Books from Peter V. Brett – Plus an Interview

This is a Worldbuilders blog.

Well folks, here’s the last of the prizes, and the last of the author interviews.

Read on, and find out why Peter V. Brett is my new best friend.

*****

Heya Brett. Before we start, could you give us some of the details about how awesome you are? Y’know, awards, how many foreign countries your books have sold in. Stuff like that. Dazzle us.

Awesome, right. Let’s see… The Warded Man (AKA The Painted Man) was written on my cellphone during my subway commute to work. In many circles, I am more famous for that than the book itself.

No, seriously:

(You can read articles about it: here, here or here.)

Despite having been written with my thumbs, it was named one of Amazon UK’s 10 Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of 2008, and has since sold in 18 countries and 17 languages so far (closed a deal in Turkey just a couple of days ago. Very excited about that for multiple reasons). It has been a bestseller in the US, UK, Poland, and Germany that I know of.

The series has been optioned for film by Hollywood director Paul WS Anderson and producer Jeremy Bolt, who have done such movies as Event Horizon, Death Race, Pandorum, and the Resident Evil franchise.

Er… I am also devastatingly handsome, and make babies with the kind of auburn hair I am told women pay vast amounts of money to their colorists for. I drew the little chapter avatars in the US version of The Warded Man myself.

And he also makes julienne fries ladies and gentlemen. Order yours today!

Let’s start with an easy question. If you were a cake, what sort of cake would you be?

The kind that’s been sitting on the counter a long time and is sort of stale so you don’t really want to eat it right this second but keep it around in case you suddenly wake up desperate for cake in the middle of the night.

What are you reading right now?

I just got over the flu, so I got a lot of reading done, including Brandon Sanderson’s new Wheel of Time book, The Gathering Storm, which I admit I really enjoyed even though Brandon is my nemesis. I think Jordan’s spirit is pleased. I also read Shadow’s Edge by Brent Weeks and Legend by David Gemmell. I’m trying to decide between starting Mistborn by Sanderson or Acacia by David Anthony Durham next. In the meantime I am reading a bunch of comic books I’ve accumulated over the last few weeks.

All this reading feels good. For the last couple of years I’ve been too focused on my own writing to read much else, and I think that was unhealthy. I also had trouble turning off my internal editor, which sucks a lot of the fun out of reading.

If you had to pick your favorite book of all time, what would it be?

Ugh. Hard. Favorites shift with my moods. Let’s broaden a bit. My Personal Top 5:

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
The Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks
A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin
The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan
Shogun by James Clavell

You’re relatively new to the publishing world. How has getting your book published changed your life?

Man, you have no idea…

Oh, wait. Yes you do.

I sold in mid 2007, and since then, pretty much EVERYTHING in my life has changed. One minute I was begging someone, anyone, to please read my book, and the next I’m answering fan mail from Australia and Japan. In addition to selling and deciding to write full time, my wife lost her job, we had a baby, and bought a new apartment.

Even though it’s mostly been great stuff that I always dreamed about, I really felt like the rug was pulled out from under me, as all the constants in my life up to that point vanished. I didn’t know which way was up, and felt an incredible pressure to write a sequel that wouldn’t let down the readers who loved the first book. It was doubly hard because I was doing much of it as a zombie on the baby’s bi-hourly feeding schedule while we fretted over money, the cost of health insurance, etc.

Your blog helped me a lot as I adjusted to the change. Seeing someone else going through many of the same things (and coming out the other end of it) made it a little easier for me.

That’s nice to hear. Sometimes I would write some of those blogs and then think, “Why am I telling people this? Why am I burdening people with my emo bullshit?”

I know that feeling well, but the people who would feel burdened by hearing about your life probably don’t read your blog. I’ve found that blogging about my life helps me order my thoughts and keep things in perspective.

How often do you check your amazon sales rank?

Far too often. It is a sick, sick obsession. I also have google scour the internets and read every single review, no matter how nut-crunching.

