A lot of times, I faced bullies – or the ‘big dogs’ at school. What I wanted ‘Red Rising’ to be is not necessarily an indictment on bullies, but it reflects my experiences and attitudes that I had with bullies growing up. – Pierce Brown
When you look at a lot of the military histories, and even modern military history, everyone pretty much refers to each other by nicknames. – Pierce Brown
Every hero must return home. Starks to Winterfell. Harry to Privet Drive. Luke Skywalker to Tattoine. Katniss to District twelve. The fun is in seeing how they return. – Pierce Brown
I was learning the craft; I didn’t study writing in school. Rejection was my motivation, and failure is what taught me. – Pierce Brown
My roommates are all such happy-go-lucky guys, and I carry some of the stress around a lot more. – Pierce Brown
There are so many ideas that you just come up with on a day-to-day basis when you’re a writer that it’s very difficult to want to go back to an old fling, so to speak. – Pierce Brown
‘Morning Star’ is the light that many sailors would use to guide them. But it’s also referenced twice in the Bible – once for Lucifer and once for Jesus. – Pierce Brown
My editor’s main job is to cut down my worldbuilding. There’s so much fun stuff in there, you know? – Pierce Brown
A lot of times, you had to beat the bullies at their own game. But the difficulty is not becoming the bully yourself. – Pierce Brown
I usually dislike second books in series. The only second installment I ever loved was ‘The Empire Strikes Back,’ and I think that was wonderful because it evolved the characters while not seeming like a bridge. – Pierce Brown
Every high school I went to, I joined in the middle of the year, so sports helped. But you see a lot of bullies when you move to eight states, I’ll say that. – Pierce Brown
I think girls have a harder time than guys do if you’re switching schools. Guys don’t get picked on as long as you’re OK in sports. – Pierce Brown
Conceptually, I always took issue with bullies and those who took advantage of others, whether it was a teacher’s cruelty to a student, or a student who picked fights with others. – Pierce Brown
