That’s the second book, following his Naming of the Wind. As one can image the logistics behind such act is a bit overwhelming, so please go to his blog and read and follow his rather detailed instructions.

Kudos to Rothfuss, and I don’t know why the majority of writers don’t do the same. Costs nothing and pays out to a good cause.

In his own words, this is what Heifer is about:

Heifer International is my favorite charity. It helps people raise themselves up out of poverty and starvation. All over the world Heifer promotes education, sustainable agriculture, local industry, and clean water.

They don’t just keep kids from starving, they make it so families can take care of themselves. They give goats, sheep, and chickens to families so their children have milk to drink, warm clothes to wear, and eggs to eat.

You can read his initial thoughts he shared on Heifer International here.

What Rothfuss has been doing is trying to raise $30,000 dollars, and as you can see at his page at Heiffer they have more 24 as it stands now!

Rothfuss is combining the donations to apply to essentially what is a lottery for some cool prizes. here is how it works:

After a month’s time, on December 11th, we’ll have a drawing for prizes. I’ll use the information from the Heifer site to get the donation totals. For every 10 bucks you’ve kicked in, your name will get entered into the drawing once.

So if you’ve donated thirty bucks, your name would go in three times. Think of it as buying tickets, if you like.

When I started this fundraiser, I thought it was mostly going to be for my readers and people on my blog. So most of the prizes centered around my book (as you can see below.) But the fundraiser has grown since then, and we’re getting new stuff from generous donors all over the world. Stay tuned for new stuff.

Some of the prizes included in initial announcements were 25 signed copies of hardcover copies of his Name of the Wind, 5 first edition copies signed by Rothfuss, an early editorial manuscript of the book, and other works associated with him or contained work by him.

Recently I have had contact with Rothfuss simply to get detail on how and when BookSpot Central could bests help with spreading the word about this charity and his efforts involving the charity. He informed that Subterranean Press would soon be donating a large number of their books for the cause. If you aren’t familiar with Subterranean Press, they are a publisher that’s presentation and build-quality will make you love books you may not even like reading! A lot of their books sell out before they are even publicly listed an Patrick posted the goods, some $8000 worth of books that’s going to the cause and Mr. Rothfuss thought that today and such an occasion would be a good time to add more eyes to the cause!!

With his permission, I have some images of what’s up for grabs – check out his full post here.

Ten sets of Last Call, Expiration Date, and Earthquake Weather by Tim Powers. Signed, numbered, limited edition sets!

Amazing!

Ten copies of The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox by Barry Hughart. Signed by the author.

Ten copies of Retro Pulp Tales, edited by Joe R. Lansdale. Signed by all authors. Limited edition.

Ten copies of Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill. Signed by the author.

This is not Subterranean but who doesn’t love Peter S. Beagle? Check this out:

Three copies of Strange Roads by Peter S. Beagle. Illustrated with the artwork of Lisa Snellings. Signed by Peter S. Beagle.

PLEASE READ! – I just want to note that if you have the heart and are able to donate please read the instructions by Mr. Rothfuss at his blog. This process, while is obviously something he is passionately behind has to take time and could easily turn into a logistic nightmare if people don’t read all the info on how to contribute and do everything they can to make the process the least redundant (in terms of answering questions or correcting errors that he either answers already or warns about on his blog) as possible for Mr. Rothfuss.

You can go HERE and see every post by Mr. Rothfuss on the subject of Heifer International and this fundraiser! There are tons more stuff available than mentioned here – so go check it out!

Let’s do what we can to make as happy a holiday season as we can for all! Also, big-ups to Bill and Subterranean Press – well done! Let’s do our part if we can!

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Author

First person features are not often seen from debut novelists, but Patrick Rothfuss was able to thwart any such novice regularities with witty banter, a highly developed and diverse arrangement of characters, intimate settings, and an easy-to-read yet sophisticated writing approach. While many of those characteristics are vital for a good story, the most important aspect may be Rothfuss’s strongest: the ability to tell a provocative story.

The Name of the Wind starts off by introducing Chronicler, a story teller whose path takes him on the search for the characters of tales that are wrapped in legends. On this journey, Chronicler searches for one that is known by many names.

“My name is Kvothe, pronounced nearly the same as “quothe.” Names are important as they tell you a great deal about a person. I’ve had more names than anyone has a right to. The Adem call me Maedre. Which, depending on how it’s spoken, can mean The Flame, The Thunder, or The Broken Tree.

“The Flame” is obvious if you’ve ever seen me. I have red hair, bright. If I had been born a couple of hundred years ago I would probably have been burned as a demon. I keep it short but it’s unruly. When left to its own devices, it sticks up and makes me look as if I have been set afire.

“The Thunder” I attribute to a strong baritone and a great deal of stage training at an early age.

