Questions for Kate Elliott

[littlemissattitude]

Originally Posted by Kate.Elliott

But enough about me.

What are you guys reading?

And of books/stories published for the first time in 2004 (not just US, anywhere), is there anything that you particularly liked?

Not sure if it would be classified as fantasy, but I just finished reading "The Cloud Atlas" by Liam Callanan and liked it a lot. Like I said, perhaps not really fanasy, but with some fantastic elements in it. Not a long novel, but an involving one.

[Rahl Windsong]

What am I reading? hummn well I was at my local library last sunday and I noticed they had this book sale going on. I found a series by Sara Douglas, sort of a cross between SciFi and Fantasy. Titles Sinner, Pilgrim, and Crusader, I am only about 50 pages into Sinner and I have not really had time to sit and read more than about 10 pages in a row lately. The story is strange and I suspect I will need to read all three in this series to really be able to say much more about it.

I also found Sword Singer by Jennifer Roberson at the same sale.

Recently I read book 10 in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, Crossroads of Twilight, and I hate to say this but I really do feel like I wasted my money on that book. The only real value it may have for me is so that the set looks complete on my shelf though now I have very little desire to purchase the rest of this series.

Absolutely nothing happened in the entire book, all Mr Jordan did was to tighten all the plot strings, they are all singing now. The thing is that the plots have gone on for so long now that I am not entirely sure if even Robert Jordan knows how to end it. One can only hope that the final books of this series earns the right to be a "best seller" from their own merits and not from books he has already written.

Rahl

[Teresa Edgerton]

Darn -- none of us thought to ask about what we were discussing awhile ago in the other thread: whether it was Kate's idea or her publisher's to put Jaran aside for a time and write a fantasy series.

[Rahl Windsong]

Originally Posted by Kelpie

Darn -- none of us thought to ask about what we were discussing awhile ago in the other thread: whether it was Kate's idea or her publisher's to put Jaran aside for a time and write a fantasy series.

Well thats true, except now you did just ask!

Though all I have read of Kate's work are the first two in Crown of Stars (both very good) I am sure I will get to Jaran soon!

Rahl

[Journeyman]

I'm new to this, so here it goes. Of course, I recommend Kate Elliott's "Crown of Stars" series (eagerly awaiting more).

Here are some other series I found interesting:
"Sword of Truth" series by Terry Goodkind
"Xanth" series by Piers Anthony
"The Death Gate" series by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

Other good writers, though not science fiction or fantasy, are Tom Clancy (I really like his Op-Center books), John Grisham, Dean Koontz and John Saul.

Which reminds me to ask: Kate, do you ever get story ideas that are not in the genre of fantasy or science fiction? If yes, what are your plans for those ideas?

[Amber]

Kate, did you enjoy working with Melanie Rawn and Jennifer Roberson on The Golden Keys?

[Kate.Elliott]

Originally Posted by littlemissattitude

Not sure if it would be classified as fantasy, but I just finished reading "The Cloud Atlas" by Liam Callanan and liked it a lot. Like I said, perhaps not really fanasy, but with some fantastic elements in it. Not a long novel, but an involving one.

I read a "Cloud Atlas" by David Mitchell. Is this a different book with a similar title? Because the Mitchell book was excellent, in my opinion. Highly recommended.

[Kate.Elliott]

Originally Posted by Rahl Windsong

Recently I read book 10 in . . .Absolutely nothing happened in the entire book,
Rahl

One of the big things I really worked at with Crown of Stars was to make the series a complete novel, with a beginning, middle, and end. It took longer than I expected, and the series is a probably, in page count, a bit longer than it really needs to be, but I hope that every volume seems necessary.

Because one thing I really wanted to avoid is the Jordon syndrome, which I read a lot about lately (I haven't read the Wheel of Time series).

[Kate.Elliott]

Originally Posted by Kelpie

Darn -- none of us thought to ask about what we were discussing awhile ago in the other thread: whether it was Kate's idea or her publisher's to put Jaran aside for a time and write a fantasy series.

I needed a break from the Jaran series after The Law of Becoming, and it was a joint decision between my agent and I to move into a fantasy series. Then, it was decided that I had to finish the entire series before doing anything else. That took longer than expected.

[Kate.Elliott]

Originally Posted by Journeyman

Which reminds me to ask: Kate, do you ever get story ideas that are not in the genre of fantasy or science fiction? If yes, what are your plans for those ideas?

Not many. I do have an historical fantasy novel I would like to write related to the Bible, but it's very daunting to consider it (even though my agent would certainly like me to).


I have had a couple of passing notions about historical novels, but I'm not sure I would really want to write those.

Also, my husband and I have a great idea for a mystery/thriller series, but I don't know if I have the chops to write it, mostly because I don't read that much in that particular genre.

Still, it's under consideration.

[Kate.Elliott]

Originally Posted by Amber

Kate, did you enjoy working with Melanie Rawn and Jennifer Roberson on The Golden Keys?

I did, and thanks for asking. We worked really well together - we each had different strengths, and those complemented our specific weaknesses.

I'm really proud of that book. Plus, if I may say so myself, I think it has an awesome magic system. Also, Melanie came up with the idea to 'frame' the book with the sets of descriptions of paintings, and I think that works so well.

[Teresa Edgerton]

I'm intrigued by the idea of you and Jay working together on a mystery someday. Would it be a police procedural type of thing (drawing on Jay's experience as a police officer) or something quite different (mysteries set in historical settings seem to be quite popular these days, and I know you both have the background for that)?