To be honest: no, it wasn't hard to postpone starting "The Last Chronicles". It sure didn't feel like *waiting*. One reason? I had plenty of other things I really wanted to do. Putting Covenant/Linden aside for mumblemumble years gave me opportunities I would never have had otherwise. In addition, I was not dissatisfied with where I left the story at the end of "The Second Chronicles". As with the ending of the first trilogy, I was at a perfectly good stopping-point, and I never felt that the world (or I) would somehow be made less if I never completed my Grand Design. But another reason--as I've said before--is that the prospect of TLC scared the s*it out of me. It looked like it was going to be too hard for me. It *has* been too hard for me. And it certainly isn't going to stop being too hard now. I didn't come back to Covenant because I got tired of "waiting". (Maybe *it* got tired of waiting: *I* didn't. <sigh>) I came back to Covenant almost literally out of desperation. (11/02/2009)

I think I've discussed this elsewhere. I write all of my stories in the same sequence that I want my readers to experience them. I couldn't write them any other way, if for no other reason than because my reader and I need to know what character X has done/is doing in order to fully appreciate what character Y is feeling or doing. Doubtless other writers find other approaches more congenial. If so, I say, Good for them. I wouldn't recommend my own way of working to anyone else. After all, every conceivable narrative technique has both strengths and weaknesses. In one way or another, we all have to pick the specific tools that happen to suit what we're trying to accomplish--and then we have to accept the weaknesses that those strengths imply. (11/02/2009)

I think of your question in very different terms. What would be the point of writing "The Second Chronicles" if I didn't have a vastly different ending in mind? What would be the point of writing "The Last Chronicles" if I didn't have yet another vastly different ending in mind? If we can't all learn and grow and think new things, what's the point of living? In any case, the sequence of endings that I have in mind is both psychologically and spiritually appropriate to my intentions. (11/02/2009)

Sorry. Your guess is as good as mine. I only--all together now--invent what I need. (11/03/2009)

From my point of view, the answer to your basic question is so simple that it renders your related questions moot. Here's how I look at it. In our world, every conceivable form of energy is ultimately derived from the sun. What with all the transformations that take place between the furnace of the sun and life on our planet, energy here takes wildly different forms, some mutually exclusive or even antithetical. Yet the source remains the same. So I apply the same principle to the various manifestations of magic within "The Chronicles". Even wild magic is arguably an expression of Earthpower: dramatically transformed, sure, and accessible only to certain individuals using certain instruments, but nonetheless drawing on the same source as every other form of magic. And I see no reason to think that the knowledge(s) of the Insequent, or the lore of the Viles and their descendants, or Jeremiah's abilities aren't all transformations of the same fundamental energy. Of course, this is only *my* interpretation. The text (or so it seems to me) tolerates other interpretations. But I'm going to stick with the one that makes sense to me. (11/07/2009)

"News," as I've mentioned on other occasions, is posted in the "news" section of this site. If I have anything concrete to reveal, I reveal it. Sadly, it often seems to me that I'm the last person who hears about it when my publishers make a decision of some kind. For example, the fact that a publication date for AATE is posted on amazon.co.uk is information that only came to me through what Dave Barry used to call "an alert reader": I didn't hear about it from my publisher (who in fact denies that it's true). (11/07/2009)

It's too early for anything more than speculation. But I don't have any present reason to believe that AATE won't be published in October 2010. My US editor hasn't commented yet, but my UK editor is tentatively planning on October sometime. (I probably shouldn't reveal things like this; but both of my editors were willing to publish the book in the version they saw this past summer. However, I insisted on another [much needed] rewrite.) (11/11/2009)

Strange. I can't remember. Because "The Chronicles of Narnia" were such a formative influence in my childhood, "Chronicles" may very well have been my idea. But it may also have been Lester del Rey's. The only way to know for sure at this point is to look at the original manuscripts--which I don't have because they're all stored at the Kent State University Libraries Special Collections. (Do I need to add that PCs didn't exist in those days, so the first six "Covenant" books were all written on a typewriter?) (11/11/2009)

