Fantasy Book Critic: Interview with R. R. Virdi (interviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)

Read Fantasy Book Critic's first review of The First Binding
Read Fantasy Book Critic's second review of The First Binding
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of The Doors Of Midnight
Watch FBC’s Video Interview with RR Virdi

Today is the first stop of the THE DOORS OF MIDNIGHT Virtual tour (see graphic below to know more) that's the brainchild of Adrian M. Gibson & Kinoko Book Tours. My thanks to Adrian, Ronnie & the other organizers (working in the background) for this interview & tomorrow's guest post.

Today I got to chat with R. R. Virdi about his upcoming sequel, the tricky nature of writing, and what he has been upto since The First Binding. So read ahead and find out why you all should be excited for The Doors Of Midnight.

Q] Welcome to FBC Ronnie, since we last spoke. You have had some personnel changes as well as a few cool short stories published. How are things from your perspective?

RRV: Thanks for having me here, Mihir. Things are pretty hectic as we ramp up for the release of book two, and I start writing book three pretty soon. I've been trying to cobble up a collection of other stories from the Tales of Tremaine universe on the side: an Ari novella that takes place between the past storyline of book one's end, and before book two's begins. A sort of winter break for Ari. I also have added in Shola's pov of that time period, and that of another character who hasn't gotten as much screen time yet.

I recently changed agents, and in addition to that, finished up and submitted a crime novel for publication/acquistion. I have about 10 chapters of a Portuguese inquisition into India inspired secondary fantasy standalone novel as well so far, with more to come. So, yeah, hectic.

Q] With The Doors Of Midnight, you are two-thirds of the way through the first arc in the Tales Of Tremaine. How easy/difficult was the writing for The Doors Of Midnight as compared to The First Binding?

RRV: In many ways book two was easier because I was on a writing high. Super excited, and the success of book one out-earning in about four months was a driving factor for that. But the scope and word count size of book two, as well as trying to push my craft harder, definitely took a toll. It's a good one in a way though, especially with the early reception to the book -- kind of like completing a very taxing workout.

Q] This book while being a sequel, also had two separate timelines ongoing (akin to its predecessor). How much planning did that involve on your behalf?

RRV: I'm a panster, so not much planning, but I know the mythology and worldbuilding as well as nesting stories I want to create because of my passionate study of mythology and history. I also knew and know my future main plot points I want to strike as "key beat" moments in a fashion similar to what Robert Jordan did, who was also a pantser. His process is detailed pretty well by Brandon Sanderson on his blog. Robert Jordan had key pivotal moments he knew he was going to hit and set them up early, but as for how he got there, he intentionally left open sequences to close later once he decided how he wanted to.

Jim Butcher employs a similar technique which he's discussed in where for the book, Changes, in The Dresden Files, Harry had three options from which to choose for new power. All three were established in prior books, but Jim didn't know till that book which path Harry would choose and the consequences. Only that they would have to drive him forward to the rest of the meta plot.

Q] Talking about my favourite parts of the book, the in-world mythology, this story focused on quite a few new personas such as Tarun Thahnbadh/Tarun Twiceborn, Hahnbadh, Enshae, etc. Was it always the plan for these personas over the ones from The First Binding?

RRV: Absolutely. For the nesting stories and mythological characters, a lot of the work is done prior to each book, and without spilling secrets, they're set up to be revealed before we get there.

And, as it's said in the story many times: stories have secrets within them. :) Perhaps the nesting stories do too.

Q] With this book, we get a fascinating look into Zibrathi culture which seemed to mirror the Arab & desert nomad culture. What were your cultural pointers for these?

RRV: I did take some inspiration from pre-Islamic Arabia as well as post. I wanted to show a richer side of some of the things I didn't see in the 90's and 2000's when reading analogs of those cultures -- often they were only fetishized or exoticized. I wanted to showcase the hospitality, diversity, engineering feats, and honor/nobility systems. Not to mention the hardness it takes to endure some of the harsher conditions and value of family systems/close knit relations.

Q] Naming as always is a crucial aspect in your stories. We get to understand a particular naming pattern with the “badh” part in your stories (which stands for “son of”). I’ve spoken to you about the meaning of the name Ari as well. How crucial are names for you and how much attention should readers be paying?

