OPEN
THE DOORS TO
VROENGARD ACADEMY
Christopher Paolini Talks About
Vroengard Academy, Alagaësia, and what's next
for him. Watch the video!
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Kvetha
Fricaya! Greetings, Friends!
Whew!
It’s finally done. Every i is dotted, every
t crossed, every word checked and double-checked.
Even the commas, those squirrelly little creatures,
are (mostly) in their proper places. Yes, at last
I can say it: Brisingr is finished!
Brisingr
addresses many of the questions raised in Eragon
and Eldest, while posing several new ones
as well. Unlike the first two books in the series—Brisingr
has a subtitle: The Seven Promises of Eragon Shadeslayer
and Saphira Bjartskular. Why? Because I felt
it suited the story, and also because, in a way, I
still view Brisingr and Book Four as two
halves of the same volume; the subtitle is merely
the name of the first these two sections. I already
have decided on the subtitle of the fourth book, even
though I haven’t chosen the main title.
I’ve
written the first line of Book Four, and am looking
forward to diving back into the world of Alagaësia.
But first I’m taking some time to relax, catch up
on answering fan letters, and read a pile of books
that I had set aside until the manuscript was finished.
And I plan to take some hikes to draw inspiration
from the beautiful mountains around my home.
Lots
of exciting things have been happening in preparation
for the release of Brisingr.
A
few weeks ago, I went to BookExpo America (BEA) in
Los Angeles, the publishing industry convention where
publishers, authors, booksellers, librarians, agents,
and media get together to celebrate all things books.
I got to meet up with Mike Macauley, who runs Shurtugal.com.
It had been awhile since we had seen each other, so
this was fun for us both. And Mike introduced me to
Allison Jones, who helps keep the site running smoothly.
Besides meeting fans at Saturday’s booksigning, one
of the highlights of BEA for me was the cocktail party
that Random House Children’s Books hosted at Dodger
Stadium. I, along with the other authors, signed piles
of baseballs for booksellers, and I ended up playing
an impromptu game of catch on the field.
The
talented Gerard Doyle will begin recording the Brisingr
audio book in a few days. To help with this, I’ve
recorded the pronunciation of every single invented
name and word in Brisingr. The list was over
nine pages long! The ancient language is tricky for
me, because I can’t roll my r’s properly, but I love
reading Dwarvish aloud. It’s such a meaty language;
you can really sink your teeth into it.
The
most exciting and unique activity associated with
the release of Brisingr is Vroengard Academy,
an immersive online game that Random House has developed;
you can find it at Vroengardacademy.com.
After only a few weeks up and running, there are over
twenty thousand people playing! Wow! Deep Focus, the
company that designed and is running the game, has
done an excellent job of creating an interactive version
of the world of Alagaësia for people to explore.
If you haven’t visited, it’s not too late to join
the fun.
To
those who are already playing, “Congratulations, Team
Skölir on your lead in the Vroengard Academy
game!”
That’s
it for now.
May
your swords stay sharp,
Christopher
Paolini
