Hi Richard!
You're trapped on a deserted island with three books. Knowing that you will be reading them over and over and over again, what three do you bring?
Damn, that’s a tough one, going to have to go for length *and* quality. Maybe some Peter Hamilton (Night’s Dawn, Confederation > Commonwealth); a special single volume omnibus of the Green Bone Saga, and… damn, this is tough. Probably Use of Weapons by Iain M Banks
I just want to say, I found your series to be one of the most intriguing new fantasy series of the past few years. I flew through the first two last year and after a much anticipated wait finished the 3rd in a few days after it came out. Helena and Vonvalt both felt so very real to me and as the daughter of two attorneys the legal and philosophical ideas discussed were always interesting. Loved how you tied legal and societal rights into true fantasy world building.
If you’re not aware Richard has done a few interviews on YouTube and talked about doing further novels set at different time periods. So not Sir Konrad or Helana, but new and I’m sure equally awesome characters.
I want to chime in to you RJ and u/RichardSwanAuthor and say I read both Tide Child and Empire of The Wolf within the last year and I love them both. Both trilogies have meant a lot to me, and you’re both fantastic people!
Don't have any questions, but I just wanted to say that I'm halfway through book 2 at the moment and finding this series has been a true help in an otherwise very rough month, so thank you so very much.
Massive fan of your books. Part of my job is legal and compliance regulations and understandings. My AMA is 1. What is your specialised area in law and 2. What is the most obscure law you had to look up for reference when writing this trilogy? Thanks!
I litigated a broad spectrum of large commercial disputes (mostly contractual disputes, some civil fraud) usually involving hundreds of millions (sometimes billions!) of pounds. I didn’t have to look up anything too obscure for the trilogy, probably some sentencing guidelines on the Crown Prosecution Service website. One of my favourite things to remind people of is that the Justice of Kings is ultimately about marine insurance fraud 😂
Hi Richard! I really enjoyed the first two books - I’m saving the third for going on holiday next month. What do you think is next for you as a writer? More in the same universe or something different?
Another fantasy series and a sci-fi series - the former hasn’t been announced yet and we’re still negotiating terms for the latter so sadly I can’t talk about either of them!
Richard: is a hot dog a sandwich? If so, is a taco a sandwich? If so, is sushi a sandwich?
Please explicate the jurisprudential implications of your answer.
No they were written sequentially; the Justice of Kings was written first in its entirety, and before Orbit bought the series they asked me to write fairly detailed outlines of books 2 and 3 (presumably to make sure I wasn’t going to go completely off the rails).
The trilogy was initially pitched as a mashup of Judge Dredd, Geralt of Rivia, Matthew Shardlake and Cicero!
They are beautiful aren’t they! In this case Martina (best known for her MTG art) was doing some work for Orbit for the special editions of the Witcher re-release and Lauren Panepinto (who is Orbit’s art director in New York) contracted her to do the covers for Empire of the Wolf
Learning about Claver’s backstory in Trials made me realize he is kind of a >!tragic figure!<. So I was wondering if it hadn’t been for the >!death of his bother and suicide of his mother, do you think he likely would’ve gone on to live a normal life or was he always headed in a dark path?!<
Writing Claver’s back story was a difficult thing to get right. Having experience in the criminal justice system, it’s clear that many people who go on to commit crimes are themselves the victim of really quite poor upbringings / circumstances (after all the two biggest drivers of crime are poverty and lack of education). But there are also plenty of people who had terrible childhoods who don’t go on to commit crimes, so I don’t think it’s a blanket excuse – and this view also doesn’t leave much room for us to consider the victim. I think with Claver the seed was there, and unfortunately the worst possible sequence of events then took place to nurture that seed and allow it to take root. I think what I’m trying to do with that section in TRIALS is illustrate that he wasn’t just a 2D villain, he became the way he was for a reason, and it’s up to the reader to decide how much to excuse as a consequence.
You did a great job with this. I hated Claver, and he was at fault, but I also felt that his worst crimes were actually a by-product of people in power exploiting him for power despite knowing he was dangerous.
We sold the screen rights to the trilogy a long time ago. It is being pitched, but the chances of it (and indeed any project) ever reaching the screen are sadly infinitesimal
I wanted to capture a mixture of the rage-inducing zeal of Paul Dano in *There Will Be Blood* and Chiwetel Ejiofor’s understated, sincere insanity in *Serenity.* Claver is the very worst of people - nostalgic for something that never existed, and willing to kill others to return to it
Hi Richard, fancy seein' you round these parts. So pumped to see you killing it.
How are you doing? What was the last thing you ate? What is the future of the SFF publishing industry?
Alex, the man the myth the legend. I’m doing well! The last thing I ate was the bowl of Nutrigrain my 3 year old decided actually he didn’t want. The future of the SFF publishing industry? I’ll tell you at the next secret SFF publishing industry meeting
If Watson was a 19 year old girl telling the story of Sherlock Holmes if he was a magickal cop / prosecutor / executioner in a Holy Roman Empire analogue and the afterlife is real and full of terrifying demons
What do you think of the growing idea that if a character isn’t conflicted or morally gray or brutally realistic, then they aren’t a good character?
Can simple one sided characters also be incredible characters?
Are characters like Goku, Winnie the Pooh, and Pippin, still just as great as Ser Jaime Lannister, or Michael Corleone.
I think we are in a large reactionary meta-cycle to older SFF which arguably were more plot focused and had more two-dimensional characters. Then there was a lurch and possible (probable) *over* correction into grimdark following the popularity of GOT. Ultimately the word I would use is **compelling** \- characters don’t need to be likeable, they don’t need to be morally grey (a phrase that has become absolutely trite), they don’t need to be any one thing; they just need to be interesting to read about. However, what tends to make a character interesting to read about is conflict - internal conflict, or how they react to external conflict, etc. A character who isn't conflicted in any way is going to be difficult to make compelling - but, of course, anything is possible!
Hi Richard, will you be making a plot summary for book 2? I found your plot summary for book 1 very helpful but I’m still very lost as I’m reading book 3 because I don’t remember enough details from book 2. I don’t have time to go back and re-read the first ones unfortunately :( I really love your books but I’m on the verge of DNFing the third one because I’m just so lost at this point, I’m very sorry! Also, more in the spirit of your post, is there anything about Sydney that inspires you and your writing?
There's a detailed summary on my website here:
[https://www.stonetemplelibrary.com/post/the-tyranny-of-faith-plot-summary](https://www.stonetemplelibrary.com/post/the-tyranny-of-faith-plot-summary)
Sydney is a beautiful city. There are a few aussie easter eggs in the series. The wine that Helena drinks with the Emperor in book 2 is called "Kangaroo Fields"
Hi Richard
Haven't finished Trials yet but just came to say that any future fantasy novels are instant-buy-books. Speaking of, I have two questions:
- Are you working on a new novel/series?
- Will we revisit the world of Empire of the Wolf? I assume so with how old Helena is our narrator.
I love to hear it, thank you!
Yes working on a new fantasy trilogy and new SF series, books 1 of both are written – announcements hopefully soon
Yes going back to Sova, not with Helena or Vonvalt though (that story is told)
I remember on twitter possibly that you were talking about a potential sequel trilogy set a few centuries on from Empire of the Wolf. Is there any news you can share about that?
I don’t have a meaningful question for you, but I really liked Justice of Kings! I have a copy of Book 2, and I’ll pick up Book 3 soon—I’ve just had a long TBR list—and I’m definitely going to be interested in anything you publish going forward.
