I got into the office this morning and started checking my mail like I normally do. I opened the Shelf Awareness this morning and started looking through the hot topics in the world of Publishing.

The first thing I noticed, the one thing that popped off the page was this headline: "R.I.P. Robert Jordan". I have seen hype before and I thought to myself that this could only be more of the same. Perhaps "Robert Jordan" has been a pseudonym all along and the actual author is Doctor John. Now with the completion of the series, the secret could be revealed. (Much like when Richard Bachman 'Died')

That is totally possible. Have you ever seen the two guys together?

This all flashed through my head as I clicked on the hypertext to take me to the whole story but guess what, the guy actually died. 58 years old and he dies from some crazy-rare blood disease. Shelf Awareness said this:

Tor publisher Tom Doherty called Jordan "one of the great storytellers of the 20th and early 21st centuries; Jim's Wheel of Time is a towering epic of power and scope, he was a man of courage and heart and vision but for me, first of all, he was my friend of 30 years."

Jordan, whose given name was James Oliver Rigney Jr., taught himself to read at age four and began reading Mark Twain and Jules Verne a year later. He was a graduate of the Citadel, where he studied physics, and was a Vietnam veteran. He started writing in 1977. He wrote the Michael Fallon historical romance trilogy under the nom de plume Reagan O'Neal and seven of the Conan novels. His Wheel of Time series, which includes 11 volumes and a prequel, has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. Jordan was reportedly working on an 12th volume at the time of his death. His blog is at dragonmount.com.

The Wheel of Time series has been a staple on my Christmas list for the last 15 years. The first book came out in 1990 and I didn't get into the series right off the bat but I think that is a pretty close approximation of how long I have been invested in this crazy series. Just in case you don't know the story, The Wheel of Time is a 12 part fantasy epic (EPIC doesn't begin to describe the scope of this thing) that fantasy geeks got into back in the day. Each book is like, a thousand pages long and will take you year to read and now that we are all hooked on this monster, the author dies.

--Does this sound callous? I am certain it is to a point and probably a bit selfish too. I feel bad that Robert is gone, he was the only Fantasy author I read, but as such, I felt that he was MY author and now I feel betrayed that he went before his book was finished. I am certain some people felt the same when when Robert Ludlum died and the same when Patrick O'Brian died. I am also aware that there are hardcore fans out there who might get a little bit angry about me cursing Jordan. Tough beans, fanboy. If you have something to say, say it.

Some good things coming up next week that you should go see that might help you get over your Robert Jordan blues.

Jennifer Gilmore will be in our Dupont Circle store for the paperback tour of her book "Golden Country". Jennifer has worked on both sides of the book world moving from publisher to author. She has a very fresh approach to readings and should be a load of fun to listen to. Don't tell her your aunt wrote a book, she is an author now, not a publisher. Dupont Circle, Monday the 24th, 7pm.

Ann Packer (yes, that Ann Packer) will be in our Old Town store for her new book "Songs Without Words". You may remember her from her last book "Dive From Clausen's Pier". She grew up in California. Stanford, CA to be exact and not too far from my old job at the Stanford Shopping Center. Anyway, if you are a fan, you wont want to miss the chance to come out for this event. Say hello to Ann for me and say "Hi" to Alex in Old Town, he will be the one wearing glasses. Old Town (Alexandria, The Fun Side of the Potomac!) Thursday the 27, 7 pm.

Mike Sager (of Esquire fame, but probably not fortune) is going to make a trip to our Dupont store and read a section for us. His new book is called "Revenge of the Donut Boys" and should be quite good. I have enjoyed Mike's work in the magazine for years and am looking forward to picking up the new book. Mike is a bit of a local boy hailing from the far-flung, wine capital of Virginia, Charlottesville. He moved to DC and actually went to Georgetown for a bit before deciding to write his life away. He worked for a little, local paper called the Washington Post for a number of years before moving on again to nationally syndicated magazines like Rolling Stone, Vibe, GQ, Spy, Playboy and like I mentioned, Esquire. You may even remember his work on the Washingtonian if you have been here for a while. Dupont Circle, Friday the 28th 7 pm.

A quick recap for those of you the skip ahead:

Robert Jordan. Dead at 58. My life, ruined and the world of fantasy fiction suffering huge loss.

Jennifer Gilmore. Bridging the gap between publishers and writers and very easy on the eyes.

Ann Packer. No slouch herself in the looks department and a very good writer. I don't think she is traveling with her dog Rosie.

Mike Sager. Kind of a big deal. I am mildly certain Mike will kick your ass if you don't come out for the event. Have you seen him?