Runelord #8 Revised Bookcover

IT NEEDED A NEW NAME

The new book was ready to print. It's cover looked really good with the title BERSERKER LORD boldly stretched across some impressive artwork. The release date, October 13, only a few weeks away.

The Problem?

Due to another author having trademarked the word "BERSERKER" for use in fantasy and science fiction novels, David Farland needed to re-name his novel.

He had a little over thirteen hours.

So he opened up a contest. Got some really good responses. In less than a day he renamed his novel CHAOSBOUND.

Pretty cool, even if it isn't his first choice. (You know -- with fewer letters the title is bigger and actually stands out better. IMHO)

Release date - October 13.

Can hardly wait.

Guest Blogger -David Farland - Part One
David Farland - Part Two
David Farland - Part three

David Farland - Book Giveaway Reminder - Post Three

DAVID FARLAND

BERSERKER LORD
book eight of The Runelords to be released October 13, 2009.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
David Farland is a pseudonym for Dave Wolverton and is the author of several series including The Runelords epic fantasy saga, the Mummy Chronicles, The Golden Queen, Star Wars tie-in novels, and the Benjamin Raven children’s series. Dave has been nominated for both Hugo and Nebula Awards and is a judge for the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future contest.

Me - Where do you think the future for the fantasy genre is headed?

DF - It will splinter into a million pieces, just like science fiction did. It used to be that forty years ago, as a kid I could read almost every science fiction book that came out, and I did! But as we began to publish more and more, the genre fractured. We began to see subgenres like “hard SF,” “Social SF,” “Time Travel,” “Military SF,” “Cyberpunk,” and so on. As genre-fication set in, as readers began to pick their specialty, they lost touch with science fiction overall. If you speak to a “sci-fi” fan today, he or she might only read Star Trek novels, or slipstream. The same thing is happening in fantasy. Right now, YA is dominating the field with vampire novels, zombie novels, werewolf tales and fairy stories, most in a contemporary setting. But there is still a strong contingent of readers for other types of tales. Yet I suspect that it will splinter into smaller and smaller groups.

But here is something that I think is interesting: you know how I mentioned that readers tend to love the fatter novels more? Well, we’re moving into a new age of writing, one where e-readers like the Kindle and the iPod will allow us to write paperless novels, and those novels will not have any real length restrictions. So if you want to write a 600,000-word “super-novel,” you’ll be able to publish it electronically without killing any trees. At that point, the bookstores and distributors won’t be standing over the writer’s shoulder saying, “You know, that won’t fit on our shelves nicely. You know that won’t fit in its binding properly.”

The end of the length restrictions will allow writers to reinvent the novel, to create works that are more massive, that have greater emotional depth and power, and which are more compelling.

Me - One of the things about your Runelords novels I like is, even though your characters are on a worldwide stage you don’t have them in a journey to show off that stage. You show your world in the telling of your story because it takes the whole world to tell it. How do you do your world building? Many writers get stuck in the minutia of world building and never get to the writing. When do you know you’ve done enough?

DF - I decided before I ever started the Runelords series that I wanted to create a world unlike any other—but I just didn’t want people to see it right away. In short, I wanted it to look like a typical medieval fantasy, but of course as the reader enters my world, they discover that there’s much more of it than first met the eye, and then they realize that they’ve never seen anything like it before.

So we started in Rofehavan in book one, and then we moved into Fleeds, Mystarria, and Indhopal in book 2. In books three and four we begin to see the Underworld, and in book five we begin to learn more about the One True World and the million million shadow worlds. Astute readers of course recognize that our world must be one of the shadow worlds that splintered off from the One True World during its annihilation.

In short, I recognized early that this book was going to take the reader places they’d never been, and that’s part of the great fun of fantasy. Books like Dune and Lord of the Rings have been so popular in part because the authors were able to guide readers into strange new worlds.

In any case, back to your question, when do you know that you’ve done enough? The answer might be different for each of us as writers. Some authors find that they naturally want to write fast-paced works with very little world-building. For me, though, it works this way: I have to imagine the setting until I can see it, smell it, and hear what is going on. Then all that I do is place my characters in that setting and let them act out their scenes—quickly enough so that the reader won’t lose interest.

But here’s the thing to remember: every reader has slightly different tastes when it comes to world creation. Robert Jordan, for example, spends huge amounts of time describing his world. I recently heard one writer say that Jordan had to over-write because he was trying to entertain an audience that was “unimaginative.” I don’t think that’s true at all. I think that he recognized that there is a huge audience for works of fiction that emphasize the element of transport. If you look at the best-selling novels of all time in any genre, you’ll find that they are almost always very fat books. They’re almost always novels of transport.

