Christopher Paolini at the Dallas Museum of Art

Right now, Christopher Paolini is having his last book tour for the Inheritance Cycle. He has recently published the deluxe edition of the final book in the series (which includes a great deal of goodies, including artwork of Shruiken and extra content) and he is going on a book tour to promote this version. Fortunately for me, one of his first stops happened to be at the Dallas Museum of Art.

I found out about his appearance, so close to where I live, via an email from the museum. I immediately called all of the Eragon fans I knew and purchased my ticket. When the day came for the event, my close friend Andrew and I drove up to Dallas, both of us definitely fangirling as we awaiting the beginning of the event. Both of us are aspiring writers and big Eragon fans, so it was a very exciting prospect for us.

The fans present filled a small auditorium that seated about three hundred or so and nearly all attendees were under fourteen or the parents of those kids, but that didn't put a single damper on the event, nor did Paolini let that dictate how he presented himself and his material in the slightest.

Christopher Paolini, author of the Inheritance Cycle series, was home schooled and graduated at the age of fifteen. Following his graduation, he tells us he was extremely bored. Not having schoolwork was fun for about two weeks and then he realized there was now nothing for him to do. After digging himself a nine by nine foot hole in his backyard and fashioning it into a Viking Mead Hall, he realized he needed to focus his efforts on something worthwhile. He chose to write the kind of fantasy novel he enjoyed reading.

Andrew and I with our tickets.

So Christopher Paolini set to work creating Eragon, the first in the series of four rather large books, and finished it within the year. Then he went back to read his work for the first time . . . and marveled at how terrible it was. It was so bad, he told us during his time onstage, that the main character's first name wasn't even Eragon. It was Kevin. And, to be honest, who would have read the tale of Kevin the Dragon Rider?

Instead of giving up, Paolini went through the tedious process of editing and rewriting the first draft, as all authors must. From that came the book we all know and love. When it was complete, the Paolini's chose to self-publish. Christopher's sister, Angela (inspiration for the character of the same name in the series) drew up the cover while he drew the map and eye that remain in each printing of the book to date, while his parents helped him self-publish and draw attention to the book through numerous events and engagements they secured for him. In order to garner attention during that time, he often attended those engagements in medieval clothing consisting of knee-high boots, a red pirate shirt, and similar items of clothing.

After a Q&A forum, during which he confirmed plans for further books set in Alagäesia and the fact that his current novel is sci-fi, he gave a few tips for aspiring authors that I took notes on and will share here:

-Good readers are good writers. Read as much as you can. The things you don't like can help improve your writing just as much as the things you do, even if it's only showing you what you shouldn't do.

-Learn as much as you can about the English language. The more you know about spelling, grammar, and writing in general, the better you'll be able to communicate what's in your head to your audience.

-Write about whatever it is that you care about most. If you aren't interested in what you're writing, you won't do a very good job at it and writing won't be nearly as enjoyable. Even if what you care about isn't that popular, there are a lot of people on this planet and there are bound to be plenty of people who will find what you love just as cool as you do.

-Write EVERY DAY. It keeps you in practice and helps you maintain your relationship with the material so that writing will come easier to you than if you write once a week and have to take the time to get back into the world of what you're writing every time you sit down to it. "Persistence beats out talent almost every time," he reiterated. If you keep putting it off, you'll never finish. Writing every day keeps you focused on finishing what you've started.

-Have fun. If writing isn't enjoyable to you in the slightest, you're probably pursuing the wrong thing. Enjoy what you're doing and do it well.

My signed copies of Eldest and Inheritance.

Overall, it was a wonderful event and Christopher Paolini is really quite an engaging speaker. I loved hearing everything he had to say. He's quite friendly and very relatable. Afterward, he signed books for everyone. I brought Eldest and Inheritance for him to sign and he seemed rather excited about the fact that I had purchased the European editions, which was pretty cool for me.

Christopher Paolini is a master when it comes to the skill of writing and I definitely suggest his books to anyone looking for a fantasy that will keep you hooked from beginning to end. He's a pro at his trade and a wonderful person, definitely worth seeing if he tours in your area. I'm incredibly thankful he came to Dallas and grateful that I had the opportunity to see him.

Top Ten Tuesday: Vivid Worlds

Over at The Broke and the Bookish, they have this thing called Top Ten Tuesday. Each Tuesday they give other bloggers a chance to participate in making a top ten list with them. This week the topic is "Most Vivid Worlds/Settings in Books". 

So here are mine: 

1. Narnia
-I've been a huge Narnia fan since I was a kid and my dad read the books to my brother and I as bedtime stories that I eagerly clung to. Narnia meant Aslan, it meant a magical world where animals could talk and children could win battles. It holds a very special place in my heart and still hasn't stopped taking hold of my imagination.

