Gradual Interview
(answers from November 2004, as of Apr 30 2026, 2:44:17 AM)
www.StephenRDonaldson.com
© 2004 by Stephen R.Donaldson

Hazel

Do you anticipate difficulties in translating the complexity of thes Covenant novels into film format?  Are you likely to write the screenplay yourself?

No, I won't write the screenplay--although I've agreed to be a casual consultant. Yes, I anticipate enormous difficulties in translating "Lord Foul's Bane" to film. Curiously, the screenwriter involved disagrees: he thinks much of the translation will effectively write itself (although he acknowledges some crucial problems). However, the movie people are all primarily concerned with the difficulties of "selling" the project to a studio (in other words, they need vast amounts of money). If they can get a commitment from a studio, they're excited by the challenges of actually making the movie. 

(11/01/2004)

Will

Dear Mr. Donaldson,
As you have stated several times in this interview, you have grown and evolved much as a writer in the 20+ years since you finished the Second Chronicles.  Are there any particular things that you will do/have done differently in writing the Last Chronicles?  Are there any stylistic or technical aspects of the first two Chronicles that in hindsight you would choose not to repeat? 

thanks!

This is hard to answer, since I don't have an "outsider's" perspective on my own work.  But I do see problems in both the first and second "Covenant" trilogies:  there are some structural things that I would definitely do differently today; and I'm not always satisfied with how I presented my characters in those earlier books, especially in "White Gold Wielder."  So I'm certainly striving not to make the same mistakes again.  Only time will tell whether I actually succeed.

(11/01/2004)

Matthew Orgel

     Well, I would first like to say that in the past months I have pulled a Donaldson marathon, rereading Mordant's Need, and reading the entire chronicles for the first time. I finished White Gold Wielder last night and I am still shell shocked. (I got The Real Story sitting on my nightstand right now)
     The emotional impact these books have had on me is profound, and I seem to be drawing absolute reams of personal meaning from what I have read. 
     The only time I cried in the whole chrons? Lindon and Covenant's realization and consummation of love. I just wanted to know, is this all my own personal interpretation? Or was this the core of your purpose?
     One other thing, this mad passion of yours for killing principles was beginning to wear me down at the end of WGW. Was this consciously vindicated by Cear Caverol's breaking of the law of life? Perhaps the only thing in the whole series that affected me as much as the redemption of Covenant and Lindon was Sunder's breakdown after you killed Hollian. (I somehow grew extremely attached to Sunder, I felt he was an important anchor for Covenant and Lindon)

Well, I can't honestly say that "the core of [my] purpose" in "The Second Chronicles" was to make you cry.  <rueful smile>  But Covenant's and Linden's discovery of love for each other *did* lie at the core of my purpose.  You will perhaps have noticed that the entire story revolves around "relationships":  Covenant and Linden; Sunder and Hollian; the First and Pitchwife; on a different level, Honninscrave and Seadreamer; and on a *very* different level, Vain and Findail.  One of the points I was trying to get at is that it is these relationships, rather than any individual heroism, which defeat Lord Foul and redeem the Land.  As an old poem says, "Two are more than one and one."  Even in the first "Chronicles," Covenant could not have done it alone; but that truth is explored (I hope) more deeply in "The Second."

As for the body-count:  what can I tell you?  Hope is meaningless if it can't exist in the face, in the very teeth, of death and despair.  I don't think it's possible to tell the truth about evil without confronting murder, mayhem, and self-sacrifice.  But I'm afraid I don't understand your question as it pertains to Caer-Caveral.  I don't believe that there are any conditions under which life can exist without death.  It follows, therefore, that between them Caer-Caveral and Elena have opened the door for the utter destruction of the Earth.

(11/03/2004)

Martin Bennett

Are the Creator of the Land and Covenant one and the same?  I seem to remember Linden feeling that the two resembled one another.  Foul also resembles Covenant, according to the man himself.  What then is the nature of this Creator/Covenant/Despiser relationship? Or perhaps the Creator is the opposite of the Despiser within Covenant? Is the Despiser battling his 'Enemy' for ultimate possession of Covenant's soul?

If I had written only the first "Covenant" trilogy, we might reasonably be able to say something like:  Covenant = Creator + Despiser.  But such an equation is clearly too simplistic to be applied to "The Second Chronicles."  I fear you may have to accept the possibility that my intentions are more complex than you've made them sound; and that "Covenant = Creator + Despiser" is merely a starting point.

Unless you're asking me about the relationship between Covenant, the Creator, and the Despiser *outside* the context of the story; in which case I have no answer for you.

(11/03/2004)

Usivius

I am a casual user of internet at best, but imagine my joy at having stumbled upon your OFFICIAL website!  AND you answer questions!  (a bit of fan awe..)you are my favourite author.  Your style of writing inspired me to write, mainly because of the visual images and emotional impact your words create in me.  I have many many questions, but I will limit myself to one every week or so...

I am primarily a visual person.  I draw and I paint.  But writing has the ability to create things that the visual mind cannot adequately put on a surface.  I am especially astounded at your ability to create fantastic characters in such confined spaces.  I have felt the most impact of your writing in such 'confined' spaces as book 1 of "Mordant's Need", where almost the entire action takes place in a castle; and in the Gap series, where in many books, the best stuff is written in the confines of a spaceship, or the buildings of leaders.  
My (rather roundabout) questions is, do you approach writing differently when describing scenes/action/plot that takes place in such confined spaces?  I just find it so much more intense and viseral (and visual).

No, I don't approach writing differently when the story is set in confined space(s).  It's all story-telling to me.  The challenge is simply to find the right methodology (e.g. narrative "voice") for each story.  However, I can certainly see that confined space(s) could help produce a certain kind of intensification.  The characters in "The Mirror of Her Dreams," and in the GAP books, occupy a "hothouse" atmosphere quite unlike the expansive vistas of the Land.

If I had an hour or two to spare, I could discuss at some length the *nature* of what words can and cannot communicate, especially as that compares to the *nature* of what visual images can and cannot communicate.  But I'm always scrambling for time; so I'll limit myself to observing that I actually spend relatively few words on attempts to convey visual images.  Instead I concentrate on trying to convey emotional impressions:  impressions which I hope will inspire the reader's imagination to create (among other things) his/her own visuals.  At least where you're concerned, my method appears to have been successful.

(11/03/2004)

Bill Foley

Thanks so much for being so accessible and forthright in considering our questions; much appreciated.  Let me also echo the senitments of others by sharing my beliefe that you're "way up there" on the list of the great top authors in my book.  Thanks for your talent.

I'm re-reading the 1st and 2nd Chronicles in anticipation of the arrival of a complex and exciting Final Chronicles soon.  A question occurs...

Please describe your thoughts on the relationship between the Land's Creator and the Creator of the "real" world.  Same?

Congratulations in advance for what I am certain will be a resounding success with the Last Chronicles and best wishes to you for continued prosperity and happiness.

We've been over this.  As *I* am the creator of the Land, the Land's Creator, Covenant, and Covenant's "real world," I am, of course, the same guy.  Other than that, I find such questions impossible to understand, never mind answer.  As I *am* the creator of Covenant's "real world," and as I am *not* present in the story, I cannot possibly be the same being as the Land's Creator (whom I also created).

(11/03/2004)

Kevin

Mr. Donaldson: If we were ever to meet, I'm afraid it would be as adversaries of sorts.

You've described often enough how you feel about book tours. However, if I ever get a chance to, I will nevertheless insist on joining a drooling, line-looped hoard in order to push a mass-produced example of your work into your personal space in order to induce compulsory handwriting. Or something like that. It's bizarre, I suppose, that that would be meaningful to me, but, then again, it's not really how I dream it would be either.

So: is there any gesture, expression, or consideration that a fan might offer to you at a tour event that could make things nicer for you, or that you would appreciate?

First, a general comment for readers of the Gradual Interview.  There are currently 85+ questions in the database for October, and another 25 (already!) for November.  Clearly, I'm falling farther and farther behind.  So please be patient.

Second, a general comment about book tours.  I don't do tours because someone holds a gun to my head:  I do them because my career needs the help.  So when I'm doing a tour, I accept it.  There is no need for anyone to feel apologetic about attending one of my signings and asking for my autograph.

Now, since you asked, I'll tell you one thing that I truly loathe:  people who not only want my autograph, but who want me to write "something creative" just for them in their book.  Please!  Book tours in general, and signing sessions in particular, are the LEAST creative circumstances imaginable.  On top of that, I never create ANYthing longhand:  I can only create at the keyboard.  So don't even ask.  It just makes me want to scream.

(11/03/2004)

Ranyhyn

Hi Steve,  my question is probably pretty obvious considering my name.  My mother named me after the Ranyhyn in your Thomas Covenant series because she loved the name.  I haven't read the books yet myself but I have looked at the glossary of names in the back of the books and   I 've always wanted to know, did you make up the names in your books (including mine) or were they taken from somewhere?  and how is Ranyhyn supposed to be pronounced?  My parents pronounced it Ranyin but I'm just curious to know whether that's the way it's supposed to be said.  
Ranyhyn

Yes, I made up the name "Ranyhyn."  There are plenty of names in my books that I borrowed from one source or another, but "Ranyhyn" is mine.

In general, I believe that there are no wrong ways to pronounce the names in my books.  But just for your information, I pronounce it:

RON-e-hin

(11/03/2004)

mike white

Hi Mr Donaldson,

Any news on how sales of "runes" are going?

So far, I guess I would have to say that the US sales are going "very well" but not "great".  "Great" means "on the NY Times Bestseller List," and that hasn't happened.  On the other hand, "Runes" has appeared on the Publishers Weekly Bestseller List, so that constitutes "very well."

(11/03/2004)

Garry Maynard

Hi Mr Donaldson i was wondering if you might have considered doing a movie version of Lord Foul's Bane?

  I have always been a great admirer of fantasy literature.  In 1985 my stepfather gave me Lord Foul's Bane as birthday gift(13 years old). In reading this novel i became aware of the anti hero element in mythical based literature.  Is there more impact in the telling of disbelief in self worth as a basis of story in comparison to conviction of the hero who always believes that they will win?
Thankyou for giving me an opportunity to communicate with you as i have always liked your writing    yours truly   Garry maynard

The movie version of "Lord Foul's Bane" is discussed elsewhere.  But you raise some complex points about character.  In my personal opinion, "the hero who always believes that they will win" is an inherently uninteresting concept:  the guy is either just plain stupid or stone blind with denial.  However, a more important point lies behind this issue.  Again in my personal opinion, the best stories are the ones that happen to people who urgently *need* those stories:  people who are lost, and who will remain lost unless some life-changing crisis overtakes them; people whose only hope for salvation (however loosely defined) lies in that crisis.  I don't think of such characters is "anti-heroes":  I think of them as people in need.  And, to no one's surprise, "the hero who always believes that they will win" is seldom truly "in need".  (Unless, of course, what that hero truly *needs* is something to break down his denial, or to break through his stupidity.)  This is why Hile Troy doesn't become an interesting character until he realizes how badly he's misjudged Lord Foul's power.

(11/04/2004)

Joseph McSheffrey

What's the R. stand for?

Reeder.  My mother's maiden name.

(11/04/2004)

John Gauker

I want you to know that you have greatly underrated yourself as Science Fiction writer.  It is my opinion that the GAP books are the best I have read in the genre and I have been reading SF and Fantasy books for over 30 years.  You are among the authors that I read without even thinking about any promotional material, Terry Pratchett is the other.  I have Runes on order and have some guesses as to the content that I do not expect you to confirm or deny.  One of which is that Covenant was transported to the Land in the fire similarly to Hile Troy and is somehow still aging as if he were still in the "regular" world and will be a major character in this series of books.  After all that, my question is a simple one.  How far have you progressed in the writing of the next book?  I know you have stated that it will take you 10 years to complete this part of the story but I am very impatient.

I think I've been over this; but I'll risk repeating myself for the sake of clarity.

"The Runes of the Earth" was published in a tremendous rush--by both my US and UK publishers.  I finished work on the book in mid-April, 2004, and books have already been in the stores for a couple of weeks.  That's six months for a job that usually takes 12-15.  As a result, all of the normal chores of preparing a book--copy-editing, proofreading, designing maps, approving cover-copy (not to mention art)--had to be squeezed into a painfully short period of time.  Twice.  AND my US publisher asked me to autograph 7500 copies in advance.  AND my UK publisher asked me to sign 1000 copies in advance.  AND I've been asked to do perhaps 30 times as much advance promotional work as ever before in my career.  AND I have to do book tours in both the US and the UK.

The result?  I've made *no* physical progress on "Fatal Revenant."  I've had no TIME.