Oh man. Google Alerts? I’ve avoided that particular madness by the clever application of my own ignorance. I don’t know how to set it up. I just trust that if something important enough happens, someone will e-mail me.

That is probably wise of you. Google alerts takes about 3 seconds and the internet know-how of a shoe to set up, but it’s probably best you never open that door.

How many copies of your own books do you currently own?

I have two shelves of my own books. One has two copies of each version/translation for my personal collection. So far that is 16 distinct volumes, so there are 32 books in my personal collection. These books are precious to me, and I guard them like my young.

The other shelf has books I am free to give away, and I try to run contests and things on my blog to keep those moving. That shelf has another 47 books at the moment, in various languages.

Wow. Specific numbers. Nobody else has been that forthcoming yet.

What are they hiding, do you think? Secret bunkers of their books in case of apocalypse?

Absolutely. I assume everyone buys their own first book obsessively, usually in conjunction with checking their Amazon sales rank.

Okay. Before this interview goes any farther, I have a confession to make.

You were one of the first people to send your books into the fundraiser, and while I was sitting up with my baby one night, I didn’t have anything to read. Your books were sitting right there…. So I read one. That’s not something I normally do with donations, but it was just sitting there. Taunting me.

Admission of guilt is the first step towards absolution, my friend. I think if you put a note in the front of the book saying “I read this one; the cookie crumbs and coffee stains are mine. Love, Pat” whoever wins the book will forgive the fact that it is second-hand, since they will probably get a lot more for it on eBay.

Boy, are you sure? I never write in books other than when I sign my own for people. I think it’s a sin, isn’t it?

This is a special case. Anyone who wins it in the Heifer fundraiser will probably be more a fan of yours than mine, anyway, and I give you leave to illuminate my book with your delicate cursive… or deface it with your chicken-scratch, if your handwriting is anything like mine. (Thank goodness we live in the computer age.)

Okay. If you’re sure…

  • A copy of The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett. Signed by the author… and another author who read it.

Feel free to add “It didn’t suck” to your note…

Man, way better than that. I have to say, your book was really fucking good.

!! Do go on…

Okay, to be completely honest with you, I was really ready to dislike it. I’m not proud of this… but, I’d heard you’d already got a movie deal going, so I was a little jealous. And you wrote it on the subway, so I was ready to be all snarky about that, too.

I was kinda expecting you to be Paolini of the F-train. His book got popular because he was so young, and I assumed yours just got attention because of the subway gimmick.

I should know better than jump to conclusions like that, of course. But I can be just as ignorant and petty as the next guy… And I was totally wrong, your book is, like .5 of a Whedon on the coolness scale.

Firefly Whedon or Dollhouse Whedon?

There is only one Whedon, and I am his prophet.

Did you see that time in Astonishing X-Men when he made xxx Xxxxxx Xxxx xxxxxxxx? That was AWESOME.

That was awesome. He caught me off guard like he always does. That’s one of his gifts, in my opinion. He’s exceptionally good at coming at any sort of story from a fresh direction.

Sorry I xxx-ed out your potential spoiler, by the way. I have issues.

Back to the point though. I really dug your book even though I didn’t want to like it at first…

I understand completely. So long as we’re being honest, I felt the same way about you at first. When my book first came out last year, it seemed like every other review was referring to it as “The best new fantasy since The Name of the Wind”. I know it was meant as a compliment, but after it happened a few times, it started to stick in my craw. My inner insecurity began translating that as “this is a good book, but TNotW is a better one.” Grr.

I didn’t know anything about you or TNotW at the time, so I picked up a copy to see what all the fuss was about. Admittedly, I went in with more than a little bias, ready to pounce on any flaws I could find just to make myself feel better.

Of course, I ended up utterly charmed, and when I started reading your blog and saw what a nice guy you were, I realized I was being a bit of a dick.

