art by Jake Johnson

Theoryland Resources

WoT Interview Search

Search the most comprehensive database of interviews and book signings from Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson and the rest of Team Jordan.

Wheel of Time News

An Hour With Harriet

2012-04-30: I had the great pleasure of speaking with Harriet McDougal Rigney about her life. She's an amazing talent and person and it will take you less than an hour to agree.

The Bell Tolls

2012-04-24: Some thoughts I had during JordanCon4 and the upcoming conclusion of "The Wheel of Time."

Theoryland Community

Members: 7653

Logged In (0):

Newest Members:johnroserking, petermorris, johnadanbvv, AndrewHB, jofwu, Salemcat1, Dhakatimesnews, amazingz, Sasooner, Hasib123,

Theoryland Tweets

WoT Interview Search

Home | Interview Database

Your search for the tag 'steelheart' yielded 74 results

  • 1

    Interview: 2012

    Andy_Digital (April 2012)

    Steelheart? Another project you'd like to elaborate on?? I swear you live in a magical world where time is no object. Keep on producing and we'll keep consuming.

    Brandon Sanderson ()

    World where people gain superpowers, but only evil people get them—and so naturally take over. The story is about a group of ordinary people who work underground, secretly, and assassinate those with superpowers.

    Tags

  • 2

    Interview: 2012

    jdiddyesquire (June 2012)

    Brandon Sanderson

    Thanks, all, for the good wishes on this.

    I first started talking about Steelheart a number of years ago. (Five, maybe six?) It was one of the projects I'd been planning to do in 2007 when the Wheel of Time came along and kind of distracted me.

    Unable to work on it for years, I instead did up a proposal and started shopping it in Hollywood. I got interest, but everyone said "We'd be more comfortable if the book were done." So, over the years, I slowly pieced together an outline in my spare time and did chapters when I could. (I think a reading I did of the prologue of this last year is floating around on-line somewhere.)

    One of the problems with working on the Wheel of Time is that it's so time-consuming, I basically can't work on any other big project while writing it. I stay creative by changing to new ideas and new concepts whenever I start feeling burned out—I work on them for a short time, then get my groove back and turn to the larger project.

    That's why you see all kinds of little projects popping out here and there from me. I can't do Stormlight 2 at the same time as WoT. Two big series are just too much to do at once; one would suffer. Yet, I still need artistic liberation now and then to try something new and refresh myself.

    The two novellas I'm releasing this year (Legion, The Emperor's Soul) and the short Mistborn novel last year (Alloy of Law) are things that came out of these side deviations. Steelheart is another. Shouldn't affect Stormlight 2 very much. I always like to have one large project and a handful of smaller ones running at the same time.

    It may seem like a lot to have on my plate, but if you add Alloy of Law, Steelheart, and the two novellas together they are combined around half the length of The Way of Kings. (And took about 1/10 the brain space...)

    I don't want to make excuses for not doing Stormlight 2, but this might give a little insight as to why you keep seeing all of these other projects popping up.

    corwin01

    Are any of these stories within the cosmere?

    Brandon Sanderson

    The Emperor's Soul, a novella, is in the cosmere.

    Tags

  • 3

    Interview: Jul 22nd, 2012

    emozilla

    (Brandon Sanderson)

    After this but not on video he read the entire prologue of Steelheart, a novel coming out next year. He seemed real excited about it, saying that it just sold at auction for "a bunch of money".

    Tags

  • 4

    Interview: Jul 17th, 2012

    Brandon Sanderson

    Brandon's book release plan for the next five years:

    After A Memory of Light is finished, Brandon's next focus is finishing the next Stormlight Archive book "as soon as possible, hopefully by this time next year." The next book is already intricately plotted out, which is about the halfway point for Brandon, and the rest of the writing "could take as little as 6 to 8 months."

    There are two books that Brandon finished before starting on the final Wheel of Time book but which won't come out until after A Memory of Light, as Brandon wanted to properly support their release, which just isn't possible while finishing The Wheel of Time.

    The first is The Rithmatist, a middle grade coming out from Tor Books next year about Joel, a non-magic kid enrolled in a magic school (his mom's the cleaning lady there) who starts investigating a murder that happens at the school. The magic system is "chalkboard magic," which Brandon likened to playing Starcraft. The kids draw a chalk circle around themselves on the floor then scribble in things that try and chew through the other kids' own chalk circles. Fans of his Alcatraz series will find the same appeal from The Rithmatist, according to the author.

    Next is Steelheart, a post-apocalyptic superhero book where people in our world can only obtain super powers if they're evil. The inspiration for the story occurred to Brandon when he got cut off by another driver one day. "I thought, if I was a supervillain this guy would just be...BOOM." Which got him thinking about a world where people could actually do that.

    In the world of Steelheart, these people are considered "forces of nature" and eventually the most powerful form little fiefdoms. The protagonist is an 18 year old boy whose father was killed by Steelheart, one of the most powerful superpowered villains, who joins an assassination guild in hopes of taking Steelheart down.

    After Stormlight 2, Brandon will probably go straight into the third Stormlight book, although he might take a short break and write the follow-up to The Alloy of Law. And after that? Brandon really wants to write a follow-up to Elantris, as 2015 marks the ten-year anniversary of the publication of the first book.

    Tags

  • 5

    Interview: Aug 1st, 2012

    Brandon Sanderson

    Now I stroll back into my workshop and find that a little bit of dust has gathered. Out of necessity, the Stormlight Archive has been neglected. I am pleased I made the choice to work on A Memory of Light instead of Stormlight 2. However, it is time to pick up that story again and make this series all of the awesome things I've dreamed of it being for some twenty years.

    The stories of Mat, Rand, Egwene, and Perrin are now done. Returning to the stories of Kaladin, Shallan, Jasnah, and Dalinar will be my next major project. You'll also see me doing revisions on both The Rithmatist and Steelheart this fall—as I've made arrangements for both to be published next year or the year after. You'll probably hear more about them in the days to come. And yes, I WILL be doing a sequel to The Alloy of Law.

    Tags

  • 6

    Interview: Jul 21st, 2012

    Phillip

    For Brandon, you have a career on your own as an author....

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes.

    Phillip

    Since you've had this other career—which has helped, I'm sure, in a lot of ways—what impact has this been on your original writing career, I mean I know you had to have slowed down your progress and your series, but you've still been writing those. What are the biggest impacts you've seen on your writing career because of taking on the Wheel of Time?

    Brandon Sanderson

    It's definitely done some...it's made me have to put down projects. In fact, next year, I have coming out the projects I was working on in 2007 when this came my way; The Rithmatist and Steelheart are both books that I did way back then that I didn't feel that I was able to release in the middle of the Wheel of Time books, even though I had them done, because I wouldn't have been able to do the revisions on them, and because I wouldn't be able to support them; I wouldn't be able to do sequels and things like that. They're both YA books. And that's, you know...when I accepted this, I said "Okay, I'm shelving these things." I did get to do a couple of books, I got to do The Way of Kings, which, granted, I already had a draft of that done. So really, the only book in these last years, the last five years that I've been doing this, that I've written from scratch and released was Alloy of Law. And so it's going to...it did kind of slow me down. The only reason it didn't slow me down as much as it could have was because I had all of this stuff done already. I had a great big backlog of books, because I enjoy writing, and I've been writing for years, and back then I wasn't as popular as I am now, so Tor would put things in slots later on, like...while I've been working on these, Warbreaker and Mistborn 3 came out, both of which were done years before I was offered the Wheel of Time. And so...yeah, all of this stuff that I had been working on long ago got delayed, and that was just fine—I went into this eyes open—but it is going to be nice to be able to go back to these things and give them some of the support that I've wanted all along.

    You know, this project took more time than all of us expected it to. I had to say yes sight unseen to knowing how big it was. I knew what Jim had said, but I didn't know how much of it was done. I didn't know that we had two hundred pages out of two thousand. There was no way for me to know how much would need to be done. So yeah, it's been a big long deviation, but not a distraction, because I think my writing has grown by leaps and bounds. It's kind of like I had to go pump iron, because writing in the Wheel of Time has been much harder than writing on anything else I've done, and I have been forced to grow, and you can see my being forced to grow between the books in the Wheel of Time books. I think my writing is way better in Towers of Midnight than it was in The Gathering Storm, particularly in some of the ways that that Jim was strong. And so, I think that's helped me. It's certainly not an experience that I would trade for anything. I got to read the ending in 2007, so there's that. (laughter) But yeah, it's been a wonderful experience, but boy, it's been a big, big, big deviation. It's not where I thought my career would go at all.

