Harriet, will you speak to how you came to choose Brandon to finish the series, and Brandon, how it was to be selected?
Well, I don’t know that this isn’t all over the Web, so most of you probably already know the story….
In the interest of space, I agree, and the details of this can be found among Brandon’s own blog entries on www.brandonsanderson.com, an interview on tor.com, and other places. I feel Compelled, however, to provide a verbatim transcript of a piece of her commentary.
(After having read Mistborn and feeling that Brandon was the right fit for the work) And then, in a very unprofessional way, I called information for Provo, Utah, and asked for Brandon Sanderson’s phone number. And I got it!. So a woman picked up the phone, and I said “Hello, is this Brandon Sanderson’s number?”, she said “Yes it is”. And I said “Well, I’m the widow of Robert Jordan, and I’m calling to ask whether Brandon Sanderson would like to be considered on the short list we’re compiling”, and it was a short list (holding up a single finger) “to finish Robert Jordan’s fantasy series.” She said, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” And guess what? Provo, Utah has at least two Brandon Sandersons. So then I remembered that I was a publishing professional, called Tor, and said “what is Brandon’s number?”
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