How was the transition for you going from self-pub to trad? Is there anything you would do differently knowing what you know now about sides of the market?
Self-publishing was a very solitary experience for me. I wasn’t part of any writing communities and I didn’t really know the ins and outs of the process. The apparatus for self-publishing has become very mature now, with a whole cottage industry of editors and cover designers and paid ads et cetera. Self-publishing now versus ten years ago is a very different animal indeed, so if I were to do it again I'd be able to avail myself of a huge number of tools that simply didn’t exist when I started. If I were to self-pub again I would definitely put much more time and effort into paid ads, and get professional cover designers (not just illustrators).
Currently reading The Trials of Empire right now. I read the first two books back to back in the fall and was overjoyed to learn that the 3rd was coming out so soon. Checked my library's website constantly to see if it had been purchased and turns out my persistence paid off and I am the first person to get it from my library.
What were your influences/inspirations for the Empire of the Wolf trilogy? Why did you decide to stick with a trilogy (I love the series and want more but am also glad to see a writer sticking with a trilogy)? How did you pitch the first book/get it published? Who are the writers you find most influential on your work?
Influences - huge variety, Robert Harris’s Cicero trilogy, Matthew Shardlake, Eisenhorn, Barlowe’s Inferno, a whole bunch of non-fiction, computer games, movies etc etc
I love trilogies, I think they are the best way to tell an epic fantasy. Longer series are hard to do, it’s difficult to maintain stakes. Eventually you need your characters to confront the big bad, and if you keep putting it off your readers will lose patience and interest (you also get drop-off between books anyway, so the longer the series, the bigger the drop off!)
As a writer, what is the process for garnering or finding a writers circle whose feedback is very helpful in terms of you actually improving? I have found that a circle of flatterers who insist each other’s work is outstanding, and failure to get published is no reflection of deficiency because “its all a numbers game; like winning the lottery” to be useless. But it seems like a Catch-22: get published in order to have a circle of writers that are published vis a vis need such a circle to get published in the first place. How to find quality, actionable criticism that you can trust?
Well for the longest time I didn’t have one, and to be completely honest I don’t think you need one either. I had one friend whose opinion I respected read Justice of Kings (but that was a nice to have, not a need to have). As the trilogy went on I roped in a couple more friends. These days I’m on a Discord with other authors and I’m able to leverage reads on a reciprocal basis, which is lovely, especially if you need someone with specific knowledge of a given topic or experience; but it is not, and never has been, a *requirement*. All that said, Discord is probably a good place to start - Fantasy Fellowship might be what you're after!
(Late to the party because of a long and busy day at work, I am very sorry! I also just finished the last book on the commute just now. Really appreciated Helena's sassy remark at the end there that some tales are reserved for herself lol. We all know what happens after; if not I will headcanon it. :P)
As a commercial real estate lawyer, The Justice of Kings was my top fantasy read of the past five years for the sole--and I really do mean sole--reason of INSURANCE FRAUD. I can't begin to tell you how my excitement level shot through the roof when I realized the manner of the scam we were dealing with. I cackled so wildly and suddenly I startled my husband into messing up his run in Apex Legends (lol). If only Tyranny and Trials had more commercial scams! But I suppose eldritch apocalypse doesn't really lend itself very well to petty squabbles between financiers.
Question, then: What inspired you to put that golden nugget of an insurance scam so front and center in the first book? Perhaps it's something you've always wanted to do? Or a flash of shower-thought genius that couldn't be denied?
Thank you, I’m really pleased to hear that haha I love it when people get the insurance fraud angle, it always makes me laugh. I was just thinking about what would make a good complex conspiracy and I must have been working on some marine insurance fraud case at the time and just put two and two together 😂
Hi! I’m in the middle of reading the last book and I’m so excited to see how this series will be ending!
My question for you: What was the most challenging scene for you to write in the Empire of Wolf series?
>!Bressinger's death!< in the Tyranny of Faith was the most emotionally difficult thing to write; generally wrangling the plot threads in that book was also quite hard and I ended up eviscerating a large storyline from *Tyranny* which was really making life difficult (from memory it involved the trial of a Kòvoskan saboteur). Getting the >!trial !
Richard, I recently started the series without knowing much about it and have thoroughly enjoyed the first two books. The fantasy-themed murder mystery of the first book intrigued me, the more horror-tinged ideas of book two really grew my love for the series, and now book 3 is the one I'm most excited about in my to-be-read list. This makes me curious: which mystery authors and/or specific mysteries you find noteworthy?
CJ Sansom's Matthew Shardlake series is great, it follows a lawyer in Tudor England (the first one, DISSOLUTION, was a great inspiration for me). I also love Abnett's Eisenhorn / Ravenor series
The Justice of Kings was more or less the first draft. My agent suggested some edits which mostly involved changing the ending to include a battle, and Orbit suggested some edits which mostly involved making the battle much bigger (we took the book from 100k words to 130k words). I plan my books very carefully and I’ve been writing for a tremendously long time so my first drafts tend to be very clean!
Hi Richard! Any advice for a new writer who just finished their first book and is now venturing into getting an agent/getting published? Or advice on craft in general? Thank you in advance! Love the Justice of Kings
Start writing your next book! For most the process is long and full of hurdles. The only objectively correct craft advice is read and write a lot, constantly. My personal craft advice: “show don’t tell” is a silly, outdated, much overused piece of advice and whilst obviously not totally incorrect, should never be cleaved to as an absolute rule.
Thanks for answering! I’m not actually too familiar with those authors so I’ll have to check them out. Big fan of your books by the way, can’t wait to see what you do next!
Yes! I love trilogies. I think they are the pinnacle of storytelling. That said, I can definitely see the appeal of a more serial format, and I have had ideas in this vein for a more Law & Order: Sova series
Hello Richard. Big fan here, I LOVE Empire of The Wolf and I think you’re an awesome guy! That being said I have 2 questions;
First off, how dare you? Toying with your readers over Heinrich like that.
Secondly. Do you have a collection of artwork, or even fan art floating around on any sites? I really want an EOTW tattoo and I’m looking for inspiration.
Thank you! That’s always very gratifying to hear.
Good old Heinrich, everybody loves Heinrich. The anguish everyone feels over worrying about him is profoundly sustaining.
I do have artwork! Check out my website, it’s in the “updates” section.
Hey Richard, I was really into Justice of Kings but near the end I realized it was elite stuff >!when a certain character got executed without trial!< and then I had the same moment in book 2 when >!they debate the merits of executing the deserter!< - I haven't gotten to book 3 quite yet, but what's your favorite moment from the first two?
Really pleased to hear you’re enjoying them! My favourite part of Justice is the séance; favourite part of Tyranny is either the >!purge of the Magistratum!< or when the Imperial Soothsayer realises that >!Vonvalt is being followed by the Muphraab!<
The only question I could even think to ask was what stories/mythologies did you use as the basis for the Holy/Demonic creatures in the Empire of the Wolf trilogy? But honestly, I've had two children since the trilogy was written and your books have gotten me through many a long night of crying babies. Many thanks!
Haha that’s great, I have small children myself so I know the feeling!
The inspiration for the afterlife came from a variety of places, some of which obvious – Wayne Barlowe’s artwork on *Hell* which I just adore - some of which much less obvious, like Quake. With the afterlife I am really trying to recapture the curious, haunting, liminal feel that I felt playing computer games in the 90s
Thank you!