2. The Magical Version of our World Seen in Harry Potter
-I'm a latecomer to the "Potterhead" grouping, only having discovered the wonder of this universe in the last few years, but I'm hooked. I love everything about the way J.K. Rowling integrated magic into our world and hid it behind closed doors so that when you're reading it, you can almost believe that it's all true. Then again, that would mean I was a Muggle in a magical world, so that's a downside . . .

3. Middle Earth
-Granted, I've only read The Hobbit, but I loved every bit of the world Tolkien created there. Also, I've seen the Lord of the Rings movies so many times I can practically quote the majority of it. Altogether, Middle Earth gets my thumbs-up for being wonderful, yet dangerous; majestic, yet scary. Everything about it simply urges you to find out more.

4. The World in Robin Wasserman's Skinned Trilogy
-This isn't the type of world I would love to be a part of (like the first three), but it's one I found myself engulfed in. It's very believable and realistic, drawing you in and making you ask questions that most novels wouldn't dream of diving into. The way she has formed each dilemma, each evolution of the way our world turned out, is something you can almost see happening. And it's quite a scary thing to observe.

5. Panem
-Despite my dislike of Suzanne Collins' writing style, she did manage to create a rather vivid picture of the futuristic world her book is set in. It's another believable, yet scary place to live. I wouldn't want to set foot in it, but I could most assuredly believe it.

6. Alagaesia
-In Christopher Paolini's fantastically crafted world, I managed to lose myself in a book that took me longer than most to read. Where I tend to get impatient with books that I can't tackle in a few days (which are few, because I read pretty quickly), these ones were a pleasure straight through. Paolini etched every bit of his world in clear contrast and made every bit as real and defined as the world we live in.

7. Amara
-It's been a while since I've read Donita K. Paul's DragonKeeper Chronicles, but I enjoyed them immensely. The different creatures Paul created were interesting and original, her dragons were varied and interesting, the story wonderful. It was entirely well done. 

8. The World in the Dragons in Our Midst Series
-Bryan Davis created an incredibly imaginative and interesting world in his series' detailing the lives of Billy Bannister and Bonnie Silver. There are actually three series within this series, of which I've only read the first two and that was probably four or five years ago. Still, the details and intricacies of the world he created stand out in their excellence.

9. The Worlds in Howl's Moving Castle
-This book is a wonderful journey and one I intend to reread as often as possible in the future. A large part of this is due to the worlds within it (yes there are more than one, but they're all connected). They are worlds of magic and war, of impossible contracts and things that shouldn't come to life but do. It draws you in and invites you to stay for as long as you should choose to remain.

10. Faerie
-I'll finish off with a world I'm not sure whether I would want to live in or away from, but one that takes one's imagination and soars with it. There are so many things I loved about the world Neil Gaiman created in Stardust and I would definitely cite it as a vivid world that I am quite fond of.

Inheritance by Christopher Paolini

"It is true, you must be capable with your weapon, but anyone with the time and the inclination can acquire technical proficiency. To achieve greatness, though, that requires artistry. That requires imagination and thoughtfulness, and it is those qualities that the best warriors share, even if, on the surface, they appear completely different."


Upon finishing Inheritance, the final book in the magical Inheritance Cycle series, I believe it is safe to say that Christopher Paolini, its author, bears each of those qualities -- artistry, imagination, and thoughtfulness -- when it comes to his skill with the pen.

In the four books that make up this series, Paolini has crafted a tale of epic proportions, the likes of which haven't been seen since Tolkien's day. It's hard to believe that the author was a mere fifteen years of age when he first undertook the endeavor. The craftsmanship is so well-done and beautifully written that one would assume him to be twice or even three times his age when he began.

The Inheritance Cycle tells the story of Eragon, a young boy from Palancar Valley, who stumbles upon a dragon's egg while in the mountain range near his home. Little does he know that this is the beginning of a journey beyond his wildest dreams. Throughout the books, we come alongside him as he learns the full extent of what it means to be a Dragon Rider in a land where dragons are all but extinct -- a result of a bloody massacre instigated by the current king, Galbatorix, and his faithful servants, the Forsworn.

Inheritance, the long-awaited final book dwarves the others in size, but also in skill. Paolini's writing is at its finest and his storytelling weaves a tale that none could have dreamed possible. It is a book well-wrought and worth reading again and again.

I will most definitely be looking forward to any future works by Mr. Paolini. He is a masterful weaver of stories and I will be damned if I miss a single one.

(And for all you Whovians out there, keep an eye out for the little hints dropped about our favorite Time Lord. They're there and they'll make you grin every time.)


Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥


"But you did everything you could, and when you could do no more, you made peace with your fate, and you did not rail needlessly against it. That is wisdom, not weakness."