Worldbuilders Approacheth: (Also? Vancouver)

A brief note before the meat of today’s blog. I’m making a quick trip up to Vancouver (Canada) this weekend, so I’ll be doing a book signing at local independent bookstore, Pulp Fiction. It’s Saturday (the 11th) at 6:00.

Here’s a link to the facebook event, if you’re in the area and want to stop by.

*     *     *

Well folks, it’s November, and you know what that means:

Yup. It’s Worldbuilders time.

The fundraiser is going to be launching on November 13th, this upcoming Monday. Geeks of all creeds and nations are going to join together to raise money for Heifer International, all while entering to win fabulous prizes, and goofing off with us.

If you’ve never participated before, it’s a grand time. We have a lottery full of books, games, rare manuscripts, cool experiences, jewelry, and other geeky goods. We have auctions and giveaways…

Also, these last couple years I’ve started to do some promotional livestreaming on my Twitch Channel. I do Q&A streams, talk to special guests, play games of various sorts (while bitching loudly about narrative structure) and occasionally do writing streams. If you head over there and follow the channel, you’ll get notifications for when I go online.

We’re hoping to get another competitive tournament going again, like we did last year for Overwatch, so expect news about that…

And I’ll be writing blogs about it here, too, of course.

*     *     *

If you want to help out Worldbuilders in ways other than just straight-up donating, we’d love to hear from you.

For example, if you wanted to donate something to Worldbuilders that we could use as a prize in our lottery (or that we might auction off) you should email donations (@) worldbuilders.org. The Worldbuilders Crew will happily help you out with that.

We’re also going to continue having team pages on the fundraiser. This lets people run their own mini fundraisers with their own goals and incentives.

If that sounds like something you might be interested in, you can contact us at teams (@) worldbuilders.org and we can give you some information about that, too.

So… yeah. That’s all for now. Get ready for the fun. We’re planning for all sorts of shenanigans.

Also, have I mentioned the books?

This is our donation wall as of yesterday. And that’s with only a few donors’ donations arrived and unloaded. We’re going to have a record-breaking number of books, games, and other fantastic geekery this year.

So get ready to come play with us: November 13th.

I’ll see y’all soon…

pat

Posted in Worldbuilders 2017 | By Pat10 Responses

So… I’m going to be on TV tonight.

Huh. That’s not really an elegant title, is it? But I guess it gets the point across…

Here’s the deal. A couple months back, I shot a pilot for a TV show with the Travel Channel.

That show is going to be airing TODAY (October 27th) at 10pm Eastern Time. On… well… the Travel Channel. Like I said.

(Edit: For those of you who don’t have cable: It’s also a part of live linear schedule on Play Station Vue, Hulu Live TV, & Sling.)

Here’s a teaser.

As you’ve probably guessed, the show is called Myths and Monsters. It’s about how myths evolve and grow. It’s about stories, really. How stories come to be.

This particular episode is about the Mothman.

There’s a brief write up of the show with a few more details over here if you’re interested.

I’ll save you a click if you just want to see the funniest part, which is this:

You see, when anyone is taking a picture of me, I can be serious for about 10-15 seconds. And then I start making faces until the person with the camera laughs, cries, or just gives up. (People who have been to my signings can verify this.)

When I saw that picture, I thought to myself, “Where the fuck did they get that photo?” Then I realized that it probably happened when we were off shooting the show. People with cameras would come up to me and say, “We need some production stills” or something like that. And I’d nod and smile, or try and look dignified or somehow… I dunno, authorial or something.

But again, only for about 10-15 seconds. Then I start goofing off.

This one was probably one of the photos they took *after* that initial 15 seconds, when I was fucking around and looking dramatic, or crazy, or… fuck. I don’t even know. Maybe I was just hungry. I don’t know what that expression on my face is supposed to signify.

Personally, I like the rendition that they did on this social media banner more:

(Feel free to plaster my gormless mug on all your medias!)

I think that looks a little more like me. Or at least how I look to myself inside my head.

So… Yeah. That’s all. I’m on TV tonight. If y’all wanted to watch the show, it’s at 9:00 CST. If you’re interested in monsters or mythology or stories or mothmen or me, you might find it entertaining.