    Joe O'Hara

    Was it daunting seeing just that small amount of work that was taken care of before you stepped on?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Well, it's daunting in two ways: First, I got that. It was really nice to have the ending. Like, having the prologue and the ending basically done—those were the two things that he did the most work on—meant that I had the bookends, which is how I build an outline anyway. I know where I start, I know my ending, and I build an outline out of that. But at the same time, there's three million words of notes about the series, which is daunting in another way. Yes, there's two hundred pages of work done on the book, and then there's this stack over here of all these other notes that include all of these things that are just mind-boggling, the stuff that's in there. We released a few of them last year for you guys. Was it last year that we released the notes?

    Jennifer Liang

    Yeah, we got the page on Cadsuane and...

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah, the page on Cadsuane and stuff like that. You just see all of weird things that he had in his notes. I have all the same sort of weird stuff in my notes about like Stormlight and stuff, but it's just fun to see. You go pore through these notes...he has the most random stuff. Lists of trees, lists of people, lists of this, and just millions and millions and words of this stuff, more than I can keep track of at all. It requires Maria and Alan to keep track of all this stuff. So it was also daunting in that, yes there are two hundred pages written, which actually nice, because as I've said before, if the book had been 80% of the way done, they wouldn't have needed to hire me, they wouldn't have needed to bring me in. When a book is 80% of the way done, that's when you get a ghostwriter, or Harriet just does it herself. She really could have done it in-house herself and finished that and said "Look, here we're going to do a few patches and stuff, but the book is mostly done."

    And so, getting there and saying "Hey, I actually get to do something with this, I have an opportunity to add the scenes that I've been wanting as a fan for years and years, so I get a chance to actually write these characters, rather than coming in and just patching some holes," was very thrilling for me at the same time. You know, I worried that I would get there and it would just be patching holes—"Write these five scenes," or something like that—and that would have meant I wouldn't have really had a part in it. Granted, that would have been better, because it would have meant there was more Jim in it, and it would have made a better book, but at the same time, when I got to see those two hundred pages, I was saddened but excited at the same time.

    Tags

  • 7

    Interview: 2012

    PostPostModernism (November 2012)

    How excited are you right now?

    Also, what are some of your next projects?

    Brandon Sanderson (November 2012)

    Hmm... For me, the excitement probably won't hit until the day of, but it will be mixed with a steadily growing sense of anxiety. It's the same anxiety for every book release. Will I have hit the target? Will it provide the right experience? Did I succeed or fail? These are things you can't know for certain until the book is out. It will be worse with this one in some ways, since there are no second chances here. Mistakes in earlier WoT books could be compensated for by future volumes. That doesn't exist for this one.

    Next year, I actually have a few YA books coming out (projects I was working on before the Wheel of Time came my way.) One of them, Steelheart, I'm very excited about. I'm also working on a sequel to The Way of Kings.

    Arithered

    Yep. Sometimes I just stare at that progress bar on your site, willing it to suddenly jump forward in real time. I can imagine it must be pretty bizarre from your end of things, having what begins as formless inspiration become quantified, written down, picked to pieces, bound, and then eagerly awaited by large numbers of people.

    We're grateful for it though, those pieces of your brain. :-)

    wisd0m (December 2012)

    Need more Stormlight Archive.

    It is very frustrating to get into a series at the beginning and have to wait for each book. I started WoT this year and ASOIAF last year, so I avoided years of waiting. The Stormlight Archive will be the true test of my reading patience.

    Brandon Sanderson

    I'm working on book two now. Hopefully, the wait won't be as bad for future titles in the series.

    Tags

  • 8

    Interview: Jan 7th, 2013

    Brandon Sanderson

    Entertainment Weekly has an exclusive cover reveal for my YA post-apocalyptic novel Steelheart that's coming out from Delacorte in September. Check it out here.

    Also, Tor.com put up the prologue and first chapter of my YA fantasy The Rithmatist that's coming out in May. Read them here. (Illustrations by Ben McSweeney, who also did the Shallan's Sketchbook illustrations in The Way of Kings.)

    Tags

  • 9

    Interview: Jan 5th, 2013

    Michael Mason-D'Croz

    With the series coming to a close, it now allows Sanderson to move on to his own material. He is working on the second Stormlight Archive book, which he hopes to release in November, and a couple of young adult novels.

    Brandon Sanderson

    "These are projects I had been working on for years and years, and I finally have some time to work on them," Sanderson said.

    Michael Mason-D'Croz

    Sanderson plans to release The Rithmatist in May and Steelheart, the first of a trilogy, in late summer or early fall.

    The Rithmatist follows Sanderson's normal fantasy themes. However, Steelheart is more of an action/adventure with some fantasy twists. In the book, the only people in the world with super powers are evil, and normal people organize ways to try to bring them to justice.

    He sold the film rights to Steelheart to Random House after eight different companies bid on it.

    Tags

  • 10

    Interview: Jan 9th, 2013

    Jhirrad

    As the line continued to shrink and the clock drew closer to midnight, we all withdrew together to the signing area. We had more discussions with fans about the series, making certain to keep the conversation spoiler-free.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Brandon talked about the other things he has coming out, including Steelheart, and the new Stormlight Archive book (due in November!).

    Jhirrad

    We named the AMAZING Trolloc doll he was given (Narg Jr.) and congratulated him on the upcoming birth of his third child. We watched people come through the line with nearly thirty books to be signed (this was at the end, when Brandon would sign any number), and the joy on their faces was great.

    Tags

  • 11

    Interview: Nov 4th, 2012

    Rebecca Lovatt

    Okay, and, next year, we're getting Stormlight Archive book 2? Or will that be early 2014?

    Brandon Sanderson

    It should be Christmas 2013; that's what we're aiming for. In fact, I have to name it this weekend so TOR can start the publicity for it.

    Rebecca Lovatt

    And then we're also getting A Memory of Light, obviously, and The Rithmatist?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, that's the book I wrote just before Wheel of Time in 2007, back before I was offered a Wheel of Time offer...and it languished for years because I was so busy with Wheel of Time—and when I had any free time, The Way of Kings—I wasn't even able to do revisions. The three or four months it would have taken would have slowed down one of those two books, so I was able to take those months after A Memory of Light was done.

    Rebecca Lovatt

    And is there anything next year?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I don't know when Steelheart will be out, but probably 2014...but it is on people's radars. This is another one before I took up before Wheel of Time, but I wrote it in gaps between books, so people know about it. I've been trying to shop it Hollywood for years, but I was finally able to polish it off and sell it. Once Wheel a Time was done I was finally able to spend time on these things which have been put aside for years. Things like this are good, but to give them the time to make them great while I was working on them would have taken time away from A Memory of Light, and it wouldn't have been right to let them demand that time, so it wasn't until recently that I've been able to give them that time. So, I think that'll be 2014, but we do get three books next year most likely.

    Rebecca Lovatt

    Yep, and that's great... I'm looking forward to reading them all.

    Tags

  • 12

    Interview: Nov, 2012

    Szabó Dominik

    Would you tell us about your plans for the future? Which of your series would you like to continue?

    Brandon Sanderson

    My immediate goal is to continue the Stormlight Archive with the sequel to The Way of Kings. I'm writing that now, and I plan to finish in April so that it can be published in time for Christmas 2013. We'll see if I'm actually able to do that. Also in 2013 I have two young adult books coming out. The Rithmatist is a gearpunk fantasy about the son of a cleaning lady at a magic school—he can't do the magic himself, but he gets free tuition because his mother works there. Then there's Steelheart, which is a post-apocalyptic book about people who get super powers, but all of them turn out to be evil. The main character is a boy who thinks he saw the one weakness of Steelheart, the emperor of Chicago, and he meets up with a group of assassins that discovers these villains' weaknesses and takes them out.

    Tags

  • 13

    Interview: Aug 31st, 2012

    Lenore Applehans

    The summary:

    There are no heroes.

    Every single person who manifested powers—we call them Epics—turned out to be evil.

    Here, in the city once known as Chicago, an extraordinarily powerful Epic declared himself Emperor. Steelheart has the strength of ten men and can control the elements. It is said no bullet can harm him, no sword can split his skin, no explosion can burn him. He is invincible.

    It has been ten years. We live our lives as best we can. Nobody fights back . . . nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans who spend their lives studying powerful Epics, finding their weaknesses, then assassinating them.

    My name is David Charleston. I'm not one of the Reckoners, but I intend to join them. I have something they need. Something precious, something incredible. Not an object, but an experience. I know his secret.

    I've seen Steelheart bleed.

