Welcome, welcome, welcome to the Fantasy Fangirls Podcast, where two sisters dive deep into beloved fantasy lore, characters, themes, theories, and more! Today... I never thought I'd say these words, but we are so excited to bring you our Rebecca Yaros interview from her Denver stop on the Onyx Storm tour. Screaming, crying, throwing up. It's fine. It's great.
few housekeeping things before we dive into the interview. Number one, spoilers for Onyx Storm. There are a few times where Rebecca Yaros in the interview says earmuffs and you can absolutely just skip those parts if you have not finished the book.
However, if you want the full experience which we highly recommend, please listen only after you have finished onyx storm we don't want to spoil anything for you next we were so fortunate to get special permission to record this audio from rebecca yaros and her team we are still baffled and so excited because this was not a normal instance with her tours. And we feel so, so, so honored that they trusted us to get this recording. However, if-
If you want the video clips of this interview, because remember, what you're about to listen to is just audio. Please head over to Fantasy Fangirls Pod on Instagram or TikTok and you'll see a... bunch of video clips on there with crazy reactions, Rebecca's amazing facials, all that good stuff.
And to round this out, Lexi and I this weekend, Saturday, February 8th, are doing an all things Onyx Storm and Rebecca Yaros tour Q&A just for our fantasy fan club. This will highlight our experience interviewing Rebecca Yaros and the behind the scenes. well as some of our theories with context from this interview, because wow, our heads were spinning. So if you would like to join us on this live Q&A, head over to fantasyfangirls.com slash fan club or.
click the link in the show notes. The Q&A is available for all three fan club tiers. And now, without further ado, it is time to head to the Paramount Theater and interview the wonderful, the incredible, the gracious beyond all belief, Rebecca Yaros. First things first, can we give the biggest cheer of gratitude for Tattered Cover and Paramount Theater? Because this is amazing!
a swag bag please DM or email tatteredcover and they are going to ship you a bag so you have a special bag for yourself yeah and now Welcome, welcome, welcome to the Onyx store It's surreal because I've been to so many shows here. So standing on the stage is, it's weird. But hi. How many of you guys flew in? Are you drinking water? Everyone, all the locals, grab yourself a visitor. There we go. It's your job to make sure the visitors are drinking their water.
That is true. It's like the number one thing about Colorado, but are you drinking enough water? Absolutely. Well, first of all, welcome home. Thank you. It's so nice to be home. Like, it's just, it's... Even being on stage, which is weird, again, it's just nice to be home.
There's nothing like sleeping in your own bed. I know. It's so the best. Other than I had nightmares that I wasn't going to make it here in time. So I'm hoping when I get home tonight, my bed's like, no, no, you may slumber. You were here before us. You got here before me. I figured you guys wouldn't start without me. But there's always the off chance. That's a lot of power you're giving us. We have a bajillion questions for you. I hope we're not that scary.
First up, one of the fandom's favorite parts of Onyx Storm was Violet and her journey. What did you love most about writing Violet in this book? So first up, who in here has finished Onyx? Who in here hasn't? Right. Okay. We're going to do our best to keep it spoilery-free, but... Hold up. We are one book community.
And we do not shame people who read slower than we do. Secondly, there's going to be a couple spoilers. It's the last show on the tour, so we're just going to say earmuffs. Okay. Is everybody satisfied? So it's not a spoiler. My first thing, my favorite thing about Violet is she's so much more confident in this book. Of course, you know, I think if you haven't read Iron Flame, you're SOL. Okay, Iron Flame's on the table.
Because of what's happened to Zayden, she's so much more confident and so much more determined in what she has to do. And so the problems and the shakiness she experiences in Iron Flame doesn't matter to her. Are those broccolis? Thank you. This is the first time vegetables being thrown on the stage is a good thing. I'm like, you guys know I have ADHD, right? You can just derail this whole thing. So, let's just, okay. So, thank you.
thank you for my broccolis uh so yeah my favorite thing is how confident she is and that she has very much she's realized in this spoiler or not spoilery they can't punish her They can, but they can't really, because what are they going to do? She has Taryn. She has Andarna. So that's my favorite thing. Love it. I love her so much. In fact, she became our favorite FMC. Instantly. Yeah, absolutely.
All right, that was the easy question. We are dying to know Daddy Atosis. Excuse me, Colonel Atosis. Sign it. No, it's a whole thing. It's not a whole thing because we have popcorn. I totally get it, but you bring in daddy and I'm like, oh. No, not like that. Okay, sorry. I'm like always in my head with a podcast. You had an eyes on me moment with Dane. Sorry.
Bad daddy. Okay, okay. I was checking. Because I was like, oh, wait, no. Okay. This is going awry. Okay. This is like an actual bad daddy. Anyway. All right. We are dying to know his signet. Any hints about what it is? No. up question can you give us a song that represents it no i have a feeling we're gonna get that a lot today
We should make it a drinking game. But I'm getting better at it. I'm getting so much better at it. Because I would like blubber and then apologize. And now I'm just like, nah. We love it. Next question. who it belongs to any other second cygnets you can share with us no what are some cygnets we haven't seen yet Pure pressure, pure pressure. No.
I think because I'm right at the drawing block where I haven't started plotting before. Like, I know what's going to happen. So I'm not going to get, like, one, I know you guys have a good time theorizing about things. And I'm not going to, like...
steal your theorizing fun. Do you know what I mean? Thank you. But I have a whole wealth out there, so I'm not going to narrow them down yet. But just imagine what you could do with magic and then have a good time with it. How about this? Okay, follow-up to the follow-up question. Is there a reason we haven't seen it yet? Yes, because you only see the world through Violet's eyes. Except for Irma's. When you don't. So, really...
I only want you to know what she knows and what she takes notice of. So if she's not taking notice of it or has a reason to think of it, you don't think of it. If you're in a third-person book, like, anybody throwing a glass, fans? Fuck yes, yes, yes. Oh, I swear. Just so, in case you didn't get that from like the first page of Fourth Wing. Yeah, and it doesn't change that I have a kid here in the audience. I still swear. And he's like 15, don't stress. I've heard him gaming, okay?
I know what happens there. But third person, you get to know so much more. You might know things that the other characters don't, but in first person, you only know what Violet does. And the second I tell you, it is automatically in her brain and goes into her train of thought. Makes sense. Yep.
Oh, so why the map is like it is. Yes! Yes! The map is like it is because it's supposed to expand as Violet's knowledge of the world expands. It does not... You guys have no idea how much you scare me when you murmur. Okay? And it's not fully expanded because we thought it'd be too spoilery. Yep, exactly. All right, stop murmuring. It's like a threat.
