Ask the Author: Daniel Price
Answered Questions (19)
Daniel Price
I'll be finishing it this year, even if it kills me. After that, it's all up to the publisher. As soon as I have more concrete info, I'll post it on my website (danielprice.info).
Daniel Price
Hi Greg. Thank you. "Slick" did indeed have crazy long paragraphs, but it fit the rhythm and voice of the narrator, so that's the way I went. That approach definitely wouldn't have worked with the Silvers books.
As for "War of the Givens," I'm still a ways away from finishing it, I'm afraid. There's very little chance of seeing it in 2018. But I'm working hard on it every day and I'm determined to finish the series the right way. :)
As for "War of the Givens," I'm still a ways away from finishing it, I'm afraid. There's very little chance of seeing it in 2018. But I'm working hard on it every day and I'm determined to finish the series the right way. :)
Daniel Price
Hi Calvin,
If you're talking about the Gothams and their longtime exclusion of African-American timebenders, then there's definitely more to the story. That decision will have big ramifications for the Gothams, the Silvers, and everyone else with a vested interest in saving the world. You'll also finally get to meet this splinter society of chronokinetics in Book 3. I'm having a blast writing them. They're awesome.
As for the general issues of race and bias, I'll be exploring them from a deeper angle in "The War of the Givens," though it still won't be a central focus of the book. Ultimately, this is a series about time and the many different ways we handle our limited amount of it. I gotta stick to my theme.
I do apologize if I'm not handling the issues as well or as deeply as you'd prefer. Writing a series like this is a delicate balancing act on so many levels. If I explored all the things I wanted to explore, each book will be 1800 pages and take me ten years to write. Nobody wants that, least of my publisher.
If you're talking about the Gothams and their longtime exclusion of African-American timebenders, then there's definitely more to the story. That decision will have big ramifications for the Gothams, the Silvers, and everyone else with a vested interest in saving the world. You'll also finally get to meet this splinter society of chronokinetics in Book 3. I'm having a blast writing them. They're awesome.
As for the general issues of race and bias, I'll be exploring them from a deeper angle in "The War of the Givens," though it still won't be a central focus of the book. Ultimately, this is a series about time and the many different ways we handle our limited amount of it. I gotta stick to my theme.
I do apologize if I'm not handling the issues as well or as deeply as you'd prefer. Writing a series like this is a delicate balancing act on so many levels. If I explored all the things I wanted to explore, each book will be 1800 pages and take me ten years to write. Nobody wants that, least of my publisher.
Daniel Price
Hi Teresa,
There's no release date yet for "War of the Givens." Penguin's waiting for a full manuscript from me before they put it on their schedule, which is wise.
As for my progress...well, I wish I could say I was close to finishing, but I still have a ways to go. Sorry. I write big books slowly. But compared to George R.R. Martin, I'm a speed demon.
Still, I'm glad you enjoyed "The Song of the Orphans." I hope when the time comes, you'll enjoy Book 3 even more.
There's no release date yet for "War of the Givens." Penguin's waiting for a full manuscript from me before they put it on their schedule, which is wise.
As for my progress...well, I wish I could say I was close to finishing, but I still have a ways to go. Sorry. I write big books slowly. But compared to George R.R. Martin, I'm a speed demon.
Still, I'm glad you enjoyed "The Song of the Orphans." I hope when the time comes, you'll enjoy Book 3 even more.
Daniel Price
Hi Barry,
You ask a very good question. I probably could have explained it better in "The Song of the Orphans." Let's start with your specific scenario: if a Pelletier goes back in time and kills a direct ancestor, all they've done is create a new branching timeline in which that ancestor is dead. There are no Future Pelletiers in that chronology who can look back to the past and say "Hey, someone's trying to prevent us!" They simply don't exist. End of story.
Also keep in mind that the Pelletiers have a much different perception of time than we do. They share the same consciousness as all their alternate selves, so there's never an Azral vs. Azral conflict. If one of them has to steal a resource from the other one's timeline, they both perfectly understand the reasons for it and they both readily accept it. It's all about the greater good.
But people with our own limited view of time would definitely be more selfish about screwing with alternate chronologies, which would most certainly create self vs. self issues. To see how that kind of scenario would play out, you should read "Dark Matter" by Blake Crouch. That book is crazy in all the best ways.
Hope that answers your question, Barry!
