Interview with Robin Hobb

Q: In The Farseer, The Liveship Traders and The Tawny Man, you -- deliberately or not -- left a lot of things up in the air at the end, promising more to come. And yet, such is not the case with The Soldier Son trilogy. Was is meant to be more or less self-contained from the beginning?

I think the best place to end a story is where the next story would logically begin. So I’m afraid I’ll have to disagree with you about the ending of the Soldier Son Trilogy. I think if I’d wanted to, I could have begun a chapter right after the ending and called it ‘Decisions.’ Without going into any spoilers, I think it’s easy to see that Nevare faces some huge choices, and it was not at all clear to me that he was locked into any set path. All of the characters are really on the stepping off point for big changes, which, of course, is a great place to begin any story. One can always imagine a ‘happily ever after’ ending following that last chapter. But I think it’s just as easy to imagine that their lives continue, unpredictable and eventful as always.


Q: If you could go back in time, what advice would you give the younger Robin Hobb concerning her writing career?

Hm. Start sooner. And keep all the early stuff that I wrote rather than discarding it. Well, actually, I’m not sure of that second part.

This answer keys in to a discussion I was having with a friend earlier today. I was looking at the lives of people who are hugely successful. I don’t necessarily mean in a monetary way, but people who are doing what they love, in unique ways. And most of them showed signs of what they would be when they were in their teens. Now I did start writing in my teens, but I had heard from so many people that I couldn’t possibly make a living from writing fiction that I myself didn’t take my writing seriously. I did it ‘on the side’ rather than saying, ‘This is what I love and what I’m going to do with my life.’ So, to answer your question, I wish I had taken the plunge sooner and made a commitment to doing this with my life.


Q: You recently said that there were six different projects you were toying with in regards to your next novel/series. In a post that created a ripple of excitement among your fans, you said that you were considering returning to the Rainwilds and that you missed Kennit. Have you made a decision as to what you will be writing next? Say yes!

Yes, I’ve made a decision. And one book will be set in the Rainwilds. And that is as much as I’m going to say about it right now, mostly to avoid setting expectations up. I will say, clearly, that I’m not going to write the ‘next chapter’ of Liveship Traders or pick up the previous cast and just extend their lives.

The other projects remain viable and are things I’ll continue to work at on the side. Some of them are unfolding in very interesting ways. Some are more Lindholm than Hobb. All of them are things I want to write. I’ve just decided that the Rain Wild story will come first.


Q: Anything else you wish to share with your fans?

No, I think that sums it up nicely. Thanks again for this opportunity to put this discussion out to the readership.

Best wishes,

Robin

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Interview by Patrick
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