(11/05/2004)

Christian Van Raam from Minnesota

Mr. Donaldson,

Have you considered writing a prequel to the thomas Covenant books?  A kind of history of the land similar to J.R.R. tolkeins "Simmarillion".  With the stories of Berek, Loric, Damaleon and Kevin.  Maybe with the story of the one forest.  just an idea, I have always thought that the history of the land was fascinating and much deeper than what other authors put into their books.  

Also we would be honored if you would visit the "frozen chosen" in Minnesota during your book tour.

I wish I could dispose of this question once and for all.  It's come up hundreds of times over the past 20+ years.  Will I ever write "prequels" for the "Covenant" books?  No, no, a thousand times no!  As a general rule, prequels suck.  In fact, they pretty much *have* to suck, since they involve telling stories where the outcome is already known.  There are no imaginable circumstances under which I would write a prequel.  To *any* of my books.

This does not mean, I hasten to add, that "The Last Chronicles" will contain no prequel-like material.  They may or may not:  I'm not going to reveal my intentions.  But one or more stand-alone prequels?  Never.

(11/05/2004)

David B McClendon

Just got my confimation from amazon.com that my copy of "Runes" is on the way.  I ordered it a couple of months ago.  I'm 46 years old and remember sharing the second C's among my coworkers back in the early or mid eighties.

Back in the late 90's I was a sofware product manager and was involved in an intense development effect.  To make a long story short, I sent out a email after a intense period to my guys (guy means both males and females) that they were the "white gold."  I was accussed of be be "under the influence" (guilty).

One of my favorite characters was Amok. He was wise, very poweful, yet, eventuanly, submitted  to his fate, only at the end complainling about his "short" life.  

Do you have any further thoghts about Anmok you wonld like to share?

Thanks

I glad you liked Amok.  But I pretty much said all I have to say about the character in "The Illearth War."  Despite the length of my books, I'm really a very efficient writer:  I create what I need to create; and if I don't need it, I leave it alone.

(11/05/2004)

John Rea

Hi Steve:

My jaw literally dropped wide open when my amazon home page broke the very unexpected and welcome news about the Last Chronicles.  I couldn't believe it, and I am now happily staying awake into the night reading.

I can't figure out how to phrase this request in the form of a question: please find another literary description to replace "retreat into autism".

At two places in the Gap, you refer to a highly stressed-out character as "retreating into autism."  When you and I were in school, a long long time ago, it was thought that autism (then called childhood schizophrenia) was an emotional disorder brought on by refrigerator mothers and treatable by Freudian therapy (as everything was in those days).  

Well, everything we thought we knew about autism has been proven wrong over the past 20-30 years.  We now know it is not an emotional condition. We know it is not like catatonia or living in a dream world. We do know it is probably genetic in origin, triggered during pregnancy or early years of life by infection or antibiotics or even childhood vaccinations.  Organically, it is a form of brain damage:  different areas of the brain don't develop properly during the first few years of life, resulting in a large number of not-fully-formed neurons.  We also now see an "epidemic" of autism - - at least, a large increase in diagnosis of the disorder is being seen.  The increase is "real":  after taking into account over-diagnoses of the condition, and the welfare-state-magnet effects, there is still a sharp increase. 

As you might guess, I have a child with autism, and the Thomas Covenant books helped me cope with the initial shock of the diagnosis.  I'd sometimes wonder how the Covenant story would have read if Covenant had been autistic instead of a leper.

I apologize for my ignorance while I was writing the GAP books.  I've done considerable research on the subject of autism since then, and, well, now I know better.  I don't think you'll find comparable insensitivities in "The Runes of the Earth."

(11/05/2004)

Mark

Greetings Mr. Donaldson,

This may seem like a silly question, but I'm curious:  Is there any significance to the fact that High Lord Kevin is the only character (that I can recall) that you gave a fairly mundane name to?  Every other non-"real world" character I can think of has at least a somewhat unusual or fantasy-type name (Berek, Damelon, Linden, even TC goes by Covenant rather than Thomas), except Kevin.  Was that intentional?

Thank you for all your work,
Mark

Sorry, the curious detail of Kevin's name has no particular significance.  At least in my mind.  When I was searching for a name, it just popped into my head--and as a matter of creative policy I virtually always trust things that just pop into my head (especially where names are concerned).  "Sunder" was another name that just popped into my head--but then, so was "Hollian."

(11/05/2004)

Kyle

Mr. Donaldson,

   Let me start by saying brevity is not one of my strong suits, that being said… I ran across this site while trying to find some information on the release of “Runes”, and was surprised to see that an author in the midst of writing, promoting, and doing book tours, was willing to take the time to interact with his fans in this way, thanks.

  I read some of the questions that were posted at the beginning of this Interview and the last couple month’s worth. Unfortunately I don’t have the time to read them all, so if I bring up something you have already touched on I’m sorry. I did read enough of them to notice that some of your fans remind me of those kids I knew in High School known as “Trekkies”.  I’m not saying this as a “put down”, they just remind me that group because they are on the edge of the whole “what is real what is not” precipice. 
  
  I have also noticed another group of fans that write asking questions that seem to over analyze the intent and/or the meaning and/or the symbolism of the story. I have always felt that if you over analyze something or dissect it too far, it tends to loose its magical quality and sense of awe. 

  I bring all of this up as a preface to my question.

  Do these types of questions or attitudes bother you? 

  Oh, and by the way, the Thomas Covenant series and Patrick McManus’ writings are the only books I’ve read more than once, thanks for the wonderful contribution to the literary world, Kyle 

I'm answering this question--instead of simply deleting it--because I think you're making some mistaken assumptions about most of the readers who post questions here.

Of course, in all walks of life there are people whose need to immerse themselves in SOMEthing, whatever it may be, is so great that verifiable reality no longer has any relevance to their interests and emotions.  Why else do fundamentalist religions flourish?  Why else do we keep electing GW Bush?  And I'm sure that somewhere out there are "Covenant" readers, or "Mordant's Need" readers, or GAP readers, who fit this description.

But you won't find many of them here.  Why?  Several reasons.  One is simply that reading books takes *effort*--an exercise of both intelligence and imagination--and *effort* automatically weeds out the people who want their obsessions handed to them (which is what fundamentalist religions, politics, and even movies tend to do).  Another is that, well, I don't know a better way to put this:  the more intelligent, thought-provoking, and complex a piece of communication (book, film, music, whatever) is, the more it discourages the readers you describe.  Intelligent, thought-provoking, and complex works throw the reader back on him/herself--which is decidedly *not* what the readers you describe are looking for.  And a third reason.  One of the defining characteristics of "intelligent, thought-provoking, and complex works" is that they *repay* study; they *reward* analysis.  The more you pay attention to them, and the more closely you pay attention, the more you get out of them.

Now, I'm not qualified to state that my books are "intelligent, thought-provoking, and complex works"--although I certainly hope they are.  But I *can* state with confidence that it is a mistake to dismiss, say, the readers who post questions here simply because their interests or needs don't coincide with yours.  Even those questions which most obviously blur the distinction between "fiction" and "reality" often have a valid point beneath the surface.  And much of what you consider "over analysis" involves a search for continuity which (I believe) the reader has a right to expect.  It's only "over analysis" when the author has nothing worthwhile to say.

(11/06/2004)

Eric Eaton

Why did you allow for so much time to go by between the time of the Land and the real world?  Why have there be thousands of years in the ten year absence of TC?
Also, when is the movie coming out?

The time ratio (1 day in Covenant's "real world" = 1 year in the Land) was built into the story from the beginning because I needed to be able to preserve the emotional continuity of what was happening to Covenant while still allowing enough time in the Land for important changes to take place.  If you look at the first "Chronicles," you'll see that the entire story would collapse without that time differential.  But the differential has also served me well since then.  It permits truly *massive* changes to take place in the Land while Covenant--and then Linden--remains alive in his "real world."  Just one example:  the transformation of the Council into the Clave, and the rising of the Sunbane, would be ridiculous if they occurred within ten years of Lord Foul's initial defeat.

I've already discussed the movie situation at length.  The short answer is:  no one knows when--or if--there will be a "Covenant" movie.

(11/07/2004)

Martin Bennett

I haven't yet completed reading Runes, so my answer may come within the pages of the book, but just in case:

Anele | elenA

Is this something to do with the corruption of Time? Both possessed Staffs (staves?), and both lost them.  Both were involved in breakages of Law, although not with equal culpability.

What I am trying to say is - is the naming of Anele as the reverse of Elena a coincidence? 

Martin Bennett

Yes, it's just a coincidence.  I didn't notice the Elena/Anele spelling until a friend pointed out to me--too late for me to do anything about it.  Sometimes these things just happen.

(11/08/2004)

Starla Stone

Dear Mr. Donaldson,
I find it amazing that you are kind enough to answer all of our questions. Thankyou.
Does answering all our questions ever keep you from working on your novels?

No.  I have my priorities very firmly fixed where writing is concerned.  I try to answer as many questions as I can when circumstances don't permit me to work on, say, "Fatal Revenant".  That way perhaps readers of this interview won't feel *too* neglected when I finally (!) get going on the actual book.

(11/08/2004)

Kyle

Mr. Donaldson,

  Thanks for answering my somewhat "controversial” question, It has given me some possible insights to some of the perceptions I have had of other fans (both yours and others).  

  So let me ask you another question, In the First Chronicles the books moved Thomas back and forth between the “real world” and “The Land” 3 or 4 times (depending on how you look at it), however the Second Chronicles took place entirely in “The Land”.  What I was wondering (Unless it will spoil any plot issues) was if “The Last Chronicles” will move back and forth between “The Real” world and the “Land” or will we be in the “Land” throughout the series?

Thanks again Kyle 

I think this is safe to answer.  <grin>  In fact, I think I've answered it before.  "The Last Chronicles" will be through-written as "The Second Chronicles" were, rather than divided into quasi-independent stories as the first trilogy was.

(11/08/2004)

Jay

Hello Mr. Donaldson,

Here's yet another 'I love your work' post, and I'm ecstatic that we can return to the land for a final time.

You inspired me to become a writer when I read the Chronicles during their initial release. You're comments about writing productivity -- 'slow and steady' vs. 'rush of inspiration -- intrigue me. I struggle with my own productivity on a day to day basis (kidnapping my internal editor and throwing him in a dark closet has helped somewhat).

You mentioned in a previous post that you write slowly. On average how many words per day do you write when tackling a large project such as The Runes of the Earth? (I'm guessing that first draft vs. second draft word counts per day also vary widely).

Some writers, such as Stephen King, claim to write up to 2000-3000 words per day, every day (given King's knack for circumlocution, I'm wondering how many of those words end up in a final draft). Other writers write only a few hundred words a day, but make every attempt to make each and every word count.

Do you write each and every day during the writing of a novel? How many words per day do you usually write? And finally, could you give us more insight into what mental roadblocks are thrown up that cause a writer to 'write slowly?'

Thanks for your time!

My productivity varies widely from day to day.  When I was (much) younger, I used to consider 2000-2300 words a good day’s work, and there were some days when I went as high as 3000.  But now I probably average 1500 words a day, with some days falling below 1000 and others getting slightly above 2000.  I don’t work evenings, weekends, holidays, or vacations.  Second (and subsequent) drafts vary much more widely, from around 1500 all the way up to over 7500.

Of course, in my life until now my average per day is very different than my average per week.  Having children and all, my average per week has been closer to 4500 (3 average days) than 7500 (5 average days).  Now, however, my children are in college, so I’m hoping to improve my weekly (if not my daily) average.

Roadblocks?  I just mentioned children (although they enrich my life so much that I can’t think of them as “roadblocks”).  Then of course there are the inevitable variations in daily--or even hourly--mental acuity.  And then there are the research problems--questions like, What exactly has already been revealed about the history of Doriendor Corishev?--which can sometimes consume hours.  And then there are all those necessary pauses for planning and reflection, some of which become very complex.  But the worst kind of roadblock arises when I’ve gotten a scene, or a whole section of the book, off on the wrong foot.  At first, “wrong” writing comes much more easily than doing it right.  But the farther I go down the wrong path, the more arduous everything becomes, until I finally grind to a dead halt.  Then I have to <groan> go back, figure out where I went wrong (often *very* difficult to do), and redo everything from that point forward.

btw, Stephen King does only 2000-3000 words a day?  He’s coasting.  <grin>  I know writers who can do 7000 words a day without strain.

(11/09/2004)

Pete Chegwin

Steve,

NOM was, and I hope is still , a fantastic character in the new books . Did you base this the character on anything in particular?

I have read the cronicals on three occasions, and still pick up on things that I missed before.