You ask a very good question. I probably could have explained it better in "The Song of the Orphans." Let's start with your specific scenario: if a Pelletier goes back in time and kills a direct ancestor, all they've done is create a new branching timeline in which that ancestor is dead. There are no Future Pelletiers in that chronology who can look back to the past and say "Hey, someone's trying to prevent us!" They simply don't exist. End of story.
Also keep in mind that the Pelletiers have a much different perception of time than we do. They share the same consciousness as all their alternate selves, so there's never an Azral vs. Azral conflict. If one of them has to steal a resource from the other one's timeline, they both perfectly understand the reasons for it and they both readily accept it. It's all about the greater good.
But people with our own limited view of time would definitely be more selfish about screwing with alternate chronologies, which would most certainly create self vs. self issues. To see how that kind of scenario would play out, you should read "Dark Matter" by Blake Crouch. That book is crazy in all the best ways.
Hope that answers your question, Barry!
Daniel Price
Thank you, Caleb. I'm so glad you enjoyed it. It's just six weeks now to "The Song of the Orphans." Hope you enjoy it as much as the first one.
Daniel Price
Hi Kia,
You don't have to wait too much longer for more Silvers. I'm making the final publisher edits to "The Song of the Orphans." Then the pre-marketing goodness begins. Looks like the book will finally (finally!!) be available in July.
As for "Slick," I clearly forgot to include the epilogue where Scott Singer dumps that pesky Jean and marries you. I'll remedy that immediately. :)
I'm majorly itching to write another "Slick"-like story, one that's either set in the crazy social media world of the present or the even crazier world of the near-future. There are so many rich stories to tell about PR and media manipulation. I honestly can't believe more writers aren't doing it.
I can almost guarantee that my next novel once the Silvers trilogy is finished will be set in the media world. Ideas are already percolating.
You don't have to wait too much longer for more Silvers. I'm making the final publisher edits to "The Song of the Orphans." Then the pre-marketing goodness begins. Looks like the book will finally (finally!!) be available in July.
As for "Slick," I clearly forgot to include the epilogue where Scott Singer dumps that pesky Jean and marries you. I'll remedy that immediately. :)
I'm majorly itching to write another "Slick"-like story, one that's either set in the crazy social media world of the present or the even crazier world of the near-future. There are so many rich stories to tell about PR and media manipulation. I honestly can't believe more writers aren't doing it.
I can almost guarantee that my next novel once the Silvers trilogy is finished will be set in the media world. Ideas are already percolating.
Daniel Price
No idea yet, Wayong. The whole thing is still being packaged and pitched around. It could land at any network, or no network. It's all up to the fates.
But I do have faith in the people currently attached to the project. They're good folks who understand the Silvers inside and out. The series couldn't be in better hands.
But I do have faith in the people currently attached to the project. They're good folks who understand the Silvers inside and out. The series couldn't be in better hands.
Daniel Price
Hi Jennifer,
Radar Pictures currently holds the film/TV rights to the Silvers trilogy, with the full intention of turning it into a TV show. Progress is slowly being made on that front, but it's still a long and tenuous process. Getting anything made in Hollywood is a mile-long tightrope walk. The production company has barely begun the whole pitching/packaging/schmoozing part.
As for the movie option, everyone involved with the project agrees that "The Flight of the Silvers" just too damn big to fit into a two-hour movie, or even a pair of two-hour movies. The book itself is sort of episodic in nature. A TV format would give the story and characters much more room to breathe, in my opinion.
It's still a huge uphill climb (wait, didn't I just call it a tightrope walk?), but I'm guardedly optimistic. In the meantime, all I can do is keep plugging away at the novels. I expect the "Song of the Orphans" edits to take me through the summer. Then, Lord help me, I'm moving on the third and final book of the series.
Radar Pictures currently holds the film/TV rights to the Silvers trilogy, with the full intention of turning it into a TV show. Progress is slowly being made on that front, but it's still a long and tenuous process. Getting anything made in Hollywood is a mile-long tightrope walk. The production company has barely begun the whole pitching/packaging/schmoozing part.
As for the movie option, everyone involved with the project agrees that "The Flight of the Silvers" just too damn big to fit into a two-hour movie, or even a pair of two-hour movies. The book itself is sort of episodic in nature. A TV format would give the story and characters much more room to breathe, in my opinion.
It's still a huge uphill climb (wait, didn't I just call it a tightrope walk?), but I'm guardedly optimistic. In the meantime, all I can do is keep plugging away at the novels. I expect the "Song of the Orphans" edits to take me through the summer. Then, Lord help me, I'm moving on the third and final book of the series.