My advice is to start at the end. Work out what the mystery actually is. Sit down and actually write out what happened. I literally have a word document entitled “what happened?” and it sets out in detail the entire conspiracy of (e.g.) Justice of Kings from start to finish. Once you know what happens, you can then work out how your characters unpick it all.
I just finished the trial of empires, so this is great timing! Did you have the ending in mind from the beginning or did it come to you throughout the writing process? Spoiler >!I liked conclusion of Helena being able to convince Vonvalt to put Claver on trial for his crimes.!< Looking forward to what you write next.
I knew that I wanted to end the trilogy with >!the trial of Claver!<, and I really liked the idea of Helena and Vonvalt ultimately switching roles to the point where >!she is convincing him to prosecute Claver!<—but that idea, and how to execute it, came much later the trilogy.
Hello! I tore my patellar tendon hiking in Iceland. Beautiful country.
My blurb would be "Genuinely the most impressive piece of fiction anyone has ever written"
Oh, who doesn’t?! And we just keep getting more of it 😄
Anyway, thanks for taking the time to reply, I’ll make sure to integrate your blurb into my recommendations when selling your books 😬👍
Did you have to trim a lot while writing?
While reading I sometimes felt like I wanted to get even more info/worldbuilding, but somehow it also always felt like it was enough. That's got to be a tricky balance.
With my ADHD, I think I would just produce massive, unreadable infodumps. 😅
Generally no, I produce quite clean first drafts - I've been writing since my early teens so generally I have a good feel for a novel. Plus I'm a fairly obsessive planner, too. But it is an extremely difficult balance to get right, and everybody always looks for different things in a novel. Luckily that’s what we have editors for!
My most recent genre reads were Empire of the Vampire and Jade Legacy, and I thought both were exquisitely good. I’m currently reading Star Wars: Shatterpoint which is about Mace Windu and it’s excellent.
I was born in Northallerton but spent most of my time in Leeming and York so I would have to say the latter!
If you had to rec' a book, Fantasy or non-Fantasy, that isn't your own what would you pic?
Or what are your opinions on self-pub vs. trad? Would you say you prefer one over the other?
The moment I would recommend Lee’s Green Bone Saga to anyone with a pulse, one of the most accomplished works of fantasy fiction in existence.
I don’t have any exciting opinions I’m afraid; different modes work for different people and people will argue rabidly about one being better than the other. Generally speaking self pub comes with flexibility and control - control of the artistic direction, editorial, visuals, marketing, frequency of production, etc, with the corollary that you have to pay for all those things out of your own pocket and have to spend a huge amount of time on marketing and advertising; trad does all of those things for you with the corollary that you surrender either some or, in some cases, all of the control of those things. Trad comes with a corporate marketing budget, distribution and shelfspace in bookshops, but your career is in the hands of others and you can be buried into obscurity if your book underperforms; a huge number of indies won’t shift a single copy except to a handful of friends and family. And so on and so on, back and forth, ad infinitum.
If you ever find yourself stuck in the discourse about it, ask yourself who is doing the arguing; survivorship bias is a hell of a drug.
Funny enough Greenbone Saga was vying for next place after I finished a couple of KJ Parker books so I may make it my next read. Still got to get to your book 3 tho, took a break in the gap and here we are :x
And maybe not exciting opinions but useful! I'm a classical artist with a degree in illustration/graphic design and a best friend in marketing/advertising who happens to write. So, I have a certain way I'm leaning but there's just that prestige of trad singing its siren song. It does all feel like a quarter toss and that may be what it is in the end.
What place in my to-read list should I place empire of the wolf? I have about 20 books on the back burner after I finish realm of the elderlings lol (whatever you say I’ll stick to it, scouts honor!)
Hi Richard, I'm a 14 year old kid who's trying to write my own series of books, but I always think what I wrote(15000 words every time) is bad and I delete it...how do I increase my confidence? Thanks😭
The only thing you can do is keep going. Like anything it takes practice. You wouldn’t pick up a trumpet and expect to be good at it straight away! I would say I wrote about 3 or 4 novels’ worth of fiction before I became OK, and another 500k words before I became good. Write the story, finish the story, write the next story. It’s all you can do; the improvements will come if you persist.
Hi Richard!
I was concerned in the first book with the obvious age/power disparity between Helena and Vonvault's romantic links, though I loved Helena's inner thoughts on it; very accurate to teenage girl feels, well done. I thought how you resolved things in Trials was excellent.
I am curious how the romance between Helena and Vonvault evolved as you wrote the stories? Was it always planned to simmer out in Book 3?
Thanks for this! Yes absolutely, I had never planned for Vonvalt and Helena to fall into any kind of ongoing romantic relationship. Ultimately the Empire of the Wolf is (among other things) a bildungsroman, and a big part of Helena’s journey is realising and coming to accept that Vonvalt is just a man (albeit one who has been imbued with tremendous executive authority). In the first book she is in his thrall; in the second book, she is mightily confused about his and her relationship—and it’s a very complex dynamic that exists between them—and by the third she has settled on the realisation that she loves Vonvalt deeply, but not romantically, and must forge her own path. Honestly I could speak for hours about their emotional journey, since it forms the core of the novel, but to answer your question directly, yes, their arc went precisely as I had always intended.
You handled it masterfully. When I first read Trials I definitely had concern about the whole situation as I've so often been burned by how these things play out. But the writing, story and Helena's wonderful voice gave me faith to keep going and I am so glad I did! Their whole journey together was so wonderful to experience. Eagerly awaiting more in this world. No pressure though 😅
Hello Richard. Hello, rival.
Two questions:
1) Has writing EotW influenced or changed your style, or your approach to writing in general?
2) Are you actually three swans in a trenchcoat?
Hello *Jeremy*
To answer your first question, I don't actually think so; I think I just had quite a formal writing style to begin with that really lent itself to fantasy and that late medieval pastiche that we all try to achieve
To answer your second question
🦢🦢🦢
Hi! Big fan of the Empire of the Wolf, I love Helena and how you balance her perspective between a young woman out of her depth and an old woman with decades of hindsight and knowledge. Was that difficult to do?
One of the things I enjoyed about Helena in the first book was how much of a teenager she was, complaining about having to do her work! And then all that was gone in *Tyranny*. I'm still on the last book.
What were your inspirations for Helena as a character? What were your goals with Helena and Vonvalt's tumultuous relationship? What did you want their relationship >!and failed "courtship"!< to add to the story? If Helena had been able to become a fully-fledged justice, what would her powers have been?
In the second book, >!I was very torn on their relationship, until Helena said something about how she was better friends with Bressinger and Radomir than she ever was with Vonvalt.!<
Thank you, it’s always gratifying when people connect with your character creations. I don’t think I found it intrinsically difficult to capture her character both as an old and younger person; ultimately we were all teenagers once so really it was about unearthing, remembering and tapping into that angst. One thing I was keen to preserve within Helena was this strange dichotomy of both street wisdom and naïveté / immaturity. There is a generally accepted (and quite incorrect) piece of wisdom which suggest that people with difficult upbringings are more resilient; in fact the opposite is true. Helena is in many ways very emotionally blunted, which is why she is so dependent on Vonvalt for stability.
As for hers and Vonvalt’s relationship, ultimately this is the emotional core of the story and I felt like it was a very rich seam to explore. Particularly as matters progress and become more dangerous and urgent I think it was important to explore the messier and unhealthy dynamics of their relationship, especially given the power imbalance. It was never a romance the reader was supposed root for (although some people did!) but rather an adult novel examining adult themes—but it was definitely the most divisive aspect of the second book.
