I suppose one could draw a parallel between health-sense and intuition. Or between health-sense and “degree of awareness,” as you do. But when I came up the original idea, I was simply trying to imagine the opposite of suffering from leprosy. Leprosy kills nerves, produces numbness and often blindness: ergo life in the Land should have the opposite quality. Of course, the concept and uses of--and the emphasis upon--health-sense modulate as the story of the “Chronicles” develops through its various phases. But the original notion felt to me more like an exercise in logic than a leap of imagination (or intuition). (04/04/2007)

Hmm. I suppose I should reiterate that my intended title for the last volume of “The Last Chronicles” is “The Last Dark,” not “The Final Dark”. “Against All Things Ending” is not a quote from the “Chronicles”--or from any other source that I’m aware of. At least not a *conscious* quote. As I’ve often said, my unconscious mind “works in mysterious ways, its wonders to perform” (I think I’ve got *that* quote right <rueful smile>). (04/04/2007)

Which brings to mind various alternative titles for “Lord Foul’s Bane”. “Lord Bane’s Fowl” was actually used at a WorldCon masquerade. I would have preferred “Lord Fane’s Bowel”. (04/04/2007)

Good God! I wouldn’t compare my poetry to *any* “classic poet”. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t write poetry at all: I write verse (which I consider a kind of middle ground between prose and poetry). Oh, I like to think that occasionally--a line or two here, perhaps an entire stanza there--my verse rises to the level of poetry. But I may be deluding myself. I can’t read Hopkins, or Blake, or Yeats, or Meredith, or Donne, or (of course) Shakespeare, and still believe that *I* write poetry. (04/04/2007)

Your wish is my command. (And if you think that my publishers are listening to either of us, I have a nice bridge I’d like to sell you, only one previous owner who only drove it on weekends…. <grin>) (04/04/2007)

1) The Haruchai. Please don’t take this the wrong way; but this is one of those situations where the answer can’t be explained unless it’s already obvious. Why have I written so much about Giants? Or about Ranyhyn? Well, how could I not? 2) Woodhelvens and the Woodhelvennin. This is a very different issue. Wood doesn’t last the way stone does; the Sunbane was *very* destructive to life in any form that reproduces itself; and all of the old lore was lost as the Clave slowly corrupted the Council. So who remains capable of growing or fashioning a Woodhelven? After everything that’s happened, how could Woodhelvennin still exist? (04/04/2007)

I’ve been blessed with a number of extraordinary experiences. Of course, I have to mention “Heatherly and Julie’s Fantasy Bedtime Hour,” my one true claim on immortality. And years ago, at a variety of conventions, there was “The Real and Steve Show: Despair and Whimsy in Fantasy” in its various avatars, the most hilarious of which was as a game show, “Whimsy, Despair, or Draw”. (Incidentally, that’s Real Musgrave the incomparable artist, for those of you who are foolhardy enough to admit that you don’t know who “Real” is. <grin>) But I’ll concentrate on one ineffable moment at an sf/f convention mumblemumble years ago. With three or four other writers, I was on a “liar’s panel” with Philip Jose Farmer. The original idea, I suppose, was that we would make various statements about each other, and the audience would try to decide which statements were lies. But since we all claimed that everything said about us was true, no matter how outrageous the assertion may have been, the panel quickly degenerated. At one point, I was asked to tell a lie about Phil Farmer. Well, I’ve never been very quick-witted in such situations, so I fell back on the familiar trick of stealing an old joke. I said, “I’m sorry. I simply can’t tell you any lies about Phil. What I *can* do is tell you a little-known truth. No matter what you may have heard, Philip Jose Farmer has never made love to any man, woman, or child…who wasn’t alive. Or wasn’t *recently* alive.” And without missing a beat (I swear I’m not making this up), Phil immediately reached into his shirt pocket, pulled out a thermometer, and said, “Yes! That’s why I carry *this*!” (For the record: I have no idea why Phil carried a thermometer in his pocket in those days. I can only assume that he was telling the truth.) (04/04/2007)

