| Christopher Paolini CD AudioBook - Eragon Eldest Audio |
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Christopher Paolini (born November 17, 1983) is an American writer of fantasy fiction, best known as being the author of the Inheritance trilogy, which consists of the books Eragon, Eldest, and a third, whose name has not been confirmed. The third book has not yet been released. Paolini was born in Southern California, though he was raised and still lives in the Paradise Valley area of Montana. His parents are Kenneth Paolini and Talita Hodgkinson. Paolini is of Italian descent. He has one sister, Angela. Home schooled for his entire life, he graduated high school at the age of 15 through an accredited correspondence course at American School, Chicago, IL. Following graduation, he started work on what would become the novel Eragon and its sequel, all set in Alagaësia. Nature influences much of Paolini's writing. In a three-way interview with Philip Pullman and Tamora Pierce, Paolini stated that Paradise Valley is "one of the main sources" of his inspiration. In Eldest Paolini explained that his elves were atheists and vegetarians. When asked if he is a vegetarian, he answered, "No, I am not vegetarian, although I lean in that direction." In 2002, Eragon was published privately by his parents through Paolini International, LLC. To promote the book, Paolini toured over 135 schools and libraries, discussing reading and writing, all the while dressed in "a medieval costume of red shirt, billowy black pants, lace-up boots, and a jaunty black cap." Paolini created the cover art for the first edition of Eragon, which featured Saphira's eye. He also drew the maps on the inside covers of his books. During one of his promotional tours, he gave a speech at the school of the stepson of Carl Hiaasen; Hiaasen enjoyed the book so much, he told his publisher, Knopf about it. An offer was made by Knopf for Eragon and the rest of the Inheritance trilogy. After another round of editing, the second edition of Eragon was published in August 2003. At the age of nineteen, he became a New York Times bestselling author. An essay by Paolini appeared in the anthology Guys Write for Guys Read, edited by Jon Scieszka. The book was released in April, 2005. Eldest, the sequel to Eragon, was released August 2005. The third volume is called Brisingr |