Give us the tea. What's some of the interpersonal drama between the first six besides Lyra disagreeing? Wouldn't you like to know? Come on! I think about them a lot. Me too. I think about them in many ways. That if I were to tell you their interpersonal relationships, maybe it wouldn't make other things as fun.
Because I come from a world of interconnected stand-alones, where when you look at a secondary character, you think, what's their history? Who are they? What's their story? So we are going to get more. Maybe. All right. Why did Jack Barlow know about Feathertails before threshing? Because it's... Because up until then, they just hadn't bonded. So everyone knew that Feathertails existed. They just didn't know that they were children.
because that's what was protected by the empyrean so they just knew that they didn't bond and they weren't they were anti-war which kind of comes back full circle it's so weird when you have okay when things happen on places so That's like a kind of a known fact. Well, so follow-up question to that. Is it connected to the venom by any means? Because that's a theory out there. I don't listen to theories.
I know you don't. That's why I'm telling it to you. But what's the theory? The theories that Heather Taylor are Venom? It's that Jack was like in a... I'm going to really paraphrase it, but it's basically that Jack was in a Venom... horde of people before coming to Besgayeth and he got all the tea about the feather tails and all that kind of stuff. So when he got to Besgayeth, he was like, oh, I know things. And that's why he wanted to kill her. Cool. No. All right. There you go.
It's why I don't go in. I also sometimes like I'll see like it'll be like Empyrean Theory and I real like I scroll immediately because I'm kind of scared I'll go in there and like disrupt your joy and be like nah. Be like, I see your points. You very well thought out. Nah. But I want to leave you your joy. Thank you. Yeah, this is fun. All right. I know we're kind of going like really rapid fire here. Because I speak really quickly. So do we.
What can you tell us about this? Excuse me. What can you tell us about how the signets compliment or counter each other or show up when needed at certain times in history? So I think nature plays into balance. It's like when nature is realizing something's going to happen and bringing certain powers back.
for necessary times and necessary timelines, which is why it says you haven't, that echo is high, which is why it says you haven't seen the most powerful six in centuries. That chapter two epigraph is pretty cool, huh? Oh, is that two? Okay. Yeah. Only just because I went on a whole rampage GP type. About five minutes an episode. How does the magic on the continent work versus elsewhere? There is magic on the continent.
No shit. So, in other locations, there hasn't been any. Until you get to places there might be some. Cards! Sorry! Next time we're gonna do a tour like a month after. It's gonna be like, everybody reads, not everybody joins. But I don't want you guys feeling you get to buy two copies either. So, yeah. All right, here's one I think you can answer. May you please share Reddick and Aotrum's...
threshing story. Because the memes are meming. Not today, but I would consider doing, I would consider doing a bonus scene. Oh yeah. answer was it love at first sight was it like the like no okay oh no you gotta know i mean the dragon has to speak to you first right so you gotta kind of get you know some like hey hey hey hey yeah hey it's very hamilton hey yeah
Hey, exactly. So, no, not exactly, but then yes. Like, imagine, like, did we just become best friends? You know what I mean? But you have to, like, speak in order for that to happen. They are just my absolute favorite. I love them so much. I love the different relationships because the dragons are people to me.
They're just like in dragon cosplay kind of thing. So also, I've seen you. I totally leaned out the window and saw you guys. And you guys all look so cute. I was like, look at them in cosplay. I've seen Venon. I've seen people dressed up as Violet. Like, you guys are all... There's a chocolate cake? Shut up! Stand up! Stand up! Oh my god! No!
That is amazing. That's incredible. You just made my whole day. Thank you. Okay. I don't even remember where that was going because I just got so distracted by the chocolate cake. that's it that's all i've got oh um but i love seeing the different relationships because they're people to me so it's like who do you bond with why do you bond with that person how because not all like curmudgeonly and my hair is sticking to my lip gloss They're not curmudgeonly like Taryn.
I always picture Aeotrim like a frat boy. That's like, he's in my head, he is a frat boy. Yeah, absolutely. Very much, like he's not really mature enough, but he's like, dude, I'm gonna give it a whirl. He's like playing beer pong and crushing it. Yeah. Well, the two of them together playing it, oh my gosh. Oh, they'd be unstoppable. Oh, yeah. I want to lean away from Onyx Storm, so I'm just going to do for Fourth Wing and Iron Flame. Don't quiz me, for God's sake. No, I won't, I promise!
I will say, we did just do a trivia recently. We did not do very well. Really? Whoa, whoa, whoa. It was a hard one. It was a really hard one. I beat Nicole, first of all. Okay. And then I got fifth place, which, fifth place? is not that bad out of like 400. I would swap fifth place. Yeah.
It was good. It was good. And you can totally tell you sisters, man, because I would brag about beating my sister. Oh, she's not quiet about it, but neither would I be, so it's good. Well, it's only because I got something out of it with the... Wow! Anyway, we had beds also with Onyx. storm and stuff like that. So, oh yeah. Oh, and iron flame. I'm screwed. Well, it's kind of your fault. Put it in a nice way.
All right, most satisfying kill of Fourth Wing and Iron Flame. What did I say about the murmuring? Uh, Varish. Yeah. Just because...
Like, I knew where that was going. So when I was writing Fourth Wing and I knew how Dane's arc was going to go, I knew that was coming. And so I was preparing for that moment. And that moment for how Dane, when you read it one way, it looks like he's going to kill Violet. And when you read it the second way, knowing what he's really saying is, if you would just trust... If you had trusted me, none of this would have happened. If you had just trusted me, Liam wouldn't have died.
Killing me, Smalls. So it's written so you can read it both ways. Yeah. That really tripped me up. I remember reading that. It was like 3 o'clock in the morning. And I'm sure you're familiar with our GFDD. And after that, it was like... Oh my gosh, everything just flipped on its head. What do we call him now? Golly freaking Daddy Dane, but in a good way.
Really because I thought it was onyx that did that suddenly come out of onyx and there's like all these like memes that I see is like holy shit What's going on with the phantom now? It's like it's hate day. Now you want to jump him. I'm not sure where it's going. I'm very confused. I have feelings Daddy Dane. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. All right. Can you please give us one character besides Jesenia who is safe for the entire series? Absolutely not.
Okay, how about broccoli? I'm not going to kill a cat. There you go. Okay. Broccoli is safe. I'll kill a dragon, but I feel like cats are off, you know. It's like killing dogs. You don't kill dogs. You know what I mean? You also don't kill dragons. I mean, I think fourth thing would have taught you otherwise. reading which epigraphs do you hope we pay the most attention to in onyx storm dude all of them because i stash so much fun
You do. Really, you do. I do. And I was just saying backstage, like, my favorite, because I think I'm funny, and I'm really not. Like, I'm not, like, a humor writer, right? Like, I just, I could never write a rom-com. People would end up dying. But I love that Pancheck writes a memoir as a lieutenant. And then he writes like a second one.
