#sshannonauthor book asks

[sshannonauthor]

I just recently read Priory of the Orange Tree and was wondering if the oranges are as we know them and to be peeled and sectioned before eating or if they're something a little different and are bitten into whole? Or maybe they have a rind but are still bitten into? I don't know why my brain needs this info, but it does. I very much enjoyed the weekend I lost to reading this book so thanks for the story💚

I love how aghast some readers were that Ead just bit straight into that thing

I actually included a line about this in A Day of Fallen Night. Siyāti uq-Nāra, the second Prioress in history, believed as much of the orange as possible should be eaten to absorb every drop of magic. However, it was later decided that this was unnecessary, and one bite was sufficient.

Some sisters, like Ead, still follow the rule of Siyāti, and bite through the rind. I imagine the rind being somewhat softer and sweeter than that of an ordinary orange, so not as horrific as it sounds. But Tunuva peels hers.

[sshannonauthor]

Hi !

In A Day of Fallen Night, I stumbled across the word "Mastress". Did I understand correctly that it's a gender neutral form of mistress/master ?

Yes.

[sshannonauthor]

I saw somewhere that Sabran was a canon bisexual, but since I read the priory, I’ve always interpreted her character as a lesbian. (I don’t mean to erase the bisexual community with this, but it’s just how the character spoke to me as a lesbian who forced herself into dating men) Is that ok? Are we welcome to interpret each character’s sexualities freely?

This is a very interesting question, and I think it has some relation to The Death of the Author by French literary critic Roland Barthes – an essay that separates authorial intention from readers' interpretation, minimising the importance of the former. It's been a while since I studied it at university, but from what I recall, Barthes argues that the author's intention is not the ultimate, exclusive, or correct way to read a text; neither is their personal biography especially relevant.

Your question also highlights the accessibility of authors in the modern age. Many of us have social media nowadays, making us far more available to readers than our predecessors. If I didn't have a Tumblr and didn't answer questions, you wouldn't know for sure that I had intended Sabran to be bisexual. Without my external statement that she is, you would have no choice but to interpret the words in a way you found most personally resonant, bringing your own life experiences to the text, which sounds like exactly what you've done in this case.

In short, I can state my intention, but the interpretation belongs to you. In this case, I can see why it would be troubling for you, because of the frequency and intensity of bi erasure even in LGBTQ+ spaces, but it doesn't sound like you're denying the idea that Sab could be bi – it's more that you related to her from a different perspective.

[sshannonauthor]

hi! what can you tell us about wulf?

I love Wulf.

Wulf is a housecarl – an armed retainer – to Bardholt I of Hróth. He's mostly lived in the North since he was nine, but he grew up in Inys, in the shadow of the haithwood, as the son of the Barons Glenn of Langarth. He's part of a lith – a group of seven warriors who train and work together to serve the king.

He is bisexual, and quite bad at identifying when people are flirting with him.

[sshannonauthor]

Could you share the etymology of the names of the narrators of ADOFN? And was the etymology document for ADOFN longer or shorter than the one for TPOTOT?

I've used the same etymology document, so it's just grown.

Dumai: Proto-Japanese, *dùmài (‘dream’)

Tunuva Melim: First name from Old Persian, tunuva (‘mighty’); surname from Sumerian, melim (‘splendour, radiance’)

Wulfert ‘Wulf’ Glenn: First name from Old English, wolf (‘wolf’) + heort (‘heart’); surname from Proto-Celtic, *glendos (‘glen, valley’)

Glorian Berethnet: First name from Middle English, glorie (‘glory’) + -lian, a suffix indicating repetition, so intended meaning is something like ‘unending glory’ (also inspired by Gloriana, an epithet of Queen Elizabeth I); surname from Old English bēreafian (‘to bereave, to deprive, to seize’) + næht (‘night’) so ‘seize the night’

[sshannonauthor]

Since all three trees granted immortality for the firstbloods, Kalyba, Neporo and Cleolind, how Kalyba outlived the rest for so long?

Maybe she didn't outlive them.

[sshannonauthor]

Where did the name Tanè come from? I know I had trouble getting used to it because it means man in the Māori language.

It’s a Japanese word (both modern and ancient) meaning seed. Unfortunately you do sometimes get crossovers with other languages, which I try to avoid, but occasionally miss – I know my character name Jantar threw some Portuguese-speaking readers, as it means dinner in that language.

