Brent Weeks - Way of Shadows

On another level, I really like Vi. She starts as nearly a stereotype, but through the books she becomes the kind of character I’ve never seen in fantasy. I think this has to do with writers’ desire to create strong female characters. Too often, these women end up as men with breasts: female, sociopathic James Bonds. If they have emotions, they never have the “weak” emotions. There’s an added layer of difficulty when the writer is a man, of course, so it takes even more work. Without dropping any spoilers, all I can say is I like how Vi turns out.

As much as I like both characters, though, I don’t think I’d hang out with them. One or the other would kick my ass, just for fun.

Which character is most like you?

Oh, that’s easy. Momma K. Next question?

Now that you’ve finished writing Kylar’s saga, do you think that you’ll visit this world again? Or is there a new story idea that you’ve been working on?

Both! That guy in Bulgaria’s been really busy. I’ve already done a huge amount of work on what happens in Kylar’s world after the events of Beyond the Shadows. I pick up with the story seventeen years later with one of the sons of …well, you’ll just have to read it. It will be a trilogy and it won’t be necessary to have read this trilogy first, but readers of the Night Angel Trilogy are definitely going to spend some time with characters they love.

At the same time, though Midcyru is a huge canvas to paint on, I’ve been cooking up a new world that I’m really excited about. New magic, new cultures, it’s a cool setting, and I’ve got a premise that I think rocks. But the story—the full cast, who goes where and who does what—hasn’t coalesced yet.

As a first-time author, what have you found to be the most exciting part of the publishing process?

The day you get the phone call that your books have sold is too shocking to be exciting. It’s simply too big. You walk around with perma-grin, but you don’t really understand it yet.

I think the most exciting moment was when a French editor wrote that he had stayed up all night reading The Way of Shadows, and after twelve years in publishing, that didn’t happen that often. I’ve dreamed of keeping people up late reading my books since I started my first novel at age thirteen—but I always figured I’d have to wait at least until I got published, and I figured it would be some poor kid who’d have to sleep through math class the next day, not an editor. That was a great day.