Because, like, what the hell do you know about life as a lieutenant? But this man's like, I have enough to fill a memoir. But the epigraphs really are, like, my most valuable space, either to bridge time or to remind you of characters that aren't there or to keep romance alive. in a chapter where perhaps you don't have both your characters on stage or just hide stuff.
Is it always really important with the chapter that each epigraph goes to? Or like, what would you say the percentage is of applying specifically to that chapter? It usually has something to do with the chapter, but then it usually has a double meaning. Right, yeah. yeah oh don't we know all right uh this one's a tiny bit spoilery so earmuffs for anybody who has not read like halfway through onyx storm very light
Why did you choose each of the Zonal gifts for each person? Or at least a few of them, please. One. No, more than one. I'm sure you would love to know. However, so I laid those in there for a purpose. All right. We have two more books, okay? Two more books. I guarantee you this is going to be a no, but I have to shoot my shot. One was to wonder about a new family member like a brother What might you wish we pay attention to a little closely?
I would pay attention to who's missing at the end. I would pay attention to someone who feels like whatever they have been given is not enough. Which is always the case when you turn Ven in. When you turn Ven in, it's always because you need to reach for power beyond your own. You weren't given enough power. Like, it's just, it's always the case.
It's not a spoiler. For God's sakes, did you read Iron Queen? I am so happy that you just gave us even that little bit right now. Thank you. All right, everybody, we're done. All right. Can you give us some insight into how Kaori's records for dragon and rider bonds are incorrect? So what makes you think that members of the Perion always give their correct name to give to the rider?
Or what makes you think the writers aren't aware that it's a different name. It's the writer that tells you the dragon's name for record. So they're like, my name is blank, but don't tell them it's actually this, like, little sneaky secret. Wait, the dragon? I'm sorry, there's an echo here and I can't always hear it. So when the writer appears after thrashing to give the name to the person who's recording the bonds, it's the writer that says the name, not the dragon.
That is something that will keep me up at night tonight. So, Zayden does not have a mysterious grandmama who had some kind of crazy affair. Oh, well, I mean... I'm not discounting that. All right. RxSignet, we won't say what it is, but did it manifest before or after the Quest Squad? Before. Sorry. Before? Like Iron Flame before? No, like Onyx, but he doesn't know. He doesn't understand what's happening. Okay.
Is that like a reread and parse through the text? I'm sure if you go in there knowing you're looking for it, there's a couple things he says where he's just got gut feelings. Love that. We will do that. Listen, we're in Colorado. This is my home and spoilers are gonna happen. I'm sorry. We won't share the last page of the book. How's that? No, but it was my favorite. Well, and...
The the the way that it was formatted is it's like then you like flip to the next page It's like okay. Okay. That wasn't intentional. That was not intentional So what happened was I was asked because, okay, one day I swear I'm going to do like a podcast on publishing and what actually happens like behind closed doors. Because it's a business, right? And you guys only see like, my cheese match.
So I was asked to write a book around, or to write it around 200,000 words because Iron Flame is substantially longer and it depends on how many books you can put on the shelf. Okay, it's called like a pocket, like the size of the pocket. I went over. So because I went over, and we took chapters out, trying to cut it down to that. Are they going to be in the next book? No, because we shifted something. It's a what?
Oh, no, because it would change because we changed the plot. We had an entire chapter. I guess you guys are the only people who know this. We had an entire chapter of the squad going for Mr. Soaringales, as I'm kind of calling him. Papa Soaringales!
which by the way that was a bet of ours and I won so the entire squad was going for that and then it was decided that that could go and just have Dane Have Dane give it to her because it was important to me that Dane gives her the research because that's part of his character arc So I mean he was on that trip with the whole squad to go again
go get it. But that got cut for sake of space and time. And so what happens is formatting, they try to fit all these words onto these pages because I went over. So it just happened to be where formatting left to you at the end of that page. I would never have done that to you. I would have been like half way to know about that.
I would have like changed the font size on the last, but I didn't see it until it got to my house. So I'm sorry. It was one of those moments where it's like, okay, okay, okay, okay. I didn't know that until I saw a video or two. I didn't thumb to the last page of my own book to see what it looked like. It was a good kind of torture. I'm not going to lie.
It felt so good. To them. I'm sure others may feel differently. All right. Again, we're not going to say what it is, but Violet's second signet. I know that you've said, especially in the Variety article, about how it really is going to be evolving. So we've only seen kind of the beginning part of it here. Can you give us like a percentage of its full capacity that we have seen so far? Like...
Ten? Yes! Like, because, um, oh god, earmuffs, I don't know, earplugs. Like, just for like 30 seconds, just count it down. Okay, because it's something that she would be killed for. And so any other writer that had manifested would have been killed for it. So you have no idea what it can do, what it can't do, who can train her, who can't. There's probably one person alive that can train her.
Okay, hold on. So then... Zayden's signet, the second signet specifically, how much percentage-wise have we seen of his? Like 50. 55-0? Okay. All right. All right. What about Taryn's signet to Violet? Oh, she's got like 85%, but it's more of how, because she wields power. It's just more comfortable for her to wield it as lightning. So what she really has to do is figure out how to wield power, which is kind of like the whole point of learning how to aim, learning how to use the conduit.
learning how to stretch that power between her and the conduit. She's just gotta get some better control. Which is gonna, she's only a second year, so of course that's gonna come with time. Well, I mean, she's at the end of her second year now. That is true. What made you choose Lightning, out of curiosity? I thought it was just, I loved the idea of pure power and because she is frail and she has EDS and we, yeah, do we have zebras in the house? Yes.
So because we break, we snap, we bend, I wanted her to have the most powerful thing out there because I wanted to see the power dynamic flip. I wanted to see her to go from the one they all picked on and the one they all said would never make it to the one they all feared. All right. Was this the first time Venen have infiltrated Basquiat disguised as scribes? No. Yes. All right. I'll let you take this. See, I'm giving you some things. You are. Okay.
I highly doubt I'll get this, but I'm going to shoot my shot again. Is there a suspicious reason, then, why Nasia was always asleep in Iron Flame? Dude, Birch is narcoleptic. Okay, there we go. But no, it wasn't the first time. It's a very rigorous course of studies. Like, I mean, being a scribe is just, I mean, I'm a history major, right? So, like, when you're a history major, yes, for all the historians. I think we're forced to read so.
much, right? That I think he's just tired. Like he just disassociates and falls asleep. So... In Iron Flame, there is a moment when Violet sees a scribe with her hood up, and it's right before she goes into Battle Brief, and that is when everything's all crazy with Devera having... I thought that was always a scribe helping her with that. Yes, you're correct. It's a scribe helping her. It's a scribe helping get the...