I will say, I had a good time shooting it. I met a lot of interesting people, and had a lot of interesting conversations. I just hope that the stuff I remember being cool didn’t end up on the cutting room floor. I haven’t seen the final version yet either.

If you don’t have Travel Channel… I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe find a friend who does and go to their house? Have a Pre-Halloween Rothfuss Mythology party? Maybe develop some sort of drinking game you can play during the show?

(Edit: If you don’t have access to cable. The show is part of the live linear schedule on Play Station Vue. It’s also on Hulu Live TV and Sling.)

Here. I’ll give you the first two rules:

1. Every time I cuss, take a drink.

2. If it’s such a bad cuss that they have to bleep me out, take two drinks.

Edit: Some Good Suggestions from the comments and Twitter.

  • Every time someone says the title of the show during the show, take three drinks.
  • Every time Pat looks up at something in an inquisitive manner, take a drink.
  • When Pat Rothfuss looks at the camera with “teacher eyes,” take a drink.
  • Pat Rothfuss starts explaining something by first pointing at the sky – two drinks.
  • Drink when someone references Pat’s books.
  • Drink Every time you wish you were watching Stranger Things instead.
  • Drink every time Pat uses a word you don’t know.

Advanced/Dangerous options

  • Anytime Pat says, “Actually…”
  • Any Pat is self deprecating, take a drink of your friend’s drink. Then apologize.
  • Reference to book three – Three Drinks.
  • Pat Rothfuss says “story about stories” or gets meta – drink.
  • Drink every time Pat says a fascinated “…huh.”
  • Everyone pick a specific phrase and only drink when your phrase is uttered.
    • “That’s interesting”
    • “Urban Legend”
    • “Moth dong”
  • Put a fake mustache on your TV. When it lines up with someone’s upper lip, you drink.

I’m open to suggestions in the comments below. If you have any clever ideas, put them down there. I might move a few new rules up here if they really tickle me. But otherwise, I suggest that y’all look through them on your own and make a ruleset that works for your peer group, genetic makeup, and available liquor supply.

Have fun everyone,

pat

Posted in a billion links, Achievement Unlocked!, cool news, cool things, movie talk, my rockstar life | By Pat18 Responses

JoCo Cruise 2018

Those of you who follow me on social media probably know that for the last several years, I’ve been a part of the JoCo Cruise. What’s more, over the last couple years, they’ve brought on Worldbuilders as their official charity, and they donate a portion of the proceeds every year. (More on that later, for those of you who are fans of Worldbuilders.)

For those of you who don’t know, (and why would you, because I haven’t ever written a blog about it, though I’ve meant to for years) JoCo Cruise is kinda like a convention, except it’s on a cruise ship. So you can go to a panel about writing, go to workshop about game design, then go and drink rum out of an actual Pineapple on a beach. Or go snorkling. Or sit by the pool. Or go listen to some live music. Or hang out with your fellow geeks and play games. By the pool, at the bar. With, and I cannot stress this enough, rum.

If that wasn’t cool enough, last year the cruise took over the *entire* boat. So not only are there no normal cruise-goers giving us the side-eye. But we have full control over all the event spaces, so the amount of programming has become truly insane.

You can see the full schedule from last year right here, just so you know the scale of what I’m talking about.

joco-fun-times

(Some of the guests from a previous cruise.)

This year is only going to be bigger and better, and booking has been going on for a while now.

It’s a chunk of change. But if you’re in the habit of going to conventions, you know that after you factor in hotel rooms, taxis, all your meals, badges, and extra events, you can easily spend as much as the cruise just attending a 4 day convention. More if it’s a convention like San Diego Comic con…

And this cruise isn’t just four days. It’s a 7-night, 8-day trip, with stuff going on literally at all hours. And the price includes all the JoCo Cruise events, 24 hour room service, all your onboard meals, use of the onboard gym, etc etc.

  • But Pat, I hear you say, “What sort of things happen on the cruise?”

Honestly? So much stuff. It’s almost ridiculous to try to mention all of it.

There’s performances every night. Dozens of musicians. Last year there were some cool magicians I’ve since seen on TV. Last year we had Nightvale on board, and I participated in one of their shows.