Looking forward to the new books.

Many thank's for giving me the reason to read.

Regards,

Pete Chegwin

No, Nom wasn’t based on anything in particular (that I know of).  Although there has got to be *some* reason why I keep writing about people and creatures that have no eyes.  <grin>  And no, I’m not going to comment on whether or not Nom has a future in “The Last Chronicles.”  Maybe yes, maybe no.

(11/09/2004)

Scott

Steve, 

Firstly, I just finished reading "The Runes of the Earth". I wanted to compliment you on a great beginning to the saga. Your writing immediately brought me back to the world you created and had me turning page after page. The greatest compliment I can give you is that the one flaw in the book happens on page 513. Obviously due to some typographical error, the text for the next book was not added. I mean, the book actually ends.
While realistically I expected this, my emotions are not as logical as I would like them to be and I have to admit I uttered some bad words concerning yourself and various things that should occur for not having finished all four books and publishing them together.  Now, after therapy and medication, I can say I am feeling much better and take back most of what I said about you.

My question (spoiler-free) is as follows:

While its been awhile since I've reread the previous books, it seems to me that as I read Runes, I found myself thinking of scenes from the 2nd Chronicles, foreshadowing of events in this last series. Most partuclar, my memory keeps going back to the time among the Elohim. Are there elements in the 2nd Chronicles that may have seemed out of place at the time, are now more fully ingrained becuase of the last chronicles? I gues I am wondering to what extent did you place the seeds in the 2nd Chronicles purposefully.

Thanks again for not only an outstanding piece of writing, but for the time you have taken to answer questions.

Scott

In a pure world, I would naturally have written all four books of “The Last Chronicles” before publishing any of them.  Among other things, that would help *me* with internal consistency issues.  But this is not a pure world:  I need to put my kids through college (while continuing to pay my mortgage).  <rueful smile>  Hence the frustration you encountered.

Knowing the essential story of “The Last Chronicles” before I ever started working on “The Second Chronicles,” I took great pains to plant the necessary seeds throughout those earlier books.  Of course, I also planted lots of other seeds as well (as I did in the first trilogy), not because I expected to need them--although I might, you never know--but because they contribute to “world-building.”  One of the standard techniques of world-building is to hint at more than is actually revealed, not in order to frustrate the reader, but rather to help sustain the illusion that this invented world is a real place.

(11/09/2004)

Henry Galio

Mr Donaldson,

First of all thank you for the outstanding stories over the years. I read Lord Fouls Bane, as a junior high school student in the 70's. Every year I'd wait for the next book to be released.
Today, I took a trip to 4 Barnes and Noble stores and one Border store to finally find and purchase "Runes".  Turning the first page, melted away 30 years, and I feel like I'm plunging once again into a magnificant story.  

My question is this. Did you always want to be a writer, and when did the story  or concept of Covenant and the land first come to into your thoughts.

Once again,

Sincerely thank you for sharing all your wonderful stories.

Kindest Regards,

Henry

I didn’t conceive the ambition to be a writer until Freshman orientation during my first year of college in 1964; but looking back I can see that I had been preparing myself for most of my life before then (I think I’ve discussed the details elsewhere).  The concept for Covenant and the Land (again I think I’ve already covered this) exploded in my head in the late spring of 1972, when I heard my father give a talk about his work with lepers.

(11/09/2004)

Sean Farrell

Hello Mr Donaldson
First of all, hope the tour flies by - I think we'd ALL rather you were writing Fatal Revenant than breaking your wrist signing book after book after bo... When you come to Britain, I hope we treat you well. Certainly Orion are doing a good job so far - selling it well into shops and producing a FINE volume. They really are taking this seriously, you know.

Anyway, I was just wandering through the discussion board when I wondered if you are going to do the same now that there are so many postulations about 'what might happen next?' I suppose my worry is that some of the (sometimes interesting, mostly incredible) might influence you somehow...how can you possibly NOT be affected by other peoples opinions of a work in progress? I imagine that would be very hard indeed. Discipline simply doesn't cover it!

You’re right about the dangers.  I can’t afford to be influenced by the way other people’s minds work.  So I visit Kevinswatch.com only rarely, and I stay away from any discussions which pertain to “The Last Chronicles.”  Self-protection, really.  And as I’ve said elsewhere, I try not to get *too* caught up in ego issues.  <rueful smile>

(11/09/2004)

thinbudha

Greetings, and thank you for some of my favorite books.

I have a question about Lysol-  I think that I remember reading once about how an unfortunate encounter you once had with a can of Lysol led to inspiration for one of your books- or a passage- or something(?)

Am I crazy- I can't find this anywhere.  Perhaps I had my own unfortunate incident with Lysol, and am imagining the whole thing?  Can you enlighten me?

I think you’ll be able to find your answer now that we’re adding a word-search tool to the Gradual Interview.  (I leave it to my readers to answer my webmaster’s question:  is the GI “upper” or “lower”?)  But briefly:  the scene in “The Power that Preserves” where Lena and a Ranyhyn save Covenant from Pietten’s betrayal came to me while I was reading a Lysol disinfectant can in a truck-stop men’s room.

(11/09/2004)

Hastypete

I finally got my hands on Runes of the Earth!  A couple weeks back, I started reading Lord Foul's Bane.  My question is do you thing that it is necessary to read (or re-read in my case) the prior chronicles to fully enjoy this book?  I'm trying to get my wife to read, but she hasn't yet read any of your other work.

Forgive me if this has been asked before, I am very slowly working my way though this interview. I'm only up to June!

Thank you for telling the stories that give my ears so much joy.  See you in San Francisco!

I tried very hard to write "The Runes of the Earth" so that it would be accessible to a reader with no "Covenant" background of any kind.  And the editor who bought the book for Putnams has in fact never read any other "Covenant" book; so that's at least one reader who believes that I succeeded.

(11/09/2004)

Steven Mullen

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(11/10/2004)

Pam Chinery

Mr. Donaldson,

After waiting for what felt like three and a half millenia for Linden to return to the Land, I have to thank you.  I waited an entire day to wrestle "Runes" out of my husband's hands, then I locked the door and lost myself for the better part of an afternoon and an evening.  It was worth the wait.  

Having read most of your books (except the mysteries), the common theme of your characters being pushed beyond their limitations so they can surpass themselves shows through clearly, as well as the idea of not judging good and evil in simplistic terms.  Without giving too much away, can you say if races, such as the Haruchai or the Elohim, will be given that opportunity in the "Final Chronicles"?

Actually, it would be very difficult to discuss this *without* providing spoilers.  But let me just point out, as you may have noticed in virtually everything I write, that my attention tends to be focused on struggling individuals rather than on whole societies or races.  E.g. Saltheart Foamfollower found a way to surpass himself, but as a group the Unhomed failed to do so.  That's pretty typical of the way I work.

(11/11/2004)

Usivius

I wrote you a question today already, and although I said I was going to limit myself to one a week ... well, I lied. 
I wanted to aks you about 'words and images'.  As I mentioned in a previous question, I am firstly a visual person.  I see and create things on a visual level first.  It's natural for me.  But I also get a great satisfaction in putting these creative ideas into a written format instead of a visual one, such as drawing or painting, because they are more complex. As a result, I write short stories and have written a couple of novels, all in a fantasy genre (please keep in mind, these are for my own personal pleasure and I have no intention to seek publishing).

My questions (eventually): is there a point in writing or re-reading your text when you say, "man, I really nailed that one", or is everything you put down, exactly as you thought of/imagined in the first place.  I only ask because in my writing, I don't yet seem to have the skill to accurately put down in words the images or scenes of a story in my head.  But sometimes (rarely really <shagrin>), I will re-read something months later, and be surprised that such pleasantly crafted things were put on paper from my pen, which came from my head.
Is it a problem of a lack of vocabulary that can be improved upon through study and/or more reading? Or is there an inherent talent in these things (such as friends of mine who try and try but cannot draw to save thier lives, but I can seemingly do effortlessly ... mostly...)

Your question is a bit of a smorgasbord, and it's difficult to know how to approach it.  Yes, there are times when I can honestly say to myself, "Man, I really nailed that one."  At other times, I know I'm floundering, and I'm just grateful that I'll be able to rewrite as often as necessary.  Any writer who "sees" the story in his/her imagination and then has to translate it into words will be able to relate to the frustration you imply.  Yes, lack of vocabulary can be a problem:  the more words we have ingrained in us, the more resources we have to write (and think) with.  Yes, every skill in life can be improved through study, practice, and reading.  And yes, there is such a thing as inherent talent--which is very difficult to quantify or explain, but which is quite easy to recognize by its absence.  <rueful smile>  If you were to watch me draw for 15 seconds, you would know right away that I have NO TALENT WHATSOEVER.

(11/11/2004)

Mark Morgon-Shaw

Do you ever ponder the subtle ways that you works will influence the minds, viewpoints and decisions of some of your readers ?

Since reading through this site and re-igniting my interest in the Covenant books I realised that although I'd read them many years before meeting my wife, I'd insisted on a white gold wedding ring...not because I conciously thought about your books, but I just ' knew ' I wanted one. Reading this site reminded me the seed was sown all those years ago.  

I also refer to myself as an Unbeliever when conversation turns to religion, though this is far from subconcious. It's great to have a word that describes how I feel - Cheers for that.

I prefer not to think about such things because a) it's unknowable, and b) it's a bit scarey.  <grin>

(11/11/2004)

Erik

Two quick questions:  1) I was fortunate enough to be able to purchase a signed "Runes of the Earth" (though I haven't been able to read it yet).  This was a pleasant surprise since the scheduled book tour seems to be avoiding the east coast.  How many copies of the book did you sign?
2)  Clarification on when to expect book 2, in October 2006 or October 2007?

1) As I've said elsewhere, I signed nearly 7500 copies of "Runes" which were apparently intended for distribution in parts of the US where I did not tour.  2) Expect "Fatal Revenant" late in 2007, hope to see it late in 2006.

(11/11/2004)

Sean Casey

Stephen, what are the opinions of people in the industry (your agent, editor and publisher, other writers etc) to the Gradual Interview?

Thanks.

I don't know what other writers think (they may well be horrified <grin>), but my agent, editors, and publishers are delighted that I'm doing this, and they hope I'll keep it up for a long time.

(11/11/2004)

Stephen Allange

Wow...what can I say?  Amazing.  I have just completed the first and second chronicles for the fourth time (as a warm up to the Last Chronicles), and am anxiously waiting to get home from work today to see if my copy of 'Runes' has yet arrived.  There is one unanswered question that always comes to mind when I read the second chronicles, however.  It is concerning Vain.  Maybe I have missed it in the text, but why did the ur-viles create Vain?  What was theirs to gain by his creation?  What lore did they posess to be able to make his purpose mirror that of Findail's?  Without Findail or Vain, there is no new staff.  Were the Elohim and the ur-viles knowingly involved with one another to bring about the transformation?  His purpose is plain, but why did the ur-viles create him, and how did Foamfollower wind up with him?  

A sincerely devoted reader,
Steve Allange

A few details.  It seems fairly obvious the the ur-viles had reinterpreted their Weird and decided to turn against Lord Foul.  Why did they do so?  Ah, therein lies a tale, without which "The Last Chronicles" might not be posssible.  <grin>  However, it's important to understand Findail is a reaction to Vain, Covenant, and Linden:  Vain was not created in response to, or in concert with, the Elohim (although he may well have been created, in part, as an attempt to manipulate the Elohim).  How did Covenant's Dead "wind up with him"?  That's simple enough:  the ur-viles *gave* Vain to them.  Which may not have been *easy* to do--Andelain being rife with Earthpower and all--but it was certainly simple.  After all, Caer-Caveral was "in the picture" as much as any of Covenant's Dead.

(11/12/2004)

Tim

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(11/12/2004)

Robert Hight

There is no better way to thank you for your books then buying them.  So instead I’ll thank you for this interview.  It’s fantastic.

My question: Have you ever read Greg Garret’s books?  I thought I saw you wandering around Baylor’s campus and could think of no other reason why you would come down here.  (I realize this is prying, but I’m curious).  Come to think of it, there are a million more likely reasons.  But you knowing Garret would be so *cool*.

Sorry, I've never been to Baylor, and I don't know Greg Garret's books.  My loss, I'm sure.