Get the news things. Cool, yeah. About Zolia and all that. Have we seen a scribe who is actually a Venon on the page previous to Onyx Storm? No comment. All right. Is it Markham? I know, I know, I know, I know.
All right, we'll do a few more of us, and then we're going to turn it to your audience questions, which are amazing. I will say I think it's fascinating for people who are still evil without going then and now. Yes. Yes. I don't think Venet is like, and now you're evil. I think people just have a natural degree of good and evil. Yeah. Pivoting slightly into book four. Oh, Lord. Which we are very patient for, right, everybody? Yes. We're very patient. Thank you. Yes. Yes.
Yes, mental health matters. Thanks, guys, because my kid's in the audience, so I think he kind of misses his mom. Yes. What? Yes, I'm trying to. I got home in time to see him play hockey yesterday. It was the best thing ever. And they won, too. And they won. If you could use only a Taylor Swift song to describe Violet at the beginning of book four, what would it be?
Goes through catalog. Any Taylor Swift song of any album? Any album. The world is your oyster. Probably Look What You Made Me Do. Awesome. All right, so while we're on Taylor Swift songs, can you expand on why Bodhi's song is I look in people's windows? Because man, you really trip people up with that. I think he's always on the outside. He's always Zayden's shadow.
So he's always raised to be in Zayden Shao. He's always raised to be the heir. He's always raised to be the moralistic person who will be there. He's the spare. Does that make sense? So it's always about Zayden, but it's... he's a spare yeah let's pivot to some of y'all's questions because i'm reading through these and these are epic oh my god all righty um from gen w where are you okay so the easiest thing to do is to stick up your phone. What prompted you to write Broccoli?
Earmuffs. Sorry. Because I wanted to scare the crap out of you and then be like, no, just kidding. So if you read that scene, you'll get it. Okay, so follow-up question to that then. When you were in that particular part of the book, how much fun was that to write? In the place where things happen? In the place where things happen. It was the most fun. Because I knew it was going to happen at the end of it. But it was the most fun because...
where they are and what it symbolizes. God, this is so hard to talk around it. Because where they are and what it symbolizes, I had a lot of fun, but I knew I had a lot of room. A lot of room for growth, a lot of room to plant things, a lot of room just to kind of see where we were going to go on that aisle. And especially because, you know, some things work there. That was so fun to read. Yes.
I'm so glad. What do you think it is about the world? Oh, excuse me. This is from Melissa. Where are you? Are there multiple Melissa's? Okay, we're going to start the question, and if it's you, just stand. Woo-hoo! Hello, how's it going? All right, what do you think it is about the world you've built that appeals to such a broad audience, including people who don't typically read this genre? Dude, if I knew, I would tell everyone.
I really, I don't know what happened. I really, it was like, hey, do you want to write fantasy? And it's like, heck yes. Give us five ideas. I was like, here's five ideas. And my editor was like, the dragons. I was like, the dragons. And then I look up like two and a half years later and I'm here. I don't know. I like to think it's inclusivity. The what?
What? Oh, yeah, no, no, not gonna happen. But good try. Good try. Yeah, but I'd like to think it's the inclusivity. Part of me thinks it's just dragons. Like, I'm there for it, but I wish I knew. Hot men. Can I expand on that? Go for it. Because also, not only with the dragons, but how the dragons have such personality too.
Where in other books, as much as we love the dragons in them, they are kind of, I don't want to say like the pets, but a little bit more like that. And in this way, it's like, it's such a different dynamic and it's so much fun.
The humans are the pets. Exactly. Yes. Which is like, what? That's so cool. The dragons are the superior beings. They only tolerate humans because they have opposable thumbs and can wield cygnets. I'm serious. So it's very much like the humans are the pets. Like, look at my little guy. Check him out. Like, it's very much that.
So then what does that make broccoli? What does that make broccoli? The pet of the pet? The pet, the pet, the pet. Amazing. Asking the real questions here. All right, from Molly, what would Taylor Swift's signet be? I do not tell the queen her business. That's between Taylor and whomever she bonds. Okay? Okay. Really quickly, where's Molly? Oh, yeah, where are you? We're going to shoot our shot here with Kaylin O'Brien. Where are you? Don't be shy. It's just awesome. Where? Phones. There we go.
But see, it's just us and TikTok. It's fine. Tell us about The Ring. Good luck. That way we weren't spoilering. Like, I mean... Earmuffs! Earmuffs? I had it made. Can I ask a follow-up to that question? Yeah. I'm trying to say this without big spoilers. How long had the ring been in existence before it came into the picture?
In the real world or the book world? I love your real ring, but in the book world. Well, I would say when you notice that the blade is pulled in a certain area, it's not missing a stone. And then... It's in the book. And then she notices it is missing one. All right. From Erin, who is your favorite god slash goddess? And I'm going to add NY. Someone say Taylor Swift? And that's from Aaron. Aaron? Aaron! Hi, Aaron. That is the god we worship, yes. Who's my favorite? God, probably Malik.
And why? Because he's just... You meet him and you're done, I think. Because everyone kind of fears him. And I kind of love that everybody fears him. So I kind of find that a little hot. I need therapy. I don't have to tell you. All right, from Devin. What about Onyx Storm makes it your favorite book in the series? Ooh, where's Devin? Hi. Are you having fun?
Okay, I'm really excited. Okay, because I'm kind of nervous. So knowing that you're having fun is making it better. Okay, so it's my favorite in the series because my feet are firmly planted in the world. So I know what the world rules all around me. So when I wrote Fourth Wing... I wrote the rules as I went, because I write character-based, and so now I know what the rules are, and now I get to play. But now I'm firm enough in my own confidence as a writer. I just finished Variation. Thank you.
And a lot about Iron Flame knocked my confidence out. A lot of that process just beat me to a pulp. It's fine. It's all fine now. So I wrote Variation. I got my confidence back. And going into Onyx Storm, it was like, no, no, no. I know what I'm doing. this is the role, this is the story, this is it. And so I think I love it because one, I love to go places and do things. And I find like I had so much fun with all the intricacies of the politics.
in the places where we do things. So that was, to me, just like the best. And I knew the ending page and what was going to happen since I wrote Fourth Wing. And so to me, I was just driving toward that. Like, it was so much fun. Do we have more moments like that to come that you're driving towards? Yes. I know exactly what happens at the end of book four and the end of book five. I'm always moving toward those points. Can you tell us if it'll end with an epilogue? No.
And I don't mean, no, it won't. I mean, I can't tell you because I haven't written again. I figured. From Ashlyn, if Riddick had modern technology, what is the first thing he does? on said modern technology. Really quickly, Avalyn? Yeah, where are you? Ashlyn. Where's Ashlyn? I hear an up here. Hi! You know that boy downloads Tinder.