I myself usually do some panels, some readings, some performances.

Well, there’s usually a fair number of podcast recordings, like the one I did with Max last year…

This year, I’ve let Paul and Storm know that I want to sing at least once…. So there will be that train wreck to watch as well…

Tak made its debut on the Cruise, and was first playtested there. This year Travis McElroy is going to be there. So I’m guessing we’ll have some fun and games with him. And some D&D if I have anything to say about it…

There are things like the Gaming Room and Library, where you can settle in and play a board game with anyone who happens to pass by.

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All photo Credits to Steve Petrucelli and JoCo Cruise Shutter Monkeys

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There’s concerts every night that have performers like The Doubleclicks, Paul & Storm, Jonathan Coulton, and so many more.

joco-awesome

(Jonathan Coulton, complete with Zombies trying to eat his brains, here.)

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(Jean Grey here. I became a fan of hers *because* I saw her on the cruise.)

And, I mean, you’re on a CRUISE.

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For those of you curious about the price, here’s someone’s complete breakdown of all of the costs associated with this trip:

“But Pat!” I hear you cry. “The cruise isn’t until February, why would I want to book so soon?”

Well, there are a few reasons…

First of all the sooner you book, the more options you get for booking your cabins. Actual cabin placement is made in order of booking, with preference for folks who have booked early.

There’s also a “Refer a Friend” program where folks who already booked on the 2018 cruise can refer a friend. When both of them make their booking they’ll each receive a $125 onboard credit to their accounts, which they can use for fancy food, adult beverages, or buying merch and swag in the stores onboard. You can read up on the full info here, but it’s a limited time offer, so book soon.

If you don’t already have a friend sailing on board, there’s another special opportunity you can take advantage of: the Worldbuilders Charity Booking.

If you enter the offer code “worldbuilders” when booking a new cabin, two things will happen:

  1. Worldbuilders will receive a $250 donation on your behalf
  2. Everyone in your booking will have guaranteed attendance at a special onboard meetup with me.

This doesn’t count if you make a booking and cancel, obviously, and there’s a couple of other rules and restrictions as well (all of which you can read here) but once again, it’s a limited time offer, so if you’re hoping to get in on this one you should book now.

There’s also ALSO a Child discount of $250 per child under the age of 3 (at the time of sailing). That’s gonna be true the whole time, but it was still worth noting. I almost always bring my boys, and it’s a ton of fun to have them there. Oot wants nothing more than to spend as much time as humanly possible in the on-ship pool.

Anyway, there’s a whole bunch of options, all broken down on their Pricing Page, but, as with everything, the sooner you book, the better off you are.

So… yeah. There’s a reason I go on this every year. It’s a lot of fun.

One thing I learned in working with Nerdcon is that no matter how cool something is, there’s no guarantee it’s going to last forever. So if you’ve been thinking about it for a while, maybe jump in and try it this year.

Here’s the booking link one more time.

Hope to see some of you there,

pat

Posted in a billion links, conventions, cool things | By Pat21 Responses

Worldbuilders: Puerto Rico and Hurricane Relief

Hey there everybody,

As I write this, I’m in a hotel room in Seattle. Tomorrow I have the first event on my short tour for the 10th Anniversary Edition of NOTW.

But it’s hard for me to get excited about the tour. This is partly because I caught a cold the day before I left, and it’s partly because I’m still exhausted from taking care of my dad in Hospice last month, and haven’t even begun to catch up on my sleep, let alone my e-mail…

But more than that. The world is just wearing me out these days. Natural disasters and mass shootings and… well… I’m sure you don’t need me to give you a list.

Gech. I don’t know what my point is here. This probably isn’t the best way to start this particular blog. But I don’t know how else to lead into this. The truth is, I’m tired, and sick, and heartsore….

But you know what? I have electricity. And clean water. I can pick up a phone and talk to the outside world. I can go to the store and buy food. And gasoline. I’m in no danger of getting cholera. My children are safe.

There are millions of people right now in Puerto Rico who have none of these luxuries.

(If you know where I’m going with all this, you can head over and donate here to help people who desperately need it without reading all the rambling that follows.)

*     *     *

Right. Okay. Let’s talk about Puerto Rico.

