In 2007, Robert Jordan’s widow selected you to complete the Wheel of Time series. What was your reaction when you heard the news and how did you start the work on the series?
Nobody was more surprised by it than me. I didn’t even know I was being considered. Like most fans of the series, I was just shocked and saddened that Jim Rigney (Robert Jordan) wasn’t going to be there to finish it himself. About a month after his passing, I woke up one morning and found that I had a voicemail. I listened to it, and it said, “Hello, Brandon Sanderson, this is Harriet McDougal, Robert Jordan’s widow. I’d like you to call me back. I’ve got something I want to talk to you about.” It was one of those moments where you are absolutely certain at first that someone is playing a prank on you and then you start to shake nervously at the thought that it might not be a prank.
When I got hold of her, I found out that she was looking at me as one of the candidates to finish the Wheel of Time. I hadn’t applied for this or anything like that. I considered Jim in many ways to be a mentor. I had read a lot of his books when I was trying to decide how to write myself, and he strongly influenced what I produced. I’d never met him, so I didn’t know him personally, and that’s what dumbfounded me when I got the phone call. I was absolutely stunned. I’m afraid I stammered a bit when I told her I would be honored to be considered; in fact, a while after I got off the phone I sent her an email that started, “Dear Harriet, I promise I’m not an idiot.”
I felt honored and overwhelmed at the same time. While I didn’t ask for this, the truth is that I’m extremely excited to be involved. I love this series, and I wanted to see the last book written as much as any other fan. For a writer like me, the next best thing to having Jim write the novel is being able to work on it myself.
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