Appropå varför Jordan skrev en prequel mitt i serien:
"So...why the prequel?
Why is this prequel being published before the main series is over? The truth is, I don't know. Only Robert Jordan does. But I think I can give it a good guess: he needed a break. Look at the big picture: RJ has been writing those plot lines non-stop for close to 15 years. He wants it to be over as much as we do. (Yes, really. Ask him sometime.) I can only imagine how nice it must have been to escape that for a bit, take a break, and write something...light. Almost like a vacation without having to stop working."
http://www.dragonmount.com/Community/Columns/Gleemans_Corner/2003-12-22.aspx