Alisa

Alisa asked Katherine Arden:

Hello, Katherine! How different were the final versions of your books from their first drafts? Have you made any significant alterations, or did you stick to your initial writerly decisions?

Katherine Arden My books were hugely different at the end of the editing process. For example, in my first big edit for The Bear and the Nightingale, I cut about 80 thousand words, and completely rewrote what was left. I'm not a writer who can easily plan my work in advance, so I do a lot of drafting by trial and error.

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Hallie

Hallie asked Katherine Arden:

Random, but I also am from Texas, went to Middlebury, and studied abroad in France! What year did you graduate from Midd?

Jane Cassiopeia Darcy

Jane Cassiopeia Darcy asked Katherine Arden:

Hi Katherine! Can I ask, why is the inspiration for The Bear and the Nightingale - Russia? How did you end up inspired by it?

Emily

Emily asked Katherine Arden:

Currently reading The Girl in the Tower and loving it! I can really feel Vasya's pain and isolation in this one - she has no idea who she is but she knows she doesn't like her choices as a woman. So sad I have to wait until summer until the next book! How is the writing going? I desperately want Vasya to make some friends on the road (I hate her being so lonely!) - what can you tell us about book 3? Thanks!

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Katherine Arden

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