My name is Anthony Gould. I’ve been reading the series quite a bit. I’ve read 1-13 ten times. [murmurs, woos] And so…and I actually planned to read A Memory of Light ten times in a row before I read any other book…[laughter]…just so I have something to say instead of saying, “I’ve read every other book ten times, and I’ve read this one once.” That’d be bad.
But yeah, so my question I think is directed at Harriet, mostly. I was thinking, well, is the character Mat Cauthon—did Robert Jordan base that character on him?
Maria was saying something earlier today that would suggest what you think he did…? (looks at Maria)
Somewhat.
Somewhat. I would go for that. He told somebody, I think more than once, that all the female characters were based on me . [laughter] In the same way, I think that perhaps he based all the male characters on him , including Padan Fain and the like. [laughter]
Traits he had in common with Mat: There’s one point Mat’s talking to Olver about turtle shells, and Mat’s thinking about a turtle shell he had. Jim—Robert Jordan—had a shelf of turtle shells in the office, and he did like to play cards and other games. [laughter] Yeah, there were aspects of Jim in Mat.
And to quit a job as a civilian engineer working for the United States Navy in order to write fiction…if that isn’t the act of a gambler, I don’t know what is. [laughter, applause]
Alright, well thank you then!
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