HOMETOWN: Paradise Valley, Mont.
FIRST NOVEL: Eragon, a swprd-and-sorcery epic complete with dragons, elves, an evil king and a valiant hero.
•The Writer as a Young Pup: At 15, after being homeschooled by his mother, Talita, and getting his high school equivalency, Paolini sketched out the plot for his Inheritance trilogy, then spent a year writing Eragon, the first volume. "Once I read it," says Talita, 43, who runs a small publishing company with her husband, Kenneth, 46, "my jaw dropped." It was so good, they published it.
•On the Road: Paolini, with his dad as chauffeur, traveled the country dressed in medieval garb selling Eragon at schools, bookstores and book fairs. "Medieval boots," he gripes, "don't have arch support."
•Estimated sales: 10,000 copies.
•The Breakthrough: Author Carl Hiassen saw a copy and alerted Knopf, his publisher, which bought the trilogy, touting it as "a major acquisition."
•First Knopf Printing: 125,000 copies.
•A Taste of Eragon: "A deafening scream tore out of Eragon as he charged the Urgal, headfirst. The Urgal paused in astonishment, then faced him contemptuously, swinging his ax."
•The Fruits of His Labor: Paolini has squirreled away his advance (he won't divulge how much). "The only thing I would consider buying," he says, "is a nice carbon-steel sword."
•And Now: Deferring college, he's completing the trilogy. "I have no personal life," he says. "Eragon has eaten my entire family's life."
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
