Thus Spake The Creator Fans
and the FAQ
Q: Hi. I suppose you already know through some of the
signings and various letters that you have large
fan clubs on most of the major online services and that
we've basically been going through the books with a fine
tooth comb. I believe you've even seen the FAQ. I was
wondering on whether you excpected anything like this and
has it affected you in any way?
A: I never expected anything in the _least_ like this,
and as far as affecting me in any way -- I now look
through the peephole before I open doors.
Q: Hi Mr. Jordan. I was at your conference yesterday
on Compuserve but didn't get to finish asking the rest of
my questions. At book signings: how mnay books do you
sign per person and if asked would you sign a book in
your real name and pen name?
A: Generally I sign as many books as anyone brings, but
the practical limit is set by how many people there are
and how much time I have to spend at that store. For the
rest, are you saying Robert Jordan isn't my real name?
Q: Mr. Jordan, Are you aware of the interest that has
risen on thr internet and here on AOL about your books?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you follow any of the aol discussions of your
writings?
A: Only when someone downloads and sends hard-copy to me.
Q: Were you surprised at the huge following that have
become almost obsessed with WOT
A: Yes, very much.
Q: Do you have any interest in establishing a board to
interact with fans ala R. Fiest?
A: If I did, I'd never get _any_ writing done.
Q: I'm sorry. How long after publishing The Eye of the
World did you recognize the extent of the popularity of
your book, and did you know at that time that the "World"
would grow to such a great proportion (i.e., that you'd
have written this many books)?
A: I never expected anything like this, and I really
don't know how long it took me to realize that the books
were very popular. It rather crept up on me.
Q: Did you think the series would be come this
popular?
A: No. I hoped, but I never thought.
Q: Mr.Jordan are you willing to do lectures at
colleges and universities?
A: Depending entirely on whether I have time, which I
seldom do, unfortunately.
Q: Did your interaction with fans lead you to make
certain things previously hidden obvious in this book?
A: No, not interaction with fans. There are always things
that are going to become more obvious as the story goes
along. I certainly don't intend to keep everything hidden
until the very last. There won't be any Perry Mason
revelation scene where all the characters sit down and
say, "This is what happened and this is why it
happened.":)
Comment: Mr. Jordan, I want to inform you that a
recent graduate of the University of Notre Dame has just
completed a thesis on the rebirth of philosophy in
literature centered around your wheel of time series
A: That's very nice to know. I've had several people send
my copies of their master's theses and other
undergraduate theses, comparing me to Tolkien and C. S.
Lewis. It's enough to swell my head. Luckily, my wife
takes care of that little problem. ;)
Q: I was just wondering if you have read the FAQ
compiled by many of your fans. If so, how would you
evaluate it's accuracy?
A: It's been about a year since someone's sent me a copy
of the FAQ. At that time, the proportions were running
pretty much the same as the early ones I'd seen: about a
third are right, a third are almost right, and the rest
are blue sky. In fact, there have been some arguments
over things I'd thought I'd made clear. (Who knows what
evil lurks in the hearts of men? Bela knows!)
Q: Do you realize what you are putting us through with
the time between books?
A: You guys get to sit around with your feet up between
books! :) I bust my hump writing them.
Q: Mr Jordan, do you have any personal thoughts about
people Role Playing in the world you have given us?
A: I have a standard letter that I send to people when
they ask for permission to do role-playing, in which I
grant them very limited permission to do this. It says,
in effect, that you have permission to do it in this
instance as long as you don't try to make a profit off of
it.
Q: First I'd like to thank you for such a wonderful
series. I'm curious about something, do you ever look at
some of things people theorize about your books, in your
newsgroup for example. Do you ever look to see how close
other people's theories are.
A: Yes, but only when someone sends me a FAQ. Sometimes
someone will send me a print out of the latest FAQ from
the latest source, or send it on disk (it helps if I can
access it through Wordperfect 5.1) generally these things
divide up evenly... a third of the answers are right... a
third are almost right... and a third are very off the
wall.
Q: Of the many themes that occur throughout your
books, which do you consider the most important?
