Interview with Melanie Rawn

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For the benefit of those of us new to your work, without giving too much away, give us a taste of the story that is SPELLBINDER.

Holly McClure is a Witch, and somewhat surly about her single gift: her blood seals other magicians' spells. Her new boyfriend, U.S. Marshal Evan Lachlan, doesn't know she's a Witch. He finds out. Complications, as they say, ensue.

After such a long relationship with DAW Books, why change publishers to have SPELLBINDER released by Tor Books?

Tor bought the book.

How rewarding is it to see that your first two trilogies are still in print and have been re-released in trade paperback editions?

It's seriously cool to see Michael Whelan's cover art big enough so it can be appreciated! I gotta tell ya, though, I own the original "Dragon Prince" painting, and there is absolutely no way to comprehend how gorgeous his work is until you've seen it full-size, up close and personal.

What do you feel is your strength as a writer/storyteller?

I'm pretty good at throwing characters against a wall to see how--or if--they bounce.

What was the spark that generated the idea which drove you to write the "Dragon Prince" and the "Dragon Star" series in the first place?

I was reading a history of Saudi Arabia, and in one of the last chapters was a description of a group of princes out hawking--in Jeeps. I liked the image (except for the Jeeps!) and sat down to entertain myself by seeing where it might go. I put the princes on horses, sent them out into the desert--and suddenly they were hunting dragons.

Characters often take a life of their own. Which of your characters did you find the most unpredictable to write about?

Kazander. The guy simply rode on in and took over. I kept having to find ways to get him off-camera so he didn't steal the whole show.This is where I get to mention my all-time favorite quote about writing. John Fowles, in THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT'S WOMAN: "It is only when our characters and events begin to disobey us that they begin to live." This is, of course, scant solace when some moron you really needed in a later chapter gets himself knifed and says to you, "Hey--I'm dying here! You want to write down my last words or something? 'Cause I figure I got maybe four breaths left, so--" You get the idea.

Honestly, do you believe that the fantasy genre will ever come to be recognized as veritable literature? Truth be told, in my opinion there has never been this many good books/series as we have right now, and yet there is still very little respect (not to say none) associated with the genre.

Theme song by Aretha Franklin, baby! R-E-S-P-E-C-T!It has to do with taste and timing. For instance, the Victorians loathed Jane Austen (two notable exceptions were Sir Walter Scott, who loved the elegance of her writing, and Robert Louis Stevenson, who said that every time Elizabeth Bennett opened her mouth, he wanted to go down on his knees!). Somebody someday is going to figure out that there's some really good writing as well as really good storytelling going on in fantasy. But I'm not going to hold my breath.There's an interesting problem fantasy writers run into all the time, and it's this: What do we tell people when they ask what we write? If we say "fantasy," it's automatically assumed we write children's books, and then we have to go through a whole long explanation that the questioner doesn't really care about anyhow because none of the rest of us is J. K. Rowling. If we say "adult fantasy," it's an equally automatic assumption that we write pornography--which involves an even longer explanation that the questioner doesn't care about either. Can't win for losin', as my Daddy used to say. So maybe it's a matter of getting people clued in that there are more than two kinds of fantasy fiction.

How would you like to be remembered as an author? What is the legacy you'll be leaving behind?

Y'know, I've never been asked to write the first line of my obituary before.

This is akin to another question beloved of interviewers (but not of writers!): "What's your best book?" My answer to that one is always, "I desperately hope I haven't written it yet."

With a new generation of readers who have perhaps never read your books or heard of you, do you feel as though you have something to prove?

No.