Ask the Author: Brian Staveley
Answered Questions (119)
Brian Staveley
Hi Simon--so sorry I missed this! You're asking about Providence of Fire?
Brian Staveley
Hi Lee--So sorry for the comically late reply. I'm not on Goodreads all that much. Thanks so much for reading! As for timing--no, I have no power over that at all. The publisher (TOR, in this case), aims for a steady release of titles over the course of the year, so it's really a question of the larger picture rather than what they're up to with any one book...
Brian Staveley
Hi Ed--sorry for the delayed response! I'm not on here too often and holidays got the better of me. Where are you at with the story? The Empire's Ruin is the newest book, and it's the start of a trilogy that takes place about 5 years after The Last Mortal Bond. Thanks for reading!
Brian Staveley
I usually move between different POV characters. If I'm stuck on Valyn, I move to Gwenna. If I can't write Gwenna, I move to Kaden. Sometimes I also switch the way I write--move from typing to longhand. Or I try to talk it through with someone; my wife, a friend, my agent. But I always keep writing, even if I think the stuff I'm writing is total shit.
Brian Staveley
Hi Jordan, Thanks for the kind words, and I'm sorry I missed your question the first time around! I'm keeping Oshi's well a secret, because I'm seriously considering writing a novel about the Atmani, and I might want to use it as a reveal at some point. Sorry to disappoint, but I suspect the truth will come to light sooner or later!
Brian Staveley
Not sure if you've read Skullsworn yet, but there's some more material there that's relevant to your question. Don't want to say too much!
Brian Staveley
Hi Lukas,
I'd love to write more about all three of those characters, actually. I don't write a lot of short stories at all, and I don't really write in-world short stories because it seems like the audience is limited to people who already know the series. That said, I'm not done with any of those three characters just yet. There's a lot left to write and explore!
I'd love to write more about all three of those characters, actually. I don't write a lot of short stories at all, and I don't really write in-world short stories because it seems like the audience is limited to people who already know the series. That said, I'm not done with any of those three characters just yet. There's a lot left to write and explore!
Brian Staveley
Thanks, Santa! This is a great question, and, without saying too much, one that's getting addressed in the book that I'm writing at this very moment. Stay tuned! ;-)
Brian Staveley
Thanks, Elizabeth! I'm thrilled you're enjoying the story. I hope you enjoy the following volumes (and Skullsworn) as much as the first!
Brian Staveley
Thanks, James! The book I'm working on now has more Kettral, although the details are still a little hush-hush...
Brian Staveley
Hi Kailey,
The ethnicities in the book don't map perfectly onto real-world ethnicities. I picture the Annurians as perhaps a mixture of Tibetan and Thai. Keep in mind, however, that Annur is made up of millions of people from different parts of the word, so the empire and its people are quite diverse...
Hope that helps!
The ethnicities in the book don't map perfectly onto real-world ethnicities. I picture the Annurians as perhaps a mixture of Tibetan and Thai. Keep in mind, however, that Annur is made up of millions of people from different parts of the word, so the empire and its people are quite diverse...
Hope that helps!
Brian Staveley
Both excellent questions! I think I can answer both in one go:
One of the principles governing the theology of the world is balance. As a result, the old gods came into being (no one in the word knows or understands how--the theology varies from religion to religion and region to region) in pairs: the Blank God, then Ae (nothing and something), Pta and Astar'ren (chaos and order), Hull and Intarra (Darkness and Light), etc. When the universe swings too far toward on pole, a countervailing force arises to balance things out. The Csestriim and the Nevariim, were both created by Bedisa (goddess of Birth), and created to balance each other out. The Csestriim--rational, cerebral; the Nevariim, instinctive. When the Csestriim destroyed the Nevariim, there was a major imbalance, and some speculate that the young gods (and hence the humans) emerged in response to that imbalance...
One of the principles governing the theology of the world is balance. As a result, the old gods came into being (no one in the word knows or understands how--the theology varies from religion to religion and region to region) in pairs: the Blank God, then Ae (nothing and something), Pta and Astar'ren (chaos and order), Hull and Intarra (Darkness and Light), etc. When the universe swings too far toward on pole, a countervailing force arises to balance things out. The Csestriim and the Nevariim, were both created by Bedisa (goddess of Birth), and created to balance each other out. The Csestriim--rational, cerebral; the Nevariim, instinctive. When the Csestriim destroyed the Nevariim, there was a major imbalance, and some speculate that the young gods (and hence the humans) emerged in response to that imbalance...
Brian Staveley
Glad you're enjoying it! A leach is a magic user inside the world, so named because they leach power from elements of the world around them...
Brian Staveley
Tons and tons of planning, almost all of it discarded by the time the actual book is done. No matter how much I outline or plot, when I start writing, the narrative and the characters drag the story in directions I didn't expect...
Brian Staveley
Definitely, although not in Skullsworn or the book that I'm writing now. Probably the book coming out in 2019, for which I have a fun idea...
Brian Staveley
That's definitely one that's on my list. Another I'd like to write would be about the wars between the humans and the Csestriim. I think, however, that the next trilogy I write in this world will be set about 25 or 30 years after the events of the Unhewn Throne trilogy...
Brian Staveley
Hi Angela,
We don't have a deal with a Spanish-language publisher at the moment, but I think we're up to ten or eleven languages and the offers keep coming in, so there's reason to be optimistic...
We don't have a deal with a Spanish-language publisher at the moment, but I think we're up to ten or eleven languages and the offers keep coming in, so there's reason to be optimistic...
Brian Staveley
Hi Martyn,
The covers are by Richard Anderson, and my editor and the art department at Tor chose him to do the work. For the past couple of books I've given him very rudimentary sketches that can serve as a starting point...
The covers are by Richard Anderson, and my editor and the art department at Tor chose him to do the work. For the past couple of books I've given him very rudimentary sketches that can serve as a starting point...
Brian Staveley
Thanks for the note, Matt. I feel your pain regarding the Kettral. Maybe it'll put your mind slightly at ease to know that the book I'm starting now takes place about a year after TLMB. And it starts on the Qirin Islands...
Can't say more at this point!
Can't say more at this point!
Brian Staveley
This answer contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more