A: I think that's for the reader t decide. I like to put
things out there and let the readers absorb them as they
will. One of the things that has happened that I rather
enjoyed was listening to some people talk as they waited
for me to sign books... they were discussing the books,
then change dthe subject, and, without meaning to, were
discussing what I consider one o f the subjects of the
books..that was very gratifying.
Q: I was wondering if you accept fan mail.....if so,
how can I write to you? Also, how many books long do you
think this series will end up being? I have no objections
to it being long.......
A: I like recieving fan mail! Write care of TOR books,
175 Fifth Avenue, NY NY 10010. They forward fan mail to
me at fairly regular intervals. There will be a few more
books, but not too many.
Comment: You are truly the master of fantasy Master
Jordan. Tolkein is wonderful, but I'm afraid you eclipse
him. Although, you do have fifty years of experience on
him.
A: That sounds like the finest kind of butter to me and
if you don't mind, I'll keep one hand on my wallet.
Q: Do you ever get tired of people turning every typo
in your books into another plot line?
A: No, I just wish I could stop there from being any
typos.
Q:
I'm just curious...do you ever get on the Internet and
read any of the theories and ideas people post about the
Wheel of Time? Were I in your shoes, I might be pretty
entertained by that.
A: No.
I usually avoid the net. It's too addictive and I don't
have the time. Occasionally, though, people will send me
printouts of the latest FAQ or send it to me on disk, and
I do enjoy browsing through that. Let me add: I haven't
seen one in about a year (hint hint).
Q:
I have heard that you once said there are many things in
your books that you were surprised readers hadn't
discovered. And there were also things you were surprised
we had "deciphered." Any comments?
A:
Too true. Too true. But when I find out that something I
wanted to be obvious isn't, I do look around to see if I
can find another place to slip in a hint.
Q:
Robert, I'd love to meet you sometime. I love your books
with a passion and think you are an incredible writer. Do
you ever go to conventions or have any plans on touring
to promote your next book?
A: I
believe my publisher intends for me to tour for THE PATH
OF DAGGERS. But I have no idea which cities will be
included. As far as conventions go, I attend far fewer
than I would like to because three days at a convention
are three days I'm not writing.
Q:
Was it your idea for the Robert Jordan hot line? I think
that's such a great idea.
A:
The hot line at Tor was my idea. And you reminded me -- I
have to record a new message. It's been a while since
I've recorded one. A lot of what's on that is outdated
now, I'm afraid. That is, if you mean the message that
I've recorded at Tor Books.
Q:
I am in two online guilds based on the World of Time
series, but I heard you have officially approved one; I
have also heard you approved no guilds. Which guild, if
any did you approve? (And why did you let Darrel Sweet do
your book covers? The Armylin wants to know.)
A: I
have approved several fan clubs who wrote to me and asked
me to endorse them. I don't approve anybody exclusively.
As far as Darrel goes, he was selected by the publisher.
Q:
Who exactly schedules your book tours? I have noticed the
tours usually take you to a lot of large eastern and
western U.S. cities. Does Tor know that, indeed, you do
have fans in the Southwest?
A: I
think they do, but I am a simple scrivener. I go where I
am sent. I am told, "Go thou, and sign!" and I
go thou and sign!
Q:
The Wheel of Time is the first series that I have been
following where the development of the story line
coincides with a vast amount of fan discussion on the
World Wide Web and elsewhere. Given that you have stated
you know how the story ends -- all the major plotlines
but not every single incident -- do you ever find
yourself taking into account the speculation about
certain plotlines that occurs on some of the bulletin
boards and newsgroups because it either requires
clarification or suggests to you a better way of
resolving some plot element?
A:
No, I very seldom see any of the speculation.
Occasionally someone will send me printouts of things
that have been posted on the web sites. The last time I
saw anything like that was about a year ago. I think
three times I've been sent a copy of the FAQ, and while
the comments in the FAQ have changed, at least in some
places, I still have the same comment myself: About a
third of the speculation there is right, about a third is
almost right -- it's sort of in the right direction, but
they're not quite going in the direction I am -- and the
remaining third is totally blue sky. but I won't tell
anybody which third is which. Read and find out... I know
where it's going, and I really just don't take the time
to get into the web sites.
