Brandon Sanderson's Blog, page 39

Perfect State deleted scene + Mistborn: House War Kickstarter

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I wanted to post a deleted scene for Perfect State (which is nominated for the Hugo Award for best novella, and voting is now open for all 2016 Worldcon members), as well as annotations. My assistant Peter has finally gotten around to editing them for posting. The deleted scene is up now, and the annotations will follow this week.

In other news, as I’ve shared on Twitter and Facebook over the past few days, the Mistborn: House War kickstarter from Crafty Games has gone live, and it’s now already over 300% funded with six stretch goals under its belt.

I’m thrilled that Crafty Games has built this new board game with the same attention and care they’ve long given to the Mistborn Adventure Game. Playing through it, my team enjoyed battling each other for supremacy in Luthadel. Mistborn: House War (a title I cam up with myself, by the way) melds strategy and player interaction into a unique mix. A real house war could turn out a lot like this! I hope you’ll enjoy the game.

Here’s what Crafty says about the new board game:

Mistborn: House War puts you in command of the Final Empire’s great Houses during the cataclysmic events of Mistborn: The Final Empire.

Together, you must cooperate to solve myriad problems facing the empire, from environmental and social turmoil to political strife and outright rebellion. You’ll even have to stave off Kelsier, Vin, Sazed, and the other heroes of the novels to maintain the delicate balance held in place for the last thousand years.

Simultaneously, you’ll compete to become the most powerful House in the land by currying the favor of the almighty Lord Ruler. To win, you must build alliances, negotiate deals, and undermine both your enemies and your allies—all at just the right time. But be careful! Should the players’ stewardship fail, unrest will tear the Final Empire asunder and the House furthest from the top shall emerge the victor.

Mistborn: House War is created and developed by Crafty Games, publishers of the Mistborn Adventure Game, with cooperation from Brandon Sanderson and Dragonsteel Entertainment.

Designed by Kevin Wilson (Arkham Horror, The X-Files, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shadows of the Past), Mistborn: House War is the perfect addition to any gamer’s table, and every Sanderson fan’s collection. Whether you’re a cunning strategist or cautious diplomat, there’s plenty to love in this box.

Perfect State deleted scene

This scene is to be read after you finish reading the novella. I do consider this to still be canon for the world of Perfect State, but I cut it for various reasons that I will discuss in the subsequent annotations.

Melhi pushed idly with her foot, swinging her swiveling bucket chair first right, then left. Back and forth in front of her monitor.

On her screen, Conan the Boy Scout talked to his sniveling machine-born servant about the Wode.

Even his expressions are ridiculous, she thought, sipping on iced scotch from her glass. That beard, like you’d find on some Greek statue. Sorrow, like sappy poetry. And that voice . . . every sentence sounds like it’s from a movie trailer.

She tapped her glass with her fingernail. It felt good to be back in her bunker. Sleek, metallic, and filled with all kinds of things that the Emperor Superhero would find amazing and magical. Like flush toilets. She loved buffed steel décor; perhaps she should change it. Her comfort here could mean she was becoming complacent again.

The others conversed in the conference chamber, their voices drifting in through her open doorway. They sounded like barking dogs. Liveborn, every one. Accustomed to ruling the world, to being the most important person in the room.

“I traveled through six states to be here!” Gnass’s voice. “Now she can’t be bothered to pull herself away to join the meeting?”

“Who cares? The food is good.” That was Ho Nam. He would attend the execution of his favorite nurse, so long as it was well catered.

“I’ll check on her,” Dionissa said, followed by footsteps.

Melhi continued to watch Kai on the screen, enjoying her drink. Data reports scrolled by on the two screens next to his image.

“Sophie?” Dionissa asked from her doorway. “Are you coming to the meeting?”

“Don’t call me that,” Melhi said.

“Very well, dear.” Dionissa strolled in, then leaned down beside the terminals. She wore a filmy blue dress, antiquated style, but had her hair in a pixie cut that was dyed bright pink.

Dionissa ignored Kai, studying the data streams. “Curious. They haven’t noticed?”

Melhi shook her head. “Not so far. Unless they can mask themselves from my sentries—which they have never shown any sign of spotting before.”

“They locked you out,” she said, pointing. “Here, here. Here.”

“The obvious hacks,” Melhi said. “Which they think themselves clever for finding. The distraction worked perfectly. Invade a communal state, send them into chaos. They think they’ve isolated my touch, but they were so focused on my primary hacks that they didn’t find the riders. My network expands.”

“We could actually do this.”

