A.C. Cobble
asked
Bryce O'Connor:
Bryce, love your books! One thing that I like in particular is the depth of Raz's character. These days there are too many flat 'grimdark' characters who have no real motivation for what they do except the world is an awful place. In your books, sometimes the world is awful, but Raz's actions are layered with motivation. What inspired Raz - so brutal on the surface, but layered with so much depth and history?
Bryce O'Connor
Well hello, sir! I thank you very much for the compliment, given the success of "Benjamin Ashwood"!
I won't lie, I love and am super proud of Raz, and his creation and inspiration actually runs pretty deep. His physique and skillset are a combination of TES argonian, Kylar Stern of Brent Week's series "The Night Angel Trilogy", and Tiger from Jennifer Roberson's "Novels of Tiger and Del". His psychology, though, is a bit more complex:
Essentially, Raz is a manifestation of some struggles I had growing up. Nothing horrible or dramatic, mind you. I have a wonderful family, but by no fault of theirs I was raised in place where I was very much on "the outside" while almost everyone I knew was on "the inside". Raz essentially grew from that, demonstrating that a kind soul can be more human than actual humans, even if the vessel itself is not. I sorta wanted to create a character that could have stood in front of me as a kid, pointed to himself, and said "You can prove them wrong, too."
Wow... that got deeper than I thought. Thanks for the question!
I won't lie, I love and am super proud of Raz, and his creation and inspiration actually runs pretty deep. His physique and skillset are a combination of TES argonian, Kylar Stern of Brent Week's series "The Night Angel Trilogy", and Tiger from Jennifer Roberson's "Novels of Tiger and Del". His psychology, though, is a bit more complex:
Essentially, Raz is a manifestation of some struggles I had growing up. Nothing horrible or dramatic, mind you. I have a wonderful family, but by no fault of theirs I was raised in place where I was very much on "the outside" while almost everyone I knew was on "the inside". Raz essentially grew from that, demonstrating that a kind soul can be more human than actual humans, even if the vessel itself is not. I sorta wanted to create a character that could have stood in front of me as a kid, pointed to himself, and said "You can prove them wrong, too."
Wow... that got deeper than I thought. Thanks for the question!
More Answered Questions
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