(I stole this cute pic from Rob's FB page)
I haven't ever really known anyone with problems like this before, and I have learned so much about what a completely devastating thing it can be to not be in control of one's own brain.
It's been very interesting watching Rob over the past few years as he's figured out ways to adjust to his illness. There have been times that he's bolted from a writing group, saying he needed to leave since he was having a panic attack. I've been to a few retreats with him where he's needed to take a drive and just get away to give himself a little time to get a grip. He also has a dog, Annie who helps to calm him down.
But even though he seems normal and well-adjusted, there are times when he just plain can't deal. One of those times landed him in the hospital psyche ward.
And obviously this sort of thing doesn't help a husband and father to keep a job and take care of his family.
So, that brings us to this anthology. A bunch of Rob's friends are putting together some of our "deleted scenes" and making a lovely book.
My own contribution is a scene from Becoming Lady Lockwood that never actually made it into the book. While I loved it and wanted it there, it didn't really fit anywhere, and it was a little "over the top." It's the scene I originally pictured, where Amelia and William realize that there is a spark between them, during a violent storm at sea. I'm thrilled to be able to release it. And I love the ideas that the other authors have. I've read a few of them. Josi Kilpack originally wrote a hilarious scene to begin Tres Leches Cupcakes, but ended up taking the story in a different direction. Nancy Allen is writing a "prequel" scene where one of her characters that appears as a ghost in her Steampunk Fairytale is murdered. Annette Lyon has a scene from a Finnish fairy tale. Rob's is the ending that we all wanted to Feedback, because the danged thing just left us hanging. Brandon Sanderson--um yeah, I said BRANDON SANDERSON's contribution to the anthology is a few chapters where his character made a different choice in The Way of Kings than he does in the book--how cool is that?
Anyway, these are things you won't see anywhere else, and it's for a good cause, so let's make this happen, m'kay?
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/altered-perceptions#home (that's the link)
And Dan Wells explains the entire thing really perfectly. Here's the link to that: http://www.fearfulsymmetry.net/
