My surreal WoT experience

[Jason Denzel]

I've experienced a lot of cool things when it comes to the Wheel of Time. But last night at the Sacramento book signing, something happened that was pretty surreal for me, which I guess is saying something.

 

As the signing itself began, Harriet "insisted" that I sit at the table with her and Brandon and sign the dedication page for Towers of Midnight.

 

Let me let that sink in: Harriet asked me to sign copies of Towers of Midnight with her. So for the next 4 and a half hours I sat there and signed 350-400 copies of ToM. It was such an honor to be asked to do that. Part of me still isn't completely comfortable signing RJ's books, but both Harriet and Brandon assured me that it was the right choice, and so I am deeply grateful.

 

There were some other nice perks too. Meeting 400+ fans was awesome, of course. Some of them had gifts for Brandon, and (shockingly) some had gifts for me. Take a look:

 

In 1996, a book called Barlowe's Guide to Fantasy was published. Amongst other neat things, it had an encyclopedia-like entry for Trollocs. I only saw the book once in stores, but couldn't afford it at the time due to my limited college funds. In the years since, I've regretted not stretching my money a little because I wasn't able to ever find that book again, or even remember the title.

 

Well last night, Bailey (a Tower Guard) brought her copy and showed it to me. When I explained how excited I was to actually see the book, she handed it to me and said I could keep it. I've since learned that the book is out of print, but used copies can be found. Here's a picture of the cover. Notice the trolloc in the upper right corner. Here's the link to Amazon, where you can generally find some inexpensive used copies if you're curious.

 

 

I also received a few packs of MAGIC cards, although not as many as Brandon did. The coolest ones I received were the custom cards that fan Mike P made for both Brandon and I. Take a look:

 

 

My favorite gift received last night though came from another Tower Guard, David. He told me that he lived in Japan for a while and thought I might like this shirt. It's simply amazing, and I'm flattered that he offered it to me:

 

 

Detail on the dragon embroidery:

 

 

I am so privileged to be a part of a community like this, and profoundly humbled that so many of you enjoy the things we do here at Dragonmount. I know the gifts above are just tokens of a larger appreciation, and that only makes me want to work harder to continue delivering quality content on our site.

 

Oh one more thing. I totally ran off this this poster after the event.

 

[yoniy0]

Cool. You really did earn your place at that table, you know (not that my opinion should matter greatly, after Harriet and Brandon both agreed).

 

Now I'm going offline to continue reading (well, listening, actually). Until tomorrow.

[Skeeve the Great]

Jason,

My wife was at Sacramento signing. She bought me a book for a birthday present (she was the one from Milwaukee, btw ). She's very excited to meet all of you and I'd like to thank you and Team Jordan for the wonderful experience.

[Durinax]

very nice!

 

ugh I am so jealous that I dont live anywhere close to any of the book signings

[Sid]

That is awesome, Jason. I bet it was surreal!

 

 

I kind of hope there's a tour stop near me for AMoL's release, so I can see what all the fuss is about at these things. I remember there was one in Minneapolis for TGS but it was impossible for me to go that evening even though it was only a few hours away.

[decocards]

That shirt is AMAZING, I'm so jealous.

[Jillain Sanche]

Indeed! What a great experience! Congratulations to you. You have earned the recognition.

 

Btw, COOLEST shirt ever.

[Whatsie]

In all honesty, Jason, I am not surprised. I think it would be awesome to have a book signed by you and the rest. This site has been my go-to source for WoT info for the best part of a decade now, and your coverage of Mr. Rigney's memorial services was, in my opinion, written and handled with an outstanding level of respect and tact.

 

Congrats to you. And also, I'm jealous as hell ;)

 

Sent from my Droid X using Tapatalk

[Shard]

Hey Jason I have that Fantasy Monster book! Do you want it?

[daveq65]

You deserve it. From what I have read and seen of this site you are more than deserving. The WoT community it a close knit one that seems to guard and live the world closely and we all cherish the words of RJ and now BS. They are people who we have lived with a long and now the end is near it seems sad in a way, yet something we have all know the books were heading too. How we and the characters get there is the biggest hook that will have us all waiting for early 2012 with baited breath.