Storm Leaders

Contrary to Jeshin's belief (or at least his publicizing), this isn't just a development blog, and I'm going to post whatever I want.  =-)

So, with that sorted out I figured I'd spare a couple minutes to write a blog post about a blog post.  If that seems silly then you are right on the money, but it won't stop me from doing it. Hit the thingy below to get the rest after the jump!

One of the things in my google reader list is Brandon Sanderson's blog.  I put it there, obviously, so I can keep track of what he's doing.  Much like Vandread, when Sanderson was announced as the man who would finish RJ's epic fantasy (that's a genre btw) series, I was kind of intrigued.  I went and picked up the Mistborn trilogy (go see the reviews on the discussion board: TSoS Discussion Board - Reviews), read that and was quickly convinced that he's the real deal.  Thus, I'm definitely motivated to keep an eye on any new projects he's working on even if they aren't related to the Wheel of Time setting.  It's probably that more than anything else that prompts me to share the contents of the post he just put up yesterday.

There are a couple things that are worthy of note in that post which can be found here.  The first thing is a discussion of the titles for the final three books in the saga.  It seems that they have settled on the title for the second book: Towers of Midnight.  Sanderson has some thoughts about the end of it too, so that's worth taking a look at.  Also, there are some comments about DRM, the prologue, and chapter 1.

To some extent, one of the more interesting pieces is the one relating to the title of this post though.  Sanderson is pushing the Storm Leaders...umm..thing?  Basically, Tor is looking for some volunteers to put in some time when the book tour comes to help out.  There are a bunch of tour stops around the country so they are looking for a bunch of folks to work at the various locations.  These folks will be responsible for meeting either Sanderson or Harriet prior to the event (aka 'get to' meet them), where they will have the chance to get some books signed early, chat with them about whatever, etc.  For many people that's probably the upside, and what comes next is the price you have to pay.  The Storm Leaders are going to be doing whatever it takes to get the little aspects of the signing day done.  Crowd control, passing out promotional materials, getting water for Harriet/Sanderson, etc., whatever it takes to sort things out.  They'll also be doing some of the preliminary work drumming up interest for the event, etc. It's kind of like being on a street team for your favorite band, except that you actually get face time.

You can find more detailed information about what the Storm Leaders will be doing, the tour stops and dates where this is going on, as well as the application at Dragonmount's website here.  Am I the only one out there that remembers when Dmount was pretty far from being the leader in the WoT online community?  Regardless, niftynifty.

Normally, this isn't the sort of thing that I would really even consider.  Partly because, despite what folks may think, I've been kind of jaded on the whole WoT thing for a while.  Don't get me wrong, I think it is probably the premiere epic fantasy series of the 90s, and is really strong.  On the same note, I also think that Eye of the World was unquestionably the best of the series, and it's been kind of on the way down since then.  I think that Sanderson is probably exactly what is needed to give the series a little bit of a boost for the last few books.  Thus, while I haven't read the prologue or the first chapter yet (and don't intend to until I have the book in my greedy little hands), I'm excited for the release.  I'd also be excited about the chance to meet Sanderson or Harriet (granted, the former more than the latter probably).  Thus, I fully intend to apply for this spot.  I don't really have a clue what a good thing to write for the "Why You?" question at the moment unfortunately.  Those questions are always a bit deceptive in their importance and are challenging to come up with a good answer to.  (Hint: that's why I always ask those of potential new immortals or ssets or newbie helpers at TSoS.)

If anyone else comes up with something that I should write, please feel free to let me know.  Otherwise, keep on truckin'.