Home again, home again, jiggety jig…

I manged to get out of New York just before they got buried in snow. I’m glad for many reasons, but mostly because I really, really missed Oot on my trip. And as cool as it was to see my book in print after all these years, it was much cooler to see my baby after I’d been away from him for a week.

Much to my relief, he still recognized me. We hung out in the airport for a while, catching up on all the news. He poked at my shoes and said, “boots.” Then tugged up my pantleg, found my leg, and told me it was there. I was relieved.

Then we went for a walk. He informed me that the baggage carousel was a “vroom,” and I had to agree.

He also let me know that clocks are still the in thing. That’s reassuring to me, as I was worried the fashion might have changed while I was gone. But no, he continues to point whenever he sees one, announcing to everyone who cares to listen that there is a clock. I agree to this as well, even if that particular clock happens to be, say, a thermometer.

There is an art to conversation, you see, and part of that art is the ability to occasionally let a trifling difference of opinion slide by without making a federal case out of it.

So he says, “Clock,” and I think, Okay. Fair enough. I see your point.

“Clock,” I agree.

At some point Sarah asks me if I’m crying, and I tell her that no, in fact I’m weeping, thank you very much. Because weeping is slightly more dignified, as it’s derived from the Old English wepan shedding of tears, not the the sissy Old French crier which implies a wailing noise.

Oot says, “up,” and I pick him up. Then he pushes my nose and says, “beep.” It’s impossible to explain how cute this is. Then he pushes his own nose, which is exponentially cuter.

After dinner and more hanging out with Sarah and Oot, I slept from 9:00 PM until 4:00 AM. Then, after a little e-mail, I decided that getting a full eight hour’s rest was so much fun that I might as well do it again, so I went to bed and slept from 8:00 AM until 3:00 PM.

In brief, it’s good to be home.

I’m well aware that Wednesday’s picture of The Wise Man’s Fear rather resembled a grainy photo of bigfoot. I wasn’t being coy, it’s just that I was using the camera on my little netbook. Functional, but not elegant by any means….

Here’s what it really looks like.

Strangely enough, the book is just about the same size as The Name of the Wind, but The Wise Man’s Fear has 994 pages, compared to Name’s measly 662. From what I understand, they did this using some manner of tesseract. Or perhaps through the sacrifice of a black she-goat. Or thinner paper. Whatever the source technology, the result is that The Wise Man’s Fear is feels really solid. As if each revision I did somehow increased the gravitational density of the book.

Have I said that it’s pleasing to hold? It is. It very is.

Back in July when I was out at Comic Con, I did an interview with Shawn Speakman. (He’s the lovely gent that’s selling signed versions of The Wise Man’s Fear for those of you that can’t make it to a signing.)

Anyway, Shawn recently posted it up on Suvudu, so I thought I’d share it around for those of you who might be interested….

We chat about a bunch of things, and at the end of the video I answer a bunch of questions that readers sent in.

Honestly? I can’t remember a damn thing I said, as at that point in the convention I was in a fugue state brought about my overexposure to cool people, catgirls, and caffeine.

Share and enjoy….

pat

This entry was posted in book two, Interviews, Oot, videosBy Pat58 Responses

58 Comments

  1. Joshua_Guess
    Posted January 28, 2011 at 4:52 AM | Permalink

    Glad to hear you made away from…what is it, snowmageddon 3 or 4 now? I hope you have Oot with you when you come to Lexington, so I can make funny faces at him as I stand in line to get my book signed. I promise not to weep.

    • Matt
      Posted January 28, 2011 at 8:35 AM | Permalink

      Notice the complete absence of histrionics on Pat’s part about an overabundance of snow. Wisconsinites tend to quietly consider other parts of the country to be very very strange and not a little bit wimpy for freaking out about a paltry few feet of snow.

  2. Posted January 28, 2011 at 5:01 AM | Permalink

    The nearness of the release date is starting to cause me physical pain.

  3. Chris Vasko
    Posted January 28, 2011 at 5:04 AM | Permalink

    Glad you are home and safe, and that Oot still knows whom you are. Don’t forget about the blog answering questions about the signings. I am assuming you’re still doing research, but also know you are easily distracted by shiney objects, or big books.

