It’s too late to have things shipped in time for Christmas from the store, but you can send gift certificates. These are sent by email to whoever you want to receive one, and you can buy them here.

The Sugarhouse Barnes & Noble has signed copies of The Rithmatist, Steelheart, The Way of Kings, and all three of my Wheel of Time books. The Steelheart copies are all the B&N exclusive edition with an annotated chapter, and on Saturday there were still three copies with Steelhunt codes inside them. Thanks to all who came to the signing, and to B&N for setting up such a nice event! This is the only place in the valley right now to get signed copies of my books, for you last-minute shoppers.

I’ve also neglected to link to the Writing Excuses writing advice show episodes that have been released this month. They are:

• Long-Form Storytelling with Sam Logan
• Hard Social Science Fiction with Joel Shepherd
• Q&A with Mercedes Lackey
• Creative non-fiction with Mette Ivie Harrison

I mentioned a while back that Steelheart has four exclusive editions in different stores. I’d like to take a few minutes to tell you about each one.

Barnes & Noble: Chapter 1 annotation

My website has chapter-by-chapter annotations that I wrote for many of my books, and people often tell me how much they love them and ask when I’m going to put up more. However, writing them is so time-consuming that it’s been hard for me to get annotations for my books done lately. Steelheart, however, has one annotation for you. The first chapter is repeated in the back of the Barnes & Noble exclusive edition, with one of my characterisitic annotations done in-line in a really cool way—as you read, you can get my commentary on the chapter, kind of like a director’s commentary on DVD. I think it’s super cool that they did this, and I hope that you’ll check it out.

Books-A-Million: Regalia Epic File

For my readers who prefer books in Spanish: I found out last week that four of my books are currently priced at 2,84€ on Kindle in Spain. You can also get them on other Kindle stores (such as Mexico or elsewhere), but the price will vary according to your location.

• Elantris (España) (México) (otros)
• Nacidos de la Bruma 1 (España) (México) (otros)
• Nacidos de la Bruma 2 (España) (México) (otros)
• Nacidos de la Bruma 3 (España) (México) (otros)

This week’s Writing Excuses podcast episode with Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, and me is titled “The Internal Heckler vs. The Internal Editor.” Check it out.

I’m home from the Steelheart tour now, though there is one more event left in New York: my appearance at the 92nd Street Y on November 16th with Christopher Paolini and James Dashner. That is a ticketed event, so if you’re in New York and would like to go, see details here.

While I was on tour I left signed copies of Steelheart at many stores. See the Steelhunt posts for locations. The biggest of these was Powell’s, where I left 100 signed copies, a random ten of which contained Steelhunt codes. There are also some copies at the locations listed below.

The tour being over doesn’t mean that the Steelhunt is over. I’m going to talk about new ways to get a code on Twitter and Facebook this week. As soon as we run some numbers on how many outstanding codes there are.

A few more stores with signed copies of Steelheart:

• Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego. Thanks, Patrick!
• The Signed Page Thanks, Shawn!
• Warwick’s Bookstore in the San Diego airport. Many signed books; codes in Steelhearts on the back wall.

And here are three stores that don’t have signed copies of Steelheart, but they do have Steelhunt codes:

• Queen Anne Book Company, Seattle. Thanks, Tegan!
• Books & Company in Oconomowoc, WI. Thanks, Lisa! Several of these have signed bookplates.
• Barnes & Noble, Evanston IL. Thanks, Curtis! The code here is in another of my books, not Steelheart. Happy hunting!

Hey all. I found out that Bryce Moore’s Vodník, a book I really enjoyed (so much that I wrote a cover quote for it: “Vodník is compelling, interesting and darkly humorous. I think you’ll love it.”) is on sale right now as a $1.99 ebook. See the links on the right. You can also read the first 45 pages of the book for free here.

Meanwhile, my Steelheart tour is nearly at an end. This evening I sign at Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego at 7:00 p.m., and then tomorrow I fly back home at last. There will be another signing in Utah this weekend, and the big New York City event with Christopher Paolini and James Dashner in November, but basically this is the end for the tour (and I can get back to writing full-time).

