Why Brandon Sanderson Owes Me $13.95 for a 105 Fish Sticks

 Fiction is powerful and persuasive. If you don't believe me, ask me about why Brandon Sanderson, a well-known fantasy writer, owes me for a bag of fish sticks.

So, here's the story. My youngest son is a big protein eater. He loves hot dogs and corn dogs. I buy them in multi-packs just to keep him fed. He's going to be tall, I can tell by the grocery bill. If only he played basketball, I might get my money back, but alas, he does not. Up until recently, he also liked fish sticks. I would buy them in the big 105-count bags. And I had just bought a brand new bag and a bottle of ketchup expecting them to be consumed within the week. But then they sat there. And sat there. I finally asked him what was wrong. He said he doesn't like fish sticks anymore.

WHAAAAAA?

I mean, granted fish sticks when microwaved leaves the whole house smelling like a dock, but two days ago he was inhaling those things. What had changed? 

I had to do some detective work. Turns out, my husband had been reading Brandon Sanderson's Alcatraz and the Evil Librarians to my son. I had read the book before and in fact, despite reading nearly everything else he'd written, A and EL  was one of my favorite Sanderson book. But... Brandon Sanderson does not like fish sticks, I'm guessing, from his description of them in this book and describes them as craptastic or some sort. The description was so powerful, my young impressionable son decided he didn't like them either, leaving me with a over-sized bag of fish sticks. 

And that, my friends, is how powerful fiction is and why Brandon Sanderson owes me for fish sticks.