It’s been hit by three hurricanes lately, but the latest, Maria, has devastated the island. Millions have no power, clean water, or food. And for various reasons that I won’t go into right now, federal aid to the island has been extremely slow moving.

Debris – detail of fallen road sign – en route to San Juan captured roadside by Mercy Corps staff member Christy Delafield. 10/1/2017

I like doing charity work that builds things. There’s a reason my charity is called Worldbuilders. I want to focus on long-term solutions to the world’s problems. Sustainable agriculture. Education. Renewable energy. Solid social and economic infrastructure. That’s why Worldbuilders works so much with Heifer International. They’re the best at solving problems like that, long-term, all over the world.

But when someone doesn’t have drinking water, that’s a problem NOW. Sometimes you need to deal with a crisis fast, and worry about sustainable agriculture later.

So I went to the Worldbuilders team, because while the death totals we’ve seen out of Puerto Rico haven’t been terrifying so far…. well… A person doesn’t make a world like Temerant without a good understanding of how complex systems interact. So when I hear that millions of people on an island don’t have water and power. And huge parts of their infrastructure are destroyed, and they’re not getting sufficient help from the government, and their hospitals for the most part don’t have electricity….

Here’s the thing folks. Here’s what I’m afraid of. I’m worried when we finally do start seeing realistic death-tolls for  Puerto Rico, it’s not going to be in the dozens or hundreds. I’m worried that by the time people finally stop scrambling for survival long enough to start counting bodies, the dead will number in the thousands.

I mean, most of you are fantasy readers, right? You know why clean water is so important. Without it, things like typhoid, dysentery, and cholera are right around the corner. Then, without medical infrastructure, those things will tear through a sick population like a fire through a field of wheat.

I don’t want to wait until that happens, then tear my hair out wishing I’d done something to help.

So last week I went to to the worldbuilders team and we started investigating charities. We know when donate money to us, you’re trusting us. You want to get the biggest bang possible out of your charity dollar.

Luckily, it turns out that Mercy Corps has put their seasoned emergency response team toward helping out in Puerto Rico.

We worked with Mercy Corps in 2015 to provide aid to the Syrian Refugees. And in just a few short days we raised over $200,000 to help those people.

Today, I want to ask you to consider doing the same for the people of Puerto Rico.

More than 3 million people still remain without power and water, and expected heavy rains could further impede aid efforts in the coming days. Mercy Corps has deployed an emergency response team, some of whom arrived just yesterday, to see how their global expertise in emergency response can support the efforts to deliver humanitarian assistance and start rebuilding the communities ravaged by the hurricane.

Their approach is to support and empower existing local organizations, with a special focus on the most vulnerable and underserved populations. We expect to work with them to provide access to cash, clean water, and other urgently needed supplies.

If you’ve been feeling like I have for the last couple weeks. Scared and helpless and wishing you could do something to help make the world less shitty. Here’s your chance.

There are real people who need our help. You can help by helping us spread the word. You can share this fundraiser, and make a donation.

And before you say you can’t afford it. Please keep in mind that if you’re reading this on a computer and had a glass of water that came out of a tap today, you are doing roughly 10,000% better than the people in Puerto Rico right now. If you kick in just a bit, it can make a huge difference, because when taken all together, we are a force to be reckoned with. I don’t know how to stress this enough. MILLIONS OF PEOPLE DON’T HAVE CLEAN WATER TO DRINK.

So please. Join us. Together we are awesome. We can help.

Mercy Corps has become our go-to charity for disaster relief. Their seasoned emergency response team has been deployed to provide supplies and assistance, and are working tirelessly to aid the people of Puerto Rico. Mercy Corps has a long history of both emergency relief and rebuilding communities struck by disaster, and we know their assistance will help Puerto Rico back to its feet.

And if it will help nudge any of you into joining in. I’m going to put my money where my mouth is. My dad left me some money, and I’ve got some royalties coming from the 10th anniversary of NOTW. So I can afford to put up $50,000 in matching money. That means whenever you kick some money in, more water, more food, more helping hands, more medicine, more supplies, more long-term solutions. Together, we can do twice the good.

Join us, and help in the relief, recovery, and rebuilding process.