However, the Steelhunt continues. I’ve left codes in many bookstores; see previous posts for locations. If you’ve been wondering what exclusive content has been unlocked so far, it includes three full chapters from book sequels that have not yet been published and substantial beginning chunks of two pieces of short fiction (one of which is a sequel to a popular novella of mine, the other of which takes place on a previously unseen Cosmere world). The more codes get found and entered into a confidential location on the site, the more content is unlocked for every participant to see.

Here are three more great indie bookstores where you can find Steelhunt codes:

Reader’s Guide in Salem, Oregon(If you stop in, say hi to Kim for me)Klindt’s Booksellers in The Dalles, Oregon(Tell Tina you saw this post)Bob’s Beach Books in Lincoln City, Oregon(Many thanks to Diana)

More ways to participate in the Steelhunt are yet to come, so keep your eyes peeled.

Just a reminder, all. Steelheart—my new novel—is out right now! It hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list in the Young Adult section. If you’re curious, you can read about the book here, and listen to a cool audio sample here.

For an explanation of my Wheel of Time retrospective, see the beginning of my first post, which talked about the notes, and my second post on the process. Here’s post number three. Before we begin, it should be stated that this post will contain spoilers for the entire series, ending included. If you haven’t finished, you will want to do so before reading this post.

The Gathering Storm: Writing Process

I attacked the project in earnest in the summer and fall of 2008. I realized early on that there was too much to keep in mind for me to write in a strict chronological fashion, as I had normally done in the past. For this project, I needed to take groups of characters, dump all of the information about them into my mind (like loading a program into RAM), and write for weeks on just that group. This way, I could keep track of the voices of the many characters and maintain the numerous subplots.

The hardest part of this project, I feel, was keeping track of the subplots and the voices of the side characters. This is not surprising; though I’d read the Wheel of Time many times, I was not a superfan. I loved the books, but I was not among the people who made websites, wikis, and the like for the books. I read the books to study the writing and enjoy the story; I did not spend too much time keeping track of which minor Aes Sedai was which.

I could no longer be lax in this area; I had to know every one of them. Part of Robert Jordan’s genius was in the individual personalities of all of these side characters. So I began dividing the last book (which was at that time still one novel in my mind) into sections. There were five of them. Four of these—one for Rand, one for Egwene, one for Mat, and one for Perrin—would push these four main plots toward the ending. They would happen roughly simultaneously. The other plotlines leading up to the Last Battle, and then the battle itself, were the fifth section.

It became obvious to me early in the outlining process that I was going to be writing a big book. I was well aware of what Robert Jordan had said about the final volume—you can find quotes from him on the internet where he promises it would be so large, fans would need a wheelbarrow to get it out of bookstores. I took this to heart, but knew that there was little chance Tor would let me write the book that large without cutting it.

Indeed, by late 2008, Tor had gotten word that I was promising Harriet a 2000-page book. I believe it was in January 2009 when I got the call from Harriet asking about splitting the books. I was ready for this. My first line was to tell her, “I still view this as one book, and would like to try and get it printed as one book if at all possible.” She took my arguments back to Tor, and had a long conversation with Tom Doherty. When she came back to me, she said they strongly advised a division.

I’m still not certain what would have happened if Robert Jordan had tried this. Perhaps Harriet would have persuaded him that the realities of publishing forbade a book so large. Either way, I felt I had made as strong an argument as I could—and I admitted, despite my desire to see the book as one volume as Robert Jordan had envisioned, that I would have to either discard several major parts of the outline or agree to split the novel.

I think we made the right choice. Three books gave me the chance to really dig into the project not as a one-off event, but as a process. Cutting major plotlines would have made the last book a rushed endeavor, requiring me to ignore several large threads. However, the division of the outline did create some problems, which I’ll talk about during the Towers of Midnight post.

