In this sequel to For the Killing of Kings, Howard Andrew Jones returns to the ring-sworn champions of the Altenerai in Upon the Flight of the Queen to continue this thrilling, imaginative and immersive epic fantasy trilogy.
We had the pleasure of chatting to author Howard Andrew Jones about his upcoming fantasy sequel Upon the Flight of the Queen, which publishes on November 19th from St. Martin’s Press. Howard talks about what readers can expect and the challenges he faced, the inspiration behind the trilogy, what’s next for him, and more!
You can find Howard on Twitter and Facebook, along with at his website.
When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
For as long as I can remember, really. My mother used to tell me she knew I was going to be a writer even before I could write. When I was very little I’d draw pictures that told a story in sequence, then tell her what to write under each image. I guess I was modelling off the children’s books she was reading me.
From early grade school I was always writing, and was just certain that one day I’d be selling plays and short stories and novels and whatever else. I was too young and naïve to realize just how optimistic I was, but somehow it worked out. I’m certain practice and encouragement had a lot to do with it.
Upon the Flight of the Queen, the sequel to For the Killing of Kings, publishes on November 19th. If you could only describe your book in five words, what would they be?
Five words, eh? Stand and make a difference. I don’t think that would work as an elevator pitch, but it certainly sums up the feelings of the protagonists.
Upon the flight of the Queen and its predecessor, For the Killing of Kings, take the perspective of a woman soldier and a veteran officer as they stumble into a conspiracy that leads all the way to the throne. Truths have been twisted, facts invented, and the less powerful silenced and ignored. When Elenai and Kyrkenall ask the wrong questions, they’re framed for murder, declared traitors, and are forced to flee for their lives, their own friends in deadly pursuit. In both this book and the last, they have to stand up and make a difference.
By the start of book two the characters know their queen is corrupt, and they’re having to struggle to overturn her machinations while dealing with an invasion by their old enemies with almost no support. They have to go begging to their former allies, the winged lizards known as the ko’aye, because the invading Naor have control of immense dragons. Only the ko’aye can help them fight the beasts in the air.
Unfortunately, rather than helping the ko’aye defend their own lands as promised, the queen abandoned them years earlier, so the ko’aye aren’t exactly keen to ally again.
Let’s hear a little more! What can readers expect in the sequel?
While all of our main characters know that the queen was behind a series of intrigues and cover-ups, they still don’t know what she’s really planning, and unfortunately they can’t spare a lot of energy to investigate because two separate Naor armies are invading the provinces.
This book takes up mere moments after book two ended, with Rylin Corimir and his ailing mentor Varama trapped in a city that’s fallen to the savage Naor. In book one Rylin began a little self-involved, and he grew over the course of the narrative. Come the start of book two he’s thrown immediately into situations where he takes tremendous risks not just to save himself, but his mentor, and the people of Alantris. He digs deep to live up to the oath he swore as one of the Altenerai, which he’s only now begun to truly understand.
Elenai Dartaan, known as Elenai Oddsbreaker, remains the primary protagonist and things aren’t exactly easy for her, either. She has to navigate through the challenges of her new position, and she’s still wrestling with the powerful and dangerous magical artifacts known as hearthstones. The mad archer Kyrkenall is there as well, along with some other characters I dare not name for fear of spoiling some of the surprises for those who haven’t read book one.
We do get our first Naor point of view character in this book, a woman who has adopted a man’s role in order to survive the rigors of her society, and we get to spend a lot more time with Varama, who’s grown to be a fan favorite. I’d like to say I was paying attention to fans – I do, I swear – but most of book two was in rough draft before book one saw print, and I was already expanding Varama’s role. Writing someone as clever as Leonardo da Vinci is an awful lot of fun, even if it’s a challenge. This book has several brilliant characters, and what takes them mere moments to decide on the page may take me several weeks of careful thought!
What inspired you to write The Ring-Sworn trilogy?
I wanted to write an exciting, intrigue-laden book that was full of fascinating characters and weird worldbuilding and unexpected twists. I have little patience for padding, so I worked hard to streamline the text and keep up the pace. Yet I also wanted to write longer books, which a modern reading audience seems to prefer.
I was inspired in part by the swashbuckling esprit de corps, loyalty, friendship, and witty banter of The Three Musketeers, and in part by the weird world building, layered plotting, and superhuman competence displayed by the central characters of Roger Zelazny’s original Chronicles of Amber.
And I was inspired by heroes.
Nowadays, when fame seems easily acquired by looking good, possessing a lot of money, or shouting loudly, heroism can be taken for granted, or seen as quaint: often the most celebrated modern figures are those who get away with things they probably shouldn’t, or those who act the most outrageously entitled. These are cynical times, and sometimes it seems that facts and truth are dead (along with irony) and that heroes are just people whose dark sides haven’t been scooped yet.
