It was a great day for fans of fantasy fiction author Brandon Sanderson when Elantris was published in 2005. The book, his first, won the Romantic Times award for Best Epic Fantasy.  Not bad for a young lover of fantasy books, who earned his Master’s degree in Creative Writing from Brigham Young University. But perhaps most satisfying for Sanderson, who went on to write more bestselling hits in the fantasy genre, was being selected by the widow of Robert Jordan to complete her husband’s epic fantasy series The Wheel of Time. It was one of Sanderson’s fantasy books, Mistborn: The Final Empire, that prompted her decision. But more exciting for readers of fantasy novels is that Sanderson’s concluding tale actually encompasses three volumes: The first, The Gathering Storm, released in 2009, was followed by Towers of Midnight in 2010. A Memory of Light will complete the lauded series in the next year or two. Born in Nebraska, Brandon Sanderson is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and claims religion plays a big part in both his fantasy novels and his life. Fans may not know that the fantasy fiction author, who married in July of 2006 and resides in Utah, decided to forgo music (he played trumpet in high school), claiming to have time for only one art passion “in this guy’s life.” Judging by his phenomenal success, Brandon Sanderson chose wisely.