When Harriet asked me about splitting the book, she wondered if there was a natural breaking point. I told her breaking it once wouldn’t work—but breaking it twice might. I didn’t feel A Memory of Light would work as two volumes. Looking at my outline and what I needed to accomplish, two books would either mean one very long book and one normal-sized one, or two books split equally. Both would have been awkward. The former because doing a double-sized Wheel of Time book would have the same problems as just printing the original 2000-page novel. 1400 pages isn’t much better in publishing terms. 1000, like some of the Wheel of Time books, already pushes against those limits.

The second option—two 1000-page books—was even more of a problem. If we cut it in the middle like that, we’d get the first half of all four plot sequences I mentioned above—but none of their climaxes. This (writing one book as a setup book, with the payoffs mostly happening in another book) was an experiment that Robert Jordan had already attempted, and he had spoken of the problems it created. He was a better writer than I am, and if he couldn’t accomplish such a split, I didn’t want to attempt it.

Instead, I felt that splitting the book as three books would allow us to have complete arcs in each one. Two, actually, for each of The Gathering Storm and Towers of Midnight—followed by the climactic book, A Memory of Light. So I set out to divide the plots and decide what would go where.

I knew fans would be skeptical of me taking over the project in the first place, and I knew they’d be more skeptical when we announced a three-book split. That meant I wanted my most dynamic plots in the first book. (I knew the ending would carry its own book, and was never worried about that one being dynamic enough.) In addition, I wanted to split the four sequences—Rand/Egwene/Mat/Perrin—so that we had at least one in each book that Robert Jordan had done a lot of work on. Rand and Perrin had much less material finished for them than Mat and Egwene. So it was either Rand/Egwene or Perrin/Mat for the first book.

It soon became clear that I needed to lead with Rand/Egwene. They mirrored each other in very interesting ways, with Rand’s narrative descent and Egwene’s narrative ascent. When Rand was being contemplative, Egwene’s plot had action—and vice versa. While my personal favorite of the four is Perrin’s arc, I felt his involved a lot of buildup and some less straightforward plotting as we pushed toward his climactic moments. I also decided that the plots would work with shaving off some of what Rand/Egwene were doing to save it for the second book, but I couldn’t do the same as easily for Perrin/Mat.

A book was forming in my head. Rand’s absolute power driving him toward destruction and Egwene’s specific lack of power elevating her toward rebuilding the White Tower. We needed a Mat section—I didn’t want him absent for the book—so Hinderstap was my creation, devised after Harriet asked me to be “more disturbing and horrifying” in regards to the bubbles of evil that were coming into the book.

Egwene

The Egwene plot was an absolute delight to work on. Of all the things that Robert Jordan had been building for this last book (including the final chapter) before he died, I feel this was the most fully formed. Egwene’s rise and the Seanchan assault played together perfectly in classic Wheel of Time fashion, and I got to participate in unique ways, working with his notes and instructions to craft his plotlines exactly as I feel he envisioned them.

One large change I did make was splitting the Egwene dinner with Elaida into two distinct scenes, instead of one single scene. I felt the pacing worked much better this way, and it complemented the Rand sequence better with the first dinner happening, Egwene getting sent to further work, then a climactic second dinner happening where I could really bring about Egwene’s victory, all without her ever channeling.

In the Egwene sequence, I got to do the most truly collaborative work with Robert Jordan. In other places, I inserted scenes he’d written. In many others, I had to go with my gut, lacking instruction. With Egwene, I had a blend of explanations of scenes, written scenes, and Q&A prompts from Robert Jordan that made me feel as if I were working directly with him to bring about the sequence. If you want to see a full sequence in the books that I think is the closest to the way he’d have done it if he could have, I’d suggest the Egwene sequence in The Gathering Storm. (And beyond. Most of what we have for her was by his direction, inclusive of the events leading up to—and including—Merrilor.)

Rand

In taking on this project, one of my personal goals—if the series would allow it—was to focus more time on the main characters, particularly Rand. I love the middle books, with their exploration of other plots and characters, but the first book presented to us Rand, Perrin, Mat, and Egwene as our main characters. I feel that, in the true nature of the Wheel of Time, the appropriate thing to do was bring the attention back to them for the final books—and I feel Robert Jordan would have done so himself.