The crucial point is this: pre-orders from Amazon “count” for bestseller lists. In fact, all pre-orders are included as “first-day sales”. As I’ve explained elsewhere in this interview, being a “bestseller” measures the immediate speed with which a book sells, not the ultimate quantity of sales. Therefore one might be inclined to consider ultimate quantity more important than immediate speed. However, “bestsellerdom” has an undeniable perceptual power. On an intangible level, a book which touches, say, #14 on the NY Times list is considered to be an entire order of magnitude more successful than a book which touches #16. And on a tangible level, bookstores will stock more copies of bestsellers, and will stock those copies longer, than any book which does not achieve bestsellerdom. The results are akin to a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more copies a bookstore stocks, and the longer those copies are stocked, the greater the likelihood (duh) that some significant percentage of those copies will actually sell. Which has a direct bearing on ultimate quantity. In practice, being a bestseller tends to be self-perpetuating. Sadly, *not* being a bestseller *also* tends to be self-perpetuating. Hence the (otherwise irrational) emphasis that publishers--and reviewers--and bookstores--place on bestsellers. When my agent first began trying to find a publisher for “The Runes of the Earth,” I was horrified to learn that most US publishers considered me a “has-been” simply because nothing that I’ve written since “White Gold Wielder” has been on the NY Times bestseller list. Enough pre-orders for “Fatal Revenant” could give my professional career a real boost. (04/04/2007)

I'm tempted to say that Bad Guys always have Henchmen, and the Henchmen never seem to have any particular *reason* for, well, henching. But a better answer would be, What makes you think the Ravers have a choice? Do you imagine that they have the power to defy Lord Foul's will (assuming that they want to)? And an even better answer would be, What makes you think "their fun is over" if the Arch of Time falls? Do you assume that the Creator is THE supreme being, and that he rules EVERYthing outside Time? If so, why does Lord Foul want to escape at all? Isn't he better off inside Time (where he can pretty much do what he wants) instead of outside Time (where the Creator can presumably squash him like a bug)? It seems likely to me that the Ravers believe they'll be able to ride Lord Foul's coat-tails into godhood if/when the Arch falls. (04/04/2007)

I have no objection. But I don't see the need. Autographs are readily available on my web site. (04/05/2007)

1) Yes, I'm very eager to see how "Fatal Revenant" will be received. I gave it my all (to coin a phrase). And I defy anyone to predict the "arc" of the story--or to fault the logic of the arc once it has been revealed. (What, hubris? Me? Surely you jest!) Plus it's always very gratifying to see my work appear as a book; a tangible object independent of my imagination (and typing). Publication makes my work "real" in a whole new way. 2) If anything, I've always found other people's ideas even more difficult to work with than my own. For a writer like me, there *are* no easy ways to make money. An attempt at pseudonymous hack-work might well be arduous enough to kill me. 3) In "Covenant," preserving the physical continuity of the "real world" has always been an important dimension of what I'm trying to do. Hence the difference in the rate at which time passes in the two worlds. Hence also the fact that no one gets to *stay* in the Land without dying in the "real world" (although I suppose that some form of permanent coma might be a viable alternative). (04/05/2007)

Actually, I agree with you--retrospectively. By the time I was well into "The Second Chronicles," I had already begun to feel that "griffins" were a, well, let's call them a tactical error. The rationalization, of course, is this: if Covenant is dreaming, than anything he knows can serve as an antecedent or source for something in the Land. But rationalizations don't matter when the results don't *feel* right. And like you, I now find that griffins don't feel right for my story. I look back on them as a failure of imagination. Sadly, I don't have the option of correcting miscalculations which occurred that long ago. So I'm going to fall back on the tried and true gambit of Blaming Someone Else. <grin> This is all Lester's fault. He was my editor: he should have been perceptive enough to realize that griffins didn't belong in the same company as ur-viles, Cavewights, and the like. But seriously: I just screwed up. The interesting question is: why don't Giants suffer from the same flaw? After all, like griffins they arise from the mythologies of our world. The answer, I think, is that I reinvented Giants thoroughly enough to make them fit, whereas I didn't reinvent griffins at all. (04/05/2007)

