Rob Rimes, "Barbarians of the Storm" Author AMA, Part IV - Bonus Round
I take your questions and give them answers!
I’ve been compiling questions since the start of the new year. I was shooting for 50 before starting the AMA. I exceeded that, so I did an AMA session of three parts with 25 questions each.
However, there were many left over and some more that came in after the third one was published. So, why not do a bonus round?
So, here’s a set of twenty-five bonus questions:
What is the recommended reading order for the Barbarians of the Storm books?
The order of release is probably the preferred way. That’s how I prefer to consume media that’s not mine. The reason for this and my reason for it in regards to the BotS series, is that the order of release is how details are revealed to the audience. Reading outside of the order of release would spoil some things in the various stories. So, basically, think of Eyes in All Shadows & Other Stories as Book 2.5 to be read between Atomic Beasts and Swords Against Bastards. It all takes place before the first book, Dan the Destructor, but it would spoil a lot of the reveals. I lay Easter eggs where I do and when I do for a reason. But also, I guess you can do whatever the hell you want.
Does Fenrik enjoy any food other than rambull steak?
Rambull steak is his absolute favorite thing to eat, but dude will eat just about any meat. He’s basically a carnivore that drinks alcohol. However, that doesn’t mean that he won’t eat side dishes or forage for berries and mushrooms if he needs to survive in the wild. In the books, he’s eaten crocodylian, snake (Rogorn), jerky, crab, and other stuff.
Do Fenrik and Vasilia actually have an open relationship?
No. Not at all. He loves her. Having just met Dan, he was doing what most guys do when they meet a new bro… he was simply talking shit and trying to look cool, playing up that he’s “the man”. He flirts with Cynthania in the Duplicitous Goose but he also feels guilt with her over what was essentially a rebound and a one (or multiple) night stand. There are a lot of ways that Fenrik presents himself to strangers and newcomers, but as people get to know him and earn his trust, they learn who he is, which isn’t the simple caricature that he plays up.
Will Dan run out of Hawaiian shirts? Is he wearing the same one the whole time? If so, does he wash it?
He had his shirt washed in Agamemnon before the parade in Sha-Destino. I’m sure he had it washed again before setting off from Xessex across the Isoln Channel. However, it’s doubtful that it’s been washed from that point, probably being stinky by the end of Swords Against Bastards. However, he was in the ocean with it a few times. As far as there being more Hawaiian shirts, I’m sure there’s some in one of the cargo ship containers.
Why are there all these different hells?
The different hells are essentially realms ruled over by the most powerful demons that spread out across the cosmos, space and time. Many can exist in several worlds with direct connections to them. Each is styled in the way that its ruler prefers. Each also has its own rules and purpose. However, there is also the larger, biblical Hell, which is where Lucifer resides. Several hells have direct links to Terra, the main world in the Barbarians of the Storm series.
Can we get more with the Ash Man and the Three Crows?
You can if I write it. Technically, the Ash Man is not dead. His body is destroyed and his power has been diminished significantly. He would have to build himself back up, but based off of the rules for the character, that could take a very long time. That doesn’t mean that something powerful couldn’t assist the entity. Since the Three Crows were just extensions of his will, the Ash Man would have to obtain a similar level of power to manifest them again.
Sutriel will be back? Right? Riiiiight?
Probably. Vasilia will not let him off lightly. She’s busy, right now, but she has powers that could assist her against him and she also has her connection to Whiro. Additionally, there is a little twist to the end of the short story The Hunt for Cimmoarid at the end of Swords Against Bastards that hints at what could be next for her on a more personal level.
The two linked Fenrik short stories in Eyes in All Shadows were cool. Did the idea come from anywhere specific?
Yes. It came from a side quest in Skyrim. The one where you have to raid a fortress with a cult inside that has a little girl prisoner. It’s a simple mission, but after completing it, I was thinking about Stockholm syndrome and the possibility of the girl yearning to return to her captors. Then my brain went wild, and I thought about the girl reestablishing the cult and becoming its leader.
The stories that I wrote varied greatly in the details but I thought about it also being a lesson for Fenrik in that he can be the hero but what happens when he leaves and never goes back to check in on those he has saved.
The second story also allowed me to show Fenrik as emotionally vulnerable while also showing why he and Frank’s friendship is as strong as it is.
In regards to Frank, it allowed me to show him working through his own issues by helping his good friend with his own trauma and guilt.
Any more Falconrest tales?
Yes. I have to bring Hukkrag back in. I also have to explore what he is, a Nephilim. Is Loviatar truly dead? Plus, the story of the vampire boar Orok and his original vampire master might be neat to tell at some point.
Additionally, is Hukkrag’s armory still in the cave behind the hunter’s lodge? We don’t get to see it after the second story concludes.
