Your Questions for the Author Answered

September 3rd Question

This isn’t much of a question, but more of an adoration for your work! I had ZERO idea my favorite author of the last few years has a slick website, and an active response series! I’ll be brief, but as a sophomore at KSU (Go Cats!), your mass portfolio of novels, alongside your battle depictions and determined characters have me hooked–and honestly, amazed. (Man is THE writer). It’s taken me a while, but I’ve been reading The Corean Chronicles, and I’m currently on the second half of the second book, Darknesses, and Alucius (the GOAT) has just awoken from his near-death battle with the Pteranodons, ending the war with a new expanse of his talent. My question goes into the motive/mentality of Alucius at this point; with the the mass loss/Burning of his men, repeated omen-induced dreams, and a horribly injured body (poor guy got his hair burnt off)–Does he, behind the pages, experience anguish over being used by the Dekrons? Or more so, feels disgust in how easy it is for himself to kill? (luckily it’s always in defense!) If translated such events in today’s world, would Alucius ever be expected of showing symptoms of shell-shock, PTSD? Some passages hint to his withdrawn attitude when ever (briefly) saying what cruelties happened to him to his spouse (in Legacies), but he more-so, just shares a small nod and a send-off in relation to his under captains/soldiers. Therefore, is it because of his herding-origins and strength in The One who Is, that Over Captain Alucius doesn’t shy away from calculated killing? (I don’t want to compare two giants of fantasy literature, but I only know that much) Like Froddo’s dread of the ring, does Alucius carry his talent with a sense of horror? (Being that, many officers would be alive with him, but literal cities would’ve been ablazed if it wasn’t /for/ him). I ask this because, seeing him be used by those torque-wielding women in the last book, I catch myself wondering if the heralded hero ever hesitates, or in such a state of war, there’s no time to hesitate. Maybe I’ll eat my words come chapter 78, but I’m too excited to send a message to the AUTHOR HIMSELF!

For better or worse, you did send a message to the author himself, since I’m the only one responding or posting from the website. In answer to your question about Alucius’s mental state, from my observations and limited research into possible PTSD-inducing situations, there are two primary factors affecting susceptibility to PTSD: (1) the intensity or horror of the events experienced (including duration and closeness) and (2) the individual’s resilience and ability to remain less attached (the “problem” being that I suspect total detachment borders on psychopathy). Alucius never wanted to be a soldier/warrior; he’s a nightsheep herder, and he ends up being good at what he does by first just surviving, and second, by recognizing that the only way he’ll ever be able to return to what and who he loves is by destroying what stands in the way in the most effective manner (which is in fact borderline psychopathy) and by, in effect, identifying those behind his opponents as “the other,” which is a traditional coping mechanism of human beings forced to do horrific acts.

I won’t comment further because Scepters will bring Alucius another trial.

—:  September 3rd, 2024 02:38 pmFeed     No Comments »

Will there be any additional Imager books after Endgames?

It’s highly unlikely, but I won’t absolutely foreclose the possibility. At this point, I’ve written five fantasy series and three science fiction “series” (linked books in different futures), and I still am writing, with three more Recluce books and at least one more, and possibly two Grand Illusion books coming out in the next three years. While I intend to keep writing, I’m not exactly a spring chicken, as the old saying goes, and we’ll just have to see.

—:  August 23rd, 2024 04:53 pmFeed     No Comments »
Second August 22nd Question

I noticed an error at page 601, line 16 of Contrarian. The word “kept” should have been “keep.”

Despite intensive proofreading, typos still slip in. I’ve passed the error on to Tor.

—:  August 23rd, 2024 04:42 pmFeed     No Comments »
August 22nd Question

I have read up to number 11 in The Imager series. I have to know what happened after that. Is there a 12th book?

Yes, there is. The last book (number 12) is Endgames, which was published in February of 2019.

—:  August 22nd, 2024 06:20 pmFeed     No Comments »
August 2nd Question

And you wonder why I have to curb my desire to lecture?” (July 31st, 2024) So, please don’t curb such desire. You describe a politician’s small office staffing in your “Grand Illusion” series. Please expand on your experiences in the US Congress; specifically the elements/expertise that usually makes up the staff of a U.S. Representative’s office staff and/or a U.S. Senator’s office staff. How/why are these people chosen by the politician?

