Kristina Wetterman
asked
Michael J. Sullivan:
I just finished "The Death of Dulgath" last night, and having now read through all the Riyria books, I am wondering how you are able to create such complex characters and stories and neatly bind them all together? It's fantastic. I know you write everything out first before publishing; is it largely this practice that allows you to create your stories the way you do?
Michael J. Sullivan
Hey Kristina,
Thank you for reading The Death of Dulgath, and for saying such nice things! I'm so glad you enjoyed the read. It's interesting that you ask about my writing process, because I actually did a little "bonus book" when writing Dulgath that explains the process from start to finish. It's called, "The Making of the Death of Dulgath" (yeah, provocative name I know), and it explains the process in detail. You can't buy this ebook, but it is free to anyone who asks for a copy. Currently, it's only available as a PDF file (because it has high-resolution screen shots of a program called Scrivner which I use when writing), but I do plan to put some of those images on the Internet and then provided links so that people who want to read it via an reader like kindle, kobo, or nook, will be able to get copies as well.
For you, or others who might want a copy of this "behind the scene process" just send me an email (michael(dot)Sullivan(dot)dc(at)gmail.com, and I'll email you a copy.
As for writing the whole series before publishing...yes, this is a huge help with my Riyria Revelation series, and the Legends of the First Empire. Both of those series are six-books long and have a lot of "weaving" of plots across the whole narrative. I wouldn't be able to do that nearly as well as they turned out if I hadn't finished the series before publishing the first book.
The Riyria Chronicle books, (of which Death of Dulgath is the third), I handle a little differently. These books came into being because my wife, and a fair number of readers, wanted more Royce and Hadrian after the Revelations was concluded. I hadn't planned on writing any more of the pair, but then I realized that it would be possible to "go back in time" and show how they met and ride along with some of their early adventures. So, I have all the books outlined (from the time the pair met until the start of the events in Theft of Swords (the first Revelation book), but I don't know how many will be released. You see, I would rather have the pair leave early than stay too long, so I write a Chronicle book, release it, and then if it looks like people want more, I put out another one. So far the technique seems to be working well, and I hope you'll be glad to hear there is a fourth Chronicle coming later this year (December 5th to be precise). It's called, The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter and tells the story of how Royce and Hadrian met the Duke and Duchess of Rochelle (who you meet in Wintertide). It has a "Sherlock Holmes" like vibe, and even ties in lightly with Legends books (the same that Death of Dulgath did). I'm having a lot of fun writing it, and only have a few chapters left to go. I hope you'll want to pick up a copy. If you are an audio listener, the book is already available for pre-order. For those that prefer ebook or print copies, there is a sign-up for notification when the book is available.
Thanks again, for the question, and I do hope you'll pickup a copy of The Making of The Death of Dulgath - it was designed to answer questions exactly like yours!
Thank you for reading The Death of Dulgath, and for saying such nice things! I'm so glad you enjoyed the read. It's interesting that you ask about my writing process, because I actually did a little "bonus book" when writing Dulgath that explains the process from start to finish. It's called, "The Making of the Death of Dulgath" (yeah, provocative name I know), and it explains the process in detail. You can't buy this ebook, but it is free to anyone who asks for a copy. Currently, it's only available as a PDF file (because it has high-resolution screen shots of a program called Scrivner which I use when writing), but I do plan to put some of those images on the Internet and then provided links so that people who want to read it via an reader like kindle, kobo, or nook, will be able to get copies as well.
For you, or others who might want a copy of this "behind the scene process" just send me an email (michael(dot)Sullivan(dot)dc(at)gmail.com, and I'll email you a copy.
As for writing the whole series before publishing...yes, this is a huge help with my Riyria Revelation series, and the Legends of the First Empire. Both of those series are six-books long and have a lot of "weaving" of plots across the whole narrative. I wouldn't be able to do that nearly as well as they turned out if I hadn't finished the series before publishing the first book.
The Riyria Chronicle books, (of which Death of Dulgath is the third), I handle a little differently. These books came into being because my wife, and a fair number of readers, wanted more Royce and Hadrian after the Revelations was concluded. I hadn't planned on writing any more of the pair, but then I realized that it would be possible to "go back in time" and show how they met and ride along with some of their early adventures. So, I have all the books outlined (from the time the pair met until the start of the events in Theft of Swords (the first Revelation book), but I don't know how many will be released. You see, I would rather have the pair leave early than stay too long, so I write a Chronicle book, release it, and then if it looks like people want more, I put out another one. So far the technique seems to be working well, and I hope you'll be glad to hear there is a fourth Chronicle coming later this year (December 5th to be precise). It's called, The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter and tells the story of how Royce and Hadrian met the Duke and Duchess of Rochelle (who you meet in Wintertide). It has a "Sherlock Holmes" like vibe, and even ties in lightly with Legends books (the same that Death of Dulgath did). I'm having a lot of fun writing it, and only have a few chapters left to go. I hope you'll want to pick up a copy. If you are an audio listener, the book is already available for pre-order. For those that prefer ebook or print copies, there is a sign-up for notification when the book is available.
Thanks again, for the question, and I do hope you'll pickup a copy of The Making of The Death of Dulgath - it was designed to answer questions exactly like yours!
More Answered Questions
Annamarie
asked
Michael J. Sullivan:
Hello MJS. I am going to find your book The First Empire. I enjoyed just reading what you have here on this page. I will start it in less than a week and let you know how I like it. My reading group is looking for a new author to start in on. We just finished all of JRRT books and so a new adventure begins in Jan. Is there a better starting book from you?
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more