Rand needed to be the heart of the three novels. In pondering how to accomplish his outline, I was reminded of things I’d felt when first reading The Dragon Reborn. Rand’s anguish as a character was powerful to me, and I thought, “Surely he can’t go lower, be forced to go through more, than he’s had happen to him here.” The next few books affirmed this.

Then I read Lord of Chaos. That book breaks your heart; I found myself amazed that Rand could be brought down even lower. This progressed through the next books, with more being piled upon Rand—but the low points of Lord of Chaos are the most stark in my mind. I remember thinking, “Surely this is the bottom.”

That was why, in The Gathering Storm, I needed to attempt what Robert Jordan had successfully done twice. I needed to bring Rand even lower than the reader had assumed, expected, or even thought possible. This was in part to fulfill arcs Robert Jordan had in place, in part because of his love for the Monomyth and the Campbellian hero’s journey, but mostly because it felt right to me. Rand’s redemption, so to speak, needed to be preceded by his lowest point in the series.

This also offered me an interesting storytelling opportunity. In the original outline, Rand’s descent, his decision on Dragonmount, and his following actions as the Dragon Reborn would all happen in a single volume. In splitting the books, I could do the first part in one book, then have his actions in the second book introduce an interesting tension—the question of whether or not this new Rand was still the Rand we loved. I could prompt readers to fear that just as he became unrecognizable in the depths of his fall, he might become something unknowable in the heights of his redemption. It would make for a new kind of conflict, one I’d never explored before, through Towers of Midnight—before finally giving Rand more viewpoints in A Memory of Light to humanize him again. (Something Harriet was very glad to hear I was planning to do. Her main point regarding Rand was that he, in performing the actions he did in the last book, had to be very human in his approach to them. This was to be the story of an ordinary man who achieved something amazing, not an unknowable deity doing the same.)

Other Characters

I have a fondness for Aviendha, my personal favorite of the female leads in the Wheel of Time. (My favorite among the male leads is Perrin.) I wanted to see a return of Avi in the last books, as I felt we just hadn’t had enough of her lately. I also have an interesting relationship with Nynaeve, a character who I (as a young man) resented. My opinion of her is the one that grew the most during the course of my reading as just a fan, and by Knife of Dreams I absolutely loved her. I knew that with all of the crowding in the last books, she actually wouldn’t have a large part to play in the Last Battle. (Very few would be able to do so, beyond Rand/Egwene/Perrin/Mat.) Therefore, it was important to me to give her a solid and interesting sequence of scenes through both The Gathering Storm and Towers of Midnight. Her raising was not instructed by the notes, but was something I was insistent be in the books. (And along those lines, one thing Harriet insisted happen—and I was all too ready to oblige—was a meeting between Rand and his father.)

To be continued.

The Steelheart tour continues. Today and tomorrow I’m in the Bay Area, and next week I’m in Seattle and San Diego. See my full schedule for details.

I’ve also arranged for Steelhunt codes to be hidden at a few more stores. (See these posts for a Steelhunt explanation and other participating locations.) Latest on the list is a hunting ground for all of you folks in Northern Michigan just south of Upper Michigan. There are 5 Steelhunt codes in Petoskey at McLean and Eakin Booksellers. Say hi to Zach for me when you stop by!

Now, Powell’s. Have I ever mentioned how much I like signing at Powell’s Cedar Hills Crossing store in Beaverton, Oregon? They have a great space there for reading, and there’s always a huge crowd. Whenever I have a stop there it’s one of the three best signings of the tour, so I look forward to every visit.

This week’s signing at Powell’s was no exception. The turnout was excellent as usual. (Though I’m really sorry to hear a couple of people arrived after 9:00 and got turned away at the mall doors. Often my signings will go three hours or more, and a bookstore will stay open past their usual closing time until everyone has come through the line. But the mall location makes it difficult for people to get in after closing time, so I’ll try to make sure that’s noted on my schedule in the future.)