Heh. The same thing happened with me when my book came out. Everyone was like, “Pat Rothfuss is the next Scott Lynch!” I remember thinking, “Can’t I just be the first Pat Rothfuss? I’ve got a lot more experience being that.”

Ha. I just feel sorry for the poor schmo who gets saddled with being the next Peter Brett. That’s no prize.

So…. Now that we’re friends and all, is there any chance I could get an early look at Desert Spear? I’ll do just about anything to get a copy. I’m not joking here. I’d choke a nun.

Hrm. Well, here’s the thing. I only have 4 advance read copies, and two of them have been promised to fans as prizes in an ongoing contest on my blog. The other two are my personal copies, on the aforementioned “precious” shelf. They are so beautiful, the paired books on that shelf, like a little Noah’s Ark of books. Even my mom doesn’t have a Desert Spear ARC.

But that said, maybe if there were a way to make the copy eventually go to charity…

I wouldn’t want to steal one of your personal copies. Like I said, I understand the book-hoarding impulse….

Actually, I made a plea to Del Rey, and they shook loose another copy for me to send you. You know. For charity.

Muahahahaha! Witness my power! No. Wait. I mean… that will be a great addition to the fundraiser. This is all about charity you know…

Just put it and The Warded Man in a plain brown box labeled “Pat’s used books” and add it to the lottery.

Done:

What’s the most shameful self-promotional thing you’ve ever done?

I brought chocolate cake with icing wards to a signing at ComicCon just to entice people over. In my defense, it was my birthday.

You were at Comic-Con this year?

New York, not San Diego. I usually go to SDCC, but my daughter was born on that exact weekend in 2008, so I think I may miss it until she is old enough for me to convince her that an airplane hanger full of 200,000 cosplayers is a birthday treat.

If you play your cards right, you should be able to convince her that it’s a special birthday party just for her.

That’s the plan.

What is the best compliment you’ve ever received?

Milla Jovovich hugged me and told me she loved my book.

Oh man. Now I’m filled with terrible rage and jealousy. I think I might hate you again….

Uh-oh.

What’s the most hurtful thing someone has ever said in a review of your book?

A lot of readers try to pinpoint my personal morality and politics from the book. Sometimes they are wrong and say terrible things about my beliefs that are really upsetting. A few times I have tried to engage those critics in a polite, calm, and non-confrontational manner, just to set the record straight. Sometimes that helps. Sometimes it is a clusterfuck.

Two extra points for use of the word ‘clusterfuck.’ Do you have a particular piece of grammar that you screw up regularly?

I grew reading a lot of British fantasy (Tolkien, CS Lewis, Lewis Carroll, etc.) so there are a lot of Britishisms I use without realizing it. My copyeditors hate me.

If you could punch one literary figure in the face, who would it be?

I challenged Brent Weeks to a knife fight at the World Fantasy Convention this year, Beat It style, but he’d left his switchblade in his room so we just drank scotch instead.

Rumor has it that Voltaire wrote on the naked backs of his lovers. Do you have any little rituals that help you write?

I write very long books, so I would need many lovers.

That’s what I keep telling Sarah, but she isn’t buying it. How long was the Warded Man, anyway? It didn’t feel very long at all….

The Warded Man was 163,000 words, give or take. The first draft was closer to 180,000, but I cut a lot in the final editing pass. The Desert Spear, however, weighs in at a hefty 240,000 words, and that’s AFTER the heavy cutting. It’s no Wise Man’s Fear, but the hardcover will still make an effective bludgeon.

I hear you about the cutting. Over the years I’m guessing I cut over 100,000 words out of The Name of the Wind.

Speaking of which, I had an idea when I was interviewing Weeks a while back. It turns out he cuts a lot of stuff too. I’m thinking it would be cool to collect some deleted scenes from some other fantasy authors, put them into an anthology along with some commentary by the authors.

We could call it Worldbuilders, and some of the money it made could go to help match funds for the Worldbuilders fundraiser. I’ll admit it’s just a pipe dream so far, but what do you think?