    Tags

  • 14

    Interview: Aug 31st, 2012

    Lenore Applehans

    What fictional character from another book would your main character chose as his/her best friend and why?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I think I would say Peter Parker. In Steelheart, David lives in a world where people gain super powers but only evil people have them. It would be one of his dreams to find people who were super-powered, yet were also good. Plus David's kind of a nerd in his own way—he's a nerd about super powers. He doesn't consider himself one, but he's studied super powers for most of his life to try to figure out how they work and how to defeat them. So I think he and Peter Parker would get along well.

    Tags

  • 15

    Interview: Aug 31st, 2012

    Lenore Applehans

    How does your novel stand out from others in the genre?

    Brandon Sanderson

    That's an excellent question. This is a somewhat crowded genre recently. Of course, dystopian fiction has always been popular in the SF/fantasy field, but lately it's had quite a boom. I am the only one that I know of doing a superhero apocalypse. I wrote the book because one day I was driving down the road and someone cut me off in traffic, and I thought, "It's a good thing I'm not a supervillain, because I would totally blow up your car." The what-if for me on that was—what if someone could just blow up your car if you cut them off in traffic? How would that change the world? What would we do if people started getting super powers and just started taking whatever they wanted? Would we be able to stop them? What would happen if the government just declared them forces of nature, acts of God, something that can't be changed. It was an interesting enough premise that I wrote a book based around it, and that's where Steelheart came from. It's a premise that I haven't seen done before.

    Tags

  • 16

    Interview: Aug 31st, 2012

    Daily Dragon

    What other projects do you have planned or in the works?

    Brandon Sanderson

    My novella Legion just came out from Subterranean Press and I'll do a signing for it at the Missing Volume booth at noon on Saturday; it's a modern-day story about a guy who has something like schizophrenia, but he's a genius. He himself can't do anything special, but all of his hallucinations are experts in their respective fields. People come to him with problems they need solved, and he brings a few of his hallucinations along with him to help solve them.

    In November I have another novella, The Emperor's Soul, coming from Tachyon Publications—it's more like my fantasy books, in a world where trained Forgers can change reality, and the main character has to Forge a new soul for the Emperor, who was left brain-dead in an attack.

    Next summer I have two YA books coming out: The Rithmatist, which is about fighting with magical chalk drawings, and Steelheart, which takes place in a world where all the superheroes are evil; the main character is a boy who knows the weakness of the Emperor of Chicago and wants to hook up with a team of assassins to hunt him down.

    Then my next book that will come out after those is the sequel to The Way of Kings, which I'm working on the outline of right now.

    Tags

  • 17

    Interview: Feb 8th, 2013

    DJ Stipe

    Someone asked if Brandon intended to write any more science fiction books.

    Brandon Sanderson

    He indicated first that the upcoming Steelheart (available September 2013) is a sci-fi, though it's superhero sci-fi. He then said the third trilogy in the Mistborn series would be science fiction. He explained that built into allomancy is the ability for faster-than-light-speed travel and that the final trilogy would involve space travel.

    Tags

  • 18

    Interview: Sep, 2012

    Arcanist

    1.A few years ago you posted a long post about your future plans on your website: Do you plan a post like this again or could you perhaps describe the current version of your plans right here?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Sure.

    BOOKS YOU WILL SEE SOON: (The books that are done.)

    AMOL: January

    The Rithmatist (once named Scribbler): Summer 2013

    Steelheart: Fall 2013 or spring 2014.

    BOOKS YOU WILL SEE SOMEWHAT SOON: (Working on right now.)

    Stormlight 2: Hopefully Fall 2013.

    Shadows of Self (New Wax and Wayne): 2014

    OTHER:

    Alcatraz 5: I own the rights again now, and hope to write this book sometime in the near future.

    Stormlight 3: Goal is to write this soon after Stormlight 2

    Steelheart and Rithmatist Sequels: I will probably try to do one of each of these between Stormlight 2 and 3.

    MAYBE MAYBE:

    Elantris 2: I'd still love to do a sequel for 2015, the 10th anniversary of the book's release.

    Warbreaker 2: Long ways off.

    STALLED PROJECTS

    Dark One: Unlikely any time soon.

    The King's Necromancer: Unlikely any time soon.

    I Hate Dragons: Unlikely any time soon.

    Death By Pizza: Turned out mediocre. Won't be released anytime soon.

    The Silence Divine: Will be written someday.

    White Sand: Will be written someday.

    Mistborn modern trilogy: Will be written during the gap between Stormlight 5 and 6.

    The Liar of Partinel Didn't turn out well. Scraped.

    Dragonsteel: Won't be written until Stormlight is done.

    Not a lot of changes from back then, except that Steelheart got finished and Rithmatist got a release date for certain.

    Tags

  • 19

    Interview: Nov 6th, 2012

    Question

    Okay Hoid, you mentioned he's in all your books, is he in also in all your shorter stories?

    Brandon Sanderson

    He is not in all of my shorter stories. In fact, he is not in any book that references Earth. So if there's a reference to Earth- most of my science fiction has referential stuff to Earth, Alcatraz is like this. He's not in anything like that. He's not in the Wheel of Time. It would not have been appropriate for me to seed something like that into a Wheel of Time book. So he's not in Steelheart or the other children works that I've done. But he is in all my epic fantasies.

    QUESTION

    Now my main question actually, which magic systems, if any, does he have access to?

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    That's an excellent question. He is familiar with very many of them, and lots that you haven't seen yet.

    Tags

  • 20

    Interview: Nov 6th, 2012

    Question

    The Emperor's Soul lists The Rithmatist and Steelheart in your novels. Are there publication dates for those yet?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Rithmatist and Steelheart? Both of these are coming out next year. The Rithmatist is the last book I wrote before being offered the Wheel of Time. It was the book I was working on and finishing. And it is a book about a boy who gets to go to a magic school, but he has no magical talents himself, he's the son of the cleaning lady so he gets free tuition. And so he gets to go to this high-class school and get this high-class education that also trains wizards but he can't do the magic, he just doesn't have the genetics for it. And it's a really fun book about a chalk-based magic where you basically play like a magical version of a tower defense game by drawing a circle around yourself in chalk and creating little beasties to go attack your opponent's chalk circle. The loser is the first one that gets their chalk circle breached. It's really fun and like I said, it's kind of a mashup between those two ideas; the idea of the Muggle at Hogwarts mixed with these chalk magics. So that's coming out next summer.

    And sometime next fall or the following year is Steelheart, which is a book I've been working on for a long time that I also developed as a Hollywood pitch. And it's about a world where people start gaining superpowers, but only evil people get them. And a big apocalypse basically happens because they just start taking over. And it's about a young man whose father was killed by one of these creatures called Epics, evil superheroes basically. And he joins a team, or seeks to join a team, that all they do is hunt down Epics, figure out what their weakness is, and assassinate them. And he wants them to assassinate Steelheart, the Emperor of Chicago, cause he thinks he might know what Steelheart's weakness is. So it's one of these wacky things that pops out of my brain occasionally and so that'll be coming out sometime eventually then. So thank you for giving me that wonderful marketing opportunity.

    Tags

  • 21

    Interview: Jul 16th, 2013

    Dagobot

    What was your inspiration for Steelheart?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I was on book tour, running late to meet my editor in Pittsburgh. My phone was dead, I'd forgotten my charger, and was rushing along, when someone cut me off in traffic. I got very annoyed at this person, which is not something I normally do. I'm usually pretty easygoing, but this time I thought: "You're lucky I don't have super powers, guy-who-just-cut-me-off, because if I did, I'd totally blow up your car right now." Then I thought: "That's horrifying that I would even think of doing that to a random stranger!"

    Anytime that I get horrified like that makes me realize that there's a story there somewhere. So I spent the rest of that drive thinking about what would really happen if I had super powers. Would I go out and be a hero, or would I just start doing whatever I wanted to? Would it be a good thing or a bad thing? I came up with a world where people become what I call Epics. They gain super powers, but they use them in the wrong ways, like I was tempted to do when that car cut me off. That spun me into the story. How would normal people fight against these individuals with awesome powers? How would the country deal with them?

    Tags

  • 22

    Interview: Jul 16th, 2013

    Dagobot

    What type of world did you set out to build in Steelheart?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Even though I feel like Steelheart is in the action movie genre, there's still a slight post-apocalyptic feel to it. I wanted a unique take on this sort of world, so I avoided empty wastelands in favor of populated areas—crowded and busy, not empty and desolate. I picked a population center, Chicago, and went from there. In a moment of passion, the Epic called Steelheart turned the entire city into steel, immortalizing and fossilizing it, like the husk of something dead. People still live there. They've built houses on top of the steel, or beneath the steel. They're burrowing in it, using some of the technology to make steel catacombs beneath the city. The world is in chaos, and even though Steelheart, as the emperor of Chicago, rules the city with an iron fist, at least here there's some order. It's oppressive, terrible order, but it is order nonetheless. I hope all this makes for a fun, futuristic, yet post-apocalyptic city that feels different from anything you've read before.

