Ask the Author: Naomi Novik
Answered Questions (37)
Naomi Novik
The name is absolutely an homage to McKinley! The Damar books are some of my absolute favorites and have been since childhood.
Naomi Novik
The Scholomance series is a trilogy! I won't spoil what happens in which volume though but so glad you've enjoyed! :D
Naomi Novik
It is Baba Jaga's cottage! Which is not necessarily always in the same place and time. And this didn't end up making it into Uprooted so isn't canon, but in my head, Agnieszka did find her cottage (in some disrepair), rather than build it from scratch, so it might also be hers. :D
Naomi Novik
I would like a matching set myself! Grim Oak Press (who have done the limited editions of Uprooted and Spinning Silver) are going to be doing a three-volume limited edition set of the whole series, but that's going to be pricey, so I do hope that at some point there will be a unified set of paperbacks. But no plans currently alas. :(
Naomi Novik
I would like a matching set myself! Grim Oak Press (who have done the limited editions of Uprooted and Spinning Silver) are going to be doing a three-volume limited edition set of the whole series, but that's going to be pricey, so I do hope that at some point there will be a unified set of paperbacks.
Naomi Novik
To be honest, I am guessing here (I don't write the copy!) but I'm pretty sure it is a publishing marketing reference and means they are marketing the book as both adult and YA (and that whoever wrote it doesn't read enough fanfic 😂).
Naomi Novik
You were right the first time -- it's hinting at Baba Jaga.
Naomi Novik
I wish I could, but I can't! I don't know it myself. She didn't tell me either. :)
Naomi Novik
It is! I'm generally leaning towards writing complete works at this point, after doing a long series it's nice to have that control over the entire story.
Naomi Novik
I would be glad to write a sequel if a story idea comes to me, but I've actually taken a few stabs at it, and nothing so far has really taken hold. It's definitely not something that I would deliberately avoid, but I also don't want to force it. When and if the story comes along, that's when I'll do it. But I will if it does!
Until then, Spinning Silver, while it's not a sequel, is a sort of sister-book that has a similar feel, so if you enjoyed Uprooted, you might like that one. It comes out in July. But that said, I too have had the experience of wishing that an author would stick with the characters I first fell in love with, so I sympathize with the desire for a sequel instead! I just can't write it until I can write it. :)
Until then, Spinning Silver, while it's not a sequel, is a sort of sister-book that has a similar feel, so if you enjoyed Uprooted, you might like that one. It comes out in July. But that said, I too have had the experience of wishing that an author would stick with the characters I first fell in love with, so I sympathize with the desire for a sequel instead! I just can't write it until I can write it. :)
Naomi Novik
It's not in the same world, but it's the world next door, if that makes sense! They are both fairy tale stories in that way, where even when fairy tales don't necessarily live in a single universe with the same exact rules and history, you can still recognize that the story is in the world of faery.
Naomi Novik
So I can't answer these questions for SURE, because I don't really know until I write things out exactly what will happen -- my primary motivation for writing is in order to find out what happens myself.
But I do think that yes, Sarkan has come back to live in the valley; he returned because he managed to sufficiently overcome his fear of putting down roots and being part of a community. I don't think he's going to take a house in the village or anything, but he isn't going to run away again.
My best guess is that Agnieszka and Sarkan both continue to live in the valley, occasionally quarreling so hard that either he storms off to the tower or she storms off to her house in the forest, and whichever of them was more at fault will eventually grudgingly recognize it and go to the other and they'll end up spending a stretch there.
As far as training, I think that while Agnieszka would keep learning all her life, her apprenticeship is clearly over. She's learned HOW to learn on her own, at this point.
I suspect that Kasia would age but probably like an old-growth tree, very slowly and gradually.
But I do think that yes, Sarkan has come back to live in the valley; he returned because he managed to sufficiently overcome his fear of putting down roots and being part of a community. I don't think he's going to take a house in the village or anything, but he isn't going to run away again.
My best guess is that Agnieszka and Sarkan both continue to live in the valley, occasionally quarreling so hard that either he storms off to the tower or she storms off to her house in the forest, and whichever of them was more at fault will eventually grudgingly recognize it and go to the other and they'll end up spending a stretch there.
As far as training, I think that while Agnieszka would keep learning all her life, her apprenticeship is clearly over. She's learned HOW to learn on her own, at this point.
I suspect that Kasia would age but probably like an old-growth tree, very slowly and gradually.
Naomi Novik
I don't currently have plans for more Temeraire novels, but I've put out a short story collection (Golden Age & Other Stories) and there may be more short works that pop up now and again! And if not, there's always AO3. :)
Naomi Novik
Alas, I don't believe so. :( I am sad not to have the full run in those covers, I really loved them myself.
Naomi Novik
Thank you so much! And yes, Spinning Silver is out July 10 and focuses on three female protagonists.