I’ve never thought of “The Broken Tree” as very significant. Although in retrospect, I suppose it could be considered at least partially prophetic.

My first mentor called me E’lir because I was clever and I knew it. My first real lover called me Dulator because she liked the sound of it. I have been called Shadicar, Lightfinger, and Six-String. I have been called Kvothe the Bloodless, Kvothe the Arcane, and Kvothe Kingkiller. I have earned those names. Bought and paid for them.

But I was brought up as Kvothe. My father once told me it meant “to know.”

I have, of course, been called many other things. Most of them uncouth, although very few were unearned.

I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.

You may have heard of me.”

The first glimpse we get of Kvothe is as a small town inn keeper. However, this façade becomes evident with his interaction with Chronicler. After Kvothe agrees to tell Chronicler his tale, he starts off depicting his childhood as a piece of the Edema Ruh, a highly skilled troupe of traveling performers. Even though Kvothe was of a young age (a few years past ten), he was more than capable of entertaining the crowds in a few choice acts. After one such performance, Kvothe met Abenthy, an arcanist that would begin to mold Kvothe for The University. However, life as he knew it would end in an event that would drive him for years to come.

After a stay on the streets of Tarbean, Kvothe made his way to The University, a school for the intellectual to expand their knowledge in an assortment of arts. In order to be accepted into The University, potential students have to take an admittance test. The better they do, the less their tuition will be. This is where the legend of Kvothe began.

The quality of conversation in any story can either detour or attract a reader, and Rothfuss was able to make The Name of the Wind stand out like a ruby rose in a field of dandelions. There are no choppy word exchanges; every statement flows and only adds to the appeal of the story. Throughout The Name of the Wind, there were not a host of physical confrontations, but Rothfuss was able to create an even stronger impression through some powerful dialogue.

“I swear by all the salt in me: if you run counter to my desire, the remainder of your brief mortal span will be an orchestra of misery. I swear by stone and oak and elm: I’ll make a game of you. I’ll follow you unseen and smother any spark of joy you find. You’ll never know a woman’s touch, a breath of rest, a moment’s peace of mind…And I swear by the night sky and the ever-moving moon: if you lead my master to despair, I will slit you open and splash around like a child in a muddy puddle. I’ll string a fiddle with your guts and make you play it while I dance.”

Rothfuss introduced readers to an assortment of believable and charming characters without fear of drawing from all corners of the personality plane. One of the first relationships we see is that of Kvothe’s parents. His father is wise and takes pride in his abilities, while his mother is a little more caring and subtle in her approach to the world. Their differences make them individuals, but Rothfuss was able to make their love for one another a personality all its own. He does not even have to mention that they are together; it simply jumps off the page through watching them converse. We later meet a student who cracked under the pressure of schooling and now lives in the tunnels below The University, a flighty woman who does not like being alone, a few teachers who clearly have some empty space in the attic, and a jealous, spiteful, and all together immature antagonist that will go to great lengths to get what he wishes. Well, I suppose we cannot forget Kvothe himself. Rothfuss was able to portray compassion, cockiness, teenage immaturity, adult maturity, cunningness, and wit in a little, red-headed bundle of pure entertainment. All-in-all, Rothfuss does a superb job in keeping his characters grounded in the characteristics that we can relate to, and adding some believable aspects that we would not mind seeing in ourselves.

There are two primary settings: Tarbean and the lands around The University. Tarbean is like many cities of today; it has its good parts, but is always accompanied by the bad. This was made painfully clear to Kvothe on more than one occasion. As the name “The University” implies, it is a school. Rothfuss did not go into expansive detail as to what this place looks like as a whole, but he gave the subtle hints of places Kvothe ventures to to lay the groundwork for the reader to imagine their own university.

Although most of this story is being told by a twenty-something Kvothe, we are seeing through the eyes of a highly advanced child. I thought that because the first-person protagonist was of a younger age that the content would have been childish, but that is not the case here as Rothfuss did an exemplary job of showing respect to his reader by integrating both adult and childlike themes. He clearly knows how to write. It was an extremely fast read and I was not forced to return to previous paragraphs to figure out what had just happened. As a reader, I greatly appreciate Rothfuss’s writing technique.

Some authors are more than capable of describing their worlds, creating new characters, or having incredible dialogue, but for their tale to stand out, they have to master and incorporate all of these things. Rothfuss has done that with The Name of the Wind. Like so many other stories, the main character is a gifted young man who has to overcome adversity. This scenario can seem over played, but when done at such a high level, it can be a gift to the reading public. His approach to this story, parts first-person and parts third-person, adds a lot of intrigue. With Kvothe telling his own story, we are able to see how he becomes the man he is today. Through interactions with Chronicler and other characters, we gain subtle hints of his troubles, but the details are ambiguous. Through those same interactions, we also get to see pieces of what Kvothe was.