Donate here.

Posted in Worldbuilders | By Pat22 Responses

10th Anniversary Edition NOTW: Sneek Peek at Art, Tour Dates, and Events at NYCC

Heya folks…

The 10th Anniversary Edition of the Name of the Wind comes out on Tuesday, (October 3rd.)

What’s that you say? What 10th anniversary edition?

This one:

(I’ve been signing a lot of them for The Tinker’s Packs, lately.)

It’s a pretty, pretty book. And if you think the front cover looks nice, you should see the back….

Now that, my friends, is how you blurb a book. I’m all blushy.

The book has improved, cleaned up text. An introduction, an author’s note (by me), pronunciation guide, and several appendixes about things like the currency systems, the calendar, the Aturan Empire, etc etc.

Also? It has more than 20 illustrations from Dan Dos Santos like this:

And this:

And two new maps from Nathan Taylor like this:

And the appendixes are further illustrated by Nate Taylor like this:
So… yeah. That book. That is the one I’m talking about.
Here’s the dates for the very short book tour I’m doing:
  • Tuesday, October 3: Seattle, WA
7 PM: Reading, Q&A, and Signing with University Bookstore
University Temple United Methodist Church
  • Wednesday, October 4: San Diego, CA
7 PM: Reading, Q&A, and Signing with Mysterious Galaxy
Mysterious Galaxy Book Store
5943 Balboa Ave, Suite 100
San Diego, CA 92111

 

October 6-9: New York, NY for New York Comic Con

 

  • Friday, October 6th
10:30 AM-11:15 AM: The Adventure Zone: ABRA-KA-GRAPHIC NOVEL (Location: 300 W. 36TH ST., HUDSON MERCANTILE)

 

The Worldbuilders Party is an amazing time where you can buy tickets to play board games with cool folks like Naomi Novik, Trin Garritano, Myke Cole, Peter V. Brett, Holly Frey, Amy S. Foster, and lots more.
Tickets are still available over here.
7:45 PM-8:45 PM: An Evening with Pat Rothfuss. Javits, Room 1A06
  • Saturday, October 7th
2:45-3:45 PM: Telling Stories with Patrick Rothfuss, Jonathan Coulton & Friends. Javits, Room 1A06
5 PM-7 PM: Signing in the Autographing Area, Table 23
  • Sunday, October 8th
12:30 PM-2 pm: Signing in the Autographing Area, Table 22
  • Monday, October 9

6 PM: Reading, Q&A, and Signing with Barnes and Noble

Barnes & Noble Tribeca
97 Warren St,
New York, New York 10007
Purchase book in store on the day of the event to receive a wrist band for the signing line.
  • Tuesday, October 10: Pittsburgh, PA
7 PM:Reading, Q&A, and Signing with Barnes and Noble
301S. Hills Village
Pittsburgh, PA 15241
Purchase book in store on the day of the event to receive a wrist band for the signing line.
  • Wednesday, October 11: Boston, MA
7 PM: Reading, Q&A, and Signing with Brookline Booksmith
Brookline Booksmith
279 Harvard Street
Brookline, MA 02446
$5 or purchase of the new book for the 145 available seats in the actual store. An additional signing line will be outside.

*This event has sold out of seated tickets..however you can still sign up to attend the signing here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/patrick-rothfuss-1011-tickets-37891595783#tickets  And while you wait for the signing the reading will be broadcasted on an intercom for all who attend to enjoy.*

That’s all the planned events for now. Sorry if I’m not hitting your hometown, but there’s only so much touring I can do at this point.

If I’m not coming to your neck of the woods, you should contact your local bookstore and pre-order one. (It might work better than just showing up and hoping they have it in stock.) Sometimes bookstores don’t realize how many of you there are, and how enthusiastic y’all are….

Anyway. It’s super late right now. And I’m pretty tired. I need to get to bed.

I’ll see some of you soon….

pat

Posted in a billion links, appearances, conventions, signing books | By Pat50 Responses

The Things My Dad Has Said

There’s no easy way to say this, so let’s do it like tearing off a band-aid.

My dad is dying.

