Steelheart comes out tomorrow!

If you live local to Utah, please consider coming to the launch party at the Barnes & Noble in Orem from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. All copies will be numbered and pre-signed, so you won’t have to wait in line unless you want a personalization. I would really like to see this be a big event, so if you can possibly stop by, I’d appreciate it!

I first had the idea for Steelheart somewhere around five years ago. It was engaging, exciting, and demanding—one of those ideas that wouldn’t let go of me, one of those ideas that I needed to write. However, I had dedicated myself to finishing the Wheel of Time, and in doing so, I had told myself that I would avoid starting any new book series until I had finished A Memory of Light.

I returned from tour that year and wrote the prologue to Steelheart soon after. You can read it here. The prologue turned out better than I could have hoped. In fact, I did a reading of it at two conventions over the years (one in Nebraska, the other being Dragon*Con, I believe) and had such a profoundly strong reaction to it, that I actually stopped reading it to people—it seemed cruel to do such a powerful reading, then admit that the book wouldn’t be out for many years.

During the years working on the Wheel of Time, completing Steelheart someday became my prize. If I did what I was supposed to, and remained focused, I would allow myself to finish this book. Hence, the month that I turned in A Memory of Light, revised and done, I finally turned my attention back to Steelheart. This was my reward to myself.

Epic fantasy will always be my first love. Work progresses well on Words of Radiance, and I think you’ll love it. It’s enormous, involved, epic, and immersive. However, in embracing the magnitude of a book like that, I don’t want to lose the simple excitement that is part of what makes books like Mistborn work. Action/adventure/humor blended together in a style reminiscent of my favorite action movies. Steelheart is a love letter to that genre.

Because we’re finally releasing the book, I wanted to do some things to celebrate. First off, I’ll be doing a series of blog posts this week and next about things I’ve been intending to write for a while. Sanderson’s Third Law of Magic will be one of them, as will a post talking about what the Wheel of Time taught me as a writer. Hopefully, you’ll check back frequently and find something of interest here.

The second thing we’re going to do is another hunt! Working with Random House, who is publishing Steelheart, we have devised an extra-special giveaway. As many of you know, I often search out my books in airport bookstores or other stores I pass, then sign the books and hide little prizes in them. (Some call it Brandalizing the books.) We have a brand-new goodie for me to hide, related to this book.

On the back of this prize is a URL and a code, allowing you to access a special section of my website that includes some exclusive goodies, including a ten-thousand-word chunk of Words of Radiance, book two of the Stormlight Archive. As the first one to find the code, you not only get to keep the prize found above, you’ll be able to leave your name on the list of hunters. The fun thing is that after that, you can share your code with friends so they can visit the special section of the website and read the exclusives there themselves.

The more codes that get entered, the more exclusives will be unlocked. (I think we have nine or ten of them in all. Some will be pieces of art, others will be chunks of writing from other upcoming books.) We will have ways for you to get codes even if you don’t live anywhere near where I’ll be visiting on tour. (More on this in a moment, though if you haven’t looked at the tour list, please check here.)

Now, a few rules for the Steelhunt.

If you find a code, as I say above, you can share it with others—but please don’t post it online in an open way. You can direct message it to people, text it to people, or post it on private forums. But if you broadcast it on Twitter/Facebook, etc. we’ll have to disable it. As always, the spirit of the hunt is for you to have the goodie above in your possession before you enter the code. Please don’t bother bookstore employees by calling them and asking them to read a code to you over the phone. I will be warning employees not to do this, if I talk to them. If it becomes a problem, I might have to take further measures, such as disabling codes until we receive a picture of you holding the code. This makes the entire thing less fun, as it adds a step between a code being discovered and one being activated. This is important to me because, in asking bookstores to indulge me as I do this hunt, I don’t want their employees flooded with phone calls interrupting their work and keeping them from the customers. You can, however, send someone you personally know to get the code for you. Don’t call the store next door and beg some random employee to do it, but if you do know someone flying through the airport or visiting the city, feel free to have them grab the code for you. You don’t have to buy the book the goodie is hidden inside of, though I’d really prefer it if you did! However, if you already own the book, feel no guilt in grabbing the code.

I will be giving away a few codes at each signing I’ll be doing. I’ve also been known to give away codes for costumes that impress me, or other cool things that show up at my signings. 🙂

Now, if you aren’t going to be anywhere near where I’m touring, we want you to be able to participate too. We will have ways you can win codes on the website, on Twitter, and on Facebook over the next few weeks. In addition, we have a few surprise appearances by codes planned for stores I’ll not be visiting.

If you own or work for a bookstore in a city I will not be visiting and are interested in participating in the Steelhunt, drop me an email through my website. (Note: there is no guarantee we’ll be able to get codes to every store that contacts us.)