>> I do have a look.
It's undeniable, yeah.
>> Pat Rothfuss looks
and sounds the part
of a bestselling fantasy author.
[Pat laughs]
>> But his booming laugh,
wild hair and fashion sense
are not part of
a calculated image.
In fact, his editor had to make
sure he didn't clean up too much
before his first meeting
with his publisher.
>> She goes, "Oh no."
Don't do that.
You're a fantasy author.
People expect you
to look a little bit wild."
And I'm like, "Really?
Okay."
>> The first two books
of his Kingkiller Chronicle
have sold more than
500,000 copies in the U.S.
and overseas.
>> That's Finnish.
That's Polish.
These are French.
These are in the UK.
>> The book's hero is a boy
named Kvothe, an orphan
who uses his wit,
musical talent and arcane magic
to survive and seek out those
who killed his parents.
>> I never thought of it
as a trilogy.
I always thought of it
as "The Book."
>> Rothfuss wrote the story
during his time as a student
at UW-Stevens Point.
>> Some time between, like, '96
and 2002.
It was a slow process,
like erosion.
>> Pat spent 11 years
getting his undergraduate
and master's degree.
>> I was studying psychology,
and philosophy,
and anthropology,
and chemistry,
and whatever else interested me.
>> College courses
provided knowledge for him
to build the world in his book.
>> When you're creating a world,
this secondary fantasy world,
and you really want to make it
kind of realistic
and interesting,
and then you learn something
about economics, it's really
relevant to you in a way
that's not relevant otherwise.
>> College also taught Pat
how to write
and how to edit his work.
He was a tutor for seven years
in the campus writing lab.
>> This place was definitely
my home away from home.
I didn't realize it, but I was
learning how to be a writer.
>> He was the enforcer.
[laughter]
>> He's still a welcome face.
>> I was a fresh faced
young boy.
I don't think
I even had a beard.
>> You still managed to get
in trouble even way back then.
>> Absolutely.
>> Another home on campus
was the student newspaper,
where Pat wrote a humor column.
[Pat laughs]
>> He remembers sleeping on the
couch when writing overnight.
>> I was writing part of
book two, actually.
I remember writing it right here
when I was supposed to be doing
something else.
I was monopolizing one of
their few computers, because
I didn't have one of my own.
>> It would be easy to assume
Pat's novels
are simply fantasy versions
of his time in college.
After all, Kvothe spends
most of the first two books
attending school,
learning everything he can.
Kvothe learns sword fighting.
Pat was part of
the college fencing club.
Kvothe practices forms of magic
called Sympathy and Naming.
Pat dabbled
in philosophical alchemy.
>> It's an understandable thing
for people to think,
but it's really not true.
At least in my case.
>> Pat says while his
experiences influenced his
writing, the books
are not wish fulfillment.
>> The truth is, a lot of times,
I'll find myself
acting or talking in such a way
that afterwards it reminds me
of one of my characters.
>> One example is charity.
Pat uses his Worldbuilders
Charity to get his fans to
donate to Heifer International,
a non-profit that helps people
around the world by giving them
farm animals and teaching them
sustainable agriculture.
>> Everybody who donates,
I'll take all those names
and I'll draw winners
out of a hat
and I'll send you free stuff.
>> What started as blogging
efforts to raise a few thousand
dollars has turned into
a major project.
Pat bought a house
in Stevens Point just to run
the charity and warehouse
all the books to be used
as prizes, all donated
by other authors and publishers.
In four years, they've raised
one million dollars.
>> It makes me incredibly proud
of the fantasy community,
and my readers specifically.
>> In the book, when Kvothe
comes into some money, he
donates it to those who need it.
>> It'd be fair for people
to point to that and go, oh,
you know, Pat started running
his Worldbuilders charity,
and Pat thinks that we should
make the world a better place,
and so obviously Kvothe thinks
the same thing.
You know, I wrote that back when
I was too poor to donate money
to anything except
the "Buy Pat Groceries Fund."
>> Pat says when he got some
money, he just followed
his character's lead.
>> This makes him a good person.
It makes me proud of him.
So why wouldn't I follow
that lesson when I had
a little money of my own?
Thank you kindly...
>> The lessons continue for Pat.
He purchased a rundown
greenhouse in downtown
Stevens Point.
A local non-profit
called Central Rivers Farmshed
will use the space to promote
the local food economy.
>> Hopefully the local farmers
market will be able to use it.
The local co-ops will use it
as a drop point for their food.
>> While it's not always
a direct line from Patrick's
life to his writing,
it's clear he wouldn't be able
to do this if it weren't for
the book's success.
>> I have very simple tastes.
I'm obviously not spending
all the money on clothes
and haircuts.
So, you know, what else am I
going to do, other than help out