Brandon Sanderson has a special place in his heart for Taiwan.
The American author of the popular “Mistborn” and “The Stormlight Archive” series flew to Taiwan earlier this month to attend the annual Taipei International Book Exhibition and meet his Taiwanese fans. According to book agent Gray Tan of Grayhawk literary agency, Sanderson’s novels are popular here in translation.
Of special interest for Sanderson was his 2012 visit to the National Palace Museum in Taipei which apparently inspired him to write the fantasy story [easyazon-link asin=”1616960922″ locale=”us”]The Emperor’s Soul[/easyazon-link] which won the 2013 Hugo Award for Best Novella.
In his recent visit, the 39 year-old writer chatted with Taiwanese fans about everything from hot pot restaurants (no, not that kind of pot) and superheroes to movie adaptations and his future writing plans.
At a public workshop at the fair, over 200 fans listened to the visiting American, with a translator by his side, interpreting in Chinese.
Since “The Emperor’s Soul” was published and won a Hugo, fans around the world now ask him he is going to write a story about their nation.
“When are you going to write a story based on our country that’s going to win awards, they ask me now,” Sanderson told his Taipei audience with a smile.
“The Emperor’s Soul” is about a woman named Shai who is able to rewrite the past of certain objects and who takes on the task of creating a new soul for a dying Chinese emperor. The National Palace Museum is located in Taiwan, but contains artifacts and museum pieces from ancient China. China wants the museum back in the so-called “motherland,” but Taiwan won’t give it to the communist dictatorship.
Sanderson told his Taipei fans that DMG Entertainment has acquired the movie rights for “The Emperor’s Soul” and that he is now working with a Hollywood screenwriter to expand the story to make the setting more diverse.
He also explained inspiration behind his ”The Reckoners” series, which is set in a post-apocalyptic world.
“I got the idea for the series one day when I was driving and someone cut me off in traffic,” he said. “I was angry and wanted to blow the guy’s car up, but then I found myself completely horrified just thinking those thoughts.”
“So I spent the rest of the drive thinking: ‘What if people started gaining superpowers, but only used them selfishly?'”
Sanderson hinted in his remarks at the workshop that he hopes someday to write a new book series that brings all of his fantasy worlds together and plans to add some more books to the “Mistborn” series, “including ones set in the 1980s and ones in which magic allows people to go into space.”