[sshannonauthor]

Hi Sam,

I’m currently reading The Mime Order and can’t think of anyone but Stephen Fry as Alfred. How do you picture him?

That means I described him very well! Stephen Fry is my dream actor for Alfred.

[sshannonauthor]

Hi! You told us about 4 main narrators but you also mentioned 4 satellite ones. Is it possible for you to introduce them shortly to us at this point?

I would like to keep some of the satellite narrators as a surprise, but I think I've already mentioned that one of them is Esbar uq-Nāra, a direct ancestor of Ead.

Esbar is Tunuva's beloved partner – they've been together for thirty years by the start of A Day of Fallen Night. She holds the title of munguna, indicating that she's expected to be the next Prioress. She's also a brilliant warrior and the birthmother of the spirited Siyu uq-Nāra. 

Esbar narrates some of the prologue, and you’ll also get her perspective in the the bonus chapter ‘Decision’ in the B&N and Waterstones exclusive editions. 

[sshannonauthor]

Hi Samantha, I hope you’re doing well! I was super intrigued by the Berethnet queens when I read Priory and was so happy to learn that Glorian Shieldheart was going to be among the main narrators in A Day Of Fallen Night. I absolutely cannot wait to meet her (and Sabran VI), and I was wondering if you could perhaps share a tiny piece of information/quote/anything about Glorian?

I'm glad you're looking forward to meeting Glorian.

Unusually in Berethnet history, Glorian was born to two monarchs who both ruled in their own right – Sabran VI, queen regnant of Inys, and Bardholt I, king regnant of Hróth. During A Day of Fallen Night, she is occasionally known as Glorian Óthling, a title referring to her strong right to the throne of Hróth. She's also one of the very few Berethnets who used a middle name – her father's surname, Hraustr.

[sshannonauthor]

I’ve been wondering

Why is Sabran called The Magnificent ?

When Fýredel breathed fire on Sabran, we know Ead saved her, but to the Virtues Council, it looked as if Sabran survived wyrmfire. They spread word in the city and the people gave her the epithet.

[sshannonauthor]

This can be a weird question, but recently I was re-reading Priory for 283838th time and I noticed there is no mention of sex workers. Does sex work exist in Priory world? I just understood how often it's present in other adult fantasy and I wonder why.

If you look carefully, there are brief mentions of brothels in Ascalon and Ginura, and the Golden Empress tells Niclays she used to own one. I imagine that consensual, safe and legal sex work does exist across the Priory world, but it's outlawed in Virtudom, where all extramarital sex is frowned upon.

This is an interesting subject. I have complex thoughts on the portrayal of sex work in the genre, and I'm always interested to hear others' opinions on it. I knew I definitely didn't want Priory to be the sort of high fantasy where ‘whores’ and ‘wenches’ are just kind of there, as background props, for the sake of emphasising ‘gritty realism’ or something. When I see male authors using those words to casually describe female characters, it usually makes me a little bit tense.

It was important to me that I didn't write a book where sex workers were portrayed as nameless objects. At the same time, I didn't want to erase sex work altogether, because that struck me as a puritanical approach. As I wasn't planning to go into great detail on the subject in Priory, I thought making casual mention of brothels was the best way to respectfully acknowledge that sex work exists in the world. 

Related: if you are interested in language used to describe women, I’d highly recommend this article on the history of ‘wench’ – a word that appears so often and so casually in fantasy that it’s become a trope, but has a problematic history: [x] 

[sshannonauthor]

You might have already answered this but will we ever see Paige - or any other human - visit the Netherworld?

It isn’t possible for a human to visit the Netherworld, because corporeal matter can’t pass through a cold spot.

Spirits, however, can enter the Netherworld. Make of this what you will.

[sshannonauthor]

Weird ask, but what are dragon's tampons made of? Seriously, I asked myself that half-way through priory.

... Did you definitely mean to write tampons there?

[sshannonauthor]

What will be the official name of Inys once it stops being a Queendom?

You might see, if I write a sequel… eventually

[sshannonauthor]

hi! i just finished reading the priory and I really liked it. Although i did have a little trouble trying to understand the political system and religion in Inys. just wondering if there was a guide that you had for it or if it's based on something? because honestly I'm still a little confused on that front. All the dukes, earls, viscounts and knights titles were slightly difficult to place hierarchically.