Victoria Aveyard revisits Tolkien and previews Tempest

Victoria Aveyard appears on Books That Changed My Life to discuss how The Lord of the Rings shaped her career and to preview her upcoming adult fantasy debut, Tempest. The episode also includes a giveaway of 50 signed copies and a look at the novel’s unusual road to publication.

Why it matters: - Victoria Aveyard links her writing career to a formative encounter with J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, offering a look at the books that shaped one of fantasy’s most visible authors. - The episode also gives an early preview of Tempest, Aveyard’s adult fantasy debut, as she expands beyond the YA work that made her a #1 New York Times bestselling author. - Books That Changed My Life is using the episode to promote a giveaway of 50 signed copies of Tempest.

What happened: - On a recent episode of Books That Changed My Life, Aveyard joined Chris “Bulldog” Collins for a conversation about The Lord of the Rings. - Aveyard said she read the trilogy more than ten times in seventh grade. - Aveyard traced her career back to 2001, when she left a screening of The Fellowship of the Ring and bought the paperback at Target. - Aveyard and Collins also discussed Tempest, including its characters, setting and themes. - Aveyard read aloud from sections of an unpublished proof during the episode.

The details: - Aveyard described The Lord of the Rings as the book that made her want to write stories herself. - Aveyard said the trilogy’s core is the grief and sorrow running beneath the adventure. - Aveyard noted her affection for a book with “no women in the Fellowship,” and said that tension has influenced her own work. - Aveyard said, “Female rage is the core of everything I write,” and pointed to an Éowyn speech she still carries with her. - Aveyard offered advice to her younger self: “What makes you weird now is going to make you successful later.” - Aveyard called Tempest a “love letter to Pirates of the Caribbean” and Black Sails. - Aveyard said her original 300,000-word manuscript was too long to physically bind and print, so the publisher split the book into a duology. - Full entry details for the Tempest giveaway are in the episode description. - The release also directs viewers to watch the full conversation here, though the source text does not provide a usable URL.

Between the lines: - Aveyard’s comments show how strongly Tolkien’s work still shapes modern fantasy writers, especially on questions of tone, grief and heroism. - Her focus on female rage and the absence of women in the Fellowship suggests Tempest may carry forward the same emotional and political energy that defined her earlier books. - The manuscript length detail signals a large-scale fantasy project that outgrew a standard single-volume format.

What's next: - Tempest is positioned as Aveyard’s next major release, with promotion already underway through the podcast episode and signed-copy giveaway. - The episode description is the source for entry rules tied to the giveaway. - Aveyard’s full conversation with Collins is available to viewers through the show’s episode materials.

The bottom line: - Aveyard is using a nostalgia-fueled Tolkien discussion to frame a new chapter in her career, while signaling that Tempest will lean into the themes that have long driven her writing.