Date: 2009-10-27
Type: Paraphrased
Location: Provo, UT
Reporter: Jennifer McBride
Some things we talked about at dinner: (I didn’t take proper notes but I believe the 4th Age Podcaster of our group was recording it so you can probably hear an edited version there.)
Matt Hatch recorded it; his transcript can be found here .
Brandon refuses to confirm or deny that the One Power was used to kill Asmodean. He also mentions a Slayer scene deleted from The Shadow Rising which would have shown more about Slayer’s powers.
If he could pick a nationality from the Wheel of Time world, he’d belong to Malkier because he loves the lost kingdom story. He thinks all the Borderlands are cool, but would definitely NOT be a Saldaean.
He says he’d have to consult the notes to make sure, but he believes women can become “wolf-sisters.” We just haven’t seen any.
RJ said that they can, twice .
His favorite chapters to write from The Gathering Storm were the concluding chapter and also chapter 22.
He also repeated things that he’s said elsewhere, like that Robert Jordan left extensive notes, though he does have the power from Harriet to override them for the interests of the story. Robert Jordan especially left a lot of specific notes as to who lived and who died in Tarmon Gai’don, and he wasn’t going to change any of that. So is there going to be a lot of deaths? The answer, of course, is RAFO.
I don’t remember if he said this during dinner or during the signings or both, but he was considering doing the outrigger and prequel novels, but that the decision was ultimately Harriet’s. Jordan left notes for that as well, especially the other prequels. If Brandon writes the other books, it will be after a pause at the end of the series. He definitely doesn’t want it to become ‘the McWheel of Time.’
He also said that the series’ ending puts certain threads in perspective. For example, Morgase, my least favorite character, apparently turns out to be less annoying than she appears. Also, fans will better be able to understand the importance of some of the lesser-liked books, like Crossroads of Twilight .
After a fifteen second countdown, the boxes are opened and the books are released. Brandon begins signing, and signing, and signing. Sometimes he takes questions from the live feed.
I only heard a couple, but one of them was “which Ajah would he be if he could pick an Ajah” and he answered: Brown. Given his love of the Borderlands, I was expecting Green.
Questions during Live Feed
Will Rand eventually be united with his father Tam?
RAFO.
Would the True Source beat the True Power?
Okay. My gut instinct is going to say, yes. My gut instinct says yes, but that is not coming from the notes. If I was actually going to have to write it out I would have to go to Charleston and I would have to look in the notes but from what I’ve read I’d say yes. But that is not canon because I’m not remembering specifically, does that make sense? I’ll tell you if it’s canon or it isn’t, but that one is just my instinct.
How extensive were RJ’s notes about Lews Therin?
His notes about Lews Therin, I would say are about middle extensive, comparatively of different things that he has notes on. Less than some, more than others. They were extensive enough that I know enough things you don’t know to make me excited, but not so extensive that you know, you are ever going to see a book about Lews Therin or anything like that.
As a followup question, are the notes about Lews Therin the same notes about the voice of Lews Therin’s?
You know I think that’s enough of a spoiler because there is still confusion or not confusion, wondering from people whether or not Lews Therin is the voice, I mean, of course Semirhage said that it is…Robert Jordan never really made that explicit himself. What I think and what you think may be different and so we’ll just leave it. There are things about this in the book.
What was your reaction when you finished The Gathering Storm ?
It was an enormous sigh of relief, followed by a, how should I say it, a curiosity what kinds of screams I would get when people read the last chapter of the book.
When will the book be released in New Zealand and South Africa?
New Zealand and South Africa I think are both part of the World English market which is the UK publishers job to get books shipped there. So it all depends on how quickly the UK publisher gets their edition out and how quickly they can get to shipping them. Australia should be very soon, however long it takes them, but it’s not going to be a long time because I thought UK was releasing today. Alright? And South Africa should be the same.
Why did you choose to be so open with your writing process?
It’s because when I was trying to break into this business and learn to be a writer, the whole process seemed opaque to me. And I think that’s because I was doing it before the era of the Internet really hit and now that we have this opportunity I figure I’ll throw it out there and maybe what I’m talking about will really help other writers who are aspiring. And also on the other end of it, it gets a little frustrating waiting for books to come out and you never know what’s going to happen and you never know what’s going on. I figure with the Internet we have such a great opportunity to keep people in the loop to let people know what’s going on. We don’t have to be so shadowed anymore, so I want to make as best use of it as I can.
If you could choose an Ajah, which Ajah would you choose?
If there were Ajahs for guys, I would definitely be a Brown.
Do you have any books coming out between the next two Wheel of Time books?
I have been working very hard on a book called The Way of Kings for about ten years now. It is the beginning of a large epic and I’ve always wanted to write one. I think it’s almost ready. If the revisions work it will come out next fall. I don’t think I will have one the year after that because the Wheel of Time is first priority. So, either between this one and the next one or between Towers of Midnight and A Memory of Light .
Since you are Brown Ajah, will we learn more about the 12 (13) Depositories in the White Tower?
They are mentioned in The Gathering Storm .
Has anyone ever had the same ability as Min? And do you know how it is caused or how the ability works?
The ability works quite explicitly from her being able to see glimmers in the Pattern. She is seeing what is being woven in the future and that is how most of the Foretelling powers work. He was actually pretty explicit in the notes about that. Though some of them of course, there are ones that are strict, meaning they see the Pattern, some of them you see how the Pattern might be. She sees the Pattern as it will be. Has anyone ever had it before? Yeah, from what I read it never said it explicitly, but it implied that this is a power that could exist again and has existed before, but there are no lists of anyone that’s had it before. It’s definitely open that somebody could have had it before, but he doesn’t actually say specifically.
How much writing do you think you’ll get done during the tour?
I bought a brand new Netbook just yesterday…the goal being to do writing on the plane rides and in the car while the driver is driving me around. How much do I think I’ll get done? My goal is to get up to about 90%…I’m not sure if I’ll make that…we’ll see…get to the 90%. What am I at right now? 70? (pause while he signs a book) Okay, let’s not say 90%, I just added that up. Let’s say 80%. Thirty thousand words is going to be tough to get. As I was thinking about that, wait a minute, fifty thousand words is a good month on its own, so if on tour I get half that I’m going to be happy.
Will we see the Land of Madmen in any of the last books?
RAFO.
Will you be coming to Canada?
I have spoken with my Canadian publisher and they have offered to send me on a tour. We are looking at having me go sometime next summer?
Will any previously unknown Black Ajah members be revealed?
I will yes that. Yes there will be Black Ajah members revealed in The Gathering Storm .
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