I think, looking back at all these books so far, A Dance of Blades is currently my favorite. Cloaks was written by some strange, clearly deranged madman. This book? I opened my original Note from the Author with this line: “I think I’m getting the hang of this.” And I think it is still very much appropriate. In preparing everything for re-release under Orbit’s guiding hands, this was the one needing the least work. Not to say it didn’t need work… Devi will slap me if I claim that. Plus it’d be a total lie. But this was the point I was writing toward even when I started Cloaks. This was the big moment.
But it also helped immensely that I got to bring in all these other characters I’d spent so much time with in my Half-Orc books. Haern without the Eschatons just wasn’t the same. But Tarlak? God, he’s so much fun to write. Mocking Brug never gets old. Even having Veliana finally meet up with Deathmask was immensely satisfying, building up everything that would come later. Bringing in new characters to interact with the old kept Blades in a perfect balance for yours truly, something I always strive to reach in any book I write.
Speaking of new characters, I should probably confess my absolute terror at writing the character Ghost. A quick glance at my author photo should probably explain why. I’m about as white as it gets, and living here in the dead center of the US heartland, what the heck do I know about walking in someone like Ghost’s shoes? But I had to try. His concept, his character in my head, it was just too awesome, too striking, too memorable. Going back over Blades, I fell in love with him all over again. I’m glad I didn’t wimp out, I’m glad I stuck to my guns. Did I succeed? Heck if I know. But I think I did.
Some of you might be wondering at Thren’s diminished role in this book. That was very much on purpose. The final confrontation between Haern and Thren comes (much) later, which meant I couldn’t keep him as a central villain, especially not in this book, where Haern needed to develop fully into his own character. So I found it better to have Thren lurking in the background, always referenced, always affecting decisions and outcomes even when he’s not there. That one scene between him and Deathmask? Hardest one to write in the entire book.
Speak of hard scenes… yeah, Senke dying? I know it may sound odd for an author to have regrets. I mean, we’re gods of our little universes. I could have Senke come riding back to life on a pink pony with rainbows shooting out his fingers. But it wouldn’t work, and it wouldn’t be right. And I wish I could have found a way to have Senke survive. He was fun, he was useful, and most important, he had a connection with Haern that even now I struggle to replicate with other characters. The closest I come, as you’ll see in A Dance of Mirrors, is with Zusa. May seem odd now, but if you look at what both of them endured, the restricted upbringing, plus the sheer skill each of them wields and can appreciate in the other, it won’t seem quite so strange.
They’re such a cute couple, really.
Well, I’ve rambled enough, so probably time to wrap this up. Thanks again to Michael for the agent stuff, Devi for pushing each draft to be that much better than the previous, my wife for putting up with my lengthy phone calls and inability to talk about really anything else at the dinner table, and you fans who have been with me since the very beginning.
And you of course, dear reader. I’d be foolish, if not professionally suicidal, if I did not accept that it is your time, your patience, your entertainment that keeps me writing my silly little stories. I hope, as the years pass and I crank out more and more stories of Haern, Tarlak, and the rest of the world of Dezrel, that you never once get bored. Mad at me? That’s all right. Sad at times? Perfect.
But never bored. I do that, and I’ll call it good.
David Dalglish
April 9, 2013