Ask the Authors (Fandemonium)

[Naonak]

Sure do! On CoW, it's Ronon.

Cool, that's a spine each for the whole team now, then.

O'Neill on Relativity.

Suppose that's a given, really. (Although Teal'c was on SotF)

[H Louise]

PLEASE!! don't anger the publishing dieties!! I sooo need this book. NOW!

I agree. Don't jinx it! Lol.

[partly cloudy skies]

to the Fandemonium SG1 authors,

I read through most of this thread and tried a search, but I don't quite have a handle on it yet.

Anyhow, are there any plans to start including Vala or Cameron or Landry in these books, or will they all remain focused on Jack's time as part of the show? Many of the books seem Jack-centric. I am assuming that you have to wait until both season 9 and 10 get through their first run in syndication so even people without cable are familiar with the characters.

Will the Atlantis books eventually include Sam at some point too? Or are we talking way way off in the future before something like that happens?

Thanks! This thread has been interesting to see the progress of the books and to see how much thought goes into writing them.

[Naonak]

Anyhow, are there any plans to start including Vala or Cameron or Landry in these books, or will they all remain focused on Jack's time as part of the show? Many of the books seem Jack-centric. I am assuming that you have to wait until both season 9 and 10 get through their first run in syndication so even people without cable are familiar with the characters.

I'm not one of the authors, but I'm sure they won't mind me telling you that Roswell (by Sonny Whitelaw and Jennifer Fallon) is set during season 10, so features Mitchell and Vala, and it has Jack in it too.

[partly cloudy skies]

Thank you! I wasn't sure since most of the books so far haven't included them, so I thought maybe they couldn't yet. It'll be interesting to see an author's take on Vala because she is so colorful on screen.

[JMSwallow]

Anyhow, are there any plans to start including Vala or Cameron or Landry in these books, or will they all remain focused on Jack's time as part of the show?

Although my next SG-1 novel is set before they join the show, I have recently written a short story featuring Mitchell and Vala for the official magazine, which will hopefully be out soonish...

[Alipeeps]

Seconded! (That smiley is red-faced due to sunburn, not embarrassment.)

Oh, and the lovely Casualties cover is now posted. GG and Alipeeps, don't despair because Shep's not front and center; I think Elizabeth has a bigger role in this book than she's had in the other books so far, so that's why she's somewhat showcased in the artwork. I'm just pleased that there's an actual Stargate on the cover -- it's the first of my three covers to have one, so now certain SG-novice members of my family will finally know what a gate looks like.

Oooooh! Excited to see the cover! (And, may I say, possily even more excited to read the little blurb for Blood Ties on your website! ).

Roll on September!

[Jennifer Fallon]

It'll be interesting to see an author's take on Vala because she is so colorful on screen.

Vala is an absolute riot and we had a great deal of fun with her in Roswell. She gets some of the best lines in the book. Particularly when she and Jack have scenes together. Cam is great character too, although Sonny and I did have a bit of a disagreement while writing the book about what to do with him.

My suggestion that he appear in every single scene apparently lacked literary merit. LOL

[Elizabeth Christensen]

Oooooh! Excited to see the cover! (And, may I say, possily even more excited to read the little blurb for Blood Ties on your website! ).

Roll on September!

Still doing my best to avoid any jinxes ... BUT: I got my CoW copies in the mail today! (And arrived home just in time to yank them off the doorstep before the rain came pouring down. I ask you, U.S. Postal Service, would it not make sense to plastic-wrap any boxes you plan to deliver on days with a 60% chance of rain?)

Soooo ... I have permission from the Powers that Be at Fandy to sell CoW at this weekend's Creation convention in Chicago. If you happen to be in the greater Chicagoland area, you can pick up one of the very first available copies. Everyone else, the book should be available online very soon!

[Alipeeps]

Still doing my best to avoid any jinxes ... BUT: I got my CoW copies in the mail today! (And arrived home just in time to yank them off the doorstep before the rain came pouring down. I ask you, U.S. Postal Service, would it not make sense to plastic-wrap any boxes you plan to deliver on days with a 60% chance of rain?)

Soooo ... I have permission from the Powers that Be at Fandy to sell CoW at this weekend's Creation convention in Chicago. If you happen to be in the greater Chicagoland area, you can pick up one of the very first available copies. Everyone else, the book should be available online very soon!

