This is the fifth of our Storm Leader reports we'll be posting throughout the U.S. book tour for

Greetings from Da Frozen North! The signing in Minneapolis drew an impressive crowd of nearly 200 people, the first of whom, Eric, showed up at about 6:00 am after working a night shift.

Crowd

Eric and Brandon

The event opened with a reading by Brandon from the first chapter of "The Gathering Storm," which was followed by a short Q & A session. In true Wheel of Time tradition, the first question, shouted quickly and loudly from the crowd, was, "Who killed Asmodean?" Brandon also spoke of his introduction to the series, citing that "The Eye of the World" was an investment for him ("A lot of words for my money."). When asked about the most difficult character for him to write, Brandon replied with Aviendha and Tuon, as both characters are from "weird" cultures. There was a moment of worry when one of the guests asked whether we should be afraid that a writer could get into the head of the obviously unstable Rand. "People going bonkers are fun to write," answered Brandon.

With any gathering of Wheel of Time fans in one place, strangeness is bound to occur. One guest, David Salchrow, asked us about the "I killed Asmodean" bumper stickers, which had disappeared as fast as they arrived. When he was informed of our lack of the stickers, he asked whether we had any that said "Cadsuane is a sexy beast." Another guest, Evan, braved the strange soil of America (and a blizzard) to snatch the prize for the longest distance traveled for the signing- 7 and a half hours from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Finally, the grand champion of Wheel of Time reference at the signing was a young woman named Erin Kelly, who brought with here a real, true-to-life game of Snakes and Foxes, winnable only by cheating. This Brandon signed with gusto.

Evan, from Winnipeg

 

Snakes and Foxes

 

Even Brandon couldn't resist the call...

To balance these moments, though, were moments of greatness. The book poster that was sent out by Tor was won by Jay Erdahl. Last but certainly not least, guest Michael Ditmore told us that "The Eye of the World" was the first book he ever read, which stands as testament to the greatness of this series, and the ability it has to affect people's lives.

View all of the photos from the event here. Enjoy!

writer note: names are used with permission