Last Chance for Questions

I am about to compile all the questions people have sent in for the reader-interview to be published in the back of the Desert Spear mass-market paperback and sort them for ones I can use. There were a lot of great questions, but I am looking for ones that I haven already answered a million times in other interviews, and there were more than a few questions that can only be answered by giving away story spoilers.

For instance, a valid question would be something like:

Did you reference real-world cultures when creating the fictional cultures in your stories?

An invalid question would be:

Who will Arlen end up with, Leesha or Renna?

or:

Who is the real Deliverer? Arlen or Jardir?

Obviously I am not going to answer those sorts of questions, as they defeat the purpose of reading the ongoing story. The point of the journey is wondering what you’ll find at the other end.

There is a gray area, of course, particularly with regards to the magic system. If you have questions about that, by all means ask and I’ll decide if it’s spoilery or not. There have already been a couple of good ones I may well answer.

The final interview is due at the end of the week, so if you have a question you’d like included, be it about me, writing in general, or the Demon Cycle, please add it, along with your first name and the town/city you’re from to the comments section of this entry. Make it thoughtful generally spoiler-free, and you have a good chance of making the final cut.

Final note: I reserve the right to rewrite questions for clarity/concision. I will try my best to keep these true to the original query.

Thanks!

Posted on September 26, 2010 at 5:58 pm by PeatB
Filed under Desert Spear, Interviews
14 Comments »

14 responses to “Last Chance for Questions”

  1. What real life creatures inspired you to create the demons? How much are they based on real animals?

    Is anything about your magic system, world or monsters a direct homage to/result of another writer’s work? Did you ever accidentally look back on what you’d produced and realized you’d be unconsciously imitating one of your favorite authors?

    Posted by Myke, on September 26th, 2010 at 6:20 pm
  2. The science fiction and fantasy community is very open to stories and books being written in response/reaction to another author’s works. Have you ever been so inspired to create a piece?

    After reading WM and TDS I could not help but draw paralells to Sara Douglass’s Axis Triliogy and Wayfarer’s Redemption (This is by no means saying they are identical or even close to being the same…I often make connections while reading to other bits I have read). Has anyone ever had the audacity to accuse you of thought theft or unoriginality? How would you respond to them or in general to the topic of authors “borrowing” from previous works?

    Mike C
    Marlborough, CT

    Posted by Mike C, on September 26th, 2010 at 6:34 pm
  3. Will we be seeing any new, unclassified demons, not written about in Anoch Sun, in the next novel?

    Did you have any composer or style of music in mind when you imaginen Rojer playing for the demons?

    Posted by Alex P, on September 26th, 2010 at 9:59 pm
  4. That last one was from

    Alex P
    Yakima, Wa

    Posted by Alex P, on September 26th, 2010 at 10:00 pm
  5. If you could eat one demon which would it be?

    As a writer is it hard to dedicate all of your focus and creativity to one project? Do you all ready have other series/projects on the back burner?

    Greg M
    Milwaukee, WI

    Posted by Greg, on September 26th, 2010 at 11:58 pm
  6. Which character do you feel that you relate with the most/least?

    Why are there two different titles for the first book? (sorry if this has already been asked)

    Do you ever dream about your books? If so what is the weirdest one you had?

    Francine
    West Sussex, England

    Posted by Francine, on September 27th, 2010 at 4:05 am
  7. If you write down wards in the ground, and it starts raining, then what happens to the wards. Do the rain wash them away and then you have no protection?

    Posted by Sinnq, on September 27th, 2010 at 5:22 am
  8. I got a question about wards. If I remember right you wrote that drawing wards in the soil was dangerous, because it could start raining, a wind could blow them away or a leaf could fall on top. But I don’t understand the thing about the leaf… Isn’t it enough for just the wards to be there? Or will it have to be visible? If so, the wards on Fort Krasia would be rather stupid. Because if they were carved and not painted on – what if sand blew into the wardholes? Would the wardcircle be deactivated?

    Posted by Marken4, on September 27th, 2010 at 7:45 am
  9. The question by Marken4:

    Markus
    Trondheim, Norway

    Posted by Marken4, on September 27th, 2010 at 7:46 am
  10. Were any of your towns and hamlets based upon real places in the UK ?

    Posted by Christopher Harris, on September 28th, 2010 at 10:03 pm
  11. last one from Chris Harris, Maple Grove, MN, USA

    Posted by Christopher Harris, on September 28th, 2010 at 10:04 pm
  12. hey when is the 3rd book coming out? just finished desart spear and i need to know asap

    Posted by paula benson, on October 2nd, 2010 at 5:00 am
  13. I’ve read though the amasing support of those before me in previous posts. After minor deliberation I chose to add my piece ~ and randomly put it under this Blog.

    Your work has been stunning. I mostly read to inspire and push myself with my art. My negligent muse is oft about helping others before myself. However, I simply could not put either books down, much to the surprise of my work colleagues due to it frequently popping up.

    Honestly, I dig the story and concept. Do you come across the issue where when describing the demons in your mind that the written version at times seems inadequate?

    Oh and I am absolutely KICKING myself all the more since I found out that you were at Worldcon *Whimpers* Shame to miss it, not that I couldn’t have enjoyed Lewis Morley winning the Ditmar again =.=’

    Lastly, you don’t need to be another George RR Martin or Fiest. Just be the fabulous you who has inspired others.

    Posted by Eleanor, on November 1st, 2010 at 7:42 pm
  14. […] 20 page reader interview based on questions submitted on the Peephole a few months ago, here and here, from readers all over the world. There’s some straight answers to questions about the magic […]

    Posted by Peter V Brett :: Peephole In My Skull, on February 11th, 2011 at 6:06 pm