Any plans to tell the story of Fenrik's dad (Ahren Gaust) and Brahm Tieryr?
Probably. For now, it is being told in increments through dialogue by characters who know certain details. At some point, I will probably want to actually deep dive into what they are and what they did before they were marooned on the planet.
Are you going to do stories in other eras?
Yes, eventually. In a way, Eyes in All Shadows featured stories that are essentially origins or much earlier tales. However, I have thought about telling a story about Taenith, the king she served, the establishment of the Order of the Crimson Masque, as well as how the Wild Dog became a part of it.
Beyond that, a Tieryr and Gaust story is highly likely, as is a story featuring Elizabeth. In fact, I already have a short story planned for that.
Are there plans to visit other planets or to show more of the cosmos?
Yes, absolutely. And I actually already have with the Moon of Desmir. I’m thinking about the larger cosmos all the time, though. I’d like to show Tieryr and Gaust, as well as Morax in their heydays.
What is the eyeball entity in the mirror gate?
It’s a very ancient, very powerful deity that has a close relationship with Brahm Tieryr. That’s all I can say about it for now.
What's your favorite battle that you've written in the BotS books?
Man, that’s f’n hard to answer. As fun as the final epic battle was in Dan the Destructor, I think that the winner for me is Xulgog bringing war to Agamemnon at the end of Swords Against Bastards. Some serious, serious shit happens there, it was overly ambitious on my part (also for happening at the same time as another massive battle), but I think I pulled it off. It also has an end result that will completely change the series and the lives of all the core characters: heroes, villains, and those in-between.
Are all the surviving heroes from Swords Against Bastards always going to be a team?
No. They are certainly allies but they all have their own things to deal with. That doesn’t mean that they won’t all come together for the right reasons. As the world changes, this could be a very likely scenario.
Is Killer racist against goblins?
Racist? No. Well, I’d say that to some degree he sees them the way Kirk saw the Klingons. However, he knows Mani from Sha-Destino and is friends with him, as they have bonded over the fact that they’re sort of the species outcasts of their communities. Also, none of that has happened in the books, but they have met and are friends.
How wide is the Isoln Channel?
About as wide as the English Channel but pretty damn calm. It’s also much longer north to south, wedged between continents.
What percentage of the planet (Terra) have you shown so far?
A really small portion, honestly. The kingdoms are all rather small when compared to modern Earth countries. I’ve also started to allude to the diverse climate and topography in Swords Against Bastards. That will eventually be explained once Steve, the no longer frozen scientist, is able to elaborate on the world in the eventual Book IV.
We need maps! When do we get maps?
I have maps. But they aren’t good enough to publish. When I eventually do a collected omnibus, I plan to have them in it. I just need to find a decent cartographer or git gud, myself. I would also make the maps available on this Substack for those who want reference and who don’t want to buy books they’ve already bought, even though the omnibuses will have lots of cool extras.
If BotS was an animated show (or movie), what art style would you select?
Rotoscoping in the style of 1983’s Fire and Ice or the more recent The Spine of Night.
What do you take your notes in?
A roughly 5” x 7” Moleskine. I have two that I always keep on me and both fit in my pocket nicely. My favorite pen for them is the Pentel EnerGel RTX. They flow nice with the paper and I’m a lefty and they never smear.
You say that your first year has surprised you, what do you think has been key to your early success?
My 20+ years experience in marketing mixed with consistency. Not every marketing post I do hits, but if you come up with a unique way to market your books and you hit social media with something new and unique daily, people will see it, and over time, they’ll check it out. A lot of it has been trial and error but I have had success with what I’ve been doing almost out the gate and it just keeps building more and more with each passing week. You have to hustle, man. I know people don’t want to hear all that, but if you put the time into writing and publishing a book, the work isn’t over. Frankly, it’s just begun if you want to push for real success.
How do you reach the next level? Are you close to your goal?
I’m not close to my big goal but I am much further ahead than I thought I would be when I started a year ago. In order to keep building up, I have to push forward, work hard, get books out, market them, and just stay on course. I like my current trajectory. However, I am thinking about ways to kick it up even more.
Are you going to do BotS action figures?
I want to but I don’t want to get ahead of myself. Eventually, if I succeed and get to a place where I can feasibly do that, I’d jump on it. There also has to be a market for it. Luckily, I already have contacts that can help me with this.
Would you do a BotS video game?
Basically, the same answer as the one above. I have stated in the past that if I sell a million books (I’m nowhere close to that), that I’d love to develop a 16-bit side scrolling beat’em up like the Golden Axe games. I also said I would do arcade cabinets. If you want that too, help me get there.
…and that’s it! I’m sure that I will do more of these in the future. If any of this has sparked further questions for me, DM them to me on Twitter.