Margaret Weis, Don Perrin, and Chris Pierson 05/17/00
Margaret Weis - Thanks for inviting me! Xoanon - you are very welcome :) Xoanon - Nonsense asks: When is your next book coming out? Margaret Weis - The next book is Well of Darkness, the first novel in the Sovereign Stone trilogy and it will be out September 2000. Xoanon - rylet asks: will the next book in the 'War of the Souls' series be unleashed by GenCon? Margaret Weis - No. Dragons of a Lost Star is due out April 2001. Xoanon - Phungus asks: There is a gep between Bothers in arms and start of the chronicles, are there any plans to bridge that at all? Margaret Weis - Yes, I plan to write a third book, but not until after both War of Souls and Sovereign Stone are finished. Margaret Weis - For you draconian fans, Don and I have a new Kang book coming out. Draconian Measures. Due out in October. Xoanon - TheBursar asks: Will a dragonlance trilogy of films ever be considered in the near future? Margaret Weis - We'd love to see a movie made, but nothing so far. We keep hoping!:) Xoanon - Lord_Sagan wants to know why you like to collaberate with other authors so often Margaret Weis - My lord, I enjoy collaboration because it's fun to work with Don and Tracy. Margaret Weis - I can get a character into a deadly situation and they have to get him out!:) Xoanon - Tycho asks: Would you ever consider going back to the lands in the Deathgate Cycle and telling future stories there? Margaret Weis - No, seven books in that series was enough. Xoanon - Gandalf asks: What character are you most proud of? and what character mostly reflects you? Margaret Weis - I love all the characters in the Star of the Guardian series. Maigrey is the person I'd like to be. Margaret Weis - I am proud of how Raistlin turned out. Xoanon - GreyKage asks: What would you consider to be the best book you've written, and why? Margaret Weis - I think Robot Blues is the best book I've written. It had a great plot and wonderful characters and just really came together the way I wanted it to. Margaret Weis - But that's like asking a mother which of her kids is her favorite! Margaret Weis - I'd like to introduce my husband and co-author, Don Perrin. DPerrin - Hi! Xoanon - Welcome DPerrin - Thanks for having Margaret and I tonight! Xoanon - you can both anwer these questions at free will :) DPerrin - I'm sure you'd rather have Frodo and Samwise, but they said they were busy tonight. Xoanon - Groke asks: Are there any further plans for Mag Force 7/Star of the Guardians? DPerrin - We'd love to do more Mag Force 7 books. But we're looking for a new publisher. DPerrin - Margaret's got some cool ideas. DPerrin - Sagan and Maigrey in hell, perhaps. Xoanon - Taran: How would you describe the relationship of your work to the work of JRRT in general? Where did he influence you? Margaret Weis - I read JRRT in the 60s when the books were first popular in the US. DPerrin - He is the father of the whole genre, so all gratitude to him! Margaret Weis - I think he influenced me by his ability to make a fantasy world real. DPerrin - He made it so that we could imagine in worlds with orks, elves and dwarves. DPerrin - I think the whole epic fantasy quest novel points to him, or at least in my view. Xoanon - Mormegil asks: (concerning the Lord of the Rings films) if you could change anything about the films so far, plot changes, editing what would it be? Margaret Weis - I credit Homer with the epic quest story.:) Margaret Weis - Not having seen it, I can't say! DPerrin - Well, Homer is busy with the Simpsons, so we have to defer to JRRT. DPerrin - I'd say that the movie (from the spoilers, et al) looks awesome! DPerrin - Don't think I'd change anything without seeing the whole vision on film. Xoanon - Althea asks: any chance we'll be seeing Raislin in WOS? Margaret Weis - Can't answer that. Top secret. Sorry.:) DPerrin - Which can be inferred as ..... :) Xoanon - ah ha, but this is a site where we reveal secrets :) DPerrin - Shouldn't that be "half-human," just to be fair? Margaret Weis - I think Wizards might be upset if I did. Not to mention Tracy! Xoanon - :) Margaret Weis - Hi, Chris! Xoanon - Rylet asks: Do you enjoy role-playing or writing more? Margaret Weis - Fellow Dragonlance author Chris Pierson. Jincey - welcome chris :) CPierson - Hi, all. DPerrin - I like writing RPGs, but novels is where my serious future lies. Margaret Weis - I enjoy writing. It's not a job, it's my life. But I have fun role-playing, especially our new Sovereign Stone RPG. Xoanon - TheBursar asks: Do you think at some point you will collaborate with Mr. Hickman and Mr. Perrin? DPerrin - No, I'd never work with the likes of THEM!! CPierson - Never. Scoundrels, the lot of them. Xoanon - lol DPerrin - Margaret's doing the YMCA arm-movements while chatting. Very bizarre. Xoanon - GreyKage asks: What advice would you give to an aspiring writer? Margaret Weis - Keep