(Not that any of this is germane to the GI. But I'm in an expansive mood....) I don't know all of the reasons my parents chose Wooster. (Proximity was certainly a factor in my mother's case.) One was this: in those days, Wooster was a Presbyterian college that offered many forms of financial aid for the children of preachers and missionaries--and both of my parents were both. Fortunately Wooster was perfect for me (at least in part because the college had changed considerably since my parents attended). If I had to do it over again, I would make exactly the same choice. I pushed my children toward "small, selective, liberal arts colleges," but only because I believed that they would not thrive in large universities. I did not push them toward The College of Wooster. I've never felt the slightest desire to have my children follow in my footsteps. I just want them to discover their true potential--and to be happy doing so. (04/05/2007)

I'm unaware of any translations into Ukrainian. Or of any "centralized" source of information about which books have been translated into which languages. For any author--or even for any publisher. The web being what it is these days, I'd be surprised if such a source doesn't exist somewhere. But if it does exist, I don't know how to find it. (04/06/2007)

As far as I know, there are no currently available hardcover editions of any of the "Chronicles". You may want to try used booksellers, of which there are many good ones. (04/06/2007)

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Ain’t gonna happen. I’ve said it before, and I’ll probably say it again. Words, sentences, paragraphs, pages, even entire scenes end up in my wastebasket because that’s where they belong. The story is *better* without them. Oh, sure, editors sometimes push me to prune more than I want. But that’s a misleading way to phrase the issue. The real problem is that editors sometimes push me to prune *differently* than I want. When that happens, I usually find some way to squirm away from what they want and accomplish what I want. “Gilden-Fire” is/was a *very* specialized situation. If I had known that that scene would be so widely publishing (in direct violation of my contract with its publisher), I would never have agreed to its publication at all. It *belongs* in the wastebasket. I dug it out, well, to gratify my ego, and because I honestly believed that no more than 1000 copies would ever be printed. But leaving the the specific circumstances of “Gilden-Fire” aside: I’ve never repeated the narrative mistakes which led to the existence of that scene. As a result, there’s nothing comparable in my wastebasket. The “complete unpublished material” of, say, “The Runes of the Earth” would have all the same scenes and characters of the published version; but it would have longer and less vivid descriptions, less convincing characters, less comprehensible dialogue, and much much MUCH more repetition. *I* say: everytime I rewrite, for whatever reason, you should count your blessings. (04/08/2007)

Hile Troy has been discussed in some detail elsewhere in this interview. If he had lived, the ratio of time between his "real" life and his life in the Land would have been the same as Covenant's. But he died in the "real world" mere moments after he was summoned to the Land. Otherwise he wouldn't have been able to stay in the Land after his summoner died. (04/09/2007)

I think I understand the, well, let's call it the discrepancy to which you refer. Certainly it's true that I "harbor a certain animosity towards Christianity." But when I say that, I'm using the word "Christianity" in a rather specialized and even ideopathic sense. First, I'm referring to the bureaucracy of any organized religion--and to the theological distortions which are inherent in any bureaucracy. (In my view--just an opinion--bureaucracies are always about self-perpetuation, which means that they're always about authority and control, which means that they always misuse their putative beliefs.) Second, I'm referring to the judgmental, abusive, and even murderous forms which organized religions often take when they practice evangelism. (The attack on the World Trade Center was a form of evangelism. So were the Crusades.) As the son of Christian missionaries, I have Christianity "bred in the bone," as it were. And I also have intimate experience with a number of the evils which are practiced in the name of Christianity. This accounts, I think, for the discrepancy you've observed. (04/11/2007)

