Christopher Paolini's Blog, page 20

Jeod

Original image courtesy FreeRangeStock.com

Not much is known of Jeod Longshanks upbringing, barring that his father was a merchant.

At some point, he joined the Arcaena, a religious group dedicated to the preservation of knowledge as a safeguard against an unnamed cataclysmic event, becoming an “Eye” in their service. His chosen profession was scholar, which included studies of the ancient language among other things.

Eventually he found a book that detailed a secret passageway into Galbatori...

Artist Kim Kincaid: Spotlight Tribute

Art is a cornerstone in Christopher’s life, both as a source of writing inspiration and as a hobby he strives to improve. Over the years, the Inheritance Cycle has, in turn, moved many artist-fans to create their own versions of Alagaësia and its inhabitants.

One of these artists is Kim Kincaid. Her work is among Christopher’s favorites, not only for the skilled composition but for the mood it evokes. The Utah-based fantasy artist returned to her craft late in life, but quickly refined her te...

Christopher Interviews Delilah S. Dawson!

Join Christopher and author Delilah S. Dawson, a.k.a. Lila Bowen, for their engaging conversation about her latest book, the intricacies of writing, the publishing industry, and project management for the unorganized! Learn how Delilah failed her first attempt at writing because of perfectionist tendencies and how she managed to overcome them while navigating some of life’s other challenges.

Delilah’s many works span a number of genres from romance to science fiction. You can keep in touch b...

Q&As with Christopher: Writing at Fifteen, Melting Rider Swords, and Dragon Colors

Image courtesy Pexels.com

These Q&As are drawn from Christopher’s AMA on Reddit. We’re reposting them here for folks who haven’t seen them yet.

INHERITANCE CYCLE

LOLmouseLOL: What, storyline wise, has been the hardest part of writing the Eragon books?

The interaction between Eragon and Arya. For whatever reason, that gave me the most trouble (probably because I’m not a hundred-some-year-old elven princess myself). Also, figuring out how to end Brisingr once I realized that the third book woul...

Íorûnn

“She might make an excellent queen, but she’s so devious, it’s impossible to know whether she would support the Varden once she was enthroned.”
~ Eragon

Íorûnn was chief of dwarven clan Vrenshrrgn and considered a great beauty. She excelled at politics, using her cleverness and cunning to manipulate her way to the top of the heap. Readers first meet her during deliberations to elect the next dwarf monarch following King Hrothgar’s death.

Concept of Íorûnn. Siberian Woman (1909), by Vasily Su...

Íorûnn

Íorûnn was chief of dwarven clan Vrenshrrgn and considered a great beauty. She excelled at politics, using her cleverness and cunning to manipulate her way to the top of the heap. Readers first meet her during deliberations to elect the next dwarf monarch following King Hrothgar’s death.

Concept of Íorûnn. Siberian Woman (1909), by Vasily Surikov, Public Domain

She was interested in the throne sheerly because of the power it would give her. Eragon thought she could have made an excellent quee...

Welcome to the New Paolini.net!

Greetings Friends!

Welcome to the new version of paolini.net. As you can see, we rebuilt the entire website from scratch. Simple, right? Nope! It took months. Together with the fantastic WebDevStudios, we went through rounds of design tweaks, functionality revisions, blooper troubleshooting, and data conversion to bring you the best browsing experience.

The streamlined design will help you navigate through Inheritance Cycle info, news updates, writing advice, videos, etc. we’e posted over the...

Join Christopher at Dragon Con 2017!

Join Christopher and immerse yourself in a world of fantasy for a weekend at Dragon Con 2017, from September 1st through 4th, in Atlanta, Georgia! Check out the details below and get your tickets. See you there and be sure to check our events page for updates!

Friday, September 1st:

Title: What Is High Fantasy?

Description: Confused about high fantasy vs epic vs low vs heroic vs…? Let’s talk about what makes this subgenre so unique! Moderated by Christopher Paolini.
Time: Fri 01:00 pm – 02:0...

Christopher Will Be at San Diego Comic-Con 2017!

Christopher will be attending San Diego Comic-Con this year! Below you’ll find a complete list of his scheduled appearances, along with pertinent details. Come get your copy of The Official Eragon Coloring Book signed! Hope to see you there!

Friday, July 21st:
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM, Room 32AB
PANEL: Resist! Rebellion in Epic Fantasy

Dark conspiracies, forbidden knowledge, secret magic, unknown continents and rebellious heirs populate these panelists’ fantastic worlds, but where do they get th...

The Science Fiction Project Update: Mother and Agent

Hi all,

Immanuela here, Christopher’s assistant. We know many of you have been anxiously wondering when his next book will be coming out, and we have more news on the subject!

Tiny Mimas, Huge Rings
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

As you know, Christopher just wrapped up the finishing touches on the second draft of his science fiction novel, #TSiaSoS. Last week he gave the book to his mother, Talita, and agent, Simon, to read for the first time. Both enjoyed it immensely! Now Christoph...