Christopher Paolini
FameRank: 6

"Christopher James Paolini" is an American author. He is best known as the author of the Inheritance Cycle, which consists of the books Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr and Inheritance (novel)/Inheritance. He lives in Paradise Valley, Montana, where he wrote his first book.

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During that entire year, ... my parents didn't get any income from any other endeavors, so when we took it on the road, it was do or die. I was doing three to four one-hour presentations each day.

I certainly give credit to my parents.

If you ever kill off Saphira, I will hunt you down.

At this point, ... it would take an extraordinary experience to get me back in that costume!

Eragon started as me but ended up evolving into his very own character, ... Even as he has gone through his coming-of-age story, the process of writing and publishing these novels has been my own coming-of-age story. There are parallels between my own experience and Eragon's, but fortunately, I don't have people charging at me with swords.

I'm flattered to be compared to (J.K.) Rowling because I think she's done an incredible amount for readers and fantasy. I'm a huge fan of hers, ... But the story and the world that I write about is completely different from Hogwarts and present-day Britain.

And what I hoped, and what I still hope, is that within those familiar elements I'm able to provide a unique twist. If there's anything that's truly unique about the series, what I'm most proud of is Eragon's relationship with Saphira.

I didn't have a lot to do. Dad felt I was too young to go to college; I didn't have a job, and the nearest town was some 20 miles away. I needed a way of entertaining myself. Writing was what I settled on.