that when he travels, he often puts out the word that he's up for a game. Now Brandon is here at SpoCon, and he's not just putting out the word, he's offered us a tournament. So, come out and play in a MtG draft with our Guest of Honor, Brandon Sanderson! Did somebody say prizes? Why yes we did! Per Brandon, this will be a "Booster Draft." Our friends at Gamer's Haven will help administer this event. Seats are limited to 15 players, and please note that there will be an additional $25 fee to participate in this event.

Sun, 08/11/2013 - 15:00 to 16:00, Salon 5
Guest of Honor Address - Brandon Sanderson
Join famed author Brandon Sanderson in Salon V for his Guest of Honor address. Learn about his career, his current and future works, and more.

Sun, 08/11/2013 - 16:00 to 17:00, Salon 5
Closing Ceremonies
You've packed your days full of all of the awesome fun that SpoCon has had to offer. Join us in Salon V to finalize our time together and talk about what we have in store for you next year.
Brandon Sanderson, Phil Foglio, Kaja Foglio, Mark Osier, Scott C. Brown, Christian Doyle, Andy Dopieralski, Beau Prichard, Rob McDonell

Monday, August 05, 2013

Updates Catch-Up + Michael Whelan Stormlight 2 Cover

Playing catch-up with the Writing Excuses podcast, we did episodes on both Writing Reluctant Characters and Combining Dialogue, Blocking, and Description. We also did a Q&A session at the Out of Excuses Retreat that touches on these questions:

  • To Dan: How did you go about selling your first trilogy in Germany before selling it in the US?
  • To Howard: did you consider doing a separate storyline on Sunday strips? Why or why not?
  • Have you transitioned between outlining and discovery writing?
  • To Brandon: Why is John Scalzi your evil nemesis?
  • To Dan and Howard (and Mary): When you had full-time work, what did you do to "reset" when you came home from work, especially since your job used the same parts of your brain that writing does?

Tor.com has revealed Michael Whelan's cover art for WORDS OF RADIANCE, the sequel to THE WAY OF KINGS. The cover is gorgeous, as always, and I love how the wraparound looks on it. Many thanks to Mr. Whelan for all his hard work!

Tor.com has also announced that the tentative release date has been pushed to March. I may have more to say on the reasons for this in the future, but it's important that I get this book right. On July 24th I tweeted a screenshot of me starting the third draft.

I've missed mentioning a couple of THE WAY OF KINGS reread posts; you can find all of them here.

Tor.com also put up an excerpt of my novella "Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell" coming in the George R.R. Martin/Gardner Dozois anthology DANGEROUS WOMEN that will be released on December 3rd.

My Comic-Con interview with MTV Geek is archived here. The video is at the bottom of the page; I appear at the 1:59:38 mark. There's also an extremely short preview of the STEELHEART book trailer right before I come on. The full trailer should be released fairly soon. And on that page you can also read the second excerpt from the book.

There's also an interview with me about STEELHEART over at Big Shiny Robot.

My assistant Peter uploaded another Twitter posts archive. This one covers most of July.