Good News, Amazing Art, and Three Conversations About a Kickstarter

First off, good news.

Since I first posted about the new Kickstarter Project I’m doing with Cheapass Games a couple weeks ago, my previous kickstarter from last year has started shipping out.

By now, thousands of you have already received your cards in the mail:

(Monique’s decks and one of the limited edition bookplates.)

So far, the reactions have been great. And while I’m happy for y’all, this also fills me with a certain amount of envy, because I’m one of the thousands of you that *haven’t* gotten my package in the mail yet.

Let me say this: be strong my brothers and sisters. Know that you are not alone, and know that the folks at Albino Dragon have been furiously shipping stuff out. It’s just that there are, quite literally, thousands of packages to send, and many of them have *lots* of individual items that have to be picked and packed. It takes time.

But rest assured, they’re on their way.

*    *     *

The current kickstarter is clipping along nicely. As I type this, we’ve crested over 106,000 dollars. Which means that we’ve just unlocked the 105K stretch goal: adding another limited edition bookplate to the project.

bookplate-sketch2[3]

(Lanre, drawn by Shane Tyree.)

We’ll only be doing a single, limited run of these, exclusively for this Kickstarter. They’ll be individually numbered adhesive bookplates printed on high-quality archival paper.

Right now, anyone who pitches into the kickstarter at the $80 level or higher gets everything listed in that level, *plus* one of these bookplates.

I’ll be signing it too, of course.

*     *     *

Right now there are there are two decks set in my world. The core deck (from the commonwealth) and the Modegan deck. (From, y’know, Modeg.) The art for both of these is being done by Shane Tyree, who did the art for the NOTW cards.

KilvinDeochStancheon2

(So you *know* they’re going to be beautiful.)

There’s also other decks that we’ve unlocked in the kickstarter as well: a goblin deck, a pirate deck, and a barmaid deck all by different, lovely artists.

There’s also the Falling deck, which is actually an entire playable game by itself.

At $115,000, we’re unlocking another one of my decks, one based on The Princess and Mr. Whiffle.

9-Tibbet

This one’s drawn by Nate Taylor of course.

And at $130K, we’re hitting my fourth deck, the Faen Deck….

This one’s also by Nate, and you’ll be getting a sneak peek at the Twilight court. So Bast will be showing up there.

bast-1

That’s right ladies. I’m going to put the kickstarter link right here, just in case you’re feeling a sudden, irresistible urge to click something.

Felurian will be showing up too. Which leads into the first of three recent conversations I’ve had with James Ernest that I’d like to share with you today.

*     *     *

I e-mailed James about a week ago. I’m paraphrasing a bit here, but this was the gist of our exchange….

Pat: Spent some time talking with Nate today about the Faen deck, which cards we’re going to include. What secrets we can hint at. He knows my world really well, so it’s easy. 

James: Glad to hear it.

Pat: So…. Can I show a bare ass in the Faen Deck? In my opinion, there’s hardly any point in doing a Faen deck at all if I can’t show Felurian’s ass and some tasteful side boob…

James: I’m okay with bare ass and tasteful side boob. Heck, we could go with bare boob if you want.

It will require me to figure out how to label it properly for retail, but I expect the Faen deck will be limited edition anyway. So that’s not a huge concern.

Let’s make sure the NSFW isn’t limited to just one card, though. That seems like a wasted opportunity. :)

Pat: I love you.

Two things resulted from this exchange.

1. I emailed Nate and told him to take Bast’s shirt off.

2. I realized the Faen deck isn’t reflecting a strict social hierarchy like the Commonwealth and Modegan decks. (Nobility on the top, Ruh at the bottom in the Commonwealth, for example.) This deck is almost telling a story instead.

3. I immediately cut some of the weaker cards and added better ones like: “The Mortal Guest” “The Sithe” and “The Faerie Revel.”

It’s going to be so much cooler than I’d originally thought….

*     *     *

A few days after that, I had another e-mail chat with James:

Pat: Hey there. I just had a couple of ideas for things we could add to the kickstarter. [Pat launches into a 500-word bullet pointed list proposing about 8 different things.]