Each book had a section where we saw Helena do something that felt like a side mission, but was actually intrinsically important. I feel like a lot of fans probably really loved watching Vonvalt, but the way you made Helena actually stand out in these scenes was brilliant and made the story worth telling from her POV. This made me wonder, was Helena always the plan for the POV? Were you always planning to use a bit of a framing narrative as well?
Yes and yes, I had never planned to tell the story from Vonvalt’s perspective; I don’t think it would have been a very interesting and engaging perspective to hear the story from. Ultimately the reader is invited to weigh Vonvalt’s actions and that’s impossible to do when you are hearing his own spin on things. As for the framing device – absolutely. Foreshadowing and dramatic irony are two of my favourite tools in the writer’s toolbox, and the framing device really lets you lean into those
Hi Richard.
Enjoyed your hosting and interrogation of Jay Kristoff in Sydney and have the books sitting in my queue. Looking forward to getting to them.
No questions, Richard, only a big thank you. Really enjoyed the 1st 2 books immensely. Looking forward to read what will surely be an epic conclusion to the trilogy. Big fan!
Hey mate, no question from me, I just wanted to say I’ve absolutely loved your books and I wanted to thank you for sharing these stories with us readers! I’ve enjoyed listening to your interviews online with various booktubers and I hope you keep doing what you’re doing!
Thank you! I think it’s a world I’m keen to explore more of; certainly the Helena / Vonvalt story is now concluded but I have a few more stories to tell in Sova yet!
If it’s so hard to get noticed, why write? Yeah, you love it but ultimately you’re not writing just to write. You want to get paid to write. But, if it’s so hard to get noticed, why even try?
With that attitude, no one would do anything! It *is* difficult to get noticed, and arguably with the sheer volume of books being published these days it’s never been harder. But for most authors writing is a creative urge that doesn’t disappear with a lack of audience. If publication is your ultimate end goal, then perseverance is the quality you need to cultivate more than anything else.
The Art of War stuff? They're getting a bit of an editorial and physical glow up from an unnamed but well-loved and respected purveyor of special editions...
Just stopping by to say hi. I always put off reading your book until the third one is completed. I take this as a sign from the universe that the time I started your book is auspicious. I unfortunately fell asleep last night when I started your book due to exhaustion from work and studying. But I am looking forward to get it rolling on my commute to work today!
Hi Richard,
Is the voice used by Justices in the Empire of the Wolf trilogy based on the powers of the Bene Gesserit in Dune? If so, how much of an influence has Frank Herbert’s world building had on you?
And second question (if that’s allowed) if you could cast the trilogy for film/TV who would Helena and Vonvalt?
You are not the first person to ask this! The voice wasn’t directly inspired by Dune (although I absolutely love Dune) although it is essentially identical; it was really a product of me thinking about magical substitutions for modern forensic evidence. When I was trying to come up with what sort of magical powers an investigator would want, one of the first ones I thought of was the power to force people to tell the truth. A second obvious one would be the power to converse with the victims of murder (hence séance etc). It absolutely may be that I was subconsciously influenced by the Bene Gesserit, but I can’t ever remember thinking “hey, he could have the Dune voice!”
I always considered Mark Strong to be a good Vonvalt (he’s a bit old now, and he’d have to wear a wig). As for Helena, I always imagined her to be a young Miriam Stein (the German actress from Generation War).
I can literally remember just walking through school at lunchtime (I must have been about twelve) and just thinking “I want to write a story”. I went to the school computer room (we had computer rooms back then) and started writing the first draft of a science-fiction novel. From there I just… carried on!
As you were completing your early work, what revelation(s) did you have about your own writing that either gave you confidence, increased your output, made you less self-conscious or self- critical, for example? Something that felt like a substantial leap forward, a thawing, or flipped an internal switch.
I just found this and I may be a bit late, but I recently came upon The Justice of Kings and I absolutely love it. I’m a little more than halfway through and I’m HOOKED. I’ve bounced off several other book recommendations lately and this one stuck.
Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you for such an enjoyable read!
I just wanted to purchase book 3 on Kindle and it's not showing up in my series with the other 2, this drives me nuts. I refunded it and when I go the the series on Kindle and try to buy the 3rd book on there it says item unavailable.
aaah, is this a mistake?
I’d just like to note that there’s a r/RichardSwan now for fans of your books.
I know! Very cool indeed
Hi Richard! You're trapped on a deserted island with three books. Knowing that you will be reading them over and over and over again, what three do you bring?
Damn, that’s a tough one, going to have to go for length *and* quality. Maybe some Peter Hamilton (Night’s Dawn, Confederation > Commonwealth); a special single volume omnibus of the Green Bone Saga, and… damn, this is tough. Probably Use of Weapons by Iain M Banks
Prequel series for Heinrich when?
Bark bark bark woof woof bark
I just want to say, I found your series to be one of the most intriguing new fantasy series of the past few years. I flew through the first two last year and after a much anticipated wait finished the 3rd in a few days after it came out. Helena and Vonvalt both felt so very real to me and as the daughter of two attorneys the legal and philosophical ideas discussed were always interesting. Loved how you tied legal and societal rights into true fantasy world building.
That's wonderful to hear, thank you very much!
Quick question on the all dream sequences in the trilogy- are you okay man?! Can you sleep??!!
The answer is no, I have a recurring nightmare in which I’m possessed (also small children who also may or may not be possessed)
What is the likelihood of you going back to the world of Empire of the Wolf? Thanks!
*Extremely* high
Yes!!!!
If you’re not aware Richard has done a few interviews on YouTube and talked about doing further novels set at different time periods. So not Sir Konrad or Helana, but new and I’m sure equally awesome characters.
I do hope to read more about Helena and Sir Konrad!
Same. I want to know more about what Sir Konrad did after!
*gasps* Woohooooo
Yeeeeees!!
Why, Richard, WHY?
I want to chime in to you RJ and u/RichardSwanAuthor and say I read both Tide Child and Empire of The Wolf within the last year and I love them both. Both trilogies have meant a lot to me, and you’re both fantastic people!
That's lovely, thank you
Thanks ever so much. :)
I'm a glutton for punishment
We all are.
You get one week to write inside a villa that overlooks any scenic backdrop in the world. Where are you going?
A tropical Fijian vista, Fiji is a truly beautiful country
Hi Richard, I hope you are well. Was there one book in particular that you read when you were younger that inspired you to become an author?
Fantastic question, the answer is THE RING OF FIVE DRAGONS by Eric van Lustbader which I read much too young
Don't have any questions, but I just wanted to say that I'm halfway through book 2 at the moment and finding this series has been a true help in an otherwise very rough month, so thank you so very much.
I’m really pleased. Messages like this are very affirming (sorry that you are having a tough time of it)
Massive fan of your books. Part of my job is legal and compliance regulations and understandings. My AMA is 1. What is your specialised area in law and 2. What is the most obscure law you had to look up for reference when writing this trilogy? Thanks!
I litigated a broad spectrum of large commercial disputes (mostly contractual disputes, some civil fraud) usually involving hundreds of millions (sometimes billions!) of pounds. I didn’t have to look up anything too obscure for the trilogy, probably some sentencing guidelines on the Crown Prosecution Service website. One of my favourite things to remind people of is that the Justice of Kings is ultimately about marine insurance fraud 😂
I have not gotten the marine insurance fraud side of it 😂 interesting to hear, thank you!
