Posted - 16/10/2001
Hey's guys, I got the reply from Steven Erikson and here it is:
Date: 16/10/2001
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Hello one and all. It's been about a month since I last looked in on your site. Four hours later and my head's spinning. First off, thank you one and all for your comments and your interest. Apologies for the delay in the release of Memories of Ice -- it's all my fault, alas. The ms. turned out to be the longest yet.
As much as I'd lilke to respond at length to all your questions, I can't. I'm about 150 pages in the fourth book and once I get in this zone I don't really come back out until the thing's done and dusted. Nonetheless, I'll prattle on here and now for a while and hopefully cover a few things that might be of interest.
Um, where to start. First off, regards the maps, yes, Tulips was placed on the wrong side of the continent. Somewhere between my original map and the final copy things got mixed up and, mea cupla, went unnoticed until my friendly German translator queried it. By way of correction, the map in MOI has the name removed.
Your collective speculations are terrifying. Talk about making sure I stay on my toes! There's no doubt in my mind that writers should pay attention to what his or her readers are saying, and to take note of where confusion occurs and to make adjustments as needed. Even so, your diligence is damned intimidating, and I should add, don't stop! While I can't maintain a steady, regular presence on your site, I do indeed check it out when I can, and I'll try to drop in every month or so, time permitting. One of the dangers (for me) is that I end up using this forum to explain things I should be explaining in the novels -- in writing the books I have to proceed on the assumption that the reader knows only what's in them. That way I avoid more dangerous assumptions; the risk is I might start getting lazy, or I might end up mixing things up, and I don't want to do that. So, please, don't swamp me with questions! If something's already present in the published novels, and it's been collectively missed, I may fire an arrow in its direction (I've done that only once before and will likely maintain that ROF).
One other thing -- your speculations have been terrific, since they give me an idea of what events/scenes/characters had resonance for you. At the same time, I get a sense of which themes and subplots have pushed their way to the forefront, and that's done much to keep my radar sharp. So, thanks much.
Okay, post this as a topic and I'll take on the first wave of questions and respond within the next couple days.
Cheers,
S.E.
ps. tried posting the above myself but could find no way of doing so. I'm obviously missing something obvious, since even when I sought to 'reply' there seemed to be no way to 'send.' Am I thick or what?
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Guys and Girls, please do not put any replies here if not asking a sensible question. Thanks
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Hood's Breath