Interview: Adventures in Sci-Fi Publishing

Here’s a new interview. I had some caffeine before I did this one, so it’s a little livelier than some of my other podcasts.

Share and enjoy,

pat

This entry was posted in Interviews, podcastsBy Pat50 Responses

50 Comments

  1. CT_Spence
    Posted April 7, 2011 at 4:26 AM | Permalink

    I can’t wait for you life time biography series!

  2. katelyn
    Posted April 7, 2011 at 5:20 AM | Permalink

    As a law student on the west coast, I just want you to know how much I always appreciate your timing… you always post right as I’m finishing my reading for the night and checking the interwebz one last time before sleep (i.e. 3am-ish my time). So, umm, thanks! (Yes I realize my life is sad.)

  3. Little My
    Posted April 7, 2011 at 6:39 AM | Permalink

    Interesting article this week in the New Yorker, about GRR Martin and how insane some fans got when he didn’t produce to their expected timetable. Pretty amusing and seemed like it would be relevant to folks around here too. . .no complete online version, unfortunately, unless you have an online subscription, but worth borrowing from a friend or the library. And they DO include Neil Gaiman’s quote: “George R. R. Martin is not your bitch.”

  4. Erzberger
    Posted April 7, 2011 at 8:33 AM | Permalink

    That was a good and interesting listen. Thanks for posting it.

  5. Posted April 7, 2011 at 9:49 AM | Permalink

    Thanks for doing that with us, Pat. We had a blast!

  6. LaisLindsay
    Posted April 7, 2011 at 10:21 AM | Permalink

    *sigh* Sitting in my office gazing up at my bookshelves where Wise Man’s Fear is winking at me and gently calling.. “Ditch work and read me again. The house is quiet, the kidlets are at school, and the sun is shining. Curl up with me and read!” *sigh* Stupid work!

    On an entirely different note, if you haven’t read the horridly wonderful repartee between writer Jacqueline Howett and the author of BooksandPals Blog who reviewed her recently self published book, check it out for a good wince/laugh.
    http://booksandpals.blogspot.com/2011/03/greek-seaman-jacqueline-howett.html

  7. Widow Of Sirius
    Posted April 7, 2011 at 10:33 AM | Permalink

    Way to blow their PG language rating, Pat. As soon as I heard the disclaimer at the beginning, I knew it’d be good.

    • Posted April 7, 2011 at 11:41 AM | Permalink

      Hah, Moses & I knew that if you let Pat off the leash, he’ll produce some great/funny tidbits. He didn’t disappoint! In his defense, we didn’t really tell him, “Oh, and don’t swear.” Oops? ;)

  8. evil
    Posted April 7, 2011 at 10:37 AM | Permalink

    Pat,

    You mentioned you will be in Austin for a convention. What convention will you be at and will you be speaking?

    • Posted April 7, 2011 at 2:56 PM | Permalink

      If only there were some sort of web page that you could check for that information….

      • evil
        Posted April 7, 2011 at 7:31 PM | Permalink

        I checked your tour schedule and there was no information there. I googled and found this website but you do not appear to be on the TLA schedule.

        Am I missing something?

        • absurdmike
          Posted April 7, 2011 at 10:32 PM | Permalink

          I think you are looking for this

          And more specifically, this:
          “AUSTIN, TX
          April 15 at 7 PM
          Barnes & Noble
          10000 Research Blvd #158
          Austin, TX 78759
          Phone: 512-418-8985”

          • absurdmike
            Posted April 7, 2011 at 10:38 PM | Permalink

            Hmm… actually, maybe that’s not what you were looking for. That might not count as a convention. Sorry.

  9. DrFood
    Posted April 7, 2011 at 10:40 AM | Permalink

    So Pat, when I made you the bacon-maple-syrup popcorn, I had no idea there was an internet thing with John Scalzi (and his cat).

    I just like bacon, especially home made bacon, and I wanted to give you a little somethin’ special from Wisconsin.

  10. udnamtac
    Posted April 7, 2011 at 11:48 AM | Permalink

    I found your interview comments regarding celebrity interesting. You said something like ‘…there is a degree of celebrity I’m comfortable with.’

    I expect that’s true of everybody who find themselves famous for one reason or another. But I think very few consider the idea before it’s too late. (In that vein, I applaud your protecting your son’s anonymity.)

    I wonder if there’s a field of study or a service or a consultant that specializes in fame/celebrity management. (I heard just recently that there are agencies that can help clean/manage one’s online reputation.) Maybe that job falls under the purview of a manager or agent, but you don’t really hear about them trying to mitigate fame.

    Perhaps in a Fame Manager‘s toolkit you’d find “releasing the lousy project” or “offensive public speaking” or even “leaked pictures of celebrity hunting” (yes, it works both ways) .