Melhi wasn’t certain what “this” was yet. But getting into the general system was a good step forward, regardless of what direction the next part took. For months, the others had been complaining that she was too overt, drawing too much attention. They said the Wode was going to strike, cut her off. Doom their movement before it even got a chance to start.

So she’d done what she’d always done. Defy them all, even her allies. It had even been fun.

“Come, tell the others,” Dionissa said.

Melhi nodded her chin toward Kai, still on the screen. A data feed the Wode would certainly have cut off if they’d known she could access it—proof, the best she could provide, that her access to the system was unprecedented.

“He’s contacting nearby states,” Melhi said. “He’s accepted what he is, what we all are.”

“Melhi,” Dionissa asked flatly, “you can’t possibly be thinking of recruiting a fantasy stater.”

“You’re from ancient Rome.”

“Real Rome.”

“Fake real Rome.”

“That’s a long leap from fake Narnia. Look, you know how they are.”

Yes, she did. So easy to manipulate. So . . . straightforward. But also genuine. So little in her life could be considered genuine. Even most Liveborn were as interested in power and inter-state politics as they were in freedom from the Wode. Only Gnass was completely trustworthy, and she had her hands full with her own projects.

Still, Melhi left Kai and the monitor, joining Dionissa and walking out into the conference room. She’d spent years trying to wake up—or destroy—nearby staters. She didn’t really mind which she accomplished. But that was losing its charm. She needed a bigger challenge.

“Welcome,” Melhi said to the group of five Liveborn. “So far as I know, this is the first meeting of its kind. Completely obscured from the Wode, taking place in a state that they don’t even know exists. We, ladies and gentleman, are trapped, imprisoned, confined to a nearly solitary existence within a machine.

“Let’s talk about how to get out.”

Annotation coming soon.

The Bands of Mourning signed copies + Updates

If you were unable to get your hands on a signed and numbered copy of The Bands of Mourning, now is your chance! Weller Book Works has announced that they have some available to purchase, and they ship worldwide. Click here to see more details and order your copy. They also have a few copies of The Stormlight Archive Pocket Companion available for free—all you have to pay for is shipping. For more information on the pocket companion, email books@wellerbookworks.com.

Also, Audible just released their “Best of the Year (so far!)” list, and The Bands of Mourning is included in the Sci-Fi & Fantasy category. Check out The Bands of Mourning and all the other customer favorites and editor picks.

In this week’s new Writing Excuses episode, Stakes!, we talk a lot about “raising the stakes” in our writing. When we say “stakes,” we’re referring to the things that keep our characters involved in the conflict, rather than just walking away and doing something else. We dig into what this really means, and how everyone in the story must be driven by things that they have at stake.

Last week, in Tor.com’s continuing reread posts for Words of Radiance, Shallan located a gate, Adolin made good use of a slain rock, and Kaladin struggled to stand between Elhokar and Moash. This week, in Chapter 84, Shallan begins to figure out the gate, Adolin proves his dueling prowess, and Kaladin stands.

My assistant Adam has updated the Twitter post archive for June.

Barnes & Noble B-Fest This Weekend

I will be at the Orem Barnes & Noble this Saturday, June 11th, for the first ever B-Fest. This is a national teen book festival that will take place in Barnes & Noble stores all over the country June 10th–12th. Hundreds of authors of teen books will be making appearances around the country, so check here to see what’s happening at your local Barnes & Noble, or here for everything at the Orem store.

You can see my event schedule below or on the upcoming events page on my website. I hope to see many of you there!

B-Fest

Date: Saturday, June 11th

Time: 4:00 p.m.

Address: Barnes & Noble University Crossings

330 East 1300 South

Orem, UT 84058

Phone: (801) 229.1611

Schedule:

1:00 p.m.: Sabaa Tahir

4:00 p.m.: Brandon Sanderson

6:00 p.m.: Dan Wells

Wristbands will be handed out starting at 9:00 a.m. on June 11th to save your place in line!

Tweets June 2016

BrandSanderson Wed Jun 01
Phoenix! Tonight I’m at the Poisoned Pen with a ton of authors. And this weekend is Phoenix Comicon. See you there! link

Gwanna105th Wed Jun 01
@BrandSanderson I just legged the last 150 pages of TWoK this morning and I’m utterly speechless. Most satisfying ending ever.

BrandSanderson Wed Jun 01
@Gwanna105th

macy_chris Wed Jun 01
@BrandSanderson Excited to see you at Phx ComiCon. At least, I hope to see you, I know you’re busy

BrandSanderson Wed Jun 01
@macy_chris I am doing plenty of signings, so hopefully it works out!

Hobbesworth Wed Jun 01
@BrandSanderson Finished Warbreaker at 5:30 am last night. When my wife asks what I was thinking I plan to blame you.

