Ask the Author: David Dalglish
“Throw at me whatever silly, stupid, random question you feel like, and I'll do my best to answer. Those answers might even be interesting or entertaining, though I make no promises.”
David Dalglish
Answered Questions (147)
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David Dalglish
I'm going to take a guess you mean the Paladins game, and if so, absolutely! The Breaking World trilogy available on Amazon takes place about 80 years after Karak and Ashhur arrive on Dezrel. If you want more recent stuff, Jerico himself is from the Half-Orcs series, and makes his first appearance in the third book on (and as for that series, it details what becomes the Second Gods' War).
Hope this helps!
Hope this helps!
David Dalglish
As of right now (so huge caveat that things can always change) the plan is for one more book taking place a few years after The King of the Fallen. This planned book would be Half-Orcs 9: The Legacy of the Watcher. I suspect I'll get to writing it in about a year or so.
This question contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)[At the end of the Breaking World series, the creation of Ashhur's paladins starts with Patrick Dutaureau. And then later in history, in the Half-Orc series, there is the exiled paladin of Ashhur, Jerico, who has red hair.
I'm curious, are these two related somehow?
Is Jerico a descendant of Patrick Dutaureau or perhaps even the young Patrick Gemcroft somewhere down the line when/if the Half-Orc series continues? (hide spoiler)]
I'm curious, are these two related somehow?
Is Jerico a descendant of Patrick Dutaureau or perhaps even the young Patrick Gemcroft somewhere down the line when/if the Half-Orc series continues? (hide spoiler)]
David Dalglish
It's been so long since me and Rob wrote that trilogy, but if I remember right, we did indeed have Jerico/Patrick related, if only in our minds (since revealing that in a novel would be pretty hard to do, logistically).
David Dalglish
Uh, his own? Not entirely sure what ya mean.
David Dalglish
I. Uh. Well, you see...there WERE giant humanoid wasp creatures at one point I threw in as a surprise reveal for that battle but later removed (things were complicated enough as is, and I overall didn't like my attempt at them, nor their overall abilities/concept).
Every reference to them should have been removed. I clearly didn't catch every single one... sorry for any confusion :(
Every reference to them should have been removed. I clearly didn't catch every single one... sorry for any confusion :(
David Dalglish
Nothing currently, no. It'd be a bit of a project trying to suddenly go from 25 or so fantasy novels to sci-fi. I wouldn't rule it out, because who knows what I feel like doing five to ten years from now, but it isn't in the current foreseeable future.
This question contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)[Hi there I've been in contact a couple of times in the past love all your books. Have you ever thought that Hearn, Brug and Del could return in an angel form or that the angels could do what they did for Qurrah and bring there lives back maybe even Darius. I'm sure in one of the angels tell Harruq that they were once man or is there any books about the land of Ashurr? (hide spoiler)]
David Dalglish
This answer contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)[Me and Rob went into this in the Breaking World books that take place during the first Gods' War. The angels were known as Wardens, and were guardians of humanity when the brother gods first made humanity.
As for bringing the characters back: I mean, I could have Ashhur wave his hand and bring back every character who died to life I wanted to. That's the power of being the author of the story, after all. The question for me is if it is satisfying, and if it fits the themes of the story. For the most part, I don't feel like it does. The deaths of those characters impacted *everything*, and I don't want to invalidate any of it. (hide spoiler)]
As for bringing the characters back: I mean, I could have Ashhur wave his hand and bring back every character who died to life I wanted to. That's the power of being the author of the story, after all. The question for me is if it is satisfying, and if it fits the themes of the story. For the most part, I don't feel like it does. The deaths of those characters impacted *everything*, and I don't want to invalidate any of it. (hide spoiler)]
David Dalglish
If you enjoyed both Paladins and Half-Orcs then reading Shadowdance would make the most sense next (so it's in the same world and shares a lot of characters, such as the various members of the Eschaton, or the Ash Guild).
This question contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)[Hello Mr. Dalglish
Just finished King of the Fallen. Loved it. Crushed my soul a few times but still loved it. I just had a question pertaining to your note at the end. Did you decide to change the book title from Queen of the Faceless to Legacy of the Watcher or are those going to be separate books? Also that epilogue 110% made up for the break. Thanks for this fantastic story. (hide spoiler)]
Just finished King of the Fallen. Loved it. Crushed my soul a few times but still loved it. I just had a question pertaining to your note at the end. Did you decide to change the book title from Queen of the Faceless to Legacy of the Watcher or are those going to be separate books? Also that epilogue 110% made up for the break. Thanks for this fantastic story. (hide spoiler)]
David Dalglish
This answer contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)[I changed the title for book nine because (as probably shouldn't be a surprise) what I wanted to do with the book and where the plot would go changed pretty significantly over five years. Plus book eight also departed a lot from the initial plan as well, which makes even more of my original idea unfeasible. (hide spoiler)]
David Dalglish
This answer contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)[Well you can ask me anything story related here. If not, it is ddalglish@yahoo.com. (hide spoiler)]
This question contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)[Hello Mr Dalglish after reading the paladins I asked for recommended books to follow on your fb page and you suggested the shadow dance series I have just finished the last in this series and I intend to read the half orca which you suggested for after the shadow dance books will there be a 7th book about Hearn, Del, Zusa (Zusa and Hearns child) and Tarlak or do we follow them in other stories? (hide spoiler)]
David Dalglish
This answer contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)[The first book of the Half-Orcs opens in the exact same siege that takes place in the sixth and final Shadowdance novel, which should make sense when I say that the Half-Orcs actually came first, and Shadowdance was a prequel series I wrote to give some early backstory to a lot of the Eschaton Mercenaries. So if you want more of Tarlak, Haern, Delysia, etc, that's where you'll find them :) (hide spoiler)]
David Dalglish
It varies between the series. The Skyborn books are the tamest of the lot by far. Shadowdance Series is mostly 'fade to black' throughout when it comes to sex, but it has some darker moments. The Half-Orcs, and the Keepers, are both solidly rated R.