Daniel Price
Thanks, Kristofor. A complete draft of the sequel is now officially in Penguin's hands. My great new editor is marking the hell out of it as we speak. Hope to know the release date soon.
To answer your question, all of the characters in "The Flight of the Silvers" are the products of my crazy imagination, which means they all have aspects of me and my family and everyone else I've known in my 40 some-odd years. But no one in the story is based on any one living person. That whole "Roman à clef" thing works extremely well for some authors, but I find it limiting. It also makes me feel worse when bad things happen to those characters.
You're going to see a lot more growth of the Silvers in "The Song of the Orphans." The sequel really puts them through the wringer. By the end of the book, some of them will be changed beyond recognition, and not necessarily for the better.
To answer your question, all of the characters in "The Flight of the Silvers" are the products of my crazy imagination, which means they all have aspects of me and my family and everyone else I've known in my 40 some-odd years. But no one in the story is based on any one living person. That whole "Roman à clef" thing works extremely well for some authors, but I find it limiting. It also makes me feel worse when bad things happen to those characters.
You're going to see a lot more growth of the Silvers in "The Song of the Orphans." The sequel really puts them through the wringer. By the end of the book, some of them will be changed beyond recognition, and not necessarily for the better.
Daniel Price
Hi Shelby,
To answer your questions in order:
"What is your writing process?"
Write some bad words, revise the hell out of them until they're not so bad, then move on. For a guy who tells stories about time manipulation, I'm obsessively linear. I have to write the story sequentially, chapter by chapter. I can't move on until I'm absolutely 100% satisfied with everything I have so far.
"Do you listen to music when you write? Do you need silence?"
I most definitely need music. I listen to a lot of ambient, instrumental, worldly type stuff that gives my girlfriend a facial tic. But it's the only kind of music that gets me in the right creative groove. I owe at least half my career to Dead Can Dance.
"Do you write out storylines and characters or do you go for it with just a few ideas and a general direction of where you want the story to go?"
I write each book with a very detailed outline but I give myself enough room to improvise if the characters or situations demand it. For example. I'd never planned on Hannah and Theo having a romantic relationship in "Flight of the Silvers." But it made perfect sense, given their circumstances, that the two of them would come together in a clumsy, desperate kind of way. Just one of the many times the characters changed the story on me.
In "Song of the Orphans," Mia strong-armed me into a subplot that I had no intention of throwing her into. But she insisted and I listened. She does some very surprising stuff in Book Two.
"Are you always thinking about the book even when not writing?"
The short answer is yes. The long answer is me cackling maniacally until the men in white take me away in their butterfly nets.
"Do you have a set amount of time you write everyday?"
I usually start at 8am, then write until my word brain shuts down on me. That usually happens around 5 or 6, but that doesn't keep me from plotting the next few scenes in my head. I usually spend about an hour a night pacing around my office like a nut.
"Do you ever get writer's block and if yes how do you over come it?"
Depends what kind of writer's block it is. If it's situational, I try to look at the factors of my life that are keeping me from writing productively (stress, health issues, etc.). If it's book-related, then that usually signifies that I've taken a wrong turn with the story. I backtrack until I can find the problem that's been driving my subconscious batty. Sometimes it's just a tiny little fix that sets the whole thing back on track. I can't even tell you how many times that happened with "The Song of the Orphans." And I can't tell you how glad I am to ALMOST BE DONE WITH IT. Wheeeeee!
By the way, I really like the name Shelby, so I just dropped it into the second-to-last chapter as the name of a throwaway character. Please don't sue me.
To answer your questions in order:
"What is your writing process?"
Write some bad words, revise the hell out of them until they're not so bad, then move on. For a guy who tells stories about time manipulation, I'm obsessively linear. I have to write the story sequentially, chapter by chapter. I can't move on until I'm absolutely 100% satisfied with everything I have so far.
"Do you listen to music when you write? Do you need silence?"
I most definitely need music. I listen to a lot of ambient, instrumental, worldly type stuff that gives my girlfriend a facial tic. But it's the only kind of music that gets me in the right creative groove. I owe at least half my career to Dead Can Dance.
"Do you write out storylines and characters or do you go for it with just a few ideas and a general direction of where you want the story to go?"
I write each book with a very detailed outline but I give myself enough room to improvise if the characters or situations demand it. For example. I'd never planned on Hannah and Theo having a romantic relationship in "Flight of the Silvers." But it made perfect sense, given their circumstances, that the two of them would come together in a clumsy, desperate kind of way. Just one of the many times the characters changed the story on me.
