Kvetha Fricäya . . . Greetings Friends,

This past month my effervescent editor, Michelle, and I had the privilege to present at the Maui Writers Conference, held at the seaside Wailea Marriot Resort in Hawaii. Hawaii! It doesn’t get better than that. The founders, staff, and volunteers worked tirelessly to assure that attendees and presenters had the most rewarding experiences possible. The conference consistently attracts top professionals from all areas of the publishing world. This year, presenters included Terry Brooks, Ben Bova, Aaron Sorkin, John Saul, many of the best editors and agents, and, to my delight, Bruce Coville.

Bruce—as you may already know wrote Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher, one of the main inspirations for Eragon. Thus you can imagine how excited I was to meet him. He is a delightful person, witty, intelligent, and a heck of a writer. I highly recommend his work if you’re not already familiar with it.

During the conference, I spoke at an awards ceremony for high school students who had won scholarships to attend the event, based upon the strength of their writing. I also had a panel with Terry Brooks and Bruce Coville about marketing one’s books. A highlight of the trip was my keynote address to over nine hundred people.

At the dinner after the awards ceremony, a member of the Maui Writers Conference took an impression of my hands in concrete for a “literary walk of fame” that they intend to assemble at the hotel. It was fun playing with the concrete, rather like the mud along the Yellowstone River.

Since my return, the weather has gotten much colder. Snow—or Termination Dust as they call it in Alaska—has covered the peaks of the mountains. The snow enhances the shape of the mountains and provides a nice contrast to the trees below; I always think that mountains look better with snow. This is my favorite time of year; not so cold that it’s uncomfortable to walk, though the air has a bite that indicates the seasons are changing. You can smell winter approaching.

Mail and e-mail bring updates from around the world. I’ve been interviewed for publications in Portugal, Germany, France, Spain, and the Czech Republic; all are publishing Eragon for the first time this fall. My Portuguese publisher launched Eragon with a party at St. George’s castle in Lisbon. What fun!

That’s all for now. It’s back to Eldest for me.

May your swords stay sharp,

Christopher Paolini

For more information and news about Eragon, visit Alagaesia.com.

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