Interview: Brent Weeks Author of The Night Angel Trilogy

Brent Weeks is a new author, who has a trilogy being published in three consecutive months. While this has been done a few times recently, I don't know of it happening for an author who has never been published. For example, Karen Miller, Jennifer Fallon, and Naomi Novik have all had books published in the US in consecutive months. However, their books had already been published overseas. So, I was interested in how it came about that Orbit was willing to take the chance of publishing 3 large books, in consecutive months, by a previously unknown author. Brent was kind enough to answer that question, as well as a few others.

A quick note: The Way of Shadows, the first novel in The Night Angel Trilogy, is now available in some stores. I picked it up at my local Borders Friday. My review copy came a day later, but I had just finished a book Thursday night and needed something to read. Thus, I went ahead and spent some bucks on the book, though that means I know have 2 copies. I am 450 pages into the book (of 650) and I can honestly say that my money wasn't wasted. I'll elaborate more in my review (probably Wednesday or Thursday), but I am really enjoying it (I wish i take a few hours off work and read the last 200 pages right now), and I think most folks that give this book a shot will be pleasantly surprised. There is already one positive review, and you can find a link to it on my review index page for 'W' authors here.

On to the interview:

Q: It seems pretty unusual for a debut author to have a deal that will publish his works in 3 consecutive months. The other times I have seen this done is for authors whose works are already available in other countries. So, being a new author, how did this deal, and release schedule come about?

A: When I finished writing The Way of Shadows, I really thought I'd written a book that could sell. While I looked for an agent, I figured the smart thing to do was to start a new series, then if The Way of Shadows didn't sell, or if it took a long time, I would at least have two different books out there making the rounds simultaneously. After all, if you never sell book 1, any time you put in on book 2 is a total waste. But I had this problem: the story I was really passionate about telling was the sequel (Shadow's Edge). My wife told me it was as simple as that: write what you're passionate about. So I made this dumb decision and wrote a sequel. By the time I signed with my agent Donald Maass, I was almost finished. At that point, I was too far in not to take it all the way, so I started the third book. It was only then that I heard about Naomi Novik-a woman I've never met and a writer I've never read. Someone had the bright idea of publishing her books quickly a couple years ago, and it worked big time. So when Orbit heard that I'd almost finished this trilogy, they were thrilled. Readers don't want to wait years for a trilogy to conclude; writers don't want readers to have a year to forget them between books; and booksellers don't want to hold shelf space for years seeing if a new writer is going to sell. It requires a bigger gamble for the publisher, but obviously, that was something Orbit was willing to do-for which I am grateful. So it turned out the decision I'd been sure was terrible for more than two years wasn't so bad after all.

Q: Can you give us a little insight into how the idea for this series evolved?

A: Before The Way of Shadows, I wrote another (sadly unpublishable) novel also set in Midcyru. I had a minor character in that novel who was a serious bad-ass but operated by a strict moral code that he didn't
bother to explain to anyone. Characters also spoke in hushed tones about Cenaria, an entire city that was like Hell's Kitchen and Compton put together on their worst day. So that gave me my beginning: there's this little kid, trying simply to stay alive in the worst neighborhoods of this awful city...and then things just keep getting worse.
Now, I demand a certain level of psychological realism, so I knew
parts of these novels were going to be dark. You know, if you tried to
set Cinderella in Compton, at the end, she'd be at her wedding and her
prince would get killed in a drive-by shooting. Anything less betrays at
least the archetypical scary-place "Compton" we believe in. My feeling, though, is that even in Compton there are mothers who would do anything for their kids, kids who don't do drugs, and fathers who stick around. There's hope. So I really explored the other side of this killer: can you be a moral killer? What or who would instill a sense of morality into this street kid? How was that going to work out for him? It set up a lot of great tensions and gave me the first of my many deeply conflicted characters.

Q:Since you are publishing an entire series in a 3 month period, I assume the publisher wants to quickly build a fan base for you. Does this mean you are already working on your next project? If so, are there any details you can pass along?

A: Oh, absolutely. First, for anyone who falls in love with Midcyru and these characters-at least the ones still left alive-we will be coming back. Eventually. I spent years working on a novel-call it Episode IV, I wrote it first, but chronologically, it comes after the Night Angel Trilogy. I made some bad structural decisions that doomed that novel, but the core story is sound. It comes sixteen years after Beyond the Shadows and there will be some overlap in characters. The way I foresee it, the major characters of this trilogy will only be minor characters in the next. The Night Angel Trilogy and this new trilogy will each stand-alone, not be a monumental series. So a new reader could start at either place, but a reader who's read the Night Angel Trilogy will have a deeper understanding of everything.
However, the idea I've fallen in love with right now is set in a new world. Cool new magic, cool new characters. I'm setting at least one major fantasy trope on its head, and taking some others in unexpected directions. If you like deep, conflicted characters and surprises and lots of action, you'll like it. If you don't, go watch a movie, mouth-breather. Just kidding. Right now, I've got about fifty pages of notes and outlines and four different possible first chapters written.
I'm aiming at a stand-alone novel, and I promise not to spin it out in a
trilogy for a trilogy's sake. I really believe in writing exactly as much as the story demands-and no more.

Q: Now for the lighter, non-writing questions. What are your top 5 albums of all time? If you aren't a music fan, you could list your 5
favorite movies.

A: Albums? I gotta be honest and say I usually just buy the tracks I like. But fair enough, I'll try to play by the rules. There have been a few albums where I buy the whole disc because it's worth it. Tragic Kingdom by No Doubt, Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park, Jake Armerding (eponymous), the Amadeus movie soundtrack, the opera Rigoletto by Verdi(Joan Sutherland and Pavarotti version). Honestly, my tastes are broad rather than deep. I'm a sucker for clever lyrics: The Offspring, Freezepop, Bowling For Soup. I also like the internationally quirky: die Prinzen, Tokio Hotel, Basshunter, Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (technically American, but, um, an ocean apart). And I like music by young artists desperate to prove themselves. Early Blink-182, Paramore, early Green Day, early Eminem.

Q: What is your favorite joke? This can be as dirty or clean as you want it to be :)

A: It's a political season, so how about some non-partisan political humor?

Winston Churchill is at another fancy dinner, and he's fortified himself
against the occasion. A dignified Englishwoman seated next to him says, "Why Winston Churchill, you're drunk!" "Yes, madam, and you're ugly. But I shall be sober in the morning."

One more. Like Democrat F.D.R., Republican Ronald Reagan is now mostly remembered warmly. But during his presidency, people said he was a moron and loved to make fun of his acting in B movies. So some smart-aleck autograph-seeker brings in a poster of this movie, Bedtime with Bonzo, where Reagan's costar was literally a chimpanzee. Reagan signs it, "I'm the one with the watch."

Thanks for the interview, Brent. I won't hold it against you that Bruce Springsteen and Ryan Adams (or even Social Distortion) were missing from your music list :)