Ask the Authors (Fandemonium)

[KarenMiller]

I'm in England...some ways away.

Not to worry! Happy to do it regardless. It's not like they weigh a ton ...

[Gate Geek]

Just got my notice from Fandemonium that Alliances by Karen Miller is now available!! SQUEE!!! Looking forward to ordering it.

[KarenMiller]

Just got my notice from Fandemonium that Alliances by Karen Miller is now available!! SQUEE!!! Looking forward to ordering it.

I confess, I confess, I'm looking forward to you reading it ...

[Elite Anubis Guard]

Thanks for the bookplate, Karen! I'm gonna be ordering the book tomorrow, when my cash gets paid in! Woot!

So questions. Sonny, when Chosen was announced it had a very similar summary to the episode The Tower. Was it similar to that episode but you had to change it due to the episode?

[Elizabeth Christensen]

So questions. Sonny, when Chosen was announced it had a very similar summary to the episode The Tower. Was it similar to that episode but you had to chance it due to the episode?

I'll tackle that one, since the basic premise of The Chosen was mostly my responsibility (for better or worse). Just about everything you read in The Chosen was in place before we saw or even heard about The Tower. The two cultures clearly had some similarities, so after the episode aired, we decided to augment the story with some additional fun and games, just to make damn sure everyone could tell the two apart. But there weren't enough parallels in the details to force us to toss anything out and start over.

That first summary of the book didn't do us any favors, of course, but c'est la vie. <shrug>

Minor overlaps are inevitable when dealing with a universe that has 200+ episodes to its name and is compiling more continuity every week. Sometimes it's a question of timing more than anything else. Because of the plot I'm working on right now, I watched this year's midseason finale of Atlantis with a fair bit of trepidation, anxious that some of it might contradict what I was writing and force some changes. Fortunately I/we have been pretty lucky so far on that score. It's just another one of the rules of engagement, so to speak.

[KarenMiller]

Thanks for the bookplate, Karen! I'm gonna be ordering the book tomorrow, when my cash gets paid in! Woot!

You're welcome, and thank you!

[sonny1]

I'll tackle that one, since the basic premise of The Chosen was mostly my responsibility (for better or worse). Just about everything you read in The Chosen was in place before we saw or even heard about The Tower. The two cultures clearly had some similarities, so after the episode aired, we decided to augment the story with some additional fun and games, just to make damn sure everyone could tell the two apart. But there weren't enough parallels in the details to force us to toss anything out and start over.

That first summary of the book didn't do us any favors, of course, but c'est la vie. <shrug>

Minor overlaps are inevitable when dealing with a universe that has 200+ episodes to its name and is compiling more continuity every week. Sometimes it's a question of timing more than anything else. Because of the plot I'm working on right now, I watched this year's midseason finale of Atlantis with a fair bit of trepidation, anxious that some of it might contradict what I was writing and force some changes. Fortunately I/we have been pretty lucky so far on that score. It's just another one of the rules of engagement, so to speak.

Someone asked me at a con the other day in Brisbane, what was the 'real' story. To me the only real story is the one that ends up printed. The rest is like my son's play dough. Bits of it get trimmed off and reshaped and end up laying around the house in an embarrasing mess of offcuts. All that counts is the finished product. I've just had to do a 1,000 word case study on The Chosen for my thesis (and emailed the entire draft off an hour ago. My brain is mulch.) What stands out in my mind is that it was a fun worldbuilding #101 exercise because it used basic urban geography theory to create an economy around the way the Ancient shield devices functioned. Devising armor and weaponry was also a lot of fun. Hopefully not many people will notice the fact that Dalera was a socio-economically functional city-state, because it's like most background scenery, you only notice it if it doesn't work. But I admit, I like worldbuilding...hence the title of the next novel. One final point, any similarity to The Tower is more to do with the fact that I had Helm's Deep on my mind when we devised the battle plan <g>.

Right, I'm off to Sydney in a few hours. David Nykl, Rachell Luttrell, Tony Amendola and Colin Cunningham have just arrived from NZ, (I think, it was noisy on the phone so I'm not entirely certain if they are all there yet). Two cons over the weekend with a stack of books in Borders stand at the Sydney Olympic Showground for Supanova, and then FSF. Should be a lot of fun.

