Why was there no February Question?

Let’s just say that the distractions in my life temporarily overwhelmed my organizational abilities.

The advance review for Lady-Protector from Library Journal is quite favorable, but the one from Kirkus isn’t.  Did they read the same book?

I would think so, but when in doubt, I tend to rely more on either Library Journal or Booklist because their reviews are written by librarians, and I tend to trust librarians more than critics or reviewers.  But then, since I’m trying to be honest, the librarians have generally liked my books, and what author doesn’t prefer reviewers who are positive about his or her books?

I am re-reading the entire Recluce saga, this time chronologically, and I have always wondered why the city of Fairhaven was renamed Fairven and finally Frven as time passed? It seems to be the only city whose name changed throughout the series.

Actually, the name of the city never changed, not while it was a city filled with living, breathing people.  What changed was what people called it after its ruination. The name was shortened to Fairven and then Frven because it was passed on largely by oral tradition.  Justen, in The Magic of Recluce, refers to it as Fairhaven because he knows its name, which might just be another tip-off about Justen, but most people just know it as an old and bad place to avoid.

The current availability of your books in eBook format is very limited. Is this from your wishes, or those of your publisher? Will you please explain?

I recently did some Gaelic research of my own (Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and Manx) and came across some root words for \”first\” — ciad, kied, chead — and \”earth\” or \”land\” — tir, duir, dowan — and it occurred to me that some of these words, put together and adjusted for pronunciation and creativity, might sound like Cyador. Is it supposed to be similar to \”first land\” or \”first earth\”, or is this a coincidence? Would you be willing to share some thoughts on how you go about naming your characters and places.

I have to admit that while a preponderant percentage of my ancestry is Celtic, with some Welsh, alas, I know neither language, and if the names I used reflect that source, it’s either channeled from unknown ancestors, subconscious, or happy circumstance… or possibly all three.  I do make a great effort to have names used in a given book, particularly in a given location in a book, have a certain internal consistency and some interrelations… but I’d be the first to admit that I probably don’t always succeed.  When it’s a question of Germanic, or Romance language derived names, then… yes, the naming tends to be more formally structured because I do know a bit in those areas.

What series of books that you wrote are you the most proud of, and why are they your choice?

Asking that question of an author is much like asking a parent which child is his or her favorite.  Unless you have only one, there’s no good or accurate answer.  Because I’ve done different things, often radically different things, critics and Monday morning quarterbacks to the contrary, in each series I’ve written, I’m proud of each series for differing reasons.  Each of the fantasy series has a totally different magic system, for example, and I’ve written from the viewpoint of characters of differing ages and backgrounds, notwithstanding the belief by some that I only write “coming-of-age stories.”

Is there a historic/political basis for the Power Paradigms and Construct from Adiamante?

So far as I know, neither the Paradigms of Power nor the Construct exist as a part of any governmental structure or constitution, nor has any other author come up with anything quite like them.   They are a result of my own reflections on close to 20 years in government and politics… and the veiled observation included in the book that no present society would ever adopt anything like them — at least not until or after a world-wide  catastrophe of some sort.

Will there be a full map of the continent of Solidar?

I have submitted a map to Tor for the continent of Solidar at the time of the next book — Scholar — but I have not heard whether Tor will include the map.

Is there a historic/political basis for the Paradigms of Power  and Construct from Adiamante?

I don’t know of anyone who has postulated anything exactly like either, but I created them based on my own study of history and my own experiences in U.S. politics and government.

Do you ever plan to return to writing in the Ecolitan universe?

At present, I have no immediate plans to write another Ecolitan book, but should I decide to do so, I’d most likely write about a different set of characters, in at least a slightly different time period.

In one of your older books, you had mentioned that a Recluce exile had once become an emperor of Ham.  I wonder if you plan to develop Rahl’s story in that direction.