    Tags

  • 23

    Interview: Jul 16th, 2013

    Dagobot

    With so many superhero comics running for so long, did you ever run into problems with originality in writing the book?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Again, Steelheart is an action book. It deals less with the superhero tradition and more with the story of ordinary characters trying to take down Steelheart. Still, I am evoking some of those superhero concepts, so I did run into some of the issues you're talking about.

    For example, I found that a lot of potential names for superheroes and super villains have been used a dozen times by DC or Marvel over the years, so coming up with original names was difficult. Finding original uses of powers was also very difficult for the same reason. I had to scratch into nooks and crannies to discover things I hadn't seen done extensively before.

    I do enjoy the comic form, but&mdash'outside of some of the indies—I find I don't often get complete storylines in the way that I would like to. One of the things I want to do with Steelheart is to create a complete story with a distinct beginning, middle, and end. I do hope that I've been able to clear some new paths and add something distinctive to the genre. At the end of the day, though, I was just trying to tell an awesome story.

    Tags

  • 24

    Interview: Jul 16th, 2013

    Dagobot

    Some people may say that stories about superheroes are predominantly highly-colorful, action-packed, but most of all a visual experience—how can you get over this with a prose novel? What does prose bring to the table that "comics" can't—or don't?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Excellent question. I've thought about this quite a bit and have a few of my own theories about the novel as form. What can novels do that films can't? The trick is to highlight what a novel can do. For example, more so than in visual media, novels allow you to really dig into character thoughts, emotions, and motivations. Steelheart is told from the first-person viewpoint of the main character David. In doing that, I can really dig into who David is as a character and have the way he describes the world inform us about him. Granted, a good comic is going to give you some of this, but there just isn't a lot of space for words. The more thoughts you add in comics, the more the reader just wants you to move on with the story. There are different strengths to the different mediums of storytelling, but one of the strengths of the novel is its ability to showcase character.

    Tags

  • 25

    Interview: Jul 16th, 2013

    Dagobot

    Assuming that Steelheart is on screen at some point (I think it will be) - is that something you're looking towards? Something you'd want to script, or just sell the rights and allow the different medium to tell the tale its own way?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I feel the best film adaptations are those that are more strongly adapted. I love when filmmakers are respectful of the source material, but when they try to stick too closely to it, I feel that the films aren't as good. I would love to be involved in making a film, but not having practiced the screenwriting skillset as much as I have novel writing, my instincts are to find people I trust to make a good film and allow them to use their talents to adapt the novel.

    Tags

  • 26

    Interview: Apr 15th, 2013

    Reddit AMA 2013 (Verbatim)

    Shadowsaber223 ()

    Finally, when am I allowed to start telling everyone about what happens in Steelheart? (That one's a joke!)

    Thanks again and happy writing!

    Brandon Sanderson

    When it's out!

    Tags

  • 27

    Interview: 2013

    Patmcc10 (January 2013)

    How many books can one man write? (AKA A new Brandon Sanderson book)

    drake129103

    I thought he was writing Stormlight 2? AMOL just came out, as did Legion and The Emperor's Soul (both novellas, I know). When did he write this? I wish I had half the work ethic that Mr. Sanderson does.

    moose_man

    It's one of his 'breather projects' between/during the writing of larger works.

    mes09

    It's also one of the books that he started/wrote before he got involved in WoT.

    Brandon Sanderson ()

    Mes09 is right. This is one of the projects I was developing before I got involved with he WoT. I've actually been reading the prologue at conventions for years. I had to put the book aside in order to do the Wheel of Time. Now that I've finished, I had time to do revisions of this justice (Doing that was a breather project for me between AMOL and Stormlight 2.)

    The odd thing is, I still feel kind of bad about not having a book come out last year, only short fiction. It's been almost three years now since The Way of Kings, still with no sequel.

    I did need to get this book out of my system, though. It had been brewing for way too long. Fortunately, I had the majority of it done years ago.

    queentenobia

    Another book?? I cannot wait to delve into it. I started on your books with The Gathering Storm and Towers of Midnight. Then I picked up Emperor's Soul because the story looked intriguing and omg the cover art was so brilliant, and now am reading The Way of Kings. I have to say I became an instant fan, I cannot wait to read your other books. I love the way you portray your characters. I don't know if you will ever see this but thank you, your book, your writings they filled me with hope.

    Brandon Sanderson

    I did see it. Thank you for reading, and for the kind words.

    Tags

  • 28

    Interview: 2013

    Chlis (January 2013)

    Quick question if you're still about; Is this book [Steelheart] part of the Cosmere? Since it's based in Chicago I'm wondering if that maybe isn't the case?

    Brandon Sanderson

    No, most of my "breather novels" are not Cosmere. The Cosmere requires meticulous planning and continuity. That's not usually good for what I'm looking to do when I take a break from a big project for a small one, though occasionally I can fit in a novella or such.

    alexanderwales

    I don't suppose there's any way that we could read the prologue outside of a convention, is there? Or should I go surfing youtube for bootlegs?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I should do this. I'm on tour right now, though, so it's going to be tough—and I will probably have to coordinate with the publisher.

    If you find a bootleg, let me know, and I'll tweet it for people. If it's already out there, I don't have to worry so much. If not, I'll see about doing something to get the prologue on line somewhere.

    17thShard

    Brandon,

    If you want to post it online somewhere, you know we're always happy to post this sort of thing...

    -Josh

    Brandon Sanderson

    Thanks. I might do just that, but I have to coordinate with the publisher first.

    Tags

  • 29

    Interview: Apr 15th, 2013

    Reddit AMA 2013 (Verbatim)

    calebwolff ()

    Hey Brandon, thanks for doing this AMA! I am a huge fan of your writing, and love how you seem to understand that a good story does not have to be completely unique. What really irritates me about a lot of modern scifi is a lot of the new stories coming out seem to to try so hard for "uniqueness" that they literally do not copy anything that has been done before. When in fact by leaving out these "common" elements their story really suffers IMO. As a sucker for epic fantasy with great character development I thank you for putting books out that inspire me.

    Lastly, have you ever considered writing a superhero-esque type book? I love the way you flesh out your characters, and I know it may be a little one dimensional for your tastes, but I feel you have a gift for taking something simple and making it complex, yet eloquent. (Also I know my grammar sucks so I hope you do not to cringe too much when/if you read this lol)

    Brandon Sanderson

    Everyone has their own "ideal" when it comes to the balance between the familiar and the innovative. My goal is almost always to walk right down the middle, some familiar tropes, some innovation. Those were the stories I enjoyed the most reading.

    Regarding superheroes, as has been mentioned, watch for Steelheart. The premise is that people start gaining super-powers, but only evil people get them.

    Thanks for reading!

    Tags

  • 30

    Interview: 2013

    Lebal (March 2013)

    Wait wait, so it is a book [Steelheart] about a magical upper class and a lower class who rebels against them? But I already read Mistborn!

    Brandon Sanderson

    You know, I honestly worry about this a lot. Perhaps more than I should. I don't want to start repeating myself.

    This was one of those "Write it by instinct" books. The idea was too awesome to ignore. Basically, it's the story of what happens if people in our world started getting superpowers, but only evil people got them. Story is about a group of people who fight back by assassinating people with superpowers by researching their weaknesses, then laying a trap and taking them out.

    However, it DOES share similarities to Mistborn. Much as Warbreaker and Elantris share a worldbuilding premise. We shall see, after readers get it, if I'm repeating myself too much. It's hard when you've got an awesome story you want to tell, but also want each series to have its individual identity.

    rockeh

              | what happens if people in our world started getting superpowers, but only evil people got them

    Is that the case, or rather a more cynical approach to 'power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely'?

    Brandon Sanderson

    That very question is actually a plot point in the story.

    rockeh

    Oh wow. The book's not even out, and I managed to spoil it...

    Brandon Sanderson

    Ha. No, you're not spoiling it. What I mean is, very early in the book, people ask the same question you did. Is the way they act caused by them having too much power, or is it because certain types of people got the powers in the first place. It's not a spoiler to ask the question.

    The origin of this story has to do with me, driving along, and getting cut off in traffic. I thought to myself, "Buddy, you're glad I don't have superpowers, because I'd totally blow your car off the road right now."