(11/12/2004)

Andrew Stiles

Mr. Donaldson,

First, the obligatory praise for all of your work. Don't ever stop writing! *grin*

Second, you've mentioned a few times in the interview that you spend a considerable amount of time researching your own books in order to keep yourself consistent. Have you ever considered asking the Watch members about what you've written? I guarantee that between all of us fanatics who study your books as if they were religious texts (my, isn't hyperbole fun?) we'd be able to give you any answer very quickly. *grin*

How can you be sure that I don't already do this?  <you're grinning, so I am as well>

(11/12/2004)

Matthew Orgel (The Dreaming)

Mr. Donaldson, if you *never* die, how will you ever recieve the post-mortem appreciation that all *true* artists recieve? Perhaps you are thinking of faking your own death? Or maybe cryogenic freezing? We, your fans, need to be in the loop on this.

Building on the example of one of my heroes (Mark Twain), I intend to issue a number of "premature" reports of my death.  That way, I can receive my "due" (whatever that is) while I'm still around to enjoy (?) it.  <grin>

(11/12/2004)

Brendan Moody

I've found that you are among my three favorite current practitioners of what is often called "epic fantasy."  I think that this enjoyment emerges from two primary factors: depth of the characters and depth of the world.  While the ways in which some writers cheat at character development are all too well-known, I think that what makes poor world-building is harder to identify.  It's certainly possible for writers to invent a *lot* of detail about their worlds and still have them ring hollow; I suspect that true depth emerges not from the amount of detail but from the complexity and emotion that it contains.  But now I'm just rambling. :D

The bottom line here is: I think you're very good at what you do.  Now I just have to fill up the next three years of my life. *joking*

Anyway, now that those ramblings are out of the way, an actual question:

1) In the course of this interview you've mentioned that "Runes" has been the most difficult book you've ever tried to write.  Can you discuss, specifically or generally, why that was the case, or would that reveal too much, either from a personal or a narrative perspective?  

Let me see.  I intend to write about more characters; more complex characters; more extreme situations; greater peril; more profound themes.  And I intend to do all of that *while* unifying all (eventually) 10 "Covenant" books into one vast whole.  On horseback, naturally, while playing the trumpet.  Oh, and also creating artificial life.  (OK, I admit it:  I stole those jokes from "Canticle for Liebowitz".)  But seriously:  it's going to be *very* difficult.

(11/12/2004)

Mike G

Steve-

I had the opportunity to come to the signing at the Poisoned Pen in Phoenix last week.  It was enjoyable to listen to you speak to the group, as well as getting Runes signed and meeting you in person.  Had I not known your feelings on these events, I would have thought you liked them- it was warm and personable, and the crowd really enjoyed it.

So, my thanks for the book signing, it was an interesting event with all of the authors there.  My question-  Did you know any of the other authors there, and are you familiar with their work?  I have read books by Hamby and Gabaldon, but not the others.. Do you find meeting other authors interesting?

Thanks again for the tour.  I’m halfway through Runes and I am enjoying it a lot, and it seems like a natural progression in the story- it makes sense on what has happened and why.

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENT

I want to take this opportunity to say something further about book tours.  Just because I hate flogging my books around the country does NOT mean that I dislike, distrust, or feel any desire to avoid my readers.  I'm *grateful* for the attention, respect, and (97% of the time) courtesy granted to me by my readers.  I have more reason to thank *you* than you have for thanking *me*.

As it happened, I knew several of the writers at the Poisoned Pen signing.  Mick Stackpole is a good friend; and I'm pleasantly acquainted with Carol Nelson Douglas, Barbara Hambly, and Michelle Welch.  Perhaps the greatest fringe benefit of working in sf/f is that I've been given the opportunity to meet and get to know a great many other authors.  Most of the time, that is an honor and a privilege.  Because I'm such a slow reader, I often haven't read their books; but by and large I consider my peers to be a likeable and even admirable group of people.

(11/13/2004)

Emil van Zuylen

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(11/13/2004)

Jerry Erbe

Dear Mr. Donaldson,
I find it nearly impossible that through the vast scope of questions you have answered, no one has yet made reference to, or questioned you about, your religious affiliation and/or beliefs. Therefore I must assume that you have, up until this point, culled those questions from your pool of e-mails. Now I would not dream of attempting to pin you down personally on any specifics regarding this matter, however it is obvious that being the son of missionary parents, you most likely received some pretty intensive religious and moral training in your formative years. Did the experiences you had as a youth in India create the need you feel to, “explain what it is to be human” through your writings, or was it perhaps something that came later in life? Also, do you feel that your religious background influenced your writings significantly and is therefore responsible for you being termed a “moralist?”

I don't feel any need to "explain what it is to be human," through my writings or otherwise.  As I keep saying, I'm not a polemicist:  I don't have any particular message or explanation or insight to impart (except to the extent that such things are inherent to story-telling).  As it happens, looking at my own work--and at the work of other writers/artists/composers/whatever--from the outside, I've come to the conclusion that the underlying purpose of all art is to try to answer the Big Question of life:  what is the meaning of life; why are we here; who is God, and what does she think she's doing; what does being human mean?  (You can phrase it anyway you want it:  it's always the same question.)  But that doesn't mean that I focus on such things when I'm writing.  I focus on telling the story that has come to me to be written.  I let the Big Question take care of itself.

As I've explained before, however, I see myself as the servant of the stories I tell; and as their servant I try to give them the best author I possibly can.  So inevitably who I am as a person has a profound influence on how I tell my stories. Well, things like my religious background played a huge role in making me the person I am:  naturally they influence my writing significantly.  And I'm sure that's one of the reasons why people tend to think of me as a "moralist."  I only object to the term because it places the emphasis in the wrong place:  on me instead of on the story.  My real role has more in common with being, well, a therapist.

I don't answer questions about my "religious affiliation and/or beliefs" because I consider such things to be irrelevant.  The only thing about me that's truly relevant is my commitment to the integrity of story-telling.

(11/13/2004)

Tim Arehart

Thanks for giving us this forum to interview you. I’ve been enjoying your novels since long before I should have had access to them--I read Lord Foul’s Bane at age nine, if you can credit that--and I’ve always had questions to ask of you.

Your novels use elements from older stories: Middle Earth, the Ring of the Niblung (sp?) and so on. How would you feel about other writers using elements borrowed from your fiction? What do you think would be the dividing line between works influenced by or inspired by your writing and literary theft? Can you think of any authors you are certain were influenced by, were inspired by or were stealing from your writing?

I believe it was T. S. Eliot who said, "Bad writers borrow.  Good writers steal."  The distinction, as I see it, is that borrowing (imitation) preserves the character of the thing borrowed in an obviously recognizable form, while stealing transforms the thing stolen until it appears to belong exclusively to the thief.  Tolkien's work is heavily based on such things as "Beowulf" and the Elder Eddas; but people reading LOTR don't experience it as, "Oh, here's another retelling of 'Beowulf,' or, here's another version of the 'ring' saga."  If readers ever become aware of such things at all, they do so upon reflection, upon re-reading, upon study.  No matter how many older sources Tolkien drew upon, he made them uniquely his own when he wrote LOTR.  In contrast, it's impossible to read Brooks' "Sword of Shannara" *without* thinking, "Oh, here's a retelling of LOTR."

I hope that's clear.

So:  If I became aware that another writer had stolen from my work, I would feel both pride and humility.  If I became aware that another writer had *borrowed* from my work, I would feel disgust and pity.  Fortunately I'm spared such reactions.  I read too slowly--and therefore I'm forced to read very selectively.  The moment I suspect *any* author of *borrowing* from *anyone*, I toss the book aside and read something else.

(11/13/2004)

Jonathan

I thought I'd ask a (double) question bringing together two frequent threads of discussion in this interview:  1) the film-ability of various of your works, and 2) a theme of opera detectable in the background of the GAP books, your musical preferences, and the recurring description of the prose of the TC books as "operatic."  

In your opinion, which of your works would best make the transition to being performed as an opera (besides the GAP series, which might be too obvious a choice)?

Given an opera based on any of your work, who would you choose to compose the music (anyone, anywhere, anywhen)?  Likewise perform?  Other speculation encouraged, of course (which characters are tenors, mezzos, etc.?)...

many thanks for everything you've given us,
Jonathan 
(who is no expert on opera, but is functionally literate in classical music, and curious)

Frankly, I don't think *any* of my novels could be made into an opera effectively.  Words take much longer to sing than they do to speak (just as speaking them takes much longer than reading them).  In addition, no stage could contain the "special effects" required by my big novels.  And my mystery novels lack the kind of grand rhetoric necessary to opera.

But a novella like "Penance":  now that has possibilities.  Lots of singable declamation and aria for a great baritone (Cornell Macneal rather than a darker voice like George London)(since they're both dead anyway <grin>).  And Wagner would be the ideal composer--although Korngold might do well with the challenge.  (They're both dead as well.)  "Ser Visal's Tale" and "Daughter of Regals" also might work:  I suspect that "By Any Other Name" or "The Killing Stroke" would not.  However, Shostokovich might have made something out of "The Conqueror Worm."

(11/13/2004)

Peter J. Purcell

'But there's an old line from somewhere (I can't remember it exactly) about "fate" or "truth" being "graven in the heart of the rock.'

I think I found it!  [What did we do before google?]

From a site about the "spiritual traditions of the Christian and Missionary Alliance".  [We all know your background here!] is a passage "We must give ourselves to Him .... and have it GRAVEN IN THE HEART, as if it were WRITTEN ON THE ROCKS ...."

Does this seem like the logical source?

That's not the source I was trying to remember.  But it is certainly apt, both in its content and in its origins.  I may well have encountered it from a similar source originally, and just don't remember.  Strangely, the name that keeps nudging at the back of my mind is Edgar Allen Poe.

(11/13/2004)

Patrick Morris

Dear Stephen,

I first read the TC series nearly twenty years ago, and read them again just this last spring.  Reading them for a second time was a more enjoyable experience than the first.  Perhaps it's because I took the time to read each sentence carefully, rather than rip through certain sections in anticipation of what was coming next.  I was concerned that reading them as an adult might be a somewhat less enjoyable experience than reading them as a juvenile, but quite the opposite was true.

My question is quite simple, and it is about the published format of your new series.  Will the new TC series be published in ebook format in the near future?

I ask because I have really grown to love reading on my PDA rather than reading paper.  It is possible to read in the dark laying comfortably in bed, as opposed to supporting my aging neck in an uncomfortable position for hours on end.  After all, I feel that it is your fault that I have walked around for the last twenty years with my neck severely cricked over to one side.  If your books had been less enjoyable, I may not have read for eight hours at a time.  :)

Either way, I really look forward to reading the new series, and thank you again for the great books and the many years of fond memories.

Sincerely,
Patrick

A helpful reader of the GI has pointed out that two of my mystery novels are legally available in (I believe) a PDA-compatible format from:  www.ereader.com.  This was news to me.  Certainly none of my other publishers has ever mentioned "ebook" editions for any of my books.  However, now that you've got me thinking about it:  it's possible that I actually own the "ebook" rights for such things as "Covenant" and "Mordant's Need" (although I do *not* own those rights for "The Last Chronicles").  I'll have to look into that.  My agent may be able to make something happen for my earlier books.

(11/14/2004)

Tony

Steve,

Thanks so much for the awesome stories.. I've read both series numerous times since the 70's.  I found Covenant's view of Glimmermere very touching in the Power that Preserves, as was Coerci in the Wounded Land..

Do you happen to have a favorite chapter or touching scene from the Covenant books.

I'm particularly fond of "The Celebration of Spring" (LFB), perhaps the most ecstatic writing I've ever done.  I also loved Covenant's caamora for the Dead in The Grieve (TWL), the soothtell (TWL), the scene in which Covenant acknowledges Lena as his "queen" (TPTP), and the quenching of the Banefire (WGW).

(11/14/2004)

Cameron Macdonald

Hi Stephen Donaldson,

Your books are truly amazing, The Gap series is by far my favorite but all your novels are magnificent pieces of writing.

Also much respect for the gradual interview..  I have been following it for months and it relieves much boredom whilst at work and gives me a big insight in to my favorite author.

My Question:   What do you think off the testimonials all over your books that say such things as "Comparable to Tokien at his best" etc.

I know tolkien was a big influence to you and I know it also helps to sell fantasy books...  But to me whenever I see that on a book I feel it is a cop out, especially to the writer...  All the work you have put in, all the years and ups and downs of writing to have a big "This is the next tolkien" plastered all over it...  How many next Tolkies are there anyway?  

Anyway I guess what I'm trying to say is does this upset you?  Do you feel it cheapens what you have created?  Do you have a say in such things (my guess is no), or do you see (or accept) it 
as just a marketing initiative to sell more books.

Thanks for taking the time...
Good luck with the rest of the series and anything you do in the future, and although you are quite humble and modest bear in mind you have touched the lives many people by doing what you love to do best.  How many people can say that eh?