Like I don't think he waits for like the ethernet to be installed in the house. He doesn't wait for Wi-Fi. He's using straight-up cell signal Okay, what would his first photo be on tinder? Like, of the five or whatever that you get? No, I think it'd either be a picture of him in Quest Squad to be like... Or it's like a picture of him in Atrium, like, selfie-wise. You know what I mean? Like, you just get, like, one of Atrium's eyes.
I actually have a quick question about Quest Squad. He had asked about, you know, I want a patch out of this. What would the patch look like? I think that's going to be in another book. Did you really think I was going to put them through that and not give them a patch? Come on. Deserved. I think it might look like a map section. I lost it. She got locked out of my phone. Hold, please. There you go. Thank you.
Oh, I love this question from Michaela. If someone wants to read your other books, which book would you recommend they start with? Where are you? Michaela? Hi, I can't find... Hi! I mean, do you want to cry or no cry? You want to cry? I worry about you. Okay, if you really want to, like, I mean, if you really want to cry, you're going to go for the last letter or the things leave unfinished.
But I do feel as though it's like those of you who get caught in the like fourth wing to last letter pipeline, I just want to be like, are you okay? Because you went directly to my saddest book. So, and if you don't want to cry, I would say in the likely event, variation. If you like interconnected stand-alones, go back to full measures. Anytime.
From Sydney, is there a character that you were writing and you just knew they'd be a fan favorite and you were right or you were wrong? Where's Sydney? Hi! How's it going? I see you back there. I knew that Riddick would only because he has the ability to look on the bright side and kind of also to say the things that we all want to say but don't. Like the things that we're like, I shouldn't say that right now. He just does.
But you guys totally caught me completely unaware with broccoli. Like completely. It was like I went to bed one day and then I woke up and... it's just he's everywhere so like yeah oh he has taken over the internet it caught me completely off guard like i could i i it was it was kind of a shock i can only imagine someone who has not finished the book and they're like who is broccoli
I know, and it's so funny because I wrote him at like, I think, 4 or 5 a.m. Because, I mean, I was working like 12 to 15 hour days. Totally unhealthy, don't do that. But those 5 a.m. ideas are either like, yes, or they are like, no. No, go to sleep and just think about what you've done. So you always have to wait till like the next day and then be like, no, no, no, that can stay. Can you share a 5 a.m. idea that was like, oh...
Rebecca. No, because I delete them immediately. Like, it's usually like the last couple sentences that I'll write and then I'll go into it the next day and be like, what was the... Where's this going? Or usually it's like, were you whining or Violet whining? Were you whining because you were tired? So then I have to like delete and like kind of edit, you know? From Ashley, what has been your favorite part about the tour?
Where's Ashley? Hi. Okay, so I'd have to say it's probably right now. Honestly, because I've sat right there and I've seen, you know, bands. So to be up here is surreal and crazy and to have my kid in the audience and know like to see all of this is wild But so that and I love the people who bring their service dogs and they say service dragon on them Wait, I think there is one Do not pet, do not pet, do not pet, do not pet, working, working, working, working.
But that's what I will think the whole time now is do not pet, do not pet, do not pet. From Kat, my mother-in-law was gifted fourth wing. She does not know anything about the series. Any advice? for when she gets to the spicy stuff. She does not know I read these kinds of books. I see you. This is a confession. I see you. That is a bold strategy.
Where's Kat? Bolt, she's right up there. Oh, sorry. She had a phone up. It's okay. I mean, bold strategy. I would run the other direction. But then, in my defense, I would hand her, like, Haunting Adeline. Right? At the same time. And then... Mine looks tame. Fun fact, my father-in-law started listening to a fourth wing just the other day.
him and i'm also like oh boy my parents like my my dad promised he would never read it and then my mom had open heart surgery and so he started reading it waiting for her to like come around and i felt like i couldn't tell him not to while my mom was in open heart surgery but the entire time i was like
Because he's never read any of my books, right? And I'm just like, okay, okay. And then he closes, he's like, all right, so where are we going with the plot now? How is this? I was like, okay, all right. But yeah, I don't look at him the same anymore. From Annie, who do you think is the most underrated character? Where are you, Annie? Hi, Annie. How's it going? Sawyer.
I think he's chronically underrated, honestly. I love him dearly. But I think it's really hard, especially when you're a first-person point of view, and you have an unwieldy cast, which is what I call... like the Empyrean series. It is an unwieldy cast. You are trying desperately to get to know everybody while not shortchanging for time. And I think that Sawyer, because he's recovering in a lot of Onyx, he gets underrated.
I have a follow-up question to that. Can you tell us about his relationship with Sleek in Onyx Storm? Because there's one line, and this isn't really a spoiler, but he's like, Sleek is, and then he kind of cuts himself off. Can you tell us about their relationship? I think mostly, like, not a spoiler warning, I guess a little spoiler warning. He's worried that he's dishonoring him.
like he's worried that now he's no longer worthy of of being a writer and that's that's a very personal journey i think for someone to take and it's kind of a journey that violet takes in fourth wing and you see her accepting those accommodations and while i've never lost a limb i've had to learn how to accept accommodations because i was diagnosed with eds in 2020 which is part of the reason i wrote i wrote fourth wing and so his relationship there is very much him
not wanting to listen to Sleek because he can't get past his own, like, I'm going to swear. He can't get over his own shit in that moment to realize that other people are there and other people are willing to accept and take those accommodations. He doesn't want to have to have them. But Sleek is... All for it. Yeah. He's just waiting for Sawyer to come around. Awesome. Poor Sawyer. From Katie, what inspired the analogy of the chilled pond ice to describe mental health? Hi.
How's it going? My kids play hockey? No, I'm serious. My kids play hockey and they've played outdoor hockey and I've had many thoughts of what is underneath that ice because my brain will immediately go to what is the worst possible scenario in any situation.
And I often think about how fast they are on the ice versus how fast they are running and all those kinds of things. So really, it was just a very natural way to think. You could swim through these emotions and really experience them, which is what we're supposed to do as humans, or you could just glide right over them. Which I do a lot. I think anyone who disassociates does that a lot. It's a very universal emotion. Retweet, yeah. From Caitlin, what are your desert island books?
Caitlin? Where's Caitlin? Hi! So I read East of Eden once a year by John Steinbeck. I know, it's a classic, but it always reminds me not to love one child more than the other. I'm serious. It's a parable Cain and Abel. So it's always like, hey, check yourself. I would probably take all of like J.R. Ward books. Man, I really love...
Children of Blood and Bone, that whole series. I would take my Kindle and just cheat. Like I'm sitting here just going through so many and I'm like, no, it would just have to be the Kindle. Don't make me choose. Just download Kindle Unlimited and call it a day. I'd be like downloading everything before the desert island comes on and then I would pray I have a power bank somewhere. From Sasha.
