Peter took some time out of his busy schedule to chat with us here at SFFWorld about the re-release of his debut novel The Unremembered and the release of the sequel/second book in the “Vault of Heaven” series, Trial of Intentions.
A few years have passed since we last corresponded here at SFFWorld, how have the years been treating you and your writing?
To be honest, it’s been hectic. And at times, frustrating. My day job is hardly that: a day job. There’ve been long stretches where instead of writing at 3:30 a.m.—which is why I get up that early in the first place—I have to jump in to work projects. And more than I care to admit, I’m doing the same in the evenings. It’s gobbled up lots of my writing time.
Add to the mix that a writer and editor don’t always share the same vision for a book and series, and you get the idea.
It has been one of the stranger journeys in genre publishing for you Peter; especially for The Unremembered, would you care to give a bit of the TV Guide version?
Well, as I mentioned above, sometimes writer/editor pairings aren’t perfect. That’s no one’s fault. It happens. What you hope and strive for is that the writer and editor can, in fact, share the same vision. When that doesn’t happen, sometimes it warrants a change. Good for everyone involved.
That’s what happened in my case. And when I landed with my new editor . . . things fell into place. It wasn’t long before we jointly agreed that the best route was to reissue The Unremembered—release an edition more in line with my original intent.
You were able to make some changes to The Unremembered, did this necessitate more changes to the second installment of the series Trial of Intentions?
Actually, no. I’d already written much of that book before starting to work with my first editor. And I had a good blueprint for what I wanted to do. I just forged ahead writing the book I wanted to write.
My approach to the series was to start with some familiar things to fantasy readers, then begin turning the crank to take them somewhere new. Somewhere my own. That begins in the latter part of The Unremembered—I won’t share spoilers here—but then I really step on the gas in Trial of Intentions. Readers who may think they’ve got characters and plot progression figured out . . . are in for a surprise.
Not many authors have the opportunity to reboot their debut novel in the fashion you did. Do you feel better placed within the genre community now to spread the word and song of your work?
I feel, at least, that the book is closer to what I’d originally intended. That’s a good feeling.
Beyond that, I’m also really excited for readers to discover Trial of Intentions, too. I go deep into the music-magic system I’ve built, which reviewers (as well as other pro writers who’ve read it) are saying is unlike anything they’ve seen before. There’s also a whole new science element that crops up. I’m an amateur astronomer, and readers will find an entire society dedicated to science—and it’s relevant to the plot. Plus, I deal with some sensitive topics by way of character motivation. For example, suicide. It was always part of the narrative development of the series. But I had a friend commit suicide recently, and I think subconsciously it wove its way deeper into the text. There’s some pain in a few of my characters’ story that grows from this. And generally, I think Trial of Intentions turns many genre conventions on their heads. I mean, I have a main badass character who’s trying to avert war—that’s where the whole science thing comes in—rather than escalate to war. We’ll see if he succeeds, or is drawn inexorably to confrontation. But it fun as hell to write.
Looking back, if you were given the means of time travel, what would the Peter Orullian of 2015 holding the “Author’s Definitive” edition of The Unremembered say to the Peter Orullian of early 2011 with publication of The Unremembered just on the horizon?
I guess it would depend on what “on the horizon” means. If it meant publication of the original edition was close—the book already being printed—I’d say, “Be patient. Things have a way of working out.” If, on the other hand, it was not long after receiving my book contract, I might say, “Just because it’s your first go at all this doesn’t mean you can’t dig your heels in on certain things.”
You’ve had quite a few people look at and review The Unremembered over the years, can you talk a bit about how critical a good writer-editor relationship is to you as a writer and your finished book?
As I mentioned above, the writer/editor relationship is key. I’ve spoken over the last few years with several long-time pros, and heard the same thing: If you and your editor aren’t aligned on a vision for the books/series, it can be rough going. It isn’t that anyone in the equation is “bad.” Generally, folks have good intentions. But sometimes narrative goals are misaligned. Never a good thing.
In the time since The Unremembered first published, you’ve written and published some short fiction in the world of The Vault of Heaven. How was the process for writing and publishing that collection (published February of this year) different from the novels?
Novels are big, roomy things. Or can be. Yet, you don’t want to drop all the world building or history or character back-story into a novel. What I did instead, was write shorter pieces to tell the stories of key events in the history of my world, origin stories for some of the characters, or more fully explore elements of the world that didn’t drive the plot of the books.
As stand-alone stories, they work well. But, when read in conjunction with the books, I think they accrue to a larger story experience. There are resonances between them that make them good companions.
Process-wise, they still went through editorial and copyedit, etc. I did get to work closely with the cover artist, which was awesome.
Of course you’d like readers to read both The Unremembered and The Trial of Intentions, but would you advise against readers diving directly into Trial of Intentions without reading The Unremembered?
When the delays I mentioned above stretched the time between books, I decided to write Trial of Intentions as an entry point to the series. So, if readers want to jump in with Trial of Intentions, they’ll be fine.
If anyone has read the original edition of The Unremembered, they don’t need to read the Author’s Edition of that book to segue into Trial of Intentions. But if someone feels like they need to start at the beginning, I do recommend they read the Author’s Edition of The Unremembered vs. the original. The updated book is stronger.
Music is clearly very important to you, what/who are some of new bands and / or musicians who have been on constantly play for you lately?
I’ve been listening to a band called DGM a lot lately. Love those guys. Some of James Labrie’s [lead singer of Dream Theater] solo stuff is really good. I came late to Circus Maximus, but really dig their compositions—the vocals a little less so. I’m also really enjoying the new era of Kamelot with Tommy Karevik. And I just love Nightwish.
I’m looking forward to Geoff Tate’s new band Operation Mindcrime’s trilogy release. Geoff’s a good storyteller, and this three-album story sounds ambitious. Plus, I love Geoff’s voice.
I also happened upon Vanden Plas. They do some really good things. Also, Wolverine, out of Sweden; singer has incredible tone.
I’ve also been listening to lots of jazz and Sinatra, of late.
With your background as a singer, have you ever thought to turn some of the stories from The Vault of Heaven to music, like a Metal/Rock Opera?
Indeed! I’m in the process of writing a concept album as a companion to go with the series. It simultaneously tells the story of Belamae—one of the maesteri that teaches the music magic in my world—and something I call The Song of Suffering, which is a song of power in the series. The album is pretty dynamic, with some really heavy stuff, as well as some slow, introspective tunes, as well. With luck, it’ll be out by the end of the year. If folks want a sense of my voice, I’ve got some stuff up on my website at http://orullian.com/music/default.html.
Any convention plans in the future? Seems a lot of things are being said about Sasquan (seemingly in your backyard), which is where the Hugos will be awarded.
I’m committed for Miscon—weekend before the release of Trial of Intentions. They’re actually letting the con sell the book early there, so that will be cool.
Beyond that, the one’s I’m eyeing are: San Diego Comicon, Gencon, and New York Comicon. A lot depends on work, though.
With your day job at Microsoft/XBOX, is there any chance of seeing a Vault of Heaven game or little Easter Eggs in some forthcoming games for fans of the books?
Oh man, I wish! But alas, no.
And hey, Rob, thanks! Really appreciate you taking time to do this. Much appreciated.
Great interview! Excited to read these books!