And now, having written the simple truth of it down, some part of me feels the need to clarify what I mean. Over the last decade, I’ve become increasingly familiar with the different ways in which a person can be dying. The different velocities and meanderings in which dying can occur.

I started learning this ten years ago, when my mom was having trouble breathing. She couldn’t figure it out. The doctors couldn’t figure it out. Then she went in for some tests….

Then we got the news. It was cancer, and it was everywhere. There was really nothing to be done.

“Well,” my dad said dryly. “None of us are getting out of here alive.”

As I type this out, I realize his statement might seem callous or heartless. But it wasn’t any such thing in that moment. It was calming. It was funny and comforting and kind.

It remains one of the truest things I’ve ever known anyone to say.

None of us are getting out of here alive.

*     *     *

So. As I said. My dad is dying. But I still haven’t really been clear about what what means.

He’s not dying in the general way that we all are, slowly moving toward a time when we’ll no longer be alive. (See above anecdote.) Neither is he dying in the more specific way he has been for the last ten years, ever since he was diagnosed with Stage Four Lung cancer. He’s not even dying in more immediate, persistent way that he has been since January, when they discovered he has Leukemia, too.

He’s dying right now. He might have weeks, but probably not. He might have a week. But probably not.

*     *     *

Interesting story. Back in the early part of the year he was planning on getting more treatment for his lung cancer. But when they were getting ready, doing blood tests and scans, they discovered something wasn’t right. So more tests. More scans.

Finally he went in for another meeting with the oncologist. We’ve had many of these over the last decade. Many, many of these. We’ve had scans and meetings with oncologists. Biopsies and meetings with oncologists. Surgeries and meetings with oncologists.

For this one, I couldn’t be there in person, so my dad had me on speaker phone. It’s always better to have a second set of ears on these meetings. There’s a lot of information, and it’s easy to mishear something. We always try to have at least two or three people at a meeting, so that afterwords we can all compare notes and make sure we heard the same thing. It’s easy, sometimes, to listen with your heart instead of your head. To be too hopeful. It’s hard, sometimes, not to listen through a thick fog of dread.

So I’m listening through the speakerphone as the doctor explains. It’s Leukemia. Effectively you’ve won the suck lottery and you have double cancer now. And, unfortunately, they can’t treat his lung current lung cancer trouble with the Leukemia going on. And, unfortunately, it’s not a great kind of Leukemia, either. And, unfortunately, my dad is getting on in years. And, unfortunately, he’s had both his adrenal glands removed, too.

The upshot, the doctor explains, is that this really isn’t a great scene, you see. Regular cancer is bad. Double cancer, kinda double bad, plus some extra because of synergy.

Eventually the doctor runs out of steam, and I hear my dad make this little chuckling noise over the phone. And even though I’m not there, I can see him in my head, smiling a little bit and shaking his head.

And he says to the doctor, “Your job must be really hard.”

That’s the first thing he says, hearing the news. And here’s the thing, he meant it. He really meant it. That’s the sort of guy my dad is.

And you know what? He’s right. Those doctors. That’s a hard job. I would not have that job for all the money in the world.

*      *      *

As I write about his here, I realize my matter-of-fact tone might strike many of you as odd. What’s odd to me is that this has been such a big part of my life for so long, but most of you don’t know anything about it. If you read my blog or follow me in various places on social media, you know a *lot* about my life. You know about my relationship, my children, my mood disorder, my struggles with professionalism and writing, politics, religion, philosophy. I talk about pretty much everything pretty openly.

So why haven’t I talked about this before?

Well…. I have, here and there. I think I wrote a blog or two about this over the years. Though I can’t care enough to dig around for links at this point. Maybe Amanda will dig them up and tuck them in here later on.

[FAQ: Why havne’t you been posting on your blog?] [The unhappy announcement]

And I’ve mentioned it occasionally in interviews, too. But honestly, I think most of the interviews where I do mention it, they just leave those parts out. It’s not what people want to focus on. It’s depressing.

But mostly, I don’t talk about it. And a big part of that is pure superstition. My mom went from diagnosis to death in five months. Every time we could have caught a lucky break, we caught a bad one instead. It was like falling down an endless flight of stairs.

