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Posted by Jason on February 5th, 2010 in the |
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Although this isn’t directly related to The Wheel of Time, I wanted this call to go out as many people as possible to take advantage of the wide diversity of fan skill sets out there. About
About our site Deadlines Budget |
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Posted by Jason on February 4th, 2010 in the |
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Tor Books has released the cover art for the upcoming ebook release of THE FIRES OF HEAVEN, the fifth book in the Wheel of Time series. Each month, beginning this past October, Tor will release the next book in the series in a variety of electronic formats. See below for a full list of links to the released books, as well as a schedule of the upcoming releases. With each eBook, Tor is including brand new artwork for the “cover”. A different artist has been selected for each one, giving the art team at Tor a chance to provide us fans with a variety of styles. This month, the artwork is by Dan Dos Santos. The ebook will be released on February 16th. As with the previous covers that were released for the ebooks, Tor Art Director Irene Gallo has done a write up about the process behind creating this image. Be sure to check out the full article. Here’s an excerpt:
Wheel of Time eBook News and release schedule
| DM news So what do you think of this new image? Leave your comments below. Remember, we’ll have a more detailed report on the overall future of the Wheel of Time print-edition covers at a later time. |
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Posted by Jason on February 1st, 2010 in the |
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A beautiful new video interview has been posted online by Mythmaker Films, a production company based in southern California. You can view it below, or click over to this link to see it in full High Definition. This video was created while Brandon was on tour for The Gathering Storm. One of the Storm Leader for the Los Angeles book signing event, Tess Ortbals, works with Mythmakers and took the time to gather her troops to make this awesome video. Thanks, guys! |
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Posted by Jason on February 1st, 2010 in the |
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In a strategic business move that has the whole publishing industry (not to mention the blogosphere and Twitter) on fire, Amazon.com intentionally de-listed all print and electronic books published by Macmillan, one of the country’s six largest book publishers. Tor Books, who publishes The Wheel of Time in the United States, is an imprint of Macmillan, which means that all of their books (including WoT) were taken offline. The reason for the delisting is due to an on-going feud between Amazon and some publishers over eBook pricing. Amazon has always pushed for a strict $9.99 price cap on new releases, while publishers like Macmillan have been asking for more pricing flexibility. Now that Apple has announced its new iPad product– which will be a direct competitor to Amazon’s Kindle–, and also stated that they will allow publishers to set their own prices, Macmillan requested to Amazon that they do the same. Amazon’s response was to simply remove all of Macmillan’s books from their store, both print and electronic versions. (Third parties could still sell the print versions). Amazon did the delisting this past Friday afternoon (Jan 29th), likely in the hopes that it would receive less media attention going into the weekend, and also minimize the losses it would have from sales. (The assumption being that people buy more less from them on the weekend?) As of the time of this article, Amazon has conceded and says it will put Macmillan’s books back online in the near future. This incident has been discussed by a huge assortment of bloggers and news media. If this is something you would like to comment on here, you are welcome to do so, but you are highly encouraged to “do your homework” and read both sides of the story before forming an opinion. Here are some links that can get you started:
What does this have to do with the Wheel of Time? Well, quite simply, it means that right now, you cannot buy new copies of any WoT book from Amazon. And you can’t buy the Kindle edition of any of those fancy new eBooks we’ve been reporting about. Why is everyone so mad at Amazon? Aren’t cheap eBooks the way things should be? Isn’t Macmillan just looking to make more money? Educate yourself. Read all of the links above. Finally… place nice with your responses, please. |
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Posted by Kathana on January 20th, 2010 in the |
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JordanCon is the only fan run run Wheel of Time convention in the world. 2009 marked the very first one, with appearances by Brandon Sanderson, Harriet McDougal, Wilson Grooms, Tom Doherty and the rest of Team Jordan. Over 250 people attended, and more than $3,000 was raised on behalf of the Mayo Clinic. Programing included discussion panels, performances, and rare chance to listen to an audiotape of Robert Jordan dictating the prologue to what would become THE GATHERING STORM. You can read our complete coverage here.