The option contract for the GAP books defines my role as a "consultant" rather specifically. (Keep in mind that an option is FAR removed from an actual movie. Hollywood buys something like 100 options for every 1 movie that actually gets made.) But you misunderstand my relationship with the project. In this case, the woman who bought the option "demanded" my complete involvement: she wanted me at her beck and call 24/7. I countered by refusing to have any involvement at all. (What? Me? Work with a committee? Are you out of your mind? <rueful smile>). So after a year of bickering back and forth, we settled on something approximately like this: I've agreed (very reluctantly) to submit to four hours of phone consultations during the "option phase" of the project. If the project goes into actual production, I've agreed to provide an additional four hours of consultation per movie (the producer wants to tell the story in three movies). (btw, "consultation" does not imply "control". No matter what I say, I can pretty much count on being ignored.) Well, so far I've done 90 minutes of consultation, and the process is already driving me mad. The questions I'm asked to answer are entirely brain-dead. Indeed, they seem to be the questions of a person who hasn't even glanced at the text. (E.g. Why are zone implants illegal? Why doesn't everybody have one?) This, in my personal opinion, is a Bad Omen. So why did I agree to any of this in the first place? Well, frankly, I can use the money. But here's the real issue: even a crap movie gives a major boost to book sales (which is what I really care about). As for Darrin: he is as he appears in the text. His "authority" is personal, it doesn't depend on rank, insignia, or uniforms; so he can wear whatever suits him. (11/11/2009)

I don't know much about this aspect of publishing. There is, as you say, a season for "beach novels". Similarly there's a season for "coffee-table" books (xmas because such things tend to be expensive): large format books full of pictures (art, architecture, that sort of thing) that you put out on your coffee table to show your guests how sophisticated you are. <rueful grin> And I know (because they've said so) that my publishers want to release my books in time to catch the pre-xmas wave of gift-buying. But I don't pay enough attention to be aware of other publishing "seasons". However, none of this has much to do with the publishing schedule for AATE. Editing, copyediting, proofreading, advertising, producing, and releasing books all take TIME. A year between D&A and publication is the general rule of thumb--although each installment of "The Last Chronicles" has been released more quickly than that. (Only *6* months for "Runes"--which just about killed me, what with all the copyediting, proofreading, and autographing for both the US and the UK.) (11/12/2009)

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(Well, *that's* a perspective on the GAP books that I've never encountered before. What, EVERYONE? Hashi Lebwohl? Cleatus Fane? Nick Succorso?) Yes, I do re-read books, especially when I need to remind myself that writing is worth the effort. But I don't "shy away from...particularly painful" or intense sections. Instead I find that I'm inclined to pause (e.g. until the next day) when I'm in the middle of those sections, so that I can a) savor them, and b) pick up the intensity quickly when I resume reading. An obscure form of masochism, no doubt; but my own. (11/12/2009)

"Reach an agreement"? I sincerely doubt it. In fact, I can't imagine it. How would they do that? LF is trapped inside the Arch: the Creator is "trapped" outside it. How would they communicate? And if they could, why would they? On the other hand, I hope it's obvious that LF and the Creator don't both "pick" the same people by accident or coincidence. (This is just one more of the paradoxes in which I take such delight.) Ultimately they both pick Covenant and Linden for the same reason: *potential*. Covenant has it in him to be LF's perfect tool. As does Linden. And perhaps Jeremiah. In the moral universe of "The Chronicles," the potential for damnation is indistinguishable from the potential for redemption. In contrast, Hile Troy is as close as this story comes to an actual accident. But LF could take Joan and Roger because they had already--in effect--chosen his side. Similarly (within the context of the first trilogy) Mhoram and then Foamfollower and Triock could summon Covenant because he had already chosen *their* side. (Elena's power to summon Covenant in TIW is more ambiguous.) Am I muddying the waters here? Probably. But keep in mind that Joan, Roger, and even Hile Troy don't have the power to set LF free: Covenant and Linden do. (11/12/2009)

For your sake, I hope that you won't tackle "The Last Chronicles" before reading the previous "Covenant" books. "The Runes of the Earth" will make SO much more sense if you know the background. And for my sake, I need to point out the historical fact that the first six "Covenant" books were written in the late 70s and early 80s. Back then, a) no one had ever heard of AIDS, and b) leprosy *was* incurable. (If memory serves, research done in the late 80s lead to a cure in the 90s, not before.) In fact, in those days, leprosy came with at least a couple of millennia of stigma attached. And the symptoms were/are ideally suited to my purposes. (11/12/2009)