In "Song of the Orphans," Mia strong-armed me into a subplot that I had no intention of throwing her into. But she insisted and I listened. She does some very surprising stuff in Book Two.
"Are you always thinking about the book even when not writing?"
The short answer is yes. The long answer is me cackling maniacally until the men in white take me away in their butterfly nets.
"Do you have a set amount of time you write everyday?"
I usually start at 8am, then write until my word brain shuts down on me. That usually happens around 5 or 6, but that doesn't keep me from plotting the next few scenes in my head. I usually spend about an hour a night pacing around my office like a nut.
"Do you ever get writer's block and if yes how do you over come it?"
Depends what kind of writer's block it is. If it's situational, I try to look at the factors of my life that are keeping me from writing productively (stress, health issues, etc.). If it's book-related, then that usually signifies that I've taken a wrong turn with the story. I backtrack until I can find the problem that's been driving my subconscious batty. Sometimes it's just a tiny little fix that sets the whole thing back on track. I can't even tell you how many times that happened with "The Song of the Orphans." And I can't tell you how glad I am to ALMOST BE DONE WITH IT. Wheeeeee!
By the way, I really like the name Shelby, so I just dropped it into the second-to-last chapter as the name of a throwaway character. Please don't sue me.
Daniel Price
Hi Helen,
Thank you so much. I love it when people tell me to take my time. Such a nice contrast to the pressure I'm always putting on myself to get the book done ASAP! I still wish I was the kind of author who wrote shorter books, faster, but that doesn't seem to be the way I swing.
Luckily, the publisher's been very patient with me. They understand that it's better to get the book done right than fast. The good news: I'm finally nearing completion on "The Song of the Orphans." I'm just a hairsbreadth away from reaching the final chapter, and I feel very comfortable about the time I put into it. You can say many things about the novel (and the people on Goodreads will), but you can't call it rushed. The book will also clock in at well over 700 pages, so...yeah. Clear your schedule when it's ready.
As for the film/TV rights to my story, Radar Pictures currently owns them. They're very eager to turn the Silvers trilogy into a TV show and I'm right there with them. Of course, getting anything made in Hollywood is a long and fragile process. There's no telling what will happen, but my fingers are perpetually crossed. That's probably another reason why I write so slowly.
Thank you so much. I love it when people tell me to take my time. Such a nice contrast to the pressure I'm always putting on myself to get the book done ASAP! I still wish I was the kind of author who wrote shorter books, faster, but that doesn't seem to be the way I swing.
Luckily, the publisher's been very patient with me. They understand that it's better to get the book done right than fast. The good news: I'm finally nearing completion on "The Song of the Orphans." I'm just a hairsbreadth away from reaching the final chapter, and I feel very comfortable about the time I put into it. You can say many things about the novel (and the people on Goodreads will), but you can't call it rushed. The book will also clock in at well over 700 pages, so...yeah. Clear your schedule when it's ready.
As for the film/TV rights to my story, Radar Pictures currently owns them. They're very eager to turn the Silvers trilogy into a TV show and I'm right there with them. Of course, getting anything made in Hollywood is a long and fragile process. There's no telling what will happen, but my fingers are perpetually crossed. That's probably another reason why I write so slowly.
Daniel Price
Hi Elaine,
That's a question every writer asks themselves at some point in their lives, usually more than once. Nobody else can answer it for you. All I can offer you is my own personal experience.
I gave up for a while after my first novel tanked. The thought of spending another two to three years on a book that no one else will read was paralyzing. I wasted so much time trying to protect myself from future failures that I was ignoring the novel that was burning a hole in my head, namely "The Flight of the Silvers."
It took a small bout with cancer to realign my priorities. My illness made me realize that there's nothing else I want to do in this world but tell stories, and that the only way to guarantee failure was to not write at all. So I broke out the laptop and started the book. On hindsight, I'm very glad I did.
Still, the writer's life isn't for everyone. In the end, only you can decide if it's your calling or not. But if there's a story currently burning a hole in your head, one you can't go a single day without thinking about, then my advice is to freaking WRITE IT. At least that's the advice I would have given Past Me during those long, painful years of self-doubt and paralysis.
Hope my answer helped a little. Good luck in whatever path you choose.
Best,
Dan
That's a question every writer asks themselves at some point in their lives, usually more than once. Nobody else can answer it for you. All I can offer you is my own personal experience.