James: Those are some good ideas. I especially like [secret thing we might announce Friday]. That would be fun. I’ll need to talk to a few people to see if we can make that work.

Pat: What about [six previously mentioned things]? Also, I just had two new ideas! [Details.]

Pat: Oh, and I forgot. Here’s one more idea. [Idea.]

Pat: [Two minutes later.] I’ve kinda had a bunch of caffeine today.

James: Well, they’re good ideas. But they’d also be a lot of work…

Pat: I wouldn’t say a *lot* of work.

James: That’s probably because you’re really caffeinated right now.

Pat: That’s… possible.

James: Besides, I’d rather focus on the core of the kickstarter: the decks themselves. I want them to be as good as possible.

Also, some of the things you’re suggesting would make more work for the artists or complicate our shipping process. Or both. If that happens, it might delay the kickstarter itself, and I really want it to ship on time.

Pat: Wow. Yeah. You’re right. Let’s focus on the key stuff.

James: No problem. Not my first rodeo.

*     *     *

So by this time, you should see part of the reason why I’ve really loved working with James so far. He’s not just a great game designer, he’s a good businessman and a good communicator too.

But as they say, third time pays for all.

Pat: At the risk of sounding like the idiot I am, I have to ask a question. Looking at your math from the previous e-mail, it seems like you’re cutting me in for a percentage of the entire kickstarter. Is that the case?

James: Yup.

Pat: Because I assumed I was only getting a percentage of the me-related stuff. My decks.

James: Nope. Our deal is that you get a percentage off the top. The core deck is based on your world. The other decks are, too. You’re making this something bigger and cooler, and I want to respect and reward that.

Pat: Are you sure about that?

James: Yup. Besides, your readers are remarkably cool and supportive of your projects. That’s a rare thing. You’re bringing the noise here, You get the big numbers.

Pat: Well. That’s terribly decent of you. Not just in the initial offering, but also in not slyly sliding it off the table right now when I was obviously clueless about it.

James: Well, thanks for giving me the chance to feel magnanimous in giving you what you already had.

So… yeah. James has pretty much won me over forever at this point.

What’s more, since I’m now making more money off this project than I’d anticipated, I’ve decided to give a piece of that to Worldbuilders.

So if you were looking for one more reason to jump in and play a little game with us, you just got one.

I’ll just leave a link here at the end of the post. Just in case any of you might happen to want it.

Goodnight Nobody,

pat

This entry was posted in calling on the legions, cool things. By Pat89 Responses

89 Comments

  1. caylie
    Posted March 6, 2014 at 4:23 AM | Permalink

    ” I emailed Nate and told him to take Bast’s shirt off.”

    Oh my goodness yes! I’m so excited!!!

    I think I’m looking forward to the Faen deck a tinsy bit more than all of the other decks. But that’s because I’m a Fae nerd.

    <3

    • Posted March 6, 2014 at 4:24 AM | Permalink

      You’re in good company here. We don’t judge.

    • caylie
      Posted March 6, 2014 at 4:27 AM | Permalink

      Also I totally just upped my pledge to 4 decks.

      Do you know if the bookplates will be available as an add-on?

      Thanks for being the awesome you that you are!

      • Posted March 6, 2014 at 4:59 AM | Permalink

        look at the $80 as an investment. I you really need to you could sell those second decks (though it’s obviously preferable to have your unopened decks as personal collectables)

      • cynrtst
        Posted March 6, 2014 at 11:29 AM | Permalink

        Bookplate is a reward for spending $80, so no add-on I think.

      • Posted March 6, 2014 at 1:17 PM | Permalink

        We’ve decided not to do add-ons for this kickstarter.

        That’s what a lot of the ideas I pitched to James involved.

        The problem is, add-ons *really* complicate the kickstarter. If we do them, it means we have to run everyone’s order through a third-party system, like Backerkit, or Pledge Manager.

        That means we have to delay shipping long enough for everyone to go through that process. (Usually about 3-4 weeks.)

        Then we have to somehow deal with the 20-30 percent of the people who never finalize their order.

        Then the packaging process is a lot more complicated too….

        It leads to a lot of delays. So we’re avoiding it this time in order to get people their stuff and quickly and easily as possible.