But I remain fascinated with heroes and wish we heard more about them. Heroism can supersede our cultural wars because it isn’t about defending a narrow set of beliefs dictated by a few who want to stay in power. It isn’t defined by ideology, but by the selflessness of those who protect others. Above all, heroism stands in stark contrast with selfishness, that most common of evils that creeps into a person or a society too self-indulgent to keep it at bay.
Is there a favourite scene, character, or chapter that you really enjoyed writing?
I love almost all my characters. Without giving too much away, in this book there are several scenes where Rylin rises to his true potential, but I think my favorite of them is a battle on a stairwell against impossible odds. I’m proud of a speech Varama gives to the forces of the Resistance before they head out to their final confrontation, and then Elenai’s wisdom and cleverness come through in a number of moments, most especially one in the final chapters. I also think our Naor protagonist, Vanneck, manages a few surprises I’m quite pleased with.
I think the part I remain proudest of, though, is the oath of the warrior corps of the Altenerai, who some reviewers have compared to sorcerer knights. That’s somewhat accurate, although many of them aren’t sorcerers at all. But they are highly trained. Only a select few qualify for membership in the corps, and only the cream of those rise to the seventh rank and earn the sacred magical sapphire ring and the armored robes. When they do, they swear in like this:
When comes my numbered day, I shall meet it smiling. For I’ll have kept this oath.
I shall use my arms to shield the weak.
I shall use my lips to speak the truth, and my eyes to seek it.
I shall use my hand to mete justice to high and to low, and I will weigh all things with heart and mind.
Where I walk the laws will follow, for I am the sword of my people and the shepherd of their lands.
When I fall, I will rise through my brothers and my sisters, for I am eternal.
Were there any challenges you faced while writing the sequel?
Hah! There are always challenges. The voice of one of the secondary characters was hard to find, and for the longest time I didn’t actually know how Elenai was going to solve one of the problems. I had an eleventh hour idea in the middle of the night that saw me through, though.
I’m by no means an expert, for there are writers who’ve written many more novels than me. But with seven published books under my belt preceding this one I have a better sense of when to step back and work on other sections, and when to press forward, and when to go back and create new scenes.
Any teasers for the final instalment?
For book three? If I say anything about book three, it will ruin an awful lot of book two. I can say that just as book two continues mere moments after the conclusion of book one, book three starts, at most, only a few hours after the conclusion of book two.
The third book will absolutely resolve the series. There’s an outside chance I could do more with surviving characters, but if I write about the Altenerai again it would probably be a prequel set centuries earlier, under the reign of the queen who founded the corps. It would be a little like the King Arthur cycle, except with a badass warrior-queen.
What’s next for you?
First, I need to finish the third book. I’m about a third of the way through the draft. I expect it will be on the stands next year, and while some may be skeptical at that prediction, I’d like to point out that books one and two came out THE SAME YEAR. Trust my track record. You won’t have to wait long for the conclusion.
I’m making notes on five or six possible series that will come after, all but one of which has nothing to do with the current series, and at some point in December I’ll be meeting with my agent and editor in person and running those ideas past them to see which ones most excite us.
I work steadily on short stories featuring various characters, including Dabir and Asim, the Arabian historical fantasy heroes from my first two novels, and I expect some of those tales will see the light in publications due out later this year or early next. I still edit for Perilous Worlds, the publisher who owns the rights to Robert E. Howard characters like Conan and Solomon Kane, and I edit the sword-and-sorcery magazine Tales From the Magician’s Skull. The third issue of that just came back from the printer, and we’ll be opening for submissions after the first of the year.
I stay pretty busy doing the things I love.
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for us?
Absolutely. Rather than talk about books everyone already knows about, let me point you toward the debut of a new series from E.E. Knight, starting with Novice Dragoneer, which was printed in early November of 2019. I got to read it in manuscript and could barely put it down. Dragon riders, intrigue, dangers, cool world building — What’s not to like? It’s a splendid adventure story. And let me also point you to Illana C. Myers’ trilogy of bardic magic, starting with Last Song Before Night. The third and final book ought to be on bookstore shelves soon. When I say lyrical writing, that might make you think she’s slow and languid, but she’s not – the pace never flags and the world building is magnificent; the characters are incredibly compelling. And speaking of great world building, let me point you toward the first novel of Todd McAulty, The Robots of Gotham. Near future, robots, AI, adventure, mystery, evil conspiracies – it’s grand stuff. I recently got back from a stay in the Hyatt Regency in Chicago, where a lot of the novel takes place! Fortunately I didn’t have to face down any killer robots, but I had my eyes out.
