The second and final installment of Kobe Bryant's best-selling fantasy novel series “Epoca” hit the book stands earlier this week. The wife of the late Los Angeles Lakers great, Vanessa Bryant, was a key part in the completion of “Epoca: The River of Sand,” as she collaborated with co-author Ivy Claire.
On Wednesday, Entertainment Tonight shared a clip of a recent interview where both Vanessa and Claire discussed the release of the new novel. Bryant also shared that she had to change one line in the book to make sure they properly honor her late husband and Lakers icon.
“There was one line in this book that said ‘Friends comes first, practice comes second,” Vanessa said. “And I remember telling you there's no way in hell that Kobe would ever agree. He used to always tell the kids ‘your friends will be there after practice.'”
Now that's the “Mamba Mentality” we all know and saw during Bryant's time with the Lakers.
In the same interview (per Taylor Rooks of Bleacher Report), Claire even mentioned how upset Vanessa was about that one line and that she had to ultimately strike it out of the final edit.
Vanessa Bryant conducted a great interview with Ivy Claire about Kobe’s book series.
This moment was really special and very Kobe. https://t.co/Ne8PgNI36F pic.twitter.com/Ar5KLqVIJo
— Taylor Rooks (@TaylorRooks) December 17, 2020
The first installment of the series called “Epoca: The Tree of Ecrof” was a New York Times bestseller. It was released a few months before the tragic death of Kobe and his daughter Gigi.
Now, the second book continues to follow the story of Pretia, the Princess of Epoca, as she returns to Ecrof–an elite magical sports academy. Together with her best friend Rovi, they go on their journey to make it to the Junior Epic Games.
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