    • Posted January 28, 2011 at 2:33 PM | Permalink

      Yeah. I want to answer all the questions right the first time. And there are a *lot* of them….

      pat

      • Chris Vasko
        Posted January 28, 2011 at 5:01 PM | Permalink

        I figured as much. I didn’t want to seem rude or impatiant, I just wanted to check in on it. I would love to see you in an “Oot is my Master now!” shirt.

  4. Mickey
    Posted January 28, 2011 at 5:48 AM | Permalink

    Home is where the best stuff is ! Wife, kids, books…all those things that make life better than, say, living in a cave and chasing your lunch with a rock. Welcome home Bearded One.

    Incidentally, 994 is my new favourite number. Mmmmmm 994 ( in the voice of Homer J )

  5. Javi
    Posted January 28, 2011 at 5:59 AM | Permalink

    It appears I woke up @ a random time and you had appearently blogged. Coincidence? Oot sounds like such an adorable kiddo! You make wanna impregnate my girlfriend.

  6. Marcus Cox
    Posted January 28, 2011 at 6:09 AM | Permalink

    994 pages. Sounds absolutely lovely.

    Last March my friends and I took a road trip to go to your signing in Merril Wisconsin. After all was said and done we were gone for ten hours. It was such a delight to get home and see my daughter. So I can only imagine they joy you experienced in seeing Oot.

  7. Widow Of Sirius
    Posted January 28, 2011 at 6:35 AM | Permalink

    You make me want to hang out with Sarah and Oot, too. I’m glad you got the chance, and that, until March, you’ll have SOME downtime to spend with them, because they’re kickass people.

  8. kdculb
    Posted January 28, 2011 at 7:01 AM | Permalink

    I am looking forward to getting my copy of The Wise Man’s Fear and am waiting till the last minute to reread NotW. It appears you should have waited till you got your hands on the final copy before you taunted Brandon, ARCs don’t count;)

  9. laurafromNY
    Posted January 28, 2011 at 7:47 AM | Permalink

    Congrats on your first *ahem* second book! You were in NY?!! Signing? The snow was awesome though, but the aftermath isn’t so awesome. I think ‘weeping’ is a better choice than ‘crying’ since ‘crying’ does bring all that “sissy” stuff to mind. But, I’m a girl…I wonder if ‘weeping’ still works in this case since guys don’t tell us, “are you weeping?”

  10. jdcb
    Posted January 28, 2011 at 7:50 AM | Permalink

    I’ve been in a mild panic recently, I discovered that another book that I’ve been waiting many years to read is also coming out in march, 6th and final in a series. I was dreading having to make the choice of which to read first. Then I discovered earlier this week that the other book doesn’t come out till March 31st, yours is well before that, problem solved…

    • jdcb
      Posted January 28, 2011 at 7:51 AM | Permalink

      Oh, and I’m in the middle of re-reading NOTW again in prep, marking with extra bookmarks the parts I may want to refer to later. I’m enjoying it as much as the first time I read it…

  11. rudhraigh
    Posted January 28, 2011 at 8:01 AM | Permalink

    You were in NYC? I thought you weren’t here till March?? Are you saying I missed out??? That I could have gotten the Wise Man’s Fear???? And also drugged you and put you to work putting me in the third book as Kvothe’s sidekick in my secret “Misery” style author’s lodge in the basement?????*

    I am absolutely decimated.

    *This is not true.**
    ** It’s more of a loft.

    • priscellie
      Posted January 28, 2011 at 10:40 AM | Permalink

      There was no public event. According to Senior Editor Anne Sowards’ twitter account, he swung by Penguin to sign THREE THOUSAND copies of WMF. I marvel in humble awe at Pat’s signing endurance.

      • Posted January 28, 2011 at 2:35 PM | Permalink

        Yeah. I’ll be posting up some pictures of that bookish extraviganza in a couple days….