David Dalglish
As of now, only three books.
David Dalglish
Several of my series are indeed connected (Breaking World, Half-Orcs, Paladins, and Shadowdance to be precise). Still, I always make sure each individual series stands on its own and can be read in any order. However, the Keepers books are in a separate world, with a completely separate story line, so no worries about that in regards to Soulkeeper!
This question contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)[According to thulos evrythime he killed one of his brothers he became whole bit by bit. So as asshur (through harruq) killed thulos does that means, if asshur kills karak or karak kills asshur, krauthulos will return? Also that this point isn't asshur more whole than karak? Also this the end of civilization in Dezrel? Neldar overrun by orcs, mordan by the fallen, only ker and the eleven settlements remain. (hide spoiler)]
David Dalglish
This answer contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)[Nearly everything you're asking gets answered in the King of the Fallen, which will be coming out fairly soon. So the only thing I'll clarify is that both Karak and Ashhur benefited from Thulos dying (Ashhur didn't get any special benefit just because Harruq was working for him). But yes, if either died, Kaurthulos would be complete and re-ascend.
As for the end of the civilization...sorta? That's kind of the point of the book, to tell all what's going on! (hide spoiler)]
As for the end of the civilization...sorta? That's kind of the point of the book, to tell all what's going on! (hide spoiler)]
David Dalglish
This answer contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)[Obviously I don't want to give anything away about what happens in King of the Fallen, so take this as my overall mindset toward where they are at for books 6-8.
Given the trauma they both went through Aullienna, and then later Tessanna's stillbirth, the idea of being parents is pretty terrifying to either of them. Neither exactly feels like they're the greatest when it comes to family or setting an example, either.
So instead, Tessanna basically 'adopts' Harruq and Aurelia's second daughter, Aubrienna, and is content to view herself as the weird aunt.
Not to say them adopting a child is completely out of the question! But it'd be far more likely Tessanna adopted a child she met by chance, someone she could effectively rescue and bond with. Most likely, though, that'll remain in the realm of fan fiction (which you can always write if you ever want to ponder what it'd be like with them raising an adopted daughter or son!). (hide spoiler)]
Given the trauma they both went through Aullienna, and then later Tessanna's stillbirth, the idea of being parents is pretty terrifying to either of them. Neither exactly feels like they're the greatest when it comes to family or setting an example, either.
So instead, Tessanna basically 'adopts' Harruq and Aurelia's second daughter, Aubrienna, and is content to view herself as the weird aunt.
Not to say them adopting a child is completely out of the question! But it'd be far more likely Tessanna adopted a child she met by chance, someone she could effectively rescue and bond with. Most likely, though, that'll remain in the realm of fan fiction (which you can always write if you ever want to ponder what it'd be like with them raising an adopted daughter or son!). (hide spoiler)]
David Dalglish
This answer contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)[So you're asking "Hey, will you potentially spoil something massive from the next book?" ;)
This is actually super common a request, honestly, especially the idea of resurrecting Haern. But I did resurrect him, in book five, yet no one seemed all that happy about THAT occurrence...
To be more serious, Darius's ghost will continue to make appearances like he has in books 6 and 7. The others? Barring massive changes to my outline, doubtful. Their time in the story is done. (hide spoiler)]
This is actually super common a request, honestly, especially the idea of resurrecting Haern. But I did resurrect him, in book five, yet no one seemed all that happy about THAT occurrence...
To be more serious, Darius's ghost will continue to make appearances like he has in books 6 and 7. The others? Barring massive changes to my outline, doubtful. Their time in the story is done. (hide spoiler)]
David Dalglish
I'm currently writing the eighth, and it should be coming out in July!
As for the Breaking World, they are published by an Amazon imprint, and therefore sadly only available on the Kindle store. You'll need to download the Kindle app on your phone if you want to read them on an android phone.
As for the Breaking World, they are published by an Amazon imprint, and therefore sadly only available on the Kindle store. You'll need to download the Kindle app on your phone if you want to read them on an android phone.
David Dalglish
This answer contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)[I'd only written two of the Shadowdance books before I finished the first five half-orc books. So no, there's no reference to Zusa or their child. I framed the ending of the Shadowdance series to heavily imply that her, Alyssa, and Nathaniel were leaving Veldaren for good, and that Zusa did not appear to have any intention of letting Haern know she was pregnant.
That said, I'm bringing that entire storyline in near the end of the eighth Half-Orc book I'm currently writing to specifically address these types of questions. (hide spoiler)]
That said, I'm bringing that entire storyline in near the end of the eighth Half-Orc book I'm currently writing to specifically address these types of questions. (hide spoiler)]
David Dalglish
I'd be more than happy for that, but it's less "have I considered it" and more "are TV execs interested?" There's a looooot of authors out there, and far more books produced yearly than the vastly fewer tv series. When I first signed with Orbit, there was some interest in the Shadowdance Series, and we did have an agent pitch it, but it never managed any momentum sadly. Odds are, unless I have a series hit the mega-star levels of sales, it likely won't happen.
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