    So maybe after KingKiller concludes, you should release a so-so book of poetry about winter in Wisconsin or maybe “Why I Hate the Rainforest”. As long as it was reasonably cheap to produce the publisher should make money just because it has your name on it; but it probably wouldn’t help your reputation much. I expect, however, you’d have a hard time doing a sarcastic project without being funny, which would defeat the purpose of dinging your reputation.

    Anyway, keep up the good work.

  11. Shadow
    Posted April 7, 2011 at 11:56 AM | Permalink

    As a result of listening to your podcast I ending re-reading your blog about Lesbian Unicorns. Also out of curiosity I googled “pink unicorns gay” just to see if it still brought up a picture of Kvothe… well it seems Kvothe is now the 3rd picture when you do the search. Just thought you ought to know!

    Also I Loved WMF! Unfortunatly it only took me 2 and half days to read it, so I’ll have to read it again once my exams are over :)

  12. Robo
    Posted April 7, 2011 at 12:22 PM | Permalink

    Hey, pat,

    Do you ever participate (or work with) the Trivia Contest with the college?

  13. Posted April 7, 2011 at 12:46 PM | Permalink

    As an audio engineer, I very much liked your waveform analogy.

  14. Posted April 7, 2011 at 12:48 PM | Permalink

    “Fencing is useless in a fight.” (paraphrased) Now that’s funny right there. .-)

  15. Artheos
    Posted April 7, 2011 at 12:53 PM | Permalink

    I understand my responsibility as a reader, to discern and espy. Please though, if you can and are able… achieve a state experienced as something other than “marvelously ambiguous” please? There *must* to be more dimensional druthers to this enterprise than yin & yo.

    -Ted

    Ps: no pressure though…

  16. Posted April 7, 2011 at 1:54 PM | Permalink

    Thank you Pat! As an aspiring author it is good to hear that some of the ways I write have been successful for you – that’s very encouraging. It was also great to pick up on some other ideas I hadn’t thought of. And as always, it’s fun to hear pieces of the story and the way you see it.

  17. Posted April 7, 2011 at 2:46 PM | Permalink

    Pat, you da man. For real.

    I also wrote up a little post about what interviewing Pat Rothfuss does to your brain.

  18. glo7
    Posted April 7, 2011 at 6:13 PM | Permalink

    Any chance of you posting a link on your blog about that original first chapter of notw you cut so that we might read it

  19. soilgheas
    Posted April 7, 2011 at 7:48 PM | Permalink

    Sorry I just read your comment on Dragon Age II on IGN and I didn’t know exactly where to post… I couldn’t find the original podcast… so I’m posting here… anyway I agree with you with what you’re saying about story in games I wrote a blog about it a while back if you want to take a gander at it

    http://www.ign.com/blogs/soilgheas/2011/02/10/story-in-games/

  20. Adrianm
    Posted April 7, 2011 at 8:11 PM | Permalink

    That was a really thought-provoking and entertaining interview. I can’t help but imagine how cool it would be to face-off all the Sanderson/Jordan fans and all the Rothfuss fans on a giant field where they could beat each other with nerf swords in a last man standing style battle…

    • Posted April 8, 2011 at 3:12 AM | Permalink

      time and place, please.

    • Mickey
      Posted April 10, 2011 at 3:20 AM | Permalink

      What if you like both ? Can we come as Tolkien’s Army and kick everyones arses no matter who they support ?

  21. geekd
    Posted April 7, 2011 at 8:49 PM | Permalink

    …and the audio is broken.

    • Posted April 7, 2011 at 10:07 PM | Permalink

      Eeek! You’re right :(. Our apologies to the folks trying to listen in. I’ve sent an email to the boss at AISFP, so hopefully we have it back up and running as quickly as possible.

  22. Posted April 8, 2011 at 3:11 AM | Permalink

    Hi (:

    The interview was so awesome, I have gained a new respect for coffee.

    Speaking of coffee, do you happen to like chilli? Spicy chilli? Spicy asian chilli? This question has nothing at all to do with sending you extra things with a copy of your book.

  23. Liam
    Posted April 8, 2011 at 4:46 PM | Permalink

    Haha, longest answer ever to “are you liking Dragon Age?” Love it.

  24. Matt
    Posted April 8, 2011 at 8:13 PM | Permalink

    Not relevant to the podcast, which is downloading as I type…

    I just clicked on Pat’s bio tab up there, and for the first time took a look at that photo which has been there for ages. Look at the blackboard. Go ahead, take a look at it right now. There’s a large square labeled “Archives”, and a smaller L-shaped box labeled “Master’s Hall.” There’s an open space between the boxes, labeled “House of the Wind.” My friends, this is a partial map of the University. You can even see the building with several wings radiating away from a central point, though I don’t recall which building that is at the moment.