Gee. Doesn't Linden Avery count at all? Sure, you could argue that she "inherited" the Land from Covenant in one form or another (shared delusion or dream, tangible experience, whatever). But she's still "real". In every sense that matters, the Land becomes a reflection of her in the way that it is a reflection of Covenant. (04/11/2007)

Yes, I chose that picture. It was the only one I had handy, and I couldn't afford a professional photographer. I can't help the fact that (until I hit my 40s) I was cursed with a face that looked decades younger than my actual years. (10 years after I got my MA, people were still asking me, "Where do you go to high school?") I've already said more than I probably should have about my years in India. The short version: I've always written about the things I know best, which are pain, abuse, alienation, and the quest for healing (or redemption). (04/11/2007)

If one were so inclined, one could break the entire story down into triangles: Warden/Morn/Angus, Warden/Hashi/Min, Morn/Davies/Angus, Warden/Holt/Norna, Koina/Cleatus/Holt, Marc/Milos/Angus, Marc/Milos/Warden, Nick/Sorus/Angus, Mikka/Vector/Morn, Mikka/Sib/Nick, Mikka/Sib/Sorus, etc.. But I'm really not the right person to ask which of these characters or relationships is critical to a movie version of the story. I wouldn't have put them in if I didn't think they were all critical. However, I think I can safely say that the entire story will collapse without the Amnion. <grin> (04/12/2007)

I'm in awe! Now why didn't *I* think of that? <grin> (04/12/2007)

[I cut a substantial quote from Chesterton's poetry to save space] In fact, I'd never read any of Chesterton's poetry until the lines you quoted; so "The Ballad of the White Horse" could not have had any influence on my Giants in general, or on Foamfollower in particular. But I have to say that I don't think there's anything "easy" about Covenant's response to the belief/unbelief dilemma at the end of TPTP. Simply holding mutually exclusive concepts in the mind simultaneously is (in my limited experience) very difficult: affirming (or reconciling) both of those concepts requires a real confrontation with the abyss. Judging by the Chesterton passage you quoted, he would have approved Tertullian's statement of faith: Credo qua impossibila est ("I believe because it is impossible"). Covenant's position might be similarly phrased: "I believe that it is vitally important even though I know that it doesn't exist." Chesterton obviously didn't think that his faith was easy: I don't think that Covenant's is. Of course, "hard-headed materialists" scoff. So, curiously, do "true believers". Both are convinced that one has to, well, pick a side (preferrably theirs). I choose to disagree. (04/12/2007)

You make a very good point. And I agree with you completely. In fact, I was speaking of "being a writer" in the public (published) rather than in the personal (creative) sense. (A bit of sloppy communication on my part; the result, no doubt, of having spent dozens or even hundreds of hours talking to people who want to be published.) I can say with perfect certainty that writing has been good/constructive/theraputic for me in ways that have absolutely nothing to do with being published. Indeed, I believe that the single greatest benefit of being published (with enough success to live off the income) is that it enables me to commit myself to writing more completely than I could otherwise. Saying that, I don't mean to under-state the value of having readers. I treasure the validation of being read. (You might want to consider it. Foamfollower notwithstanding, exposing our deepest secrets to the light of day can have some unexpected rewards.) But writing was good for me long before I ever had any readers; and it would still be good for me if I could no longer get published. Thank you for posting your thoughts. (04/12/2007)

I'm afraid that I can't give you a satisfactory answer. I don't write the kind of fantasy that can be readily quantified. (The top speed of a Ranyhyn is X mph. A Giant like Foamfollower can lift Y pounds. The Haruchai are Z strong compared to the Giants. How many foot-pounds of force can Mhoram exert with his staff?) Clearly there *is* a significant distance-limit to the mental communication of the Haruchai. But what's their actual range? A hundred yards? A quarter of a mile? A mile? More? I just don't think in those terms. (Critics have pointed out--to my chagrin--that I also don't think effectively in those terms when I'm writing science fiction. <sigh>) (Incidentally, this is why I work from an explicit map when I'm working on the "Chronicles". I *do* want the distances to make sense.) But if you'd like a rough guestimate: the mental range of the Haruchai is probably less than a stone's throw for a Giant. (How's that for a non-answer?) btw, your thoughts on Kevin's Dirt make sense to me. (04/12/2007)