reading. Keep writing. Keep your day job. Xoanon - Taran asks: Is there any author of Fantasy/Sci Fi genre who has developed his/her own style independent from Tolkien? DPerrin - To get published, you need an agent. To get an agent, you need to be published. To break the cycle, try magazine stories and articles. DPerrin - Yes, but we refuse to tell you who. Margaret Weis - Yes, I think all of them have! Xoanon - To get published, you need an agent. To get an agent, you need to be published. To break the cycle, try magazine stories and articles. Margaret Weis - I think most astute readers could figure out what happened next.:) Xoanon - WebDruid asks: What fantasy authors do you enjoy reading now and why? DPerrin - I like George RR Martin. He's made a heck of a world in Game of Thrones. Also, Glen Cook with the Black Company is excellent. Margaret Weis - I don't read fantasy. I need to hear my own voice in my head. CPierson - I'm a Guy Gavriel Kay zealot. He captures setting and complex characters incredibly well. DPerrin - He's a Canadian, and we all know about Canadians! CPierson - ;) Xoanon - ahem DPerrin - Okay, I'm a Canadian, too. Xoanon - we don't eat whale blubber Xoanon - Sara_D: Does Ms. Weis plan on writing anymore DL short stories in the near future? DPerrin - you don't? Xoanon - not since new years Margaret Weis - Yes, Don and I are currently working on a Kang short story for Dragon magazine. DPerrin - me neither (at least since New Years.) Xoanon - Ulmo asks: What Tolkien creation has most influenced your own writing? Margaret Weis - Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit. DPerrin - To me, it was the Hobbit. Such a simple story to create such a universe. Truly extraordinary. Xoanon - Anglachel asks: Tolkien drew alot from mythologies, do you ever look back to those texts for ideas and themes? Margaret Weis - I look to all books I read for ideas and themes. You don't have to read only mythology. Margaret Weis - I read Dickens, Austen, Doyle, Dumas, Chaim Potok, Mary Renault. To name just a few. DPerrin - No, I look back to Tolkien. He did all his homework :) Actually, I think you have to, at least a little. Margaret Weis - I write about the human experience and that crosses all borders as far as genres are concerned. DPerrin - prochaine Xoanon - Perceval asks: Do you find inspiration in music? if so, what music? Margaret Weis - I love classical music and opera (big influence in Star of the Guardians) and I like blues and jazz and rock and roll pre 1980. DPerrin - Yes. I came up with a whole wonderful sci/fi story listening to "Paper Moon" by Def Leppard, but when I thought about it, it turned out to be Battlestar Galactica DPerrin - oooops. Xoanon - Tookish asks: As authors, what are your most favorite things about writing, and what are your least? what challenges do you find the most daunting? DPerrin - Different from Margaret, I like having been a writer far more than writing. Still, it all comes in one package. Margaret Weis - I enjoy writing. I write every day--holidays included. My favorite part is when I've written a scene DPerrin - To me, the discipline of writing is hard, and something I have to work on. Margaret Weis - and I know that I nailed it. That I said exactly what I wanted. That's the best. Margaret Weis - The worst is when the book is going wrong and I know it's going wrong and I can't figure out why. Xoanon - Calisuri asks: If one of your books was to be made into a major motion picture, how involved would you like to be with the actual process of filmmaking. would you like to be on set? Directing? Xoanon - and a big rassie to cali for the longest question yet :P Margaret Weis - I'd like to be involved in the writing. I wouldn't be much good at directing! That's another art form entirely. DPerrin - I'd like to be a consultant, but not mess with the Director's vision. Film is very different from novels, so I don't want to mess in a world I'm not familiar with. Margaret Weis - You know, it's hard to type with a cat laying across your forearms. DPerrin - Oh, and I'd like to be in on the money collecting. Xoanon - I'll direct it then:) Margaret Weis - Sounds good to me! DPerrin - Me too! Xoanon - Rylet asks: was is hard to get a writing job with TSR? Margaret Weis - If you're interested in writing for TSR, go to the Wizards of the Coast website. They have guidelines there. Margaret Weis - You need to follow the guidelines. DPerrin - I cheated. I got to know the insiders at TSR before I wrote a piece for publication. Many times, it's best to meet them at cons before attempting to solicit work. Margaret Weis - You can also start by writing articles for the magazines like Dragon and Dungeon. DPerrin - The magazines are the best way to get known at TSR as a writer. Margaret Weis - They usually hold seminars at Gen Con for aspiring writers. CPierson - I found an open call for stuff on alt.fan.dragonlance, and