While I was at Powell’s I signed shelf stock of a hundred copies of Steelheart. Ten random copies have Steelhunt codes inside. They ship worldwide, and orders of $50 or more get free shipping to US addresses. Indies like Powell’s are what make a book tour possible—if everyone bought from Amazon, there wouldn’t be any bookstores and you wouldn’t be able to meet me at any signings. I am happy for you to read books in whatever format works best for you, but if you like hardcovers I urge you to consider supporting the bookstores. If you haven’t picked up Steelheart yet, think about choosing Powell’s. Note: Their website has a listing for the signed copies that’s different from the regular listing, so be sure you use the signed listing if you don’t stop by the store.

Two weeks ago I talked about a bet I have with James Dashner that hinges on how many copies Steelheart and The Eye of Minds sell in their first week of release. Well, The Eye of Minds came out yesterday. You should totally check it out, especially if you want to see me forced to become Justin Bieber. We’ll know the result of the bet in a week or so!

My Steelheart tour continues (today I’m in Los Angeles and this weekend I’m in the Bay Area), and the Steelhunt continues as well. If you’re in the Salem, Oregon area, there is one code at the Reader’s Guide bookstore. Their sf/fantasy guru Kim Mainord will be happy to give it out.

For those in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, you might find some other codes at the Red Balloon Bookshop. I got this email from Joan Trygg:

Hi Brandon,

The postcards and bookplates are tucked inside your books. I also wanted to let you know I handsold one yesterday. A young woman who had just finished Ender’s Game was looking for something “science fiction, but not all this,” by which I guessed she meant the general dystopian/supernatural/romance thing. So I handed her a few books, then I gave her Steelheart, and told her to sit down and read the first few pages. It wasn’t long before she came up to the counter to buy it. I told a co-worker the same thing, and now she can’t wait to read it either.

I was very glad to meet you. I do hope you will make Red Balloon a stop on your next visit to the Twin Cities!

Doing my best to help you not be Justin Bieber,

Joan Trygg
Red Balloon Bookshop

Thanks, Joan! I haven’t been to the Red Balloon but will have to check it out next time I’m in town!

Brandon

All,

Looking for a place to get a signed copy of Steelheart? The bookstores I’ve been visiting might be a great place to look—and they are eager to ship to you, if you live out of the area. I posted about a few on Tuesday. Here are some more:

Chicago, Anderson’s BookshopThis store now has in its possession a large number of signed books. They have all of my paperbacks, hardcovers of The Rithmatist, and—of course—Steelheart. In addition, I left them with a nice stack of Steelhunt codes to slip into copies of Steelheart that they sell. If you live in the Chicago area and missed my signing, drop in! We slipped extra Steelhunt codes in the books on their shelves, and they have others to send with their online orders.So, If you don’t live in Chicago, but want to grab a signed copy of the book with a chance at a code, you can to order through their online store here. Or you can call them at (630) 355–2665. Be sure to ask for signed copies, and mention the Steelhunt, which might improve your chances of getting one of the codes!Cincinnati, Joseph-BethYou may know that this is one of my favorite bookstores to visit, and I had a wonderful time here. I signed a lot of stock for them, and they have copies of all of my books. In addition, they’re sending a lot of books to their store down in Lexington, where I commonly visit. They said these will be up for sale sometime next week, so you might want to call before you head in. But they do have Steelhunt codes, so never fear, Lexington. I haven’t forgotten about you.I’d be willing to bet that the Cincinnati store would be happy to ship books to you if you want them! Please keep these wonderful stores in mind, particularly if you live in their area.AirportsIn addition, if you are traveling this week, the Salt Lake City airport (Simply Books, Gate C6) still has signed books and Steelhunt codes.O’Hare Airport in Chicago also has many signed books. (Check out these endcaps!) Find the signed copies at Gates E3 (this store has Steelheart left, while the others are sold out), G1, and H/K3 (the bookstore there runs between the two gate arms).Cincinnati Airport: Heritage Books in the B gates has signed Steelheart, and The Rithmatist in teen. Here’s a picture. I put three Steelhunt codes in books there, but they might be gone already.

Today I’m signing in the Dayton area. You can find the rest of my tour schedule here, and if you want me to email you when I’m signing near you, tell me your city.