You have changed so many of our lives with the books you have written. How has writing your books changed your life? And I'm going to open this beyond just Fourth Wing. Where are you? Hi. I think... It's hard to think about, I guess, lives. I know people, I don't want to say people say that. I've been working so hard for two and a half years that I really haven't taken my head up to look around.
Does that make any sense? Like I just, I wake up in the morning and I think I'm behind on a deadline. I'm behind on this. Someone needs this. Someone needs these edits. And my world narrows to my desk and my world narrows to whatever book it is I'm working on. And so I think to like pop my head up and see. that you guys have made friendships, and that you guys have forged communities, and like, holy shit, you all came here. It's mind-blowing.
But that being said, it hasn't hit yet. Like, I'm afraid I'm going to go home and it'll hit there, but it's still just, like, holy shit, what are you guys doing here? Like, that's kind of how it feels. And as for my life, Man, the core of my life hasn't changed. It's still my husband and my children.
And that is always the core of my life. Everything else just spins a lot faster. And there's a lot more people watching you to succeed or watching you to fail. And there's a lot more boundaries in place than I used to have. But it's changed, I would definitely say for the better. I have a two-story library now.
Do you have a ladder? Do you have a ladder? I do. I have a ladder. Does it swivel? It does. But here's the bummer. It's like I got on the ladder. And I've told this if you've watched the other day because I'm sorry, you're getting a second story. I got on the ladder for the first time and I'm literally like, little town, it's a quiet village. Right? All the girlies get it. But the ladder locks with your weight to protect you. So I'm like, little town.
And then I stop. Because the ladder's like, what are you doing? I don't move while you're on me. So it was kind of like the death of a dream in that moment. But I do have a library with a ladder. I have a quick question in regards to what you were saying just a second ago with seeing all of our lives change as well. Really quick by show of hands or by woo, who has made a friend because of this series?
who has learned something about themself from the series. Thank you. I love you guys. It's like the best stop to go home on. Really. She lost her question. We're going to make it less awkward. How's it going? Everyone having a good time? Oh, I got it. I got it. I was just, you know, helping out there. All right, from Lily.
Now that broccoli has been introduced, does that mean there are other house cats in this world? Dogs too? What pets did each character have growing up? Lily, where are you? This is amazing. How many questions do we have in there? I mean, yes, I think it would definitely show you we have domestic animals. Everyone knows we have sheep and goats, right? We don't keep them in our homes.
But yes, I think it opens up to have pets. I just don't see them running around as Gaius. You know what I mean? I definitely think Gritick had a dog. Like, you know, like growing up. But I hadn't really thought about... which characters would have pets honestly i didn't think broccoli was gonna be a thing you guys like you know like i think about like different provinces like maybe like have different
Yes, you would have like ecologically different, like you would have snow leopards, you would have tigers, you would have different animals in different provinces, absolutely, just like any other geological. Or sloths. Sloths. Did you know we have a new baby sloth at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo? I did not. That's right. Do you know its name? I don't. Does anyone in the audience? It's nameless. Okay, we're going to have to send an email. We're going to have to change that, yeah. Send an email.
From Lily, who is a character you love to hate? Where's another Lily? Where are you? Hi, I can see you. Hi. I don't hate anybody. I don't. I think everybody, except for Varish, I hated Varish just because he's two-dimensional in his hatred and his need for power. But everyone else has a reason for what they're doing. Even, you know, if you hate...
General Atos, anybody like that, they have a reason and a stalwart belief in what they are doing and why. And I think if you don't have any villains or any people that you don't like in this series who don't have a reason why, it's two-dimensional writing. Can I ask a follow-up question about that? No. Jack Barlow? Yeah, he has a reason. Okay. Does a little part of you love Jack Barlow? It's not that I love Jack, it's that I understand Jack. How many of us are bullied as kids?
Oh, he was. Oh, no. I said, how many of us are bullied as kids? Bullies exist in the world, so they exist in that world as well. I mean, I was bullied relentlessly for being intelligent when I was in junior high. I just haven't given the names of those kids to my husband. So, nor are there any books. I know. No, we don't do that. But I think that bullies just exist. Yep.
All right. Real quickly, I just want to ask if I can ask that. Is it about my sex life? No. You would be amazed at how a bunch of advice for your spouse going. Okay, go ahead and ask it. Yep, absolutely. Do you have any advice for a spouse going through their first deployment? Also, thank you for creating the world that has been allowing me to escape. This one's from Mariah. Mariah, where are you? Where are you at? Where are you at?
Are you here? Are you not here? Okay, I'm going to answer because I can't see you. I would say to any... Hi. I'm sorry. It sucks. That's the first thing to say is it just really sucks and I'm sorry. What got me through? I can't tell you what's going to get you through because everyone does it differently. Some people need more people. Some people need less people. Some people need to stay busy. Some people need to not be busy at all. I gave myself one good day.
to wallow and hate the world and hate everybody and then i took a shower and i told myself when i was showering i was showering off all of that and when i got out it was time to get to work in time to live my life because he was gone so often i read I read. It was reading that got me through deployments. I had the unfortunate circumstance of having a husband who was injured, which made it really hard to sleep at night because, you know, notification hours are where they are. So I read.
And if that is your escape, then go into that escape and read. And when you start to worry and you start to have that anxiety and you start to look for cars outside in your driveway, read. Do what it takes to get you out of that mindset because the second you start spiraling into that mindset, it takes... And it takes so much to pull out of it. This is from Alexis.
What is your favorite Onyx Storm vibes song that you shared with us on Instagram and Spotify? Great playlist, by the way. So good. Thank you. It's like having a musical. Did you hear that, Brody, my son? I have good musicals. Their favorite is Nightmare by Halsey because of how much it relates to Violet.
What is your favorite song? Their favorite is which one? Nightmare? Their favorite is Nightmare. Yeah. So I always, there's like certain songs I always write Empyrean to. And it's Nightmare by Halsey and Experiment by Me. Experiment on Me by Halsey.
Those are always on Empyrean. There's a lot of, like, good Halsey vibes in Violet. A lot of Taylor, like, a lot of Happy 2, like Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince. But Onyx is very much Nightmare, and I would say that even continues into Book 4, because she's found this confidence in this just... I find the end of Book 4...
But three very optimistic, though I understand that's not a commonly held feeling. I find it to be optimistic, sorry. But yeah, definitely, you nailed it with Nightmare. So with Circus being on the playlist, because we were listening to it as we were getting ready for the midnight release, and we were like, Circus came on, and we're like, the what? Like, what is this? Was that Denalia? Yes.
It's very much like All Eyes on Me, right? And it's very much her idea that everyone's going to get out of their way. They're going to come with her or they're going to get out of her way. As soon as we heard that, it's like, ah, there it is. I think I even said it. I was like, it's circus. Especially when she has to say thank you. The slap in thank you was really a bit. It's the murmuring.