I find that my writing life works out better if I "only create what [I] need," and if I create *only* what I need. The Elohim and Sandgorgons in LFB are perfect examples. At the time, all I created were the names--and a hint or two of context (e.g. the word "faery," or a reference to the Great Desert). Nothing else. So when I decided to write "The Second Chronicles," I was free to "mine" the first trilogy for whatever nuggets I could find, and then forge those nuggets into whatever I needed. But "The Second Chronicles" has caused problems because from time to time I created more than the absolute minimum required by the story. I did this because I *thought* I knew the story for "The Last Chronicles," and I *thought* I was preparing for my eventual intentions. Well, I *did* know the story--in broad terms. But I neglected to foresee the possibility (the likelihood?) that in the 20+ intervening years I would come up with *better* ideas for details and back story than the ones I (unnecessarily) wrote into "The Second Chronicles". As a result, the "mining" and "forging" operations in "The Last Chronicles" have been far more arduous than they would have been if I had exercised the same restraint in the second trilogy that I did in the first. <sigh> (11/16/2009)

Two things. 1) Everything that I do in writing and submitting a manuscript is a process. There are steps in sequence, and I can't go on to the next step until I complete the present one. And 2) I know from long experience that I need feedback during these various processes. I need readers to look at what I've done and tell me what they see: I need a reader's perspective to activate my inner editor. And I need that several times as I take my (many) steps. Among other reasons, I find that solving one set of problems often lays bare another, more subtle set of problems. But I also need to work sequentially. If solving a problem on page 823 makes me (or one of my readers) aware of a previously-unnoticed problem on page 347, I don't go back to fix it right then: I wait until my next time through the manuscript. So. I write the first draft as well as I can. Then, based on the invaluable comments of my personal readers, I do my first rewrite, solving as many problems as I can--and taking copious notes on the problems that have been noticed out of sequence. Then I send the book to my agent and editors, in part to reassure them that I actually am working (and working on schedule), and in part to get additional feedback to supplement the hard work of my personal readers. Then I do my second rewrite, hoping this time to solve every problem of which I'm aware (or capable of being aware). Well, as it happens, both my agent and my editors are seriously overworked. What they do for me is necessarily fragmented--and sometimes superficial. They simply don't have time to notice, or comment on, every problem they're capable of seeing. So, even if I didn't have a stack of notes, and even if my agent and editors liked the first rewrite as is, and even if my personal readers had no additional feedback to offer, I would still insist on doing a second rewrite, just on general principles. However, in the specific case of AATE, I *did* have a substantial stack of notes, and my personal readers had significantly more comments than my agent and editors. Hence my comment on this site. (11/17/2009)

I read LOTR at least a couple of times before I started on "The Chronicles," so I can't very well pretend that I wasn't influenced. But there is no *conscious* connection between Glimmermere and the Mirror of Galadriel. They are, after all, very different, both in what they are and in what they do. (11/21/2009)

I think it's been pretty well established that the Haruchai don't use theurgy. In fact, they want to avoid using weapons of any kind (although they do react appropriately when circumstances warrent it). I'm sure Stave could hold the Staff for Linden and keep it safe. But use it? The whole idea feels wrong to me. (11/26/2009)

As it happens, I have been nominated for the World Fantasy Award three times, once for the first "Covenant" trilogy, once for my second short story collection, "Reave the Just and Other Tales," and once for "The Runes of the Earth." For "Reave the Just and Other Tales," I was a co-winner with Charles de Lint. So I have actually won a World Fantasy Award. Mumblemumble years ago, I had a turn being a judge for the World Fantasy Awards. I learned then that the conditions of the judging do in fact favor "esoteric and/or eccentric" works over popular, convincing, or outstanding ones--but only in the category of Best Novel. The conditions of the judging do not impose the same bias where shorter works are concerned. What "conditions"? you ask. Over-work, mainly. When I was a judge, I had nearly 100 novels to consider, and less than three months in which to consider them. Sheer exhaustion gave unexpected discoveries precedence over more obvious forms of quality. (11/26/2009)