We've got a total of eleven reviews on the Elder Empire books, as I'm writing this, so it's time for me to answer ten questions in character!

Remember: you're asking the characters questions, not me. And they'll answer the first ten, with the first answers coming tomorrow, January 4th: I'm giving the questions a little time to pile up.

So start asking now! It's first-come, first serve.

EDIT: The ten questions are in! And heeeeeeeere they are...


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1.) (from Michael) To Kerian [Of Shadow and Sea]: "How did you just make the food appear like that? Or how do the Consultants just seem to appear and disappear without a trace?"


ANSWER #1: 
        Kerian sits behind the polished desk in the chapter house of her Guild, a pleasant smile on her face. "I pride myself on my preparations, sir, and our Guild operates with the highest levels of discretion. I cannot comment on the specific incident to which you refer, but I can assure you that we are qualified to satisfy your every request promptly and with absolute stealth. Speaking of which...would you like a drink?"

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2.) (from Yosef) To Kathrin [City of Light]: "Who and what is your advisor?"

ANSWER #2:
        Kathrin runs a hand through her short, graying hair. "I try not to think about it. They're cats, you hear me? Ceramic cats. I've got a black one and a white one, and they can send messages to one another. That's it. 
        "What? Oh, sure, it's useful. Nobody else can communicate over distance, but I mean...Indirial can sense danger. Corren could track her prey for miles over desert! I could have had an adviser that sees through walls, or lets me fight in the dark, or helps me stay hidden, and I get the one that has absolutely no combat application.
        "Sure, okay, yes, Denner's got his book. But that's not the same thing."
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3.) (from Curious) to Valin [City of Light]: "Why did you set forth on a world-hopping, Territory-founding adventure? What were you before you did that?"

ANSWER #3:
        Valin looks around the graveyard, confused, as green lightning flashes overhead. "First off, how did you even get in here? You know what, never mind. It's an easy answer. The Territories are just so much more interesting than our world, so I spent all my time there. I never attuned to any of them, though. I guess they wouldn't have me.
        "The Damascan royal family recruited me for my...particular talents." He hefts his sword, examining its blade in the rolling green light. "After that, everything got complicated. I'll tell you the story some other time, but I find myself growing tired."
        With that, the Wanderer fell onto his back and died one more time.
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4.) (from Aaron) to Valin [City of Light]: "Did you ever find your dragons?"

ANSWER #4:
        Valin grips his borrowed sword and stares off, into the forest of graves. "A whole army of them."
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5.) (from April) to Hariman [House of Blades]: "How was Orgrith Cave created? Why does it exhibit the characteristics of the Territories?"

ANSWER #5:
      The golden face on the surface of the book practically shines with excitement. "Why, certainly! What an excellent question! I can see that you are an educated soul, with a carefully cultivated taste for knowledge!
      "In the older days of this land, shortly after the arrival of the Damascans from the other side of the Western Isles, the Territories were still poorly understood. Travelers were considered ill fortune, if you can believe such a thing, and were often shunned. A group of them--perhaps only five or six, or maybe as many as a hundred, according to conflicting sources--sought shelter in a cave. They began to use their powers to search for food and water, to defend themselves, that sort of thing. It is a pity there were no Asphodel Travelers among them, isn't it? Would have made this story much shorter.
        "Sadly, they were only a collection of Ornheim, Tartarus, and Naraka. As well as perhaps a Lirial or two, though no one is certain. Very little food in those Territories. They supported one another as best they could, but after only a few months, they were discovered.
        "Now, it was carelessness that led to this discovery. Pure carelessness. You see, in the first year of King--"
        Hariman is cut off by Denner, who picks up the book and shoves it under his arm. You hear muffled protests beneath Denner's elbow.
        Denner sighs. "I'm sorry about that. He goes on. Long story short, the Travelers are attacked by their neighbors. They change the cave, twisting it, making it more and more like a Territory so they can defend themselves. They raise guardians they don't understand. The attackers never make it in, sure, but neither do the defenders ever make it out."
        He shrugs. "Because of that story and many like it, Travelers began to organize. There you go. Now I've saved you five or six hours."
        Hariman squirms his way out from Denner's arm, grumbling. "I could have done it in four."

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6.) (from April, since she wrote two reviews) to Gilad [House of Blades]: "What did you confess to the Obsidian Tree in Naraka?"

ANSWER #6:
      Gilad won't meet your eyes. His answer is little more than a whisper. "I don't have to talk about that. I don't have to think about it. It's tradition. I have been punished...I am being punished."
      Without another word, he opens a Helgard Gate and Travels away.

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7.) (from Jeremiah Halstead) to Nikolos [Tower of Winter]: "What happened to Donia after you traveled together in the Tower?"

ANSWER #7:
       Nikolos, old and gray and seated beneath a blanket, laughs fondly when he hears your question. "Seven stones, Donia Sarkis! I haven't thought of her in years. As for what happened to her...would you believe I don't know? No, really! I barely know what happened to me, if you want the truth. We're trapped beneath the ice, and I'm asking childish questions because I'm sure we're going to die. I woke up what seemed like seconds later, lying in the middle of a random village. I don't even remember how I made my way to Bel Calem, but from there the Overlord got me home.
        "As for Donia...I tried to find out, for a few years. Bribed a few Helgard Travelers, but none of them would ever talk about it. They don't like talking about the sixteenth floor at all, as it turns out. It's a shame, really. I left a few things behind."
        He peels away the blanket over his legs, revealing that they end in stumps beneath the knee. "I suspect it's thanks to her that I still have my life." 
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8.) (from John) to Will Wight [Earth]: "Why does the cover use an ampersand and the Amazon title 'and'?"