Q: The Wheel of Time has been called the best fantasy
epic of all time, and you've been compared with legendary
fantasist J.R.R. Tolkien. How do you deal with all this
adulation?
A: I grin nervously a lot. It's very nice. But my high
school football coach gave me one of the best pieces of
advice that someone in my position can have. He said,
"Saturday morning, you can read the newspaper and
you can believe how good they say you are. Monday, when
you come to practice, nobody knows your name, and you
have one week to get ready for the only game you'll ever
have to make a reputation."
So it's very nice to look around and have people pat me
on the back and say, "Oh, you're wonderful, you're
great, you're tremendous," but I know the end of
this. I go and sit in front of the computer, and nobody
knows my name, and I have one book to try and make a
reputation.
Q: You've got an especially enthusiastic readership.
How do you deal with people who take your books too
seriously?
A: Depends on what they're writing to me about. I explain
that no, there really isn't a One Power, there is no
ability to channel, and I cannot teach you these things
because they don't exist. And I'm not a guru, I'm not a
spiritual leader, do not quit your job. I will not allow
you to sit at my feet. Go on with your life. But I don't
read a lot of fan comments. I don't go on the Web. I
don't pay any attention to it.
Q: What about people who have compared your books to
the Koran or the Bible?
A: I'm writing stories. I'm not creating a religion. I'm
not starting a movement. I hope they're good stories and
that they're entertaining people, but they're still just
stories.
Q: How does it feel being the best fantasy writer ever
? *smile*
A: RobertJordan: Thanks. *blush*
Aw, shucks
Q: Are you online? Do you have
any access to the WoT discussion groups?
A: No.
Q: me and my fiancee met in a
channel devoted to your books, if we send you an
invitation will you come? *smile*
A: Thanks for the invitation but
I'm sorry, I just am too busy writing the books.
Q: Mr.Jordan, how do you feel
when someone finds a minor or perhaps a major
inconsistency in your books (I'm not saying there are any
:P)? Do you say "Oh well, better luck next time"
or do you get really upset?
A: Sometimes people have found
things that are typos, and sometimes people have found a
place where a change or correction that I had intended to
be put into the book was not before it was published. I
always try to get those corrected as soon as possible
after they're found. And, while I don't like having them
there, I'm glad when someone points one out to me. As for
inconsistencies, I'm afraid inconsistancies are a failure
to read the books correctly. Everytime somebody has come
to me with an inconsistency, I have been able to point
out in a return letter where their mistake was.
Q: Is there an E-mail address
where we can write to you??
A: No. There is a way that you can
get the latest information on the Wheel of Time series.
By dialing: 1-800-221-7945. Then extension 701. This
number is St. Martin's press, and the extension has me
telling you what the latest information is about when the
next book will be out, what the price will be, that sort
of thing.
Q: did you anticipate, and do
you appreciate such a cultish following?
A: I certainly never anticipated it.
I'm not certain that it is a "cultish"
following. I hope that it doesn't fall under that
definition. As far as appreciating it, I'm very
appreciative. I hope that's what you mean.
Q: How do you feel personally
about fan fiction such as drawings and music about the
wheel of time?
A: I enjoy hearing music about the
Wheel of Time and seeing drawings about the Wheel of Time.
As far as the fan fiction goes - that is, stories -
please remember copyright, guys. To protect my copyright,
I have to keep on top of anyone who violates it. So, no
fan fiction using my characters or my world. Sorry. Using
the ornaments out of the books is a different matter.
That is a violation of copyrights, trademarks. When I say
I like seeing art about the Wheel of Time, I mean art
that the fans created themselves. And remember guys, you
can't try to make money out of this stuff.
Q: Welcome, Robert! We're
thrilled to have you with us here. Why do you think
"The Wheel of Time" series has struck such a
chord with fantasy readers? Do you have any speculations
about its amazing popularity?
