A&A The Official Walter Jon Williams Discussion Thread

You didn't answer my question =/
When will the paperback be coming out?

 

Kyp: sometime between August and October next year.

 

Ok I got a follow up question for you and hopefully since the book is out you can tell us. What parts did you enjoy writing the most? What parts were the easiest for you to write? What parts were the hardest? Were there some parts you didn't want to write but had to?


Oh and got any juicy teasers for the rest of the NJO for us?

 

Mr Williams;

I loved YLESIA, I thought it was fantastic. But I haven't read DESTINY'S WAY yet. My bad.

Anyway, I had a small YLESIA question: In the final battle, did Maal Lah actually die? I thought he did, but others think he simply lost his leg an escaped that building that collapsed after he called for reinforcements. It probably doesn't matter anyway, but I am curious as to his actual fate. Thanks.

 

Alpha Red.

*Shudder*

Today in my Terrorism/Counter-Terrorism class we talked about Bio-Warfare.




Mr. Williams, just wanted to say that I am thouroughly (sp) enjoying your book. In fact, I'm enjoying it so much, I used Destiney's Way and Ylesia in a report on eBooks for my Mass Communication class (I got a 98%).

 

Let me say this: that steak sounds AWESOME!

 

The steak sounds awesome, but DANG! That wine sounds even better!

Jae Angel

 

Congrats, Mr. Williams, on a book that is true to the spirit of SW!

After SbS, I was on the verge of giving up the NJO; in terms of plot, they'd killed off Anakin Solo, who I strongly consider the best character of the NJO. A year on, you've renewed my enthusiasm for NJO - good work!

 

I might as well comment that 'Destiny's Way' is probably one of my favorite Star Wars books of all time. Very nicely done, Mr. Williams -- it was a very good read.

 

Well, let me chime in here for a sec... can we have the recipe for the steak?

 

I'll second that. It sounds damned good.

 

i like how it was one of the only books to culminate in a massive 'backs to the wall' type of pitched battle.

 

Mr. Williams, thankyou very much on such a great read! Destiny's Way was excellent!

 

Hi again. Thanks for all the compliments!

I intended for Maal Lah to lose a leg but not his life. I didn't want to kill off too many of the Lahs, I'll leave that for other writers in the series.

The easiest parts to write were the battle scenes. I'm good at them and they go pretty quickly.

The hardest parts were . . . I dunno, I guess the parts where I had to drive myself crazy looking up stuff, and then I drove Shelly and Lucasfilm mad looking it up for me because I can't find it, and then I get it wrong anyway. ("What? Farlander's a Jedi????")

Unfortunately I can't do heavy-duty NJO teasers because I'm so totally out of the loop now. I know what Sean Williams was going to do a year ago. I know what the series outline said was going to happen. But all of that's changed in the time since. I know some of what was being discussed, and it's pretty croggling, but I don't know if it's going to be improved on since.

And now on to something I =do= know about.

For Bistecche al Funghi (serves two):

Chop up about 12 ounces of different varieties of mushrooms. It doesn't so much matter what kinds they are, you just want 'shrooms with different textures.
Sprinkle your steaks with rosemary, salt, and pepper.

In a skillet large enough for two steaks, heat a tablespoon each of butter and extra-virgin olive oil. Add the steaks and brown on each side.

Add another tablespoon of butter and olive oil. Add the mushrooms, a clove of garlic, salt, pepper, and a pinch of marjoram. Cook about ten minutes or until the juices have evaporated.

Add half a cup of dry red wine and chopped fresh parsley. Simmer for a minute or so.

Return the steaks to the pan. Pile the mushrooms on top. Cook until the steaks are done to taste.

Serve. Eat. Rejoice.

If you have access to good-quality tuna steaks, you can substitute tuna for the beef and a dry white wine for the red. It tastes just as good.

Enjoy!

 

Thank you!

 

Do you have any long term goals as an author (post-Proxis)

 

Mr. Williams:

I totally understand your internet-related problems of late as my internet portal here in my dorm was down for over a week. <pulls hair out>

But now that I'm back, I have another question. You mentioned that LucasArts/Film (whatever) owns everything now in Destiny's Way, including those parts "dearest to [your] heart". May I inquire as to which parts fit that discription? Forgive my peculiar diction; I've been reading way too much Jane Austen recently.

At the end of Destiny's Way, Jaina remarked that 'being the Sword of the Jedi stinks'. Did you intend with that scene to suggest that the dark future envisioned for her by Luke is not to come, since she (seemingly) made the decision to live her life as opposed to lie in wait for death?

GREAT SOUNDING STEAK. Living on campus leaves me with little access to good food . . . my mouth is watering as I type.

 

That recipe sounds awesome, I will have to try it!

 

Hi Mr. Williams,

You mentioned that Vergere's death was a requirement that DelRey/LucasBooks had for DW. Do you know why?

Also - have you ever been over to the official site message boards?


Thanks for your time.

 

My guess is because Luke is supposed to be top dog Jedi Master in the galaxy. Can't have some Old Republic Jedi who knows more than he does challenging his claim to fame.

 

Walter, I finally found a copy of Destiny's Way in Australia today... I am in the middle of reading it, and love it so far. I will write a review for TF.N Books when I am finished.

Question: Walter, are you going to read the remaining NJO books as they are released, to find out what happens in the story?

 

I thought the space battles were very well done -- and that's saying something, because I normally don't enjoy them.

 

Walter,

Thanks for the recipe! It sounds good.

Can I ask what you think of this whole long, strange, Star Wars trip?

I think with your NJO work, you have clearly given yourself a place within Star Wars fandom whenever and wherever you choose to come around and hang with us - whether its conventions, here, whatever.

Do you have any plans on other Star Wars stuff. The franchise is unique in that if people are interested, there's tons of outlets for creators like you to do stories in terms of short stories (Insider magazine, web site, etc), comics (Star Wars Tales, etc.), role-playing game (sourcebook short stories, etc.). All of these other things are certainly less-intensive than writing a hardcover novel.

 

Interesting thought, Genghis. How hard would be for a humble beginner like me to break into said franchise? Would Fanfic be a good place to start (as far as short stories and the like go)?

 

If you have access to good-quality tuna steaks, you can substitute tuna for the beef and a dry white wine for the red. It tastes just as good.

I live in NYC, about three blocks from a Balducci's... I'll try both!

Oh, and I'm back in case anyone missed me.

Oh... and YUM!