User blog comment:Astar Goldenwing/For Freedom/@comment-7662967-20141224003004/@comment-2142396-20141224102346

Thanks a lot for the in-depth comment! I’m so glad that you like the story! After Freedom was introduced in ‘Triss’, I’ve always wondered if she would get her own book, like Mattimeo did, so I started writing one for her.

When I started writing this, I planned on Nabon being the ‘good’ sibling and Shamra being the ‘bad’ one, but then I realized that, firstly, it’s too similar to Gingivere and Tsarmina, and secondly, such a twist will give the characters more depth, so I reversed their roles without changing their personalities much.

Longstep’s story isn’t over yet, and I wanted to explore Grawn’s past. I admit that Sagaxus’s death was probably too much… And that’s a good guess about Simon – we’ll see if it’s right. I’m glad that you like the addition of Rolt, I wanted to create a genuinely peaceful vermin tribe there. I’m half-tempted to bring Kars back myself… But I’m afraid he’s really dead.

I posted spoiler warning for ‘Mariel of Redwall’ since part of the story takes place on Terramort, and once Rolt is introduced, tunnels start to play an important role. I felt that their existence was quite a spoiler for those who hadn’t read ‘Mariel’.

I’ll certainly update you on the next chapter! :D