After the rather poor reception of /The Green Progression, I doubt that I’ll write about contemporary or even near future U.S. politics. Since I know something about staffing a U.S. Representative’s staff, I can give you a general outline of the key personnel, at least at the time I was a staff director. Usually, the head of the office is the staff director, once called the A.A.(administrative assistant). Then most offices have a media/press aide, a legislative assistant, a chief caseworker, and the appointments/personal secretary to the Representative. These positions can overlap. When I was in charge of the office, I was effectively the head legislative assistant. My successor as staff director was the press/media aide. There is almost always an office in the district (sometimes two in large rural districts), with several staff members there. As I recall (it was 40 years ago), the total number of employees was 18 (including those in district offices), but there was also a total salary cap for staffers. Unpaid interns didn’t count against the cap; so there were usually a few of those, but not that many, because the D.C. employees had to fit into two staff rooms. There were usually other staffers with assorted duties. For new Congressmen or Congresswomen, usually a few campaign aides ended up as staff, depending on abilities. Others are picked for needed expertise. Salaries and duties are determined by the Representative, and the only real limits are the number of staff and the total staff pay ceiling.

—:  August 2nd, 2024 08:22 pmFeed     3 Comments »
July 16th Question

I’m rereading the Imager books, and I’m reminded of a recurring experience by most of your main characters. Their situations require that they kill people (sometimes A LOT of people), and yet they never seem terribly bothered by it other than some occasional regret. Quaeryt is certainly driven into at least a month of madness at killing many 10’s of thousands but not so much after “only” 10 thousand troops, and Lorne feels guilty about a single innocent. I have a harder time understanding how a portraitist like Renn can become a cold-hearted killer in less than a year after an earlier lifetime devoid of violence. Is the mark of a hero the ability to avoid PTSD or significant guilt from the body count they amass? Or is it the necessity of the plot moving on? Curious what your view is on this. Thank you!

People are different. A single brutal incident is enough to create PTSD in some. Killing doesn’t seem to bother others in the slightest. From my experience and observation, most people lie somewhere in between. Also, I’m convinced that the circumstances make a difference, and the closer and more “personal” the killing is, the greater the emotional impact. Also, I tend to write more from the viewpoint of the “defender” than the conqueror, possibly because I tend to believe that killing in self-defense or defense against raiders or attackers exacts less of a price. And, from a practical viewpoint, I’d rather not write a military story where the main character is effectively reduced to mental rubble by killing. Instead, my characters vary, ranging from those less impacted to those more so, but over time, there’s a definite impact.

—:  July 16th, 2024 02:25 pmFeed     No Comments »
June 26th Question

I really enjoyed the Imager series. Is there any plan to continue the series?

I have no plans to write additional Imager books, and it’s unlikely that I will, but I won’t say “never,” because I learned a long time ago that was unwise.

—:  June 26th, 2024 04:29 pmFeed     4 Comments »
June 20th Question

Given the sheer amount of writing and years you have spent on the world of Recluse, it seems likely there are some things you established early on that have caused annoyance in later books. I certainly have seen plenty of things that cleverly show how things that certain characters (and readers) thought to be true were in fact not, but are there things that you have found more difficult to work around?

So far, I’ve managed to work around most items in the earliest Recluce books(that is, those I wrote first, in which the events take place after the earlier books) that might suggest contradictions, but occasionally a reader will bring something to my attention. In many cases, there’s no contradiction, because, as is often the case in the history of our world, the historians had an agenda to either excessively glorify or denigrate the acts of previous powerful figures. There also have been instances where I made a mistake, despite my best efforts.

—:  June 20th, 2024 03:28 pmFeed     1 Comment »
June 19th Question

You worked a lot of great mythology into The Timegod, but there’s one reference I always thought I missed. At the end, Loki realizes that the bell told him where everyone had gone, and he understood it due to a recent language implant. I’ve always felt like that was more significant than I was picking up on. Is that actually a reference which went over my head?

It’s not so much a reference as a hint. The bell is inscribed with a Terran language. Sammis tells Loki that he can find Baldur and Wryan, and even Sammis himself, and gestures to the bell before he vanishes. The inference is that all the Scandinavian myths in our world come from Baldur, Sammis, and Wryan… because that’s where they went from Query.