“Chronicler’s breath stopped when he saw Kote’s [Kvothe’s] Face. The placid innkeeper’s expression was like a shattered mask. Underneath, Kote’s [Kvothe’s] expression was haunted, eyes half in this world, half elsewhere, remembering. Chronicler found himself thinking of a story…the story told of how Kvothe had gone looking for his heart’s desire. He had to trick a demon to get it. But once it rested in his hand, he was forced to fight an angel to keep it. I believe it, Chronicler found himself thinking. Before it was just a story, but now I can believe it. This is the face of a man who has killed an angel.”

The Name of the Wind has incredible dialogue, entertaining supporting characters, and proficient writing. When those attributes are coupled with a stimulating and relatable character such as Kvothe, you have one of the best pieces I have read in several years.

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Enough with the introduction – and on to Patrick Rothfuss On The Spot.

Patrick B. – Let’s get things started with the standard introduction: Who is Patrick Rothfuss?

Patrick Rothfuss - These questions are a lot easier than I thought they’d be. Me. I am. I’m Patrick Rothfuss.

Patrick B. – I suppose I deserved that.

Patrick B. – Why Science Fiction/Fantasy?

Patrick Rothfuss – Speculative fiction is where my heart lies. It’s what I read growing up, and it’s what I read now.

Also, in my opinion there are two basic questions that any writer tries to answer. “What is?” is the question non-fiction asks. “What if?” is the question fiction asks. That’s the question I’m more interested in.

Patrick B. – Well, then fill in the blank – What if ___

Patrick Rothfuss -What if the US was run like a corporation, and every citizen owned one share of voting stock?

You start with the premise and then see what the rational outcomes of that one change would be.

Dividends on the stock would be paid out, providing a small subsistence-level income for the poor or elderly. This would replace welfare and social security.

Parents would control their children’s votes until they came of age, complicating child custody battles. Companies could force employees to sign over their voting rights as a condition of employment, much like they currently do with engineers and patent rights.

People could even sell their voting shares, enabling the rich to build large portfolios of votes, and at the same time creating a whole new social class.

Actually, this is sounding like an interesting world…. Copyright. Copyright!

Patrick B. – You are an English Professor in the University of Wisconsin system.

Patrick Rothfuss – Actually, I’m not a professor. I’m just a lecturer.

Patrick B. – What’s the difference?

Patrick Rothfuss – From the student side, not much. I teach, I grade papers, I have an office. Most of my students don’t really understand the distinction. I certainly never did when I was going to school.

From my side the difference is fairly significant. I’m paid a lot less. I have less job security. And they don’t let me teach literature or creative writing. Only freshman English.

On the plus side, I don’t have to wear a tie.

Patrick B. – How has being a teacher influenced your writing?

Patrick Rothfuss – Not much, really. I wrote most of the trilogy back when I was a student, and I make so little money now as a teacher that I’m pretty much living the same student-type lifestyle. The main difference is that now when I go to class I’m the one in the front of the room. And I can’t just decide to skip a class if I feel like sleeping in.

Patrick B. – What particular areas of Literature did you study in your own schooling?

Patrick Rothfuss – I just studied whatever seemed interesting at the time. And I took classes offered by my favorite professors. A good professor will make anything interesting.

I really enjoyed Chaucer and Shakespeare, but everyone says that…

I took a class on Medieval drama, too. That was a blast. That helped me develop my concept of traveling theater troupes in my own world. Things like that are incredibly important to a culture. Those traveling performers were the medieval version of cable television, your Sunday newspaper, and a theme park all rolled up into one.

Patrick B. – Everyone always wants to know about what books an author is reading – so what’s on the bed stand right now?

Patrick Rothfuss – Agatha Heterodyne and the Circus of Dreams. It’s a graphic novel by Phil Foglio, #4 in the series. If you haven’t checked out his stuff, you really should.

Studio foglio

Patrick B. – Do genre books play a more central role than others?

Patrick Rothfuss – Actually, I’m going to be irritating and answer your question with a question. What do you mean by genre books?

As time goes on I grow increasingly irritated at the term “Genre Fiction.” It seems to imply that one type of fiction, “Literary” fiction, is the only real fiction, and everything else is its ugly bastard cousin-in-law.

I say unto you. Literary fiction is a genre just like everything else. It has its rules and its foibles just like every other genre. And, like all other genres, 85% of literary fiction is pure shite. Pretentious, self-involved, artsy bullshit that neglects the things that make stories worthwhile. I’m talking about good language, good plot, good characters, and, hopefully, some sort of worthwhile content mingled throughout.

