Ask the Authors (Fandemonium)

[Elite Anubis Guard]

Remember that Wiki I mentioned ages ago? Turned out it go approved but I wasn't told about it.

http://user4574.elwiki.com/Main_Page

I've uploaded a few articles but I've still got more to do. Anyone who reads the novels and is interested in helping out, sign up and get posting some info!

[suse]

Oh, heck, if the choice is between this and AT3 (which I assume is in England again), take AT3. Nothing against the con or Baltimore, but come on -- England. And while I'm sure James or one of the other full-blood Brits on the list could explain the geography better than I could, Kent is a county in the southeast, right near London. Half my cousins live there, although I don't know where their airport might be, since I've always flown into Gatwick.

Bonus points for the use of "frack," by the way.

Oh yeah. I'm pricing stuff that I can get early now so it's not all a rush closer. (And to spread out the cost. )

I'll be sorry to miss Shore Leave because it's just *that* close to being close enough to drive. And it's still $60 (including gas) for a day trip that can go in The Fund(tm).

LOL Perhaps I can catch a signing of a new SG-1/SGA release while I'm there Aren't you impressed with my ability to drag myself back to topic?

suse

[Elizabeth Christensen]

Remember that Wiki I mentioned ages ago? Turned out it go approved but I wasn't told about it.

http://user4574.elwiki.com/Main_Page

I've uploaded a few articles but I've still got more to do. Anyone who reads the novels and is interested in helping out, sign up and get posting some info!

Hey, cool. Good stuff, EAG! I'm not familiar with ElWiki -- is that a subset of Wikipedia or a separate entity? <admitting my online ignorance>

[Elite Anubis Guard]

It's just the same old normal Wikipedia style stuff - it's just a different host.

[Cinc1]

I just noticed that Fandemonium Books has updated their website at www.stargatenovels.com/books.shtml with some forthcoming titles:

Stargate Atlantis: Entanglement by Martha Wells, due out March 2007

Stargate SG-1: Roswell by Sonny Whitelaw & Jennifer Fallon, due out May 2007

Stargate SG-1: Barque of Heaven by Suzanne Wood, due out July 2007

I know Suzanne Wood is a new author for this series and Martha Wells hasn’t posted in this thread yet, but maybe Sonny and/or Beth could tell us a little bit more about Roswell?

~ Mike

[sonny1]

I know Suzanne Wood is a new author for this series and Martha Wells hasn’t posted in this thread yet, but maybe Sonny and/or Beth could tell us a little bit more about Roswell?

~ Mike

Hi Mike,

I should start by introducing my Roswell co-author, Jennifer Fallon (http://www.jenniferfallon.com). Not that Jen really needs introducing because she’s a best selling fantasy author in the US, UK, Australia and I’ve lost track of the other countries, and she maintains a blog featuring Really Useful Advice like Top 10 Reasons Not to Microwave the Cat.

Jen and I are two of ten interminable sufferers of a thing we signed up for a year ago, called an MA. It’s a duck. Nope, I did not mean albatross. It’s a flightless lame duck that trails us around and so we’ve been using every diversionary tactic on the planet to entertain ourselves rather than complete our exegeses. Roswell is the result. The original title was born from a weekend wrestling with Aristotelian logic and our supervisors, to wit: post hoc ergo propter hoc. So, on my web site, the working title is Post Hoc. We ultimately decided to call a spade a spade, and hence, Roswell was born, and let me tell you, writing with a partner is soooo much more fun than writing alone, because two twisted minds are always better than one.

What’s it about? Hm…you get one guess The story is set early in Season 10, and features Jack O'Neill, Sam Carter, Daniel Jackson, Teal'c, Cam Mitchell, Vala Mal Doran, and a host of special guest stars including Loki, Daffy Duck, Harry Houdini (okay, the last two we just made up....maybe).

[Cinc1]

Thanks Sonny! Sounds great!

(Also, I see the Fandemonium website has been updated to show your co-author as Jennifer Fallon now.)

~ Mike

[Elizabeth Christensen]

Thanks Sonny! Sounds great!

(Also, I see the Fandemonium website has been updated to show your co-author as Jennifer Fallon now.)

~ Mike

Heh -- did they initially put me up in Jennifer's place out of habit? No, Sonny and I aren't joined at the hip (would be tough with that pesky Pacific Ocean in the way). We are teaming up on a later project, so stay tuned for that. In the meantime, what I've seen of the Roswell manuscript looks like a great ride...

[Gate Geek]

SQUEE!!! On the new books coming out. Hopefully publishing will stay on track and I can grab Martha Wells Entanglement in early March and have something worthwhile to read on that fight to Vancouver.

So I noticed we'll be getting two Sg1 novels back to back (May and July). When can I expect another Atlantis????

Looking forward to reading the works of the authors who are new to the SG realm.

[Jennifer Fallon]

Hi all...

Now that Sonny's introduced me (and Fandemonium have got the names right<g>) I thought I'd drop by and say hello.

As Sonny mentioned, we're currently working on getting our Masters Degrees in creative writing which is proving something of a chore (this is a vast understatement. It's proving to be a nightmare). This led to us having to read and critique each other's work, (we live in the same country but only get together about twice a year for the MA), drink large amounts of alcohol and come up with as many diversionary tactics as possible to put off writing the final exegesis we have to produce to pass this course.

As Sonny mentioned, result of this procrastination was Roswell. As a long time fan of all things Stargate, there are not words to describe how much fun I had working on this book, or working with Sonny. Sonny is the consumate professional and a brilliant collaborator. The story is great (I can say that without sounding too smug, the plot is all Sonny's work, you see), and led to some truly fascinating phonecalls (you know, like... hey Sonny, how much trouble will we get into if we blow up Earth?... that sort call...tee hee). Having worked with her now, I have decided Sonny is like a female version of Daniel Jackson. She knows everything (well, may not everything) and she's never happier than when she's head down in a musty library somewhere researching some tiny little detail to ensure it's exactly right.

