A big thanks to (I believe) our first repeat interlocutor, Charlie S. in White Plains, NY for this question:

What are you currently reading and does it relate to what you’re working on?

With time at a premium, I am reading significantly less than I’d like to be, but I am reading. I think I’ve said here before that serious writers have to first and foremost be serious readers, and I have a psychological condition that makes me feel like any day that I don’t read at least a few pages of fiction is a lost day. I’ve felt this way for most of my adult life and I don’t see that changing, even if it means setting the alarm an hour early, so I can read before my kids get up, or staying up much later than is strictly healthy on a school night.

I’m currently reading Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb, which is the second book in her seminal Realm of the Elderlings series. It’s one of those series I missed out on when it debuted in the ’90s for no reason in particular. I’ve had it on my TBR for literal decades, and I’m stoked that I finally got around to it. Hobb is an exquisite prose stylist, a rare enough find in epic fantasy, and Fitz’s voice has unexpectedly helped me think about how I approach Ruxindra in The Divine Heretic.

I’ve also just started Falling in a Sea of Stars by Kristen Britain, the eighth book in her Green Rider series, which is pure pleasure reading. The Green Rider is one of my favorite ongoing fantasy series and terribly underread. Consider this a formal recommendation.

Over the last few months, I’ve also been dipping in and out of this Robert Howard collection:

This pick falls squarely in the research category, but it’s hardly a joyless assignment. No writer aside from maybe C.L. Moore has more fundamentally shaped my approach to the sword and sorcery subgenre. Howard’s Conan stories aren’t exactly synonymous with rich character writing, but I think a lot critics sell Howard short in this regard. Many of these stories–particularly those vignettes featuring an older Conan, Conan the King–reveal some hidden depths to the character. Howard’s writing is sparse. He sometimes reminds me of Hemingway, and like Hemingway, his sparseness should not be mistaken for shallowness. There’s more to unpack in these stories than you get at first glance.

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