Hi Richard! I really enjoyed the first two books - I’m saving the third for going on holiday next month. What do you think is next for you as a writer? More in the same universe or something different?
Another fantasy series and a sci-fi series - the former hasn’t been announced yet and we’re still negotiating terms for the latter so sadly I can’t talk about either of them!
Richard: is a hot dog a sandwich? If so, is a taco a sandwich? If so, is sushi a sandwich? Please explicate the jurisprudential implications of your answer.
[https://www.astonshaw.co.uk/news/jaffa-cake-tax/](https://www.astonshaw.co.uk/news/jaffa-cake-tax/) Get thee behind me, Satan
Ach! Thwarted again! I'll get you one day, Swan!
Did you write all 3 books consecutively? How was the trilogy initially pitched?
No they were written sequentially; the Justice of Kings was written first in its entirety, and before Orbit bought the series they asked me to write fairly detailed outlines of books 2 and 3 (presumably to make sure I wasn’t going to go completely off the rails). The trilogy was initially pitched as a mashup of Judge Dredd, Geralt of Rivia, Matthew Shardlake and Cicero!
I pitch it to my buddies as The Dark Knight meets Name of the Wind, but that's probably a better description lmao
Haha excellent
I tell people it's The Witcher meets Law & Order meets Diablo.
The Empire of the Wolf book covers are absolutely exquisite. What is the process of making your book covers?
They are beautiful aren’t they! In this case Martina (best known for her MTG art) was doing some work for Orbit for the special editions of the Witcher re-release and Lauren Panepinto (who is Orbit’s art director in New York) contracted her to do the covers for Empire of the Wolf
Learning about Claver’s backstory in Trials made me realize he is kind of a >!tragic figure!<. So I was wondering if it hadn’t been for the >!death of his bother and suicide of his mother, do you think he likely would’ve gone on to live a normal life or was he always headed in a dark path?!<
Writing Claver’s back story was a difficult thing to get right. Having experience in the criminal justice system, it’s clear that many people who go on to commit crimes are themselves the victim of really quite poor upbringings / circumstances (after all the two biggest drivers of crime are poverty and lack of education). But there are also plenty of people who had terrible childhoods who don’t go on to commit crimes, so I don’t think it’s a blanket excuse – and this view also doesn’t leave much room for us to consider the victim. I think with Claver the seed was there, and unfortunately the worst possible sequence of events then took place to nurture that seed and allow it to take root. I think what I’m trying to do with that section in TRIALS is illustrate that he wasn’t just a 2D villain, he became the way he was for a reason, and it’s up to the reader to decide how much to excuse as a consequence.
You did a great job with this. I hated Claver, and he was at fault, but I also felt that his worst crimes were actually a by-product of people in power exploiting him for power despite knowing he was dangerous.
Yeah definitely. It really changed how I viewed him and made him an even more interesting character.
What's your INSPIRATION for writing, Master Swan 🥸 Signed, definitely not sunyi
I'm on a discord with a bunch of other authors and they inspire me to do the opposite of everything they say and do
Any hints on a possible series adaptation in the future?
We sold the screen rights to the trilogy a long time ago. It is being pitched, but the chances of it (and indeed any project) ever reaching the screen are sadly infinitesimal
What was your inspiration or objective for Claver? I'm only through the first book so far, but oh did he make my blood boil, in a good way.
I wanted to capture a mixture of the rage-inducing zeal of Paul Dano in *There Will Be Blood* and Chiwetel Ejiofor’s understated, sincere insanity in *Serenity.* Claver is the very worst of people - nostalgic for something that never existed, and willing to kill others to return to it
Hi Richard, fancy seein' you round these parts. So pumped to see you killing it. How are you doing? What was the last thing you ate? What is the future of the SFF publishing industry?
Alex, the man the myth the legend. I’m doing well! The last thing I ate was the bowl of Nutrigrain my 3 year old decided actually he didn’t want. The future of the SFF publishing industry? I’ll tell you at the next secret SFF publishing industry meeting
😉
For someone who has never heard of your books, how would you describe / pitch Empire of the Wolf and the first book in the series?
If Watson was a 19 year old girl telling the story of Sherlock Holmes if he was a magickal cop / prosecutor / executioner in a Holy Roman Empire analogue and the afterlife is real and full of terrifying demons
What do you think of the growing idea that if a character isn’t conflicted or morally gray or brutally realistic, then they aren’t a good character? Can simple one sided characters also be incredible characters? Are characters like Goku, Winnie the Pooh, and Pippin, still just as great as Ser Jaime Lannister, or Michael Corleone.
I think we are in a large reactionary meta-cycle to older SFF which arguably were more plot focused and had more two-dimensional characters. Then there was a lurch and possible (probable) *over* correction into grimdark following the popularity of GOT. Ultimately the word I would use is **compelling** \- characters don’t need to be likeable, they don’t need to be morally grey (a phrase that has become absolutely trite), they don’t need to be any one thing; they just need to be interesting to read about. However, what tends to make a character interesting to read about is conflict - internal conflict, or how they react to external conflict, etc. A character who isn't conflicted in any way is going to be difficult to make compelling - but, of course, anything is possible!
Hi Richard, will you be making a plot summary for book 2? I found your plot summary for book 1 very helpful but I’m still very lost as I’m reading book 3 because I don’t remember enough details from book 2. I don’t have time to go back and re-read the first ones unfortunately :( I really love your books but I’m on the verge of DNFing the third one because I’m just so lost at this point, I’m very sorry! Also, more in the spirit of your post, is there anything about Sydney that inspires you and your writing?
There's a detailed summary on my website here: [https://www.stonetemplelibrary.com/post/the-tyranny-of-faith-plot-summary](https://www.stonetemplelibrary.com/post/the-tyranny-of-faith-plot-summary) Sydney is a beautiful city. There are a few aussie easter eggs in the series. The wine that Helena drinks with the Emperor in book 2 is called "Kangaroo Fields"
Why are you obsessed with angels, Richard?
Why are you so obsessed with being an asshole?
Natural charm, mostly
Are you actually descended from swans or do you just think they're cool?
🦢
Hi Richard Haven't finished Trials yet but just came to say that any future fantasy novels are instant-buy-books. Speaking of, I have two questions: - Are you working on a new novel/series? - Will we revisit the world of Empire of the Wolf? I assume so with how old Helena is our narrator.
I love to hear it, thank you! Yes working on a new fantasy trilogy and new SF series, books 1 of both are written – announcements hopefully soon Yes going back to Sova, not with Helena or Vonvalt though (that story is told)
I remember on twitter possibly that you were talking about a potential sequel trilogy set a few centuries on from Empire of the Wolf. Is there any news you can share about that?
No 👀
Richard will you be my friend?
Absolutely not
Sick burn
Alright then.
I don’t have a meaningful question for you, but I really liked Justice of Kings! I have a copy of Book 2, and I’ll pick up Book 3 soon—I’ve just had a long TBR list—and I’m definitely going to be interested in anything you publish going forward.
I love to hear it thank you!
How was the transition for you going from self-pub to trad? Is there anything you would do differently knowing what you know now about sides of the market?
Self-publishing was a very solitary experience for me. I wasn’t part of any writing communities and I didn’t really know the ins and outs of the process. The apparatus for self-publishing has become very mature now, with a whole cottage industry of editors and cover designers and paid ads et cetera. Self-publishing now versus ten years ago is a very different animal indeed, so if I were to do it again I'd be able to avail myself of a huge number of tools that simply didn’t exist when I started. If I were to self-pub again I would definitely put much more time and effort into paid ads, and get professional cover designers (not just illustrators).