Because publishers publish a whole bunch of books; and they already have prior commitments when they pick publication dates for almost any specific book. Given the ease with which books can be purchased internationally these days, I'm sure that Gollancz *wanted* to release "Fatal Revenant" on the same day as Putnam's. But sometimes publishers just don't have that option. (04/12/2007)

In that case, I despair for your sex life. (Of course, I mean that in the *nicest* possible way. <grin>) (04/12/2007)

I'm sorry. You're asking me to create details that I don't need for my story; and as I've said many times, I don't do that. In addition, I think it's a plus that there are things we don't know about the world of the story. For me, at least, this helps create the sensation that the world is bigger than the confines of the story. But based on what you already know, you can safely make some assumptions. Sandgorgons aren't really comparable to the Elohim. And they weren't consciously made by magic (Demondim, ur-viles). They were formed by storms--and storms eventually blow themselves out. That's only natural. So it seems reasonable to me that the specific energies which created individual Sandgorgons would eventually expend themselves. Ergo individual Sandgorgons do perish, even if they aren't slain. More than that I can't tell you. (04/13/2007)

Coincidence. The organizers of the WFC choose their themes years in advance, based on their own interests and locations. The WFC is mainly a "professional" convention: unlike most sf/f cons, it exists primarily for writers, artists, agents, editors, publishers, etc.. It has some "fan" programming (panels, readings, an art show), but mostly the pros spend their time wheeling and dealing, or just plain schmoozing. The World Fantasy Awards have many similarities to the Academy Awards. The year that Charles de Lint and I shared the award for "best collection," we were both being recognized more for a body of work than for a specific book. (04/13/2007)

As far as I know, "Fatal Revenant" will be the only "celebration" of the 30th anniversary of the original "Chronicles". But it's still way too early in the process for my publishers to have made decisions about things like that. And the situation is complicated by the fact that "The Last Chronicles" has a different publisher (in both the US and the UK) than the first six books. Del Rey and HarperCollins may feel that celebrating the first six books can only benefit Putnam's and Gollancz. Or not. Conversely, Putnam's and Gollancz may feel that celebrating their mere two "Covenant" books will primarily benefit Del Rey and HarperCollins. Or not. We'll all have to wait and see. (04/13/2007)

Have fun with it. Personally, I can't see Paul Giamatti as Angus. And I actively dislike Kirsten Dunst. But Famke Jansen (sp?) as Sorus? That works for me. (04/13/2007)

The producers who wanted to make a "Covenant" film (or films) pursued every conceivable variation, including tv/cable movies/mini-series/series. The Sci-Fi channel was among the dozens of companies that rejected the project. "Covenant" games have been discussed off and on ever since the PC/internet revolution took hold. As far as I know, no "authorized" games have ever been produced. ("Authorized" by Del Rey/Ballantine, that is: I don't hold those rights.) However, I suspect that a number of "personal use" games have been created over the years. Perhaps some still exist. (04/13/2007)

I've been over this in one form or another. I won't repeat what I've already said. But I will observe that the Middle Ages in our "reality" lasted for a thousand years without any obvious forms of progress. And if it weren't for various outside invaders, India might well have had 3000+ years of essentially static culture. As far as I can tell (just spinning this off the top of my head), there are only two requirements for a society that tends to preclude progress. 1) Ordinary survival has to be significantly labor-intensive. Without leisure (in other words, without more energy than they need to survive), people don't get creative very often. 2) There has to be some form of "authority" that actively seeks to promote the status quo. In our history, that authority has usually been based on religion, or on some other version of a caste system. But it's not hard to imagine other forms of authority (e.g. the Haruchai) that strive to achieve the same ends. When those two requirements are satisfied, progress usually grinds to a halt. Of course, people always have their compensations. Some find numbness in endless labor. Some find validation in the ruling authority (religion is especially good at this). Some develop strength of community (at times, this has been carried to amazing extremes). And some (the "renegades") get creative in spite of everything: they think outside the boundaries of survival, community, and authority. In a place the size of the Land, it is inconceivable that Liand is the only renegade. (Stave is a renegade himself.) But the story I'm trying to tell doesn't allow me the luxury of getting know very many of the Land's ordinary inhabitants. Thus endeth today's lecture. <rueful smile> (04/13/2007)