I was gobsmaked by the amount of research she put in to Roswell, even before I came along. I think you guys will really like it. I had so much fun that hopefully, we'll get together again for a outing at sometime in the future, but at the moment (partly as a result of our procrastinating with Roswell) we're both got our noses to the grindstone on other projects. In addition to the MA, Sonny is working on the next Stargate Atlantis book, and I have a rather large fantasy epic (Book 3 of the Tide Lords) with a looming deadline that's starting to resemble the Grim Reaper.

[Gate Geek]

Hi all...

Now that Sonny's introduced me (and Fandemonium have got the names right<g>) I thought I'd drop by and say hello.

As Sonny mentioned, we're currently working on getting our Masters Degrees in creative writing which is proving something of a chore (this is a vast understatement. It's proving to be a nightmare). This led to us having to read and critique each other's work, (we live in the same country but only get together about twice a year for the MA), drink large amounts of alcohol and come up with as many diversionary tactics as possible to put off writing the final exegesis we have to produce to pass this course.

As Sonny mentioned, result of this procrastination was Roswell. As a long time fan of all things Stargate, there are not words to describe how much fun I had working on this book, or working with Sonny. Sonny is the consumate professional and a brilliant collaborator. The story is great (I can say that without sounding too smug, the plot is all Sonny's work, you see), and led to some truly fascinating phonecalls (you know, like... hey Sonny, how much trouble will we get into if we blow up Earth?... that sort call...tee hee). Having worked with her now, I have decided Sonny is like a female version of Daniel Jackson. She knows everything (well, may not everything) and she's never happier than when she's head down in a musty library somewhere researching some tiny little detail to ensure it's exactly right.

I was gobsmaked by the amount of research she put in to Roswell, even before I came along. I think you guys will really like it. I had so much fun that hopefully, we'll get together again for a outing at sometime in the future, but at the moment (partly as a result of our procrastinating with Roswell) we're both got our noses to the grindstone on other projects. In addition to the MA, Sonny is working on the next Stargate Atlantis book, and I have a rather large fantasy epic (Book 3 of the Tide Lords) with a looming deadline that's starting to resemble the Grim Reaper.

*BIG WAVES*

Hi and welcome to GW!!! So glad to meet you. Sounds like you had a bit of fun writing the novel (hey anything that involves some alcohol is a good thing right? ).

I'm looking forward to your joint venture novel and seeing you popping in here and chatting with us.

[Major Tyler]

Does anyone know if there are any plans for books that focus on the "Lt. Aiden Ford" character? Since TPTB have abadoned him without even the slightest bit of substantive development, it seems that novels are the only real way of revisiting that character.

Thanks.

[Elite Anubis Guard]

Hey! It's always nice to have another author onboard!

[sonny1]

Does anyone know if there are any plans for books that focus on the "Lt. Aiden Ford" character? Since TPTB have abadoned him without even the slightest bit of substantive development, it seems that novels are the only real way of revisiting that character.

Thanks.

Hi,

The novels don't generally focus on any one character, rather, the primary characters. SGA novels set in Season 1, which includes Rising, The Chosen and Halcyon all feature Ford because he was a core team member (possibly Reliquary as well, but I confess I have not had a chance to read it, yet).We certainly regarded him as a primary character in The Chosen.

While I have no plot ideas that involve Ford at the present - we're currently working on a novel set near the end of Season 3 - there is no reason to suggest he may not make an appearance in other novels set in later seasons, and he would certainly appear in any future novels set in Season 1.

[Major Tyler]

The novels don't generally focus on any one character, rather, the primary characters. SGA novels set in Season 1, which includes Rising, The Chosen and Halcyon all feature Ford because he was a core team member (possibly Reliquary as well, but I confess I have not had a chance to read it, yet). We certainly regarded him as a primary character in The Chosen.

Thanks for answering my question, Sonny. Reliquary is the only SGA novel I've read so far, and Ford's involvement is minimal. As you might gather from my signature, I'm a big fan of the character, as are many others. I know that the novels do not not focus solely on one character, but they can still offer a challenge for a character to overcome, or a special contribution that they find they can make, that is a substantial part of a larger story.

It seems like most stories' summaries say something like "Sheppard must face a terrible foe" or "McKay faces his demons," but never "Lt. Ford may hold the key" or "Aiden overcomes great adversity"...hell, I'd be happy with "someone acknowledges Ford's existence."

In many ways, Ford's under-development could be a good thing for a writer because they have largely a blank slate. He has fewer canonical restrictions on behavior, backstory, and capabilities, that a writer can do whatever they want (within reason). This is especially useful in a season one setting simply because Ford must be there, or at least must have a believable reason for being absent, so why not make the best use of him that you can?

I have an outline for a novel-length story I'd like to write (once I'm done with this semester ), but I'm not sure what I'd do with it once I wrote it. I've been developing the idea for several months, but am only about 20% completed.

Anyway, the purpose of my post isn't to talk about me, but to point out that Lt. Aiden Ford is a largely untapped resource that I would encourage any authors to consider taking advantage of. I know that Ford's fanbase may not be as vocal or as "eccentric" as the fans of other characters, but we are here, and we are loyal, as evidenced by the fact that we still care about him now that he has been gone for so long.

Thanks for reading. If "The Chosen" treats Ford as a valued member of the team as you have suggested, I might just have to go out and buy it.

- Matt