I've been saying as a fandom, it's like you handed us Onyx Storm and you just slapped us and we're all like, thank you. But I gave you like... And we say that with all the love in our heart. But like, I gave you, so I'm also like... You served us, Rebecca. Thank you. Oh, man. All right. This one is from Maddie. Where's Maddie? If you could tell readers to reread one specific scene, and I'm assuming this is from Onyx Storm, because it contains hidden meaning, which scene would it be?
The whole book is not an answer. Man, I'd probably say like the last hundred pages. I know, I'm sorry, but a lot happens in there, and a lot happens in there set up for book four, and a lot happens in there to tell you what's actually happening in the world, because remember, you're only looking through certain people's eyes. So I would say like the last hundred pages, and I'm sorry, it's not a scene, it's a lot of pages.
From Stacey, can you expand on what it means to be dedicated? Stacey? Where are you, Stacey? Up there. Yeah. So this is something I'll go more into in book four. But again, you're limited in word count and page numbers. So when you're dedicated to a god, you're given to a god in their service. And there are two gods that require a lifetime of service. So, spoiler alert.
It's not spoilery to say there's two gods that demand a lifetime of service, but to be dedicated is to be given to that god or goddess in their service. Thank you. Did you use... Is that not the answer you wanted? Okay. That was helpful. Thank you. We got a gift. Thank you. Thank you. This one's from Jessica. Did you use parts of Colorado Springs as an inspiration to use for the parapet and gauntlet? Does Colorado Springs have giant hanging balls? That one's from me, sorry.
I think Colorado always plays into it. My office looks at the mountain. We live on the Front Range. I love the mountains and I love our topography and our geography and how we have the plains and then we have the front range and we have the valleys and we have the high plains and we have the rivers and the waterfalls. We have such beautiful scenery and it really plays into Biscayeth, but it mostly plays into our region.
is really honestly like I just I love the mountains and it's where I feel like I'm at home so it just it comes into my writing I love Colorado too if you're not from here you should be but you should also be drinking water yes Okay? Okay.
So I have a follow-up question to that. When we look at the continent and the geography of it and all of that, can you kind of walk us through like the northern hemisphere of it and kind of like the southern and kind of how like weather plays a really big role in onyx. in particular, can you walk us, give us the weather report. Today's weather is... I mean, it's going to depend. I think as you, oh, spoilery. As you descend southern, you're getting closer to the equator.
Does that make sense? So you can see, honestly, like in the book when you cry, go places. Like Corden? Like Corden? No, I mean, Corden's close, but it's not the equator. Yeah, I'm just trying to help you. You're going to have different weather patterns due to, one, you have weather wielders, and you're also going to have different weather patterns due to the different mountain ranges.
So, as you get, as you notice, like, you know, you're going up from very, very cold, where you're up to Luceres, and you're coming all the way down, right? So we're getting hotter and hotter and hotter. And you have different tectonic plates pushing different mountain ranges up, which also gives us more magic in areas. So, with the Emerald Sea... That's in Fourth Wing. In Fourth Wing, Taryn flat-out tells her that areas of more geological change hold more magic.
So, this is not in fourth wing. I apologize. Or maybe it's on your flame. I think it's fourth wing though. God, that's going to be on TikTok. Okay. I think it's fourth wing. I can confirm for you. The... The Emerald Sea. What's that smile? I just love that scene where she's like, it's that year you were obsessed with Emerald Sea piracy. You know, like it's the things that you say between your friends, like between her and Zane. Sorry. Sorry.
So, like, was it inspired by the North Sea? All I can think of is, like, the yo-ho. Like, a little bit, but I tried to keep it as away from Earth as possible. So I tried not to, like, be inspired. Other than the fact that, like... Devorelli has a lot of Turks and Caicos vibes for me. Just not with the topography, but the watercolors. But it's kind of got, I guess, the yo-ho. Because people don't come back.
Is that why they don't come back? That's in Onyx. I mean, it's not a spoiler. It's just in there is fact. God, I suck at this. There's also a mention. I'm going to do this for a while. this is an out of context spoiler there's mention of pirates in onyx storm yeah and then i think it's an iron flame that krakens are mentioned yeah and heaton can breathe underwater Yeah. Do these things all go together? I mean, I haven't written four and five yet. Could you give me a chance? You know what I mean?
I always lay things in there to go back and use or maybe not go back and use. But I always lay, I like to build worlds and put lots of world building in there that either I'll go back and use or I might use or I might not use in this series. That was cruel. I have one more question. That's totally unrelated. That should feel hopeful. We have two more audience questions and then we've got some closing questions. But this is from Caitlin.
What else can we do to support, and I'm going to just assume this is underlined and bold and italicized, support you as an author? Oh, dude, that's kind. Where's Caitlin? Where are you at? Are you in here? I hear it, but I can't see it. Yes. Hi. Hi. Oh, man. Just read other people's books. No, I'm serious.
Have a good time. It's going to be a minute before I get back to them, period. I don't mean like a, like, don't freak, okay? I'm not going to like run away and like, you know, just leave you hanging. I just want to work eight hour days, not 15. Yeah. So, so while, so while I am working eight hour days. go read other people's books and fall in love with other authors. Because I can't write 365 books a year, but I know some of you can read 365 books a year.
And I want you to look out for marginalized populations. And I want you to look out for other voices that you wouldn't see. So go read other books. With patience. I have a very important question from your son. Which? I'm like, dude, if you want pizza, it's fine. Just, like, tell dad. He'll order.
Which one is your favorite son? And why is it Brody? And why is it what? Brody. Broderick. I don't even know where you are in here. I don't know if I want to know where you are in here because I don't want you. Oh. Mm-hmm. Yes. My favorite child is who? Who is my favorite child? Whoever's sleeping. Okay.
Never going to change, baby. Never going to change. That's my rule, too. All right, some closing questions. First and foremost, you have been amazing. Thank you so much. No, seriously. Thank you guys for interviewing. You have been incredible. The TV series. Yeah. What can you tell us about it? It's going to be a thing. We know that. I can tell you. I've read the pilot. I've read a couple drafts of it. It just gets better. I can tell you that the lines that you guys love are there.
A lot of the dialogue is the same, and every time I read it, it's like I'm getting an A on my report card. I'm like, she kept it! I can tell you that Moira Wally Beckett is brilliant. She is absolutely brilliant. Not only that, but she's taken the time to come out to a signing to Vancouver and meet some of the readers and meet you guys. She knows what's important. She knows what you guys love, and she's capturing the essence of that. She is...