Me - Today, when the publishers aren't as willing to put out the huge 600 page novel, is it possible to do a shorter epic book?

DF - I think that you lose a lot when you try. I’d like to have more-complex plots than I can fit in a 400-page book, for example. You also have a difficult time writing a novel of transport that takes the reader to many new places.

So, yes, I think that it is possible to do, but it’s much harder than it should be.

Me - (This one is for me.) Do you ever work on more than one book at a time? If you do, how do you keep them apart in your mind?

DF - I’ve had to edit or do revisions on five novels in the past three weeks—all while working on my next big Runelords book. Last night I had a dream that will become a short story for an anthology. In spare moments, I’ve been plotting out the next book in my Ravenspell series. Then I have several big projects waiting in the wings. I have a thriller about a young movie producer who is making a movie using money supplied by terrorists about halfway finished. I have another series that’s called “Young Merlin” that I’m working on. I wrote a novel several years ago called The Young Olympians, which deals with the children of the Greek Gods. I’ve decided to rewrite it, putting more emphasis on a female anti-hero, and so on.

So, yes, I do work on more than one book at a time, but not by choice. I find that I like to focus on one book at a time, so when I’m writing the first draft, it is nice to get away for awhile, go down to Mexico and write on the beach, or take a trip to the Rockies.

Rewrites and alterations of course can be worked in between larger projects.

Of course, I’m always thinking, so I get ideas for upcoming novels at random. In fact, I find that it’s nice, once you get an idea for a story, to give it time to ripen. You see, any story has lots of holes in it at first. You might get a great idea for a major conflict, but you don’t know who your villain is. Or maybe you have a cool idea for your world, but you don’t know if there is a love interest in your story. So you have to take time to brainstorm, to fill up each of the holes in your basic plot.

Many times when I find myself thinking about a novel for a few hours in the middle of the night, and I’ll have to stop and take notes—especially if some cool idea just won’t leave me alone.
In fact, when I’m on writing retreats, I find that I have to take time away from writing so that I can do my brainstorming. So a typical day goes like this: 1) get up at 6:00 a.m. and write until 2:00 pm. 2) Go out and take a nap on the beach, work on tan, listen to music, or go swimming in the pool. 3) Exercise and eat dinner. Around 5:00 pm I relax and brainstorm some more. Then I write from 6:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m.. I find that this is my perfect schedule. But did you notice that I give myself a four-hour break in the afternoon? The reason is that the right-half of the brain, the creative part, typically goes to sleep in the afternoon. I’m absolutely no good. So I have to relax, rejuvenate, and then come at it again.

ABOUT THE GIVEAWAY:
This is it. The final installment. Yes, it is possible to get the free stuff! In particular, a copy of one of Dave Farland's books. And all you have to do is comment on all three installments of this interview. Easy! On July 9th I will randomly pick a name from a hat for the the free book. You have until then to comment on all three. Just make sure I have a way to contact you... Email address with AT and DOT in it for Spam protection, or I can leave a comment on your blog.

Guest Blogger - David Farland - Part One
Book Giveaway - Reminder - Guest Post - David Farland - Part Two

Book Giveaway - Reminder - Guest Post - David Farland - Part Two

GUEST POST - DAVID FARLAND - PART TWO

Me - In your daily newsletter you've talked about how there is no recession for writers. Could you expand on that?

DF - Sure. I mean that while in many other areas of the economy we are seeing downward trends, the book industry—at least for fiction writers—has long been considered “recession-proof.” Overall, BookScan (a service that keeps track of book sales electronically) showed that fiction sales in my genre—science fiction—actually rose in the last quarter of 2008. Now, sales in other areas were down. Religious book sales dropped more than 25%. All of those self-help books on how to make a fortune? Nobody wanted them. Sales to schools went way down, too. Schools suddenly had to pay $5 per gallon for the gas to keep their buses going, so they decided to wait for another year to purchase books. So in some fields things were down, but in feel-good genres like romance and fantasy, we did just fine.

Me - What steps, direction or advice would you give to someone wanting to make writing a career right now instead of just having writing be a nice hobby?

DF - Get serious about it. Read good books and study what sells. Get a writer’s education. For some people, that means that they might need to go to college and study works that take them out of their comfort zone. Other people might want to join a writers’ group. For those who want to study intensively, I teach writing workshops from time to time—as do Kris Rusch and Dean Smith, and Orson Scott Card. I recommend them highly, but there are plenty of other good places to study, too. What you need really depends upon you individually.

