A Goodreads user asked Melissa Albert:

hey so I loved the hazel wood-one of my favorite books of all time, and I've read most of the recommendations Alice gives and have loved them as well. But in tales from the hinterlands, I don't see characters that were in other books, like the briar king, or the three creepy triplets who are very religious. I am just a little confused, because I was very excited to learn there backstory. Explanation?

Melissa Albert The triplets were in my original version of "The Mother and the Dagger"! But somehow that story never quite worked for me. I wrestled and wrestled with it until right before deadline, then chucked the whole thing and wrote something entirely new. I love the tale that came out of that process, but I really miss those creepy triplets.

As for the Briar King: <spoiler>the Hinterland stories are built and broken and new ones are told, and I had the idea that when Althea wrote the Tales he wasn't a Story yet. Like maybe the Spinner created him partly in response to what Althea had done, as a murderous errand boy...</spoiler>

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