But for my dad, it was different. He was diagnosed just months after my mom. But after they cut out a hunk of his lung, everything seemed fine. For years he was cancer free. Then *just* before he was about to hit the big five-year milestone, the cancer showed up again.

This time it was in his adrenal gland. So. Back into the breach. Many meetings. Many oncologists. New diagnosis. They gave him 18 months. If he was lucky. And they warned us that they probably wouldn’t be great months….

(This was five years ago, for those of you keeping score at home.)

But we rolled the dice and did surgery again. Though conventional logic says that’s the wrong way to handle it when cancer starts metastasizing. But again, we came up sixes…. And he went another two years before it showed up in his other adrenal, so we removed that one too…

He’s been bulletproof. A statistical anomaly. The treatments haven’t phased him. Not a lot of nausea. He lost his hair. But then it came back, on his arms it wasn’t white anymore, it was dark.

And through all of this, he kept landscaping and hosting guests and playing golf. He’s traveled the country, come to my booksignings, and, generally speaking, lived a much more active life than I ever have.

That’s why I don’t talk about him a lot. It’s pure superstition. I know it’s trans-rational, but part of me simply didn’t want to draw too much attention. You don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, and you don’t brag about good luck. I didn’t want to write a celebratory tweet, then have Death to suddenly look up from his newspaper and say something like, “Who’s that? Jim Rotfuse? Wait, RothFUSS? Oh shit, I forgot. I had an appointment with him, didn’t I?”

But now my dad is in Hospice. Those of you with experience in these matters know what this means. Those of you who don’t… well… it means that Death has put down his paper, stood up, and is glancing at his watch in a meaningful way…

*     *     *

I’ve been down here in Madison for more than a week now, taking care of him. Doing what I can to make him comfortable. This leads to interesting situations, as my dad is someone who takes care of other people, as a rule. He’s not used to being taken care of.

The other day, as I was putting on his socks for him, he said, “I don’t know how I can repay you for all of this.”

I laughed, and explained to him that I was pretty sure he put on my socks more than a few times over the years. I left it at that, but what I wanted to say was that I was the one who was paying him back, really. He’s put up with my bullshit for more than 40 years. I remember waking up in a hospital bed on more than one occasion to see him sitting there patiently keeping an eye on me, making sure I was okay…

I wish you guys had the chance to know him better.

*     *     *

Why am I writing this blog?

Well, partly because that’s what I do when something big happens in my life. That’s just how I interact with the world. I tell stories about what’s happening in my life.

I also feel like I owe some of you a bit of an explanation. My dad’s health issues have been occupying the lion’s share of my time and brainspace lately. I wasn’t able to do as much with the kickstarter in the final weeks as I hoped to. And I’ve missed some events recently (most notably at PAX West, where I showed up late and left early.) And I’m going to miss more in the future. (Most notably at Salt Lake City ComicCon happening this weekend.)

I’m sorry if you were hoping to catch me at those places. Please note that I can’t really say, “I wish I was there,” because that would be the same as saying, “I wish my dad was dead so I could go to a convention.”

How about this? “I wish the world were other than it is.” That seems to sum it up pretty well.

That said, we’re living in *this* world right now. And in this world, my dad needs me. So I’m staying here for the duration. I’m pretty sure my book tour will still happen in early October. But I can’t say with absolute certainty. After all, my dad has surprised us with his longevity before…

*     *     *

I don’t know if this blog will make much sense. It’s the furthest thing from cohesive, as I’ve been writing it in bits and pieces in hospitals an hotel rooms. And tonight has been a long, long night.

The only thing I know for sure is that it’s too long, and I feel like I haven’t really said all I wanted to say.

I’ll sign off for now though. Sorry for those of you I’m missing at SLCC.

Be good to each other,

pat

P.S. I’m disabling comments here. I won’t have time to read or monitor them, and I didn’t write this looking for advice or sympathy. Just wanted to let y’all know what’s going on.

P.P.S. If you’re a friend or family member and you’re finding out about this now, on the blog. I’m sorry. But if you know me at all, you know I’m a shit correspondent under the best of circumstances. And these are far from ideal circumstances right now.

*     *     *

Later Edit: Just so y’all know. My dad passed away a couple days after I posted this.