—:  June 19th, 2024 09:35 pmFeed     1 Comment »
June 18th Question

Why does the era of the books of Recluse not start, for example, with the arrival on the island or with the birth of the founder?

The dates in the chronology begin with the year that the rationalist colonists landed. Those dates show up in Magi’i of Cyador and Scion of Cyador. The term A.F., refers to After the Fall. Other cultures around the world may use other dates, but I used the founding of Cyad as the base date.

—:  June 18th, 2024 07:23 pmFeed     No Comments »
June 11th Question

Will there ever be any Film or Episodic adaptations of the Recluce series? If so, could you please elaborate?

I’m not aware of any plans of even rumors of plans to present anything in the Saga of Recluce in film, television, or the like. While I can hope, I’m certainly not holding my breath.

Although I’ve been occasionally approached about gaming possibilities over the years, those have not turned out, either, at least so far.

—:  June 11th, 2024 07:28 pmFeed     No Comments »
May 28th Question

Do you have a public appearance schedule for the rest of the year?

At present, I do not have any other public appearances scheduled for the rest of the year.

For personal and logistical reasons unrelated to my health, it’s highly unlikely that I’ll be making many public appearances in the foreseeable future.

—:  May 28th, 2024 09:01 amFeed     No Comments »
April 29th Question

I’ve just begun reading the Ecolitan novels, and I notice that you have used the same system names as in The Hammer of Darkness: Fuard, Halston, etc. Do you consider all of these novels to be in the same timeline/universe? If so, what is the chronology?

In writing my science fiction, I’ve always considered the different “series”/books as possible varying futures from the present in which we live, or, as in the case of the “Ghost” books, an alternate present. That’s why certain names recur in various books. The Ecolitan books are set in a future somewhat different from The Hammer of Darkness, and there’s no real connection except the past.

—:  April 29th, 2024 11:55 amFeed     No Comments »
Second April 7th Question

I just finished, and greatly enjoyed, From the Forest. My impression (having not re-read other Recluce books with chaos-wielding protagonists recently) is that Alyiakal learned a number of fairly advanced techniques (which I have always likened to lasers or energy weapons) quite quickly. I’m curious, if that’s the case, is that more reflective on Alyiakal’s unique talents, or on the benefits of having lots of order-chaos devices around to learn from. I’m also curious if there’s any genetic differences between the Cyadorans and the surrounding nations that affects the prevalence of order-chaos wielders. It seems that Cyador is much more sparsely populated despite their higher technology level and employ a lot of the same techniques as Recluce later does to rely on technology and technique when they are outnumbered.

Alyiakal isn’t really that much different from other Magi’i, nor does he have more in the way of devices or technology to learn from. What he does have is a very good tutor in Master Triamon, who makes Alyiakal really think about how to use chaos, Healer Vayidra, and the experiences of the Great Forest. No other magus has that range of experience. He also has the incentive to learn because he almost instinctively knows that he’ll be killed if he doesn’t. Because most of the inhabitants of Cyador are from the Rational Stars, that means there are definite differences in genetics from the inhabitants of the lands bordering Cyador. With the later fall of Cyador, many of the techniques for dealing with order and chaos are lost or forgotten, and have to be rediscovered, partly in Fairhaven, but largely in Recluce because greater mastery of order is required to fully harness the power of chaos.

—:  April 7th, 2024 05:37 pmFeed     No Comments »
April7th Question

Love the GRAND ILLUSION series and am desperate to know when you will release the next in the series.

I’ve taken a little break after finishing the latest four Recluce novels. I’m considering writing a prequel to the existing three Grand Illusion novels, but it will be a few weeks before I know whether that’s possible.

—:  April 7th, 2024 01:43 pmFeed     No Comments »
March 3rd Question

I have started to reread the Recluce series and also recently revisited The Lessons of History by Will and Ann Durant, a concise synthesis of their broader work in “The Story of Civilization.” The Durants’ exploration of historical cycles, the interplay of moral and ethical considerations, and the forces of progress and decline resonated with me, particularly in light of the themes you explore in the Recluce series. This parallel has sparked my curiosity about your own historical and philosophical influences. Could you share whether the works of Will and Ann Durant have played any role in shaping the ideas or themes within the Recluce series? I am interested in understanding how historical narratives and philosophical explorations might influence the creation of fantasy worlds that, while entirely fictional, echo with the weight of real human history and ethical dilemmas. Thank you for your time and for the worlds you’ve created — not just within the Recluce series — that have so deeply enriched my reading experiences and thinking.