    My immediate reactions made me start thinking about what would actually happen if some people had those kinds of powers.

    Batblib

    This sounds really cool and I look forward to reading it! One thing I wonder about though, is how you fit this into the shard multiverse? I'll be honest and admit I'm not totally up to speed on all your books and all the meta-lore, but as far as I knew you had a pre-set number of possible worlds, all created by some unique piece of shard from a larger whole, right?

    So for this idea, did you happen to have a specific shard available that fit with the world, did you have an "undefined" shard you could use, or is this something separated entirely from the multiverse setting? Really curious about this as this whole concept as I know of it of the multiverse is really intriguing.

    Anyway, thanks for being an awesome writer, from a fan!

    Brandon Sanderson

    So far, most of my deviation novels (Alcatraz, Steelheart, The Rithmatist) have not been part of the shared universe. Part of taking a 'breather' is letting my mind run free without continuity restrictions.

    Often, good restrictions can make for a more impressive story, but sometimes you have to be able to do whatever occurs to you, even if it doesn't fit the shared cosmology. So, Steelheart is not a shard novel. I HAVE set apart plenty of places that are less defined that I can tell shard stories in, but this isn't one of them.

    Tags

  • 31

    Interview: Aug 9th, 2013

    Question

    You've been described as "insanely prolific," and with all of your recent releases that's an apt descriptor. How do you find the time to write so much, and more importantly, how do you keep the stories and characters fresh?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I will write something big, like one of the Wheel of Time books or Words of Radiance, and once I'm done with it I'll need a break. But the thing I find most fun in the world is writing—I don't want to go do something else, I want to write something—but I want to write something I don't have to write. So a lot of these side projects you're seeing—this is where The Rithmatist and Steelheart came from—are from me taking a break from the big epics to do something a little different, to have a change of pace.

    Tags

  • 32

    Interview: Aug 9th, 2013

    Question

    Steelheart is intended for a younger audience. If and how does this affect your writing process?

    Brandon Sanderson

    For teens the main thing I change is, I tend to focus on one character or two characters instead of a very large cast. And I make the pacing a bit faster.

    Tags

  • 33

    Interview: Aug 9th, 2013

    Question

    The characters in Steelheart are reminiscent of superheroes. What made you go this route? It's a new diretion for you.

    Brandon Sanderson

    This is all just part of the collective unconscious of pop and nerd culture that I'm a part of, that I grew up with. Certain things fascinate me that I just couldn't do in an epic fantasy in the same way. At the same time I don't want people to look at Steelheart and say, "Oh, this is a superhero book." I wrote it as an action adventure story and it certainly is taking from some of those themes, but the idea is, what if people really started gaining superpowers, what would happen? My immediate thought was, people would abuse them. It would be awful. What would we do if there was someone who was so powerful we couldn't throw them in prison, we couldn't punish them? So the story of there being no heroes, of there only being villains is what inspired me.

    Tags

  • 34

    Interview: Aug 9th, 2013

    Question

    Why steel? What about it was so attractive that you wanted to create a world around it?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I wanted to turn a city to steel. I liked the image. I'm always looking for interesting visuals for my books. I liked this idea of everything having been turned to steel to the point that nothing works anymore. Then I liked this idea of catacombs burrowed into the steel underneath the city for the lower folk to live in. It's a little bit cyberpunk—that whole concept of the steel underground. Then of course there's steel as a metaphor for superheroes.

    Tags

  • 35

    Interview: Aug 9th, 2013

    Question

    What else will readers find in Steelheart that they haven't seen from you before?

    Brandon Sanderson

    It is my first really futuristic novel—it's a little more sci-fi. Of course there are fantasy elements—you would call the superheroes more fantasy. People ask me a lot, Are you going to write science fiction? This is the closest I've come.

    Tags

  • 36

    Interview: Sep 24th, 2013

    Shawn Speakman

    Steelheart is published today! Tell Suvudu readers about it.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Steelheart may not be what you expect to see from me because I've primarily released epic fantasy so far. As a writer, one of my main goals is to always be trying new things to advance my writing skill and to make sure that you have a varied experience reading my books. If you've enjoyed my books, particularly ones like Mistborn, and you pick up this, you'll find lots of things to love. But you'll also find some new things. Steelheart is an action-adventure thrill ride. I wrote it to be exciting, fast-paced, and fun. It is my experimentation of dabbling more in science fiction than fantasy, and dealing with some of the current tropes in action movies, particularly some of the superhero tropes. In the end, however, it is very much a Brandon Sanderson novel.

    Tags

  • 37

    Interview: Sep 24th, 2013

    Shawn Speakman

    Steelheart is a young adult book. That shouldn't dismay adult readers though, as many of the bestselling stories in the last decade are from that genre. What is it about young adult that appeals to so many people? And do you think you achieve that with Steelheart?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I'm not sure if I can answer what it is about YA that appeals to so many people, but I can try to explain why the genre appeals to me. Part of it is the grand tradition of YA in science fiction and fantasy. Soon after I became addicted to sci-fi and fantasy, I was reading things like the Belgariad and The Sword of Shannara, which both have a very young adult feel to them. There's also something about the teenage years that involves discovering yourself. I was a teen when I found myself, when I discovered fantasy novels and writing. Those were the years when I transitioned from being the child I'd been to become the adult I am now. We all go through that, and there's something special about it that draws us back time and time again to that threshold. It's almost like the thresholds characters pass through in Cambellian myth, and the threshold between childhood and adulthood is a big one. Telling stories about that age, that transition, is exciting and fascinating. It helps me understand myself, so that's why I find myself doing it. I certainly hope I achieved that with Steelheart! But it's up to the readers to decide whether I've been able to. I think the book is fantastic, but who doesn't publish a book thinking it's fantastic?

    Tags

  • 38

    Interview: Sep 24th, 2013

    Shawn Speakman

    The book's main character, David, is out for revenge. At the beginning of the book, we see the event that led to that desire. Was it hard writing a character out for revenge in a young adult setting?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Sometimes you write something and it just comes together, and that's what the prologue was for me. It introduces David, his driving motivation, and was what gave me the passion and excitement to write the book. For those interested in the book, I really do suggest reading the prologue, which is free online. [link: http://brandonsanderson.com/steelheart-prologue/]

    I don't think David being a teen made the revenge aspect of the story more difficult. In fact, it felt like a very natural fit because of the passions of adolescence. Yes, at its core, Steelheart is a vengeance novel. David's passion for what he wants to do is a big driving force behind the whole story working.

    Tags

  • 39

    Interview: Sep 24th, 2013

    Shawn Speakman

    You have finished Words of Radiance and it publishes in early 2014. What are you currently working on? The sequel to Steelheart, I hope!

    Brandon Sanderson

    Actually, I'm working on the revisions for Words of Radiance. "Finished" should be in quotes. Yes, the first draft was turned in at the end of June, but since then, we've been working on revisions. It is a long, arduous process to take 400,000 words—1000 pages—and take it from good to excellent. We're in that process right now. However, I've often described how I can write one book while revising another—so I am indeed working on a sequel. The sequel to Steelheart, titled Firefight, which should be coming out in the fall of 2014 if everything goes well.

    Tags

  • 40

    Interview: Sep 23rd, 2013

    Paul Goat Allen

    Great answer. I have to be honest, Brandon. I'm not a big fan of superhero fiction—but Steelheart blew me away. I described it as a "mind-blowing" experience. Do you recall where the original seed of inspiration for this novel, and series, came from?

    Brandon Sanderson

    That's very cool to hear! Approaching this book was in some ways very difficult for me because I have read superhero prose, and it usually doesn't work. I came to it with some trepidation, asking myself, "Is this really something you want to try?" A lot of the superhero tropes from comic books work very well in their medium and then don't translate well to prose. So for my model I actually went to the recent superhero films. Great movies like The Dark Knight or The Avengers have been keeping some of the tropes that work really well narratively. Tropes that feel like they're too much part of tradition—like putting Wolverine in yellow spandex—work wonderfully in the comics. I love them there! But they don't translate really well to another medium.

    I think part of the problem with superhero fiction is that it tries to be too meta. It tries very hard to poke fun at these tropes, trying to carry them over into fiction, and it ends up just being kind of a mess. But the genre has translated wonderfully well to film through adaptation. So when I approached Steelheart, I actually didn't tell myself, "I'm writing a superhero book." In fact, I've stayed very far away from that mentally and said, "I am writing an action-adventure suspense-thriller." I use some of the seeds from stories that I've loved to read, but really, Steelheart is an action thriller. I used that guide more than I used the superhero guide. I felt that adaption would be stronger for what I was doing. Comic books have done amazing things, but I felt this was what was right for this book.

