Interview with C.S. Friedman

Q: Were there any perceived conventions of the fantasy genre which you wanted to twist or break when you set out to write The Coldfire Trilogy? How about with The Magister Trilogy?

I like to break them all, quite frankly. Nothing is sacred in my books. 99% of all fantasy bores me to tears, because it all reads the same, so I try my hardest to come up with new ideas. My willingness to mix genres means I can draw upon themes from fantasy, science fiction, and horror at need, taking the best from each

Q: What was the spark that generated the idea which drove you to write both The Coldfire and The Magister Trilogies in the first place?

This question is so long and complicated that in the interest of keepign my promise and getting this out to you tonight I'm gonna put it aside. if I have time to morrow I may try to tackle it (man you ask long questions!) but if not I hope there is enough material in the rest of this to keep you going.

I THINK my web page http://www.csfriedman.com/ has a link off Black Sun Rising to author notes that talk about where BSR came from.

Q: What would you say was the hardest part of the entire process involved in the writing of the The Coldfire Trilogy? Each new addition revealed yet more depth to a series which has shown just how rich and complex it truly is. Maintaining some sort of balance between Damien Vryce and Gerald Tarrant must have been tricky at times?

Nope. Their relationship was the seed around which that entire tale was built, I never had trouble with it.

The hardest part of any novel is travelling. That is, your characters have to get from point A to point B and you can't just skip over it, but you also don't want to bog down in descriptions that don't matter. I remember reading a book by Dan Simmons in which characters on their way to the climax of a pretty intense novel fly over Romania, and there is a loooooooooong description of the Romanian mountains. Until finally one character turns to the other and says, "you know, this is all pretty tense, it's hard to concentrate on the landscape."

Yeah. Like that.

Q: What's the progress report pertaining to the second volume of The Magister Trilogy?

I'm writing it. :-) News will be posted on www.csfriedman.com.

Q: In light of the current market, are you tempted to write one of those enormous fantasy epics which continue to be the most successful series at the moment?

Uh...I thought this was one :-)

Unless you mean those endless epics that just go on for book after book after book? No. I will never, ever write one of those. It would bore me to tears.

I don't read them, either.

Q: Given the choice, would you take a New York Times bestseller, or a World Fantasy Award? Why, exactly?

Apples and Oranges! The Times Bestseller translates into mainstream readership, which is one kind of success. World Fantasy Award means that the readers who know your field best have chosen to honor you, which is another. Frankly, I hope to write books that will appeal to both groups.