We have entered week two of Steelheart’s release—by Wednesday, we’ll know what the opening week numbers were, and that will become the benchmark that Dashner will try to beat with The Eye of Minds. The loser will then become Justin Bieber. Many thanks to all who checked out the book last week.

Of course, you’re still perfectly welcome to buy the book this week! To encourage that along, I’ll be doing a few more cool blog posts this week. (Including one titled “What I learned by working on the Wheel of Time”!) In this post, however, I want to give you a little more about the Steelhunt.

If you missed last week’s post, I’m hiding prizes in books at my signings and in bookstores I pass during my tour. If you work at a bookstore somewhere that is not on my tour, do feel free to email me through my website and ask about the Steelhunt. We’d love to have you participate.

Last week, we gave you a glimpse of the prize. Today, I want to show it in its full glory.

It’s an awesome lenticular postcard designed by Isaac (who did all of the maps for Mistborn and The Way of Kings), which shows Chicago being transformed to steel. On the back of these postcards are codes that will take you to a hidden section of my website that contains goodies, such as a sneak peek at Words of Radiance. The more codes that are entered, the more goodies get revealed.

I’ll be on tour this week, visiting the following cities: Chicago, Cincinnati, Dayton, Milwaukee, Chicago again. I’ve given away codes at every signing so far—some in books, others with clues in the store, others to people in costume or who do something otherwise impressive. So please stop by! In addition, if you’re flying through those cities, you might find codes in signed copies of Steelheart in the airports.

Last week, I visited the following stores. All have signed books, and many have some codes hidden in them:

Orem UT, Barnes & NobleHas signed hardcovers of most of my books, including Steelheart, The Rithmatist, and A Memory of Light.Salt Lake City, The King’s EnglishThey had copies of the Mistborn Adventure Game, which I signed! I know for a fact I left one Steelheart code here with their science fiction guru. He might still have it!Salt Lake City Airport, Simply BooksBy gate C6. They have signed copies of Steelheart and every Sanderson paperback, and they keep a huge stock of my books. I pass through so often that they almost always have something signed in stock. If you fly through SLC anytime in the future, you might want to stop by. I also left them a dozen Steelhunt codes last time, and there might be a few left hidden in copies of Steelheart!Houston IAH AirportThere is a Simply Books near the B terminal escalators that has a ton of signed copies of Steelheart. In the A terminal, there is a newsstand-style bookstore with signed copies in an attached books section. I left a lot of Steelhunt codes in these.Houston, Murder by the BookAn excellent store that you really should visit. Say hi to John for me, and pick up one of their signed stock of Steelheart!Austin, The Book PeopleAnother excellent store. They are doing a promotion in October for Steelheart and The Rithmatist. I left them a big stack of Steelhunt codes, so if you buy a copy of Steelheart from them, you might be able to get them to give you one. Watch for an announcement of when their promotion starts. They are going to use the codes then.Austin AirportTwo newsstand stores, called Austin Article, each had eight copies of Steelheart. One is by Gate 5, and has no codes—but signed books! The larger one near the center of the terminal, by security, has codes hidden in two of the eight copies.

If you have friends passing through one of these towns or airports, have them grab a code for you! (And hopefully a signed book too.)

And watch for more ways to win a code on Twitter/Facebook and my mailing list! (Which you can sign up for here, through my website.)

Steelheart comes out tomorrow!

If you live local to Utah, please consider coming to the launch party at the Barnes & Noble in Orem from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. All copies will be numbered and pre-signed, so you won’t have to wait in line unless you want a personalization. I would really like to see this be a big event, so if you can possibly stop by, I’d appreciate it!

I first had the idea for Steelheart somewhere around five years ago. It was engaging, exciting, and demanding—one of those ideas that wouldn’t let go of me, one of those ideas that I needed to write. However, I had dedicated myself to finishing the Wheel of Time, and in doing so, I had told myself that I would avoid starting any new book series until I had finished A Memory of Light.

