Born in Southern California on November 17, 1983, Paolini was raised in Paradise Valley, Montana. His mother had training as a Montessori teacher and his dad worked to support his family and later owned a small publishing house. Home schooled by his parents, Paolini graduated when he was fifteen years old from an accredited correspondence course out of Chicago, Illinois. Not yet wanting to start college, Paolini instead sat down with a pen and a notebook and began outlining a three-part saga that ran through his head. After sixty pages of paper, he turned to his computer, believing he had a story worth telling. Eragon was born.
Taking time to edit his own work, Paolini then turned the manuscript over to his parents for their thoughts. They helped him through more revisions and decided to publish the book themselves. Paolini turned down a scholarship to Reed College in Portland, Oregon, and the family promoted the novel by touring schools, bookstores, and libraries. Dressed in medieval clothing, Paolini talked about his story and the process of writing. Good fortune came to Paolini when the author Carl Hiaasen read Eragon and recommended it to his editor at Alfred E. Knopf. The publishing house eliminated words and created a different cover before releasing the new edition.
With the rights now in the hands of an influential publisher and an agreement in place for the next two books, Paolini resumed writing. His second book in the "Inheritance Trilogy" called Eldest was released in 2005, and the third book (Brisingr) in September of 2008. As he got closer to finishing the "trilogy," Paolini discovered that he couldn't finish his story in three books, so a fourth (Inheritance) was released in November 2011. Paolini's best-selling books have sold millions of copies, and Twentieth Century-Fox produced a film based on Eragon. The astounding results of Paolini's belief in clear thinking and outlining his plots before typing them up has garnered him tremendous success. At his young age, options abound for his future, and readers hope he continues writing.
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