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Posted by Jason on January 6th, 2010 in the |
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Article revised since original posting. Over the course of these past years, there have been production halts, artist changes, and rumors of lawsuits and poor business decisions made. Despite this, each issue of their Wheel of Time comics has proven to be a quality product that was well-received by fans. Some fans have become disgruntled by this, and certainly not without cause in some cases. Dragonmount recently had a chance to talk to the Dabel Brothers, in order to figure out what was going on. In December 2009, a press release was put out which stated that a company called Dynamite would be acquiring the rights to most of the Dabel Brother’s licenses. The Wheel of Time was not mentioned anywhere in the press release. We heard from the Dabels that Dynamite has not acquired the rights to The Wheel of Time. Those rights remain with the Dabel Brothers. As a matter of fact, the WoT comics are going to be the flagship series for the Dabels, and they say they are going to increase the rate of production immediately. The next issue of The Eye of the World should be out sometime in Spring, 2010. After that, they will come out on a regular monthly basis. Currently, issue #0 (“Dragonmount”) and issue #1 of The Eye of the World are available for purchase through our online store. Orders are now shipping. In 2009 Tor Books–who owns the distribution rights to the New Spring comics– announced that they will be releasing all six issues at once as a single graphic novel. No release date is available at this time, but it looks like it will be in Fall, 2010 or early 2011. (Probably around the time book 13, Towers of Midnight is released) We will, of course, keep you posted. This graphic novel should include the final 2 issues which will complete the New Spring story. Finally, here are some black and white preview images from the upcoming Eye of the World issue #2. (Spring, 2010) |
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Posted by Jason on January 6th, 2010 in the |
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Tor Books has released the cover art for the upcoming ebook release of THE SHADOW RISING, the fourth book in the Wheel of Time series. Each month, beginning this past October, Tor will release the next book in the series in a variety of electronic formats. See below for a full list of links to the released books, as well as a schedule of the upcoming releases. With each eBook, Tor is including brand new artwork for the “cover”. A different artist has been selected for each one, giving the art team at Tor a chance to provide us fans with a variety of styles. This month, the artwork is by Sam Weber. The ebook will be released on January 19th. As with the previous covers that were released for the ebooks, Tor Art Director Irene Gallo has done a write up about the process behind creating this image. Be sure to check out the full article. Here’s an excerpt:
There’s also a YouTube Video of Sam talking about this piece of art. Wheel of Time eBook News and release schedule
So what do you think of this new image? Leave your comments below. Remember, we’ll have a more detailed report on the overall future of the Wheel of Time print-edition covers at a later time. |
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Posted by Jason on December 1st, 2009 in the |
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Tor Books has released the cover art for the upcoming ebook release of THE DRAGON REBORN, the third book in the Wheel of Time series. Each month, beginning this past October, Tor will release the next book in the series in a variety of electronic formats. See below for a full list of links to the released books, as well as a schedule of the upcoming releases. With each eBook, Tor is including brand new artwork for the “cover”. A different artist has been selected for each one, giving the art team at Tor a chance to provide us fans with a variety of styles. This month, the artwork is by Donato Giancola. The ebook will be released on December 15th. Be sure to read the full feature on this artwork on Tor.com from Irene Gallo, the art director at Tor. Here’s a portion of what she had to say about this piece:
Wheel of Time eBook News and release schedule
So what do you think of this new image? Leave your comments below. Remember, we’ll have a more detailed report on the overall future of the Wheel of Time print-edition covers at a later time. |
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Posted by Jason on November 21st, 2009 in the |
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This is the seventeenth of our Storm Leader reports we’ll be posting throughout the U.S. book tour for THE GATHERING STORM. At each tour location, Dragonmount and Tor Books recruited a select group of volunteer fans to help run the event, hand out promotional materials, and represent us to the fans. In return, they were given the opportunity to meet with Brandon Sanderson and (if present for their event) Robert Jordan’s wife Harriet. We will have a full report with photos and possibly video for each one of the tour stops. Prior Storm Leader reports can be found here. Ushered into Tor headquarters at four, Storm Leaders were treated to their pick of Tor books, Wheel of Time comics, and attendant paraphernalia. Kids in a candy store aptly describe the way we felt surrounded by such wondrous works of science fiction and fantasy. Then, backpacks stuffed to the brim, we descended on the conference room where light refreshments and snacks awaited.
The first humorous moment of the evening came when we had to call our fellow Storm Leader and Tor.com contributor, Leigh, who was conspicuously absent from the event up till that point. Brandon caught on and proceeded to make light of her unexpected absence by Twittering about it from his blackberry! Suffice it to say a slightly winded Leigh arrived shortly after.
After a brief explanation of RAFO, spoiler killer extraordinaire, we got down to the nitty-gritty business of trying to tease out threads from the pattern. The questions ranged from the deeply theoretical – these came mostly form our Theoryland Storm Leader’s – to the factual. For your convenience, bullet points: - Which Ajah heads will stay in power? It will be dealt with traditional Aes Sedai quietness and generally default to those who were heads before the split. This event recap was collectively written by the Storm Leaders, and in every submission I received (my job is to cobble them together), they mentioned how wonderful it was to meet both Harriet and Maria. And, indeed, their presence seemed to brighten the room and podium both. Their devotion and love for the series, and its author, shone through in their actions and conversations – the sincerity of their numerous thanks to fans did not go unnoticed. The following paragraphs are taken directly from the individual recaps sent to me, so excuse their slightly disjointed nature, but I unable to depersonalize such sincere words. I want to talk about Miss Harriet. It is my sincere hope that every single one of you gets to meet her in person. Even if it’s just for a moment at a signing or a convention, if the opportunity arises, go say hello. Seeing her smile really lit up the room; she is one of the nicest people I have had the pleasure of meeting. In every way, it is in large part thanks to her that we now have The Gathering Storm, that we will have a conclusion to the series that is so near and dear to all of us. She thanked all of us, repeatedly, and I nearly laughed every time she did – it is to her that I wish to say thank you, not the other way around. After Harriet, the next woman who deserves some mention is Maria Simons. If you don’t recognize the name and weren’t able to make it to the New York signing, Maria was one of Mr. Rigney’s assistants, and is the guru of all things tWoT. Flip open your copy of The Gathering Storm: she’s one of the two individuals that Brandon dedicated the book to, with good reason. She is a true sister of the Brown Ajah, and not just because of her shawl. Very much like Harriet, Maria was very easy to approach and talk to. Just don’t go up to her expecting to get secrets or tidbits out of this living Wheel of Time depository. She carried with her a hat that reads “RAFO: … it’s a way of life”, and she truly does live it.