New Fan Art, Ebook Sale + Updates

As I shared on Twitter and Facebook yesterday, one of my readers from Australia, David Fonti, for his visual effects class made a cool video of himself in Shardplate. Great work, David. I’ve embedded the video below.

As a quick reminder, today is the last day to get your copy of the Elantris ebook for $2.99. And now through June 16th, The Rithmatist ebook will be only $1.99. My Hugo Award-nominated novella Perfect State is also still priced at 99¢, worldwide!

In this week’s new Writing Excuses episode, Examining Unconscious Biases,

mystery may well be the most common element in use, at least in some form or another, across the many bookshelf genres comprising fiction. We discuss the driving force of elemental mystery, how to evoke those feelings in the reader, and the importance of being able to write mystery effectively.

Last week, in Tor.com’s continuing reread posts for Words of Radiance, Navani’s fabrials aided in the battle for the Plains, while Kaladin made a difficult choice back in the warcamp. This week, in Chapter 83, Shallan searches for the Oathgate while the battle rages, and Kaladin stands firm.

Two Phoenix Events Starting Tonight

I’m heading to Phoenix today along with the entire Writing Excuses team to attend a massive bookstore signing (it’s free!) and for Phoenix Comicon (registration required). You can see my event schedule below or on the upcoming events page on my website. I hope you can make it to either event (or both!)

Elevengeddon

Date: Wednesday, June 1st

Time: 7:00 p.m.

Address: The Poisoned Pen

4014 N Goldwater Blvd

Scottsdale, AZ 85251

Phone: (480) 947.2974

Brandon Sanderson, Patrick Rothfuss, V.E. Schwab, Pierce Brown, Mary Robinette Kowal, Scott Sigler, Dan Wells, Beth Cato, Jason Hough, Django Wexler, Leanna Renee Hieber, Sam Sykes, Michael J. Sullivan, Adam Christopher, Michael Martinez, Ryan Dalton, Kevin Hearn, Brian McClellan, and Tom Leveen.

The Poisoned Pen says:

We are limiting the number of books that can be signed by Brandon Sanderson and Patrick Rothfuss to three each per person. We will be issuing colored wristbands that will correspond to 45-minute units of time. We will begin issuing these at 6:00 p.m., and the first group will run from 7:00 to 7:45 and so on. We will be asking people to line up by the front door at the beginning of their group’s time. They will have to line up outside if numbers are large, so we want them to be prepared. Wristbands will either be issued by the front counter or, if numbers are large, by staff members in front of the store. Wristbands are free, however we are requesting everyone to buy something at the store, though that is not required.

Phoenix Comicon

Dates: Thursday–Sunday, June 2nd–5th

Address: Phoenix Convention Center

100 N 3rd St

Phoenix, AZ 85004

Phone: (602) 262-6225

Thursday, June 2nd

Booth Signing

4:00–5:00 p.m., Dragonsteel/Writing Excuses booth 1378

Brandon’s crew will have hardcover backstock, shirts, and other swag for sale, as well as convention exclusive posters of the new Elantris maps, released this weekend for the first time.

Friday, June 3rd

Writing Excuses Podcast

12:30–2:30 p.m., West 301A

Join Writing Excuses hosts Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Howard Taylor as they interview Greg Van Eekhout, Trina Phillips, and Victoria Scwab.

Building A Believable World: The Deets

3:00–4:00 p.m., North 129A

Building a believable world is more than just a good map: Discussing the finer points of constructing a believable universe.

Brandon Sanderson, Bradley Beaulieu, Dan Wells, Michael Martinez, Shannon Messenger, Victoria V.E. Schwab

Signing Lounge

4:30–5:30 p.m., 127AB Author Signings

Brandon Sanderson, Weston Ochse, Shannon Messenger, Michael Martinez, Michael Kogge, Jason Hough, Holly Jennings, Dan Wells, Bradley Beaulieu

Would You Lie To Me

Friday, June 3rd

6:00–7:00 p.m., North 128B

Authors lie for a living, but are they any good at knowing when they are being lied to? Hosted by Jason Hough, our two teams of authors will try to outwit each other and discern fact from fiction.

Beth Cato, Brandon Sanderson, Jason Hough, Mary Robinette Kowal, Sam Sykes, Scott Sigler, Victoria V.E. Schwab

Saturday, June 4th

Spotlight: Brandon Sanderson

12:00–1:00 p.m., North 129A

Join Brandon for a discussion of his projects past, present and future.

Glowy Swords: Magical MacGuffins

1:30–2:30 p.m., North 129A

The One Ring, Harry Potter’s wand, Excalibur—epic fantasy is full of magical MacGuffins, but is this just a mere plot device or is there a deeper purpose?

