This seems like as good a time as any to make a couple of points of about the Gradual Interview. First, I know I've been away for a while. For a variety of reasons (including two deaths in the family), one of which is that I've been proofreading Orion's upcoming edition of the GAP books, a task which has pretty much sucked up every spare moment. I hope to be back to what I laughingly call "normal" next week. Second, when one (not to mention "Teresa" by name <grin>) posts a question or comment without leaving an email address, one precludes the possibility of a personal reply--which would have been appropriate in this case. My site suppresses email addresses automatically whenever I make a question or comment "public". And when I send a personal reply, the site then deletes the email address to which I sent it. That should obviate most privacy concerns. (07/02/2008)

I really have no intention of using the GI to reveal or discuss my personal life (although of course I give out hints all the time <sigh>, some inadvertent, some not). If memory serves, I've explained my reasons elsewhere. But I can tell you--without bending any of my rules for myself--that I live in a desert, so to "get away" I like water. Rivers are good: oceans are better. And having been poor almost to the level of real poverty for 30+ years of my life, I got "roughing it" out of my system a long time ago. (07/05/2008)

For the general enjoyment of readers who are interested. (07/05/2008)

SPOILER WARNING!

This question has been hidden since it is listed in the following categories:

Spoilers - Fatal Revenant

To view this post, click here.

You can choose to bypass this warning in the future, and always have spoilers visible, by changing your preferences in the Options screen.

You're right. "The impact of covers...is double-edged." "Genre" covers appeal immediately to "genre" readers--and usually cause "non-genre" readers to turn aside at once. But there's no guarantee that "non-genre" covers will appeal immediately to "non-genre" readers. Hence the difficulties that publishers have figuring out how to advertise and promote books like mine. Usually publishers decide to just target "genre" readers--and then pray that word-of-mouth will interest other readers. From my perspective, it's clear that the Land *does* obey "rules of conservation of energy"--in the same sense that *our* reality does. Sure, the sun is burning out--but it ain't burning out anytime soon. Individuals, however, inevitably become weak if their energies are not restored. So if you think of Earthpower as comparable to sunlight.... "Can the Land ever recover...when [Earthpower] is being used up so wantonly?" Well, can *we* ever recover from the way we use up our planet (which is, after all, the mechanism that converts sunlight to useful energy)? In both cases, time will tell. (07/05/2008)

<sigh> I spent all of my formative years choking down awful food, not because I needed it to live (although I did), but because I was punished if I didn't eat it. As a result, even today I take little or no comfort or pleasure in food. (Surely you've noticed the absence of *feasts* from my stories?) Slitting my wrists, on the other hand, is something I can relate to. <rueful smile> One of the worst moments of my childhood was when I realized that what was happening (e.g. eating that meal) was *not* going to kill me. (07/13/2008)

In order for issues like "copyright infringement" or "plagiarism" to arise, a certain...*length* is usually required. If you took a paragraph or creative concept (or, in extreme cases, a sentence) out of one of my stories and claimed it as your own, that would be plagiarism. If you took, say, an entire page (with or without attribution) without obtaining permission from the rights holder, that would be copyright infringement. But "neologisms" occur everywhere all the time, and no one ever gets in trouble for using them. (Except the original author. <sigh>) A reader might encounter a coinage like "gallow-fells" in your work and think, "Hey, he stole that from Donaldson." But there would be no other negative consequences. One can always debate specific exceptions. A writer today who described a magical lake and called it "Glimmermere" could conceivably be accused of plagiarism (although personally I wouldn't bother). But now we're talking about a name that refers to a very specific creative invention. In contrast, a writer today who decided to name one of his/her characters "Glimmermere" should not be accused of anything, except possibly--and this is the worst-case scenario--a failure of imagination. (07/13/2008)

Thank you! I've been especially fortunate in my readers. But I feel constrained to say that I don't take "suggestions" from the Gradual Interview literally. I have my own intentions, which have been clear to me for a very long time. The effects that the GI have had on the story have been subtle--and rather oblique. Often I don't even recognize them until after they've already happened. The most common: questions or observations that inspire me to think of better ways to weave the entire "Chronicles" into a coherent whole. (07/16/2008)

The Sunbane (and its mechanics), like the Land itself, never *felt* like an "inspiration" to me. From my entirely subjective perspective, I was simply following the logic of my original conception. If Lord Foul decides to attack the natural order (the structure of Law) instead of the defenders of that order, what form--I asked myself--would or could the attack take? As I say, my answer to that question felt like an exercise in logic rather than a burst of inspiration. Of course, I'm well aware that how I feel about my ideas and what those ideas actually *are* are two very different things. Logic schmogic. Where could the Sunbane and its mechanics possibly have come from, if not from my imagination? I'm only talking about the *sensations* aroused by ideas. Saltheart Foamfollower's personality *felt* like a stroke of genius (if you'll pardon the word): the Sunbane simply felt, well, reasonable. In other words, the "inspiration" here was the idea for an attack on the natural order, not the application of that idea (the Sunbane). As for where *that* "inspiration" came from: alas, it too felt like a logical extension of what I had created in the first trilogy. It made the story new without altering the underlying structure of my intentions. btw, of the *many* recordings of Wagner's "Ring" I've heard, overall I prefer Solti's. Although there's a special intensity to Karl Bohm's reading that I haven't heard matched anywhere else. Sadly, Bohm's cast is a bit uneven, and the sound quality is less than ideal. (07/16/2008)

