1. How many siblings does Kel actually have? The books mention three
brother and I think three sisters, but there are sure a lot of nieces
and nephews at Mindelan for just a few siblings that couldn't have been
married for that long.
Let's see--in descending order of age: Anders is the oldest. He and his wife Vorinna have five kids, of whom Lachren is the oldest; Lachren's now a page. Patricine is next of the sibs; she's married to
Toshuro noh Akaneru; they have two kids and live in the Yamani Islands with his family. Inness and his wife Tilaine have three kids. Conal is an unmarried knight. Demadria recently married Gavin haMinch; they have one on the way. Adelia married Merovec of Nond; they have two, having ::cough:: gotten started early ::cough::. Oranie married Ortien of Hannalof. Avinar is a scholar/teacher at the City of the Gods. And Kel is the youngest.
2. How far back do the noble books (Book of Gold, Book of Silver) go? What's the cut off date between the books?
The Book of Gold begins 630 years before Alanna's time, when Tortall, a state of the fallen Thanic Empire that once covered all of the Eastern Lands, set itself up as a realm of its own, setting down the names of the ruling families in a parchment book with gilded letters and plates of gold for the front and back. Since the sheets of parchment were set it with no way to add unless the book was taken apart, the length of time and the number of families listed in it ran as long as there was space in the book! The Book of Silver began 170 years later, with the same construction, only in silver. Once that ran out of pages, 245 years later, The Book of Copper was begun, and they're still using that.
3.
Will we ever see any of the Yamani Islands firsthand? What we hear
about them from Kel sounds interesting, as do the women from the
Islands ;]
I don't have any plans, but that doesn't mean I won't ever get there!
4. How far back does the Conte-Naxen partnership (for
lack of a better word) go? How are the families related or have the
Naxens always just worked with the Contes?
They try not to intermarry too often, but they've worked together off and on for a couple of hundred years, what with one thing and another. A Naxen was one of the Old King's best generals, his right hand, and he married a Naxen third cousin.
5. Is there any
map, even a sketch, that you have of the whole Eastern Lands? I would
like to see Sarain, Maren, the Roof of the World, etc. in relation to
Tortall.
Not yet--I only have the overall one for LIONESS RAMPANT. By a companion to Tortall is in the works, and I promise, there will be more maps!
I hope that scratched some of your curiosity itches!
Tammy
P.S. I'll be here through Friday, and then it's off on book tour for me!
Last Modified Apr 22, 2009, 04:01:31 PM
