James P. Mallory (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
merlinscribe) wrote2018-01-29 02:20 pm
merlinscribe) wrote2018-01-29 02:20 pm
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Screening and Comment Threads
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(Anonymous) 2018-01-31 05:44 pm (UTC)(link)Thank you so much for this update! I only read books in paper back, and I can't wait to read Blade of Empire, having been anxiously waiting basically since I picked up The Outstretched Shadow in October of 2013. I re-read Crown in five days, and have made it my goal to re-read both the Obsidian Trilogy and The Enduring Flame Trilogy before Blade comes out in August (fingers crossed life doesn't get in the way of that)!
I just want to say how much I have enjoyed this journey through the world you have created. I love how the reader can experience the darkness that permeates the very essence of your novels, but still find hope in the innate goodness of the characters you have created. As an aspiring author myself, I find the balance between the power of the villain and the power of the protagonist difficult to maintain in a believable fashion. There has to be just enough darkness within the novel to provide opposition, without snuffing out all hope and just leaving me depressed for weeks on end (*cough cough* Star Wars III).
I do have one question. I have noticed that the stylistic choices present in your books with Mercedes Lackey are significantly different from the tone created in Lackey’s own books. So my question is this: who does most of the actual writing of the books in the Obsidian world? Does one of you show more of a presence in the process than the other, or is it a more collaborative effort?
There is also another question I have, about the publication process. How much say do you as the author have in the formatting of the book itself? Did you have any say in any of the cover art? Are you satisfied with the way the cover art portrays your characters? What changes, if any, would you make?
Thank you so much for your time. I look forward to a response.
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"[W]ho does most of the actual writing of the books in the Obsidian world?" -- Partly it depends on the book, of course. In the first trilogy, Ms. Lackey outlined the story and contributed large blocks of scenes, which I incorporated (since they weren't entirely in sequence, so I had to get from where I was to where she was). She then reviewed the finished draft at the same time Tor did, after which I incorporated her tweaks and Tor Editorial's notes into the final draft. Generally speaking, regardless of who does what, I do the final draft of the book.
"How much say do you as the author have in the formatting of the book itself? Did you have any say in any of the cover art? Are you satisfied with the way the cover art portrays your characters? What changes, if any, would you make?" -- Any author (except perhaps for dear Mr. Stephen King) has absolutely zero say about the design of the finished work: font, formatting, size, cover art, and cover artist, are all in the publisher's hands, not ours.
The question of whether I'm satisfied with the art is a complicated one. The covers don't accurately depict any of the characters or situations in the books, but they *do* give an overall impression of the tone of the books, and also make it clear to reviewers and distributors that this book (whichever book it is at the time) is a very big deal in Tor's opinion, which should be taken seriously by bookstores, libraries, and review media.
So in terms of the covers being good for sales, which means I get to write further installments in the series, I am satisfied. In terms of the covers actually looking like what's going on in the book, not so much. I'm not sure what I'd do differently were I given the chance. Other than wish somebody would make these books into a nice long miniseries.