A: No, I don't really. I write
stories...I try to write stories about real people. I'm
really glad the books are popular. But, I don't really
have any clue why they're so popular, except possibly the
fantasy element. I think that we have a real need for
fantasy as human beings. Actually Terry Pratchett says it
quite clearly. He says that by believing in things that
don't exist, we set ourselves up to believe in other
things that don't exist such as justice and mercy.
Q: I'm curious, Robert...
I know you're on tour and deluged with fans asking LOTS
of questions. What's a question you'd really like
to answer that no one's asked? * Moderator smiles *
A: I don't think there is a
question that no one's asked. Including the most personal
and intimate that you can imagine. Somebody will always
ask anything.
Comment: That's a CHALLENGE to us
at SCIFI.CON! As k Robert something utterly challenging
and unique, 'kay?
Q: Is there anyway we can
contact you Mr. Jordan? Do you have an email address or
website we can go to? Can we contact you through your
publishing house?
A: Write to me or email me at my
publishing house. I don't reply by email though, so
you'll have to give me a snail mail address and wait.
Comment: That's TOR Books - 175
Fifth Ave - NYC 10010
Q: What do fans tell you they like so much about your
writing?
A: It's a different thing for every person.
Q: Really?
A: Yes.
Q: What do the women like?
A: The women like the women. I was told by a number of
women who came to a signing several years ago that they
were surprised to find out that I was a man. They thought
no man could write women like that. And I like this
because my editor used to say that I couldn't write women
at all. I find this a very sweet revenge.
Q: What does your fan mail tell you of the chords
you've struck to create such a devoted following?
A: In large part, that I've created characters people
believe in. One fairly common comment is that the reader
knows somebody just like Mat or Nynaeve or whoever, or
that they feel they could meet them around the next
corner. Character is very important to me; story flows
from character. Also, I suspect that the strong
interweaving of mythologies from a number of cultures
plays a part, too. Modern societyat least in the
Westpretends that we have outgrown the need for
myth and legend, but people seem to hunger for them.
Where we have forgotten our myths we create new ones,
although today we don't realize what we are doing. But
then, maybe people never did truly realize what they were
doing in making myth; perhaps it has always been an
unconscious act. The cultural trappings surrounding myth
and legend vary widely by country, but if they are
stripped to the bare core you find among them the same
stories repeated over and over around the world. However
different their cultures, customs, and mores, people
share many of the same needs, hopes, and fears. Anyway, I
believe there is a strong echo of myth and legend in my
writing, and I think people feel that.
Q: Ask him if he knows about all the Jordan junkies on
the network. Tell him we love his books and are frenzied
to know when the next one is coming out.
A: I know about the "Jordan junkies" (ahem!
Blush!), now.
As far as any message to the folks on the net.... It
is really quite an honour to find out that so many of you
want to discuss my books in such detail. Frankly, I'm
both pleased and amazed that you have put so much time
and effort into it. Well, I hoped Iwas writing something
that would hold people's interest; it seems maybe I have.
One thing -- don't think you've reached bottom in your
digging. I tried to make the books fairly simple on the
surface, and quite complex underneath. You've dug up a
number of points that I thought I had buried well enough
that they wouldn't come to light for some time yet (don't
expect me to say which ones), and you've also dug up one
or two that I never buried in the first place (no hints
there, either). Jordan's Law, I think, can better be
stated along these ~lines: "Ah, you think you know
how the game goes now? Very good, gentlemen. what say we
increase the bets just to make it interesting?".
Q: When you started writing WoT--or even after the
first couple of books were published--did you ever expect
the public reaction that WoT has received? All the
popularity and fanfare and such? Or were you just sort-of
writing for you and if it was well-received, fine; if
not, fine?
A: I was writing for myself. I never expected any of this.
Q: Do you have any special fan activities planned for
DragonCon next year? Thank you.
A: No, to the best of my knowledge, I have not agreed to
be at DragonCon next year! I have to point out that in
the last few years, there seems to be a rash of people
convincing world fantasy convention, world science
fiction convention, that they are ME, and they have
arranged panels that I knew nothing about until I
received a schedule from the convention saying that these
were the panels I was on.
Q: Do you ever feel under alot of pressure to finish
the books due to their popularity?
