Date: 2011-06-22
Type: Verbatim
I’ve put up a new Warbreaker annotation about chapter 55 . Plus there’s also a new Writing Excuses episode up on professional organizations . As our cohost Mary Robinette Kowal is also the vice president of SFWA, she has many useful things to say on the topic.
About a week ago, I finally got back from my extended stay in Europe. I have to say, you guys treated me very well over there. I hope to be back soon.
One of the highlights was my impromptu event in Amsterdam. If you didn’t follow that little fiasco on Twitter, I ended up missing my connecting flight to Oslo because of an air traffic controller strike in France. This resulted in an eight-hour layover.
Well, I tweeted about what was happening, and some very kind (and somewhat determined) fans convinced me I should go out and see the city. I did. And it was awesome. By the end, there were about twenty of us. We grabbed food at a local place, and I asked what was considered authentic Dutch cuisine. I was told pancakes by one person and potatoes by another. So, I ordered pancakes and fries.
Strange looks ensued. Apparently “pancakes and potatoes” meant “pancakes or potatoes.” But I stuck to my guns. (And this was by no means just an excuse to order some fries . . . )
Fan reports from the Amsterdam meet can be found here , here , and here .
The signing in Oslo was awesome. I loved the store, and the turn-out was great. Seriously, if you live in the area, you need to check out Outland Kirkegata . They’re the only bookstore that has ever flown me internationally on their own dime just so their readers could get some signatures. And, speaking of bookstores, I did sign some books in a few places, wherever I found them. So here’s a list of places you’ll find signed copies:
Simply Books, Salt Lake City Airport
Top of Concourse C
Borders Books, Cincinnati Airport
Terminal 3B
Phone: 859.767.4960
Outland Kirkegata, Oslo
Kirkegata 23
0153 Oslo
Phone: 22 33 04 10
The American Book Center, Amsterdam
Spui 12
1012 XA Amsterdam
Phone: +31(0)20 625 55 37
Forbidden Planet Megastore, London
179 Shaftesbury Avenue
London WC2H 8JR
Phone: 0207 420 3666
Waterstone’s, Guildford
71-73 High Street
Guildford GU1 3DY
Phone: 01483 536366
I had a great time in London. It was my first visit to the UK, but I intend to get back soon. And of course France was awesome, as always.
One regret of the trip was that after we’d set my dates in stone, we realized I was not only doubly nominated for the David Gemmell Legend Award for Best Novel, but would be leaving Europe only a few days before the ceremony. We looked into changing things around, but the cost—and the fact that I was plain exhausted from the trip—was too much. We went ahead and regretfully returned on schedule.
To my great surprise, The Way of Kings actually won.
I hadn’t been expecting this. I’d been nominated three times before without winning. This year, with two books up for the award (like last year), I was convinced I’d split my votes again and have no shot at it. Beyond that, the competition was pretty steep this year.
I now wish I’d made the extra effort to stick around. Still, my publisher was there, and we’d talked about them accepting the award for me in case I did win. At least we were represented.
Either way, I’m deeply grateful to you all for your votes for The Way of Kings . Once I get the award, I’ll be sure to take photographs and post them up for everyone to admire.
And now, back to work on A Memory of Light .
(Also, p.s., I’ve been invited to Comic-Con International in San Diego again this year, with a request that I appear on the fantasy panel. I wasn’t intending to go, but with the invitation on the table, I decided it was worth the diversion. So if you’re attending, plan on seeing me there. I’ll bring some Alloy of Law goodies to give away.)
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