For me, these two ladies were the heroes of the hour, and I was honored to get to spend time with them. Brandon has done a magnificent and incredibly tough job-don’t get me wrong, but many of us tend to forget how much Harriet has invested in this on a personal level, and Maria as well. I think that deserves a very honorable mention, and for me, personally, these two amazing women made the whole evening and event that much more important to me than just a book signing. The signing itself was, in my perhaps less than unbiased opinion, a complete success. I do not believe an accurate count was taken, but I estimate roughly three hundred to three hundred fifty or so fans were in attendance. Brandon’s speech had many of us both laughing and drying our suddenly moist eyes. I feel no shame in admitting that hearing Brandon speak of both Mr. Rigney’s death and how he himself was chosen to finish the series had brought tears to my eyes, and other fans confided the same in me. That latter I think is what makes me claim that I had the best job of the night. Each of the Storm Leaders had a task, and I know several, perhaps all of us, think we had the best jobs. . . but seriously, I had the best job of the night: writing out the personalization’s on sticky-notes and bookmarking the pages to be signed. I got to speak with the vast majority of the fans who came to the signing. With some, it was only long enough to find out how they wanted their book personalized; but with others, I got to talk about how they were interested in the series, or other people they knew who read, other series they liked, other events they’d been to. A hundred different stories. Two in particular touched me, one man having his book dedicated to his mother, another to his children. I hope the latter will forgive me for sharing his dedication, anonymously: “May reading this bring you the peace of the stedding.” When he first said it, I thought it was cool, but when he explained that it was for his children reading the series, I damn near teared up again. It was an honor to get to speak to so many of you, every single bit as much as it was an honor to meet Team Jordan.
To open the signing at the Union Square B&N, Brandon begun by describing how he had come to store, back in the day, with his agent, and signed the one copy of Elantris that was on the shelf. His agent promised that he would do a signing there one day, and lo and behold, it came to pass. Among other interesting tidbits in Brandon’s introduction was the story of how he came to write the Wheel of Time, his first incoherent conversation with Harriet, and his follow-up email where he assured her he was “not an idiot”. The ebullient crowd was generous with both applause and laughs, and listened in rapt attention as Harriet read the Prophet’s passage from the prologue, which proceeded at a fairly brisk clip. Before she began, she thanked the crowd, saying, “It is because of you the series continues.” And she meant it.
The Q&A that followed was filled with interesting tidbits from both Brandon’s work and the WoT series. More bullet points! To add to the fun during the signing Tor provided a bunch of awesome posters for giveaways, which we raffled off. Storm Leaders also conducted an informal survey of those waiting in line to get their books signed. The results might surprise you! Who is your favorite character? (top three responses) How many times have you read the series? Who killed Asmodean? And so, fellow fans, I hope you all get a chance to meet Team Jordan, for it is truly a memorable experience. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask in the comments, as we will endeavor to fill in anything we left out from this brief recap. Tai’shar New York, it was great meeting all of you! Oh, you can also check out the rest of the picks here. |
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Posted by Kathana on November 21st, 2009 in the |
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This isn’t exactly one of our Storm Leader reports that we’ve been posting throughout the U.S. book tour for THE GATHERING STORM. At each tour location, Dragonmount and Tor Books recruited a select group of volunteer fans to help run the event, hand out promotional materials, and represent us to the fans. In return, they were given the opportunity to meet with Brandon Sanderson and (if present for their event) Robert Jordan’s wife Harriet. Sometimes, things got out of hand. We will have a full report with photos and possibly video for Brandon and Jason’s epic Magic battle later on. An explanation of what is going on can be found here, here and here. Prior Storm Leader reports can be found here. News Flash: Apparently feeling a need to bring some excitement to our otherwise placid pre-signing dinner in Half Moon Bay last night, Jason Denzel suddenly smashed his water glass against the table we all shared and brandished it as a weapon, all too close to both Brandon Sanderson and Harriet McDougal. Ever-heroic Brandon shielded serene and amused Harriet with his own body. Vigilant and brave Storm Leaders scribbled notes furiously. Jason and Brandon agreed to settle their dispute later in the evening at The Ritz Carleton over a potentially dangerous game of Magic. You see, myth becomes legend. . . .
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