lan Dean Foster, author of well over 90 novels, 40 pieces of nonfiction and 90 short stories, has drawn attention not only with the value of his own work, but also with his movie novelizations and tie-ins in the fictional universes of Star Wars, Star Trek and Alien.
His name has become synonymous with the field of speculative fiction during his stint as an author, starting in 1972 with his first novel, The Tar-Alym Krange, published by Ballantine Books, and carrying into more recent works like The Approaching Storm, a tie-in for Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones, followed by Impossible Places, which features a new adventure with Flinx & Pip.
While keeping busy certainly seems to be no problem for Foster, he was able to find some time to talk about—among other things—the power of the Internet on writing, being a ghostwriter and, of course, science fiction and the future.
What is the secret to your longevity in science fiction? What are some of the major changes you've noticed over the years?
Foster: I'm a storyteller. I'm the direct descendent of the itinerant yarn-spinner who traveled from camp to camp, telling tales for his supper. A great majority of my novels, if not my short fiction, is designed to entertain. Not to preach, not to lecture, but to transport the audience to another place and time and make them forget the often numbing and disheartening events of everyday life.
When I do this, when I go somewhere else, I do it completely in my mind. I'm "there" ... wherever there happens to be at the moment. I'm not standing back, looking at the screen, analyzing whether something works or not. I just go. I think the fact that I'm obviously having a good time comes through in the stories I tell, and that readers pick up on that.
As to major changes over the years, besides the consolidation in publishing, there's certainly more SF around than when I started. Fantasy has grown even faster than SF. This stands to reason, since fantasy appeals to a larger segment of the reading public, and will always be more popular than SF because it goes down easier.
Has speculative fiction been made "legitimate" in the mass market?
Foster: It's been happening for years, Michael Crichton being the foremost example. Of course, when Crichton or Lessing or Walter Mosley do it, the publishers are careful not to mention that the work is SF. God forbid. ...
You've done a number of movie and TV tie-in books or novelizations. How much freedom do you have when writing them? How much characterization can you add? And what are some of your favorites?
Foster: Usually I have complete freedom. For one thing, the folks doing the movie have, fortunately, neither the interest nor the time to meddle with something like a novelization. The publisher always leaves me alone. Once in a while, somebody sticks their nose in, insisting they know better, and gives me a headache. The most notable instance was on Alien 3 ... which is why I didn't do Alien Resurrection. Admittedly, I did make a number of significant changes to the story in Alien 3 ... I couldn't help myself.
As to characterization, as long as I don't directly contradict something in the film, I have pretty much a free hand ... with Alien 3 once more being the exception.
Favorites among my novelizations would be Alien, Aliens, The Thing and Dark Star ... the latter because it was so difficult—four guys sitting around in a spaceship talking about how bored they are. Also the unpublished two-episode novelization of the TV show Maude—Maude gets an abortion.
You were the ghostwriter for Star Wars. Was it hard to take when the book became a bestseller and all the glory went to George Lucas instead of you?
Foster: Not at all. It was George's story. I was merely expanding upon it. Not having my name on the cover didn't bother me in the least. It would be akin to a contractor demanding to have his name on a Frank Lloyd Wright house.
On the same line, were you disappointed that Lucas never turned Splinter of the Mind's Eye into a Star Wars movie?
Foster: I can't think of many writers who aren't at least, in their heart of hearts, a little disappointed when any or every book of theirs isn't turned into a film. There's something about seeing your words in motion.... I always thought Splinter would have made a nice TV movie of the week. It was designed from the beginning to be filmable on a low budget. With modifications to the Luke-Leia relationship, it could still be done ... but that's not what George wants to do. It's his universe.
What can you tell us about The Approaching Storm, the tie-in novel for Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones?
Foster: The Approaching Storm, which will be out next month, is an independent novel detailing certain events that lead up to the story in Attack of the Clones.
As to the contents, it involves Obi-wan and Anakin's mission to a seemingly minor world that, because of certain events that are occurring concurrently, takes on an importance all out of proportion to what one initially expects. It also involves a female Jedi, Luminara Unduli, and her padawan.
What can we expect from you in 2002?
Foster: Besides The Approaching Storm, spring 2002 will see the publication by Del Rey of the final book in the Founding of the Commonwealth trilogy—Diuturnity's Dawn. With it will come the paperback publication of the most recent Flinx & Pip book, Reunion. Later in the year there will be my first short story collection in several years, Impossible Places. This will contain "Sideshow," only the second original Flinx & Pip short story I've ever done.