Naomi Novik
Thanks to several people telling us the physical edition has gone to wacky prices, I'm happy to say that Subterranean Press is going to do another run of the trade hardcover edition! It's up for preorders on their website now. https://subterraneanpress.com/golden-...
Naomi Novik
It's not superstition exactly, it's more that they think of it the wrong way round. In the West, a dragon that isn't willing to accept a harness is not useful to the Aerial Corps. And if a prospective captain can't get a dragon to accept a harness when it's newly hatched and hungry and most amenable to persuasion, chances are no one will ever be able to persuade it to do so.
It is absolutely possible to form a strong bond between a dragon and a human without harness--in fact I would expect it's easier. You're asking quite a lot of a creature that instinctively wants to fly off to let you put a harness on it.
It is absolutely possible to form a strong bond between a dragon and a human without harness--in fact I would expect it's easier. You're asking quite a lot of a creature that instinctively wants to fly off to let you put a harness on it.
Naomi Novik
Unfortunately that one (which was the UK hardcover) is no longer being printed since the trade paperback was released! So I'm afraid you'd need to hunt for a secondhand copy. Sorry!
Naomi Novik
These days, mostly they are macs, which come pre-housebroken. ;) The laptop did need to be retrained after the El Capitan upgrade but has now settled back down.
Naomi Novik
I met most of my own beta readers through fandom and fanfic. We met in online discussions or at cons, chatted, got to know each other over time, I knew they liked my work because they told me so, and at some point I asked them to read something and they gave me useful feedback so I asked them again.
It's not that different from finding any other friend, except IMO the key is you need to find people who both like your writing and what you're trying to do in each particular work. The same person may not be the best beta reader for every single thing you write. Someone who cares about you personally and hates the stuff you're doing is probably the worst possible beta reader to ask, because they will do their best to give you feedback in the most well-meaning way but it will be all-wrong feedback, and you have to be pretty experienced to recognize that it's wrong.
Also, they need to be a good match for you in terms of sensitivity and communication style. For instance, you ask about negative comments -- in my case, that is all I really want from my beta readers. I mean, it's good to know when a bit is really working, but for me, I mostly want to hear what's NOT working, and I am impatient to fix it so I don't really want it padded with stuff intended to avoid hurting my feelings -- I am not very sensitive. But if you ARE sensitive and likely to be knocked off your stride by negative feedback, then you want to find a beta reader who will be more positive and more gentle.
However, the trade off is that the negative feedback is what can actually make your work better. So it's important to work on being able to take negative feedback and use it if you want to improve.
As far as negative comments more broadly, like in public reviews after a work is published, those you just ignore, unless you happen to see one that makes you think "oh hey I never thought of that" and it's really insightful in a way that you find useful for applying to your future work. You have little to no context for the commenter and they have no relationship with you, so the chances of their feedback being really useful are small. It's like stopping a random stranger on the street and asking them to read your work and give you feedback. If it was that easy to get useful feedback it wouldn't be hard to find a beta reader.
(Oh, in case it doesn't go without saying: never argue with negative comments. That's like trying to explain to someone why they should enjoy chocolate ice cream when they have just told you they don't like chocolate ice cream.)
It's not that different from finding any other friend, except IMO the key is you need to find people who both like your writing and what you're trying to do in each particular work. The same person may not be the best beta reader for every single thing you write. Someone who cares about you personally and hates the stuff you're doing is probably the worst possible beta reader to ask, because they will do their best to give you feedback in the most well-meaning way but it will be all-wrong feedback, and you have to be pretty experienced to recognize that it's wrong.
Also, they need to be a good match for you in terms of sensitivity and communication style. For instance, you ask about negative comments -- in my case, that is all I really want from my beta readers. I mean, it's good to know when a bit is really working, but for me, I mostly want to hear what's NOT working, and I am impatient to fix it so I don't really want it padded with stuff intended to avoid hurting my feelings -- I am not very sensitive. But if you ARE sensitive and likely to be knocked off your stride by negative feedback, then you want to find a beta reader who will be more positive and more gentle.
However, the trade off is that the negative feedback is what can actually make your work better. So it's important to work on being able to take negative feedback and use it if you want to improve.
As far as negative comments more broadly, like in public reviews after a work is published, those you just ignore, unless you happen to see one that makes you think "oh hey I never thought of that" and it's really insightful in a way that you find useful for applying to your future work. You have little to no context for the commenter and they have no relationship with you, so the chances of their feedback being really useful are small. It's like stopping a random stranger on the street and asking them to read your work and give you feedback. If it was that easy to get useful feedback it wouldn't be hard to find a beta reader.
(Oh, in case it doesn't go without saying: never argue with negative comments. That's like trying to explain to someone why they should enjoy chocolate ice cream when they have just told you they don't like chocolate ice cream.)
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