The Not a Book Club Club discussion

So I haven't contacted him yet, and I have no idea if he'll be responsive to the idea, but Mr. Wexler read and liked my review yesterday. This have me the idea of messaging him to see if he'd be open to a few questions from the group.

Would you guys be interested in me trying this? There is little point in me asking if people don't have a few good questions to submit.

Oh yes please Rob.

I can come up with something if he agrees.

He's in! I'd like to give those who are still reading a chance to finish the book first, but in the meantime start thinking up and posting your questions here.

So I'm going to point him at this thread and he said he would check in periodically, so make sure you post your questions! I guess I'll start.

There seems to be a rise in gun fantasy recently. I've seen it called flintlock fantasy among other things.

What made you want to do a fantasy book with guns? Have you read other flintlock fantasy, or do avoid it so as not to influence your own vision?

Why did you go for a magic light storyline when the most popular way is the magic heavy on every page?

Were there any arguments about you not writing the oasis battle scene from your editors?

There were only a few locations and names used in this story. Besides shifting to the Vordani continent will future installments be similarly focused or will there be a broadening of the world and increase in names used?

Did you decide to release The Penitent Damned on your own or was this something that your publisher pushed for? Seems like this has become a popular trend among new authors or maybe I just never noticed it before.

Vordani, Vordanai and their military caste, a small, peculiar commander (Janus)with very intelligent grey eyes: no relations with(or inspirations from) "admiral" Miles Vorkosigan from planet Vorbarra?

(And let me tell you that I really enjoyed the book and I'm looking forward the next one).

Rob wrote: "There seems to be a rise in gun fantasy recently. I've seen it called flintlock fantasy among other things.

What made you want to do a fantasy book with guns? Have you read other flintlock fantasy..."

When I started writing the book, there was hardly any fantasy with guns. It's a big surprise to me that it's become popular!

My process went something like this. I was really fond of George Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, and the way he'd taken a knights-and-castles world back towards its historical roots and based it heavily in historical fact. I thought it would be cool to do something similar, but with a very different historical period. At the time I was reading about the campaigns of Napoleon, and I thought that would work perfectly -- so that was the very start of The Thousand Names.

Overall, I think fantasy is finally branching out a little from everything being based on 13th century England. It's great! I haven't read that much other "flintlock fantasy", with the exception of Brian McClellan's Promise of Blood, which I liked very much. (It's very different, though -- if I came to it by way of GRRM, he comes to it by way of Brandon Sanderson.)

Mark wrote: "Why did you go for a magic light storyline when the most popular way is the magic heavy on every page?

Were there any arguments about you not writing the oasis battle scene from your editors?"

The main reason I kept the magic fairly light is because I wanted the military and political stuff, which is kind of the meat of the book, to actually matter -- that gets problematic when you have too many god-like mages around. I love The Malazan Book of the Fallen, for example, but sometimes I wonder why they even HAVE armies when there's all these demigods who can wipe them out with a wave of their hand.

Actually, I think it was my editors who made me take the oasis battle out. When I submitted the book, it was 230,000 words -- monstrously long by any standard. My editor helped me trim it down to about 195,000 in the final version. She definitely wasn't pushing me to ADD stuff!

Bill wrote: "There were only a few locations and names used in this story. Besides shifting to the Vordani continent will future installments be similarly focused or will there be a broadening of the world and ..."

It's a fairly restricted cast by fantasy standards, it's true. It does broaden a bit in the next book -- there's a lot of new characters, and we get to see a lot of Vordan City. On the whole, though, I think this is a consequence of keeping the point of view relatively restricted. There's only two main ones in TTN, and the next book adds one more (Raesinia, heir to the Vordanai throne) which should be the last for the series. I'm trying to keep the story tightly focused, rather than wandering off to tell the story of the political state of an entire continent! At some point I may come out with some background material culled from my notes, with maps and more details.

"The Penitent Damned" was something me and my agent cooked up, rather than coming from the publisher. I think a lot of authors are experimenting with the freedom the new e-book ecosystem gives them, trying to find new ways to connect with readers, do publicity, and so on without going through the traditional channels. Certainly it wouldn't have been possible ten years ago!

Simona wrote: "Vordani, Vordanai and their military caste, a small, peculiar commander (Janus)with very intelligent grey eyes: no relations with(or inspirations from) "admiral" Miles Vorkosigan from planet Vorbar..."