    As for the original seed that made me want to write this story, I was on book tour, driving a rental car up the East Coast when someone aggressively cut me off in traffic. I got very annoyed at this person, which is not something I normally do. I'm usually pretty easygoing, but this time I thought to myself, "Well, random person, it's a good thing I don't have super powers—because if I did, I'd totally blow your car off the road." Then I thought: "That's horrifying that I would even think of doing that to a random stranger!" Any time that I get horrified like that makes me realize that there's a story there somewhere. So I spent the rest of the drive thinking about what would really happen if I had super powers. Would I go out and be a hero, or would I just start doing whatever I wanted to? Would it be a good thing or a bad thing?

    Tags

  • 41

    Interview: Sep 23rd, 2013

    Paul Goat Allen

    I couldn't help but imagine Steelheart being made into an amazing movie as I was reading it. There were so many visually and thematically stunning sequences: the Steelheart/Deathpoint conflict, the Reckoners' attempt to murder Conflux, the death of Nightwielder, the battle in Soldier Field, etc. This could be one of the coolest superhero movies ever made. Any thoughts on a Steelheart movie?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I think a Steelheart movie would be awesome. Ever since I wrote the prologue—which was the first thing I wrote for this—I've visualized it as a movie. I've tried very hard to get it made, but I have no power in Hollywood, so if your uncle's Joss Whedon, have him call me.

    I feel the best film adaptations are those that are more strongly adapted. I love when filmmakers are respectful of the source material, but when they try to stick too closely to it, I feel that the films aren't as good. I would love to be involved in making a film, but not having practiced the screenwriting skillset as much as I have novel writing, my instincts are to find people I trust to make a good film and allow them to use their talents to adapt the novel.

    Tags

  • 42

    Interview: Sep 23rd, 2013

    Paul Goat Allen

    If Brandon Sanderson were an Epic, what would his powers—and his name—be?

    Brandon Sanderson

    What power I would choose depends on how rational my brain is that day. It makes the most sense to have Wolverine's regenerative powers. At the same time, it's not like I'm jumping off cliffs or getting into fights. So I probably wouldn't do much with this power. But in the back of my mind, there's a part of me that says, "Boy, would I really love to be able to fly!" Which is why a lot of the magic systems in my books wind up dealing with people having powers that let them soar in the air. What would my name be? The Great Salty One. When I was in Korea, serving a mission for the LDS church, I loved to salt my food. I like really salty stuff. The Koreans don't do the whole table salt thing, so I carried salt in my briefcase, and it cracked them up! I would go to eat something, and they'd be like, "All right, here's our food" and I would be like, "And here's my salt!" I would salt all my food, and they would laugh and call me Jjan Dori, which means something like "The Great Salty One." So that's my superhero name.

    Tags

  • 43

    Interview: Sep 23rd, 2013

    Paul Goat Allen

    Will this series be a trilogy or is it open-ended at this point?

    Brandon Sanderson

    A trilogy, but I can't tell you if it's open-ended, Paul! I can't reveal the ending of the third book, or anything about it, while the first book is just barely out! So, you'll have to wait and see.

    Paul Goat Allen

    That response was pure evil, Great Salty One. Pure evil...

    Tags

  • 44

    Interview: Oct 9th, 2013

    Brandon Sanderson

    Just a reminder, all. Steelheart—my new novel—is out right now! It’s sitting at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list in the Young Adult section. If you’re curious, you can read about the book here, and listen to a cool audio sample here.

    Tags

  • 45

    Interview: Oct 10th, 2013

    Brandon Sanderson

    Just a reminder, all. Steelheart—my new novel—is out right now! It hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list in the Young Adult section. If you're curious, you can read about the book here, and listen to a cool audio sample here.

    For an explanation of my Wheel of Time retrospective, see the beginning of my first post, which talked about the notes. Here's post number two.

    Tags

  • 46

    Interview: Oct 15th, 2013

    Brandon Sanderson

    Just a reminder, all. Steelheart—my new novel—is out right now! It hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list in the Young Adult section. If you're curious, you can read about the book here, and listen to a cool audio sample here.

    For an explanation of my Wheel of Time retrospective, see the beginning of my first post, which talked about the notes, and my second post on the process. Here's post number three. Before we begin, it should be stated that this post will contain spoilers for the entire series, ending included. If you haven't finished, you will want to do so before reading this post.

    Tags

  • 47

    Interview: Oct 17th, 2013

    Brandon Sanderson

    Just a reminder, all. Steelheart—my new novel—is out right now! It hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list in the Young Adult category. If you're curious, you can read about the book here, and listen to a cool audio sample here.

    For an explanation of my Wheel of Time retrospective, see the previous posts on the topic. Here's post number four. Before we begin, it should be stated that this post will contain spoilers for the entire series, ending included. If you haven't finished, you will want to do so before reading this post.

    Tags

  • 48

    Interview: Oct 22nd, 2013

    Brandon Sanderson

    Just a reminder, all. Steelheart—my new novel—is out right now! It hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list in the Young Adult category. If you're curious, you can read about the book here, and listen to a cool audio sample here.

    For an explanation of my Wheel of Time retrospective, see the previous posts on the topic. Here's post number five. Before we begin, it should be stated that this post will contain spoilers for the entire series, ending included. If you haven't finished, you will want to do so before reading this post.

    Tags

  • 49

    Interview: Oct 24th, 2013

    Brandon Sanderson

    Just a reminder, all. Steelheart—my new novel—is out right now! It hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list in the Young Adult category. If you're curious, you can read about the book here, and listen to a cool audio sample here.

    For an explanation of my Wheel of Time retrospective, see the previous posts on the topic. Here's post number six. Before we begin, it should be stated that this post will contain spoilers for the entire series, ending included. If you haven't finished, you will want to do so before reading this post.

    Tags

  • 50

    Interview: Oct 30th, 2013

    Brandon Sanderson

    Just a reminder, all. Steelheart—my new novel—is out right now! It hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list in the Young Adult category. If you're curious, you can read about the book here, and listen to a cool audio sample here.

    For an explanation of my Wheel of Time retrospective, see the previous posts on the topic. Here's post number seven. Before we begin, it should be stated that this post will contain spoilers for the entire series, ending included. If you haven't finished, you will want to do so before reading this post.

    Tags

  • 51

    Interview: Nov 1st, 2013

    Brandon Sanderson

    Just a reminder, all. Steelheart—my new novel—is out right now! It hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list in the Young Adult category. If you're curious, you can read about the book here, and listen to a cool audio sample here. And as a side note, Amazon's US Kindle store today has The Way of Kings at $1.26 for some reason.

    For an explanation of my Wheel of Time retrospective, see the previous posts on the topic. Here's post number eight. Before we begin, it should be stated that this post will contain spoilers for the entire series, ending included. If you haven't finished, you will want to do so before reading this post.

    Tags

  • 52

    Interview: 2013

    LittlePlasticCastle (September 2013)

    Introducing the Steelhunt

    Gloman42

    The Sanderson marketing machine is in full force today, huh?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Sorry. I'm doing a lot of blog posts—it's release week and all that. While I'm happy to see people posting them here, I don't particularly want to dominate the front page and annoy people.

    I guess it's like what happens at a gaming subreddit when a new game comes out. If it's any consolation, this should taper off next week.

    Tags

  • 53

    Interview: 2013

    bethrevis (October 2013)

    What have you guys been up to? Any sales or signings or agents news or finished manuscripts or other good stuff you want to share?

    This is the promo page: post whatever new stuff you have for this month here!

    Brandon Sanderson (October 2013)

    I...kind of have the country's #1 bestselling YA book this week. Does that count?

    EDIT: Link, by request, to the New York Times bestseller list. I am #1 on the YA list, which you have to scroll WAY down to find.

    bethrevis

    Sure does! Link that shizz up!

    Also: congrats!

    Also also: my husband ADORES your work. He's incredibly stompy right now that I won't let him buy Steelheart, but it's only because I've already gotten him a copy for Christmas. Fortunately, he never ever reads this sub.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Link posted. Thanks! It's my first time at #1 on the teen list, so we were quite excited.

    bethrevis

    That is truly awesome and amazing! You have every reason to be excited!

    Lilah_Rose

    If that wasn't impressive enough, I've just realized you've been on reddit for 5 years!

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah. I've wasted my fair share of time around here. :)

    chihuahuazero

    Hello! I haven't read any of your stuff yet, but I might check your books out now.

