INSIDER AUTHOR INTERVIEWS

An Interview with the Authors of Tales of the Council of Elders

April 2011

The Insider is a Silver Leaf Books sponsored feature that allows the readers to gain additional information about the authors, books, and projects. This section will consist of live interviews with the authors, and their direct responses.

This Insider interview is with the authors of the upcoming release, Tales of the Council of Elders.

SLB: After initially being pitched 7 years ago, the Tales book is finally coming out. Could you tell us a little about how the project came about?

BOWYER: I was actually at my very first convention at Arisia in Boston in 2004 and talking to Kerrie McNay, who had just become my editor for The Adventures of Kyria series. At the time I only had one book, The Impending Storm, but thousands of pages of research, profiles, and source documentation. In the discussion with Kerrie I mentioned how I had such well developed characters in the Council of Elders, characters who were some of the most powerful and prominent members of my world, but they only had the briefest of cameos in the first book. Although I had plans to bring out more of them in both the subsequent titles and in the Kyria books, she suggested an anthology where each character has their own tale and you can learn more about them.

I began thinking about it and wondering how something like that would do. It wouldn’t be something that flows right into the trilogy of Kyria series, but it would allow me to tell additional stories about characters who had such a prominent role. Things like what made Ilfanti the charismatic adventurer who everyone hangs on his every word, or why Cala and Senix had a rift and always acted awkwardly around each other, or why Promethisus was so prejudiced against humans when he was raised in the Mage’s Council and never experienced prejudice, or how a one of the ferocious lupans actually managed to become a sentient Mage in Hergzenbarung, or why someone like Cinzia managed to earn a spot on the Council of Elders when she was so young, or what was the background that led to the formation of the Mage’s Council and the complete separation of philosophies between Pierce and Zoldex. The lone exception was Master Ariness, who I actually provided a glimpse into the future of what happened after Zoldex’s legions decimated the Mage’s Council and besieged the land.

Once I knew what I wanted from the tales, and it was really all in the backgrounds and profiles that I developed, it was just a matter of figuring out the best approach to doing it. Do I do it all myself? Do I bring in other authors and let them work in my world so that there are different perspectives? Do I not write any of the tales myself and just oversee others? That’s a debate that waged for years and my opinion definitely changed over the years.

SLB: But you did decide to go with multiple authors. How were they selected for the project?

BOWYER: By the time I had the first couple of books of the trilogy and three books in the Kyria series, I was really starting to develop a good following from my readers. People who would come to see me at every event I did anxiously looking for new books and the most recent releases. At the same time, Silver Leaf Books had begun expanding from the initial two authors and added in Science Fiction novelist Stuart Clark, and then Science Fiction co-authors Mike Lynch and Brandon Barr. I was thinking about how getting your name out there takes time, and that something that would cross-promote other SLB authors would actually be a great way to approach the project. So I decided to try and get other Silver Leaf Books authors involved, with each writing a tale of their own. At the end of each tale there is a note pointing readers in the direction of their book. Hopefully my fans / readers will enjoy the background information on the Council of Elders, but also enjoy the writing styles of the other SLB authors and give someone that they never may have been exposed to a chance.

The Tales are written by Mike Lynch, co-author of Sky Chronicles: When the Sky Fell, who tackled Pierces tale and the origin of Mages. His co-author Brandon Barr took on Cinzia’s tale, who is the youngest member of the Council of Elders and has a flair for adventure. Stuart Clark, author of the Project U.L.F. series went with Promethisus, the centaur Mage who definitely lets his emotions and grudges fuel his decisions. B. Pine, author of the Draca Wards Saga, took the challenge of Jeffa, a hero during the Great Wars who ultimately becomes corrupted by Zoldex and showed some of the events that got him doubting himself. Brittany Westerberg, author of Into Fire, took the tale of flamboyant playboy Senix. Robb Webb, one of the game developers on the Imperium Saga RPG, took on Hergzenbarung’s tale. Karen Aragon worked on Cala’s tale, showing the other half of the Cala / Senix storyline. Then I saved Ilfanti for myself since I had written Ilfanti and the Orb of Prophecy and wanted to write more about him from when he was in his prime. The final tale had been begun by Ben Mitchell, also of the Imperium Saga RPG development team, but he passed away before completing his tale and I decided to take it and finish it in honor of him and dedicated the whole book to him.

Of course it took a while before Silver Leaf Books had grown enough to have all of the authors above and enough to write each tale! But I couldn’t be more pleased with how it came out. I let authors pick their character on a first-come, first-serve basis. Whatever Elder was available, each author would get an overview of the character and choose which one they wanted. Then I shared with them the profiles, the background details, and some insights into what happens to the characters in the books themselves. From there I helped whenever asked, but I really wanted everyone to come up with a tale of their own. Some wrote the exact timeline I wanted, whereas others went with a completely different spin so that they had a bit more freedom to write the story of their own. Overall, I love how it came out and hope my fans and readers feel the same.

