Today we have Ryan Kirk on the blog, here to answer a few questions alongside the release The Penitent’s Path, book four in the Testaments of the Forsaken series.
Welcome! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what got you into writing?
Thanks for having me! My name is Ryan Kirk, and I’m a fantasy writer and father currently living in Minnesota. I’ve published more than forty novels in the past eleven years. I’ve written stories for as long as I can remember, starting with action-packed spy adventures that I wrote when I was eight or nine. I turned professional in 2015 when I published my first fantasy novel, Nightblade.
Are there any books that have really influenced you as a writer?
More than I can count, and the number grows every year. Off the top of my head I think of Brent Week’s Night Angel, Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash, and Orson Scott Card’s Speaker for the Dead.
What do you enjoy most about writing fantasy?
It’s one part imagination and one part character study. Fantasy gives me the opportunity to imagine many different kinds of worlds and many different ways of living. More than that, though, magic proves a powerful testing ground for characters. What happens when someone is gifted incredible powers? How do those who haven’t developed powers respond against overwhelming opposition? All great fiction is character study, but fantasy makes it easy to truly test the mettle of characters.
What inspired this book/series in particular?
The original idea was a simple one. I wanted to write a murder mystery where only the protagonist realized there was a murder to solve, a murder that everyone else believed was a natural death under wildly different circumstances. I’ve always been interested in stories that feature a war in the shadows, and so that became a cornerstone of this series as well, as two secret sects do battle with one another, and our protagonist is caught in between.
What is your favorite aspect of Veynar’s character?
His persistence. He tries to do what he thinks is right, but time and again he finds that what is right isn’t as straightforward as he wants it to be. Despite that, he never stops trying to learn from his mistakes and never stops trying to find what is right.
What is your favorite aspect of the fantasy world you’ve created to write about?
I like the interactions between the old gods and the warriors. They come from such wildly different perspectives, and yet they’re forced together. It makes for fun dialog and rich character moments.
Can you tell us about your writing space? Where do you do most of your writing?
Mostly at my desktop computer, although more and more I find myself turning to pen and paper to ignore the lure of the internet. One fun fact about my office is that I have an entire wall dedicated to my children’s artwork through the years, so whenever I’m hitting a rough stretch of writing I can turn around and enjoy years of drawings.
What are some things you are really enjoying reading right now? Books, TV, foods, etc.?
There can be only one answer and it’s the War of Light and Shadow series by Janny Wurts. She’s a fantasy legend and for good reason, and her series astounds me at every turn. I’m currently about halfway through the series, and I both can’t wait to get to the end but never want it to end.
Want to know more about The Penitent’s Path?
An anguished warrior, a mysterious mentor, and a monstrous host collide at the edge of the known world. The Penitent’s Path is frontier epic fantasy about the costs of power and the long road back from the wrong’s we’ve done
He came to learn and seek a new path. His enemies found their new way forward first.
Veynar has spent months seeking a master, carrying the weight of the lives he’s taken and a spirit bound to his own. He wants answers to the questions that have plagued him. The wilds have other plans.
When a young warrior named Roneth leads him to Stonehaven, a mountain town built with impossible care on the edge of the wilderness, Veynar begins his search. But the Graevath are massing in the trees and driving toward the walls, eager to destroy the lives inside.
The answers he’s chased begin here, but Stonehaven’s enemies, both within and without, leave him little chance to reason carefully. If he hopes to survive, he’ll have to find a path to power that doesn’t destroy all he loves.
Atmospheric, morally weighty, and built around a slow-burning last stand, The Penitent’s Path is heroic fantasy for readers who love haunted protagonists, hard-won redemption, and the question of if we can become more than the wrongs of our past.
Preorder here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GFFPV14K
Meet Ryan Kirk:
Ryan Kirk is the award-winning and internationally bestselling author of over thirty fantasy novels spanning nearly a dozen worlds. He lives in Minnesota with his family, where he enjoys long, meandering walks outside even when the snow is high enough to cover his legs. When he isn’t glued to his keyboard, he’s usually in the woods, either on foot or on bike.
You can find him on his website, as well as Facebook, Instagram, X, and Bookbub.
If you want to stay up to date with him without leaving the comfort of your inbox, sign up for Ryan Kirk’s newsletter here: https://ryankirkauthor.com/pages/newsletter-sign-up