Posted in Fuck Cancer | By PatComments closed

Cameos, Poker Chips, and Some Seriously Cool News…

Hey everyone, Amanda here.

Pat’s away on family business, so he’s left it to me to share with you the coolness of the last two days of the Kickstarter. There’s a chance he’ll poke in here to mock me later on, but for the time being I’ll be your tour guide. Please keep your hands and arms inside the blog at all times.

For those of you who perhaps weren’t aware, we here at Elodin Enterprises are running a Kickstarter for The Name of the Wind Art Deck, playing cards that feature the characters from NOTW, beautifully illustrated by Echo Chernik.

(Click to embiggen and check out Devi, Master Lorren, and Mola)

The campaign has been going amazingly, and we hit $500,000 this week, a huge milestone for us considering this is our first-ever in-house Kickstarter. We’ve been blowing so much out of the water and we’ve been thrilled to add more art, more tiers, and more coolness for everyone as it goes on.

We’ve had lots of Echo’s original art go up for grabs, as well as a bunch of cameos in special prints Echo is producing for the campaign, which she’s lovingly entitled The Levity Collection. There are three prints in the series, each featuring different joyful moments in Kvothe’s life: playing Jackass, Jackass for Wil and Sim, playing cards at The Eolian, and a night from his childhood.

The big news is that our final round of cameos are going up Today (September 14th) at 4pm Central Time. And these cameo slots are for members of the Edema Ruh troupe relaxing by the fire after a day on the road.

(This is a super rough draft, but so cool…)

There are going to be a bunch of spots available, including a parent/child combo, and a couple combo. Since this is the print that the McElroy Brothers are going to be in, you could even be one of the people Travis the Strong Man is lifting, or someone listening to Griffin tell stories, or watching Justin to sweet yo-yo tricks.

Oh, and we just found out (and I mean JUST) that our most beloved Lin-Manuel Miranda is going to be in this print as well. He’s gonna have a lute, so hopefully he’s gotten over his initial intimidation from the day they announced he’d be helping develop Pat’s books into movies and tv….

I’m not going to lie to you, these cameo tiers are tempting to me, too. If you’ve ever wanted to be immortalized in the same place as the McElroys AND Lin-Manuel Miranda then don’t miss your chance at 4pm Central Time, because something tells me there will be some serious competition for them. And I don’t just mean me.

That said, there’s still lots of stuff other than these cameos that you can grab in the campaign. We’ve also added multiple options for you to get your hands on the beautiful, handmade wooden poker chips sets from Wyrmwood Gaming.

There’s a total of six different tiers for you to choose from for the poker chips, ranging from 100 chips in a linen bag to a full 500 chip box set complete with space for 6 decks of cards.

The wood is sustainably sourced, and the chips are all made of beautiful woods like Rock Maple, Black Walnut, African Blackwood, Pink Ivory, and Purpleheart, to name a few.

Each of the poker chip tiers come with all four decks (the Selas, Selas Alternate, Chandrian, and Chandrian Alternate), and the DELUXE versions of them come with the beautiful Gilded Sets of Chandrian Decks, which have platinum-gilded edges and their very own box with a blue foil emblem of flame on the top.

Pat and Echo are both going to sign these boxes in UV ink, because Pat is way too excited about the idea of a secret signature.

And if you’re torn between the poker sets and the cameos that are going up, rest assured that we’re going to figure out a way to make the poker sets available in BackerKit after the campaign ends, so you’ll be able to add them onto your cameo tier no problem.

The fact of the matter is, a lot of cool stuff is going on over there. We’ve shown off new art, upgraded the decks, and given away lots of prizes to folks who are spreading the word on social media. We’re getting down to the wire on the campaign, to the point that Kickstarter has started the countdown in terms of hours rather than days.

If you want to join us, the campaign ends on Friday, September 15th at 11:59m Central Time. A lot of things in the campaign are Kickstarter-Exclusive, so if you’re particularly excited about anything (those Gilded Chandrian Decks for example) you should swing in and get it before it’s too late

And if you have any questions, leave them here or in the comments on the campaign. We’ll make sure to help you out.

Amanda & the Elodin Enterprises Team

Posted in Achievement Unlocked!, Echo Chernik | By Amanda21 Responses
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