I gave up for a while after my first novel tanked. The thought of spending another two to three years on a book that no one else will read was paralyzing. I wasted so much time trying to protect myself from future failures that I was ignoring the novel that was burning a hole in my head, namely "The Flight of the Silvers."
It took a small bout with cancer to realign my priorities. My illness made me realize that there's nothing else I want to do in this world but tell stories, and that the only way to guarantee failure was to not write at all. So I broke out the laptop and started the book. On hindsight, I'm very glad I did.
Still, the writer's life isn't for everyone. In the end, only you can decide if it's your calling or not. But if there's a story currently burning a hole in your head, one you can't go a single day without thinking about, then my advice is to freaking WRITE IT. At least that's the advice I would have given Past Me during those long, painful years of self-doubt and paralysis.
Hope my answer helped a little. Good luck in whatever path you choose.
Best,
Dan
Daniel Price
Hi John,
First off, I loved Pullman's "Dark Materials" trilogy, so I'm very flattered by the comparison. Thank you.
Since you took the time to write me, here are twelve little teasers about what you'll see in "The Song of the Orphans."
1. The Golds
2. Mortis
3. Tempic wolves
4. Zack vs. the Pelletiers
5. Mia vs. a whole mess of government agents
6. The secret society of the Gothams
7. A vicious battle in a runaway aerstraunt
8. Melissa, Ioni, Peter, Rebel, and a certain guy named Evan Rander
9. Amanda lays a tempic smackdown
10. Theo meets the true messiah
11. Hannah takes a life
12. David falls in love
13. Semerjean Pelletier changes everything
Okay, that was thirteen. What do you want? I'm a writer, not a number-counting guy.
First off, I loved Pullman's "Dark Materials" trilogy, so I'm very flattered by the comparison. Thank you.
Since you took the time to write me, here are twelve little teasers about what you'll see in "The Song of the Orphans."
1. The Golds
2. Mortis
3. Tempic wolves
4. Zack vs. the Pelletiers
5. Mia vs. a whole mess of government agents
6. The secret society of the Gothams
7. A vicious battle in a runaway aerstraunt
8. Melissa, Ioni, Peter, Rebel, and a certain guy named Evan Rander
9. Amanda lays a tempic smackdown
10. Theo meets the true messiah
11. Hannah takes a life
12. David falls in love
13. Semerjean Pelletier changes everything
Okay, that was thirteen. What do you want? I'm a writer, not a number-counting guy.
Daniel Price
Hi AJ,
I'm so glad you enjoyed the book. You'll be pleased to know that I'm 3-4 months away from submitting a full draft of THE SONG OF THE ORPHANS to Penguin. Once they're comfortable that the book isn't a hot raving mess, they'll carve a space for it on their release calendar. It's not coming right away, but it won't be a three-year wait either.
I'm so glad you enjoyed the book. You'll be pleased to know that I'm 3-4 months away from submitting a full draft of THE SONG OF THE ORPHANS to Penguin. Once they're comfortable that the book isn't a hot raving mess, they'll carve a space for it on their release calendar. It's not coming right away, but it won't be a three-year wait either.
Daniel Price
This answer contains spoilers…
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Daniel Price
Hi, Rolli. I'm glad you enjoyed "Slick" and I'm sorry for the wait between books. I'm not a speed writer by any stretch of the imagination. I write, then I revise, and then I revise twenty more times. But I'd like to think it's for a good cause. If you saw the early drafts of "Slick" or "The Flight of the Silvers"...let's just say there's a reason I keep them in a vault guarded by lasers and pit bulls and golems made of pudding (they're tough but delicious). Those drafts truly suck.
Rest assured that when "The Song of the Orphans" comes out, it'll be worth the wait. It's the best thing I've ever created, aside from the pudding golems.
Rest assured that when "The Song of the Orphans" comes out, it'll be worth the wait. It's the best thing I've ever created, aside from the pudding golems.
Daniel Price
Thank you, Ashley! Penguin and I are both scrambling to ensure that "The Song of the Orphans" comes out before the end of next year. We'll see if we make it. The first priority, of course, is making the book the best it can possibly be.
But I'm so glad you loved it. I truly hope you enjoy "Slick."
But I'm so glad you loved it. I truly hope you enjoy "Slick."
Daniel Price
Well, I'm answering anyway. Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the book. I'm 26 chapters into "The Song of the Orphans" and writing as fast as I can. Stay tuned.
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