2007: Sci Fi Week WebChat

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2007: Sci Fi Week WebChat

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Sci-Fi Week Chat with Dune Authors Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
August 14th, 2007

[Xfire] Chatteox: Hello! We are very pleased to welcome everyone to chat with world famous science fiction and fantasy authors, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson! Please join me in welcoming our special guests!

[Dune] Kevin J. Anderson: Hi everybody -- thanks for joining us.

[Xfire] Chatteox: Our guests will now say a few words and start taking your questions!

[Dune] Brian Herbert: Hi, from Arrakis Central.

[Dune] Kevin J. Anderson: We're more than one week into our SANDWORMS OF DUNE tour, meeting fans and signing books



[Dune] Brian Herbert: Question: nightmarerec0n: How does it feel to continue your father work, Brian?

Answer: I collaborated with Dad on his last novel, Man of Two Worlds. That was a tremendous thrill, considering the fact that he and I were not always close. Eventually, we became the best of friends, and now I feel as if I am still working with him. I remember the many writing tips that he gave me, and I'm enjoying exploring the Dune universe with Kevin.



[Dune] Brian Herbert: Question: tehky: Will Norma Cenva be making an appearance in the next book?

Answer: She is a fascinating character, and fans should not be surprised to find her appearing in the most unexpected places. As for the next book, that could be interpreted a couple of different ways. Kevin and I are hard at work on Paul of Dune. I just finished a chapter today, and Norma was NOT in it. Sorry, but we don't like to reveal what is in future stories.



[Dune] Kevin J. Anderson: Question: Red_Roadkill: what caused to finally release dune 7 after almost 15 years of waiting?

Answer: After the publication of CHAPTERHOUSE DUNE, it was clear that Frank Herbert had more in mind with the story. We got together about ten years after Frank Herbert's death and decided to continue the story. Within two weeks of our first meeting, an estate attorney contacted Brian to say that he had found the keys to two safe deposit boxes of Frank's. Inside, we found the outline and disks for "Dune 7" -- that story's been told many times. We did a lot of work with our prequels to both set up many of the details for the grand climax, and also to generate a lot of new interest in the Dune series. Now, with HUNTERS and SANDWORMS, we're bringing the story to its chronological end, as Frank Herbert envisioned it in his outline.



[Dune] Brian Herbert: Question: LightSol: Have any movie industries offered to make more dune movies?

Answer: We have constant interest in more Dune movies. Now there are 14 novels (6 by Frank Herbert + 6 by me and Kevin), so there is plenty of material for new and interesting films. Dad was a professional photographer, among other things, so he always had cinematography in mind. Kevin and I think in terms of visual scenes as well. We would like to see more movies, but the situation has to be right.



[Dune] Kevin J. Anderson: Question: =HH=Kηﺁgħṱ ت | Pro: During a day while you write continuously, how many cups of coffee do you guys think you consume?

Answer: We're a constant source of income for Starbucks or any other coffee shop nearby! And I have a good coffee maker at home!



[Dune] Kevin J. Anderson: Question: ~FA~Maj.VersuS HD: Do you write your books on a keyboard or with a pencil?

Answer: I use a digital recorder and dictate my fiction while I go out hiking (often in the sand dunes of Colorado or Death Valley...gets me in the mood for a desert planet). I edit on a laptop or on a keyboard. Brian writes mostly on his laptop, though he claims that when he started out his first word processor was a #2 pencil.



[Dune] Brian Herbert: Question: ~FA~Maj.VersuS HD: At what age did you start writing books?

Answer: I was almost 29 years old when I started. Before that, my wife noticed that I wrote good, long letters of complaint about faulty products, etc. She said that Dad and I were very close at the time, and she thought that he might help me. I hesitated, but when I finally asked him for help he was happy to give it. He would edit a few pages out of my manuscript and then would say to me, "Go now and do likewise."



[Dune] Kevin J. Anderson: Question: Melissa <3: With many books under your belt, what keeps up the originality? Where do you draw your inspirations from while writing these novels?

Answer: Frank Herbert set up such a huge universe, with ten thousand years of history and ten thousand ideas, that we have an endless supply of things to write about. Brian and I also both read on many different subjects, keep ourselves aware of other novels published, and we brainstorm with each other numerous times during the writing of a book.



[Dune] Brian Herbert: Question: Nodgene: Brian, I have a great respect for you for continuing what is an extremely demanding task of having to carry on a legend... but everyone loves where it began most of all; and towards that end, if you were to be any of the workers of the houses at the time of the original Dune saga, (Teilaxu face dancer, sardukar, fremen naib, etc) what would you choose to be and why? Same question Kevin ;)

Answer: I haven't thought about that one. Once, I did ask Dad which character of his that he most identified with, and he said it was Stilgar, the Fremen naib. So, that's what he would have chosen, and I'll answer for him.



