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In posting a blog version of the #TheWallOfNight Q&A that took place over the weekend, particularly the followup questions that featured on Tuesday, I realized that I had missed answering the first part of a two-part question. Mea culpa!

Anyway, the great thing about the blog is that I can always remedy the omission, so here goes:

Ruth asked: “How did you decide the names of the Houses?”

HelenL: The development of the Houses was a progression that started with Night, the reasons for the name of the House being given very early on in The Heir Of Night. Stars followed shortly, thereafter, closely followed by Blood and Swords.

Stars was chosen chiefly because it could read as either counteracting or complementing Night, depending on which part of Derai history one focused on, while Blood and Swords were primarily intended to reflect that these were warrior Houses, but also recognizing the part each would play in the overall The Wall Of Night story.

From that starting point, I then worked out the rest of the names based on the same principles: the role of the House in the Derai pantheon, the projected part in the story, and recognition — as was also discussed in the Q&A — of their “elemental” affiliation, i.e. each of the Houses is primarily aligned with air, earth, water, or fire.