got in that way. Xoanon - The Bursar asks: Will we see Fizban again any time soon? Margaret Weis - Can't answer that! Secret! You no tell! DPerrin - Hey! There's a Tycho in the room tonight! Xoanon - IceWolf asks: When both you and Don work together, how do you divide the work between you? DPerrin - I write all the vowels. Margaret Weis - Don does the military bits!:) DPerrin - Margaret writes from one voice, and I provide scenes to drop in. We hate it when you can tell where one started and one left off. Xoanon - Tycho asks: What is your opinion when your fantasy worlds are compared positivly or negativly to Middle-earth? Margaret Weis - Well, if it's positive, I think it's great! If it's negative, I don't mind. DPerrin - It's quite an honor to be compared at all! Still, we do get to learn from Tolkien and avoid some of his pitfalls. DPerrin - That's not to say that we don't make many of our own :) DPerrin - Our RPG (Sovereign Stone) is described as "Tolkienesque" but no one agrees on what that means! Xoanon - Berendir asks: Who is the genius who created Tas Burrfoot? And why is everyone so mean to him when he has saved all their lives a dozen times each? Margaret Weis - Roger Moore, former editor of Dragon magazine, was the first to write a short story involving Tasslehoff. Roger came up with his character. DPerrin - Because he's a KENDER!! CPierson - It's fun being mean to a kender DPerrin - true enough Xoanon - Mormengil asks: Have any of you read The Silmarillion? do you think it could make a good film? Margaret Weis - No, I haven't read it. I started it, but I didn't like it. Wasn't the same. CPierson - I've read it, and it would have to be about 10 films. DPerrin - I did, and no, I think it would be aweful. Too broad a scope, and covering too much material. Xoanon - Perceval asks: How many pages do you manage to write in a day? Do you have any 'conditions' to work? Margaret Weis - Sometimes if the writing's going well, I do lots of pages. Or if it's a difficult scene, I may only write two or three. DPerrin - I can do a maximum of 2500 words in a day, I find. Margaret Weis - I work in the mornings from 8:00 to 11:00 at my computer which is in my office in a loft in our barn. CPierson - I once did 8000 in a day. Nearly killed me, though. :) CPierson - Words, not pages. Margaret Weis - We live in a converted barn. I don't type with cows.:) DPerrin - I have to beat myself into not avoiding the work, and finding any excuse not to. Once I've started, thjough, it goes very well. Xoanon - Silverst asks: Do you plan to stop writing for Dragonlance in the near future? (God forbid!) Margaret Weis - We have to finish War of Souls. Then we'll see what comes next. What happens with Third Edition will be a big factor. DPerrin - Yes, I plan it all the time. I never do, though. My plans never succeed. Margaret Weis - Also we're interested in working with Sovereign Stone. It's a great world. CPierson - Heh. Our editor's very persuasive about pulling us back in. :) DPerrin - 3rd Ed of Dungeons and Dragons, that is. Xoanon - TE00 asks: Does religion (or spirituality) play a role in your writing? DPerrin - Yes, but not in an overt way. I don't like to put my views into my characters, unless appropriate. They have to stand on their own. Margaret Weis - Yes, I enjoy working with spirituality. It's part of the human experience. CPierson - I'm not a particularly spiritual person, but my new trilogy about the Kingpriest (plug plug) requires a bit of religious thinking. Not necessarily my beliefs, though. Xoanon - Berendir: You mentioned you have learned to avoid some of Tolkien's pitfalls, what are they? DPerrin - Our orks don't sing! Xoanon - ah, but can they dance? CPierson - That's Nelvana, Don, not Tolkien. More blasted Canadians. DPerrin - Oh well. Silly Canadians. Xoanon - Althea: Any plans to do an annotated edition of the Legends Trilogy? Margaret Weis - Yes, we plan to do an Annotated Legends, but not until after War of Souls is completed. Xoanon - we will be chatting for another 5 minutes, and if our good guests want to stay on, I'll open up the floor and un moderate the room DPerrin - We can't stay, I'm afraid. Margaret Weis - But we'd love to come back! Margaret Weis - And if anyone has a question, they can write to me at mweis@mag7.com. Margaret Weis - You can find information about Sovereign Stone at www.sovstone.com DPerrin - I can be reached at dperrin@mag7.com. Xoanon - well, we'll arrange another chat down the road! :) DPerrin - That would be fun! Xoanon - one more question? Margaret Weis - Sure! DPerrin - Fire! Xoanon - Tastes great or less filling? Margaret Weis - Tastes great! Xoanon - Alright! woo hoo! DPerrin - Well, obviously Less Filling. CPierson - Tastes Filling! DPerrin - Geeeez. How obvious! Xoanon - lol, it's a thing we ask all the guests :) DPerrin - Less Great!
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