A: Well, sometimes. But I know where I'm going, I know
how I want to finish it, I do not intend to speed up the
pace to get there faster. In truth, the greatest pressure
to finish it, I think, comes from ME. I won't really have
done it until I finish it.
Q: Mr. Jordan, what is your stance on uncommissioned
fan illustrations, depicting the world you've created?
A: I really don't have a stance. I know a lot of people
do fan art of one sort or another. As long as no one is
trying to make money on my creations, it's all right with
me!
Q: Have you ever actually visited a fan-based WoT
website? Do you agree with many of the theories you find
there?
A: I have occasionaly dropped in on some websites. Some
of the theories are very good, and some of them are very
much wild blue yonder. And no, I won't tell you which
ones are which!
Q: Mr. Jordan, does it ever frighten you that people
ask you the most detailed questions about your series,
kind of like Star Trek fanatics do with William Shatner
and Leonard Nimoy?
A: No, that doesn't worry me or frighten me. The only
times I get worried are when people seem to believe that
I am some sort of guru, and I'm not -- I'm a storyteller.
I write books, that's it. I tell stories.
Q: Mr. Jordan, do you ever find yourself "corrupted"
by the ideas put forth in such places as on the FAQ?
A: No I rarely go online. Occassionally I look at
website, but I'm writing my story for me. Not to please
everybody else
Q: I was wondering if there has been any other authors
approach you about writing other ages, such as the age of
legends or Hawkwings time. If they did would you allow
it?
A: I've never been approached. And no, I wouldn't. When
I'm done I'll move on to another Universe
Q: Mr. Jordan, what are the most crazy reactions you
have received from your fans?
A: I suppose it's the people who believe that I am
telling them the absolute truth: that there is a thing
called channeling, and that I can teach them how to do it.
I'm not a guru. I'm not a sage. I'm not a teacher. I am
just a storyteller.
Q: Let's talk about the Wheel of Time series. Does it
appeal both to men and women the same?
A: It does. My English publisher commissioned a survey,
and the managing director took us to dinner and said to
me at the table, "We've discovered that your
readership is perfectly spherical." I said, "What
are you telling me? They're fat? What are you saying?"
He said that apparently in England, my readership is
evenly distributed according to age level. Evenly
distributed according to income level. Evenly distributed
according to educational level, according to political
party, according to area of the country they live in.
Every single category it was even distribution. He said
we could not find a significant statistical bump anywhere.
Now, there's no such survey for the United States. All I
have is the fan mail and the people who show up at the
signings. But I have 12 year old kids and I have people
in their 80s. I have gangbangers and cops. I get letters
from convicts. I have college students and doctors and
housewives. I had teenage girls telling me things like,
"You are sooo cool." I mean, good Lord, I felt
like a rock star. I found that Sir Edmond Hillary is a
fan of my books. I found that a high official in the
Russian government hands my books out, telling people
that they are not a manual of politics but a manual of
the poetry of politics. There is no typical Robert Jordan
reader.
Q: Can you explain that? I don't think I've ever talked
to another author who's told me that.
A: No. No, I can't. I try to write about people who seem
like real people. When I need to make somebody do
something in the stories, they do it for reasons that
that person would do it, not simply because it's part of
the story. I work very hard, when I am writing from a
woman's point of view, to make that character seem like a
woman, not like a woman written by a man.
I was very pleased, years ago, when I was on tour for
"The Dragon Reborn," and Robert Jordan was not
Robert Jordan, so to speak. He was just another fantasy
writer out there, not somebody who made the New York
Times (best seller lists) or anything like that. I had
women come up to me then and say, "Until they saw
me, they had thought Robert Jordan was the pen name of a
woman, because said they didn't believe any man could
write women that well." So I thought, "All
right! Damn. I did it, I did it right."
I try to make the people distinct in who they are, and as
I said, "I work very hard on the women in
particular, and I think that makes all of the characters
real, or seem real." Now, that may turn out to be
not at all the reason that people like the books, but
it's the only reason I can think of. Except I think do
think I tell a pretty good story.
Q: I myself am a great fantasy lover, read Feist,
Pratchett, Goodkind. Why should I read Jordan?