  12. skinner
    Posted January 28, 2011 at 8:21 AM | Permalink

    wait, what? When I picked up NotW for the first time, I was comforted by the fact that it was a novel. I knew this because the cover told me so. Is WMF not a novel?

  13. Posted January 28, 2011 at 8:22 AM | Permalink

    So, how’s book 3 coming?

    (dont’ hit me)

    • jdcb
      Posted January 28, 2011 at 9:01 AM | Permalink

      lol, we’re all thinking it. I he won’t be digging into that until after his signing tour, plus a little bit of a break…

  14. RickH
    Posted January 28, 2011 at 8:24 AM | Permalink

    I am often amazed at the quirks of children, nose ‘beeping’ being high on the list of things that make a grown person smile.

    I am certain that I will feel almost as much elation at holding “Wise Man’s Fear” as you did and appreciate you getting it done. I am just about to start re-reading Name so I don’t feel lost in the world.

    Thanks for the time you took in writing these books and enjoy yours going forward with the family. (At least until you start getting pressure to write the next book which I hope will be delayed so you can relax for a while)

  15. bungi
    Posted January 28, 2011 at 8:24 AM | Permalink

    Pat
    You should take Oot to the Wal-Mart museum. I hear they have a thermometer that was returned because it didn’t keep accurate time. He would fully appreciate that.

  16. Posted January 28, 2011 at 8:29 AM | Permalink

    I love the way you talk about Oot ^^ It has reminded me a little boy I saw with his mother a few days ago, they were standing in front of a jewellery shop, and the boy said “watchees!” (yes, this is Spain but they spoke English). He was soooo cute! *.*

    PS: Every time I read your blog I discover a new interesting word in English, like the difference between weep and cry :D Thank you!
    (Maybe I should have studied Arts… xD)

  17. Club Neon
    Posted January 28, 2011 at 8:42 AM | Permalink

    Weeping makes me think of sores. Although, that may still be preferable to wailing.

  18. oky
    Posted January 28, 2011 at 10:11 AM | Permalink

    Good news! nothing better than, being with your loved ones and sleeping late in your own bed. *** I would like to know if the Wise Mans Fear will also come out on Kindle in March?

  19. ChristyQ
    Posted January 28, 2011 at 10:21 AM | Permalink

    How wonderful it must be to relax and enjoy your little Oot. Clever boy!

  20. oiamslain
    Posted January 28, 2011 at 10:25 AM | Permalink

    Great interview! But now I have this strange urge to buy an Uglydoll…

  21. priscellie
    Posted January 28, 2011 at 10:37 AM | Permalink

    Your descriptions of conversations with Oot are enough to send me into a diabetic coma. So much sweetness!

    I salivate at the idea of 994 pages heading my way in March. 32 days!

  22. Baldsilver
    Posted January 28, 2011 at 12:51 PM | Permalink

    haha comments are fun to read, try to guess the people behind them.

    Just wanted to say that crying is way better than wailing, bawling, keening all that jazz. Makes me imagine someone hysterical. And weeping somehow seems worse as well. You can definitely cry with dignity, though the dictionary tells me that you have to be making some sort of noise to be crying, so I guess English lit is worth something after all! (I assume thats what you studied)

    Theres my fun little tidbit of the day

  23. drgnlvr
    Posted January 28, 2011 at 1:09 PM | Permalink

    Loved the interview… particularly the part where you started singing the Portal song. I had to sing along. You and Joss Whedon would be a match for the ages.

  24. LurKing
    Posted January 28, 2011 at 2:04 PM | Permalink

    Stellar interview. Was already a huge fan and looking forward to my first signing/reading, but now I am twice as excited. Thanks for the interview link and doing what you do. Keep up the good work, sir!

  25. Dianadomino
    Posted January 28, 2011 at 2:10 PM | Permalink

    I’d like to lodge an “Awwwwww….”

    ^_^

  26. rudejude00
    Posted January 28, 2011 at 2:22 PM | Permalink

    I want that signed copy so much it hurts. I wish it wasn’t so expensive to ship to Canada – there is no way I can afford to spend $60 on a book, even if it’s a book personally touched by you, signed by you, personalized to me. Gah!
    Anyways I’m glad the option is there so it can taunt me cruelly :(

    • Posted January 28, 2011 at 2:37 PM | Permalink

      I hear you. International shipping is really painful….