But now let’s hear from the various Tales authors and about their experiences with the project. I recommend scrolling down and reading what every author has to say, but you can also click on the name of the author you are interested in and be brought to their answers. Enjoy!

Mike Lynch   B. Pine   Karen Aragon   Brittany Westerberg

Mike Lynch Interview (Pierce's Tale: The Coming of the Mage)

SLB: What was it like working with characters that had already been developed?

I found it to be a bit of a challenge since so much had already happened with my character, mine being Master Pierce.  I was very mindful of the fact that his personality, character traits, and mannerisms had been written about many times, and since I was working with someone the reading audience was very familiar with, I sent a number of e-mails to Clifford, asking him about this, just so I would make the way I depicted Pierce consistent with what had gone on before me.

SLB: How did you become familiar with your character and the world for your tale?

Clifford was kind enough to send me quite a bit of information about Master Pierce, enough so I felt comfortable taking what I knew of him and sent him on an adventure with some of the other characters in his stories.  There were a few times that I had questions, or had sent some of what I had written to Clifford to make certain I wasn't taking Pierce in the wrong direction, and he wrote back with whatever corrections were needed.  In the end, through Clifford's collaboration and my imagination, I believe we came up with a good story for Master Pierce.

SLB: Did you find it challenging working in someone else’s world?

Definitely.  Clifford has spent years developing the characters and adding all the hundreds of little details in the stories and quests he had created in his books.  Then I come along and write about one of his central characters without knowing too much about those worlds, and so my learning curve was fairly steep.  I appreciated the fact that Clifford was very patient with me, and guided my efforts until he was pleased with the final result.

SLB: Were you able to still bring out your own style and make the tales and characters your own?

I don't think an author can write about any character or story and not infuse his own personality and writing style into it, even if it's something that originated with someone else.  As I previously mentioned, I tried to keep Master Pierce's overall character traits and mannerisms within the general area that Clifford depicted in his books, but also knowing that I would most probably portray him in a little different light.  I figured if I didn't go off too far, Clifford wouldn't have any strong objections.  Except for that one time he yelled at me on the phone, we got along great.  Actually, he didn't do that, but there may have been a time or two when he wanted to.

SLB: Why don’t you share with us a little bit about your tale?

When I agreed to do one of the tales Clifford had in mind, I had no idea that Master Pierce was one of the central characters in his stories.  And as such, Clifford has some very particular story elements he wanted included in The Coming of the Mage, the title of my tale.  My story is actually the only one that is a prequel, whereas the other tales focus on characters going off and having side adventures of their own.  In the sagas that Clifford has created, Pierce, and his nemesis, Zoldex, are bitter enemies fighting against each other as to how the world he has created is to be led--through wisdom and benevolence, or through tyranny and the iron fist.  He never explained in detail how this happened.  That is where my tale comes in.  What I thought would be interesting is if the two have been very good friends since childhood before the split came.  Most of us have experienced strong friendships that have gone through a difficult situation, and sometimes they never recover.  It's painful when that happens, and the person who was closer to us than anyone else is now our adversary.  A lot a powerful emotions are involved, and our lives are inalterably changed, and sometimes not for the better.  This gave me a lot to work within the story.

SLB: Did you enjoy your little time in the Imperium Saga?

I did, much to my surprise.  Not because I didn't like the work and world Clifford had created.  It was more because I don't have a strong background in fantasy.  I'm more of a sci-fi guy, and don't really have an affinity for elves and talking dragons, and so I had actually declined Clifford's offer to write a story in his anthology.  Every genre has its rules, and readers of them expect certain elements in those kinds of stories.  Since I didn't feel confident writing in a genre I didn't have much experience with, I thought I would be doing Clifford a disservice if I said yes.  Fortunately for me, Clifford is a persistent person, and he explained what he was looking for, largely having it be about the characters as they go off on a quest for certain items that will restore the Eurellian Kingdom.  When I had a better idea of what he wanted, I then agreed to join with the others, and had a fun time doing it.  In the end, and with Clifford's help, I wrote a story I am proud of, and hope readers will like as well.

SLB: Do you have any books coming up or something you’re working on now?

Brandon Barr and I are in the middle of working on our sequel to Sky Chronicles:  When the Sky Fell.  We're hoping to have it finished by the end of the year so it will hopefully come out in 2012.  After that, we'll have to see.

B. Pine Interview (Jeffa's Tale: The Farm)

SLB: What was it like working with characters that had already been developed?
 
PINE: It was different. Having an existing character to work with helped me come up with the background story fairly easily, but I was also a bit worried about having the character do or say something ‘out-of-character’, so speaking. So it was a kid-gloves type of project for me.

SLB: How did you become familiar with your character and the world for your tale?
 
PINE: I focused on the basic character sketch. I had the quiet-hero-turned-bad’ character, and since Jeffa is not the most popular Elder on the block, I wanted to frame the story around his personality, and use his background to create a bit of tension in the story.

SLB: Did you find it challenging working in someone else’s world?
 