I'm just really glad it's in her hands. And I'll let you, as soon as I know more, you will know more. But there are stages that we go along and we're at a very fun, exciting stage. And confirming, I know you said this in the Variety article, but they don't even have a casting director quite yet, correct? Stop casting people. Yes.
No, we're not there yet. And my only caveat, and Moira fully supports me in this, is Zayden isn't white. Okay? So please, I love you. I love hearing from you. Please stop. ending Theo changed my way okay okay okay And we're like 20s to 25s. Theo James is a beautiful 40-year-old. And he's a beautiful 40-year-old. I know. But Zayden isn't white. So let's just keep that in mind. Is there a chance we might get Sprayed Edge Special Editions of Fourth Wing and Iron Flame someday?
Like matching edges. Okay, so like sprayed is that you guys? So, okay, I have a thing where I'm against special editions. Don't mock, don't mock. I always feel like I don't want to ever make you guys buy more than one copy of a book. It's just something. But you guys would want the dragons? Okay.
I can tell you flat out, I will never... I won't say allow, because that sounds really diva-like. I would never encourage my publisher to ever put out another print run of the first edition, only because I feel like... I feel like people have gone and sacrificed so much to get their hands on those books. And also, don't use resellers. Don't. Like, just say no to resellers. I wouldn't, I guess I can ask.
Can ask you guys the one bite to match Okay, okay, okay, oh When Instagram comes for me, okay? Well, okay, I'll ask I'll ask. Would we potentially get some bonus POVs in those? I think it depends on where I'm at in my writing cycle. Because I'm gonna write a contemporary next, which is what I always do. Don't panic.
It just, honestly, guys, when I'm writing contemporary, I'm always thinking about the next Empyrean book. So either I'm going to give you a contemporary because I'm thinking about the next Empyrean book, or nothing comes out because I'm still thinking about the next Empyrean book. Make sense? It's just the way my brain cycles. But yeah, I guess, I mean... Well, in that case...
If there was a scene that you would, or I'll give you like a few scenes if you'd like. From Iron Flame, let's go to Iron Flame. From Zayden's point of view, which would you love to write the most? Would I love to write or will I write?
Would love to. I would love to write him finding out that Violet's been taken up until the interrogation scene. When he, yeah. Ow. Yeah. And it's, um... I would love to write that, but also there are certain things that he can and cannot tell Violet for the sake of story, so I'm always careful with which Zayden chapters I pick and choose.
Well, I mean, if it was dual POV and Onyx, you wouldn't have twists at the end and understanding why things work. Does that make sense? It's a better story told from one point of view to get that twisty ending. Oh, jeez. No. I know what it is. I know my publisher's excited about it. I'm excited about it. It's enough to put me back behind the keys, so that's all I'm willing to say right now. Your contemporaries are...
Phenomenal, by the way. Thank you. Phenomenal. I like to torture people. You do. I do. And you do it so well. Thank you. I like to look at people and be like, what's the worst thing I could put you two through? What's the worst thing? And then how could I bring you through it? I can't wait for the rest of this series. You sure you don't want to tell us who's safe? Like, safe safe? You already got broccoli. What more do you want?
Alright, what question have you rehearsed the answer to on this tour and you have not gotten the chance to share it yet? A question that's been asked that I haven't? No, a question that you have, like, you're in bed and you're like, okay, if they ask me this question, you know how you practice, like, speech in the shower? I don't do that.
You know how I practice the speech in the shower? I'd like to hear your speech from the shower. That's okay. What is a question that, like, someone that you expected to be asked and you have not been? No, you guys ask so much stuff that I'm like, wait, what? Like how did that come through? I think the shockiest thing is someone asked me about birth control.
Not mine. Not mine. But Violet's? I think it was dressed in the Variety article. And I think that's what catches me off guard. Like when I'm like, wait, what are you guys out there thinking? So I don't have the chance to think about what you guys are thinking because you've already thought so far past that that I'm... Like, where are we? Does that make sense? Yes. Nothing's been asked that I would want to answer as much as I would just want to tell you that thank you for reading it.
No, I'm serious. When I wrote Fourth Wing, I really just wanted to sell enough copies to stay in publication to get the whole series done so that I could accomplish my dream, which was to write fantasy. this is so far beyond my wildest dreams. And to see how happy you guys are, especially going on through tours and getting to see your faces, it gives you that oomph. And I think I said it in St. Louis, but it's felt like...
I've been writing for deadlines and writing for publishing, and now seeing you guys, it's like, oh, I'm writing for you. So, thank you. Thank you. All right. As we wrap this up... You have done such a phenomenal job, again, with all these questions and answers, and you have fed us readers. But now you're about to go on a very well-deserved break. Can you drop us like one more bomb before you leave us? Send us spiraling, please. Torture us, Rebecca. Okay. Okay. All right. Gosh.
I'm just going to log off Instagram. I would say the first two to three songs on the Book 4 playlist would be... You're going to be so confused. Would be down bad. Would be, but daddy, I love him. And I can fix him. Are probably, and that's how it. That's... I told you not to end on a downer question. Sorry, I have... Okay, I have one more... Two more... One more question. With the next book, could we potentially be getting more Zayden POVs?
Depends on what he's doing. It really does. And I'm... The what? Does he have another dragon? No, that's what I meant. Does he have another dragon I don't know about? Now I'm really not into like I mean, I think there's a there's a very good reason that some of the marked ones have second segments and it's it's laid in there to the you know into the code, right?
But I'm not about overpowering people. And I think one of the things with Fourth Wing is that you can't do anything by yourself. And if you overpower your heroes and your heroines, suddenly... they can just go like win a war with a finger as opposed to relying on their friends and the family that they've built and their squad and their unit. Last one.
You ready to go on a break and go home and rest and relax? I'm going to miss you guys. I'll send you pictures of my garden, you know? And my desk when I'm back at it. This is not so much a question. Not so much a question, but more of a statement. Take the mic. Address the audience. What, not to put you on, like, I mean, there is a spotlight on you right now, but like, but.
What is something you want to tell us as a fandom who has bought 2.7 million copies of this book in one week? Congratulations, that's amazing. What's one last thing you want to do to address the fandom before you go on a well-deserved break? I just want to say thank you. Guys, these levels haven't been seen since Harry Potter. And the fact that you're out here selling out theaters that I usually watch rock bands play in.
And you're wearing t-shirts and you're in cosplay and you guys get it and you see the characters and you're there with me. We have this collective experience. And it's wild because it's in my head, but it's in yours too. And so I would just say thank you and go hang out until I bring you back. I can't wait to bring you back and show you all the things that are coming for you in book four.
All I can say is thank you. You've blown every expectation I ever could have had or hope or dream out of the water. So thank you. I'm tearing up. I am too. I'm going to walk off stage before I blubber. Humans of the Paramount Theater, Rebecca Yaros. One more time. Thanks, guys.