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Star Wars VIP Interviews/Discussions

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T'Keira Lea

Posted: Mar 6 2011, 09:46 PM

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Walter Jon Williams

Destiny's Way was the point where I started my own AU so I read his interview with some interest. I always think he wrote Jaina well in that book, but obviously it lacked Jag after some nice J/J in the NJO.

Some parts I liked

QUOTE

On that theme... how much storyline-wise was already set in stone by the story-arc and how much was purely your decision? For example having Jaina kill Tsavong Lah?
Tsavong Lah had to die, because once Shimrra came on the scene the warlord grew redundant. I was the one who decided that Jaina would be the one to kill him. Some fans expected Jacen to do the deed, but Jacen had some big scenes with Vergere at more or less the same time, and I didn�t want to just hand the whole finale over to Jacen, especially because I knew the previous book would feature him as the sole protagonist, and I didn�t want Jaina to fade into the background.

QUOTE

Wow, reading over the notes i made i just relised how stacked this novel was with big moments. You got to 'Knight' many of the newer Jedi. How was writing that scene and again, how much freedom did you have with Jaina's knighting and the Sword Of The Jedi 'prophecy'?

As I recall, the knighting scene was a late idea, and came after I�d already started work on the book. I got email from someone, probably Shelley Shapiro, asking if I could do a knighting scene--- and of course I said yes!

The details of the scene, and the various moments with the new knights, were all my own invention.

As for the �Sword of the Jedi� scene, all I can say is that the Force made me do it! I literally had no idea that was coming until I was writing it. It�s like something was dictating that into my head as I was writing. It was rather eerie, now I think about it.

QUOTE

A recent poll i took placed 'Destinys Way' as the 3rd best novel in The New Jedi Order series. (Traitor & Star By Star took first and second respectively.) That is quite an achievement in such a popular series. Were you aware of how highly rated your novel is amongst SW fans?
No, and I�m deeply flattered. I�m also very pleased to be considered alongside those other two works.

This post has been edited by T'Keira Lea on Jul 25 2011, 08:51 PM

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�Bones is heading into its 7th year & there comes a point where you put up or shut up...You can�t extend that tension that long without your fans breaking." ~ Castle's creator

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T'Keira Lea	Posted: Mar 7 2011, 08:02 PM
TKL Group: Moderator Posts: 11,575 Member No.: 4 Joined: 18-November 05	Michael Stackpole (via ClubJade) He has some interesting thoughts on publishing, ebooks, and the likes. Personally I think some of his fellow SW writers (specifically the ones writing the current flagship series) could learn a thing or two about promoting their own books from his experience. This post has been edited by T'Keira Lea on Mar 7 2011, 08:04 PM -------------------- �Bones is heading into its 7th year & there comes a point where you put up or shut up...You can�t extend that tension that long without your fans breaking." ~ Castle's creator

Darth Lex	Posted: Jun 1 2011, 09:26 AM
Lex Group: Moderator Posts: 9,440 Member No.: 2 Joined: 18-November 05	Hilarious interview with Aaron Allston posted on Suvudu today. And be sure not to miss his hints about the 2012 Wraith book. -------------------- "Okay, if you're going to question the importance of an actor's signature on a plastic helmet from a movie based on a comic book, then all of our lives have no meaning." ~ The Big Bang Theory

jade51999

Posted: Jun 1 2011, 12:08 PM

Siren: Wraiths songstress
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QUOTE

The series would be set in one solar system and take place over a span of many years, showing the effects of the universe�s wars on a broad cast of characters, mostly original characters. For example, choose a world that is strategically critical in the struggle between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance and then follow it from 4 years or so before the Battle of Yavin through 18 after. Multigenerational, original characters so nobody�s even remotely safe, alternately poignant and hopeful and tragic and preposterous � James Michener meets Alex Raymond.

Nice!

This post has been edited by jade51999 on Jun 1 2011, 12:08 PM

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Blog: ...this is what comes next
Twitter: @priyastoric

oldjedinurse	Posted: Jun 1 2011, 12:34 PM
Scrubs: Banner Artist Group: Wraiths Posts: 9,088 Member No.: 60 Joined: 14-February 06	Aaron! He just, well, gets it. Sigh -------------------- The sun persists in rising, so I make myself stand. "Catching Fire"

Shinar	Posted: Jun 1 2011, 07:05 PM
Explosion Girl Group: Moderator Posts: 7,051 Member No.: 8 Joined: 19-November 05	God bless Stackpole. Bless him. -------------------- My heart is like an open highway.