I wouldn't email anyone, alive or dead. At times, I'm mildly interested in how other writers think about their work--so when writers like Conrad or Sir Walter Scott write prefaces to their novels, I read them. But I'm much more concerned with how *I* think about *my* work: how else am I going to write True Donaldson instead of Ersatz Tolkien? The example of how other writers think about their work simply doesn't seem pertinent to me. And it can be intimidating. That said: when I have a personal relationship with another writer, I do occasionally discuss narrative problems with him/her. But the conversation is always very abstract (sometimes too abstract to be useful). I don't discuss my narrative problems in concrete terms, and I don't refer to anyone else's work when I do it. What, a CRUEL streak? You shock me. I have to wonder what you think stories like mine are *for*? If I'm not writing about pain--in one form or another--I don't have anything to write about at all. Pain, I often think, is the only true test of character. And it is the only thing that we all have in common. (07/16/2008)

In the GAP books, I was imagining a future in which self-interested corporations, rather than society as a whole, were the arbiters of "justice". In view of how dehumanizing corporations (especially *large* corporations) tend to be, I consider the premise you question to be eminently plausible. After all, certain illegal human activities serve the Amnion; and the Amnion threaten the very existence of humankind. Not to mention the existence of the corporations--and their profits. Personally I oppose capital punishment. But there's a good argument to be made in its favor. Surely death is less "cruel and unusual" than, say, permanent incarceration. I think it was Joseph Conrad who once wrote, "There are many worse things you can do to a man than kill him." (07/16/2008)

I wish I had something interesting to say about all this. Sadly, I don't. 1) No, I never considered putting Linden Avery's name in the title of "The Second Chronicles". 2) Lester would certainly have vetoed the idea. 3) In retrospect, I have no regrets. Both thematically and personally, Covenant has always been central to my intentions. In some respects (and please don't take this as IN ANY WAY reducing Linden's vital significance), Linden's function in the story is as a "way in": a window through which to view Covenant's struggles; and a means by which to extend, elaborate on, and develop those struggles. I also never considered putting her name in the title of "The Last Chronicles." Nor do I regret not doing so. 4) "The Unbeliever" was dropped from the title of "The Second Chronicles" for the reason you mention ("unbelief" has ceased to be a central theme), and also because "The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever" seemed too long even to me--never mind to Lester. 5) This last story is not called "The Third Chronicles," not because I object to using numbers, but rather because I consider it absolutely essential to emphasize that this is indeed THE LAST. After this, there ain't no more. (07/16/2008)

Well, let's see. If lightning strikes me dead, say, tomorrow, "The Last Chronicles" will be effectively FINISHED. <grin> Complete, no: finished, yes. Eventually, no doubt, my publishers would release what I've written so far on "Against All Things Ending"--and after that you'll all be free to imagine your own conclusions. Always leave 'em wanting more. [insert something that signifies malicious humor here.] (07/16/2008)

Hmm. Saddith is pretty amoral, I admit; but I mostly felt sorry for her. She certainly didn't *mean* any harm: she sure enjoyed her power over men; but I don't recall that she felt any malice--or saw any hurt in what she did. (Master Eremis, in contrast, knew all about the consequences of his actions.) And Sorus Chatelaine switched sides before the end, so I don't think of her as one of the Bad Guys. Just my personal opinions. (07/16/2008)

(Speaking of five questions.... So I had this fantasy that I was going to get "caught up"--whatever that means--on the Gradual Interview. So naturally the city decided to replace a sewer line. So naturally the trenching equipment cut the broadband cable. So naturally the cable company declined to repair the cable until the city was done trenching. So naturally I've spent 10+ days without Internet access. (So it goes. Naturally.) But to resume my pretense of actually answering people's questions.... I was aware that Stephen King has made gracious--and possibly gratuitous--reference to my books in more than one context. Of course, I'm (quick, a "gr" word) grateful. But I feel constrained to point out that King's work can easily stand on its own merits. And if anyone else has ever cited me or my work "as inspiration," I'm not aware of it. (07/30/2008)

Is it that time again already? I do so wish people would occasionally look for answers elsewhere on this site. For example, if you go to "publications" and click on "Fatal Revenant," you'll find an estimated publication schedule for the rest of "The Last Chronicles" as well. And there are other sources. Meanwhile I post progress reports under "news"--when I have progress to report. (07/30/2008)

SPOILER WARNING!

This question has been hidden since it is listed in the following categories:

Spoilers - Fatal Revenant

To view this post, click here.

You can choose to bypass this warning in the future, and always have spoilers visible, by changing your preferences in the Options screen.

In public, I find, readers are usually very polite. (Which sure makes talking to them easier.) They seldom ask me "impertinent" questions. When they do, I usually try--also being polite--to avoid the question by discussing *why* I don't consider it pertinent. This only fails when I'm "off my game" for some reason (low biorhythms, perhaps, or extreme fatigue). Sadly--or perhaps happily, who can say?--I appear to have no "literary groupies". I can't speak for other writers, of course. (07/30/2008)