[owleye]

i no its not that easy to anwser and it might be a way off but.... will u right another fantasy book? thats not to do with pellinor?

[alison]

Would you ever try another genre of fiction or just stick to fantasy and poetry?



Hi Tari - I don't think it's irrelevent...all my work is interlinked, in various ways, so feel free to ask about my other writing. I have actually already written another novel, a very short poetic novella called Navigatio which is a kind of meditation/memoir/outrageous literary fiction, so fantasy isn't the only kind of novel I write. I have also started another novel sort of based on a story that happened when the Conquistadores came to South America, which I would very much like to finish. These would I guess be called adult literary fiction, fwiw... I do find novels kind of addictive.

will u right another fantasy book? thats not to do with pellinor?

Hi Owleye - I have ideas for a couple, in fact: one a short book (with SHORT chapters) for younger readers, of which I've written five or chapters and hope to finish one day, and one a more adult-type fantasy about a kind of cruel extreme Wuthering Heights Grande Passion...(like I said, I find novels kind of addictive)

[owleye]

that would be good

[owleye]

hmmm, could u by any chance tell us whats going to be on the front of the next book?

[Brockie]

Hi Alison, this sticky is a great idea, it's great being able to talk to the author and get your questions answered.

1. In the Gift when Maerad is describing to Nelac what happened with the Wight, Nelac says he believes her but why did he look so sad?

2. Why could Cadvan not stay with Nerili, was it because he was so driven? If so why could Nerili better understand why he couldn't stay after the Tree Making Ceremony?

3. Why is Ardina helping Maerad so much and what is Ardina's doom?

[whitesilkbreeze]

4. I hear that most of the time, writers write through sheer perseverence rather than inspiration. On a percentage basis, how often do you write because you're inspired and want to write?

5. How do you write (both poems and novels)? Do you write when the muse strikes, plan things out generally in your mind or allow the writing to write itself, so to speak? Again, I heard that some people say that the characters are already there and the writers are just getting to know them. Other writers control and plot pretty much everything about their characters.

[Jaffa]

Ok I have two questions ones going to sound a bit daft!

1. is there such a place as pellinor

2. at the end of the gift, theres about 3 pages with lists of books (I assume there books) by random people some by maerad and cadvan this slightly confused I was wondering are these lists of books? or are any of the books real?

[yodee]

Hi!
I think this might have been ansked somewhere but I can't seem to find it.
> Can the Elidhu be destroyed or turned into mortals?
AND THERE's
> Do we see Arkan again face to face with Maerad?
FINALLY
> When writing do you do a lot of planning on paper or is there a spine of the plot in your head?

[alison]

Hi Brockie - nice questions!

1. In the Gift when Maerad is describing to Nelac what happened with the Wight, Nelac says he believes her but why did he look so sad?

Nelac looks sad because he has foresight. If Maerad is who he thinks she is, he knows that it will mean some terrible things for her, and as far as he's concerned she's still only a child. Even simply having such awesome abilities is a burden.

2. Why could Cadvan not stay with Nerili, was it because he was so driven? If so why could Nerili better understand why he couldn't stay after the Tree Making Ceremony?

Yes; Cadvan's whole adult life has been about fighting the Dark, and the drivenness is to do with his terrible guilt about Nerili's death as much as his hatred of what the Darks means. Nerili can't understand this, until after the Rite of Renewal, when for the first time she understands the darkness inside her.

3. Why is Ardina helping Maerad so much and what is Ardina's doom?

Ardina is helping Maerad for the same reason that Arkan captures her - they both need the Treesong. But I think beyond that, Ardina feels a real empathy with Maerad, and likes her; she cures her period pains, for instance. Ardina's Doom is that she is not able to die.

[alison]

4. I hear that most of the time, writers write through sheer perseverence rather than inspiration. On a percentage basis, how often do you write because you're inspired and want to write?

The bad news is - yes, and especially with novels, most of it is sheer hard work. Some parts of The Riddle (and in fact, to my surprise, some of the best written parts) were written with my teeth clenched, in totally uninspired stubbornness. Novels are really (and this was said by a very great novelist, Patrick White) one sentence after another sentence. And you have to get all the sentences right. Nevertheless, I really love writing... Inspiration is a strange thing: I'm not really sure what it is. That strange feeling that something is writing you, rather than you writing it, is fairly common; I have often written poems without knowing what they meant until later. It's about another part of your brain suddenly coming forward and taking over.

5. How do you write (both poems and novels)? Do you write when the muse strikes, plan things out generally in your mind or allow the writing to write itself, so to speak? Again, I heard that some people say that the characters are already there and the writers are just getting to know them. Other writers control and plot pretty much everything about their characters.

I'm not a writer who plots down to the nth detail - I didn't plan The Gift at all (which meant that the last quarter had to be totally rewritten!) With The Riddle and The Crow, I wrote a chapter by chapter plot synopsis, so I wouldn't get lost in the middle of the story. What happened as I wrote it turned out to be quite different in certain ways, and I always want to be open to those possibilities that turn up as you write. For me it feels quite true that the characters are "there"; it's a matter of learning how to listen to them.

Poems, too, are a matter of "listening". I only write poems when I absolutely have to, when they insist, and they usually begin from some phrase or rhythm that gets into my head and haunts me. I try not to think when I'm writing poems; I try to listen to some inner voice. It's a peculiar and delicate thing...