Haha! I can honestly say no -- I'm slowly working my way through those books, but I hadn't read any of them when I started the series! I actually have forgotten where the name Vordan came from, it's in the very earliest drafts.

On the whole, though, I think the story of the strange genius is a really interesting one, and lots of authors have done very good takes. Janus owes a lot to Sherlock Holmes and Timothy Zahn's Grand Admiral Thrawn, among others.

And thanks, I'm very glad you enjoyed it!

thank you, to take the time and answer us all.

Thank you Django.

Django wrote: "I haven't read that much other "flintlock fantasy", with the exception of Brian McClellan's Promise of Blood, which I liked very much. (It's very different, though -- if I came to it by way of GRRM, he comes to it by way of Brandon Sanderson.)"

We read promise of blood earlier this year and that's seems like a good way to look at it. Thanks for the answer!

First of all, thanks Django for taking the time to stop by and answering our questions! :)

I'm roughly 1/3 through the book and really enjoying myself.
As Winter is my favorite character so far, I wanted to ask how you came by her and what was particularly interesting in writing a woman pretending to be a man?

Alex wrote: "Thanks Django!

At what point in your writing do you do research? Did you dive into Napoleonic studies before you wrote anything, or after your first draft, or a combination of the two?"

I read a lot of history for fun, so a great deal of what you'd think of as "research" I'd already done by the time I decided to write the book. It was all the interesting Napoleonic stuff I read that made me want to do it in the first place, actually, or at least to pick that period in particular.

That said, after I started, I did a bit more reading, mostly first-hand accounts of what battles were actually like for the people involved. A lot of the larger-scale histories just sort of gloss over what the actual fighting looked like in favor of grand tactics and strategy, and I wanted to be able to show both sides.

Alex wrote: "Also (and I have to ask), is Django Wexler your real name or a pen name?"

It is, in fact, my real name! I've gotten tons of people saying, "You have the best pen name ever!" and I always say, "Well, you can thank my parents..."

Alex wrote: "How do you visualize the battle scenes when you write? Are they just in your head, do you draw them on paper, do you have little figurines you move around the dining room table?

I ask because the..."

I do play miniature wargames (though I don't actually own a Napoleonics set, oddly enough) but I never gamed out the battles in the book. Mostly I made a lot of diagrams, of the sort you find in military history books, with maps and positions and little arrows. (I love that kind of diagram.)

The exciting/scary thing is that the battles in TTN actually barely qualify as skirmishes in terms of the numbers of troops involved. Janus' fight against the Auxiliaries has four under-strength battalions against three, or roughly 3,000 men to a side. For comparison, Austerlitz, one of the big, decisive battles of the era, featured some 72,000 French against 85,000 Austrians and Russians, with the French side alone including upwards of a hundred regiments. That should give you some idea of how crazy a large battle really was!

(My hope is to gradually increase the scope as the series goes along, so we can work up to that sort of thing once people know what I'm talking about at the lower levels.)

Mpauli wrote: "First of all, thanks Django for taking the time to stop by and answering our questions! :)

I'm roughly 1/3 through the book and really enjoying myself.
As Winter is my favorite character so far, ..."

No problem! Talking to readers always makes me happy. Glad you're enjoying it!

I introduced Winter fairly late in the process, actually. I knew I wanted the second POV to be a woman, but for a while she was either Janus' younger sister or Marcus' love interest. That never really worked, though, and eventually I realized she needed her own story. Once I worked out her backstory everything kind of fell into place, and her ongoing part is actually now probably the centerpiece of the whole series. (Must ... not ... spoil book that comes out next year ...)

I didn't want to get too into the specific issues of Winter's disguise and how it works, because that's really not the point of it -- when we join her, she's been doing it for a while, so we can assume she's figured things out. I was a little worried that leaving that stuff out might make it hard for people to suspend disbelief, but so far I haven't had many complaints. Fortunately, the generally low hygiene standard of the setting makes it a lot more plausible. (In fact, it really happened, in several documented historical cases.)

Django wrote: " I was a little worried that leaving that stuff out might make it hard for people to suspend disbelief, but so far I haven't had many complaints."

I think that was a really wise decision. I have to admit, when I just had read the blurb, I dreaded it a bit, cause pulling off the whole disguise, explaining every step would have been really time consuming.
So I was really relieved, when I read in the beginning that she was already established as a soldier.

Oh, and in my imagination Winter always has to hold her water till it's dark and then sneak to the latrines.^^

Django wrote: "Bill wrote: "There were only a few locations and names used in this story. Besides shifting to the Vordani continent will future installments be similarly focused or will there be a broadening of t..."