        • Posted March 6, 2014 at 2:02 PM | Permalink

          Ah. That makes better sense now. Thanks for clearing it up.

  2. Posted March 6, 2014 at 4:49 AM | Permalink

    Once the Modeg deck was unlocked I increased my pledge. Then I increased it again when the Faen and Princess deck were announced. When the latter two were unlocked I planned on increasing it to get 2 of each of your decks. Because he is so awesome (and because I REALLY want all 4 decks twice) I’m going to up my pledge to the $80 mark and I urge everyone else to do the same. 1 I got the NotW deck and it’s gorgeous, so these will be too. 2 You obviously love Pat too and he’ll be getting a cut. 3 Worldbuilders. 4… … … c’mon

  3. TheAnathema
    Posted March 6, 2014 at 4:54 AM | Permalink

    Looks great.
    If only kickstarter would’ve kept the Paypal payment method :/

    Will i be able to order these somewhere after the kickstart is done?
    I have read the previous blogs but couldn’t find it, might have just missed it though(most likely).

    • chrishanson
      Posted March 6, 2014 at 11:43 AM | Permalink

      James has said that he’ll probably have a few extras printed for emergency but odds are they won’t be sold later (at least not by Cheapass) in any real quantity. They’ll be a limited print run so if you really want one, kickstarter is the safe bet.

    • Posted March 6, 2014 at 12:09 PM | Permalink

      You’ll be able to order some of them, but others will be limited edition. From the project update I don’t think you’ll be able to get a faen deck outside of the kickstarter (and if you can you won’t be able to get it for very long) I’d recommend ebay for any decks you want that cheapass games isn’t selling after the kickstarter

  4. katherineofyork
    Posted March 6, 2014 at 6:07 AM | Permalink

    You had me at shirtless Bast. To be fair, I’d already contributed, but now I need that one too :(

  5. thistlepong
    Posted March 6, 2014 at 7:24 AM | Permalink

    Goodnight Mush

    • iclimb55
      Posted March 6, 2014 at 8:26 PM | Permalink

      And to the old lady whispering hush.

  6. Crasac
    Posted March 6, 2014 at 8:29 AM | Permalink

    I finally pledged to the kickstarter. I want that faen deck.

    This is gonna be a very fun drinking game ;)

    • Neville Longbottom
      Posted March 6, 2014 at 10:25 AM | Permalink

      If you and I lived in the same city, we’d be friends.

  7. Brady Dill
    Posted March 6, 2014 at 9:10 AM | Permalink

    Are you trying to imply that you’re a giant cave-dwelling cyclops beholden of many sheep and rams, and that I’m…Odysseus?

    You DO spend a lot of your life trying to hoard livestock…

    • Posted March 6, 2014 at 2:42 PM | Permalink

      Nope. Though that’s a fair guess.

      Thistle got the reference up a couple comments from here….

  8. NinjaofDoom
    Posted March 6, 2014 at 9:44 AM | Permalink

    Man, the Faen deck is gonna be amazing. IN for 3 of each deck!

    Also, that couple playing at the Eolian on Stanchion’s card look quite talented. I think they’ll get their pipes. :D

  9. lenamoster
    Posted March 6, 2014 at 10:19 AM | Permalink

    Upped my pledge on the assumption we’re going to unlock the Faen deck. I NEED IT IN MY LIFE!

    • Posted March 6, 2014 at 2:47 PM | Permalink

      Yeah. It’s looking like we’ll hit it by the end of the day….

  10. Neville Longbottom
    Posted March 6, 2014 at 10:23 AM | Permalink

    My wife is going to hear the terms “investment,” and “Patrick Rothfuss told me to.”

    Wish me luck, y’all.

  11. LordZod
    Posted March 6, 2014 at 10:29 AM | Permalink

    Are you drunk and bored? Have you *always* wanted to see nekkid faeries? If you’re like EVERY MAN EVER, you are going to want to take a look at this kickstarter. It’ll tickle your fae-curiosity right where it counts!

