A&A The Official Jason Fry Discussion Thread

I've seen TFA three times and haven't spotted Sarco. Props to him for being crafty and elusive. (Said in the Ewan McGregor voice: ihh-LOO-siv.)

Nothing to report on the SD. Haven't forgotten, though.

Re Levers of Power, I sent JJM a copy of the story to make sure he thought I'd done Sloane justice. It was fun to play connect the dots between the character in A New Dawn/Orientation and Aftermath. Plus I liked that there was a logical reason for the story to reflect on the events of A New Dawn and Sloane's various mentors. It's her own fulcrum, I suppose, where she realizes if she isn't the one to take action no one else will. And then that action is swift and brutal, not because Sloane is a sadist but because that's what's needed.

I built the whole story around the moment of realization and the suggestion -- which came from Tom Hoeler and Erich Schoeneweiss at Del Rey -- that we could use the seemingly innocent line "Recall the TIEs" to make readers go "Whooaaaaa." The trickiest thing was stepping out of chronological time to give that moment more weight and emphasis. I think it worked but it was a struggle to align the writing so it did.

Hux was fun. Lemme think about the best place to tell that tale. But I'll find a place for it soon, promise.

 

Jason, did you pick up an Lego sets from TFA? I gotta admit, I grabbed a few (including the Resistance Transport) and it is SOOO much cooler to build them and admire them after reading your fabulous ICS. Hell, as I was building the Resistance Transport, I found myself thinking more about what a B-wing Mk. II looks like than the ship itself.

--Adm. Nick

 

For Jason and all of you still looking for Sarco, you can see him in the background in the shot where Rey parks her speeder on her first trip to Niima Outpost.

 

Thanks! I'll have to pay close attention next time I go see it... which might not be until it is released on blu-ray. I don't want to burn myself out on this movie too quickly...

 

Jason, any word on the Jupiter Pirates short story?

 

I was wondering about that too. I have The Rise of Earth pre ordered, and I only learned about that short story a few weeks ago.

Of course, we won`t begrudge you at all if it`s delayed. Who in their right mind would pass up the opportunity to write the dozen or so TFA tie ins with which they tasked you?

I hadn`t heard of Sarco Plank, so I found this google result pretty interesting.

 

You're kind to ask about the story. Thank you.

It keeps getting delayed by fires that have to be put out and projects that pop up, much to my chagrin. But will have it before the Curse of the Iris PB at the very worst.

I have no LEGO sets, alas. Though I did buy myself a Bith mini-fig at NYCC. He sits next to a little T-Rex skull I bought in Japan, the personalized author sign I liberated from Star Wars Weekends, Sarco and my ReAction Ripley and Alien figs.

 

Jason: Are new in canon essential guides planned for the forseeable future? That would be really great.

 

Jason,

We know have the "Lothal Sector" per Rebels last night. Apparently in proximity to Concord Dawn and Mandalorian territory, at least in the sense that they need safe passage through the system to travel in and out of the Outer Rim.

Stellar cartographic thoughts?

--Adm. Nick

 

Mandalore sector in the oldcanon was right next to the Mid Rim/Outer Rim border (near the Hydian Way).

I would guess that it now controls that Hydian Way route (the Hydian Way crosses the Inner Rim, Expansion Region and Mid Rim in a very short distance there) - which is why the Rebels need that route.

 

It's nice as an explanation for why the Lothal rebels got a Mandalorian with them. The Mandalorian territory is nearby.

 

Fair enough. I'm looking forward to it, whenever it comes out.

 

I always considered Lothal close to Kessel.

 

Jason, can I say that I like that the Atlas opens with a discussion of stars in The Galaxy... and they work in the exact same way they do in our universe? I know, on your blog, you've said one of your sci-fi pet peeves is making things more "spacey" than they need to be (i.e. using "orbital cycle" instead of "year" and such); was that thought on your mind when you and/or Dan wrote this part?

 

jasonfry

Is there any plans to release maps of the Deep Core, Core Worlds, Colonies and Inner Rim sectors anytime soon?

I can only look at the ones of the Expansion Region, Mid Rim and Outer Rim Territories (plus the Tion Cluster) for so long without going mad.

Also, any new plans for stuff relating to the Battle of Endor? I'd love to see a new list of ships and pilots (with Tycho Celchu returned to canon?).

 

No plans for any new maps at this time, nor for Endor work from me.

Re the stars, yeah, we definitely wanted to make the stars and galaxy work the way our own does. Nature and/or [whatever divine being you believe in] already invented something pretty phenomenal there, so why mess with it?

 

New interview that might be interesting, or at least I hope so. I talk the challenges of Rey's Survival Guide, the approach to TFA Cross-Sections, and there are a lot of writing tips. Plus: baseball card confessions!

 

I just read Rey's Survival Guide the other day. Thought it was pretty good!

 

jasonfry

I was reading your article on TOS about the Secret Academy and noticed at the bottom you clarified the weapons count and description for the Finalizer! 1500 turbolasers and ion cannons and a battlecruiser classification. Very cool!

--Adm. Nick

 

Very interesting stuff on the background of General Hux, and the Finalizer. I liked the line in I think the Visual Guide, about their being inconsistent Stormtroopers due to their training varying so much across the Galaxy.

 

jasonfry

I want to ask with the Viscount prototype being made 3 km long, does that mean that the Mediator-class battle cruiser is 1,500 meters long?

 

I'd prefer to leave that discussion to the Fleet Junkies thread. At this point it just gives me a headache.

At the risk of an awkward segue, sat down (well, virtually) for an interview with Star Wars Veracruz that I thought was fun. We talk about a lot -- being an author under Disney, Cross-Sections, writing influences -- and I dug into Weapon of a Jedi and how it calls back to the Star Wars tales of Luke Skywalker that I loved as a kid. Check it out here.

 

Very interesting. I'm really curious now to see what happens with FFG's Nexus of Power book, considering that Lothal makes an appearance - if it gets a planetary entry, I wonder if they were given any information about placement? (Then again, they may not even have an entry for the planet, just about the Jedi ruins there).