Friday night I got to introduce writer Brandon Sanderson to the stage in Norcross, as part of a Gwinnett County Public Library series.  For those not familiar with the Wheel of Time series, you don't need to be to understand how special it was to see Sanderson on stage with Harriet McDougal.

Sanderson was not the original writer of this cult fantasy favorite.  He was one of the first fans as a teenager of the books, originally written by Robert Jordan.  Jordan continued the epic saga through 11 books until his untimely death in 2007.  The story incomplete, his widow Harriott McDougal, who also served as his editor, began the search for someone to take Jordan's unused notes and outline of his beloved tale and hand it to a trustworthy writer who could effectively tell the end of the story that so many had followed for two decades.  Think of Tolkien unable to finish Lord of the Rings, or J.K Rowling dying before she could finish Harry Potter's journey.  Fans were left hanging, until Brandon Sanderson's phone rang a few weeks after Jordan's death.  That's when Harriett left a message on Brandon's voice mail, asking him to give her a call back.  That message changed the course of his career.

Sanderson was given the daunting task of completing what was supposed to be one final novel.  But the information Jordan left was so massive that the final piece of the WoT puzzle will take three books to complete.  The first of those there, The Gathering Storm, was released a few weeks ago and the book Sanderson and McDougal are currently on tour for. 

Interested in checking out the Wheel of Time series? Then click here to check them out!