PINE: No. It was actually fun. Not having to explain every little thing about the background and setting of the story made it easy. And Clifford has created a nice, rich world that has a lot of ground for side stories.

SLB: Were you able to still bring out your own style and make the tales and characters your own?
 
PINE: I tried to keep to what I feel comfortable writing. But I had to be careful with Jeffa. His back-story is complicated, and it would be easy to have him act in a way that would make little sense to anyone who has read the Imperium Saga. I did not want to take too much freedom with him.

SLB: Why don’t you share with us a little bit about your tale?
 
PINE: Jeffa, the war hero turned traitor, decides to confront the person he believes responsible for the attack which left him blind. His encounter with her and a special houseguest leaves him with questions and doubts that will quietly torment him for all his years as a Council Elder.

SLB: Did you enjoy your little time in the Imperium Saga?
 
PINE: I did. It was a refreshing change.

SLB: Do you have any books coming up or something you’re working on now?
 
PINE: Book 1 of my Draca Wards saga is out! You can learn more about it here or on my website: www.dracawards.com.

Karen Aragon Interview (Cala's Tale: Revelations to the Elven Mage)

SLB: What was it like working with characters that had already been developed?
 
ARAGON: It was a difficult at first, especially since the genre of fantasy is not my forte.  I had to get accustomed to the character's names, special abilities, and history straight before I even began.  The history aspect was the biggest obstacle. 

SLB: How did you become familiar with your character and the world for your tale?
 
ARAGON: I bought one of Cliff's books to get a feel for his style of storytelling.  I also delved into the information that he forwarded to me.

SLB: Did you find it challenging working in someone else’s world?
 
ARAGON: I found it challenging in many ways which was why it took me a while to start, but once I got going, the story seemed to come through. 

SLB: Were you able to still bring out your own style and make the tales and characters your own?
 
ARAGON: I felt like I was able to make my character my own. 

SLB: Why don’t you share with us a little bit about your tale?
 
ARAGON: My tale is about an elf, Cala, who is a Master Mage.  She takes on an apprentice, Xambia, and together, the two of them take on the task of helping the elandeeril, the elves of Faylinn, by discovering who--or what--has been murdering  unicorns. 

SLB: Did you enjoy your little time in the Imperium Saga?
 
ARAGON: I enjoyed my time working with the Imperium Saga.  It motivated me to start writing a fantasy story on my own--a bedtime story I made up for my son. 

SLB: Do you have any books coming up or something you’re working on now?
 
ARAGON: I have a romance novel that I am working on and the fantasy piece I mentioned.  While I wanted to make the fantasy piece a children's book, it looks like it will be more of a novel or a novella.

Brittany Westerberg Interview (Senix's Tale: Conquests of the Heart)

SLB: What was it like working with characters that had already been developed?
 
WESTERBERG: It was interesting working with characters that had already been developed. I've done writing prompts before, but no writing prompt is ever that detailed. I thought it might be more difficult working to keep the character "in character" so to speak, but actually, it was kind of fun. I wrote about my character when he was much younger than what he is in the series now, so I had a little wiggle room to set up the character and the story to show how he would develop into the character he is now. Plus having the character already set up let me be free to concentrate more on the story and less on how I should develop the character. It was both less and more to think about, in a way.

SLB: How did you become familiar with your character and the world for your tale?
 
WESTERBERG: Cliff had put together a spreadsheet of the character - all of his attributes, some quotes to show how he talked and his personality. That's how I got to know who he was and who the other characters were.

SLB: Did you find it challenging working in someone else’s world?
 
WESTERBERG: Because I haven't read the original author's work before, it was a little more challenging, both with the character and the series' world, but I enjoy a challenge.

SLB: Were you able to still bring out your own style and make the tales and characters your own?
 
WESTERBERG: I think I was able to bring out my own style in the writing. No two writers write exactly alike, and so I didn't even try to keep the writing style the same. I tried to stay true to the original author's characters, which meant not exactly making them my own, but again, because I was writing about a character's past, I was able to do more with them than if I were trying to write about something that the character was doing now.

SLB: Why don’t you share with us a little bit about your tale?
 
WESTERBERG: My tale is about Senix, who is, in essence, a playboy of a sort. He doesn't mean to hurt anyone, but in the end he really tends to think about himself first before thinking about the women he is with. He was fun to write, as I've never worked with a character like that, though I've met a few people in my life with the same personality. In my tale, he meets and seduces Cala, a promising young student. It may have ended up being more than just another seduction to him, if it were not for his nature. That's a little teaser for the tale.

SLB: Did you enjoy your little time in the Imperium Saga?
 
WESTERBERG: It was fun to write, as I said, and I look forward to reading more about the Tales of the Council of Elders in upcoming years.

SLB: Do you have any books coming up or something you’re working on now?
 
WESTERBERG: My first book was published this year, Into Fire. I’m currently working on both its sequel and on another different novel that features dragons, magic and the idea that in order to gain great things, you have to give up others.