A: Well, I think I tell a good story, about people you
will believe in. And.. sometimes people you will
recognize. It's eh.. It's hard for a writer to produce
characters people care about. I think that I have managed
to write characters that people care about. They want to
know what's going to happen with this person or that
person.
Q: And that's what's so good about WoT?"
A: Well, to some extent. There's more than that. I happen
to think that they are good books.
Q: What will you write next?
A: Another fantasy novel, or a set of novels. More
compact, I hope. That's.. I've been working on it, you
might say, in the back of my head for five or six years.
A different world, a different set of circumstances;
different cultures, different rules, no connection
really, at all, to the world ... I'm writing about now.
[Heh, seems even Jordan might want to have given Randland
a name in the beginning so that we could refer to it as
something other than Randland.] I want to make things
different. [strong] I don't like doing the same thing
again. [Referring to answering certain questions?] It's
a trap that writers find it very easy to fall in to. Fans
say 'tell me the story again, tell me more of the story'
and the writer wants to do a different story. But the fan
who loves this story says 'tell me this story again.' [loud]
'I want the story again, daddy!' [laughter] So you tell
the story again. And it is very much like telling the
story to your child, because if you always tell the same
story when the child screams 'tell me the story again,
daddy' you find out you can never ever tell a different
story, that that is the only story that will be accepted.
And I won't do that. I hope you come along with me, when
I go on to different stories. But if you don't, I'm still
gonna write the different stories. [laughter]
Q: For the past few days I've tried to ask you many
original questions, but I'm sure there must be things
you're never asked at all, things we really should ask.
Could you tell us something about these things, and if
you want to go off on any wild tangents, please do so.
A: [Jordan was repeating every question because most
of the audience couldn't hear the questions] He wants
to know... [on a tone that set people laughing
already, then: louder, with a malicious gleam in his eyes]
Sander wants to know whether there are questions that
I think fans should ask me, and haven't been asking. [more
laughter]
Sander... I am not going to tell you what sort of
underwear I'm wearing. [spontanious applause] There
are very few questions that fans have not asked me. There
are many questions that fans have asked me that I have
not answered. There are a number of questions that fans
have asked me that have made me blush. There are one or
two questions that fans have asked me that have made me
require smelling-salt to get out of the room on my feet.
No, I am not going to give you more ammunition. You know,
this is like the Calvin & Hobs strip. I've just been
assaulted with snowballs all the way from the sidewalk,
and when I manage to reach the door, a voice calls out to
me 'Hey, come out here and help us make some more
snowballs!'
What do you think of the more unusual theories
that some of your fans come up with?
Well some of them have made me wonder occasionally
whether they were reading the same books I wrote.
And in general?
Oh, in general, they have seen what Im trying to
do, sometimes, occasionally, theyve seen through
what Im trying to hide. And sometimes they are
fixated on something that is so minor. They seem to think
they found a major clue to something, but it isnt,
but ehh, I dont always tell them. I will certainly
tell if something isn't that important.
You just say Read and find out and laugh behind
their backs?
Sometimes. No I laugh right in their faces. If Im
gonna laugh, I dont laugh behind anybodys
back.
Reports from signings
His opinion of newsgroup FAQ's he has read are so-so.
First, he gets them from several groups he says. Us and
the alt group and ??? He says the FAQ's are about 1/3
correct, 1/3 close but not quite and 1/3 wrong. He feels
that some things that are obvious to the casual reader
have been overanalysed and led to incorrect conclusions.
He can be reached either by either email or snailmail
through Tor in about the same amount of time. Tor prints
out his emails and sends him the hardcopies about every
fortnight. They also send his snailmail biweekly. He does
respond to them, but he gets backlogged at the end of
writing a book.
On our FAQ, he stated (which Bo Lindbergh already has
reported) that 30-35% is fully correct, 30-35% is close,
but not quite correct, and the rest is "way off in
the left field". He though saw it more as a
conclusive document than a synopsis of earlier
discussions. BTW, I gave him the May version of the FAQ,
which he should read during the evening. Maybe I can get
a few more comments on this subject later. He also noted
that some things we have rooted out he thought he had
hidden immensely deep in the books, and we still managed
to deduce the right "answers", while some
things he saw as fully clear we had missed entirely or
were totally clueless on.