Cam
Melbourne, Australia

My personal view is that an essential component of excellence in any creative act is that it is incomparable.  LOTR is great in part because it *is* LOTR--*and nothing else*.  Therefore:  if my work can be legitimately compared to Tolkien's, then my work is fundamentally flawed.  Personally, I consider that "comparable to Tolkien at his best" quote an insult.

But I certainly understand why publishers--and reviewers--do such things; and so I *don't* take it personally.  It's a cheap bit of marketting--but then marketting is pretty much always cheap anyway.  If I may say so, it doesn't actually deserve to be taken seriously, and I advise you not to bother.

(11/14/2004)

Robert Young

I do not have a question.  Just a statement to Stephen.  THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!  The reason for the obvious emotion is this; it is because of your books that I am the man I am today.  Now, I think I can correctly assume that you are thinking, this guy is over the top.  But, just hear me out.  

Let me give you a little background about myself, I will be as brief as possible.  

I’m an army LtC. brat, but we did not move a lot, just Denver and south Alabama.  I did not do very well in school, until High School, due to the fact that I have 12 diagnosed learning disabilities. This became a much larger problem as I progressed in school.  In Jr. High it got to the point that I was using it as an excuse not to read anything that I did not have to.  You see reading is one of the main LD’s that I have.  
Fortunately I had a teacher that keep pushing, she got to the point that see said I don’t care what you read you just have to read something.  A friend turned me on to “Lord Foul’s Bane”.  At first I could not get into the book (hell, the first couple of times actually), but something just keep me coming back to it.  Eventually I finished it (3 -4 months) it would take me days to finish a chapter. I was enthralled  by Thomas and everyone in your book, I could see what you were writing in my imagination.  

I haven’t looked back since.  I read all the time now , I’m 37, and I have three kids that have taking my example.  I truly think that if I had not found my love of reading, that I would not be as smart or as well rounded as I think I am.  And for that I truly thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Sincerely,
Robert Young

And *I* thank *you*.  Readers like yourself help make the (immense) difficulties of writing such books worthwhile.

(11/14/2004)

Victor DiGiovanni

I apologize if anyone has asked this question before, but have you ever gotten any response about the books by someone who actually had or has leprosy?  And if so, what was that response.

And a sort of related question that just popped into my mind, did you consult with any lepers in the writing process?  

Thanks.

As I've explained elsewhere, I got all of my information about leprosy from my father, who was something of an expert on the subject.  However, I've never actually received a response from someone with Hansen's Disease.  If such readers exist, I hope they haven't taken my work amiss.

However....  Some years ago I encountered a vehement attack on the "Covenant" books:  the writer was outraged because, even though the last "Covenant" book was published in 1983, I failed to take into account medical advances which have occurred since then!  What can I say?  Mea culpa.  <grin>

(11/14/2004)

David Forbes

Hi, Mr. Donaldson,

I'm really looking forward to reading "Runes" upon it's release and I've immensely enjoyed this gradual interview. 

My question is for an elaboration to your response about cover art.  You said the art director for the Mordant novels "sabotaged" your input but that you would spare us the gory details.  Well, I would really love to hear those gory details! (Feel free to change names to protect the innocent -- or guilty, as the case may be.)  I'm fortunate enough to have just signed a three-novel deal with Harper Collins and I'm really interested in information about the process of publishing.

Thank you!

David Forbes

I have too much to say about this, and I probably won't get able to cover it all in the time I have.  But several things are important to keep in mind.  1) Corporations are formed of human beings, and those human beings need the same attention and respect that writers do.  2) Nevertheless corporations do develop their own personalities, their own internal cultures; and those personalities often dictate the behavior of the human beings within the culture.  (E.g. DEL REY/Ballantine has developed an arrogant and complacent corporate culture which subsumes the personalities of the actual individuals who work there.)  3) No one who works in publishing actually knows what he or she is doing.  Publishing is all guess-work:  it's all gambling:  it's all hope.  Therefore it breeds tremendous insecurity.  At the same time, however, it punishes any sign of insecurity.  As a result, the people who work in publishing often over-compensate dramatically.

Your life as a published writer will be much less stressful if you can keep these guidelines in mind.

My cover art problems at DEL REY/Ballantine were essentially a "turf war."  Because I loathed the US art for the "Covenant" books, and because I had become hugely successful, I demanded--and got--the right to approve future cover art.  But this was deeply offensive to the art department:  it aggravated insecurities among people who could not afford to feel insecure.  So the art department did what human beings often do when they find themselves in emotionally unteneable positions:  they cheated.  The artist for the "Mordant's Need" books (Michael Whelan) submitted to the art department a series of sketches for possible covers; but the art department did not show those sketches to me.  Instead they simply picked the one they wanted.  Then they informed me that the artist had only submitted that one sketch--and they informed the artist that I had demanded that one sketch.  Thus both Michael and I were effectively cut out of the loop.

As it happens, however, Michael and I have been friendly for years.  So the next time we saw each other, we discussed the situation.  Unfortunately, we learned too late that we had both been treated dishonestly.

Sadly, this sort of thing happens in publishing all the time.  Which is why the guidelines above are so important.  Any writer who cannot keep those guidelines in mind ends up loathing his/her publisher--which is *not* a happy state of affairs.

(11/15/2004)

James M.

Stephen, thank you for taking the time to read my question.  I've been a fan of your work for over 10 years now.

I fancy myself something of a writer as well, though not professionally.  I mainly write for the love of it.  One thing that helps me focus, oddly enough, is music.  I tend to listen to bands like King Crimson, Yes, and Dream Theater (depending on what I'm writing).  My question is, do you listen to music or have anything that helps you "get in the mood" to be creative?  Thanks again for your time, now I'll be getting back to "Runes"...

Buried away somewhere in the GI is a discussion of music's role in my writing life.  Trying to keep it simple:  I listen to music constantly as both an aid to concentration/creativity and as a means of insulating myself from the outside world.  My tastes run to 99% classical music.  I usually start my days quietly (piano music, string quartets) and then build up as the day goes along (piano concertos, symphonies, opera).  On those days when I have a lot of creative energy, I often find myself singing along with my favorite operas.

(11/17/2004)

Andrew Rodwell

Dear Mr. Donaldson,

I am re-reading your Chronicles and was struck once again by your use of arcane vocabulary.  Vladimir Nabokov once stated, in writing or in an interview-I don't remember, that evoking the strange and unfamiliar in writing one should use strange and unfamiliar words.  Your Thomas Covenant books certainly benefit from this.  

Did you choose this evocation technique consciously?

All you have to do is read a few of my other works to know that the language (someone once called it "high diction fiction") of the "Covenant" books is a conscious choice.  I don't usually write that way.  In fact, I only write that way in "Covenant."  But my intent is more complex than the rather simplistic suggestion you quoted from Nabokov.  As I've indicated elsewhere in this interview, my use of language is--at least in part--a world-building tool.  But it is also intended to increase the *range* of the thoughts and feelings which can be expressed.  The more words we have to think with, the more things we can think about and communicate.

(11/17/2004)

Ariel Segal

Hello Mr. Donaldson. I would like to thank you
for your magnificent Thomas Covenant books, and I am eagerly looking forward to _Runes of the Earth_. 

I have two questions and one brief comment. 

1) I first visualized Vain as half-ur-vile, half human, but then I reread the Second Chronicles and found that he had "human" features 
(eyes etc.), not the nostrils, pointed ears, and slit mouth of an ur-vile. Is one supposed to 
conceive of him looking fully like an idealized human (all in black)or are there some ur-vile characteristics to his physical appearance?

2) Was there any way that Seadreamer could have lived at the One Tree and still allowed for the transformation of Vain which was so critical? If Honninscrave had held him back, wouldn't Linden have still been able to warn Covenant about the Worm when he touched the Tree and started the "stars" to acting which transformed Vain?
Was Seadreamer's death, therefore, absolutely _neccessary_ for the redemption of the Land?

------
Finally, I must say that as a Modern Orthodox Jew, I find your books deeply spiritual and inspiring (I ordered them when I was in yeshiva 
in Israel). So many adherents of religion 
nowadays seem to conceive of things in absolute black and white terms, without seeing the nuances and contradictions which, to my mind, inform true faith. Some great rabbis have noted that not all contradictions were meant to be resolved in this life. The tension between the Land and Unbelief has helped me see this. 
One might say my motto is "Damn you, Foul! It's not that simple!" 

Again, my deepest thanks for writing these books. Be true.

Sincerely, Ariel Segal 

Thank you for your comments!  I can't begin to do them justice (it's 4:30am here, but I'm jetlagged and can't sleep), but I appreciate what you have to say.  And I certainly feel that one of the most dangerous aspects of any religion is the tendency "to conceive of things in absolute black and white terms."  No matter what religion we're talking about, the outcome of such thinking is horrific.

Having said all that....

1) Well, *I* see Vain as "an idealized human (all in black)", but that doesn't mean you have to.  <grin>  Every reader is engaged in an act of imaginative re-creation, and the results are--by definition--unique to that individual.

2) If there was, I couldn't see it.  On a purely mechanical level, of course, there must have been a way to spare Seadreamer.  All he really needed, after all, was for one of the people around him to be a different person than they actually were.  (There are times when we all need that.  But we don't get it, and neither did Seadreamer.)  But I decline to redesign my characters simply because it would be convenient to do so.  And on an emotional and thematic level, I saw no way out of his conundrum.  And he *did* make an absolute contribution to the redemption of the Land--not through Vain, but through Honninscrave.  The "rending" of Gibbon-Raver was a pivotol moment in the racial history of the Giants; a response to evil that transcended the despair of the Unhomed.  Good can come from death in the same way that good can come from pain.

(11/17/2004)

Dave P.

Stephen,

It's been said many times, but thanks again for your work and for taking the time to do this interview.  I've gotten my hands on Runes, and am anxious to read it as soon as I finish the latest trilogy I'm working my way through.  I have a couple question for you, and I apologize if they've been asked already.  

First - when you were writing Lord Foul's Bane, did you have the entire First Chronicles plotted out (roughly, anyway)?  Or did you write Lord Foul's Bane as a stand-alone novel, and then decide to follow up with The Ilearth War and Power That Preserves only after you saw how the first came out?

Second - You've mentioned that a lot of your time now involves research, trying to find what you've already written elsewhere.  Do you at least have electronic copies of The First and Second Chronicles that you can search through?  I'm hoping you don't have to flip through pages!!

Thanks again,
Dave P.

As I've said before, I can't write at all until I know the ending of the story in front of me.  In the case of the first "Chronicles," that means the ending of "The Power that Preserves."  Although the story is broken into three units (Covenant's visits to the Land) so that Lord Foul will have enough time to carry out his intentions, I always saw that trilogy as *one* story.

As a side-note:  it is a characteristic of the "Chronicles" that they have all been planned backward.  In each case, my original inspiration was for the ending of each story (the ending of "The Power that Preserves," the ending of "White Gold Wielder," the ending of "The Last Dark"); so I've had to work my way from back to front in order to figure out how to *start* the story.  With other books--"Mordant's Need," the GAP sequence--my ideas have imposed different methods of story design.

Research for "The Last Chronicles" has been made considerably easier, ironically, by the fact that the first six "Covenant" books are illegally available on the web.  I downloaded pirated copies for my own use--which I guess is fair, since the person who scanned and posted those books did so without permission.  <rueful smile>

(11/17/2004)

John Gauker

It is my humble opinion that the names you have chosen for your characters as among the best in literary history.  Saltheart Foamfollower, Mhoram, Thomas Covenant, Angus Thermopile are just the ones immediately that come to mind.  They are also the best characters I have ever enjoyed reading about.  Where do you get your inspiration for the names of your charaters?

I really can't explain it.  Sometimes names just pop into my head:  Angus Thermopyle, Saltheart Foamfollower, King Joyse, Koina Hannish, Stave.  Sometimes I have an explicit communicative purpose:  Thomas Covenant, the names of the Ravers, Sunder, Min Donner, Warden Dios.  As a sub-category of the foregoing, sometimes I play "sounds like":  caesure (from "The Last Chronicles").  And sometimes I just juggle sounds until I find one I like:  the skest, Kasreyn, Geraden, Scriven, Rant Absolain, Hollian, Handir.  But wherever a name comes from, I always regret it if I don't trust my ear:  I need names that "sound right" in an almost musical sense.  The right name provides me a kind of doorway into the character, place, or thing.  The wrong name forces me to struggle.

(Trivia freaks should seek out the original Ballantine "The Man Who Killed His Brother" and compare it to the recent Tor/Forge reissue.  The original features some truly leaden names which were "adjusted" for the reissue.  But in my mystery novels generally, I didn't really hit my stride, name-wise, until "The Man Who Tried to Get Away".)