Me - How important is regimen and routine in building a writing career?

DF - You know, I suppose one could put it that way, but I don’t like to. “Regimen” sounds too much like work to me. Personally, I love to write. It’s play for me. I find that what I really need is time to think, to focus, and to put my words down on paper lovingly.

Me - How important is mental attitude?

DF - Now there’s the right question! See, I don’t think that “forcing myself” to hunch over a keyboard and pound away until my fingers bleed really works. But having a playful attitude with your writing (Remember Shakespeare’s admonition, “The play’s the thing!”), an attitude where you’re having fun, where you’re entertaining yourself, where you keep competing with yourself so that you try to re-imagine a scene over a dozen ways until you get it perfect—that’s what you have to do. As soon as you find the joy in writing, you can’t stop. It’s like the words get unleashed, and you lose all control. I’ve found myself at times having written for fourteen or sixteen hours straight, and I’ll be bathed in sweat from working, and I’ll be grinning like a fool because I’m so happy to have written a story. Right now it’s eleven thirty at night. I’ve been working my tail off since seven this morning. What a fun day I’ve had!

Me - On a more personal note, readers like to know something about their favorite writers. What do you read for fun?

DF - I’m a habitual reader, so I read everything from the back of my Cheerios box on. I like to keep up with science, so I read a lot of science magazines. I do a lot of research via the internet and through books, but if I’m reading for fun, I will typically read either a fantasy novel or a thriller. I read lots of thrillers these days.

Me - What do you do to rejuvenate your creative juices?

DF - Frankly, I study. I often study history, archaeology, or other cultures. I also like to go to different countries to help get me out of my shell, or visit intriguing places. So I’ve gone out into the bayous of Louisiana at night to spotlight alligators, and I’ve hiked through forests in Tasmania, crossed the Gobi Desert in China, and climbed hills in Scotland.

I still have a lot of places that I want to see—Africa, the Amazon, and plenty of places in Europe.

Me - Do you have a favorite book? Movie?

DF - My favorite book of all time was Lord of the Rings, followed closely by Dune. At least, those are my favorites based on how often I’ve reread them. I suppose that Swiss Family Robinson has to go on that list, since I reread it often as a boy.

My favorite movie, based on that criterion, would have to be Star Wars. I saw it some thirty-five times in the first six months after its release. I was a real Star Wars geek. I have some pictures that I took of myself when I was nineteen, playing with my light saber. (I’d read about how you needed to study special effects in order to get a job at Industrial Light and Magic, so I bought a camera and began practicing various effects. I did a lot of macro-photography in nature, and spent a lot of time working with lighting effects.

But the truth is that I’m not sure if those standards for choosing favorites are all that wise. What do I read and reread now? I read Shakespeare—his historical in particular. I also read the poetry of Roethke, Frost, Yeats, and Thomas. As for movies, I don’t re-watch them very often.

Me - (Total Katie Couric question) Brandon Sanderson said he’s where he is today because he took your writing class. How does it make you feel to know your class had such an impact on him?

DF - It makes me feel great. Of course, I’ve taught a number of New York Times Bestselling Authors—several dozen. I used to keep track of how many young authors I helped get their first sale in short fiction or books, but I stopped when I reached a couple hundred. That was more than a dozen years ago.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
David Farland is a pseudonym for Dave Wolverton and is the author of several series including The Runelords epic fantasy saga, the Mummy Chronicles, The Golden Queen, Star Wars tie-in novels, and the Benjamin Raven children’s series. Dave has been nominated for both Hugo and Nebula Awards and is a judge for the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future contest.

BERSERKER LORD book eight of The Runelords to be released October 13, 2009.

ABOUT THE GIVEAWAY:
Yes, you can get free stuff!. In particular, a copy of one of Dave Farland's books. And all you have to do is comment on all three installments of this interview. Easy! One week after the third installment I will randomly pick a name from a hat for the the free book.

• Guest Blogger - David Farland - Part One

Guest Blogger: David Farland - Part One

GUEST BLOGGER: DAVID FARLAND

OFFICIAL BIO TYPE STUFF:
David Farland is a pseudonym for Dave Wolverton and is the author of several series including The Runelords epic fantasy saga, the Mummy Chronicles, The Golden Queen, Star Wars tie-in novels, and the Benjamin Raven children’s series. Dave has been nominated for both Hugo and Nebula Awards and is a judge for the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future contest.

UNOFFICIAL BIO STUFF:

I first heard the name David Farland during a book signing where other authors were talking about a children's book written by a nationally published author who usually wrote epic fantasies. After that I heard a lot about David Farland, his books, his workshops and the dozens of published writers who learned from him.