I returned from tour that year and wrote the prologue to Steelheart soon after. You can read it here. The prologue turned out better than I could have hoped. In fact, I did a reading of it at two conventions over the years (one in Nebraska, the other being Dragon*Con, I believe) and had such a profoundly strong reaction to it, that I actually stopped reading it to people—it seemed cruel to do such a powerful reading, then admit that the book wouldn’t be out for many years.

During the years working on the Wheel of Time, completing Steelheart someday became my prize. If I did what I was supposed to, and remained focused, I would allow myself to finish this book. Hence, the month that I turned in A Memory of Light, revised and done, I finally turned my attention back to Steelheart. This was my reward to myself.

Epic fantasy will always be my first love. Work progresses well on Words of Radiance, and I think you’ll love it. It’s enormous, involved, epic, and immersive. However, in embracing the magnitude of a book like that, I don’t want to lose the simple excitement that is part of what makes books like Mistborn work. Action/adventure/humor blended together in a style reminiscent of my favorite action movies. Steelheart is a love letter to that genre.

Because we’re finally releasing the book, I wanted to do some things to celebrate. First off, I’ll be doing a series of blog posts this week and next about things I’ve been intending to write for a while. Sanderson’s Third Law of Magic will be one of them, as will a post talking about what the Wheel of Time taught me as a writer. Hopefully, you’ll check back frequently and find something of interest here.

The second thing we’re going to do is another hunt! Working with Random House, who is publishing Steelheart, we have devised an extra-special giveaway. As many of you know, I often search out my books in airport bookstores or other stores I pass, then sign the books and hide little prizes in them. (Some call it Brandalizing the books.) We have a brand-new goodie for me to hide, related to this book.

On the back of this prize is a URL and a code, allowing you to access a special section of my website that includes some exclusive goodies, including a ten-thousand-word chunk of Words of Radiance, book two of the Stormlight Archive. As the first one to find the code, you not only get to keep the prize found above, you’ll be able to leave your name on the list of hunters. The fun thing is that after that, you can share your code with friends so they can visit the special section of the website and read the exclusives there themselves.

The more codes that get entered, the more exclusives will be unlocked. (I think we have nine or ten of them in all. Some will be pieces of art, others will be chunks of writing from other upcoming books.) We will have ways for you to get codes even if you don’t live anywhere near where I’ll be visiting on tour. (More on this in a moment, though if you haven’t looked at the tour list, please check here.)

Now, a few rules for the Steelhunt.

1. If you find a code, as I say above, you can share it with others—but please don’t post it online in an open way. You can direct message it to people, text it to people, or post it on private forums. But if you broadcast it on Twitter/Facebook, etc. we’ll have to disable it.
2. As always, the spirit of the hunt is for you to have the goodie above in your possession before you enter the code. Please don’t bother bookstore employees by calling them and asking them to read a code to you over the phone. I will be warning employees not to do this, if I talk to them. If it becomes a problem, I might have to take further measures, such as disabling codes until we receive a picture of you holding the code. This makes the entire thing less fun, as it adds a step between a code being discovered and one being activated. This is important to me because, in asking bookstores to indulge me as I do this hunt, I don’t want their employees flooded with phone calls interrupting their work and keeping them from the customers.
3. You can, however, send someone you personally know to get the code for you. Don’t call the store next door and beg some random employee to do it, but if you do know someone flying through the airport or visiting the city, feel free to have them grab the code for you.
4. You don’t have to buy the book the goodie is hidden inside of, though I’d really prefer it if you did! However, if you already own the book, feel no guilt in grabbing the code.

I will be giving away a few codes at each signing I’ll be doing. I’ve also been known to give away codes for costumes that impress me, or other cool things that show up at my signings.

Now, if you aren’t going to be anywhere near where I’m touring, we want you to be able to participate too. We will have ways you can win codes on the website, on Twitter, and on Facebook over the next few weeks. In addition, we have a few surprise appearances by codes planned for stores I’ll not be visiting.

If you own or work for a bookstore in a city I will not be visiting and are interested in participating in the Steelhunt, drop me an email through my website. (Note: there is no guarantee we’ll be able to get codes to every store that contacts us.)