    • D-Chan
      Posted January 30, 2011 at 5:03 PM | Permalink

      I’d like to chip in at this time, in my case, I’m paying more for shipping than for the books (Both TWMF and TNTW), so maybe, for future occasions (evidently) some other delivery options might be explored. I’ve heard DHL has this thing that delivers to your local DHL office and you pick it up or maybe by USPS even. Anyway, while pondering again if being able to spend over $100, once again, thanks for the amazing work. The alternative is that I’ll be looking to sneak in a ship in order to get a copy if I have to.
      Cheers!

  27. dankinney
    Posted January 28, 2011 at 3:22 PM | Permalink

    One of the questions in the interview was mine! How cool!

    And, Pat, just a boring little note on something I’ve found….
    When you go to your website’s homepage and click on the “Read the Blog” link above your picture, it DOES link to the blog but continually refreshes itself so that the page is unable to be used (the link is this: http://patrickrothfuss.com/blog/blog.html). Not a big deal, but I thought you might want to know. And maybe it’s just an issue that I’m having, but I have had it pop up on different computers…sooo…

    • dankinney
      Posted January 28, 2011 at 3:24 PM | Permalink

      NOTE: the “)” got included in the link i just put up there, so if you click on it, it won’t work right….sorry. I guess you’ll have to type it in manually, bummer.

  28. Sherp
    Posted January 28, 2011 at 3:31 PM | Permalink

    NEARLY A THOUSAND PAGES OF PATRICK ROTHFUSS! YYYYES! \o/

  29. Dunago
    Posted January 28, 2011 at 4:03 PM | Permalink

    The book looks so beautiful! I love the cover art! It’s so awesome! I’m looking forward to seeing this in my hands lol. I have only ever found one person close to you and that was R.A. Salvatore but even he pales in comparison to your book. I can’t wait!

  30. wolfbrother94
    Posted January 28, 2011 at 4:15 PM | Permalink

    Looking forward to the book Pat. Your story about Oot and “clocks” made me smile becuase my little guy, who is 15 months old, does something similar with cats. It seems that every four-legged furry critter, up to and including the grizzly bear at the zoo, is a “cat”. Like you, I simply shrug and agree. Thanks for the smile.

  31. evil
    Posted January 28, 2011 at 5:38 PM | Permalink

    Awesome, you answered my question in the interview!

  32. Bartb11
    Posted January 28, 2011 at 6:02 PM | Permalink

    Pat,
    Thanks for continuing to remind me how cute the kiddo’s are at Oot’s age. I forget this fact sometimes as I have 17 and 13 year old girls. While they are still great fun most of the time, they are TEENAGERS with all that entails.

    I’m waiting for the blog to feature Oot’s picture with NOTW and WMF so that we can see your marvelous offspring all together. ….hint, hint……

  33. Posted January 29, 2011 at 6:29 AM | Permalink

    For some reason it took my seeing this sadly digit-less photo for it to really sink it….WMF is out in roughly a month….I left my copy of NotW back at my parents – I may have to buy a third to that I can re-read it before the next.

    I am vibrating with geeky-awesome!

  34. mkb
    Posted January 29, 2011 at 7:32 AM | Permalink

    My daughter–my first daughter–was only about two months old when the company I was working for at the time sent me from Connecticut to California for two weeks. That was more than 16 years ago; and it remains one of my clearest–and best–memories, getting off the plane in Hartford, CT, the long walk from the gate past security, wondering whether she would remember me . . . then catching her eyes, and, after the briefest of pauses, seeing the smile bloom on her face. Not that I needed it, but thanks for the reminder.

  35. Katienooklover
    Posted January 29, 2011 at 11:12 AM | Permalink

    As I read this, I’m listening to my three year old son in the tub. He’s humming to himself & playing with his red squirty fire truck & car. There is nothing better than being a parent.

