Theoryland of the Wheel of Time

Danger WoT (wall of text).

Alrighty then. I'm going to backtrack a bit since we now have a forum to post tour reports (provided my aging short-term memory will cooperate). Some of you have seen bits and pieces of this material already in the WoT rereaders FB page and Leigh's ToM part 29 reread thread, so bear with me.

Date: January 11, 2013. Brandon and Harriet both attended the 7 pm event.

Venue: Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Lexington, KY. This is an awesome (!), huge bookstore - 2 floors with an escalator between them, open floor plan (not ground to ceiling shelves), comfy seating scattered around, gas fireplace, skylights and plenty of windows, well lit, and with a small restaurant on the premises—certainly the nicest bookstore I've ever been in and a very cozy setting. No, they didn't pay me to plug the shop.

What happened: My wife (not a WoT fan(atic)) and I arrived back at Jos.-Beth at about 5:30 pm after picking up my copy of AMoL & the line ticket, perusing a bit, getting bearings and checking into our hotel earlier in the afternoon (it's a 3-hour drive from our home). There were about 6 people sitting in the first row of chairs around the podium and table where Brandon and Harriet would speak/sign later. Most were reading their copies of AMoL. One young lady related that she had been holding her chair down since the store opened that morning (ouch, those were not very comfy chairs). We decided to eat in the cafe along with several others folks waiting for the big event. Brandon walked through the cafe during dinner, presumably looking for the room where he was to meet and dine with the MKs.

The chairs around the podium were starting to fill up by the time we finished eating, so I grabbed a second-row seat and began reading AMoL (but couldn't concentrate) while wifey found a comfy arm chair in the "stacks" nearby.

I estimated the number of line tickets at 375, based on the size (25) and number of groups. There was an additional 100 or more in attendance at the peak of the event, given family members and others who just stopped by (randomly?) to listen to the proceedings. I had a "C" line ticket based on book purchase date (late in the game)—behind preferred, "A" and "B". So, not too bad, all things considered. While waiting for the show to start, some really cool, very redneck WoT fanatics I was chatting with gave me a spare "A" ticket they had. My "C" then went to someone with a "J".

Keep in mind that this signing occurred only 3 days after the book was released. Only a few of the most intrepid (sleep-deprived) had read past mid-book. Spoilers were expressly prohibited by executive order.

The MKs I noticed and interacted with were all young adults (i.e., under 30) and many seemed to be UK students. Their pre-signing meeting(s) were by Skype. What a great idea, considering travel distances and the unpredictable winter weather in this part of the country (my concerns when debating the issue of applying, which I didn't).

The Q & A session and signing proceeded almost exactly as described in davidgiven @49's report above, so I won't reiterate. Many questions centered on the writing and editing processes. Not what I expected, but very, very enjoyable to hear described. Our Q & A lasted 55-60 minutes. No one asked "Who killed Asmo?"—thankfully. Brandon and Harriet are both fascinating and captivating speakers. My wife (the not-a-WoT-fan one) said afterward that she was glad she came along on the trip and enjoyed listening to them. One downside to the Q & A was the slightly crazed gentlemen who tried to answer a few of the questions addressed to Brandon and mumbled to himself in the corner behind wifey after the management asked him to sit down and stop pacing around the lecture area. He reminded me of a taint-touched Asha'man. He either left in frustration or was asked to leave later. Creepy. On the in-world topic, there were several women with shawls and appropriately colored dresses in attendance, but that was the only role-playing I noticed. No bugs dressed as Asha'man.

I struggled with what question to ask Brandon during my 30 seconds with him while he signed. The best I came up with was: "Will you be putting in an appearance at Jordan-Con this year?"

(Didn't think this question had been answered)—to which he answered "Yes", then asked me if Freelancer would be coming when he learned I followed Leigh's reread.

Ways

Free is already aware of this and, I gather, feels quite honored. Perhaps Brandon convinced our compatriot to attend the Con during the SD signing, but I'm not holding my breath (just hopeful).

Wifey and I elected not to stay for the customization period after the routine signing since we were tired and the crowd was huge. Hope to catch up with him at the Con for this. Instead we grabbed some snacks at the Whole Foods next door and headed back to the room to rest up for the journey to Maker's Mark and home the next day.

held up).

A couple more photos from the Lexington event follow. Only 1 RAFO card was given out there and I don't recall the question that earned it (sufficient reason to take along a notebook or audio recorder). We were limited to 3 books for the non-personalized first pass, which seems standard. Did I mention Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Lexington is fantastic, spacious, comfy? Yes, I think so.