Sonny

[Elite Anubis Guard]

Thanks for the answers. And have fun Sonny.

[JMSwallow]

Pardon the cross-posting - I'd just like to say a big thank you to everyone who came by the Fandemonium stand at the London Expo this weekend to buy our books and chat to Sally Malcolm and myself; Joe Flanigan joined us briefly and we'll hopefully have some images up on the official site in the near future.

[Alipeeps]

I'm desperately looking forward to getting my hands on Exogenesis. Amazon are now accepting pre-orders but does anyone know an official release date?

[Elizabeth Christensen]

I'm desperately looking forward to getting my hands on Exogenesis. Amazon are now accepting pre-orders but does anyone know an official release date?

Is "soon" an accurate enough response?

If it goes the way our first book did, it'll be out in a couple of weeks, simply because I'll be out of town for the next ten days. Last May, when The Chosen was released, I was on a three-week odyssey through Utah, Florida, and Texas for my "other" job. (Have I mentioned recently that I love my laptop? And that I do not love Dallas-Fort Worth and Chicago-O'Hare Airports?) I didn't see an actual copy of the book until I'd returned home from the trip ... at about 1 in the morning. A bit anticlimactic, but still awfully cool.

Anyway, at least the cover art is posted for Exo ... check it out here.

[Gate Geek]

Is "soon" an accurate enough response?

If it goes the way our first book did, it'll be out in a couple of weeks, simply because I'll be out of town for the next ten days. Last May, when The Chosen was released, I was on a three-week odyssey through Utah, Florida, and Texas for my "other" job. (Have I mentioned recently that I love my laptop? And that I do not love Dallas-Fort Worth and Chicago-O'Hare Airports?) I didn't see an actual copy of the book until I'd returned home from the trip ... at about 1 in the morning. A bit anticlimactic, but still awfully cool.

Anyway, at least the cover art is posted for Exo ... check it out here.

Um...no, "soon" is not acceptable!! I'm still predicting a mid-November release.....

I read the 'exocerpt' in the back of Alliances and so want this book! Come on, reading about a whumped Shep and needing a trip to the infirmary..so SQUEE!!!

Hope you have a great time wherever you're going!!!

[Alipeeps]

Is "soon" an accurate enough response?

If it goes the way our first book did, it'll be out in a couple of weeks, simply because I'll be out of town for the next ten days. Last May, when The Chosen was released, I was on a three-week odyssey through Utah, Florida, and Texas for my "other" job. (Have I mentioned recently that I love my laptop? And that I do not love Dallas-Fort Worth and Chicago-O'Hare Airports?) I didn't see an actual copy of the book until I'd returned home from the trip ... at about 1 in the morning. A bit anticlimactic, but still awfully cool.

Anyway, at least the cover art is posted for Exo ... check it out here.

It's not great.... but it's better than nothing!

Isn't it always the way that the cool things wait till your otherwise occupied before they happen?

Thanks for letting us know, anyway - though it sounds like you know about as much as we do! I really am looking forward to this novel - I really enjoyed The Chosen and the excerpt Gate Geek mentioned has only served to heighten my anticipation! I actually pre-ordered it off Amazon in July.. have sent them an email asking if they can confirm any kind of release schedule (as on my order it is still showing estimated delivery date of 7 September!!)

[Elizabeth Christensen]

Thanks much, GG and Alipeeps -- hope the book lives up to expectations! Sonny really outdid herself with the world she created for this one. And hey, at least now I know what 'exocerpt' ended up in Alliances (sorry, Karen -- I promise I'll get to it, but I'm so behind that Survival of the Fittest is currently in my suitcase).


Hey! How did I miss the fact that there are new character emoticons? Yay, Radek! Sweet ... I'm still entirely too fascinated by these.

[Elite Anubis Guard]

Quick question for Sonny, Elizabeth, Karen and James. I know the other authors were SG1 fanfics authors before writing novels for Fandy, but what about you guys? Are you converted fanfic people?