  12. Argent
    Posted March 6, 2014 at 10:56 AM | Permalink

    It looks like we’ll get to $130k and the Faen deck. Not because of that NSFW flag. Definitely and most assuredly not. And certainly not because the card names now sound INFINITELY cooler than before – they remind me a little of how Steven Erikson organizes his Houses in the Malazan series: sometimes around individuals (e.g. King of House X) and sometimes around more… abstract thingies (e.g. Soldiers of House X).

  13. kjthiel
    Posted March 6, 2014 at 10:57 AM | Permalink

    Oh my goodness. So glad I’m not the only one who let out a girly-squeal at the mention of a shirtless Bast. And as a straight-lady still gotta admit side boob and butt of Felurian? heck yes count me in.

    • Laish
      Posted March 7, 2014 at 2:45 PM | Permalink

      Same here! hahahah

  14. RachelCarlton
    Posted March 6, 2014 at 11:06 AM | Permalink

    Ok. You got me at the 120$ backer. Can’t wait! Can we meet the artists at Phoenix Comicon?

    • Simone Becker
      Posted March 6, 2014 at 1:52 PM | Permalink

      It looks like they’re planning something for PAX! I’m barely restraining my squee!

  15. cynrtst
    Posted March 6, 2014 at 11:24 AM | Permalink

    On now, just take ALL, my money, why don’t you? Double my pledge? Pfft! Sigh.

  16. cynrtst
    Posted March 6, 2014 at 11:40 AM | Permalink

    Also, my son and I bought three decks of Bicycle cards on Monday night and made a Pairs deck to play with a friend. Had a very spirited three person game where I did Not lose!! Keep in mind, people, that not only are you getting beautiful art, you are getting a fun, easy to master, yet sneaky with strategy , game!!

    PS. I wish we could edit our posts. I wanted my first word in the post above to be “Oh” not “On”

    • Posted March 6, 2014 at 2:49 PM | Permalink

      Isn’t it a great game? Even better, a lot of the variants are equally cool…

  17. Vraethorn
    Posted March 6, 2014 at 12:13 PM | Permalink

    I am kind of looking forward to this. I plan on donating enough to get a single deck but will the Faen deck be available to purchase after this project is kickstarted?

    • cynrtst
      Posted March 6, 2014 at 2:45 PM | Permalink

      See comment above always above that explains most of it. Are you picking a Faen deck as your choice? If any Are available (and I’m not sure if they will) they won’t be limited edition and may cost more. So why not order more than one now and pick when the time comes?

      • cynrtst
        Posted March 6, 2014 at 2:47 PM | Permalink

        Make that always -aways- damned autocorrect.

  18. Vraethorn
    Posted March 6, 2014 at 12:25 PM | Permalink

    I am really tired so I apologize if I misread anything I am …oh yeah I said that alraedy.

  19. Kthaeh
    Posted March 6, 2014 at 1:30 PM | Permalink

    Okay, so can I ask a stupid question over here, as opposed to over on the Kickstarter page, please? If I fund at, say, the $80 level, it says I get 8 decks, plus [blah, blah, blah nice stuff]. Does that mean I get 8 copies of the Pairs game deck? Or choices among the different decks that are being discussed/developed? Or something else entirely that I’ve missed? I mean, it sounds like a great game, but I can’t imagine wanting 8 copies of Pairs. If a variety of decks are available at the higher levels of backing, it might help to make that a little bit clearer over there, though I realize that isn’t exactly your bailiwick.

    • cynrtst
      Posted March 6, 2014 at 2:50 PM | Permalink

      Your choices among the decks offered. Right now that means all the Pairs variants and the updated artwork/gameplay for the game Falling. We have no idea what will be available till the end.

    • Posted March 6, 2014 at 2:53 PM | Permalink

      If you buy 8 decks, you get to pick 8 decks in any combination from the ones that are available.

      So right now you could get 8 of the core deck. Or 5 core decks, 1 Princess, and two Modegan.

      Or you could do 1 goblin, 2 pirates, 1 falling, and four Faen decks. (As soon as that unlocks.)

      Does that make sense?

      • Kthaeh
        Posted March 6, 2014 at 3:00 PM | Permalink

        Yes, it does. Thank you, Pat.

  20. Simone Becker
    Posted March 6, 2014 at 1:49 PM | Permalink

    Pat,

    I hope this is the right place to ask you a question. I hope you see it.