[Dune] Kevin J. Anderson: Question: [Xfire] Klaak: Kevin, you've done several Star Wars novels in the past. With the Star Wars series slowing down, have you been offered to do any more Star Wars novels?

Answer: I really loved working for Lucasfilm, and the fans kept demanding more -- I ended up writing 54 projects for Star Wars, but I think I did all I could do in that universe without starting to repeat myself. I learned a lot from it, though, and I'm learning a huge amount from working on the Dune books, both from studying the original material, from looking at Frank Herbert's notes, and from working with Brian. I've applied many of those skills to my other projects, too, particularly the "Saga of Seven Suns" series, which has also been quite successful for me.



[Dune] Kevin J. Anderson: Question: [SF]Geostrike{Mrl}: Anderson, if you had to choose between writing Star Wars books or writing Dune books, which would you choose?

Answer: Well, I did both, plus my own work. It would be hard for me to get back into doing Star Wars because I haven't kept up with all of the new novels -- the Dune books with Brian really demand a huge amount of my time, energy, and imagination. But I do write my "Seven Suns" books as well, and I've got THE LAST DAYS OF KRYPTON coming out in October (the story of the fall and destruction of Superman's home planet). I really enjoy all my projects.



[Dune] Brian Herbert: Question: xdeathknightx: Having Frank Herbert as your dad is both a blessing and a curse, you have a well known name but also big shoes to fill, did you ever feel like you would never get out of his shadow?

Answer: I have always considered it a blessing. My first books were quite different from Dad's, and I do have a number of solo novels that I have enjoyed writing, in addition to continuing the Dune series. I suppose that my best answer to this excellent question is to be found in the bio that I wrote of Dad, Dreamer of Dune. My relationship with Dad was very complex, but I would not change a moment of my childhood growing up in his household, or a moment of the great relationship that I developed with him as an adult. He was an incredible person. I have never felt daunted by continuing the Dune series. Both Kevin and I did our homework before beginning the project.



[Dune] Brian Herbert: Question: filauc: Do you think the universe of Dune will end someday?

Answer: The writing task will end someday, but the legacy of Frank Herbert will not. His fantastic novel DUNE will be read for at least 500 years.



[Dune] Kevin J. Anderson: Question: [SF]Geostrike{Mrl}: How did you guys ended up working with each other?

Answer: Ten years after Frank Herbert's death, I kept waiting for Brian to pick up the torch and finish the Dune series -- after the cliffhanger ending of CHAPTERHOUSE, I wanted to know what happened next. I wrote him a letter to ask if he intended to do any work himself, or if he might consider working with me. At about the same time, Brian was toying with the idea of doing an anthology of stories about Dune, to be written by other writers, and I was one of the writers he was considering. When we spoke on the phone, we hit it off immediately, started finishing each other's sentences, bouncing off ideas and comments about obscure references in Frank Herbert's work. And so we decided to tackle the project.



[Dune] Brian Herbert: Question: Shamps: How do you continue to come up with ideas and settings for the books?

Answer: Neither Kevin nor I have ever had any shortage of ideas. It is the fleshing out of those ideas that are the really hard work. My father's Dune universe is so full of basic ideas and settings that we can expand on any of them. The novel DUNE is a great adventure story, and also has layers of politics, philosophy, religion, ecology, etc. We can explore any of those ideas. By the time that Dad reached the 5th and 6th books of the series, he had women running everything in the Dune universe, for good and for bad. The series has gone way beyond traditional science fiction for guys.



[Dune] Kevin J. Anderson: Question: [Xfire] Klaak: To both of you: If someone was interested in your writing but had never read any of your books, which one would you recommend to them? Which book of yours would you consider to be your "best work?"

Answer: I presume you mean something non-DUNE or non-STAR WARS. For me, I think the "Saga of Seven Suns" series (start with HIDDEN EMPIRE) best showcases what I can do. For Brian, he has his own SF series, TIMEWEB...and (even though he didn't tell me to mention it), I highly recommend that you pick up his incredible biography of his father, DREAMER OF DUNE.



[Dune] Brian Herbert: Question: [Xfire] Klaak: Does writing ever get in the way of spending time with your family?

Answer: All of the time. I have a very understand wife (of 40 years), and children who know that I'm in a lot better mood if they give me some time and space to write -- and I often write about time and space.