ANSWER #8: 
       "You broke the rules, John. I told you to ask the characters questions, not me. And yet you just wouldn't listen. Don't you know the rules are there for a reason? It's hard enough keeping all these characters in my head! I can't do it with me in there too! The walls are breaking down! I can see a host of worlds...a sparkling multiverse, like a sea of stars...who am I, against the infinite? What am I?
       "What have you made of me, John?"

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9.) (from Scott) to "All the Valinhall Travelers" (nice try) [House of Blades]: "What is your favorite room in Valinhall?"


ANSWER #9:
        Simon: "My old bedroom."
        Andra: "The garden is incredible."
        Kathrin: "The outside."
        Denner: "The entry hall. It lets me leave."
        Valin: "The Nexus."
        Indirial: "Bring your sword if you wish to ask me a question! I am Valinhall!"

        The rest say nothing, because they're dead.

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10.) (from Mesmerizing Suggestion) to the Eldest Nye [House of Blades]: "What is or was the fighting style of the Dragon Army? Formation? Individual? Please elaborate."


        The Eldest is behind you. No matter how you twist or turn to follow his rasping voice, he's always behind you. Like your shadow.
        "Valin's 'children' took after their father. They were prideful. Individualistic. They formed teams, certainly, temporary alliances that were easily broken when they drifted off to pursue conflicting goals. Together, they could have been a force that broke Damasca like a hammer through glass. But they never worked together, and it led them all to death.
        "That was the past. The future will be different--a weapon built to my design. For I am wise where my Master was foolish.
        "The new generation of Dragons, they work together. They eat together. They live together. I am forging one weapon, not thirteen. And Damasca thinks they are servants. I know, more than most, the power servants have over their masters."
        A cold length of chain settles around your throat, biting into the flesh of your neck. Your heart races, and you spread sweaty palms to show that you aren't reaching for a weapon.
        Dry breath whispers into your ear.
        "Tell me. Would you like a sword?"

After ten weeks of sale, City of Light just hit 20,000 sales!

They grow up so fast, don't they?

This is actually a significant plateau. When people are talking about book sales, 20,000 is a big milestone. So thanks again, everybody! We're going strong!

It's been two weeks since my meeting in Seattle, and it's been quiet on the blog front since then. I thought I'd catch you up on what's going on in my world.

Believe it or not, there's a lot.

First of all, I did start recording the House of Blades audiobook last week. I don't know when it's going to be up, because I don't know how long the recording process will take, but I expect it out this summer.

Also last week, I uploaded the City of Light paperback edition. However, Amazon hasn't quite merged the sites yet, so if you're interested in a physical copy of CoL, you can grab it from this link.

Soon, I hope, it will be available on the normal CoL page. But I was hoping it would be up by now, so you see what blind hope gets you.

I'm also working on getting the new House of Blades made into paperback. If you buy a physical copy of HoB right now, it's still the old version with the not-quite-as-interesting opening. So I'm trying to get that version updated.

In the meantime, I've started working on my new series: Of Sea and Shadow.

Several things to cover today, but first: if you'd like to discuss heavily spoiler-related topics about City of Light, do so in these comments!

Honestly, if you're trying to avoid CoL spoilers, you should probably not be messing around in the comments sections of any recent blog posts. But I thought I'd give you a place to speak freely, anyway.

Second, an update on my status--I'm in Santander, Spain! And also sick in bed!

It turns out that pushing myself to release a book, and then immediately leaving for a convention in Boston, and then turning right around and flying to Spain...well, it wasn't the healthiest idea. The morning of my flight to Spain I woke up with a high fever. I choked down medicine and went anyway, because the tickets were non-refundable, but I've been bedridden and recovering for about 24 hours.

This is one of the reasons I haven't been responding to comments since CoL was released. Reason #1: I needed a break. Reason #2: I've been both incredibly busy and sick.

That's the bad news. The good news is that City of Light has already sold about 4,500 copies! It's selling hundreds of copies a day and staying pretty steady in the Amazon Top 200 Best-Sellers, which is mind-blowing. It even cracked the Top 100 for a while, rising as high as #86 on the Amazon Best-Seller Charts, and I can barely believe that. If you had told me last year that I'd be on the Amazon Top 100, I'd have said something like, "No, not in the next year. God willing, maybe in the next ten years."

But you guys came through. You're all my favorite. Personally and individually.

So anyway, the total novel sales have risen to roughly 76,000. I'm hoping to crack 100K by June 2nd, because then I could say I sold a hundred thousand books in my first year, which would just be fantastic. I don't think I'd be able to tell that to anyone without cackling like a mad emperor.

Anyway, I'll be putting up some more posts pretty soon regarding the future of the Traveler's Gate universe, my summer plans, the new series I'll be starting this fall, etc. Once I recover, hopefully.

In the meantime, discuss City of Light in free, spoiler-full terms! 

http://www.amazon.com/City-Light-Travelers-Gate-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00JL6JMR6

Enjoy! 

(For those of you in the U.K., it usually takes a little longer. I don't know why--it's a weird thing on Amazon's end.)

Now off I go to PAX East...and hopefully I'll get to sleep on the plane.