Darth Lex

Posted: Jun 21 2011, 04:55 PM

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Suvudu interview with Mike Stackpole about SW and Conan novelization

QUOTE

I understand that your public career began with the Battletech tie-in novels � This was certainly where I first encountered your work � and later transitioned into work on the rightfully celebrated X-Wing: Rogue Squadron novels. All the time you were writing your own original fiction as well. Was there a learning curve with writing fiction set in someone else�s universe, maybe with balancing creativity with respecting canon? If so, how did you overcome it? Also, did writing tie-in fiction later help you with writing your own original novels? Did you learn anything from this process?

There is a common misconception that writing in a canon is restrictive. It�s not. Even when an author is writing in a universe of his own creation, he�s hemmed in by design choices he�s made previously. So, whether it�s in the DragonCrown War universe, or Star Wars, it really boils down to the same thing: tell a good story and make sure it ties into the universe where it is being told. You can�t have Star Wars without acknowledging the existence of the Force, for example; or without embracing the history. If a writer fails in that capacity, they�ve failed to do the job for which they were hired.

Working in a franchise universe does give you a chance at identifying elements that intrigue readers, simply because you hear about those elements for fans. If you will, a franchise universe has already been playtested for you. If you analyze what people enjoy, figure out WHY they like it, and then provide them a story that hits similar highs and lows, you�re good to go. Unfortunately a number of authors refuse to do that sort of analysis in depth, so their stories are all window-dressing and no substance. The fans, quite rightly, complain.

That in-depth analysis, when turned on your own work, really helps a writer identify themes, characters, situations and elements that resonate with the audience. Once you know what those are, you can tailor stories to provide those sorts of experience. Doing that is how a writer actually develops a career.

QUOTE

One last question before we move on to Conan the Barbarian. Our readers here at Suvudu will kill me if I don�t ask you this: your Star Wars novels remain fan favorites, and no discussion of Star Wars novels passes without at least one reference to your work. Would you ever consider a return to the series?
I love Star Wars. If Del Rey ever decided that having me return and, say, write another X-wing book, or more about Corran Horn, I�d definitely be interested. It would all depend on their needs and our mutual schedules.

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"Okay, if you're going to question the importance of an actor's signature on a plastic helmet from a movie based on a comic book, then all of our lives have no meaning." ~ The Big Bang Theory

T'Keira Lea

Posted: Jun 26 2011, 08:55 PM

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This is a blog entry from Kristine Kathryn Rusch getting the hype up before the DVD.

She wrote The New Rebellion. Love this part.

QUOTE

But I love Han Solo.

Seriously.� Han Solo has been the model for many of the sf heroes that I write.� I took it as a high compliment when a reviewer called the hero of my latest novel, City of Ruins, �a female Han Solo.�

I never was a Luke Skywalker fan.� So as the Star Wars series progressed, and the focus remained on Luke and his tortured family dynamics, my interest waned a little. (Not a lot.� When a rabid fangirl says her interest waned �a little� that means she moves closer to normal, not that she lost interest entirely.)

When I wrote my own Star Wars novel at the behest of LucasFilm, I made sure to put Han front and center.� And the old renegade, adventurous Han, not the happily married father who occasionally had a job to do.

Han had skills.� He used them in the movies.� In the early novels, he didn�t get as much of a chance to show off those skills.

Probably because the men who wrote the books didn�t understand the allure of Han Solo.

She goes on to discuss the dynamic she saw as a writer. Check it out. I had already ordered those books with the "female Han Solo" to try.

I hadn't realized until recently that the first draft of ESB was written by a woman. I think IIRC she died before the second draft could be written. People tend to talk more about Kasdan as the screenplay writer.

And Zahn discusses continuity (and a fan tweaked by Mara's characterization in a recent EU novel he didn't write) on Facebook.

This post has been edited by T'Keira Lea on Jun 26 2011, 09:12 PM

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�Bones is heading into its 7th year & there comes a point where you put up or shut up...You can�t extend that tension that long without your fans breaking." ~ Castle's creator

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oldjedinurse	Posted: Jun 27 2011, 06:18 AM
Scrubs: Banner Artist Group: Wraiths Posts: 9,088 Member No.: 60 Joined: 14-February 06	Yay! for KKR! And bless her for saying all that. -------------------- The sun persists in rising, so I make myself stand. "Catching Fire"

Shinar	Posted: Jun 27 2011, 06:35 PM
Explosion Girl Group: Moderator Posts: 7,051 Member No.: 8 Joined: 19-November 05	Poor Zahn, I wonder which book with the bad got him unfairly raked over the coals. I don't buy the "Women love a bad boy. That�s why Leia fell for Han" thing. Oh well. I can totally get on board with the "When a rabid fangirl says her interest waned �a little� that means she moves closer to normal, not that she lost interest entirely." part though. -------------------- My heart is like an open highway.