(11/17/2004)

Steve,

Question for you.. Is Earthpower found in the whole world, or only in the Land.. Also, was there any significance in how far away the One Tree was from the Land.. It just seems that the One Tree would be closer to the center of Earth Power or Earth Blood.

Thanks again for the marevelous stories.

Taking your questions in reverse order....

Earlier in this interview, I suggested that the One Tree moves around.  I stand by that.  Such mythic icons lead lives of their own.  At one time, the One Tree may well have been close to--or even in--the Land.  If so, it's conceivable that the "affront" of losing a branch to Berek may have inspired the Tree to seek a safer haven.

Earthpower, as its name suggests, is inherent to the Earth.  At least in my view.  All power (whatever it happens to be called) everywhere in that world is Earthpower.  Witness the nature of the Elohim, or the various abilities of the Giants, or the fact that Kastenessen was Appointed to stop a peril far north of the Land.  However, it seems to me that Earthpower flows "closer to the surface" in the Land than elsewhere.  Witness the existence there of the One Forest, Andelain, and the EarthBlood.

(11/17/2004)

Eric

Mr. Donaldson,

Forgive me if this turns out to be a stupid question, but have either of the first two Chronicles of Thomas Covenant been published into one hardcover edition? If not, are there any plans to do so? I would love to trade in my old paperbacks and buy a nice leatherbound copy of each trilogy, like the one I have of Lord of the Rings.

In any case, I'm looking forward to reading "The Runes of the Earth." You're one of the last few writers of good fantasy alive.

Sincerely,
Eric

The Science Fiction Book Club now carries "omnibus" editions of "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant" and "The Second Chronicles":  three novels in each volume.  But you won't find "nice leatherbound" editions there:  the SFBC publishes *cheap*.  Easton Press, I believe, has done a "nice leatherbound" edition of "Lord Foul's Bane," but has expressed no interest in the subsequent volumes.  Ballantine's hardcovers of "The Second Chronicles" are long gone.  However, I recently saw a hardcover "Lord Foul's Bane" with the Henry Holt imprint.  The first trilogy was originally published in hardcover by Holt, Rinehart, and Winston:  Henry Holt is, I believe, the current avatar of that company.  So that's a possible source, although I can't vouch for it.

(11/17/2004)

Jason Wittman

Dear Mr. Donaldson,

First off, let me say that you were one of my inspirations, along with Tolkien, LeGuin, and J. Michael Straczynski, to become an SF writer.  It is because (in part) of people like you that I am now published in SCIFI.COM.  Thank you.  :-)

Here's my first question: In *Mordant's Need* you place much emphasis on the game of Checkers--I'm sorry--Hop-Board.  You even go so far as to name the epilogue "Crowning the Pieces".  I was wondering, are you a checkers enthusiast, or was this simply a convenient way to illustrate a certain martial arts philosophy?

My second question: what sort of games do you picture the people of the Land playing (if at all)?  Being a games enthusiast, it interests me when SF writers include games in their works, such as Jetan in Edgar Rice Burroughs' *The Chessmen of Mars* (which ERB thoughtfully gives the rules to), or Shent in Tad Williams' *Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn* (which TW infuriatingly does not), so I was wondering if you had any ideas along those lines.

Of course, if you don't, that's perfectly all right.  :-)

Regards,

Jason

I'm not a checkers enthusiast.  In fact, the only game I play with any enthusiasm is bridge.  But I chose checkers (hop-board) for "Mordant's Need" because of something Poe wrote (I can't remember where):  he claimed that checkers was superior to chess (as a game) because all you need to win at chess is better concentration than your opponent has, whereas to win at checkers you need more *imagination*.  Doubtless his assertion is debatable.  But I found his ideas useful.

Your question about games in the Land goes pretty far outside the text; so my instinctive reaction is that your guess is as good as mine.  But I imagine that a predominantly rural, non-technological society would have simple games involving simple toys (e.g. rocks, bits of rope):  games like pitch-and-toss, hopscotch, or jumping rope.  And of course the de rigeur attempts to build models of Revelstone out of mud.  <grin>

(11/18/2004)

Roger

Please Mr. Donaldson!

STOP! Stop at what you're doing right now!
Don't start any book-tours, no vacation, no movies, 
no "I'm just going to check my e-mail"-excuses.
Nothing.

Just write, write as you have never done before. :)

Because when i'm done with "The Runes..." I wan't to start directly with the next book, and next, and next...

Ok, you can answer this question, but then you must start writing. 

Is there a timeline for the rest of the books?

My best regards,
Roger

In the past month, there have been a lot of questions about "a timeline for the rest of the books"--although I've already covered this.  So here's the short version:  hope to see "Fatal Revenant" in two years; expect to see it in three.

Sorry.  I know it's frustrating.  But, as I've already explained at length, my publishers have allowed me no, zero, nil time to start the next book so far this year.  And as I get older--and as the complexity of what I try to do increases--I write more and more slowly.

(11/18/2004)

Don D.

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(11/18/2004)

I've read in the course of this interview that you intended Elena's incestuous feelings towards Covenant to be demonstrative of her mental imbalance - an imbalance that only Covenant seemed to be aware of. Was I wrong in detecting a not-so-fatherly aspect to Covenants feelings for Elena?

I also assumed from their exchange at Glimmermere when he rushes to her in a rage only to turn away in shame when she faces him undaunted that he was prepared once again to find a violent outlet for his desire ... indicating that his regret over what he had done to Lena was not as genuine as one might wish .... I get the impression from things you have written here that this may not be how this passage was intended.......?

P.S. Thanks for the books - hope the tour is going well!

Well, yes and no.  Yes, there is "a not-so-fatherly aspect to Covenant's feelings for Elena."  How could he possibly feel like her father?  They haven't had one iota of a father-daughter relationship.  And when he returns to the Land in "The Illearth War," he's actually younger than she is.  And he still has all those messy reborn sensations to deal with.

But no, he doesn't go toward her in anger because he's about to strike--or rape--her.  (It wouldn't be rape in any case, since she's obviously willing; even eager.)  People often react angrily when they feel grief and shame:  that doesn't necessarily--or even usually--mean they're about to do something violent.  And I think it is a measure of how much Covenant has already changed that he both recognizes and acts on his shame so quickly (you'd be amazed how rarely *that* happens in real life).

(11/18/2004)

Emelie - London, UK

Mr Donaldson,

Thank you for making this forum available, and thousands of thanks for your fantastic works – they have meant a lot to me throughout the years.

Now….

Having read through this gradual interview your relationship with Lester del Rey strikes me as intriguing – it appears to have been (perhaps still is) something of a tempestuous love/hate relationship. I’ve noticed conflicting elements of admiration, gratefulness, annoyance, anger, fights, fall-outs etc. etc. 

Is this something you would care to elaborate on? 

Regards,

Emelie

Yes, my relationship with Lester del Rey could politely be described as tempestuous.  But elaborating on it wouldn't serve much purpose that I can see.  The poor man has been dead for nigh on 15 years, and can hardly speak up for himself.  It's enough to say that he had a fine eye for new talent; that he single-handedly invented contemporary fantasy publishing; and that he tended to have contentious relationships with virtually everyone.

(OK, I'll add one detail, since I know he wouldn't take it amiss.  He had an unexpectedly well-developed sense of whimsy.  When he and his wife were traveling, they called home every day--to speak to their stuffed animals.)

(11/18/2004)

Chris D

Just now finished Runes...nicely done.  You've (to this reader) seamlesly picked up where you left off.  I have one question and one comment.  Q: Lord Foul, why did you limit his essence and his vehemence to the Land how is it that the rest of the "world" was spared?  From a literary stand point it makes sense (well that's where all the action is! *smack*)Just always wondered why there werent more far reaching acts of "despite".
C: Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions including the inane ones (see my Q above)Now please to be getting back to the salt mines I'm dying to read the next installment!

CD

Gosh, the details we could discuss....  I'll have to control myself.

I've often referred to the Land as an "arena."  And I suggested recently in this interview that Earthpower flows closer to the surface in the Land than elsewhere.  Naturally Lord Foul would be drawn there.  BUT.  A close reading of the first six books reveals that LF came to the Land from elsewhere in the Earth:  the Land knew Ravers well before it met the Despiser.  During the ages of the One Forest's flourishing, humankind hardly existed in the Land at all--and LF would naturally go where the people are.  Furthermore, there is evidence that LF has been at work elsewhere in the Earth (long ago if not presently):  the shadow on the heart of the Elohim; the fact that the Elohim appear to have an established tradition of Appointing one among them to stop evils here and there (personally, I find it difficult to believe that Findail, Kastenessen, and the Elohim sent to aid the One Forest were the *only* Elohim who were ever Appointed).  And then there's the curious fact that Kevin's Council failed to recognize LF.  How, I ask myself, could that have happened if the Old Lords had any previous experience of the Despiser?  I may be getting myself in trouble here; but I suspect that LF didn't come to the Land until the Old Lords became powerful enough to be useful to him.

(11/18/2004)

Todd Burger

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(11/18/2004)

Michael from Santa Fe

There's been a lot of speculation about a "Covenant" movie(s).  While I would love to see this, I have my doubts it will ever happen, but the success of the LOTR makes it slightly more likely.  People in this interview and yourself have been tossing out names about who could play what character and that's all very interesting.  But the main problem to me about filming the Covenenat books would be:  where do you film them?  The Land, to me, is almost the main character of the books.  I thought using New Zealand for LOTR worked well, but would it work for The Land?  I have my doubts and would make it look too much like the LOTR.  Sure, they can do a lot with computer graphics (and they would have too...not too many Revelstones lying abandoned waiting to be filmed :-)) but this increases the budget of the film and takes away from the "realness".  Anyway, do you have any thoughts on this?  My own preference would be they use New Mexico as much as possible, we have some great landscapes!  

As it happens, all of the locations for a "Covenant" film have already been scouted for us.  Check out www.fantasybedtimehour.com to see what I mean.  <broad grin>

But more seriously:  I suspect that computer graphics would play an even larger role in a "Covenant" film than they do in LOTR.  I agree that NM has great landscapes, but I haven't seen any that would fit my images of the Land (at least in the first "Chronicles").  And I suspect that Tolkien would say the same about New Zealand.

(11/19/2004)

Cameron Macdonald

Hi again,

I already asked a question about a week ago so I will keep this short.

Basicialy I'm in a few bands and we are just about to go into the studio and we are all trying very hard to think of a name for our cd.   A few phrases from your books have come up such as "Machina Infernalis" or "Righteous Indignation" or even the big long amnion on "Conformity of purpose shall be achieved through the mutual satisfaction of requirements" (Only a metal band would have such long titles)

So I was wondering your thoughts on this...  Firstly, would we be infringing on some sort of copyright?  If not, would this generally bother you, perhaps on a personal level as they are of course your phrases and your books...

Anyway just wanted to know, of course I will respect your wishes on this.

Cam
Melbourne, Australia

You should use your own judgment on this.  As a general rule, titles cannot be copyrighted--so it would be difficult for a lawyer to argue that a title constitutes copyright infringement.  And you can always CYA by giving credit for the source of your title somewhere in the printed matter for your recording.  Personally, I have no "wishes" on the subject at all; so in that respect you should feel free to do whatever you want.

(11/19/2004)

Peter J Purcell

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(11/19/2004)

Zodia King

Greetings:
   I was sorry to have missed you at Bubonicon!!
I just finished reading The Runes of the Earth and once again you have come through with another master piece! I was wondering if by chance we'd see Saltheart Foamfollower in either of the next two novels you plan to write? And are these truly the last chronicles? You could use that for another twenty books and no one would complain! I would hate to see only three more Covenant books.
I now work at the East Mountain Library in Tijeras (I previously worked with Scott and Gayle at Wyoming) and I recommend your books to our fantasy lovers on a daily basis. Best wishes!

Zodia King 

I'm glad you enjoyed "Runes"!  And thanks for your support.  There is no substitute for readers who are willing to do what you do.

For obvious reasons, I don't like to comment on questions like, Will we see Foamfollower again?  I don't want to give anything away--or commit myself when I might later change my mind.  <rueful smile>  But in general I would advise you not to hold your breath.  The internal consistency problems would be staggering.

Considering your feelings, I'm sorry to have to tell you that this will definitely be "The *Last* Chronicles."  You'll understand why when we get farther into the story.

(11/19/2004)

Chricinda

Greetings! What a lovely idea to respond directly to fans this way!
I picked up Lord Foul's Bane when I was 12 (because I liked the cover and it was one of the few--at that time--books in the SF/Fantasy area of the bookstore). Yours and Tolkien's are old friends that I enjoy re-reading often.

