The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter (Riyria Chronicles #4)

So, Virgil Puck, Lady Martel, and Falkirk de Roche walk into a bar . . . sorry, sometimes my mind just goes places whether I want it to or not. But seriously, this book definitely has a very loose thread, and I want to offer some further explanation. So, here goes.

For those who read The Death of Dulgath, you may recall it starts with a simple job to steal a diary from Lady Martel. Royce is caught by a small dog called Mister Hipple. When I originally wrote that scene, I had no plans for it to evolve into anything more than what it was . . . a fun, simple incident to start out the book—a way to reacquaint (or introduce) the reader with our duo known as Riyria. Anyway, in that book I happened to mention that Lady Martel denied the diary was stolen and claimed there hadn’t been a break-in. I wrote those words mainly so I didn’t have to send Royce back to kill ol’ Ralph, the guard who had happened upon them during the heist, but that diary job also planted a seed. In The Death of Dulgath, Royce wonders why Lady Martel would deny the theft of the diary. I wrote this as an inconsequential matter, but then thought, Wouldn’t it be cool if the diary was more than just a diary? And if it was, what would it be?

If the series had ended with The Death of Dulgath, the diary could be exactly what it started out as: a prop to start the book. But when I decided to write The Disappearance of Winter’s Daughter, I was drawn back to that little support and considered what it could mean in the grand scheme of the Riyria tales as a whole. Hence it took on a new life. A life I couldn’t possibly—nor did I wish to—bring to full closure in this book, but one that I wanted to at least begin to address. So, yeah, I did open a window without closing it . . . but in my defense, it was a very small window, and nothing in the cliff-hanger category. After all, the story of The Disappearance of Winter’s Daughter has been resolved. Genny is safe, the duo’s been paid, and the villain is dead. Case closed. If you never hear anything more about this sideline, you can just consider it for what it was, a little aside that never went anywhere. Literature is filled with such things, and so is life.

So, why bring it up at all? For the same reason I create any thread that spans multiple books: It’ll greatly enhance the next story. Weaving threads was a hallmark of the Riyria Revelations and one of the things I enjoyed the most when writing the books. Getting just a taste of this, or that, or the other thing, and then contemplating where various clues might lead, was a huge part of the fun. When you get to the next book and Easter eggs start appearing, it’s hugely rewarding. In short, a little bit of tease will make the next book so much better than if I didn’t lay a foundation.

Does that mean there will be another Riyria book? This, too, must remain one of those irritating loose threads of literature and real life, because I won’t make promises I don’t know I can keep. With each year, my time grows shorter, and the books I want to write multiply. If people indicate that they are tired of the pair, I won’t release another. If that happens, I might put out a freebie (either a short story or a behind-the-scenes piece), explaining this and other mysteries. But if there is still a desire for more, I have the start of a thread that I can knit into a scarf.

Okay, one last thing I want to mention, and this is only for people who have read the Riyria Revelations. If Genny and Leopold seem vaguely familiar, they should. You ran into the Duke and Duchess of Rochelle in the fifth book: Wintertide (which is the first half of the omnibus edition titled Heir of Novron). They ended up helping out Royce and Hadrian, and now you know why they were so willing to do so. After Riyria saved Genny’s life and reunited the pair, the duke and duchess are forever in their debt, and I was glad that the opportunity arose to describe how that debt came into being.

Okay, I think that’s all I have to say, except to once again thank you for your support of my writing, and to remind you that if you want to drop me a line, please do. My address is [email protected].