Thanks Django. Looking forward to the rest of the series.

Alex pointed out that your write an anime column. What is your favorite anime?

Do you plan to write any anime influenced stories?

Django wrote: "Must ... not ... spoil book that comes out next year ......"

OOOOH please, do spoil! Feel free to spoil! I have my finger on the "Buy with 1-click" button already....

Rob wrote: "Alex pointed out that your write an anime column. What is your favorite anime?

Do you plan to write any anime influenced stories?"

I do! It just started up last month at SF Signal: http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/cate... There's anime influence all through my writing, but I've written a few stories that are more anime than others. I've been told by several people that my old book Memories of Empire feels very anime, for example. And the novella I'm releasing later this month has a very anime-ish feel.

My favorite anime of all time is probably Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magicka, but I have a list of about 15 that I think of as "favorites".

Simona wrote: "Django wrote: "Must ... not ... spoil book that comes out next year ......"

OOOOH please, do spoil! Feel free to spoil! I have my finger on the "Buy with 1-click" button already...."

I can't, my editors will be angry with me! I can say that we'll get deeper in the characters' background and past, especially Winter's. I definitely think it's worth checking out. =)

As a wargamer what systems do you play?

Mark wrote: "As a wargamer what systems do you play?"

These days I mostly play Warmachine, since that's what everyone around here is into. I own a large army for Warhammer 40k but have basically given it up. For historicals (which I love, but are harder to find opponent's for) I like DBA, DBM, and Napoleon's Battles. I also play some on the computer; Panzer Corps and the Total War series are favorites.

I was a necron player and orcs and goblins, played flames of war and other historical games.

Django wrote: "And the novella I'm releasing later this month has a very anime-ish feel."

Oh cool, what's that called/where will we be able to check it out?

Django wrote: "My favorite anime of all time is probably Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magicka, but I have a list of about 15 that I think of as "favorites". "

Yeah, I always want to name a few when asked for my favorites, but if I have to pick just one it's still Cowboy Bebop.

That's a series I think any SFF fan should watch whether they normally watch anime or not.

Rob wrote: "Django wrote: "And the novella I'm releasing later this month has a very anime-ish feel."

Oh cool, what's that called/where will we be able to check it out?

Django wrote: "My favorite anime of al..."

Cowboy Bebop is definitely on the list, it's awesome.

The novella will be called "John Golden, Freelance Debugger", and is slightly humorous urban fantasy. It'll be up on Amazon soon -- currently waiting for the cover artist to finish up.

I'm steering from the thread, and for that I ask your pardon, but is there any hope to have Memories of Empire for Kindle, in the future?
Sorry again...

Simona wrote: "I'm steering from the thread, and for that I ask your pardon, but is there any hope to have Memories of Empire for Kindle, in the future?
Sorry again..."

Nothing to be sorry for. :) I switched to digital reading completely, so I was on Amazon as well looking for it.
As far as I know, it's up to the publisher if and when a book is digitalized and most publishers working on adding their back catalogue, but it takes time. Apparently...there are a lot of books in the world.^^

Django wrote: "Cowboy Bebop is definitely on the list, it's awesome."

Yoko Kano was at Otakon this summer doing a piano concert and she played Tank! and Real Folk Blues as well as stuff from GIS: Stand Alone Complex and Escaflowne among other things.

It was Amazing.

You said GRRM's ASOIAF was your inspiration to write The Thousand Names. You may know his quote about writers being an architect or a gardener (https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7493...). Which are you? Or are you a combination? What other authors have inspired you?

I haven't read your book yet (Amazon gift cards for Christmas = woo!) but thanks for taking the time to come here and answer our questions!

I started late (mainly because I'm a bum), but I'm really enjoying the book.

I also found it disproportionately amusing that the fine tableware was referred to as "china," and immediately began wondering what the Chinese nation was like in this world.

Yoko Kano doing the music certainly bumps anime up to at least a "must try" on my list. It's almost sad that I'd rate Full Metal Alchemist above Cowboy Bebop... but I've always been a sucker for orchestral arrangements, and Bratja by the Moscow Philharmonic just pulls at those heartstrings. Of course, considering my feelings about One Piece (it is amazing), I also clearly like a certain type of shonen.

Dara wrote: "You said GRRM's ASOIAF was your inspiration to write The Thousand Names. You may know his quote about writers being an architect or a gardener (https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7493......"