I thought your response to the person discussing the types of people who are fans was interesting--many of us obviously operate perfectly well in both our real and fantasy worlds! :)  So my question would be have you attended or been a guest at one of the (literary-oriented) SF conventions? I'm thinking you would be fun to nominate in the future as a guest at one of the Michigan cons.

I don't really know what you mean by "(literary-oriented) SF conventions".  Over the years, I've attended a lot of cons, and have been GoH at several.  But these days 3 or 4 a year is about my maximum.  My real life has become too full to accomodate much traveling.  And writing takes so much time....  However, I generally welcome invitations; and I make decisions on attending on a case-by-case basis.

(11/19/2004)

Mark Rowen, RN

Dear Mr. Donaldson;

Rumor has it there will 4 books in the "Last Chronicles".  Have you picked the titles of the remaining books?  If so, could you share them with me?  I loved "The Runes of the Earth".  By the way, fear not and be of good faith.  You can do this.

Thanks for the vote of confidence!

I've already answered this; but it probably bears repeating.  Assuming my publishers don't object (they usually don't, but you never know), the subsequent volumes will be:
"Fatal Revenant"
"Shall Pass Utterly"
"The Last Dark"

(11/19/2004)

Adam King

I wonder, speaking of SRD, whether the self-professed slow reader has read much of the other SRD? As much difference as there is between Donaldson and Delany, they are two emotionally honest and self-revealing authors who use similar genres in utterly individual ways to reveal themselves.

Thank you, Mr. Donaldson. Your work is valuable. 

I edited out most of your message, not because I didn't appreciate it--I did--but because it wasn't germane to your question.

I haven't read much Delany.  He strikes me as perhaps the most purely intelligent writer I've ever read.  But his purposes as a storyteller are far removed from mine; and so I don't find myself drawn to his work.

(11/19/2004)

drew

Once i saw an interview with David Copperfield (...The Magician) and he said his fans fall into two groups-the one's who sit back and are amazed, and just want to enjoy the show, and those who are constantly looking through the smoke and mirrors, trying to catch the slight of hand, and pick apart the show. I find a lot of the latter in this interview, and I am both supprized and impressed that you take the time to answer those kind of questions. This is not one of those questions...though it may seem that way.
-When reading the First Chrons, I always assumed that the One Tree was in the Land...there was nothing to support this, but nothing against it either. I realize that if the tree had of been somewhere just Northeast of Revelstone the the second Chrons would have been much shorter....but all I am wondering, is that when you were thinking up and Creating the history of the Land before You wrote the First Chrons, did you have a place in mind for the One Tree? Or did you feel that it's location would never come up, since you weren't planning on doing a second Chronicle?

Again, I'm not looking for possible plot holes and getting you to explain yourself...I'm more or less wondering how deep your history of the Land went when you started writting Lord Fouls Bane.

Thank you.

I've discussed the location of the One Tree elsewhere in this interview; but that isn't really your question.  Forgive me for falling back on a couple of things I've said before.

First, I consider myself an "efficient" writer, by which I mean (in part) that I only create what I need.  And second, until some years after I finished the first "Chronicles," I had no intention of ever continuing the story:  as far as I was concerned, I was *done*--until Lester del Rey tricked me into realizing otherwise.  So-o-o--  While I was working on the first trilogy, I didn't give much concrete thought to the One Tree.  I didn't need to.  But I realize now, looking back, that I had always assumed the Tree was *not* in the Land; or even nearby.

As a side-note:  much of my preparation for writing "The Second Chronicles" involved, well, *mining* the first trilogy for possibilities; looking for hints which could prove useful precisely because I had said so little about them.  Elohim, Sandgorgons, and the One Tree all fall into this category.  And now (surprise, surprise) much of my work for "The Last Chronicles" involves more mining.  Unfortunately, I now have *six* previous books to delve through.  Fortunately, the fact that I knew my present story while I was writing "The Second Chronicles" makes mining those books *much* easier.

(11/19/2004)

Richard Manulkin

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(11/19/2004)

Matthew  McNeil

Are there any banes still left in the land in the last series and will there be anything close to the killing of Giants with the Ill-earth stone from book two of the first series? How powerful will Foul be in this last series? 

I'm sorry, but I'm not inclined to answer such questions.  They take the problem of "spoilers" to a whole new level.  I've begun to respond to "spoiler" questions as they pertain to "The Runes of the Earth," since that book has already been published.  But I'm entirely unwilling to reveal my intentions for the subsequent volumes.  Even my agent (a very dear friend) and my editor (who might well have a valid reason for wanting to know) have no idea what I'm going to do next.

(11/20/2004)

Joey

First off, thanks for coming out to Torrance last night. Wish the crowd was bigger but still nice to meet you in person. How big does it get most nights?

Wanted to know (and didnt have a chance to ask) about "The Conqueror Worm." The centipede shows off whenever the husband yells at his wife, and eventually drives her off. I'm wondering if you could comment a bit on the story, and maybe about what it means, heh.

The Torrence crowd was about average for what I get in the US.  Much larger audiences in the UK.

The centipede, as I recall (I wrote that story a *very* long time ago), represents the "demon" of the husband's jealousy and possessiveness.  It's the external manifestation or avatar of his emotional state.  As such, it dramatizes--in the most dramatic way possible <grin>--the self-destructive nature of his emotions.

(11/21/2004)

Lord Fool

I recently read the "Second Chronicles", and a question popped into my mind.

I always assumed that the accident by which Hile Troy was transported to the Land did eventually kill him. I can understand his body could've survived for the relatively short time he spend in the land as the Warmark. However, Troy didn't die in the Land until the "White Gold Wielder", after ten years' time in the "real world". I understood that when one dies in the "real world", he also dies in the Land (as happened to Thomas Covenant). Even though Troy as Caer-Cavernal wasn't entirely human, he wasn't Dead (as Covenant in the end). So, how was it possible for Troy's body to keep living for such a long period of time without his mind present?

Oh, by the way: thank you. The "Second Chronicles" were the most satisfying read; the Thomas Covenant saga has really rooted itself in my heart. I'm eagerly looking forward to the Last Chronicles - meanwhile, I've the time to check out your other works as well.

In the most literal sense, death in the "real world" for a character like Hile Troy, or Thomas Covenant, simply means that character can no longer return to his/her "real" life.  But of course the implications go much farther (and are explored more fully in "The Last Chronicles").  Literal death in the Land as well is a significant possibility.  But neither Troy nor Covenant actually died in the Land:  rather they were transformed; became beings of an entirely different kind.  In Troy's case, a series of transformations were involved, resulting in a new Forestal.  In Covenant's case, the destruction of his mortality freed his spirit to support the Arch of Time (the fact that he retains some form of sentient identity is demonstrated by his ability to speak to Linden during her translation back to her "real" life).  In both cases, huge powers were required to cause transformation instead of literal death.  So:  literal death in the "real world" does not *necessarily* impose extinction in the Land.  In the "real world," Troy's body suffered literal death not long after his accident.

(11/21/2004)

Bill Foley

Just finished re-reading the 1st Chronicles as an appetizer to Runes and my head is abuzz...

I'm hoping that you might be willing to bring into sharper focus the revelation that High Lord Mhoram has leading into the Power that Preserves that enables him to unlock his additional power (knowledge of the Ritual of Desecration, blue flicker in the Krill, etc.).

I understand that his "secret" deals with overcoming the limits imposed by the Oath of Peace but I seem to want to understand it a little bit more literally.  Is it that power requires a willingness to harm, hate or do violence?  Something like that?  (Again, looking for a "tune-up" here...)

I'm also interested to know how the inspiration for his understanding was found in Elena's Marrowmeld sculpture of Covenant/Bannor.  In what way didthis trigger his understanding?

Thanks!

I can't actually tell you how Mhoram's imagination/insight works:  hell, I don't know how *mine* works.  But I think I do know *what* he saw:  the empowering paradox of passion and discipline.

That's cryptic, I know.  There's no good way to explain the potential hidden within paradoxes.  But look at it this way.  The Oath of Peace is, in effect, "modeled" on the Bloodguard.  (I mean thematically, not literally.)  The Bloodguard are all about emotional control:  so is the Oath of Peace.  Witness Atiaran's appeal to Triock when he wants to kill Covenant--and her own subsequent attitudes.  Covenant, on the other hand, is all about passion (in this context, "passion" means "intense emotion").  Witness his rape of Lena, and the way he wears his emotions on his sleeve.

Elena's marrowmeld sculpture put forward the notion that the control of the Bloodguard and the passion of Covenant are two faces of the same dilemma (the need of passion to be controlled, the need of control to be enlivened by passion); and that those two faces can be combined into one.

From this, Mhoram extracted the understanding that the Oath of Peace has been, well, misapplied.  It is literally a prescription for behavior; but it has been taken as a proscription against passion.  Yet passion is power, as Covenant so often demonstrates.  (And power is dangerous:  therefore the Bloodguard knowingly, and the people of the Land unwittingly, have suppressed their access to it.)  Mhoram learned to find his own version of "the eye of the paradox":  the point where both passion and control can be affirmed.

Mhoram's great insight most definitely does *not* involve "a willingness to harm, hate, or do violence."  Rather it involves a willingness or ability to make choices which are not ruled or controlled by passion (e.g. hate, anger, despair, or fear), and then to act on those choices with absolute passion.

Blake wrote, "Reason is the circumference of energy."  Gichin Funakoshi wrote, "If your hand goes forth, withhold your anger.  If your anger goes forth, withhold your hand."  Someone (I've forgotten who) wrote, "Beauty is controlled passion."  Mhoram learned to understand this.  The fatal flaw of the Haruchai (and of Atiaran, and of Trell, and of Troy, and of the Unhomed, and of Kevin--and of Covenant early on) is that they did not.

(11/24/2004)

Frank A. Krull, MD

WHY NOW??.....................

After all of these years, & a catalog of 6 volumes; why more Covenant?

I obviously love it or I would've never bothered to write. I'm a physician & you may not believe it but you helped me through my struggles. Did you give me the answers to the stars??? No. But you did take me away from my present problems only to make me face them through your fantasy.

Next to Tolkien, your adventures via Covenant are outstanding. I hate Covenant at times. I do not like the idea of of a reluctant hero. I like a real hero. I've got a lot of complaints regarding your Covenant series; however, you are much too good of a writer for me to completely dismiss your writings. They got me through Med School &  my residency. I found myself pulling for Covenant even though I really didn't want to. Was that your purpose? I'll never know.

Regardless, as soon as I found out this series was continued, I traversed out & made made my purchase. I sincerely hope it is up to your Covenant mind set.

I am a true fan because I can criticise something I think is special. Could I have made your series better? I doubt it.

If you deem to answer me, I will consider it an honor.

I look forward to your LAST CHRONICLES OF THOMAS COVENANT.  As long as your Covenant writing proceeds as I've seen fit from your previous adventures into this realm, then you will have a fan to the end. Please don't give in to trash. Write your own story.

FA Krull, MD

I've discussed this elsewhere in the Gradual Interview, but briefly:  I've had this story in mind ever since I first considered writing "The Second Chronicles."  The saga of "Thomas Covenant's struggle against Despite in the arena of the Land" won't be complete without "The Last Chronicles."

And forgive me, but:  you don't like "reluctant heroes"?  Then it seems to me you must not like human beings much.  In fact, I'm not sure that real heroism is *possible* without reluctance.  People who don't have fears to overcome never actually accomplish anything.  (Just an opinion, folks--as I've said so often before.)

(11/26/2004)

Mark Sanges

Dear Mr. Donaldson,
Thank you SO much for answering my rather mundane questions about ePublishing and electronic audio publishing. 

You asked if I could point out where the 2 "The Man Who..." books that are legitimately available in an electronic format are sold. They are sold by Palm's eReader.com division (incidentally one of the largest sellers of eBooks so far). You can see them in the ereader.com catalog at the following URL:
http://www.ereader.com/product/book/series/970

Alas, those are the only 2 I can find by you that are available as eBooks legitimately that I have found so far (trust me, I am constantly hunting for new sources of legitimate eBooks). As was pointed out in another question in this interview, the entire first and second chronicles are available as eText VERY illegally through certain web sites (I don't have the links, but you mentioned you and your publishers were aware of them).