[Dune] Kevin J. Anderson: Question: flly: How many 'stages' so to speak, of evolution will a Dune novel go through before reaching its final draft? How many times do you guys edit and pick at it before you're satisfied?

Answer: After we brainstorm the outline of the new book -- for instance, we're just finishing up the draft of PAUL OF DUNE right now -- we will divide up the chapters between us. Brian writes half of them and then I write half of them, generally playing to our strengths as writers. I do the more technical and action oriented scenes, and Brian does the more philosophical and religious-oriented scenes. Then we compile the chapters and one of us goes through the whole book start to finish -- at the end of this tour, Brian will take all the files for PAUL OF DUNE and work on making the pieces fit and sand down the rough edges. Then he'll send it to me, and I'll do a full edit. It goes back and forth 10-13 times.



[Dune] Brian Herbert: Question: Agent Orange: If you could change 1 thing in the Dune saga, what would it be?

Answer: It would be nice if my Dad were here to write the stories. I especially wish that he could have completed Dune 7, but he passed away shortly after putting notes together on it. I know that Kevin and I have done the best possible job in Dad's absence. But we don't really think of him as not being with us. He's a constant inspiration, and we have more than a thousand pages of his notes, along with the 1,000,000 words that he wrote in the Dune universe himself.



[Dune] Kevin J. Anderson: Question: GR|eDDe: Do you ever break into arguments with each other about ideas you both have.. who normally wins?

Answer: We've been working together for ten years, and have done eight grueling book-signing tours, and have written over 2.5 million words together, and in all that time (a lot of it high-pressure time), we've had one five-minute argument ... and then I apologized, and we went on with the work <g>. Seriously, we both have the same vision of our books and we talk them out, then write out the stories that are in our heads and on the notes.



[Dune] Brian Herbert: Question: [UA]WelehoRogan: Do you think Dune would work as a good concept for an MMORPG game?

Answer: It would be a fantastic online computer game. One possible scenario (among many) would be to set a Dune game in the time frame of the Butlerian Jihad, where thinking machines were pitted against brave humans.



[Dune] Brian Herbert: Question: Garthran: Have you ever considered creating a parallel storyline that follows the activities of the Bene Tleilax?

Answer: There is brief insight into their world during the novels directly leading up to "Chapterhouse: Dune," and I was fascinated. I would love to see more about the Tleilaxu. We have already written quite a bit about the Bene Tleilax. but we do have additional ideas that we have not pursued yet. They will be back. They are too fascinating and devious to put on a shelf.



[Dune] Kevin J. Anderson: Question: twemdaskar: How hard is it to keep Dune Canon, or non-contradictory?

Answer: By keeping careful notes, by reading and rereading the novels, by checking each other's stuff. One of the epigraph quotes in the DUNE books is about the "arrogance of perfection" and we're certainly not perfect. However, after fifteen DUNE books -- all of them complex and quite massive -- there are bound to be some small glitches. Even in the original Dune Chronicles there were plenty of minor inconsistencies, but we are very satisfied with what we've done and so far, from the thousands of fan letters we've received, about 96% of them are favorable. We'll take that approval rating.



[Dune] Kevin J. Anderson: Question: [Xfire] Klaak: Do you actually read all the fan mail you receive?

Answer: Yes, I read and usually answer all of it.



[Dune] Kevin J. Anderson: Question: Shamps: What kind of advice would you give to anyone who wanted to be a writer?

Answer: Never give up...and don't quit your day job. I had eleven bestsellers before I quit my job. And getting to that point I had to write and write, quite a few novels and stories, collected lots of rejection slips (80 of them before my first publication). Read a lot, write a lot, submit a lot, and repeat the last three steps.



[Dune] Brian Herbert: Question: aldutton: When an idea comes to fruition and really works on the page, do you have an enormous sense of elation? Isn't that what keeps you going? Besides the money?

Answer: I've been lucky enough to have done things I loved doing, and the big money was secondary, except to the IRS ;0) You are a wise person. In any profession, you have to do what you are good at, and if you are fortunate, it will also pay well. But the creative process, the love of writing (or another profession) has to come first. The passion has to come first.



[Dune] Kevin J. Anderson: Question: Rebelgecko: What do you enjoy most about writing?

Answer: A novel project goes through many different stages: the idea, the research, the plotting, the development of characters and world, writing the first draft, editing the drafts, proofreading the manuscript, proofreading the typesetting, then doing book signings. To me, the plotting, the development, and the first draft are the most enjoyable, the most creative part of the process.



