So the other night Doug arranged to take me on a surprise date.
He got a babysitter and everything.
It was a Wednesday night.
I was sure he was taking me dancing or to a dance class.
I'd used various deductive reasoning techniques to come up with this theory and I was very sure of myself.
I told at least two people we were going dancing.
I put on a swingy dress and my new red heels.
I applied full make-up AND even a tiny bit of perfume.
We got in the car and Doug said, "We are NOT going dancing!"
I said "Yes we are! ...Aren't we?"
No. We weren't.
We went into San Diego to "The Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore" for a book signing by
Brandon Sanderson.
And it was AWE.SOME.
Even better than dancing! The rest of this post will now be addressed to someone else:
Dear Brandon Sanderson,
First, I'd like to start by saying, I'm sorry we walked in to your reading late. If I had known we were NOT going to a Swing dance class but instead going to hang out with a bunch of fantasy readers, I would have held off on the make-up and heels and we would have been on time. My bad. (But also Doug's bad for not telling me sooner.)
However, how AWESOME was it that there were two empty seats for us on the front row? (Totally awesome.) I could NOT believe my luck! And hearing you read Legion was really cool.
Anyway, mostly just wanted to let you know it was a great night. My husband and I are huge fans! (And so are our boys because they've been listening to the Audible version of Alcatraz and the Evil Librarian. So stinkin' funny!)
Also, I'd like to tell you a little about myself: I am an avid reader. I have been since first grade when I got hooked on Boxcar Children. I'm pretty much always reading at least one novel. At the moment, I'm reading three different books. (One in the bathroom, one in the car, one by my bed...you get the idea.) My point is, I read a lot.
And here's the thing: I think you are HANDS DOWN one of the (if not THE) BEST AUTHOR(s) I've ever read.
Your intelligence is astounding. Your imagination is awe-inspiring. Your worlds are incredibly cohesive and believable and awesome and deeply-developed-without-being-overwhelming and awesome...
But of most importance to me, your books have something I learned about in college: they have Artistic Unity. In your words, (heard on a pod cast Doug found--if I'm remembering correctly...) "no unkept promises". (or was it unanswered?) Anyway...
Every tiny detail in your books is in your books for a reason. When I finished the Mistborn series, I was sad that it was over, but HAPPY because you had answered all my questions and resolved every introduced issue. What a freakin' awesome series!
{I'm SO glad you've chosen to continue it in a different time period. I would be reading my signed copy of The Alloy of Law right now if it weren't for those other three books and the fact that Doug got to it first.}
(An aside: Once I read "The Historian" and it sucked. Not because it was about vampires. Because it lacked cohesion and left MANY questions unanswered. I'm still bitter I wasted so much time on that book! Just like stupid Lost!!! I'm still mad at you and your lack of ARTISTIC UNITY Lost!)
Anyway again, just wanted to let you know I'm a big fan.
Come back to Mysterious Galaxy again soon!! We need a better picture!!
Sincerely,
Emily W.
P.S. My baby's middle name is Brandon. Not after you, but still...!
P.P.S. This is my first fan letter. Did I come on too strong? Sound too stalker-like? Sorry. I swear I'm normal(ish).
POST EDIT: My blog posts are automatically e-mailed to my mom so her comments come to my e-mail in-box. This was her response to this post:
Dear Emily, Great fan letter! I'll have you know that I borrowed and read (my brother) Brandons copies of Mistborn! They were OK. What shall I try next that's not so far out into ugly and violent cretins? I didn't like all the good guys expiring.
(Not ALL the good guys expire...!!)
Love, Mom xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
I had to laugh. Clearly, Epic Fantasy is NOT for everyone! :) Always good to have differing opinions!
(I told her to try Gail Tsukiyama--an author I read and liked in Japan.)