It’s a good dream.

I saw that interview, where you both were talking about having cut the first sections from your books. I don’t know if this is just the case for all new writers, but the Prologue to The Warded Man was cut just prior to publication as well. I have a whole page of my website devoted to excised material, along with essays as to why things were cut. If you ever want to do a Worldbuilders anthology, I will be happy to contribute.

Rock. On. I’m so going to make this happen.

In the meantime, I still need to make a donation to Worldbuilders for this year. I don’t feel right about entering the lottery, though. Would it be possible for me to made a modest addition to the pool helping to match donations?

Oh merciful Buddha, are you serious? Some cash to help match donations would be the best thing ever.

Last year the fundraiser really tapped me out financially, so I was trying to be more careful this year when I said I’d only match 50%. But we’ve ended up raising WAY more than I expected. We’re already over 115,000 dollars. Even with Subterranean Press matching the first 10,000, that still leaves me stretched really thin.

I never planned on Worldbuilders being a one-man show. I’d always hoped some other folks would offer to help match donations, or maybe do fundraisers or auctions of their own to help Worldbuilders raise funds to match donations….

But you’re the first to actually offer.

Anyway, the short answer is “Yes.” I’d love to have you onboard helping to match donations.

You are now officially my new best friend.

*Ahem.* Anyway… back to the pre-tangent question. Do you have any weird writing habits?

Sometimes when I have writer’s block I will sync whatever chapter I am working on to my phone and write on the subway. For some odd reason, that always clears the block. No idea why.

That’s another reason the Voltaire thing wouldn’t work for you. It’d be hard to get properly intimate on the F-Train. People would complain about how many seats you were taking up.

You’d be surprised what you can get away with on the F…

I recently made a joke about “transition putty” on my blog. That being, of course, what we writers buy at Home Depot to smooth out our rough transitions. If you could have some sort of handyman tool like that, something like Plot Spackle or a Character Level. What would it be?

I wish I could go buy a box of minor character names like I can a box of nails. Look at all the trouble it’s causing you. You had to start a whole contest to get some ideas.

Heh. You detected my clever scheme, did you? Keep quiet about it and I’ll cut you in for 10% of the names.

Mum’s the word.

Those are all the questions I have. Thanks much for the interview, and double thanks for being willing to help out Worldbuilders as our first official author Sponsor. I can’t thank you enough for that.

Oh, and next time you see Milla, give her a hug for me….

Will do. Thanks so much for having me on the blog, and for all the great work you’re doing with Heifer. I’m glad I could do my own little part to help.

*****

Personally, I can’t think of a better way to end the last post of the fundraiser: our first author sponsor. Hopefully the first of many.

  • Four copies of The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett. Signed by the Author.

Not only is Brett’s debut novel a smashing good read, but owning a copy will bring you good luck, protect you from the swine flu, and make you roughly 33% more attractive to the opposite sex.Plus Brett has hugged Milla Jovovich. That means if you win one of these books that he’s touched with his own hands, it’s like you’re getting to hug her too, albeit twice removed.Well folks, this is the last of the prizes. You have until midnight on January 15th to get in on the action. For every $10 you donate on my Team Heifer page you get a chance to win books like these and many, many others.

If you want to know more about what you can win, or if you’d like more info about Worldbuilders itself, you can head over here for all the details.

With thanks to our sponsor, Subterranean Press.

(Ahhh… Last post of the fundraiser. Now can relax a bit….)
This entry was posted in cool things, Me Interviewing Other Folks, Subterranean Press, Worldbuilders 2009By Pat50 Responses

48 Comments

  1. Greg
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 1:41 PM | Permalink

    Is it weird that reading this interview, between an author I enjoy (Rothfuss) and an author I’ve never heard of (Brett), has actually made me interested in reading Brett’s book, even though at no point in the interview is there any description of the book or its contents?

    Feels…odd…but I’m going to go with it.

