Theoryland of the Wheel of Time

Is there a difference in the steps required to make an angreal or a sa'angreal?

There's nothing in the notes that points to a difference.

A few other items from the Atlanta signing on Thursday. Sorry it's taken so long to get to them, but after the signing, I immediately got into a car and drove 10 hours to a ski resort. First world problems all up in this. I volunteered to handle fans' cameras for pictures up at the signing table, so I didn't get quite close enough to overhear much up there, but I did take some notes during the general Q&A.

Two of the major character deaths in the final book were not in Jim's notes. One (Bela's) was mandated by Harriet. Brandon did not (and has not, to my knowledge) divulged which one was his choice.

There might be a mention of the mechanics behind Heroes of the Horn (how you become bound in the first place, etc.) in the Encyclopedia.

One fan asked about what kind of legacy the Wheel of Time books left.

Brandon pointed out the tremendous fan following, which has brought people of many different interests together.

Harriet McDougal

Harriet said (paraphrased), "The depth and strength of the worldbuilding and characters. John Grisham sells a lot of novels, but people don't make charitable organizations named after John Grisham characters." She also shared that Jim's strong moral vision has helped a lot of people get through some very tough times.

The funniest bit of the Q&A was when a fan asked Harriet how she and Jim got along, since it seemed like she might be kind of a heavy-handed editor. Harriet acted quite taken aback, to the audience's amusement.

At this point, Brandon jumped in and said, "You don't have to press very hard with a scalpel to make someone bleed."

Brandon was very gracious and upbeat the whole night, despite a raw throat. Harriet must get up early in the morning to practice that smile of hers. I don't understand how you can give someone a smile that is warm and welcoming while simultaneously having an infuriating I-know-something-you-don't-know quality. Maybe I need to work on my eye-twinkle skills. Thanks to both of them for taking time out of their busy lives to visit with the fans.

And, on a personal note, I was able to give Brandon, Harriet, and Jennifer Liang each a draft copy of the novel I've been working on. If anyone on this thread has a few hours to kill, I'd be happy to share it with you, too. Just drop me a message.