You write with insight about your characters’ vocations. How do you research a vocation?

Whenever possible, frankly, I write about vocations where I have some first-hand knowledge of the vocation. That’s why Lerris in The Magic of Recluce was a woodworker, although he’s far better than I ever was, and why so many of my military protagonists are pilots. It’s also why I write about characters involved in business, economics, politics, and the environment. When I do have to write about a character involved in a field I don’t know well, it takes a great deal longer, because that requires reading and researching in depth the vocation, talking to and watching people involved in it, and, if possible, persuading them to let me try, as an amateur, some tasks. For that reason, for example, it took me far longer to write The Magic Engineer than any other book I’ve written since I became a full-time writer.

Out of all the characters or books you have created, what is the most outrageous or hilarious criticism you’ve received about each book or main character?

Since my fiftieth-first book is about to be published I don’t have time or space to research and/or document all the criticisms, but overall the most striking and amusing criticism I receive isn’t so much a single criticism as the fact that for almost every book I’ve written someone somewhere has claimed that it’s fluff or simple and someone else has found that same book deep and/or thought-provoking. By the same token my style has been described as both simplistic and complex and at times poetic, even for the same book at times.

Out of all the characters you have created, do you have a favorite?

This question has come up often over the years, but my answer remains the same. From my point of view, asking an author about a favorite character or book is like asking a parent about a favorite child, and that’s not answerable unless you only have one child and you’ve only written one book or one character, because you love them all, if for very different reasons.

Have you ever thought about published as a separate volume some of the books you have within the Recluce Saga, for example, the Book of Ryba or the Book of Ayrlyn?

At this point, I have no plans for such a book, since I’m still writing Recluce novels. It’s possible that, once I close the Saga, I’ll consider such a book, but not at present.

In The Magic of Recluce, Lerris describes his staff as having been soaked in “ironbath.” While both the term itself and the sturdiness of the staff imply that the process hardens wood, could you provide a bit more insight into the process?

Lerris’s father and his good Uncle Sardit are actually engaging in a bit of misdirection. Although the staff was certainly soaked in a solution that will help harden wood, it was also imbued with a certain amount of free order that is designed to eventually make the holder more aware of his or her connection to order and which accounts for much of the additional strength. Lerris, of course, is not aware of this when he receives the staff.

The Frankans in The Ethos Effect are obsessed with ethics, but in The Elysium Commission, they are neither technologically superior nor ethical. What happened?

This was something I frankly didn’t even notice because, in my mind, I was writing in different universes. The Frankans in The Ethos Effect are an ancient and ethical alien race; those in The Elysium Commission are merely another greedy and territorial bunch of humans. But… all things considered, I should have used another name in The Elysium Commission.

Will you ever write a novel in the Recluce books where the protagonist is a woman?

Actually, in the Recluce novel that I’m currently working on, the main character is a woman, although it’s likely to be 2010 before that book sees print.

In the story “Iron Man, Plastic Ships” [from Viewpoints Critical] your protagonist is named McCaine. Since this was written about the time John McCain appeared on the political scene, was your protagonist named McCaine because John McCain was a pilot prisoner of war?

In point of fact, “Iron Man, Plastic Ships” was written in 1978 and first appeared in Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine in October 1979. John McCain was first elected to Congress in 1982 and was still in the Navy at the time the story was written. Because I was also a Navy pilot during the Vietnam era, I was certainly aware of John McCain, although we never met, but I have to say that any link of names had to be either subconscious or coincidental, because I certainly don’t remember even thinking about it.

Will you write a prequel or sequel to Adiamante?

I won’t say that it will never happen, but at the moment it appears unlikely.

In your opinion, who would win in a “western style” showdown: a chaos/order mage, a Spellsong singer, or a talent wielder?

Obviously, the question assumes all are comparatively equal in ability, because one who is strong in one area would always overcome one of a different persuasion who was a weak representative of that class/type of magic. That said, a spellsong singer would win hands down because she could direct greater forces from a greater distance. If any were suddenly thrown together without advance warning, the order/chaos mage would prevail because those skills take less preparation to use.

Have you given any thought to writing about the universe from which the Angels and Rationalists in the Recluce books came?

Actually, I’ve thought about it a number of times, and the question does come up often. Right now, I’m more interested in writing about differing universes, but I’m not ruling out that possibility for the future.

Will there be any more writings in the Ecolitan Universe?

At this point I have no immediate plans to write another Ecolitan book, but that doesn’t mean I won’t at some time in the future.

Why did Creslin lose his sight permanently, while Dorrin only lost his sight for a short period of time?

Creslin did not lose his sight permanently, but was blind often in much of his later life. The reason was that, in effect, Creslin was an indealistic extremist, while Dorrin was an indealistic moderate, who was much more aware of the need for the Balance and for maintaining it. Creslin literally remolded the climate of a large chunk of the world, and then used order to create a great deal of chaos on top of that.

Through your different series, there are links that indicate a shared history, particularly between Recluce and the “Parafaith” histories, including a black ordermaster. Will we see a joining of timelines, or are you just going to continue to tease us?

This question, or variants of it, has come up a number of times. The reason is simple. For me, the future cannot ignore the past. So when I write about possible alternative futures in SF, there are always cultural links to the past which alternative futures will share. Second, certain technologies will also exist in various alternatives, such as fusion generators. I’ve chosen to use the same name, rather than use different names in different futures. Third, I address fantasy universes as alternatives to the historical universe, if in the present or the past, and that means links of sorts do exist. As for Cassius, the black ordermage, his story appears in the recently published Viewpoints Critical.

Why is it that the Lord-Protector of Lanachrona has no Talent, even though he is a descendant of a Talent wielder?

Actually, both Mykel, the very first Protector of Tempre, and his wife Rachyla have Talent, but the problem is that subsequent generations of Lords-Protector did not always marry those with Talent, and the gene for Talent tended to get bred out of the line. This issue comes up in The Lord-Protector’s Daughter, coming out from Tor in hardcover in November.

Will you approve of others to write in your “universes”?

While an author should not ever say “never,” it is highly unlikely that I will allow others to write adventures in any world or set of worlds I have created.

Do you anticipate an encyclopedic volume for the Saga of Recluce, something that would tie together the places and people, with maps and pictures?

While a volume like that is always possible, at this point, since I’m still writing in the world of Recluce, it would appear very premature.

Exactly what is a “sander” in the Corean Chronicles, the male form of the Ancients?

Sanders are indeed the male “ancients,” while soarers are the female form.

Are there any plans for Recluce audio books?

I’ve been working with a group interested in a start-up audiobook operation, but it’s in a very preliminary stage, and I can only hope that it will work out.

When will Imager and Imager’s Challenge be in the bookstores?

Imager is scheduled for February/March of 2009. Imager’s Challenge is not yet scheduled, but it’s likely to be in the fall or winter of 2009 or the spring of 2010.