  2. Daniel
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 1:42 PM | Permalink

    I know how you feel Greg, personally I’ve started reading a bunch of different authors just from reading this blog. And hooray for your first author sponsor! Share the burden!

  3. Ciara
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 1:47 PM | Permalink

    The synchronicity is insane. A friend recommended the Painted Man to me yesterday morning and I went out and bought it on my lunch, started reading yesterday evening and am obsessing about finishing it now in work. So I take a sneaky check of Pats blog and there it is! It’s a sign. I must act sick and go home to read :) Great interview.

  4. fiction
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 1:56 PM | Permalink

    Loved reading the painted man, sadly i read it the day it came out and have spent the last year waiting for the next one.
    Is amazons April 2010 realease date for desert spear correct?

    The mistborn series is good has a very nice story plot and ending.

    Are there any other good little know authors of science fiction and fantasy worth reading.

  5. marky
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 2:07 PM | Permalink

    What a nice bloke. If I don’t win the books, I’ll buy them myself.

    I can’t believe he offered to match donations! What a guy. Good interview too…But not as good as Joe Abercrombie’s.;-)

    Pat, when are you going to let one of your fans interview you? It could be a good prize for next year’s Worldbuilders?

  6. Vulpes Fulva
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 2:13 PM | Permalink

    I’m going to go broke from having to buy all these books I’ve never heard of. Damn you!!!!!! Hopefully I will win a book, that would be fantabulous.

    You know what surprises me, Pat? I’m surprised that George RR Martin didn’t send anything over for the auction. I know he’s busy watching the NFL playoffs (his Jets are in the thick of things) but still… I know a multitude of your readers would be ecstatic about the chance to win some signed books of his.

  7. Jamie
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 2:34 PM | Permalink

    always love the blogs. This interview was fantastic! I am interested in reading his book now.

  8. Bombie
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 2:36 PM | Permalink

    The fact that he offered to match a part of the donations alone made me want to buy his book. His style in the rest of the (lovely!) interview makes me very much want to read them!

    I’m so glad to be a (small) part of this. Happy kids is what Heifer is all about. Go Pat! Go Worldbuilders! This has never been more true: http://en.tackfilm.se/?id=1263479272074RA57

    I really like the concept for the anthology as well! It would be wonderful if you could make it happen!

  9. Darb07
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 3:22 PM | Permalink

    “I’ll Choke a Nun” – I laughed so hard people at work came over and I got caught slacking lol. Thank God we arn’t busy or they might have been mad.

  10. TheGloop
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 3:34 PM | Permalink

    Warded Man was on my list of top 5 books I read last year. Great stuff that.

    Someday I’ll get the cage match battle royale between all these fantasy authors I’ve been dreaming of… some day. A girl can dream. It really would be awesome, guys. Comic Con panel maybe?

    – Joanne

  11. Jake
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 3:38 PM | Permalink

    Three cheers for Peter! Not only is he one hell of an author, but a nice guy to boot. The Warded Man is right up there with The Name of the Wind on my list of kick ass fantasy debuts. I would seriously consider doing many things in exchange for arc’s of The Wise Man’s Fear and The Desert Spear (Pat you lucky s.o.b.) Great interview chaps! I can always use a good laugh while I’m supposed to be working… Also, congrats on raising so much coin for such a wonderful cause!

  12. Alicia
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 3:46 PM | Permalink

    YEah – I’m joining the legions who have been sucked into reading Brett on the strength of this interview. Nice going Mr R :) Start charging advertising rates for these interviews

    -A-

  13. Tanja
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 3:58 PM | Permalink

    Pat- you know how much you want an ARC of Brett’s book, that is pretty much how we all feel about Wise Man’s Fear. Thanks for the interview. I always love reading about the authors. It makes the reading experience more fun.

  14. Josiah Cadicamo
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 4:04 PM | Permalink

    If i ever publish and you aren’t still doing this fundraiser i will cry. I will make you do it again just to help. : D

  15. Kazzmere
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 4:11 PM | Permalink

    “There is only one Whedon, and I am his prophet.”