Now, lest people accuse me of being prejudiced, I’d like to say that the same is generally true of the fantasy genre. The difference is that literary fiction tends toward boring, empty stories that are either preachy or vapid. Fantasy, on the other hand, tends towards cliché stories about evil sorcerers trying to destroy the world. About young princes whose coming was foretold by prophecy. Elves with bows, magic swords, broody vampires, unicorns….

Patrick B. – Hold on. Unicorns are cliché crap? I thought I read somewhere that The Last Unicorn was your favorite novel.

Patrick Rothfuss – It is, or at least one of my favorites. In fact, that novel is probably the reason unicorn stories have become a little cliché. When someone writes something as dazzlingly brilliant as that novel, people want to imitate it. The result is a lot of less-than-brilliant knock-offs.

Elves, Dwarves, Goblin army, cursed ring, evil sorcerer. Tolkien did it. It rocked. Let’s move on. Let’s do something new.

Patrick B. – To be honest, I was hanging out a bit of bait with the original question to see how you would react to the word genre. While we are on the subject – The Name of the Wind does contain a number of fantasy tropes in it – tell us a bit about the decisions that go into including these tropes in your story.

Patrick Rothfuss – When I first sat down to write it, I thought, “I’m not doing to do anything even remotely cliché.” So I made a long list of the things that I felt had been overdone, and set out to avoid them.

The trouble is, some tropes are successful for good reasons, they serve a vital purpose in a story. It’s one thing to not want an evil-sorcerer type villain in your story, but it’s another thing to avoid having any sort of antagonist at all. A story without an antagonist gets weird pretty quick….

Also, some tropes are universal. Boy meets girl. Betrayal and revenge. The search to discover a hidden truth…. A mother’s love isn’t cliché, it’s universal. These things are archetypes. They’re the building blocks of myth and legend. They are a big part about what it means to be human.

Patrick B. – Using the first person narrative is a somewhat gutsy choice, especially for a debut novel. What led you to this choice? What’s your response to people who may be scared off by the first-person voice?

Patrick Rothfuss – Heh. You give me too much credit. I didn’t know it was gutsy when I started doing it. I just did what seemed natural to me. It felt good while I was writing it, and it sounded good reading it. I didn’t think I was doing anything odd.

Then when I was about three years into the project a friend pointed out that nobody did first person fantasy. That’s when I started to get nervous. But what could I do? Start over? No. I knew the story needed to be told this way. I trusted that if I told a good story people would enjoy it, regardless of the form. So far, that seems to have been the case.

Patrick B. – I heard that you also teach fencing – tell us how you got into that.

Patrick Rothfuss – I learned how to fence in college because…. well, mostly because I thought it would be cool to know how. I’ve done it off and on for about fifteen years or so. I’m not very good, honestly. I just have fun with it, goofing around with friends.

Patrick B. – Does your knowledge of fencing affect your writing in any way – so far I haven’t noticed many sword fights in The Kingkiller Chronicles.

Patrick Rothfuss – No, you’re right. Not much sword fighting in the first book. In the second book we get some, and in the third book even more.

To answer your question though, there’s very little fencing influence at all. Fencing is more a sport than a martial art. It would be like basing your knowledge of roman phalanx warfare on NFL football.

The fighting that happens in the books is more based on the martial arts I’ve taken. The sword fighting more influenced by the Tai Chi Chuan sword form than anything else, though I mingle in a lot of other elements depending on the situation.

Patrick B. – Daw seems to be giving you a bit of the star treatment for The Name of the Wind. Is it a bit overwhelming for you? How have things changed?

Patrick Rothfuss – My life is still pretty much the same as it was six months ago. I’m still living in the same student-rental style apartment. I still eat Chinese takeout and microwave burritos. I still play video games and waste time watching TV. So no, it’s not overwhelming. But then again, the book isn’t out yet. I haven’t received any huge royalty checks. Maybe then things will change.

Patrick B. – So things really aren’t that different?

Patrick Rothfuss – I don’t mean to imply that. I’m traveling more, doing lunch with PR people and book buyers and all that. I’m getting to talk to interesting people who love books as much as I do, people who are deeply interested in the craft of writing. I got to have dinner with Tad Williams last weekend. That was a lot of fun.

I’m also learning about the movie industry in a crash-course sort of way. That part has been a little overwhelming at times.

I’ve also received a few pro-invites to conventions, which is pretty cool. And now when I ask to be on panels, they actually schedule me. Before they just kind of looked at me as if to say, “Who the hell are you? Why would anyone want to listen to you talk?”

I’m really enjoying that. I love being on panels and running workshops about writing.

Patrick B. – Well, I’m glad things are looking up for you – maybe you’ll be able to advance to Thai takeout soon.

Patrick Rothfuss – I can only dream…..

Patrick B. – Thanks again for taking the time to do this – any parting thoughts to share?

Patrick Rothfuss – No real parting comments except to say thanks. It’s been fun.

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