While I’ve certainly heard of the Durants, I have to confess that I haven’t read any of their works. I have read history widely, particularly ancient history, beginning when I was quite young, and I continue to do so, although these days I peruse periodicals such as History Today and World Archaeology rather than larger tomes. On the more philosophical side, I’ve also read Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces and Edward Wilson’s The Meaning of Human Existence and who knows how many others.

—:  March 3rd, 2024 04:19 pmFeed     1 Comment »
March 2nd Question

I noticed three references in the first two Grand Illusion books to how the “burgher’s delight” was the lousiest thing on the menu. I just wondered…do you have a friend who’s a cheeseburger fiend, and you were teasing them? It felt like an inside joke. Just wondering.

No, the “burgher’s delight” just came out of my own musing. I was just thinking how unappetizing a slab of ground beef between two slices of bread sounds. What makes a hamburger or a cheeseburger is everything else.

—:  March 2nd, 2024 04:22 pmFeed     2 Comments »
Sonic Assault

The other day, my wife was in the university parking lot, about to drive home. Then out of nowhere, a car pulled up two spaces away, and suddenly she could hear nothing except rap music that totally drowned out her classic easy rock music. Both her windows were closed, but those of the other car were open, and the volume of the “music” from the other car was enough literally to vibrate her solid but modest SUV.

I own a somewhat larger SUV, used primarily once for book tours and currently to carry opera props and sometimes sets, as well as for occasional trips around southwest Utah. Yet I’ve also experienced the unpleasant and definitely unwelcome sonic assault and/or or the involuntary full-body sonic massage.

We live on a fairly quiet street, but we still get the occasional sonic bombardment from so-called music, even with our well-insulated windows and walls – and our house isn’t even that close to the road, and there’s a five-foot tall, four-foot wide thick pfitzer hedge between the sidewalk and the grass.

What’s become even more prevalent is the sound of barely muffled large diesel pick-up trucks, except they’re more like monsters that tower over my standard-sized SUV, and the majority of these behemoths don’t appear to be working trucks, not with all that chrome and nary a splat of mud or so much as a dent in sight, and seldom even with any cargo.

Sound pollution is increasing everywhere in the world, and it’s not as though trucks and music have to be that loud. So why is it happening?

Studies show that human beings regard high levels of sound as a form of power, a way to dominate the space around them. Certainly, we can see this everywhere, even in politics, where demagogues from Hitler to Trump have ranted and raved at high volume and amplified that volume as much as possible.

But what it signifies to me is obnoxious boors who ought to be stuffed into a sound-proof chamber and subjected to their own noise at volumes high enough to burst their eardrums – except then they’d just increase the volume more.

—:  February 26th, 2024 10:56 amFeed     9 Comments »
February 26th Question

Two questions if I may. Firstly, did Lerris and Krystal ever have children or was that part of the price paid in The Death of Chaos? Second, I find myself sympathetic to Ryba’s position in Fall of Angels, though slightly less so in The Chaos Balance. Do you think she would have truly turned on Nylan or was she driving him out to ensure he dealt with Cyador?

While I didn’t spell it out, or even hint at it, given what Lerris and Krystal have been through, they won’t have children or live beyond a normal lifespan. In the case of Ryba, she doesn’t perceive herself as being unreasonable, but only doing what she believes is necessary — given her scattered visions of the future. Nylan doesn’t like being treated like a tool and needs more affection. Since Ryba is so driven, a rift is inevitable. And, in the end, Ryba’s actions, through both Nylan and Saryn, do remove the unthinking mysogyny of latter-day Cyador and Lornth and effectively change the political structure of the entire west of Candar.

—:  February 26th, 2024 08:09 amFeed     No Comments »
February 18th Question

I am reading and enjoying From the Forest. Could you include a map of Cyador to identify the place names in a later volume of the series?

Unfortunately, it’s not my decision as to whether a map is included in the book. I sent a rough map and my editor presented the idea. The higher-ups declined the idea of a map in the first book. I will bring the matter up again, but, while I control the text, I don’t control whether maps are in the book.

—:  February 18th, 2024 03:16 pmFeed     3 Comments »
« Older Entries