    Do you hang around here much?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I've been impressed with the sub. It seems well managed and genuinely helpful. I don't post much for time reasons, but I do read much of what gets posted here.

    Tags

  • 54

    Interview: 2013

    quantumsheep (October 2013)

    Do you think "movie potential" for your book is an important factor in the YA market?

    I know this applies across the board, but many YA books are being given the book-to-movie treatment nowadays. As YA is an emerging market, it feels like many stories are lined up for their movie adaptation before they even hit the shelves.

    Do you think that "movie potential" is more important for YA books? Do you think the YA market is being used as a vessel to more easily find big-bucks action movies?

    bethrevis

    I don't think that "movie potential" is more important for YA books, because movie deals are SO nebulous, and everyone in the business is very aware of that. Movie deals are often rather small, and remember, a movie deal =/= a movie, and movie deals are different from book deals in a few key ways: typically, with a book deal, you get an advance and then royalties when your advance earns out. With a movie deal, you get paid at each stage. They buy the rights; you get a small amount of money (and sometimes we're talking VERY small—like, maybe you could buy a used car small). They decide to buy a script, you get some money. They take the script into development, you get some money. They produce it, you get some money. So, movie deals CAN be lucrative—if they actually make the movie. But if they JUST buy the rights...not so much.

    Now compare the number of books that have movie deals versus the number of books that are actually made into movies. Sure—there have been a lot of movies from YA books, but there are a LOT more without.

    If I had the choice between just selling movie rights and selling to a larger foreign country, such as Germany or England or Brazil, I'd rather sell foreign. For most authors, foreign deals are far, far more lucrative than selling movie rights. (Exception: some high profile deals, movie rights sales that turn into movies.)

    TL: DR: movie rights aren't important enough, nor are they guaranteed, to make writing a book for a movie worth it.

    There ARE a lot of YA books-to-movies right now—I think this is more a reflection of the movie market, though, than the book market.

    Brandon Sanderson

    I think you are correct—that thinking of the movie potential isn't worth the effort—but for a different reason.

    My experience is that the author can't do much to make film deals happen. Of the deals I've done for my books, in only one case was I able to go out and shop a property and sell it. The other four times, everyone ignored our attempts to sell the books for film—until someone came to us. My impression of Hollywood has been that they want to find it on their own, not have you go to them pitching it.

    Every one of my five deals has been an option agreement. For those who aren't aware, an option is kind of like a lease on a property. You do a big deal, but the producer/studio doesn't have to pay out the entire amount at first—instead they make an option payment, which is often somewhere around 5-10% of the buyout price. That lets them reserve the rights for a period (usually 12-18 months) where you can't sell it to anyone else. They usually have two chances to renew the option, and often the option money paid is deductible from the final buyout price if they decide to exercise their option to purchase.

    The vast majority of film deals I hear about from friends are deals like this, with very few films actually being made. But that doesn't mean they can't be lucrative. If the buyout is 10k and you're getting 1k every 18mo...sure, that's not much. If the buyout is 500k, and you're getting 50k every 18mo though, it can make a nice supplemental income.

    However, bethrevis is right—translation deals are far more plentiful, and far more reliable. Beyond that, I'd suggest that developing a story for its film potential can draw your attention away from writing the book the way it needs to be written.

    Tags

  • 55

    Interview: 2013

    Gearbox302 (November 2013)

    Mitosis: A Reckoners Story

    Does anyone know if this book will take place between the first and second Steelheart book? Or will this just be the beginning of the second one as kind of a teaser?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Between first and second. Stand-alone story. Including some really bad power ballad lyrics by yours truly.

    Tags

  • 56

    Interview: Nov 12th, 2013

    Sara

    What can you tell us about your new book and what can we expect from it?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Steelheart may not be what you expect to see from me because I've primarily released epic fantasy so far. As a writer, one of my main goals is to always be trying new things to advance my writing skill and to make sure that you have a varied experience reading my books. If you've enjoyed my books, particularly ones like Mistborn, and you pick up this, you'll find lots of things to love. But you'll also find some new things. Steelheart is an action-adventure thrill ride. I wrote it to be exciting, fast-paced, and fun. It is my experiment with dabbling more in science fiction than fantasy, and dealing with some of the current tropes in action movies, particularly some of the superhero tropes. In the end, however, it is very much a Brandon Sanderson novel.

    The hardest part about doing a sequel is this: yes, it's new, but it's also familiar, and there's a part of me that says, "I don't want to do that. I want to do something completely different." However, it's important to have the discipline to say, "No, you promised your readers that you were going to finish this!" Beyond that, there are certain themes, characters, and stories that you can only explore by doing something that's more long-form, like a series. As a reader, I prefer to read series, but as a writer sometimes it's hard to make myself do the familiar instead of something brand new.

    Tags

  • 57

    Interview: Sep 29th, 2013

    Lauren Zurchin

    Tell us about Steelheart in your own words.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Hi, I'm Brandon Sanderson, author of various and sundry novels. And, SteelheartSteelheart's my newest novel, coming out on Tuesday, the 24th of September. I am super excited about it. It is a story about what happens when people start gaining superpowers, but only evil people get them. And so it's kind of a post-apocalyptic action-adventure thriller filled with evil supervillains.

    Tags

  • 58

    Interview: Sep 29th, 2013

    Lauren Zurchin

    Why are the Epics, the people with the power, all evil?

    Brandon Sanderson

    So the idea for this story came when I was driving along on the freeway and someone cut me off in traffic, and my immediate instinct was, "You're lucky I don't have any superpowers because I'd blow your car up right now." This is what happens when you're a fantasy writer, right? You have weird instinctual reactions like that. I was very frightened, though, because I'm like, "Wow, I can't believe that's inside of me." It's probably a good thing that I don't have superpowers because I don't know that I could be trusted not to blow people off of the road when they cut in front of me. And that led me down the natural progression to what would happen if people really have superpowers. Would people be good with them, or would they not? And if my first instinct is to use them in this sort of awful way, what happens if everyone starts abusing these powers?

    And that led me down the road to the story of, the idea of, there being no heroes—there being a story about a common man with no powers, trying to assassinate a very powerful superpowered individual. It's weird talking about this in the terms of superheroes, though, because as I was writing the book, my focus was on sort of an action-adventure feel—definitely using some of the superhero tropes, and the comic book tropes. But I have found that in the fiction I've read, it's better to do kind of a strong adaptation–kind of like movies do. I like how movies have adapted comic books and kind of made them their own, and turned them into their own action-adventure genre. And that was what I was kind of using as a model for this. And so yeah, I wanted to tell the story of this kid—I say kid, he's eighteen—this young man, who wants to bring down the emperor of Chicago, and doesn't have any powers himself, but thinks he might know what Steelheart—that character's—the emperor's weakness is.

    Tags

  • 59

    Interview: Sep 29th, 2013

    Lauren Zurchin

    [Tell us about] coming up with the names for the Epics.

    Brandon Sanderson

    It was really all right. I wouldn't say proud with regard to 'Steelheart', more ecstatic because I came up with the name very early on. And I'm like, "Oh, I hope no one has used this. I hope no one has used this." And then I went and looked and there were no major superheroes with that name listed on the various lists that I found. So I figure I'm pretty safe. But from going on there, finding names was really difficult. I wanted to do things that hadn't been used by any major Marvel or DC characters. And they have lots and lots and lots of characters—lots of them! And so, my instinct was if there's a Wikipedia article dedicated to this character, they're probably too big a character for me to use that name. And so, I spent most of the time either there, or there are resources on various fan sites that just list all the characters that I could search, just by names. And I would have a list of twelve names for a superhero or supervillain, and spend all this time trying to figure in, and all twelve would have been used, and I would have to go back to the drawing board and come up with twelve more, or something like that.

    Tags

  • 60

    Interview: Sep 29th, 2013

    Lauren Zurchin

    You're known as an epic fantasy guy. Why the change-up?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I like to do different things. It's what keeps me productive—switching projects. And usually after I've finished something big, I want to do something very different. And so I like to try different genres. Granted, the speculative aspect, the science fiction/fantasy aspect of things, is what really interests me. I basically have never written a book without some at least hint of the science fiction or fantasy element because that's what I love, so that'll show up in everything. But I also do like thrillers. And writing this book—it's been called dystopian now—I viewed it as action-adventure. Dystopian in the same way that some of the darker superhero films are dystopian.