[Dune] Kevin J. Anderson: Question: nightmarerec0n: Could an Encyclopedia of the Dune universe happen in the future?

Answer: We'd love to see one compiled, but the enormous amount of work and fact-checking just makes it too big of a project right now. Brian and I would want to have a lot of input and control, even if we do have someone else write it. As many Dune fans know, there was a previous non-canon DUNE ENCYCLOPEDIA by Willis McNelly, which Frank Herbert allowed to be published, even though he said he wouldn't follow the information and ideas in it. To avoid confusion among fans, we and McNelly issued a joint statement after the release of HOUSE ATREIDES to clarify that it was not to be considered canon in the Dune universe.



[Dune] Brian Herbert: Question: Garthran: I have been reading the Dune Books nearly religiously. One character I am fascinated with is Duncan Idaho. It amuses me to see his constant reincarnation in all the various Dune books. Does he have a special sentimental value?

Answer: Absolutely. Dad killed that character in DUNE, and after the fans howled he brought Duncan back, in numerous interesting incarnations. Duncan is one of the most popular Dune characters, and with good reason. He rose above the difficulties of his life and followed a course of honor and service to House Atreides. He was not perfect, and that was just one of the many interesting aspects of being human that Frank Herbert explored.



[Dune] Kevin J. Anderson: Question: Agent Orange: What do you do when you get writer's block?

Answer: Ummm...we don't. Both Brian and I work on several different projects at once, so that if we get stalled on one aspect of a big novel, we can switch to something else that always keeps us fresh. For instance, with HUNTERS and SANDWORMS we wrote the whole two-volume story straight through, so that we could keep all the details and all the aspects rolling on high energy and high momentum.



[Dune] Brian Herbert: Question: twemdaskar: Does writing ever cause to invoke such emotion that even you get caught up in it? do you find yourself crying or laughing along with the people in the books?

Answer: As I write in the Dune series with Kevin, I am always going back and checking something that my father wrote, either published or unpublished. In the published Dune material, I am always particularly moved by similarities I see between my father and the noble Duke Leto. The most emotional book that I wrote, however, was the bio of my father, Dreamer of Dune. We experienced some family tragedies that were difficult to write about. At several points, I had to set the manuscript aside, and continue it later.



[Dune] Kevin J. Anderson: Question: [Xfire-TTHS] Avarice: For both of you, I'm sure you know that your fellow sci-fi write Orson Scott Card has hopped on the "immersive" and story telling games bandwagon, and truly believes that games are the next major medium for complex stories. Do you two agree/disagree?

Answer: As a person who's done novels, and audio books, and comics, and novels based on screenplays, and comics based on novels, and comics based on TV shows, and novels based on games (STARCRAFT), I fully agree with Scott Card that the dividing line between "forms of entertainment" is blurred. They aren't in separate categories anymore. I think games and stories and visuals all have a synergy now that wasn't possible before.



[Dune] Kevin J. Anderson: Getting close to the end of the hour, and we've got yet another appearance to run off to -- time for one last question, Brian...



[Dune] Brian Herbert: Question: [DB] g0dd13 AKA D_Goddie: Since the first book was published in 1963, why do you think it has held up so well when so many other writers' works from that period have really fallen by the wayside?

Answer: Excellent question. DUNE has held up well because of the incredibly accurate predictions, and because it is essentially a novel about people and relationships. The series is not dependent on technology, which explains in large part why it has not only remained relevant, but it has also increased in readership.



[Xfire] Chatteox: That concludes the chat with Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert! Thank you very much to our special guest. Thank you everyone for participating.

[Xfire] Chatteox: The following ten people will receive Sandworms of Dune signed by the authors:



1. Garthran

2. Quinion

3. flly

4. tecknotot

5. Nodgene

6. Red_Roadkill

7. filauc

8. Daps

9. [SF]Geostrike{Mrl}

10. twemdaskar





You will have your signed book personalized by the authors!



If you are one of the winners PM me for instructions on how to claim your prize!



Thanks again for your participation!



Transcripts will be posted on the Xfire Sci-Fi Week site as soon we're able to get them out.

http://www.xfire.com/cms/xf_scifi_week_dune_transcript/
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SandChigger
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Re: 2007: Sci Fi Week WebChat

Post by SandChigger »

Even Anderfuck doesn't get that it's TWENTY-THOUSAND PLUS YEARS IN THE FUTURE. :roll:
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Re: 2007: Sci Fi Week WebChat

Post by Omphalos »

Well, I guess math and counting can be very confusing for some people.
Something is about to happen, Hal. Something wonderful!

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