I've read a lot of epic fantasy and David Farland's Runelord's series wasn't anything like what I'd read before. I decided shortly after starting the series I needed to attend at least one of his workshops, if not more. I haven't been able to yet, but I've read his daily emails called David Farland's Daily Kick in the Pants. And they are fantastic! So I'm really excited to have David Farland, also known as David Wolverton as a guest on my blog.

He was very generous in answering my questions, and I don't want anyone to miss his insights, so I'm breaking this up into a 3 part series.

PART ONE...

me - First off, tell us about your new book.

DF - Actually, I have several things in the works. So let’s go by age:

Some fifteen years ago, I was driving down the street in Oregon with my son Forrest, who was four at the time. He was looking longingly out the window at a red helium balloon drifting above the woods outside the city of Corvallis, and he asked, “Dad, whose job is it to catch all the balloons that fly away?” Immediately I knew that I had to write a story, so I wrote a children’s picture book called The Balloon Catcher, which tells the story of a mystical man who hunts down wild balloons and then brings them to a decrepit, colorless city to give to children. When I finished it, I realized that I would rather have it be an animated film, so I pushed it to the back of my mind, thinking, “Someday I’m going to run across an animation studio that would be just crazy enough to make this film.” So last winter I met a young man who was starting an animation studio, and he’s making a 3D film based on the story. These guys are going crazy. For example, they made over 2500 animated people for this short film, and they’re doing some incredible design work. In any case, The Balloon Catcher should be finished in August, and I believe that we will be able to get the book/DVD combo released this fall.

Next on the list is my middle-grade book called Freaky Fly Day, the third in my Ravenspell series, which deals with a boy and his magical mouse. This is a story about an enormous fly named Belle Z. Bub who is born by spontaneous generation in an L.A. dump. By creating a wicked multi-level marketing campaign, she enlists the aid of billions of flies in taking over the world. But of course, she cannot stand unopposed. In this story, my magical mouse Amber teams up with her owner Ben (who has also been turned into a mouse), to take on Belle. Along the way, they team up with California Governor Harold Shortzenbegger, the finest specimen of humanity alive, in a battle royal for control of the Earth. This one comes out September first.

Third is my historical novel In the Company of Angels. In 1856, the leader of the Mormon church, Brigham Young, set in motion a program to bring the poorest Mormon immigrants in Europe and Asia to Utah in the American West. In order to save money, the immigrants were to cross the prairie in handcarts, which are basically large wheelbarrows. My story here follows three people who crossed the prairie in the fall of 1856—Eliza Gadd, a forty-year-old mother of eight who was the only non-Mormon to take the trek; Bodil Mortensen, a nine-year-old girl from Denmark who was sent by her parents to escape the extreme persecution that was going on at home; and Captain James Willie, a Mormon missionary who was made the head of the group and who gave away all of his fortune to pay for ship’s passage for these people. Unfortunately, the ill-fated handcart company got a late start and faced tremendous setbacks which included storms, buffalo stampedes, rampaging Cheyenne Indians, starvation, and the early onset of what became the coldest winter of the 1800s. What fascinated me about this story isn’t what went wrong, but how the journey changed these people’s lives.

My fourth book out this fall is my big fantasy novel called Berserker Lord, book eight in the Runelords series. For those who are following the series, when Fallion Orden bound two worlds together in Worldbinder, we follow what happens to him for the next two novels. But his stepfather, Sir Borenson, is on the far side of the world at the time. When the worlds are bound, Sir Borenson binds with his “shadow self,” himself as found in the world of the wyrmlings. There, he bore the title of “Lord Berserker,” or greatest of all berserkers, and as such was considered the greatest of his people’s warriors. As the body guard to the Earth King, Borenson was also one of the most deadly warriors on his world. Now, the two men are bound into one body, and Borenson must struggle to retain his sanity as he leads an expedition to save the world from the wyrmlings and their dark masters.

Stay tuned for Part 2, which talks about some of David Farland's ins and outs of writing.

BERSERKER LORD book eight of The Runelords to be released October 13, 2009.

***FREE STUFF! FREE STUFF! FREE STUFF! ***
Now that I have your attention, yes, you can get free stuff!. In particular, a copy of one of Dave Farland's books. And all you have to do is comment on all three installments of this interview. Easy! One week after the third installment I will randomly pick a name from a hat for the the free book.

For more information on Dave’s books or writing workshops, check out his website at www.davidfarland.net.

Interview with David Wolverton (aka David Farland) Diabolical Plots: David Steffen's quest for publication and world domination