Waaaaaaaaaaah! But I'm not in Chicago! I'm not even near! *tries desperately to think if she has any candidates who live near Chicago who she can persuade to attend the Con..*

Umm.. how bout if you mail me a copy and I'll swear blind to anyone that asks - Fandy included - that I was definitely in Chicago on 25-26 August? Hmmh? No? *begs*

[sonny1]

Anyhow, are there any plans to start including Vala or Cameron or Landry in these books, or will they all remain focused on Jack's time as part of the show? Many of the books seem Jack-centric. I am assuming that you have to wait until both season 9 and 10 get through their first run in syndication so even people without cable are familiar with the characters.

Will the Atlantis books eventually include Sam at some point too? Or are we talking way way off in the future before something like that happens?

In the same way Exogenesis started from the premise of, 'what happens if we do this to Rodney' and then Beth and I worked the story out from there, my core idea for the Roswell story was the evolution of Vala’s character.

This is an excellent example of why I avoid looking at secondary source material (web site encyclopaedias, comics, games and fan fiction). Try as I might to avoid it, some extraneous material leaks through—in conversation with fans at conventions, for example—and the overall feeling I received up until the point where I began writing Roswell was that fans saw Vala as an untrustworthy, self-centred thief with an overdeveloped libido.

I saw her from a writer’s perspective, as a fantastic and complex character with a feast of possibilities, and I was itching to explore her many facets. Certainly, the plot of Roswell is centred on events in 1947 and a homage to Stargate’s roots (Lovecraft’s alien elder ‘gods’ and their lost city in Antarctica), but story (as distinct from plot) is about the characters’ journey through that plot, and Vala’s fish out of water character was a sheer pleasure to write. Of course the entire book is not Vala-centric, but Vala’s character was a prime story motivator.

Jen and I also wrote a short story for the Stargate magazine back in March, planned to be published around the same time as Roswell (June). The magazine has since had a new editor so I have no idea when it will actually be published. The story is from Vala’s point of view, which, because it’s set on Earth, allowed us to examine more of those fish out of water elements. Having said that, the brief introspective moments are on the fly because it’s a non-stop action story featuring all six team members.

As to Carter in Atlantis, I’d like to see how the dynamics of that work out and what new directions Atlantis takes before I’d comment on new story ideas.

[Gate Geek]

Still doing my best to avoid any jinxes ... BUT: I got my CoW copies in the mail today! (And arrived home just in time to yank them off the doorstep before the rain came pouring down. I ask you, U.S. Postal Service, would it not make sense to plastic-wrap any boxes you plan to deliver on days with a 60% chance of rain?)

Soooo ... I have permission from the Powers that Be at Fandy to sell CoW at this weekend's Creation convention in Chicago. If you happen to be in the greater Chicagoland area, you can pick up one of the very first available copies. Everyone else, the book should be available online very soon!

*WAILS*

That is so unfair!! I'm a loyal Fandy customer! I purchase all the books! chicago is too far away!!!

So, can I expect to see this book online in the next week or two? Huh? huh???

[Suzotchka]

Soooo ... I have permission from the Powers that Be at Fandy to sell CoW at this weekend's Creation convention in Chicago. If you happen to be in the greater Chicagoland area, you can pick up one of the very first available copies. Everyone else, the book should be available online very soon!

Aw man! I live in NYC and it's my birthday weekend so I can't go!!

[brihana25]

Here's just a silly question about research.

Where was JFK assassinated?

[Elizabeth Christensen]

Here's just a silly question about research.

Where was JFK assassinated?

Aha -- much easier to answer this than face the cries of the folks getting cheated out of CoW this weekend. (Ali, GG, Suz: sorry! I swear it wasn't my goal to mess with you. I still fear the jinx, but I'm told it should only be a couple of weeks until the full, no-kidding release ...)

Anyway: Dealey Plaza, Dallas, TX. (Wikipedia can tell you more if needed.) The building from which the shots were fired -- well, some of them, at least, depending on which theories you believe -- has been turned into a fascinating museum. I stopped in for a visit last year; I was attending a two-week class in north Texas and had to waste the weekend somewhere.

What's in north Texas, you might ask? That would be the amusingly-named Sheppard Air Force Base.

And an early "happy birthday" to Suzotchka!