As a follow-up to this ePublishing train of thought, how do you feel about people, like myself, who purchase your books (I can't even count the number of copies of the first 6 books I've bought, lent, never got back and bought again) and then are tempted to scan them for their own personal electronic reading? It's an idea of been toying with for Runes. I bought both the hard cover and the CD set (hey, I'm trying to do my best to boost those sales into the NYTimes top 10 bestsellers list!) and have already read Runes once and am 3/4 done with listening to the Audio version (incidentally, Scott Brick is probably the *best* audiobook narrator currently working, so your publisher made a VERY fine choice there). Once that's done, I'm considering scanning the book so I can carry it on my PDA for the next time I'd like to read it (just more convenient than carrying around a big hardcover book). Do things like that bother you or raise your ire? I would certainly NEVER provide a copy of my scaned version to anyone, but I do think that readers who purchase books should have a choice over what format they read the book in. What are your thoughts or feelings about this?

Thanks again for taking all this time to answer us and for writing your stories for us to read. 

Sincerley,
Mark Sanges

And thank *you* for letting me know about the e-book versions of "The Man Who..." books (two of them, anyway, at least so far).  I'm always interested in such information.

As long as you do so purely for your own benefit, *I* certainly don't care if you tear apart your books, scan them, and convert them into, say, PDA formats.  You *bought* them:  you have the right to do what you want with them.  Including hate them, or burn them.  <rueful smile>  It's only copyright infringement if you *share* your e-book files, either for free, or (worse) for money.

So go ahead with my blessing.  If you can stand the violence necessary to render your books scan-able.  <grin>

(11/26/2004)

Drew

A question about music...You've stated earlier that your day consists of listening to lots of classical music. I've recently made that switch myself (I'm drive a truck, and was tierd of listening to Classic Rock all day, so I switched to calssical station one day, and never switched back.) The question: When picturing scenes in you head before (or after) you write them, do you feel any peices fit them? Not in-a-soundtrack-to-a-movie kind of way, but do you imagine any of your favorite peices in any of your favortie scenes, or vice-versa, when you hear a certain peice, does it make you remeber any scenes you've written?
I recently heard Vivaldi's Gloria, it made me think of the last scene in The power that Preserves when the people sing the ode to Covenenat. Certain JS Bach peices remind me of what the music of the Forestals would sound like.
Also Bethovens 8th symphony made me think about the battle in Graven Threndor in Lord Foul's Bane

For me, there is no literal relationship between the music I listen to and what I write.  It's just, if you'll forgive the expression, background noise of a kind that encourages my creativity.  To the extent that what I'm listening to and what I'm writing are connected at all, it has to do with my energy level:  the more energy I have--or the more energy I feel I *need* to have--the more energetic my choices of music.

(11/26/2004)

Bryan J. Flynn

Stephen, thanks for your insight on Lord Foul. I’m curious about your perception of Foul. It stems from the maxim on the banality of evil, and how Foul doesn’t fit that bill. He strikes me as a very complex antagonist and I appreciate that in your work. As a genre fantasy often handles the antagonist in a banal way: evil for evil’s sake.

Reading the work again recalls the idea of the necessity of freedom that underlies so much of your work. Yet to me, more than any other personality in the books, Foul lacks the necessity of freedom. He’s imprisoned and limited in many ways far more than the other characters

Does Foul’s nature preclude him from the kinds of freedom that Linden and Covenant enjoy in the Land? Does he lack the ability (not the desire) to end his ongoing conflict with the Creator? 

I know this is skirting awful close to your not wanting to speak to ideas like the Creator, Worm at World’s End, etc., something I appreciate as a reader. I’ve been thinking about it for a few days, but I’ll go no further as the water grows deep as I wade in. :)

Actually, I don't agree that LF is more "imprisoned and limited" than any of the other characters.  They are--as we all are--imprisoned in their bodies and limited by their mortality.  LF simply exists on a grander scale than ordinary mortals.  But I would argue that he's just as free to make his own choices as the other characters are; and that therefore he's just as responsible for his actions as the other characters are.

We should all be able to relate to his desire to escape his prison.  Wouldn't we all?  But some of the rest of us manage to find answers to despair that sustain us.  If LF's answer is malevolence, which naturally isolates him from anything that might relieve his despair, he has no one to blame but himself.  He's free to choose otherwise.

(11/27/2004)

Steven Wozniak

Mr. Donaldson, I've just finished "Runes" today.  It was an immense pleasure.  I think that your confidence as a writer shines throughout the book.  I look forward to seeing 'what happens next.'

My question, though, has to do with the apparent isolation of the Land from the rest of the planet.  Seven thousand years have passed since the first book.  We learn in "The One Tree" that there are other, seemingly commercially advanced peoples across the sea.  In the most recent book, the Ramen vaguely refer to peoples to the south of the Southron Mountains.  Why have none of these people ever ventured to and colonized the Land?  The giants were lost, so there by accident, but the Search seems to have found the way across the ocean.  And the southern peoples could just migrate north, like the Ramen went south.  It is hard to imagine that it is because the Land is so remote or of minimal significance politically or socially.

Thanks  

This is essentially the same question (discussed earlier) as, Why weren't the Unhomed able to find their way back to where they came from?  The Land is geographically isolated (very much so), but I grant that is probably not an adequate explanation.  And in fact we know from the text that people *did* migrate to the Land at various times:  witness the ancient history of the One Forest, and the fact that the inhabitants of Doriendor Corishev went to war with SOMEbody.  Here's how I look at it.  1) To the north, there ain't much except that world's version of the Arctic.  To the east lie the dangers of sea travel, particularly Nicor and the Soubiter.  To the west are the Haruchai.  And the south beyond the mountains has become the kind of place that would only appeal to nomads.  2) It is my intuitive perception that magically-oriented cultures aren't as "expansionist" as tool/technology cultures because they don't have technology's insatiable appetite for raw materials.  3) As the place where Earthpower is most readily accessible (see earlier discussions), the Land has *some* of the mythic/iconic status of things like the One Tree and the Worm of the World's End:  it has a tendency to baffle ordinary quests and explorations.  (Think of places like Shangri-La and Atlantis.)  Magically-oriented cultures may well know that a place like the Land exists, but if they don't go looking for it in the right way, they're unlikely to find it.

Does that help?

(11/29/2004)

Ross Edwards

Stephen,
Since reading Runes of the Earth, I have been on a huge SRD high, so I decided to re-read your "The Man Who..." series. I have to say that I've come to appreciate them more and more lately. When I first read The Man Who Killed His Brother some years ago, I loved the style and atmosphere, but felt that the mystery was too simple.

My mistake for reading it the wrong way. 

I should have been concentrating on the characters instead of the situations. Doing that, I have really come to enjoy them and care about Ginny and Brew. You even talked about that idea somewhat in The Man Who Tried to Get Away -- that good mystery novels depend so much more on character than on situation.

My question, though, is about the future of the series. You have said several times that you tend to know before you write them how long your stories will be -- that the First Chronicles would be three books and that the Gap would be five, etc. Did you have any kind of feeling on that for your mystery novels? I'm sure the series isn't finished, but can you tell me how many more books it will take? Or is this the rare instance where you don't know the answer...?

Thanks!

My mystery novels are exceptions to my usual writing in several ways.  (Style, setting, and genre all leap to mind, but there are others.)  As to your particular question:  I've known the eventual end toward which these novels are building for a very long time; but I haven't known how many stages would be required to get there.  I've been "feeling my way" more than usual.  The reason, I think, is that in this case each stage needs to stand alone as a complete novel--which changes the way I think and plan.  (The argument could also be made that my mystery novels are more "autobiographical" than anything else I write, and that therefore I--duh!--understand them less.  <rueful smile>)  At present, I think that the fifth will be the last in the sequence.  But who knows?  That could easily turn out not to be true.

(11/29/2004)

Usivius

Once again, thank you very much, Mr. Donaldson for taking the time to answer all these questions.  I am still in awe of this.  
I have another question which dawned upon me as I was re-reading the Covenant series in preparation for 'Runes'.  I am wondering how much you are aware of the use of descriptive terms related to the real world.  I know that much of this issue does not apply where you have characters that come from our world.  But it struck me as an interesting problem if the fantasy story has no characters based in our world.  I came across the descriptive passage in 'The One Tree': "The Haruchai were dervish-wild"...
How aware are you of this when you write stories?  You strike me as a very careful writer, but is it an issue to you, using 'real world' references in stories that have no such connection?

Well, you caught me.  I didn't know the "real" meaning of the word "dervish" (I just looked it up).  Like Kleenex and Xerox, the word has become so commonly used that it has taken on a generic meaning.  Which is what I had in mind when I wrote the sentence you cite.  Had I known that "dervish" has such a concrete and extensive meaning in our "real world," I would have chosen a different description.  As a general rule, I'm very aware of the issue, and I try hard to keep my descriptions and references appropriate to the context (the "reality") in which they're used.  To do otherwise creates the moral equivalent of anachronisms.

But sometimes I screw up....  <sigh>

(11/29/2004)

SM

Hi, 

I can't help but notice that damage is a huge element in your work. Not just people, but places, castles, ships, armor, weapons... It seems that everything is damaged, or becomes damaged in the story--and much of the damage is tragic.  Some of the damage you repair, and some is left as permanent.  Why? Is damage a consequence of despite?  The cause?  Or do things just get damaged as a course of life?   

Well, really, everybody and everything gets damaged.  That's one of the rules of life.  If this weren't empirically obvious, I would cite the Second Law of Thermodynamics.  But the physical condition of people, places, and things is a *very* apt and useful source of metaphors and symbols.  From my perspective, the question is not, Why is everything damaged?  The question is, What does each particular instance of damage *mean*?  Damage is an essential part of my communicative "language," as well as an essential part of my reasons for telling each individual story.  Maybe because my father was a doctor?  Or maybe because I grew up in India, where personal damage was a more obvious part of life than it is here?  I don't know.  I didn't create my imagination:  I just use it.

(11/29/2004)

Kurt Alberty

Dr. Donaldson,
Thanks for coming to Torrance, CA on 10/22 and signing all my books.  Thanks, too, to the Princess of your heart for signing the dedication page (A classy move on your part to ask her).  

Thanks for over twenty years of great books.  Your books are always something I eagerly look forward to and I hope you keep this website going so that I know what's cooking. 

This gradual interview is fantastic and so much has already been covered.  I have a new one for you:
As a writer of science fiction, you must have a decent amount of interest in space.  Will you be buying a ticket on Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic?  Or is that type of “research” a little too much for you?

Thanks,
Kurt

I'm a passionate supporter of our space program.  I would jump at a chance to experience space myself--if my health permitted it (no pre-flight doctor in his right mind would "pass" me)--and if I could afford it (I can't).

(11/29/2004)

Michael from Santa Fe

You have stated before that you got the idea for "Mordant's Need" from a poem in John Myers Myers "Silverlock" where it talks about a "mirror of her dreams" and "a man rides through".  I have seen other authors, specifically Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, discuss that "Silverlock" contains a wealth of hidden references to other literary works and characters.  In fact, they make a game out of trying to see who can find the most references.  What lead you to read "Silverlock" and have you ever played the reference game or noticed such references in the book?  I just found a paperback copy at a used book store and will be reading it shortly, so I can't comment for myself but it looks like an interesting book. 

I read "Silverlock" because so many people told me it was a fun way to play the "references" game.  But it turns out I'm not very good at that game.  <sigh>  And, as I recall (this was 20+ years ago, remember), the story itself was too light to satisfy me.  When I'm reading, I don't particular enjoy cleverness for its own sake.

(11/29/2004)

Jerry

Regarding graven quote: EAP from "Narrative of Gordon Pym"

"I have graven it within the hills, and my vengeance upon the dust within the rock." 
  
Maybe?

By George, I think that's *it*!  I know I studied "The Narrative of A. Gordon Pym" in grad school (albeit 30+ years ago).  Whereas (in reference to a different message posted here) I've never read "Silence--A Fable".

(11/29/2004)

John Baker

You successfully repaired what was broken with fantasy(too many pauper/princes pulling too many swords from too many stones) with Covenant. You successfully repaired what was broken with sci-fi(worm in an asteroid? what does it eat?) in the Gap Cycle. Are you going to apply any sorely needed repairs to other genres?

Well, assuming that I've actually accomplished any of the things you credit me with....  <grin>  You might want to take a look at my mystery novels.  That's the only genre I've ever tackled because (in part) I thought it needed fixing.

(11/29/2004)

You are over-writer and a ruthless editor (self professed).

Any intention of ever releasing an un-edited version of the Covenant series.

Or do you think that's vanity.

In my case, that wouldn't be vanity.  It would be stupidity.  My books are *better* because I edit them so strenuously (even when I do so under protest), and I have absolutely no substantive regrets about any cuts or changes that I've ever made to any of my stories.  (I *have* been known to whimper a bit over the loss of a particular sentence here or there.  <grin>)

(11/29/2004)