RRV: Names are extremely important in the history of fiction, and our own world. They all carry meanings/associations with them, not to mention how we've come to view our own -- our own identities. A name is a part of a story, and a whole story itself. They're complicated. They're worth giving and showcasing that importance to in fiction.

Some names are derived from gods in our world -- they have meanings from that, stories that led to that -- the stories of those gods, and why people valued them. The hopes and aspirations for the children bearing those name. Past, present, and futures are encapsulated in them. Sometimes, the unspoken wishes of our loved ones.

(Daeva art by Mukesh Singh/Nisachar)

Q] The Ashura (their origins, their motivations & their end goals) have been a huge driving point for Ari. But as a reader, they have been a huge mystery as well. From an antagonist POV, they are just fantastically mysterious & villainously cruel. Kudos to your deviousness, I’m curious as to what were your mythological inspirations for them?

RRV: In part, the actual Asura (celestial beings) from the Vedic tradition and mythos out of South Asia. But more than that, the idea that there have always been antagonistic powerful beings throughout the epics. In the Zoroastrian and Iranian, you have the Devas and Ahura. Interestingly enough, the Devas are also in the Indian culture. But the roles are revered.

The Norse have the Vanir and Aesir. The Greeks had the gods and titans. The Sumerian had their groups at war, and the theme has continued throughout mythology. A more recent (in the grand scheme of the mythic tradition) would be Tolkien. Every era had its good and bad - and most counter to the Fellowship -- the Nazgul, who have always left an imprint on me.

Q] In The First Binding, you brilliantly shone a light on the Dragon/Snake monster from the Indian subcontinental aspect. What new mythological creature(s) can readers look forward to in The Doors Of Midnight?

RRV: I reached for lesser known beings this time, but for those familiar with South Asian and Middle Eastern culture, I drew inspiration from things such as: Apsara, Gandharva, Jinn, and more (some just in name...for now) to set things up for a later time, and obviously, pay some off in this book.

Q] As a desi SFF reader, the Tales Of Tremaine have been a wonderful revelation in terms of myths and cultures. How tricky has it been for you to balance the expectations of the western readers/fantasy genre versus the story’s demands?

RRV: It's been difficult, because I set out in the hopes and excitement the things I was doing would stir curiosity, and in the Internet age, discussion and research into myths, tropes, beats, so people would learn by doing rather than just being handed things. It's been an uphill climb trying to explain structural things at times to editors, pacing, and more, that derive from specific parts of South Asian (and eastern/Asiatic) storytelling. Such as:
-        master student dynamics,
-        the use of philosophy
-        and religious inquiry in story (Indian culture has specific entire story structures/plays dedicated to this, and I make use of these styles as inspirations for certain micro beats of the story).

But the Western expectation is very regimented for the most part in the standard: three, five, and seven act structures. I get that. But at some point, if publishing is asking for something different, it's going to need to learn to accept different structures and pacing too. Different emotional catharsis and character/story values from other cultures too.

Q] I’m sure many others are curious about the Tremaine legends (similar to me). Will we readers be getting more stories and the future of Brahm, Abrahm, Radhivan etc separately?

RRV: Absolutely. If I get to do things my way, there will be many separate legends told in their own time, and afterwards about a great many characters.

Q] Following on from my previous query, I honestly think there can be a high fantasy story set in the prequel eras of Tremaine (when magic was more prevalent). Is there any chance for you to explore such an avenue in the future?

RRV: If I get my way? Heck yes!

Q] Many thanks Ronnie for your time and for answering my inane queries. Any parting words for your fans?

RRV: Thank you for all the love and support you've shown so far. Because of all your kindness, and most importantly, word of mouth, The First Binding has one on to sell so solidly, and it outearned its part of the series advance in four months. That's huge. I can't wait to see how that love pushes book two over the hurdle and what it means for the future of the series. Just, thank you. I can't express that enough.

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Today was the first day of THE DOORS OF MIDNIGHT VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR and you can see the rest of the stops in this picture below. So be back to read Ronnie's guest post tomorrow and then catch his live interview over at Kay's Hidden Shelf.