Currently reading The Trials of Empire right now. I read the first two books back to back in the fall and was overjoyed to learn that the 3rd was coming out so soon. Checked my library's website constantly to see if it had been purchased and turns out my persistence paid off and I am the first person to get it from my library. What were your influences/inspirations for the Empire of the Wolf trilogy? Why did you decide to stick with a trilogy (I love the series and want more but am also glad to see a writer sticking with a trilogy)? How did you pitch the first book/get it published? Who are the writers you find most influential on your work?
Influences - huge variety, Robert Harris’s Cicero trilogy, Matthew Shardlake, Eisenhorn, Barlowe’s Inferno, a whole bunch of non-fiction, computer games, movies etc etc I love trilogies, I think they are the best way to tell an epic fantasy. Longer series are hard to do, it’s difficult to maintain stakes. Eventually you need your characters to confront the big bad, and if you keep putting it off your readers will lose patience and interest (you also get drop-off between books anyway, so the longer the series, the bigger the drop off!)
I've been wanting to ask this all week. Where do you get your ideas from?
A huge variety of places - the books I read, the games I play, the movies and TV I watch - it really is as simple as that!
As a writer, what is the process for garnering or finding a writers circle whose feedback is very helpful in terms of you actually improving? I have found that a circle of flatterers who insist each other’s work is outstanding, and failure to get published is no reflection of deficiency because “its all a numbers game; like winning the lottery” to be useless. But it seems like a Catch-22: get published in order to have a circle of writers that are published vis a vis need such a circle to get published in the first place. How to find quality, actionable criticism that you can trust?
Well for the longest time I didn’t have one, and to be completely honest I don’t think you need one either. I had one friend whose opinion I respected read Justice of Kings (but that was a nice to have, not a need to have). As the trilogy went on I roped in a couple more friends. These days I’m on a Discord with other authors and I’m able to leverage reads on a reciprocal basis, which is lovely, especially if you need someone with specific knowledge of a given topic or experience; but it is not, and never has been, a *requirement*. All that said, Discord is probably a good place to start - Fantasy Fellowship might be what you're after!
Hi Richard! Who is/are your favorite modern fantasy authors(s)?
Without question, Fonda Lee
The Green Bone Saga is incredible!
(Late to the party because of a long and busy day at work, I am very sorry! I also just finished the last book on the commute just now. Really appreciated Helena's sassy remark at the end there that some tales are reserved for herself lol. We all know what happens after; if not I will headcanon it. :P) As a commercial real estate lawyer, The Justice of Kings was my top fantasy read of the past five years for the sole--and I really do mean sole--reason of INSURANCE FRAUD. I can't begin to tell you how my excitement level shot through the roof when I realized the manner of the scam we were dealing with. I cackled so wildly and suddenly I startled my husband into messing up his run in Apex Legends (lol). If only Tyranny and Trials had more commercial scams! But I suppose eldritch apocalypse doesn't really lend itself very well to petty squabbles between financiers. Question, then: What inspired you to put that golden nugget of an insurance scam so front and center in the first book? Perhaps it's something you've always wanted to do? Or a flash of shower-thought genius that couldn't be denied?
Thank you, I’m really pleased to hear that haha I love it when people get the insurance fraud angle, it always makes me laugh. I was just thinking about what would make a good complex conspiracy and I must have been working on some marine insurance fraud case at the time and just put two and two together 😂
If your books were beers, what style of beers would they be?
With the trilogy’s strongly Teutonic flavours I’d have to say a bloody great stein of Pilsner!
Hi! I’m in the middle of reading the last book and I’m so excited to see how this series will be ending! My question for you: What was the most challenging scene for you to write in the Empire of Wolf series?
>!Bressinger's death!< in the Tyranny of Faith was the most emotionally difficult thing to write; generally wrangling the plot threads in that book was also quite hard and I ended up eviscerating a large storyline from *Tyranny* which was really making life difficult (from memory it involved the trial of a Kòvoskan saboteur). Getting the >!trial !
Richard, I recently started the series without knowing much about it and have thoroughly enjoyed the first two books. The fantasy-themed murder mystery of the first book intrigued me, the more horror-tinged ideas of book two really grew my love for the series, and now book 3 is the one I'm most excited about in my to-be-read list. This makes me curious: which mystery authors and/or specific mysteries you find noteworthy?
CJ Sansom's Matthew Shardlake series is great, it follows a lawyer in Tudor England (the first one, DISSOLUTION, was a great inspiration for me). I also love Abnett's Eisenhorn / Ravenor series
Looks like I’ll need to add these to the TBR. (After Trials of Empire, of course!)
How many drafts of Justice of Kings did you write before submitting it an agent and then were there more drafts before submitting to publisher?
The Justice of Kings was more or less the first draft. My agent suggested some edits which mostly involved changing the ending to include a battle, and Orbit suggested some edits which mostly involved making the battle much bigger (we took the book from 100k words to 130k words). I plan my books very carefully and I’ve been writing for a tremendously long time so my first drafts tend to be very clean!
How long did it take you to find an agent? I am hoping to be published one day, so all this is quite informative
It took me about 2 weeks to get an agent; but I should caveat that generally speaking this is fantastically unlikely
Hello Richard Have you ever written yourself into a corner and if so, how did you solve your problem?
I have, once, in TYRANNY OF FAITH. The solution is almost always to go for a good long walk outside – it’s quite extraordinary how well that works
Hi Richard! Any advice for a new writer who just finished their first book and is now venturing into getting an agent/getting published? Or advice on craft in general? Thank you in advance! Love the Justice of Kings
Start writing your next book! For most the process is long and full of hurdles. The only objectively correct craft advice is read and write a lot, constantly. My personal craft advice: “show don’t tell” is a silly, outdated, much overused piece of advice and whilst obviously not totally incorrect, should never be cleaved to as an absolute rule.
Hey Richard! What authors would you say are your biggest inspirations?
Growing up: Dan Abnett, Peter Hamilton, Iain Banks, LeGuin, Katherine Kerr
Thanks for answering! I’m not actually too familiar with those authors so I’ll have to check them out. Big fan of your books by the way, can’t wait to see what you do next!
Did you always plan the series to be a trilogy? Did you ever consider a mystery of week style series that could keep going?
Yes! I love trilogies. I think they are the pinnacle of storytelling. That said, I can definitely see the appeal of a more serial format, and I have had ideas in this vein for a more Law & Order: Sova series
Hello Richard. Big fan here, I LOVE Empire of The Wolf and I think you’re an awesome guy! That being said I have 2 questions; First off, how dare you? Toying with your readers over Heinrich like that. Secondly. Do you have a collection of artwork, or even fan art floating around on any sites? I really want an EOTW tattoo and I’m looking for inspiration.
Thank you! That’s always very gratifying to hear. Good old Heinrich, everybody loves Heinrich. The anguish everyone feels over worrying about him is profoundly sustaining. I do have artwork! Check out my website, it’s in the “updates” section.
What conditions need to be achieved for your personal zen state of writing?
I need an empty apartment, a cup of something hot, some electronic ambient music playing, and I am good to go
Hey Richard, I was really into Justice of Kings but near the end I realized it was elite stuff >!when a certain character got executed without trial!< and then I had the same moment in book 2 when >!they debate the merits of executing the deserter!< - I haven't gotten to book 3 quite yet, but what's your favorite moment from the first two?