There are three things I want to say about this. First, this is a version of the oft-repeated "How do you do what you do?" question. And the answer is that I have no earthly idea. If I could explain how talent works, or how imagination works, or how the unconscious mind works, I would be...well, a whole lot wiser than I am now. <rueful smile> This is one reason why I firmly believe that a human being is greater than the sum of his/her parts. There appears to be something in all of us that has the potential to "go beyond," in one form or another. And I've never heard a rational materialist explain this potential in a way that sounds rationally or materialistically convincing. Second, I've been fascinated by human psychology my whole life. I mean empirically rather than theoretically fascinated. I've always wanted to know why specific people do what they do. I've always wanted to know why *I* do what I do. So I've been paying close attention for decades, looking for patterns and (for lack of better term) logic that I can understand. Third, when I'm doing original writing (my first draft), I pretty much "feel" my way through the story. I trust my instincts, my intution, my unconscious mind, and I just forge ahead. But when I'm rewriting (second draft onward), I become very analytical. That's when I try consciously to draw on everything I've ever learned. And I've discovered that there's a kind of synergy between these two facets of my creative process. The harder I work when I'm rewriting, the better my original writing later becomes. If I could tell you more than that, I would. (04/16/2007)

The blind prejudice of people who put themselves forward as discerning intellectuals makes me crazy. Any genuinely discerning intellectual knows two things: 1) the oldest and most enduring forms of literature on the planet are all fantasy; and 2) the only valid test of art is *time*. Work that continues to speak endures. Everything else slips away. That's why we continue to read Shakespeare and Tolkien rather than, say, Galsworthy and Eric Segal (sp?). In the meantime, to pre-judge work on any basis other than intelligence, skill, imagination, and emotional resonance is anti-intellectual folly. While I was in college (mid-60s), Tolkien was dismissed as "adolescent wish-fulfillment". Even respected sf writers at that time asserted that LOTR would be utterly forgotten in 10 years. Classes on "the modern epic" *ended* with Tennyson. Meanwhile I was required to study Bernard Malamud as an outstanding example of "literary fiction". But I defy you to find a scholar today who is still studying Malamud. In fact, I'll be astonished if you can find a Malamud book that's still in print. Tolkien, in contrast, remains a vital part of modern literary life--and many scholars are hard at work on the subject. I wrote "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant" for many reasons, one of which was to find my own answer to the people who dismissed LOTR as adolescent wish-fulfillment. (04/16/2007)

Well, you have to keep in mind that the Haruchai didn't venture into the Land until sometime during Kevin's High Lordship. That places a certain limit on what the Haruchai could have heard/witnessed--and understood. And then there's that peculiar Haruchai pride (arrogance?), which places a different kind of limit on their recollections. Did they ever bother to *listen* when the Lords exerted their lore? That's an open question. And then there's the general nature of magic in "The Chronicles". No matter how power is evoked or deployed in practice, the ability to use it is a function of the identity/character/strength of its wielder. Stave might conceivably be able to tell Linden some of the things that the Lords were able to do, but he couldn't teach her *how* they did those things. And on a purely practical level, how do we know what forms of lore the Lords ever used within sight or hearing of the Haruchai? We know that Kevin sent them out of harm's way before the final crisis of his war with the Despiser; but that's about all we know. (Of course, the new Lords are a different issue. But the knowlege available to them was only a small portion of Kevin's lore.) In short, don't expect the author to pull any "deus ex machina" rabbits out of his hat--or out of Stave. <grin> (04/16/2007)

