I love fantasy. I grew up reading fantasy. But, I wanted to put a somewhat different spin on it. The whole trope of absolute good versus absolute evil, which was wonderful in the hands of J.R. Tolkien, became cliche and rote in the hands of the many Tolkien imitators that followed.

I like grey characters; fantasy for too long has been focused on very stereotypical heroes and villains.

Why is it that when one man builds a wall, the next man immediately needs to know what's on the other side?

The choice is yours, brother. Live a thrall or die a king. Do you dare to fly? Unless you take the leap, you’ll never know." - Euron Greyjoy

That night the wind was howling almost like a wolf and there were some real wolves off to the west giving it lessons.

There's no shame in fear, my father told me, what matters is how we face it.

Pyp had stabbed a turnip with his knife. "The night is dark and full of turnips," he announced in a solemn voice. "Let us all pray for venison, my children, with some onions and a bit of tasty gravy.