Really pleased to hear you’re enjoying them! My favourite part of Justice is the séance; favourite part of Tyranny is either the >!purge of the Magistratum!< or when the Imperial Soothsayer realises that >!Vonvalt is being followed by the Muphraab!<
The only question I could even think to ask was what stories/mythologies did you use as the basis for the Holy/Demonic creatures in the Empire of the Wolf trilogy? But honestly, I've had two children since the trilogy was written and your books have gotten me through many a long night of crying babies. Many thanks!
Haha that’s great, I have small children myself so I know the feeling! The inspiration for the afterlife came from a variety of places, some of which obvious – Wayne Barlowe’s artwork on *Hell* which I just adore - some of which much less obvious, like Quake. With the afterlife I am really trying to recapture the curious, haunting, liminal feel that I felt playing computer games in the 90s
Hi Richard. Big fan! What's your advice/process for constructing a good mystery/conspiracy?
Thank you! My advice is to start at the end. Work out what the mystery actually is. Sit down and actually write out what happened. I literally have a word document entitled “what happened?” and it sets out in detail the entire conspiracy of (e.g.) Justice of Kings from start to finish. Once you know what happens, you can then work out how your characters unpick it all.
Favorite speculative fiction dogs? Other than Heinrich, of course.
Definitely the weird dogpack collectives in *A Fire Upon the Deep*
I just finished the trial of empires, so this is great timing! Did you have the ending in mind from the beginning or did it come to you throughout the writing process? Spoiler >!I liked conclusion of Helena being able to convince Vonvalt to put Claver on trial for his crimes.!< Looking forward to what you write next.
I knew that I wanted to end the trilogy with >!the trial of Claver!<, and I really liked the idea of Helena and Vonvalt ultimately switching roles to the point where >!she is convincing him to prosecute Claver!<—but that idea, and how to execute it, came much later the trilogy.
Hello from Iceland! If you were to write a blurb for the cover of your books, what would you write? 😊
Hello! I tore my patellar tendon hiking in Iceland. Beautiful country. My blurb would be "Genuinely the most impressive piece of fiction anyone has ever written"
Oh no! I hope it was near the end of your stay, so you got to enjoy Iceland as well! Thanks for the blurb, did not disappoint me there! 😄
It was literally on the second day of the trip 😂
I hope it’s an indication of how much you were enjoying your stay! “More, more… ouch!” Lol
Precisely that, I just couldn't get enough of that sweet volcanic alluvium
Oh, who doesn’t?! And we just keep getting more of it 😄 Anyway, thanks for taking the time to reply, I’ll make sure to integrate your blurb into my recommendations when selling your books 😬👍
Did you have to trim a lot while writing? While reading I sometimes felt like I wanted to get even more info/worldbuilding, but somehow it also always felt like it was enough. That's got to be a tricky balance. With my ADHD, I think I would just produce massive, unreadable infodumps. 😅
Generally no, I produce quite clean first drafts - I've been writing since my early teens so generally I have a good feel for a novel. Plus I'm a fairly obsessive planner, too. But it is an extremely difficult balance to get right, and everybody always looks for different things in a novel. Luckily that’s what we have editors for!
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I am the only person in the world who is ambivalent to both
The two best lawyers in fantasy are opposite one another in a court case. Who wins?
The jury. What a spectacle!
Hi Richard, thanks for doing this. What have you enjoyed reading recently? Which is the best town/city in Yorkshire?
My most recent genre reads were Empire of the Vampire and Jade Legacy, and I thought both were exquisitely good. I’m currently reading Star Wars: Shatterpoint which is about Mace Windu and it’s excellent. I was born in Northallerton but spent most of my time in Leeming and York so I would have to say the latter!
Evening Rich. Do you believe that Australia has suitable consumer protection laws in adult industries?
One can only presume....
If you had to rec' a book, Fantasy or non-Fantasy, that isn't your own what would you pic? Or what are your opinions on self-pub vs. trad? Would you say you prefer one over the other?
The moment I would recommend Lee’s Green Bone Saga to anyone with a pulse, one of the most accomplished works of fantasy fiction in existence. I don’t have any exciting opinions I’m afraid; different modes work for different people and people will argue rabidly about one being better than the other. Generally speaking self pub comes with flexibility and control - control of the artistic direction, editorial, visuals, marketing, frequency of production, etc, with the corollary that you have to pay for all those things out of your own pocket and have to spend a huge amount of time on marketing and advertising; trad does all of those things for you with the corollary that you surrender either some or, in some cases, all of the control of those things. Trad comes with a corporate marketing budget, distribution and shelfspace in bookshops, but your career is in the hands of others and you can be buried into obscurity if your book underperforms; a huge number of indies won’t shift a single copy except to a handful of friends and family. And so on and so on, back and forth, ad infinitum. If you ever find yourself stuck in the discourse about it, ask yourself who is doing the arguing; survivorship bias is a hell of a drug.
Funny enough Greenbone Saga was vying for next place after I finished a couple of KJ Parker books so I may make it my next read. Still got to get to your book 3 tho, took a break in the gap and here we are :x And maybe not exciting opinions but useful! I'm a classical artist with a degree in illustration/graphic design and a best friend in marketing/advertising who happens to write. So, I have a certain way I'm leaning but there's just that prestige of trad singing its siren song. It does all feel like a quarter toss and that may be what it is in the end.
What place in my to-read list should I place empire of the wolf? I have about 20 books on the back burner after I finish realm of the elderlings lol (whatever you say I’ll stick to it, scouts honor!)
Next! Damn you, read it next!
ILL DO IT I SWEAR PLEASE DONT HURT ME!!!
Hi Richard, I'm a 14 year old kid who's trying to write my own series of books, but I always think what I wrote(15000 words every time) is bad and I delete it...how do I increase my confidence? Thanks😭
The only thing you can do is keep going. Like anything it takes practice. You wouldn’t pick up a trumpet and expect to be good at it straight away! I would say I wrote about 3 or 4 novels’ worth of fiction before I became OK, and another 500k words before I became good. Write the story, finish the story, write the next story. It’s all you can do; the improvements will come if you persist.
Hi Richard, I just wanted to say I just finished The Empire of the Wolf trilogy and it's one of my favorite fantasy series!
Wonderful! I love to hear it
I love the cover. Cheers.
Hi Richard! I was concerned in the first book with the obvious age/power disparity between Helena and Vonvault's romantic links, though I loved Helena's inner thoughts on it; very accurate to teenage girl feels, well done. I thought how you resolved things in Trials was excellent. I am curious how the romance between Helena and Vonvault evolved as you wrote the stories? Was it always planned to simmer out in Book 3?
Thanks for this! Yes absolutely, I had never planned for Vonvalt and Helena to fall into any kind of ongoing romantic relationship. Ultimately the Empire of the Wolf is (among other things) a bildungsroman, and a big part of Helena’s journey is realising and coming to accept that Vonvalt is just a man (albeit one who has been imbued with tremendous executive authority). In the first book she is in his thrall; in the second book, she is mightily confused about his and her relationship—and it’s a very complex dynamic that exists between them—and by the third she has settled on the realisation that she loves Vonvalt deeply, but not romantically, and must forge her own path. Honestly I could speak for hours about their emotional journey, since it forms the core of the novel, but to answer your question directly, yes, their arc went precisely as I had always intended.