It's important that Covenant is unable to confirm Hile Troy's existence as a "real" person. (And why in the world would the DOD *ever* confirm that someone was a member of one of their secret think-tanks? The Freedom of Information Act takes a long time to kick in.) But it's a safe "working assumption" that Troy did indeed come from Covenant's world--as long as you don't try to draw too many conclusions from that assumption. (04/16/2007)

1) Well, as long as we're playing this game: my personal vote goes to Koina Hannish. 2) Gee. Are those my only choices? How about selling Holt to the Amnion? How about torturing him just for the hell of it? or to extract information that might not be contained in Holt's files? Personally, I suspect that Angus has developed something of a revulsion for zone implants. (04/16/2007)

The obstacles to health-sense have changed. The Sunbane *fed* on Haruchai to a significant extent: it was, in a manner of speaking, tuned to them. And Lord Foul actively sought to make Linden as vulnerable as possible. Kevin's Dirt is an entirely different form of hindrance: it obscures rather than corrupts Earthpower. Naturally Earthpowerful beings (the Haruchai, the Ranyhyn) "pierce the veil" more easily than ordinary humans can. (04/18/2007)

Before "Runes" was published, I autographed closer to 7500 US "tip-in" sheets which were then bound into finished copies of the book. (So just in case you were wondering: no, my publisher did not send me 7500 *books* to sign. They sent me 7500 pieces of paper. The idea that I "hand signed" the actual books is something of an illusion.) How these books were later distributed, I have no idea. I can only hope that they weren't sent to the same cities I visited on my book tour(s). Of course, when I *do* visit bookstores, I don't just autograph books for people who request that in person: I also sign "store stock" so that the stores can continue to sell autographed copies after I leave. Still, "luck of the draw" is as good an explanation as any. At this stage in the publishing process, my publishers have hardly begun to think about how they want to market "Fatal Revenant". I probably won't know for months whether they'll want to send me on the road--and/or to have me sign more tip-in sheets. (04/18/2007)

Hmm. Sounds a bit "Harry Potter-ish" to me. <grin> Or, reaching a little further back in time, Alfred Bester-ish ("The Stars My Desination"). (04/18/2007)

I really have no idea. My publisher would have to decide that it's worth the cost to fly both of us to the location of The Signed Page, provide us with accomodations, and fly us home. I don't know how--or even why--publishers make such decisions, so I can't predict what they'll do. (04/19/2007)

This seems like as good a time as any to observe that you might have more fun discussing your ideas on kevinswatch.com. My interest in the subject is pretty limited (although I must confess that I hope they can cast Jessica Alba in the movie as SOMEone <grin>). (04/19/2007)

Personally, I dislike being a "tease." But I've been receiving requests for years now. And my editor(s) pushed me to do this--as well as to include a countdown. (In fact, this web site wouldn't exist at all if my editors hadn't pushed me into it.) To refuse to help my publishers market "Fatal Revenant" seems like a form of professional suicide. So I decided to, well, grin and bear it. I hope you can do the same. (04/23/2007)

In fact, I haven't read the "Meditations"--or anything written by Descartes. But his ideas have become part of our literary culture. I must have encountered them through the filter of other writers. (04/23/2007)

I agree: this *is* cool. (04/23/2007)

In addition to what he learned on his own, Kevin inherited the accumulated lore of Loric and Damelon, both of whom added their own discoveries to what they inherited from Berek (who had his own distinctive sources of knowledge). In addition, I think we can assume that other Lords from Berek's time to Kevin's made contributions to the Council's store of knowledge. The mere fact that Kevin codified and then hid his lore doesn't imply that he acquired it all by himself. (04/23/2007)

Nice try. I like to think that in theory anyone who wants to can estimate where this story is going, but that in practice no one can foresee how I intend to achieve my eventual aims. I'm sure I'll hear about it if what I do along the way doesn't make sense. <grin> (04/26/2007)