Alyssa Wong, Brandon Sanderson, Patrick Rothfuss, Sam Sykes, Victoria V.E. Schwab

Signing

3:00–4:00 p.m., North 127AB Author Signings

Brandon Sanderson, Alan Dean Foster, Becky Chambers, Dan Wells, Django Wexler, Howard Tayler, Kevin Hearne, Michael Kogge, Scott Sigler, Todd Lockwood

Booth Signing

4:30–7:00 p.m., Dragonsteel/Writing Excuses booth 1378

Brandon’s crew will have hardcover backstock, shirts, and other swag for sale, as well as convention exclusive posters of the new Elantris maps, released this weekend for the first time.

Ebook Sale Continues + Updates

As I mentioned last week, the Elantris ebook is on sale for $2.99 until June 7th, and then from June 6th to the 16th The Rithmatist will be only $1.99. My Hugo Award-nominated novella Perfect State is also still priced at 99¢, worldwide! If you have not done so already, consider checking these out.

In this week’s new Writing Excuses episode, Examining Unconscious Biases,

Shannon Hale joins us at LTUE for a live-audience session in which we explore gender biases, and extrapolate from there to our many other unconscious biases.

Last week, in Tor.com’s continuing reread posts for Words of Radiance, Dalinar’s forces finally joined battle against the Parshendi at the center of the Shattered Plains. This week, in Chapter 82, Kaladin reaches a difficult decision, while Dalinar and Adolin continue to press the battle.

My assistant Adam has updated the Twitter post archive for May.

2016 Writing Excuses cruise price going up in June

I haven’t mentioned this year’s Writing Excuses retreat (September 17th–24th) very much, but I thought I’d drop a note about the impending price rise. Due the the cruise line’s requirements, May 31st is the last day to register at the current rate, and we hear it will go up quite significantly in June.

A few years ago, the Writing Excuses cohosts and I started holding the week-long Out of Excuses Writing Workshop and Retreat, which includes workshop and instruction time from Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, and me, as well as time to just sit down and write with (hopefully) few distractions. The retreat had a couple successful years in Chattanooga, and then last year’s retreat was moved to a cruise ship in the Caribbean.

The cruise version of the retreat proved to be very popular, and we arranged for additional writing instructors to come along. This year we’ll be joined as instructors by writers and publishing professionals Claudia Gray, DongWon Song, Tananarive Due, Steven Barnes, Desiree Burch, Lynne M. Thomas, Michael Damian Thomoas, and Navah Wolfe—in addition to Mary, Dan, Howard, and me. You can see a lot more details about the retreat cruise here.

For all the writers out there interested in attending, I look forward to seeing you in September!

Ebook Sales, B-Fest Schedule + Updates

The Way of Kings ebook is on sale for just $2.99 (this may be US-only, but you can check your region’s pricing using the links to the right). This sale ends on May 30th, so don’t delay!. Also on May 30th, the Elantris ebook goes on sale for $2.99 until June 7th, and then from June 6th to June 16th The Rithmatist will be only $1.99. And remember, Mitosis is still on sale for 99¢ until the end of May, and my Hugo Award-nominated novella Perfect State is also still at 99¢, worldwide!

For my readers in Utah, I will be at the Orem Barnes & Noble on June 11th for the first ever B-Fest, a national teen book festival that will take place in Barnes & Noble stores all over the country June 10th–12th. Hundreds of authors of teen books will be making appearances around the country, so check here to see what’s happening at your local Barnes & Noble. My event in Orem starts at 4:00 p.m., but you can get wristbands as early as 9:00 a.m. to save your place in line. You can see my full schedule on the Upcoming Events page.

In this week’s new Writing Excuses episode, Q&A on Elemental Horror, Steve Diamond joins us for our third and final Elemental Horror episode as we field your questions about this particular building block. Here are the questions we selected from your submissions:

If I want to make peanut butter terrifying without being silly, how do I do that?
What is your personal line between horror and “gore-nography?”
How do you avoid going too far with graphic elements?
Soundtracks are huge for horror movies. How do you set the mood without this tool?
What’s the best way for a thriller writer to edge into writing horror?
How do you decide when to show the monster, and how does it change the story when that happens?

Last week, in Tor.com’s continuing reread posts for Words of Radiance, the four highprinces agreed to push on toward the center of the Shattered Plains, while Kaladin had an uncomfortable conversation with Elhokar. This week, in Chapter 81, Shallan’s map is completed and battle is joined, while Kaladin is again uncomfortable.

My assistant Adam has updated the Twitter post archive for May.