#that guy who snagged the amol poster

[chasmfriend]

Legion 3 release party

We now live twice as far away from the release parties as before, and this was our first opportunity since Oathbringer to attend one. It was very small for a Sanderson signing. He began by talking about characters: creating them, choosing favorites or refusing to, and why he hates Cadsuane. He talked about how personal Lies of the Beholder is, and that it's a very intimate glance into a writer's relationship with their characters.

After the Q&A, he read chapter 3 from Skyward while we followed along in our preview booklets (there were lots of changes, and it was fascinating to see what was altered -- mostly for clarity, or for better visuals, or a slightly less dramatic emotional tone). There was a raffle, and my name was called, but long after both the signed AMOL poster (signed by Michael Whelan!) and the Stormlight hoodie were gone...

Two hours later, which is nothing in Sanderson Signing Line Time, we made it to the table. I had my Chinese Mistborns to be signed, and Brandon said he was going to install stained glass windows in his lair that were designed by Jian Guo, the artist for those covers. He showed us one and it was incredible. I can't wait to see what they look like when they're completed.

We each asked a question (all paraphrased):

Q: Are all cognitive shadows affected by silver, or only the ones on Threnody?

A: RAFO.

Q: When Kelsier touched Hoid, why did it hurt him?

A: RAFO.

Q: Was the black sphere that Gavilar gave to Eshonai, the same (meaning same content) as the one he gave to Szeth?

A: Yes.

(I had been certain that merely saying the words "black sphere" would guarantee me a RAFO!)

After our time with Brandon, we got to talk to Miranda Meeks and Isaac Stewart. Miranda's art is incredible as always, and I love seeing her work on the covers. She talked about making sure her design fit with the existing Stephen Leeds books. And Isaac... well, let's just say that a certain typo in the Chinese HoA gave him ideas I didn't expect but I'm very excited to see happen. (It wasn't "peterarm" but I showed him that one too).

It was one of our favorite signing experiences. The smaller book releases are so nice -- we never felt rushed, and everyone there was pleasant and excited to talk about these a amazing books. I'm especially glad that for once I was the only one in our group who did NOT walk away with a RAFO card.

Oh, and about Lies of the Beholder ...That book. Oh my heart. It is brilliant and heartbreaking and a fitting ending and I love it and I am deeply unsettled by it.