    I just read update 12 where James mentions the upcoming party levels.

    I’m so excited! I’m actually going to be at the con! I’d love to come hang with you!

    But why are you only having two-ticket levels? My hubby isn’t a gamer, I’m hitting the con by myself.

    Can you put up some 600 dollar levels too? I’d love to be there, and I’d love to support the kickstarter with some more mony, but I don’t want to pay for a ticket I’m not going to use….

    • Simone Becker
      Posted March 6, 2014 at 1:50 PM | Permalink

      *sigh* That should say “money” up there. Sorry.

    • Posted March 6, 2014 at 2:33 PM | Permalink

      Ditto this question. Could we get a 600 dollar level for one ticket?

  21. Taravangian
    Posted March 6, 2014 at 2:02 PM | Permalink

    @Kthaeh – There are a bunch of different decks, but they’re all variations of the pairs game with different art. So for instance, being a Pat fan, you might choose four copies of the core Name of the Wind deck, two copies of the Faen deck, one Modegan deck, and one Princess deck.

    These decks are all designed to play the Pairs game, but they have different art. If you have friends or family who like Pat’s work, that’s one good reason to get a few extra decks. Or you could just get some of the generic decks to give to friends who haven’t read his books. There are four unique Rothfuss decks, which means you could get one of each, and with the remaining four, either get backup copies, get decks for friends/family, or get decks to keep sealed and maybe pat will sign them next time he comes through your area.

    I agree eight decks is a bit much; I’d probably prefer more like four or five. But that is a, undeniably sweet bookplate. And if the Faen deck has Felurian naked, I’ll be content with eight of those, please. :)

    • Kthaeh
      Posted March 6, 2014 at 2:14 PM | Permalink

      Thank you! So then, backers entitled to multiple decks would get to choose how many of each one they’d like?

      • Taravangian
        Posted March 6, 2014 at 2:41 PM | Permalink

        I don’t know if that’s been confirmed by Cheapass, but it’s the impression I got from reading through the KS page and updates. Maybe someone can confirm? I haven’t read through all the comments, but I’m sure it was addressed at some point….

      • Taravangian
        Posted March 6, 2014 at 2:43 PM | Permalink

        Actually: From a cursory glance, this is being discussed in the most recent comments. Sounds like they’ve confirmed that they’ll send out a survey to everyone who ordered multiple decks so you can choose how many of each you want, contingent upon the number you’re paying for.

  22. Posted March 6, 2014 at 3:36 PM | Permalink

    So just to clarify, if you back for more than one deck, you get to choose which decks you want?

    So I can back @ the $33 level and get all the 4C decks? (Core, Modegan, & Faen, given it is unlocked)

    Sorry if this question is redundant, just wanted to know the minimum pledge to get all the 4C decks.

    • Taravangian
      Posted March 6, 2014 at 4:55 PM | Permalink

      Yes, this is correct. Pat confirmed it in the comments above, and I believe Cheapass confirmed it previously somewhere among the 400+ comments on the KS page.

  23. rmcphail
    Posted March 6, 2014 at 4:52 PM | Permalink

    I love my NoTW standard deck. The new game looks like fun, but does anyone else suspect it was dreamed up over too much eggnog while twelve days of christmas was playing on the radio?

  24. Bartb11
    Posted March 6, 2014 at 5:49 PM | Permalink

    I don’t know about anyone else, but I loved James the minute I heard “CHEAPASS GAMES”. I was not familiar with them, so read Pat’s info, the kickstarter info, background CHEAPASS GAMES info and loved him more. Thanks Pat, among all the reasons I love YOU is that I get introduced to wonderful, new to me, games-books-authors-artists-awesome people (including my fellow Rothfuss fans). FILLED WITH LOVE HERE, PEOPLE!

  25. Jason
    Posted March 6, 2014 at 6:00 PM | Permalink

    Pat, I am deploying to Afghanistan early this summer, any chance these decks are going to be sent out before June-ish? I think it would be the perfect thing to have when there is free time down in that hell hole

    • SporkTastic
      Posted March 6, 2014 at 10:50 PM | Permalink

      If it doesn’t, it should definitely make its way into a care package that finds its way to you.