  36. nielitist
    Posted January 29, 2011 at 1:58 PM | Permalink

    First of all, I am practically turning circles in the air because I am so ready for this book. I first read NotW in 10th grade in 2009, and I’m about to graduate high school in May… I’ve been waiting and it is so so worth it. I’m just gonna say it, I love you, Pat.

    I adore the world you’ve created. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.

    And my question is, how long will it be available for us to buy signed copies of NotW and WMF (hardcovers) on the Signed Page?

    -Ashlee :D

  37. Daniel Cressman
    Posted January 29, 2011 at 3:55 PM | Permalink

    You know, I’ve noticed that same paradox in quite a few other books, where the new one is a good deal longer but the same size. My personal theory is that the older book on your shelf has been read (or re-read) already and thus air is able to get between each page, whereas the new one has pages that are all snug and held fast together. Not sure if it’s true, but that’s what I’m going with for now.

  38. theotherjason
    Posted January 29, 2011 at 9:01 PM | Permalink

    Here’s an interesting and geeky question for you. What level magic-user is Kvothe if we were using the old AD&D rules?

    • theotherjason
      Posted January 29, 2011 at 11:28 PM | Permalink

      And what level Bard? He is clearly multi-classed.

  39. Lj IOW
    Posted January 30, 2011 at 5:49 AM | Permalink

    I was just wondering if you have an image of the English cover art?

    • Lj IOW
      Posted January 30, 2011 at 6:00 AM | Permalink

      Don’t worry, found it! Looks awesome!

  40. sordo
    Posted January 30, 2011 at 7:24 AM | Permalink

    Hi Pat, I’m from Spain, I finished “the name of the wind” (El nombre del viento) right now, and only I can say: Thank you. I enjoyed very much, and I’m expectating & waiting for the second. Sorry for my poor English, I’m limited by it so i can’t explain all my thoughts! Congratulations for the birth of your new best seller.

    Roi

  41. Mister M.
    Posted January 31, 2011 at 5:58 AM | Permalink

    Hi Patrick,

    First of all thanks for your tallent. Guys like you are the reason why alien civilizations don’t nuke this planet, you know, the imagination, art, literature thingy …

    It was about time, i finnally see some release date on the next book ( i check your blog only once a month) have been craving to know the rest of the story for quite some time now. I try to start to read a book after all the series, triology, whatever, are out, but my wife tricked me, and now i have to remind myself once a month, to come and check your progress.

    Anyway, dude, you know, you have fans in portugal right ? Drop by, we have nice weather, good food, excelent sweets, lousy politicians, and very beautifull women.

    We could even make the effort and allow those spanish guys to come in and attend to a signing event :)

    whish you the Best,

    oo yeee, put some back into it, and try to keep volume 3 from taking so much time to come out.

    JM

  42. Gigi.Aka.Janeen
    Posted January 31, 2011 at 2:08 PM | Permalink

    Hi. I am a first time commentor and long time reader of the blog and NOTW. Its great to be here today. I am addicted to great fiction with an emphasis in fantasy. Phew! That was hard to admitt.

    So I am here to thank you Mr. Rothfuss for doing what you do so well. So thanks.

    See you in Boston on March 16th.

  43. DCBryce
    Posted January 31, 2011 at 10:19 PM | Permalink

    I noticed that the picture for the cover of The Wise Man’s Fear is the same one that came with sample pictures on my Verizon wireless phone.

  44. Istarion
    Posted February 1, 2011 at 1:05 AM | Permalink

    Some of my favourite computer games include:
    Grim Fandango
    Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
    Toonstruck
    The Space Quest Series
    Full Throttle

    If you haven’t played any of these, you should definitely check them out!

  45. Gilldorn
    Posted February 14, 2011 at 3:25 PM | Permalink

    I have a feeling the time from the release date to the time it takes to get to Italy is going to be excruciating.

Post a Reply to Istarion Cancel reply

Your email is never published nor shared. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • RSS info

  • Visit Worldbuilders!

  • Our Store

  • Previous Posts

  • Archives



  • Bookmark this Blog!

    (IE and Firefox users only - Safari users, click Command-D)