In “real” life, urban myth and rumors grow from small grains of truth, and I’ve tried to allow that to occur in the Saga of Recluce as well.  I would point out that , in reality, Rahl is in effect the real ruler of a province far larger than many countries in the world of Recluce and, indeed, far larger than Recluce itself.  There will not be another book about Rahl, but whether there will be another set in Hamor is still an open question… assuming I can come up with a good story.

The ensign of Recluce is a black Ryall upon a white background, but what is a ryall?

A ryall is a three-lobed flower, similar in shape to the fleur-de-lis, except that the petals are more rounded at the ends.  The petals are black, with white edges, and occasionally, white veins through the petals.  It generally grows in desolate and rocky places and blooms infrequently.

Would you ever consider turning one of your books or series into a video game, specifically Imager or Recluce?

I’d be more than happy to have someone make a decent video game out of any of my books, but, alas, it’s not so easy as it looks. Over the past ten years, I’ve had three game developers take an option to develop a Recluce game and attempt to create one.  Two were small; one was an established mid-sized gaming company.  All gave up, for reasons never made clear to me and never got as far as running a prototype by me.  I’ve even talked to several larger  gaming companies, and no one seemed interested.

What about the character of Magister Cassius? Is there more you can tell us about him besides that he was pulled through a chaos-order rift?

Actually, Cassius’s tale is told as a story in my collection — Viewpoints Critical — which is available in hardcover or trade paperback.  The story is called “Black Ordermage.”

Will you ever write about the founding of Cyad?

At present, I have no plans to write about the founding of Cyador or the landing of the Rationalists.

Will the the books from the Saga of Recluce ever be produced in an audio book format?

At present, the only works of mine available in audio books are the first two books of The Imager portfolio — Imager and Imager’s Challenge — although the third book [Imager’s Intrigue] will be will also appear in audio format once the hardcover is released, and one single SF novel — Haze. If the Imager books are successful in audio format, Tantor may consider an audio version of the Recluce Saga, but at this point, none of the audio book producers have shown any interest.

Will there be a fourth book in the Imager Portfolio?

I honestly don’t know, but I expect I’ll decide that in the immediate months to come.

Will you ever publish a cookbook for all the different foods you mention in your books?

I’ve been asked this several times over the years, and while some of the dishes are ones I’ve prepared, alas, many exist only in my imagination, and I lack the time to actually realize them. So, for now, the cookbook will have to wait.

When will the new Corean Chronicles book be out?

I am still working on Lady-Protector, and that means Tor has not scheduled it, and likely will not until I finish, but I anticipate that it will appear sometime in the first part of 2011.

Do you have a certain process you always use to create a universe for a book or series, or does it all come together as you write it?

I’m not an author who can put together a “universe” on the fly, so to speak. In working on a fantasy series, the magic system always comes first, setting up the rules, not to mention the social, economic, political, technological, and military implications. Then comes the geography and political-economic setting, followed by the main characters and the problems they face.

Who reads your books before they go to the editor?

With two exceptions, no one has ever read a complete novel of mine before my editor did. The first exception was my very first book, The Fires of Paratime, later republished by Tor as The Timegod, which several other editors saw — and rejected — before my present editor bought it. The second was The Soprano Sorceress, which I insisted my wife read, for the obvious reason that she is a soprano and a professional in music, which I am not.

Will you ever write a sequel to The Ethos Effect?

I have no plans to write a sequel, but The Ethos Effect is essentially a sequel to The Parafaith War, and I originally had no plans to write a sequel to The Parafaith War. If I ever do, however, it won’t be in the near future.

Who determines where you go on a book tour?

The short answer is the publisher, but it’s actually the publicity office of Tor, which takes into account where I’ve toured in the past, when I last visited an area, if ever, and how fantasy and science fiction books sell in a possible tour city or locale. As a practical matter, they won’t schedule tours in places where bookstores are few and far between, or where turnout has been abysmal in the past, either for me or for other F&SF authors. Also, given the hard economic times facing publishers, tours are generally getting to be less frequent and shorter.