Were you aware of the Wheel of Time prior to taking it on as a job? Had you read it?
Back in 1991, I was visiting my husband’s family. My young brother-in-law (14 at the time) showed me this huge book. “You have to read it. It’s great! And it was written by our cousin!” (That’s not quite accurate. Harriet’s aunt married my husband’s great-uncle, so there are shared cousins, but no actual blood relationship. But in Charleston, it’s close enough to claim). He kept on and on, so finally I picked it up just to get him off my back. That book was The Eye of the World , and I loved it. I ran out and bought copies of Eye and The Great Hunt and sent them to my husband (he was in Panama on military duty). I also read The Great Hunt , of course. After that, we eagerly awaited each book, and grabbed them as soon as possible (by this time I had joined my husband in Panama). When we visited Charleston, my husband would head over to Harriet and Jim’s and get them autographed. I don’t know why I never went; it probably had something to do with having two small children. I finally met Jim at a family gathering in 1994; I managed to contain myself and not go all fangirl on him, but I did enjoy talking to him. By that time, I had read Eye at least six times, The Great Hunt five, The Dragon Reborn four, etc.
Ok, so once you started reading the series what was it that really got you hooked?
I’m a character-driven reader, so any book that hooks me does so primarily because of the characters. So, on the first go, it was the characters that grabbed me. The world-building and lovely convoluted plot with so many mysteries didn’t hurt, either. I just loved the books.
Do you still do frequent re-reads? How many times would you say you’ve read the series to date?
I don’t actually read the books straight through anymore. I did read The Eye of the World after Jim died, but usually I read them in bits and pieces. A lot of times when I’m trying to answer a question from Brandon or fans, I’ll get distracted from my search and find a scene that I love, and read it. At one point, I worked out that I had read The Eye of the World at least 20 times. It’s kind of scary, sometimes; when I’m looking for a particular scene, I pick up the book, open it, and I’m at the scene that I’m looking for. Sometimes Alan and I race; he searches the digital copy for something, and I pick up the book. I frequently win.
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