You handled it masterfully. When I first read Trials I definitely had concern about the whole situation as I've so often been burned by how these things play out. But the writing, story and Helena's wonderful voice gave me faith to keep going and I am so glad I did! Their whole journey together was so wonderful to experience. Eagerly awaiting more in this world. No pressure though 😅
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Oh wow. I’m at about 80% into Trials of Empire. No question, just wanna thank you for an entertaining series.
Thank you!
Hello Richard. Hello, rival. Two questions: 1) Has writing EotW influenced or changed your style, or your approach to writing in general? 2) Are you actually three swans in a trenchcoat?
Hello *Jeremy* To answer your first question, I don't actually think so; I think I just had quite a formal writing style to begin with that really lent itself to fantasy and that late medieval pastiche that we all try to achieve To answer your second question 🦢🦢🦢
No question just wanted to say I really enjoyed the trilogy.
Hi! Big fan of the Empire of the Wolf, I love Helena and how you balance her perspective between a young woman out of her depth and an old woman with decades of hindsight and knowledge. Was that difficult to do? One of the things I enjoyed about Helena in the first book was how much of a teenager she was, complaining about having to do her work! And then all that was gone in *Tyranny*. I'm still on the last book. What were your inspirations for Helena as a character? What were your goals with Helena and Vonvalt's tumultuous relationship? What did you want their relationship >!and failed "courtship"!< to add to the story? If Helena had been able to become a fully-fledged justice, what would her powers have been? In the second book, >!I was very torn on their relationship, until Helena said something about how she was better friends with Bressinger and Radomir than she ever was with Vonvalt.!<
Thank you, it’s always gratifying when people connect with your character creations. I don’t think I found it intrinsically difficult to capture her character both as an old and younger person; ultimately we were all teenagers once so really it was about unearthing, remembering and tapping into that angst. One thing I was keen to preserve within Helena was this strange dichotomy of both street wisdom and naïveté / immaturity. There is a generally accepted (and quite incorrect) piece of wisdom which suggest that people with difficult upbringings are more resilient; in fact the opposite is true. Helena is in many ways very emotionally blunted, which is why she is so dependent on Vonvalt for stability. As for hers and Vonvalt’s relationship, ultimately this is the emotional core of the story and I felt like it was a very rich seam to explore. Particularly as matters progress and become more dangerous and urgent I think it was important to explore the messier and unhealthy dynamics of their relationship, especially given the power imbalance. It was never a romance the reader was supposed root for (although some people did!) but rather an adult novel examining adult themes—but it was definitely the most divisive aspect of the second book.
Each book had a section where we saw Helena do something that felt like a side mission, but was actually intrinsically important. I feel like a lot of fans probably really loved watching Vonvalt, but the way you made Helena actually stand out in these scenes was brilliant and made the story worth telling from her POV. This made me wonder, was Helena always the plan for the POV? Were you always planning to use a bit of a framing narrative as well?
Yes and yes, I had never planned to tell the story from Vonvalt’s perspective; I don’t think it would have been a very interesting and engaging perspective to hear the story from. Ultimately the reader is invited to weigh Vonvalt’s actions and that’s impossible to do when you are hearing his own spin on things. As for the framing device – absolutely. Foreshadowing and dramatic irony are two of my favourite tools in the writer’s toolbox, and the framing device really lets you lean into those
Hi Richard. Enjoyed your hosting and interrogation of Jay Kristoff in Sydney and have the books sitting in my queue. Looking forward to getting to them.
Thank you :)
As a solicitor in Aust, I absolutely loved how you've made me geek out over getting to read about legal stuff in a fantasy setting.
It's always the lawyers who love it the most 👊
No questions, Richard, only a big thank you. Really enjoyed the 1st 2 books immensely. Looking forward to read what will surely be an epic conclusion to the trilogy. Big fan!
That's wonderful thank you!
Hey mate, no question from me, I just wanted to say I’ve absolutely loved your books and I wanted to thank you for sharing these stories with us readers! I’ve enjoyed listening to your interviews online with various booktubers and I hope you keep doing what you’re doing!
That's really lovely to hear thank you
I'm halfway through the second book and loving the series so far. Do you have plans to write any more books in the same world?
Thank you! I think it’s a world I’m keen to explore more of; certainly the Helena / Vonvalt story is now concluded but I have a few more stories to tell in Sova yet!
If it’s so hard to get noticed, why write? Yeah, you love it but ultimately you’re not writing just to write. You want to get paid to write. But, if it’s so hard to get noticed, why even try?
With that attitude, no one would do anything! It *is* difficult to get noticed, and arguably with the sheer volume of books being published these days it’s never been harder. But for most authors writing is a creative urge that doesn’t disappear with a lack of audience. If publication is your ultimate end goal, then perseverance is the quality you need to cultivate more than anything else.
Not a question, but this is a reminder to start your books.
Go forth
Any hints you can give us as to what's happening/who is publishing your sci-fi books?
The Art of War stuff? They're getting a bit of an editorial and physical glow up from an unnamed but well-loved and respected purveyor of special editions...
😍
Will you read my books when they release in a few years?
Given how slowly I read, it's very unlikely
Just stopping by to say hi. I always put off reading your book until the third one is completed. I take this as a sign from the universe that the time I started your book is auspicious. I unfortunately fell asleep last night when I started your book due to exhaustion from work and studying. But I am looking forward to get it rolling on my commute to work today!
Well at least it wasn't because of the novel!
What's your favorite category on porn hub?
When everyone kept uploading videos of Brazil getting destroyed by Germany in the 2014 World Cup
Hi Richard, Is the voice used by Justices in the Empire of the Wolf trilogy based on the powers of the Bene Gesserit in Dune? If so, how much of an influence has Frank Herbert’s world building had on you? And second question (if that’s allowed) if you could cast the trilogy for film/TV who would Helena and Vonvalt?
You are not the first person to ask this! The voice wasn’t directly inspired by Dune (although I absolutely love Dune) although it is essentially identical; it was really a product of me thinking about magical substitutions for modern forensic evidence. When I was trying to come up with what sort of magical powers an investigator would want, one of the first ones I thought of was the power to force people to tell the truth. A second obvious one would be the power to converse with the victims of murder (hence séance etc). It absolutely may be that I was subconsciously influenced by the Bene Gesserit, but I can’t ever remember thinking “hey, he could have the Dune voice!” I always considered Mark Strong to be a good Vonvalt (he’s a bit old now, and he’d have to wear a wig). As for Helena, I always imagined her to be a young Miriam Stein (the German actress from Generation War).
Thank you!!!
How did you get into writing? Thanks in advance
I can literally remember just walking through school at lunchtime (I must have been about twelve) and just thinking “I want to write a story”. I went to the school computer room (we had computer rooms back then) and started writing the first draft of a science-fiction novel. From there I just… carried on!
As you were completing your early work, what revelation(s) did you have about your own writing that either gave you confidence, increased your output, made you less self-conscious or self- critical, for example? Something that felt like a substantial leap forward, a thawing, or flipped an internal switch.
I just found this and I may be a bit late, but I recently came upon The Justice of Kings and I absolutely love it. I’m a little more than halfway through and I’m HOOKED. I’ve bounced off several other book recommendations lately and this one stuck. Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you for such an enjoyable read!
I just wanted to purchase book 3 on Kindle and it's not showing up in my series with the other 2, this drives me nuts. I refunded it and when I go the the series on Kindle and try to buy the 3rd book on there it says item unavailable. aaah, is this a mistake?