And he was vastly amused by our looney theories,
especially the Bela Darkfriend one. Unfortunately, I
missed telling him of the Demandred being Olver theory.
The FAQ was also
mentioned, to which he gave his usual answer. One third
is right, another is almost right, while the last is
completely wrong.
When asked whether
he was surprised that there is so much discussion on the
net everyday, he simply replied, "no". He then
explained that it was important as an author to have a
big ego, which he did. He then explained that you didn't
have to be arrogant, even though he had been described so
occasionally. To me he didn't come over as arrogant.
Jordan likes his fans, because:
o We don't ask for autographs in blood (his, or theirs)
o We have never given him a gift of a dead cat's head on
a stake. At least not in public.
Lots of minor comments thinly veiled towards the net-jordanites.
I got the impression he thinks we're a bit obsessive but
appreciates it. Some of the more interesting ones:
o "I like the idea of Bela as a Darkfriend."
o "There is an alphanumeric code in the copyright
page." He expects us to decode it shortly. Let's get
cracking!
o "How do you know Mat isn't back as Cyndane?"
o "Any crazy rumors I can start on the Web are good."
And my favorite fan comment: "No questions.
Just, 'Thanks.'" Dunno who that was, but if you're
reading, I thought that was cool.
Jordan has not replied to any fan letters in the last
year. I am not sure if he said he would be tackling
the old letters or whether he would be answering any from
now on. He did say he apologized for not being able
to get to them. I think he said he was basically
involved in writing something. (duh)
He also mentioned some things about the variation in
his readers. This group of hell's angels a couple of
years ago who came to him when there was some question
about his health, telling him that they'd desecrate his
grave if he died before finishing the story.
... people occasionally send me various
compilations of faqs and things of that sort they've done
about the books, or analyses of the books, and I will
occasionally read that if I have time, but fanfiction, or
other fiction, or 'I've read this book and would you
please tell me what you think of it' or stories, it gets
returned to them.
I do not read it, I'm sorry. It's not because I think
that anything is going to compete with my works, it's
not, but it's because what Terry said, there are bozos
out there.
I was accused in an anonymous letter to my publisher, of
plagiarizing. That the Dragon Reborn was plagiarized. Now
this infuriated me to such an extent that I'm going to
incredible efforts to find out who'd written the damned
letter. I knew it was a nutcase bozo somewhere, because I
knew that every word was ripped out of the inside of my
skull. And I'm going to find him, and push him into a
corner, and beat him half to death with my walking stick
[laughter], because he made me that mad, that he would
make this accusation against me. And this was ... in an
anonymous letter, who is not making any effort, he's not
trying to make any money out of it, he just wants to
cause trouble.
There are guys out there who I know who said 'you know, I
have this great idea' and the great idea they want to
share with you is worth about as much as "let's
write a book about pilots" and the worst case is
when they see something in the book and say, and they
think that they can claim it was stolen from them. So I
will not read fanfiction, I will not read anything that
somebody sends to me. the only things I read are the
books I buy.
Jordan was very angry about such things and hackers in
general. He'd like to have a virus that anyone who'd
penetrate his firewall (so he really is online
nowadays! not just sometimes when someone gives him a
computer to take a test to see which gender he is, ;) but
at home as well... and he knows the vocabulary) would
get a package that would blow up his monitor for
starters, to create a distraction so that the virus could
continue to wipe out the harddisk and simultaniously
cause power overloads to set fire to and fry every piece
of electronic equipment that is attached to this computer.
[laughter]
At this point I imagine there are going to be some of you
who read this (probably not any of the regulars, but
this or that lurking type) that think it would be
funny to pretend to be Robert Jordan now that we've got a
good reason to believe he's online. I just want to say
one thing to those people: puh-lease...! Try to
come up with something original.
Besides, we've got ways to check the truth of this claim.
Unless you care to take a guess at the exact text of the
cover I put up on the female dragon debate, don't even
try...
Raina's Hold / Thus Spake The Creator - Index
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