    Yes.

  16. Anonymous
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 5:23 PM | Permalink

    Dear Patrick,

    I’m one of those fans that reads your blog, but usually has nothing interesting to say. Well now I have something I want to say. Thank you! Thank you for caring about other people and making it so much fun to give to others. What you are doing is amazing and my husband and I are very glad to be a part of it!

  17. Jess
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 5:37 PM | Permalink

    “A few times I have tried to engage those critics in a polite, calm, and non-confrontational manner, just to set the record straight. Sometimes that helps. Sometimes it is a clusterfuck.”

    WORD.

    You have just summed up my entire experience discussing politics, esp. on the internet.

  18. Anonymous
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 6:46 PM | Permalink

    Appreciate the interview Pat. Never heard of Brett before, but based on the books he likes and the comments online about his book I did the one click deal on Amazon to instantly purchase his book and send it to my Kindle DX. Look forward to reading it tonight! Thanks again.

  19. Laura
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 6:58 PM | Permalink

    It is GREAT publicity for the “guest authors,” indeed. I already ordered The Warded Man, which I had not heard much of before today.

  20. Ashlee
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 7:35 PM | Permalink

    I’m really jealous. I dream of being Pat’s best friend.

    Oh, well. I can settle for personal stalker.

    By the way, that shirt you had on yesterday left me a smile. I don’t know why.

  21. Ashlee
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 7:36 PM | Permalink

    Damn. I meant to type “left me with a smile”.

    Brett is wrong, it’s not that great living in the computer age.

  22. Anonymous
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 7:57 PM | Permalink

    Just bought Brett’s book because of this interview.

  23. LaurafromNY
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 8:21 PM | Permalink

    UGH! Don’t even get me started on Paolini! I wrote him a letter saying I don’t think his book is all that (in a much nicer way).(others had insults for him being popular because he’s homeschooled). Honestly, the book was so ick…the big, fancy words to describe…I had to pull out a dictionary and got so tired of searching for words…among other things. I think it’s really interesting to hear your take on him…brief though it be. And I really like what he wrote in the book with the crumbs and fingerprints!

  24. Anonymous
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 9:32 PM | Permalink

    the warded man is now in my cart, sadly enough i don’t have enough to buy it out right. i checked out his site after i read your interview, now i can’t wait for my next paycheck!! but i don’t know what i’m going to do when april comes, i’ll have to choose between the new dresden book, and the desert spear from the sound of how awsome the warded man is :) love when my hard decisions are these. never lasts tho.

  25. Martin Seeger
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 9:34 PM | Permalink

    This is funny, just bought “The Painted Man” and read it. The reason was pure and simple: The (german) cover reminded me of “Name of the wind” (german cover too). Just look yourself:

    Painted Man

    and

    Name of the wind

    They are as close to a 100% match as you can get with different authors and different publishers. I wonder if this was intentional.

    I liked Painted Man and i am also ancious for the second part of this novel as well.

    CU, Martin

  26. neonarg
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 10:02 PM | Permalink

    sweet! I really loved the warded man! Its a really good book and I recommend everyone to read it. I can’t wait for the next one so come out.

  27. The Authentic
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 10:10 PM | Permalink

    This is great and all, but I hope I’m not dead by the time The Wise Man’s Fear comes out. I’m seventeen and the story is about Kvothe growing up, and it may not mean the same thing to me when I get older. I don’t want to whine and cry, but posts like this make it seem as if the book is not only a secondary priority, but not even on your mind.

  28. Bombie
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 10:48 PM | Permalink

    @the authentic

    Why?

    I implore you to reread what you wrote and ask yourself: was that really necessary? Was that helpful in any way to anyone?

    Patrick Rothfuss is not your bitch. He is however a true hero, and a wonderful, charitable, selfless person to boot. He doesn’t need – or deserve – your selfish remarks.