    • SporkTastic
      Posted March 6, 2014 at 10:59 PM | Permalink

      If you’re interested, email me at 957543c2 (at) opayq.com; we’ll suss out a way to…huh. That might not work; I can only add so many decks to my pledge. Hmm. Still, if you’re interested, email me there and we can figure out a way to get you a deck or two out in the sandbox. Like, I’ll you send money to my paypal and I either increase my pledge by so much (I can only get a few more decks, this might not work) or buy decks from the Tinker’s Pack and send ’em to ya’ once they’re available there.

      That offer stands for any servicemen (or women) who are going to be deployed but don’t want to miss out…but again, the number of decks I can add is limited.

      • SporkTastic
        Posted March 6, 2014 at 10:59 PM | Permalink

        That’s not a fake email, but it is a “forwarding” one; if I start seeing weird spam I’ll turn it off.

      • SporkTastic
        Posted March 6, 2014 at 11:05 PM | Permalink

        Also, depending on net (and printer) access while deployed, it may end up being cheaper to buy through Cheapass Games’ DriveThruCards page and print ’em there. I dunno about that, though, as I served across the other ocean.

        http://www.drivethrucards.com/browse.php?manufacturers_id=497

        • Jason
          Posted March 8, 2014 at 10:33 AM | Permalink

          WOW that’s very generous! I can always still do a pledge and just have them sent to my parents address also because they will be sending me care packages. I only really want the four NOTW decks that are out so it shouldn’t be a huge deal. But I appreciate your generosity!

          • SporkTastic
            Posted March 8, 2014 at 9:01 PM | Permalink

            Cool. Us servicetypes who are NoTW fans gotta look out for each other.

  26. isaiasw
    Posted March 6, 2014 at 7:56 PM | Permalink

    Oh God yes, side boob. Felurian’s side boob. Will you guys go international with this?

  27. SporkTastic
    Posted March 6, 2014 at 10:49 PM | Permalink

    Is Pairs going to make an appearance in a Four Corners book? (I’m not precluding the possibility of books outside the Chronicles.) Will Corners morph into it? A different thing?

    • Posted March 6, 2014 at 11:16 PM | Permalink

      Two different games.

      • SporkTastic
        Posted March 7, 2014 at 1:01 PM | Permalink

        Figured as much, but the curiosity struck. :-)

  28. duke7883
    Posted March 7, 2014 at 1:54 AM | Permalink

    I think a great stretch goal if we make it through the current ones would be lowering the bookplate pledge level.

  29. DavidO
    Posted March 7, 2014 at 8:43 AM | Permalink

    Hey Pat,
    I’ve been following your blog for several years now but never actually commented on a post until now. I absolutely LOVE your work and everything you do for Worldbuilders, and I donate whenever I can. That said, I was just wondering if you might consider making a small excerpt from The Doors of Stone available to top tier backers as a stretch goal? I know that would make me up my pledge (again) to the top level. Just a thought.

  30. gilgamesh
    Posted March 7, 2014 at 10:18 AM | Permalink

    Is it just me or does it seem like forever ago since we heard any news at all on book 3. I am trying to stay patient but it seems like it’s been years since we have got any news at all. I know you say that you’ll post something as soon as you know but are you saying that you have made zero progress in years? I mean even Martin gave a whiff of his new book. Please just give us something to give us hope that the new book is at least being worked on.

    • Posted March 7, 2014 at 11:40 AM | Permalink

      We will hopefully maybe possibly see it 2015. If so that’s exactly the same amount of time we waited for WMF, so nothing out of the ordinary honestly.

      Outside that, he has published a short 4C story in Unfettered which was available for purchase a while back, I think you can still get at least the E-Copy, the print run was pretty small. There will be another story coming out this year in the Rogues Anthology as well, should be a Martin story in that too. You can already pre-order it if you look on Amazon. I snagged mine for $20.00 guaranteed, so I recommend you check that out, I’m pretty sure this story will be about Bast. So should be pretty awesome and he’s said it is fairly long in multiple blog posts. I’m really excited for this since Bast is one of my favorites. :))

      As well as both those shorts he is currently working on a story involving Auri which he offered the opportunity to Beta for by donating during the Worldbuilders campaign. Not to mention he recently published another Princess and Mr. Whiffle book, probably still available from the Tinkers Pack if you give it a gander.