    Is it my first YA? I have another YA called The Rithmatist. This I wrote as an older middle grade novel, which is a very fine distinction that really only matters to literacy professionals, and to authors, and things like that. Middle grade ended up getting published as a young YA novel instead—the line there blurs very much. So, yes and no. I mean, Mistborn, which I'm best known for, stars a sixteen-year-old girl. That's shelved in 'adult' because there are adult characters as well, but the story's about her. So is it my first YA, is it not? I'm really honestly not sure. That's sort of a distinction I'll let the librarians and the booksellers argue over.

    Tags

  • 61

    Interview: Oct 5th, 2013

    Question

    Did David get Steelheart's weakness absolutely correct, or was it just close enough to allow him to destroy Steelheart?

    Brandon Sanderson

    It was absolutely correct. This is something David and Reckoners will actually discuss in Firefight. The second book will reveal much more about the Epics' weaknesses, and you will find out that there is actually a pattern to them, even though everyone thinks it's random.

    Question

    Are weaknesses somehow related to things, events, or phenomena the Epics feared, or hated, or disliked before they turned Epic?

    Brandon Sanderson

    RAFO, second book. This is the exact question people—and David—are asking in the second book. Good question though.

    Tags

  • 62

    Interview: Mar 21st, 2014

    Question

    Do you think you're going to write in the Wheel of Time world at all?

    Brandon Sanderson

    It's unlikely that I'll ever do any more Wheel of Time books. I don't think that Robert Jordan would want it to keep going.

    Question

    What about your Steelheart, how many—?

    Brandon Sanderson

    That is a trilogy. I've finished the second book and turned it in, then one more left to do, and then it'll be done.

    Question

    Final and kaput? No multiple trilogies?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Hmm ... you know, I could see ... but I have no plans right now to do any more. I have my next YA book that I've already got planned what I'm going to do.

    Question

    The Rithmatist, how many in that series?

    Brandon Sanderson

    That's also three.

    Tags

  • 63

    Interview: Nov 10th, 2013

    Octavia

    1. With Steelheart every superhero I've worshipped as a kid, was pretty much blown to bits and replaced with the scariest bunch of "supers" I've ever seen. How did you come up with the idea to take superheroes (and even today's, not even close to epic level, villains) and make them so amazingly evil?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I was on book tour, driving a rental car up through West Virginia when someone aggressively cut me off in traffic. I got very annoyed at this person, which is not something I normally do. I'm usually pretty easygoing, but this time I thought to myself, "Well, random person, it's a good thing I don't have super powers—because if I did, I'd totally blow your car off the road." Then I thought: "That's horrifying that I would even think of doing that to a random stranger!"

    Any time that I get horrified like that makes me realize that there's a story there somewhere. So I spent the rest of the drive thinking about what would really happen if I had super powers. Would I go out and be a hero, or would I just start doing whatever I wanted to? Would it be a good thing or a bad thing?

    Tags

  • 64

    Interview: Nov 10th, 2013

    Octavia

    2. Newcago was a HUGE surprise for me. I expected to see Chicago, but roughed up in a dystopian way. Instead you took a major city we all know, and made it completely new and interactive. The catacombs, in particular were really interesting to me. Did you base Newcago's catacombs off of a "real" place?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Newcago's catacombs were actually based more off of mid-eighties cyberpunk stories where you've often got this sort of techie underground, and I love that visual. I intentionally didn't want to take Steelheart in a dystopian direction, even though it technically is a dystopia. I just feel that the whole "wasted world" dystopia has been done so well by so many writers that I wanted to have something that felt new and different.

    When I gave Steelheart this sort of Midas power to turn Chicago into metal, I thought it would be cool to have these catacombs dug underneath it because the visual was so different and cool. The catacombs I've visited in various cities are, of course, awesome, but really I'm looking back at those cyberpunk books.

    Tags

  • 65

    Interview: Nov 10th, 2013

    Octavia

    3. Steelheart makes you feel a few pretty intense emotions. Were there any scenes in particular that you found difficult to write, because of these intense moments?

    Brandon Sanderson

    One of the very first scenes I imagined for Steelheart is where the main character David is trapped and pinned down. Certain things have led him to that moment and the events that happen right after that. (I'm not giving any spoilers, but those of you who have read the book will know what I'm talking about. It happens right after the motorcycle chase.) When I'm developing a book, I often go for a walk or walk on the treadmill and listen to cool music, my eyes closed, and ask myself, "What is the emotional resonance of this book? What's it going to feel like to read it? What scenes will make that happen?" This was one of those scenes. For me, it was the most important scene of the entire novel, so getting to it was a pleasure, but it was also an emotional and powerful scene to write because I'd been planning it for so long and wanted badly for it to turn out well. That can be really difficult for a writer when you've got something in your head and you worry. Can I make it turn out on the page?

    Tags

  • 66

    Interview: Nov 10th, 2013

    Octavia

    4. If Calamity did come (and most of us did not turn evil), what power would you want? Would you be a hero? Villain? Switzerland?

    Brandon Sanderson

    What power I would choose depends on how rational my brain is that day. It makes the most sense to have Wolverine's regenerative powers. At the same time, it's not like I’m jumping off cliffs or getting into fights. So I probably wouldn't do much with this power.

    But in the back of my mind, there's a part of me that says, "Boy, would I really love to be able to fly!" Which is why a lot of the magic systems in my books wind up dealing with people having powers that let them soar in the air.

    Honestly, I want to think I'd be a hero, but as I've mentioned, the reason I wrote Steelheart was because of a moment where I had intense anger toward someone else. And that moment of me imagining myself destroying someone else because of a minor annoyance is part of why I wrote this book. I was frightened of myself. I'd like to think that I'd be a hero. I'm worried that I wouldn't be.

    Tags

  • 67

    Interview: Nov 10th, 2013

    Octavia

    5. I know the second book in the series isn't due out until next year, but can you tell us how many books there will be total in the series?

    Brandon Sanderson

    A trilogy. As for it being open-ended, I can't reveal the ending of the third book, or anything about it, while the first book is just barely out! So, you'll have to wait and see.

    Tags

  • 68

    Interview: Sep 24th, 2014

    Jean Marie Ward

    Therein lies the joy, I think. We all like to discover a bit, even those of us who are outliners. I want to go a little bit sideways here and talk about your YA fiction.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes.

    Jean Marie Ward

    First of all, what prompted you to go in that direction?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Well I read science fiction fantasy. Science fiction fantasy has a very long tradition with juveniles being part of it. We don't spend as much time distinguishing as some other genres do. I think it's a great thing that we now have the full-blown YA genre in bookstores.

    When I was growing up, it didn't exist. In my local library, there was no YA section. I would look in the children's section or in the adult section and I actually found Anne McCaffrey [inaudible 00:04:57]. I asked the librarian about that. She's like, "Both groups like her." For me, it's what do they like? I put it where they like it.

    If you go back to the Heinlein juveniles, if you look at Shannara by Terry Brooks, is this a juvenile, is it not, does it even really matter? I've always wanted to write for all age groups. Trying my hand at teenage protagonists in a story only about them was very natural to me. Mistborn is about a 16-year-old girl.

    Why is it not YA? Because it's about a 16-year-old girl and other characters who are not and it runs the spectrum. The Rithmatist and Steelheart, which are my two primary YA series, are about focus on a character who is a teen dealing with their life, their problems. That becomes a teen book in today's parlance.

    I think that as science fiction fans see writers, we transcend this, readership transcends this. It's just a convenient way for us to get a little bit more understanding of the story, what type of story to expect.

    Tags

  • 69

    Interview: Jan 17th, 2015

    Question

    Should the things you thought of in Firefight apply in Steelheart?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, the things I thought of in Firefight should apply in Steelheart. Uh, about weaknesses.

    Tags

  • 70

    Interview: Jan 21st, 2015

    Question

    He was asked a question about creating Steelheart.

    It boiled down to being unique with names and powers is hard, he had a hard time finding things that Marvel and DC haven't done already.

    Tags

  • 71

    Interview: Jan 24th, 2015

    Question

    What does Steelheart’s past have to do with his weakness?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I can’t tell you that, because it’s a spoiler. When you come through the line I can tell it to you. When you come through the line talk to me, because I can’t answer spoiler questions. Oh yeah. So, he secretly feared people who weren’t intimidated by him. Remember he was a night watchman before. And anyone who didn’t respect his authority, that was his secret fear. He wanted everyone to obey him and when no one was afraid of him he lost his powers.

    Tags

  • 72

    Interview: Feb 17th, 2016

    Question

    Megan and Steelheart, what was the nature of their relationship? How did they know each other, meet each other?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Employer and an employee. More like high-level employer and very competent contractor.

    Tags

  • 73

    Interview: Feb 20th, 2016

    Question

    Who would play Prof in a Steelheart movie?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Hugh Jackman.

    Tags