  29. Zafri Mollon
    Posted January 15, 2010 at 1:22 AM | Permalink

    @Authentic
    I doubt that blogging about his novel is first on his mind. He probably spends most of his day thinking about the novel and/or writing it. If I spent that long thinking or writing about a story, I’d probably have little motivation to write about it in blog posts disregarding the fact that he has the fundraiser to take care of :)

  30. Anonymous
    Posted January 15, 2010 at 8:03 AM | Permalink

    @ Authentic

    Just a hint, when you start a sentence with “I don’t want to whine and cry” it means you are, in fact, whining and crying.

    Come on, Pat’s taking the time to run a great charity that helps people all over the world (Including disaster relief in Haiti, by the way.)

    On top of this, he’s entertaining us with interviews and informing us about good new books we can read.

    Personally, I wouldn’t like this blog nearly so much if all he did was talk about working on his book. There are plenty of author blogs out there like that, and they strike me as a little self-indulgent and masturbatory.

  31. Brent Weeks
    Posted January 15, 2010 at 1:37 PM | Permalink

    Pat, I appreciate your emo bullshit. That is all.

  32. superwench83
    Posted January 15, 2010 at 2:11 PM | Permalink

    What a great interview! The Warded Man has been on my to-read list ever since I first read about it on Debuts and Reviews, but somehow I’d never gotten around to reading it. I’m so going to look for it now the next time I hit the bookstore.

  33. JenMo
    Posted January 15, 2010 at 3:24 PM | Permalink

    I think the interviews were my favorite part of this year’s fundeaiser. Way cool.

  34. Tristan
    Posted January 15, 2010 at 5:34 PM | Permalink

    There, you have my ten dollars. Now let nobody say I never didn’t do nothing for nobody I have any strong emotion for. Most of my money goes to animal related charities. Though I suppose these guys give people animals so I’ll rationalise it in my head as giving animals good homes. Or giving hooved animals bad home. I hate hooved animals.

  35. Anonymous
    Posted January 15, 2010 at 7:22 PM | Permalink

    I’ve picked up three new authors off Pat’s blog. Love it for that. Halfway through The Warded Man now, Brent Weeks is up next. Thanks Pat!

  36. Malikelm
    Posted January 16, 2010 at 12:28 AM | Permalink

    awesome

  37. Joe
    Posted January 16, 2010 at 4:55 AM | Permalink

    I adore the relaxed banter in these interviews. And thanks for the book recs!

  38. Anonymous
    Posted January 16, 2010 at 6:39 AM | Permalink

    Pat –
    I love these interviews. Please interview Scott Lynch and ask him why he hides in a closet for six months at a time…

  39. Jayden
    Posted January 16, 2010 at 10:06 AM | Permalink

    Just because it came upin the interview (though I can’t find it right now again), it seems you an Abercrombie got a child ;)
    Check out the review for “Left hand of God” here: http://booktionary.blogspot.com/2010/01/2-mini-reviews-god-engines-by-john.html

  40. Gail
    Posted January 17, 2010 at 3:25 AM | Permalink

    I personally would like to purchase some stuff with the Worldbuilders logo on it. You know… decal, shirt, mug. That kind of stuff. Then when I’m wandering around in the world I can advertise. And spot people with the same stuff, which would be an awesome way to find a fantasy buff on sight.

    Maybe our illustrious author :) can sell stuff to make up the matching a bit? Or better yet, find a rampaging fan in the neighborhood willing to pitch in some time to do it…

  41. Kirk
    Posted January 19, 2010 at 9:20 AM | Permalink

    Oh… Oh… I can’t believe my little eyes…

    “In the meantime, I still need to make a donation to Worldbuilders for this year. I don’t feel right about entering the lottery, though. Would it be possible for me to made a modest addition to the pool helping to match donations?

    Oh merciful Buddha, are you serious? Some cash to help match donations would be the best thing ever.