      Lots of writing happening if you ask me! I’m happy for the shorts, Worldbuilding is always awesome and I think it will round out some of the more mysterious characters before we hit Doors of Stone.

    • Posted March 7, 2014 at 5:11 PM | Permalink

      Also, here some more hope. He posted a picture of the manuscript on Google+ awhile back.

      http://i.imgur.com/FOPEOYS.jpg

      yah, I’m going to stop replying to this thread now because I’m totally blowing it up like a jerk. But if that image link doesn’t work you can just google Doors of Stone and look at the images, it’s the first one.

  31. Clay
    Posted March 7, 2014 at 11:06 AM | Permalink

    Hello Pat,
    I’ve been reading your blog for years as well and this is my first comment, somewhat in addition to gilgamesh’s post, but delivered to you candidly in frustration and speaking entirely for myself, as a fan. To begin, I’ll state what should be obvious: you are an author. A talented one, I think. Your books are great. Your blog posts used to be correspondingly great. Although I admire your charity work (and am sure everyone involved enjoys their annual tax benefits for charitable donations), I do not want to read about it ad nauseum for what seems like most of the year; can’t you offer a separate site for that? I want you to write and publish books and to blog about writing and publishing those books here. I realize that you likely have a busy life, but so do many of us – I am an accountant, I work 70+ hours a week this time of year, I have a family and other commitments – yet I still manage to fulfill my job responsibilities and commitments. What are you doing? Have you completely lost the desire to be a successful author? If so, would you politely let us know? Over three years and counting to publish the next installment in a series is a ridiculously long time, especially without any regular updates or explanations. All of these posts that don’t relate to your primary occupation of writing are not distracting us. You have proven to be immensely talented and creative in the past. You are disappointing me now.

    • Kthaeh
      Posted March 7, 2014 at 3:46 PM | Permalink

      ” You are disappointing me now.”

      Haaahahahahahaha! Pat is disappointing you? Now? Oh my goodness! Alert the media.

      You don’t want to read what he writes here on his blog? Here’s a little advice, offered freely without let or lien: don’t frequent his blog. Go elsewhere on these interwebs and read other things. Other things whose authors don’t disappoint you.

      You think Pat’s publishing intervals are ridiculously long? And he owes you some sort of explanation on that count? Really? You really think so? Does Pat look like a bitch to you? Then why do you feel it’s your place to lecture him about his commitments and his manners?

      • gilgamesh
        Posted March 7, 2014 at 4:34 PM | Permalink

        Why do you think it’s your place to answer for Patrick Rothfuss? Why do you think it’s your place to lecture anyone on what they say on this site? Why are you so holier than thou? What have you done with your miserable existence that you get to judge people and what they say on the internet? I like how you use “Pat” like you are some long lost friend! Here’s a little advise to you – don’t take a statement that has nothing to do with you so personally.

        • Kali
          Posted March 8, 2014 at 1:34 PM | Permalink

          This is a comment section. We comment. You comment. In doing so, many judgements are made. You can rail against that and give other people orders on how they should respond to things on the internet, but there is no enforcement of your wishes. You cannot force people to act in the ways you want.

          This is a valuable lesson, perhaps, as your comments are full of what you want from other people.

          They are under no obligation to give you what you want, or act in the way you want. They are not even obliged to be nice to you, although some may try.

          The most damning judgement you are likely to get boils down to this: you posted a comment full of entitled expectations from someone you don’t know. You didn’t even provide novel information (Pat – and everyone who knows about him – is fully aware that the third book is eagerly and often impatiently awaited). It’s simply a redundant complaint about what you feel you are owed. You are complaining on the internet.

          Moreover, there are plenty of reasons for people to resent your complaints. They are counterproductive. They depress the one person who can actually produce the amazing literature that everyone here has gathered in appreciation of. Despite that, you still post your complaints. It’s as if you think that it’s more important for you to join the long list of entitled, demanding whiners than it is to do anything else that doesn’t actively demoralize the person this community centers on.