From Warner will come The Mocking Program, the first novel set in the near future of the Montezuma Strip. This and all the Montezuma Strip stories are currently under option for possible film production.
There will also be several short stories, including a new Spellsinger novelette in the Baen Books anthology Masters of Fantasy. For publication dates and further updates, readers can go to my Web site, www.alandeanfoster.com
You've done a number of book series, such as Spellsinger, Humanx and Journeys of the Catechist. What are the merits/drawbacks of writing a series? Did you pitch the books as series? Would that be easier or harder to sell? Did you even think they would become a series?
Foster: I've never pitched a series. Trilogies, yes—The Journeys of the Catechist and The Founding of the Commonwealth. But never an open-ended, ongoing series. Those just seem to evolve of their own accord.
The merits are that you can keep using the same background—society, religion, technology, etc. The drawback is that you have to keep all of those selfsame benefits straight, and work hard at not contradicting what has gone before.
Which is easiest for amateur authors to get published these days—short stories or novels?
Foster: Shorts are always easier for beginning writers to sell, because the investment on both the part of the writer and the publisher is so much less.
On the other hand, the returns are minimal. Established writers who have sold novels continue to write short stories for love.
Your Web site certainly stands out. How important is it for writers, both beginning and established alike, to have a Web site?
Foster: Web sites are becoming more and more important for writers. Besides serving as extended business cards, they allow a kind of interaction that previously did not exist. For example, receiving a piece of valid criticism from a reader in Hungary now becomes a simple, and inexpensive, matter.
They've multiplied the amount of reader mail I receive by several orders of magnitude. They're also fun ... that is, if you want to take the time to keep them updated yourself, and monkey around a little bit with HTML. Thank you for the compliment on mine. Did you try the navigable star maps of the Commonwealth? And did you find the easter egg?
Let's talk about some of your older books. Was Quozl fun to write? What did you think of the paperback flip-art?
Foster: Yes, Quozl was a good deal of fun to write. Especially the part where the aliens visit Disneyland because it's the only place where they won't attract attention. The flip-book was a well-meaning merchandising idea, but I think it gave the novel the air of a children's book, which it was not.
To the Vanishing Point had some pretty good scares in it. Do you think you'll write another horror novel?
Foster: Interlopers, which is just out here in the U.S. [Ace], is along the same lines as Vanishing Point. As to perhaps writing a more graphic horror novel, while I'm quite capable of being as anatomically descriptive as the next writer, that simply doesn't appeal to me. I much prefer a more subtle kind of horror.
In Interlopers, your descriptions of an archaeological dig site and the various personnel were quite detailed. What research did you do for the book, and did it come from a passion for archaeology?
Foster: The Chachapoyan archeological site described at the beginning of Interlopers is very close to the actual site of the Chachapoyan citadel of Kuelap, located in northern Peru. I visited there in 1998. It's a fantastic place. The Discovery Channel did a special on it a year or so ago. As to the descriptions of the dig, during the same Peruvian visit, I traveled through northern Peru in the company of the renowned Peruvian archeologist Daniel Fernandez. This allowed me access and provided me with insight into several ongoing digs, sites that are closed to tourists.
As for a passion for archeology: I am interested in, and have a passion for, just about everything.
What do you see for the future of e-publishing?
Foster: It will become more and more important ... provided the publishers can prevent large-scale piracy. They really have no choice. The users are too sharp. If publishers don't make books available in e-format, the users will find ways to post them anyway.
Has e-publishing had a significant impact on print media?
Foster: Not yet. It will be interesting to see what happens. I get letters from many readers who either buy the book first and then download the e-book version for convenience, or who read the e-book and then decide they want a permanent, hard copy for their library. Time, and technology, will tell.
Where electronic publishing has certainly already had an impact is in the field of technical book publishing. Huge manuals that cost three figures in hard copy can be published infinitely more cheaply, and carried out with comparable ease, in e-book form. For example, available on a recent usenet site was the Chilton Guide to the 1995 Chevy Lumina ... not exactly backlist material your local Borders is likely to have on hand.
What is the inspiration behind Reunion?
Foster: There is always a price to be paid for the acquisition of power ... even for those who don't seek it out. I've also always been intrigued by the notion of how history could have changed if certain important individuals had died unexpectedly—Hitler in prison, for example, or George Washington catching a bullet at Valley Forge. Great events so often hinge on the most minuscule of factors.
Any last words?
Foster: I've always loved telling stories. I still do, and hope to go on doing so for another half century or so while I'm striving to see the rest of the planet.
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