    For years, I’ve wanted a map of the University. It’s been right there.

    I bet you all knew about this already, and I’m the last guy to get it. Oh well.

    • Little My
      Posted April 9, 2011 at 10:32 AM | Permalink

      Cool. Never noticed that. Too bad we can’t click to embiggen. Or even to encutenate. CTRL+ doesn’t even make it much more readable. . .

    • Mickey
      Posted April 10, 2011 at 3:24 AM | Permalink

      Do you think when Pat gets really rich and famous he will get someone to make a 3D model of the university ? I’m having a geekerotic moment just considering the sheer awesome….

  25. Robertk
    Posted April 9, 2011 at 8:10 AM | Permalink

    Hey Pat I noticed my comment was put back up on the photo contest responses. I really thought someone was mad at me for posting the question?

    On another note you might be suprised to hear that not only do I read and enjoy you books, but in fact am now starting to use tricks I learned from Kvothe. Funny enough that I found myself dropping into “Heart of Stone” recently. Not even realizing that is what I was doing. Something I have practiced for years before reading NOTW or WMF. Now I have a Name for it though.

    And as we all know Names are powerful things!

  26. MLBurt
    Posted April 9, 2011 at 9:03 AM | Permalink

    Am I the only one who keeps hearing very The Dark Knight-esque music playing in the podcast every once in a while?

    There is only one logical conclusion. Patrick Rothfuss is the Batman.

    • Mickey
      Posted April 10, 2011 at 3:27 AM | Permalink

      If only it were so….but alas, the Bearded Master has already let slip that he is not the Caped Crusader in the Critique of the Batman blog he did a while back.

      But I like the way you’re thinking !

      • MLBurt
        Posted April 10, 2011 at 5:28 PM | Permalink

        Of COURSE he TOLD us he’s not Batman … that would give away his secret identity!

        • Mickey
          Posted April 11, 2011 at 9:06 AM | Permalink

          Dammit….outsmarted by Pat AGAIN !! This is becoming embarrassing.

  27. Matt
    Posted April 10, 2011 at 1:26 AM | Permalink

    Yet another comment completely unrelated to the blog or the podcast…

    All you Minecrafters out there, use “Tarbean” as a seed. It makes some very cool mountains and tall cliffs.

    I’ve been trying Kingkiller Chronicle names as seeds, and that’s the best one so far.

    • MLBurt
      Posted April 10, 2011 at 5:27 PM | Permalink

      That is the coolest idea ever and I am definitely going to try it.

      Is “Tarbean” a universal seed, though?

      • Matt
        Posted April 10, 2011 at 11:30 PM | Permalink

        As long as you’re playing the unmodded 1.4_01 version and spell it correctly including the capital T, then the world generator should create an exactly identical world. I’m building into a big cliff face near x:25 z:-330.

  28. jinjifra
    Posted April 11, 2011 at 8:30 AM | Permalink

    Wow The Wise Man’s Fear just got its own PA about one of the better days of Kvothe’s life.

    http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/4/11/

  29. Banklickboy
    Posted April 11, 2011 at 11:01 AM | Permalink

    I’m half way through WMF and I can understand why you took your time Pat. Your the best man. Cant wait to see what you come up with next!

  30. rowan_u
    Posted April 11, 2011 at 1:02 PM | Permalink

    I don’t know if you follow them, but you just made Penny Arcade:

    http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/4/11/

    If you are not familiar, take my word that this is a a sign of prestige greater than any literary award I’m aware of :)

  31. ChaosAthena
    Posted April 11, 2011 at 1:12 PM | Permalink

    You MUST check out the new panel Penny Arcade put up. It’s all about Kvothe, and it is wonderful.

  32. Bladvack
    Posted April 11, 2011 at 4:36 PM | Permalink

    Hey Pat..
    Great Interview.. next time your on a train and need a book check out
    The Lies of Lock Lamora by Scott Lynch.. I enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed both of your books.

  33. MLBurt
    Posted April 11, 2011 at 5:28 PM | Permalink

    Penny Arcade were actually some of the earliest advocates of The Name of the Wind, if I remember correctly, and during that episode I think it was said that Pat had actually contributed a fair bit to their forums, as a regular user.

    I think I read that in a news post at some point … don’t quote me on that, though.

  34. Posted April 11, 2011 at 11:58 PM | Permalink

    Off topic, I know, but I wanted you to know I finished Wise Man’s Fear today. Spectacular. I am in awe of your mind and humbled by the vastness of your world. Thank you for taking the time to share it with the rest of us. (I also added discomfiture to my vocabulary. You used it twice.)

    Cheers to you!

    Casey

Post a Comment

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)