T'Keira Lea	Posted: Jun 27 2011, 07:22 PM
TKL Group: Moderator Posts: 11,575 Member No.: 4 Joined: 18-November 05	Probably Sacrifice. Denning and Allston usually write Mara pretty well, but Traviss is the most recent author to get some characterization complaints. That, and she killed her. -------------------- �Bones is heading into its 7th year & there comes a point where you put up or shut up...You can�t extend that tension that long without your fans breaking." ~ Castle's creator

T'Keira Lea	Posted: Jun 29 2011, 07:24 PM
TKL Group: Moderator Posts: 11,575 Member No.: 4 Joined: 18-November 05	Zahn blogs for Kindle Btw, in the Choices of One promotional material Zahn has over 8 Million Star Wars books in print. Now that's not sold but even half that would be outstanding for the number of books he wrote. Nothing in the recent EU is touching that type of sales. -------------------- �Bones is heading into its 7th year & there comes a point where you put up or shut up...You can�t extend that tension that long without your fans breaking." ~ Castle's creator

oldjedinurse	Posted: Jun 29 2011, 07:41 PM
Scrubs: Banner Artist Group: Wraiths Posts: 9,088 Member No.: 60 Joined: 14-February 06	Dear Tim Zahn: Re: Your Kindle Blog Your point of view is well taken. Now I want a datapad...er...Kindle/Kobo/iPad. And a lightsaber. Thanks. Scrubs P.S. An X-wing would be okay too but I'd want to test-fly a Clawcraft for comparison first. -------------------- The sun persists in rising, so I make myself stand. "Catching Fire"

T'Keira Lea	Posted: Jul 17 2011, 04:38 PM
TKL Group: Moderator Posts: 11,575 Member No.: 4 Joined: 18-November 05	Zahn blogs for Borders this week. (spotted at TFN breaking news) He equates Star Wars to chocolate, sort of the dessert of our reading meals. I feel like I've been on a no-chocolate diet At least COO is back toward nummy goodness. This post has been edited by T'Keira Lea on Jul 17 2011, 04:38 PM -------------------- �Bones is heading into its 7th year & there comes a point where you put up or shut up...You can�t extend that tension that long without your fans breaking." ~ Castle's creator

T'Keira Lea

Posted: Jul 25 2011, 08:59 PM

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Interesting wrap-up by JediSmurf over at the Diversity thread in Lit. She talked to Shelly Shapiro about diversity and also Tom Taylor (writer of Invasion).

QUOTE (Smurf)

I was at ComicCon but did not end up going to the EU Books panel. I did stop by the Star Wars Books booth and talk to Shelly Shapiro about diversity in EU for a good ten minutes or so, though. She said they were trying, which is why they include aliens, but that they are "so PC" they cannot describe races in Star Wars. (I didn't really want to be rude and call her on that, since white characters are described with white features time and time again, but I was pretty disappointed in that answer.)

I acknowledged the difficulty of portraying minorities in writing, and Shapiro talked about how when you read Star Wars you are supposed to imagine diverse characters when you are reading. "Just because the character is not described that way doesn't mean they are not, for example, Asian," she said. I did point out that even if the race is not described it IS depicted in the covers and in the artwork where almost everyone is white. (I mean, Mirta Gev and Dur Gejjen are presumed by us to be brown, but it's not like they get on covers.) I noted the Crosscurrent (ambiguous ethnicity Jaden Korr) versus Riptide (ph hai thar white dude!) covers. Shapiro said she wasn't a big fan of the Crosscurrent cover. I said I was glad to see a woman repping on the Choices of One cover but she said she didn't like that cover either and acknowledged that Mara's head looks pasted on. She said she would bring my concerns about diversity to the art director, which I hope does happen!

I guess the difference is that the representation of characters of color is more abstract than the representation of white characters. The existence of important white characters (plus one black Lando) is confirmed in the EU books time and time again. But in order to have people of color in the stories it seemed like the takeaway was you're reliant on the audience to believe the world of Star Wars is full of humans that come in all shades and colors--it's just never confirmed that they are also doing cool things, too. This bothers me because it puts the onus on readers to imagine a diverse world. The creators should share this responsibility because they are shaping what we imagine.

What bugs me about this is that why is the diversity of the covers left to the art director? It seems like no one wants to take responsibility for what we're getting in/on these books. I have artists working on my presentations but I tell them yes, no and try again as necessary.

QUOTE (Smurf)

One thing that Taylor said that was really interesting--and maybe this will make you feel better, Coop--is that Taylor's initial concept was for the Galfridian family to be black. Clearly this did not happen. (I didn't really want to press why not...but wow.) We both agreed it would have been awesome to have a Black ruling family (eg: black princess!) in Star Wars.