    Last year the fundraiser really tapped me out financially, so I was trying to be more careful this year when I said I’d only match 50%. But we’ve ended up raising WAY more than I expected. We’re already over 115,000 dollars. Even with Subterranean Press matching the first 10,000, that still leaves me stretched really thin.

    I never planned on Worldbuilders being a one-man show. I’d always hoped some other folks would offer to help match donations, or maybe do fundraisers or auctions of their own to help Worldbuilders raise funds to match donations….

    But you’re the first to actually offer.”

    I’ll forward a copy of my e-mail from July 09 RE:Philanthropy
    You lose half partly from the slight / memory lapse, and well, you could still get the full amount if you are willing to fight some Hatians for it.

  42. Fabrizia
    Posted January 19, 2010 at 2:57 PM | Permalink

    Wow. I really, really hope that when I finally get a great ideia and finish only one of the 67265 stories that have been on my mind, a great author like you try to be my friend.
    I`m a little jealous, but I know I shall not be. He seems to be a nice man and a good writer.
    And, by the way, don’t worry, your story may become a film someday. It will be a big waste if it doesn’t happen.

  43. Anonymous
    Posted January 19, 2010 at 7:03 PM | Permalink

    Hi Pat, truth is I dont have a comment about this blog. I didnt even read it. Ok, I read some, you made me wanna check out Warded Man. But I have a question for you anyway. I say that Boarders said you book is comin out 8/30/10. I know in like Jan or Feb of 09 you said all dates were shananagains, how bout this one?

  44. Eva
    Posted January 20, 2010 at 2:26 PM | Permalink

    I heard of “the paimted man” because amazon recomended it to me. When i saw the reason it was “because you own the name of the wind”. So in amazon these books are linked…

  45. Sparks
    Posted January 22, 2010 at 8:45 PM | Permalink

    i’ll love your work forever but i’ll hate you til the day i die for reading the ARC of The Desert Spear so early….*is very jealous*

  46. Zach
    Posted January 23, 2010 at 11:30 PM | Permalink

    I would like to say that this post makes Pat and Peter even more awesome in my eyes.
    3 days ago I was angry that I didn’t have a book to read so I go and check my shelf and find a book that i bought several months ago and then lost before i read it, That book was The Warded Man. I finished it today and thought “Damn that was good when is the next one?” so i checked and then I decided to come and check if there has been an update for The Wise Man’s Fear.
    And I find that these two authors of awesome books know each other and just completed an interview. I bought both of these books at the same time around 6 months ago and I am proud to say that they are two of my favorite books.
    And I completely agree with what Pat said about the ARC of The Desert Spear and I would say the same for The Wise Man’s Fear.

  47. Mike
    Posted January 30, 2010 at 10:31 PM | Permalink

    I just went out and bought and finished the Warded Man purely because it was recommended on the blog. I will say it is amazing and needs to be picked up and devoured like a Christmas Ham! It is the first book since Name of the Wind that I couldn’t put down.

    Mike

  48. Gerli
    Posted March 1, 2010 at 12:11 AM | Permalink

    I only now noticed that The Name of the Wind or TNotW is sort of like T, not W. What do the T and W stand for?

    * True, not Wrong? (True not wrong – this is so true, speaking of mathematical logic)
    * Tuesday, not Wednesday?
    * Thanks, not Wanks?

    There must be some hidden code in here–

    /We interrupt this program due to an intended leakage of unauthorized information./

2 Trackbacks

  • […] still, Gailivro also publishes the lovely Peter V. Brett who I interviewed for last year’s fundraiser. They offered to donate some Portuguese translations of his book to the fundraiser. I said that […]

  • By Pouštní kopí | laurdes – world of books on July 29, 2013 at 1:47 PM

    […] královraha a zároveň Peterova blízkého kamaráda. Že jsou chlapci veselá kopa, dokládá i tento rozhovor. První Brettův román s pracovním názvem An Unlikely Champion se naneštěstí ztratil ještě […]

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