Nice quote.
And thanks for your answer, Mpauli.

Dara wrote: "You said GRRM's ASOIAF was your inspiration to write The Thousand Names. You may know his quote about writers being an architect or a gardener (https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7493......"

Interesting! As George says, everyone is a little bit of both, but I'm definitely closer to the architect side. Things still change under my feet from time to time, but I've got an outline that runs from the beginning of The Thousand Names through the very end of the series.

In addition to Martin, on the fiction side there's Joe Abercrombie, S. M. Stirling, Steven Erikson, and Brandon Sanderson. Quite a few non-fiction authors had a major hand in the inspiration, too: David Chandler, Simon Schama, and Robert Massie are probably my favorites.

Simona wrote: "I'm steering from the thread, and for that I ask your pardon, but is there any hope to have Memories of Empire for Kindle, in the future?
Sorry again..."

No worries! So, Memories of Empire was originally published by a small press called Medallion, and then went out of print. I got the rights back from them, so it's a matter of getting a new publisher to pick it up. I would probably want to do an editorial pass, too, so it'd be a fair bit of work. The upshot is that it will almost certainly be available for Kindle at some point, but probably later rather than sooner. (Between two novel series and various other projects, I'm pretty busy!)

Sky wrote: "I started late (mainly because I'm a bum), but I'm really enjoying the book.

I also found it disproportionately amusing that the fine tableware was referred to as "china," and immediately began wo..."

There are only a few non-voice-cast anime staff that make a show sound better to me, but Yoko Kanno is definitely on the list. (So is Kajiura Yuki!)

I wrote an article about the Fantasy Language Problem (that English is full of references like "china") for Fantasy Faction a while back:
http://fantasy-faction.com/2013/the-f...
http://fantasy-faction.com/2013/the-f...

It's harder to address than it looks!

Django, look at this - I let you alone for one minute and suddenly you are answering great questions with great people. I'll say that as his agent, Django is one of the greatest writers to work with. He's SO good on a first draft, writes quickly, and takes his own initiative. I don't know if you realize he's got his middlegrade fantastical novel, THE FORBIDDEN LIBRARY, coming out in April, but I recommend that too. Can't wait for you to all read The Shadow Throne and, after reading this, looks like I need to make sure we get that ebook of his earlier works going asap. Thanks for all the enthusiasm here! Love to see it! Django, sorry if this sounds like a proud mother here - I just happened to be online and saw this so I thought I'd drop in and say hi!

Seth wrote: "Django, look at this - I let you alone for one minute and suddenly you are answering great questions with great people. I'll say that as his agent, Django is one of the greatest writers to work wi..."

Haha, that's okay! I'm always willing to accept praise. (And you guys should definitely read Seth's book The Well's End when it comes out!)

Seth wrote: "Django, look at this - I let you alone for one minute and suddenly you are answering great questions with great people. I'll say that as his agent, Django is one of the greatest writers to work wi..."

Nice to have you aboard as well. That's dedication. :) Forbidden Library was already on my radar. I have a 13 year old god-child and she likes to read, so I always look for some books that might interest both of us and pretty soon her english might be on a level where we can try english books.

And Django, good luck for the release of the german translation in April. Heyne is a well respected publisher here, seems like a good choice. Any chance of seeing you for a signing in Germany?

Django wrote: "There are only a few non-voice-cast anime staff that make a show sound better to me, but Yoko Kanno is definitely on the list. (So is Kajiura Yuki!)"

No kidding, the My-HiME soundtrack is a large portion of my writing/coding music.

And I know what you mean about fantasy language problems... it's one of the reasons that I'm terrified of writing anything set in a secondary fantasy world. I imagine it requires a talent set including such diverse elements as fear, surprise, ruthless efficiency, an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope, and nice red uniforms.

Sky wrote: "I imagine it requires a talent set including such diverse elements as fear, surprise, ruthless efficiency, an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope, and nice red uniforms. "

Thanks for answering my question, Django!

Rob wrote: "... including such diverse elements as fear, surprise, ruthless efficiency, an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope, and nice red uniforms. "

Oh God, I love this one!

So, I have to ask... Django, have you read Monstrous Regiment?

Sky wrote: "So, I have to ask... Django, have you read Monstrous Regiment?"

I have! I love all the Discworld books. I was actually a little worried about duplicating parts of the story, but "girl runs off to join the army as a man" is an old, old trope, so it's been done in a hundred ways by now.