We also talked about Kaye Galfridian and how the character has gotten a really negative reception on the JCF boards (yes, Taylor reads these boards!) I told him that I didn't have a problem with Kaye and found her more interesting than her brother. I explained that the JCF boards are largely white and male dominated and in that it shouldn't be his own resource for fan feedback since a lot of women and people of color, minorities, etc. would be turned off by the atmosphere on these boards (just look at the awkward conversation we had a few threads ago about gay people...not exactly something you'd want to put up with.) Having been on these forums for over 12 years with a formal account for 9 years, I shared that I've noticed that fans hold female characters and authors to higher standards than male characters and authors, which may explain some of the antipathy towards Kaye. (Bria is a Mary Sue but Corran is not? And pretty much every female author has gotten chased off these boards except for Jan Ostrander.)

We talked about how in a way, Invasion is more about Kaye's story than Finn's. Finn's story is there to connect readers to the NJO books and classic characters like Luke, it's the traditional new Jedi character in Star Wars story. Kaye's story is something new, something we haven't really seen in Star Wars or in the NJO, and really a different perspective to that series. In a way, Kaye and Finn parallel Luke and Leia in that Leia is more of a leader and in the thick of things and Finn is more Jedi but also more lost and naive. Especially given she has been groomed for leadership all her life, Kaye's leadership skills aren't that unrealistic in the context of a universe where 18 year olds are Senators representing entire planets and 14 year old queens are elected by popular vote.

He did seem really bummed out that Kaye does not get a lot of support (which I have noticed, even though her story is of equal page time and importance to Finn's, Finn usually gets the back blurbs and is more the face of the book) so if you like Kaye and you're on TFN or elsewhere make it known! (I'd love to see TKeira_Lea write her thoughts about Kaye on her blog, for example.)

I liked Kaye but I sort of stopped following Invasion...

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�Bones is heading into its 7th year & there comes a point where you put up or shut up...You can�t extend that tension that long without your fans breaking." ~ Castle's creator

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Shinar	Posted: Jul 25 2011, 09:48 PM
Explosion Girl Group: Moderator Posts: 7,051 Member No.: 8 Joined: 19-November 05	Lately it's all been cheap crappy chocolate from Mexico that has all sorts of additives mixed in to the point it's fake and nasty -------------------- My heart is like an open highway.

Chimpo	Posted: Jul 26 2011, 03:12 AM
Imp Boy Group: Wraiths Posts: 6,521 Member No.: 10 Joined: 20-November 05	Few points about JediSmurf posts - cover art director is an ass and we know this for some time - problem with the minorities is interesting point. As for Invasion - first of all the comic series is bad! - Kaye is better character then Finn because Finn is a Mary Sue. But she isn't really a good written character either. - JCF are crap and we know this for some time. -------------------- "I actually like Jaina/Jag best. Because they're such an imperfect fit, unstoppable force vs. unmoveable object, they challenge each other more and make one another cooler." Aaron Allston

T'Keira Lea

Posted: Jul 31 2011, 08:59 PM

TKL

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Here is some info compiled by Nanci at EUCantina on Zahn's hints at his new proposed book.

QUOTE (Important parts)

- There will definitely be new characters in the next project, as he will be trimming back the old characters to a smaller group.

- Zahn will be visiting a new and previously unexplored time period.

- Del Rey�s first open publishing slot is November 2013

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�Bones is heading into its 7th year & there comes a point where you put up or shut up...You can�t extend that tension that long without your fans breaking." ~ Castle's creator

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Darth Lex

Posted: Jul 31 2011, 09:09 PM

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QUOTE

Zahn will be visiting a new and previously unexplored time period.

QUOTE

Del Rey�s first open publishing slot is November 2013

Interesting. We know 2012. One book for 2013 is the second half of the Kemp duology. So let's figure, 3-5 more books that have been assigned but not yet announced.

Of course, if Shelly told that to Tim at Comic-Con, then that means Sue would have signed off on these books before her retirement. Meaning change will be slow in coming......

Speaking of, I should update the Upcoming Releases thread.

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"Okay, if you're going to question the importance of an actor's signature on a plastic helmet from a movie based on a comic book, then all of our lives have no meaning." ~ The Big Bang Theory

Darth Lex	Posted: Aug 5 2011, 11:46 AM
Lex Group: Moderator Posts: 9,440 Member No.: 2 Joined: 18-November 05	Roqoo Depot has an interview with Christie Golden about Ascension (some mild teasers, no spoilers) and related matters. For me, gotta -------------------- "Okay, if you're going to question the importance of an actor's signature on a plastic helmet from a movie based on a comic book, then all of our lives have no meaning." ~ The Big Bang Theory

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