          That’s going to peeve folks. More importantly, it seems like a flawed set of priorities, but that’s just my personal judgement.

    • Bartb11
      Posted March 8, 2014 at 9:06 AM | Permalink

      This comment string is crushing my FILLED WITH LOVE vibe for other fans.

    • Carl Sieber
      Posted March 8, 2014 at 12:57 PM | Permalink

      Some years ago I was in an airport about to get on a long flight without a book. I stepped into a bookstore to fix that. I wanted a big fat book for a big long flight. A good big fat book, and the one that came to hand The Name of the Wind was at least obviously fat. Good? Maybe. Ursula K. Le Guin seemed to like it. I noticed that on the back cover. What I did not notice on either the front cover, the back cover, or the spine was any indication that this was BOOK I of some ponderous trilogy. I did not want to nibble at a trilogy, I wanted to eat a novel.
      I was going to let Patrick whoever-the-hell-he-was Rothfuss tell me a story, not flirt with me for years to come holding out the promise of a I’ll-finish-it-when-I-finish-it trilogy. No I bought a novel to read and I read the hell out of it.
      When I finished it a few nights later I felt sad. Instead of falling asleep I got out of bed, stepped outside and listened to the the early morning and the surf. I had made a mistake. Not the buying of the book, or the reading of it. No the mistake was that I’d read the whole book and still believed I’d finished a book, not begun a trilogy.
      It was a wonderful mistake. I was caught by that silence that Kvothe was caught. I was proud that this Rothfuss guy had had the guts to write such an epic piece and then end it. To leave me and others who read it aching for the rest of the story, knowing that it wasn’t going to come. Not because Rothfuss was a jerk, but because he was an artist. He was someone who knew, as Kvothe knew, and as we now knew: sometimes the silence wins. The only way there would be more to the story was if I, the reader, took it upon myself to imagine, to fill in the missing pieces that had only been suggested, to personally and directly say “No” to the silence and fill it as best I could. Rothfuss had given what he was going to give. For that I was grateful as hell.
      Well not totally, it was a bit of a jerk move on his part to stop writing when he clearly had the talent to write more, but it was a jerk move that made me want to jump up and shout “Bravo!”

              Was I disappointed when I later realized A Wise Man’s Fear was a thing? No. Read the hell out of that too.
      Do I want a third book. Yes, but until that third book is ready I will listen to the silence. No matter the length or depth of that silence it is part of the telling.

      Thank you Pat. For sound and silence.

      • Kali
        Posted March 8, 2014 at 1:08 PM | Permalink

        I’m not Pat, but I heart you for saying this!

      • Bartb11
        Posted March 8, 2014 at 4:30 PM | Permalink

        Beautiful. Thank you!

      • MidnightParanoia
        Posted March 11, 2014 at 7:58 AM | Permalink

        Bravo!

  32. Laish
    Posted March 7, 2014 at 11:22 AM | Permalink

    Pat, “The Name of the Wind Playing Cards by Erik Dahlman” kickstarter has already finished and as you said they are already sending the cards. However, since i just found out about this now [yes, i know :'( ], i didn’t back the project.
    Is there anyway i could fund the project now in order to get the cards? Will they be available to sale afterwards?

    • DavidO
      Posted March 7, 2014 at 11:45 AM | Permalink

      @Laish you can pre-order any of the deck variants right now at albinodragon.com

      Note the word “pre-order” because they state that they will not fulfill any orders until they get all decks to the KS backers first. I also missed out on the project, and pre-ordered in mid February and the status is still “Awaiting fulfillment”. Hope that helps.

      • Laish
        Posted March 7, 2014 at 2:03 PM | Permalink

        Thank you David!

        I just got a reply from Erik Dahlman (yes i was THAT desperate and e-mailed him as well… :v). He said that “We’ll begin shipping them as soon as we finish fulfillment for the Kickstarter. Right now that’s looking to be in the next couple weeks or so.”

        So yeah, maybe a few more weeks for you to get your decks. I will order mine asap!! :)

  33. ali rahemtulla
    Posted March 8, 2014 at 2:33 PM | Permalink

    Hey Pat, how did you find Words of Radiance? I just felt sorry for szeth, and Talanel, more than anything.

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