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This was an interview that they did of me on the Obi-Wan characterization thread on theforce.net's website. 2005
1. Sorry to be boring and predictable, but tell us a little about
yourself.
For the not so boring stuff, I love to travel. I've been to Continental Europe and England several times, both sides of Canada as well, Japan, China, Mexico, some islands in the Caribbean and 48 of 50 states in the US (still missing North Dakota and Louisiana). To me, it is nothing to get in the car and drive 1000 miles. I go to at least 4 science fiction conventions on the East Coast every year. Hobbies – I am a costumer (I compete at the Master level in costuming circles and have won numerous times), quilter (sell most of my stuff and have won ribbons at conventions including the Popular Choice Best Amateur Artist at the Philadelphia Worldcon) and writer. I used to paint as well but have sold most of my paintings. I do prefer to work in fabric. You can see one of my costumes under my icon link and on my website are some of my quilts. Incidentally, I got into the creative side by way of Star Wars. I tried to find a painting or poster of the opening scene of ANH and couldn't find it anywhere. So I taught myself to paint (I still have that painting) and have been creating works of art ever since.
2. You and I have talked about
our different writing styles before – explain why you use such a lush,
descriptive style as compared to a sparer method. Pros? Cons? Besides, description allows me to put more emotion/drama/brilliancy into the scenes. I've always thought that the environment has just as much to do with the story as the people themselves. When you move through your everyday life, you don't pay much attention to it since it's known to you. But, if I'm creating a new universe or exploring some place outside the known, I feel the need and desire to fill in the gaps. Same with the people. I want to know what they are doing and why. A facial or hand movement give away just as much information about how they are feeling as their words. Words can hide things – gestures often do not. In fact, in Betrayal, I had one of the main characters pulling at a tunic, shredding the cloth in her hands as a metaphor for what was going on in her life at the moment. Another reason is I hope that people will read my stories more than once (some of my readers have said that they do). I often read stories over and over and pick out fine detail that I might have missed the first time. So, lush style gives my stories more depth and something to discover in a second or a third reading. As for cons, there are many. Lots of people don't like a lush style and think it's something only an inexperienced writer will use. Others get turned off because description can slow down the story dramatically. You have to know when to use it and when not to. I don't always succeed at that - I'm still learning.
3. You work real life
situations into the SW universe in several of your stories. How does real
life – especially work – fit into your writing? I think that real life often affects how you perceive things. I see the corruption of the current Corporate America culture and can relate it to SW quite easily (sometimes scarily so). Same with the current political situation. People, too, tend to behave the same whether you are in SW or real life. I also use work and real life in my stories because people can relate to them on a visceral level. The emotions are realistic; the situations happen to real people. Whether the reader is conscious of it or not, they still perceive it somehow and it can make it more intense, make it resonate in reality.
4. You seem to have a real thing against Yoda – kindly explain, and tell
us if you’ve begun to seek help for this odd malady.
I don't really hate him as much as I put on. It's more for fun than anything else. But, since I adore Luke, I felt that Yoda lied to him unnecessarily on more than one occasion and I haven't really forgiven him for that. In addition, Yoda is used too much as the all-powerful, all-knowing superbeing and that really short-circuits a story.
5. You’re older than most of
the people on the Obi thread. You’re just as silly as the rest of us, but
how does your age and the fact that you’re older affect the way you
interact with everyone?
As an older mother and having to deal with young kids when I really don't
have the energy I used to, however, I tend to try to be more patient when
people get upset with each other. I see both sides of the issue and would
prefer that people take a longer view – that in 20 years, a little
argument shouldn't make any difference. Family and the loving ties of
friends and relationships outlast any immediate annoyance.
6.
On the same lines, how does your age affect your writing? That being said, the experiences that I've had (which does come with age since you have to have enough time to live through them) have taught me things that I put into my writing. I would have always put emotional intensity into my writing but now I'm more aware of physical things (aging can hurt!) and loss of family and friends becomes more of an issue. I do put my experiences into my writing. Watching someone you love die before your eyes certainly makes it difficult to write about death. And I did go through a time when I wrote some pretty gross stuff as a way around that. Writing children is certainly easier since I've experienced it. Love and the physical expression of it are easier to write as well. So I'd say it's more of an experience thing than age.
7. In one of your recent
responses on Betrayal, you mentioned that you really work hard at your
characters. How so? What methods do you use in putting together your
characters? For my OCs, I usually decide what characteristics are needed to tell the story before I start writing. For example, Atel, Obi-Wan's Padawan in Betrayal, I wanted her to be at odds with Obi-Wan, yet have very similar traits – loyalty, love, duty, devotion, pig-headedness, rule-bound. They needed to get along (hence similar ways of thinking) but their experiences put them at odds plus the stubbornness would make it more difficult to resolve the differences. Smaller parts, I think less about but still have some idea of their back-story and motivations – even characters with one or two lines.
8. In The Loud Exhale
you portray Qui-Gon as having a very fun-loving side in his interactions
with Obi-Wan. Why do you take this approach to their relationship, as
opposed to the more hands-off approach we sometimes see elsewhere? Obi-Wan shows a marked tendency to wry humor – even into the OT. Early on in TPM, Obi-Wan's humor is matched by Qui-Gon's stoic glance ("The negotiations were short") but there is a gleam in Qui's eyes that tells me he's sharing the joke. And the pathetic lifeform quip would have gotten a reprimand from another Master but Qui-Gon didn't bat an eye, indicating that he enjoyed Obi-Wan's humor. And I also believe that Obi-Wan wouldn't show the humorous side if it wasn't allowed. In JA, it was clear that he adored Qui-Gon and would do just about anything for him. I don't think that Obi-Wan would be making witty remarks if Qui-Gon didn't allow and subtly encourage them. And for that, Qui-Gon would need a similar sense of humor.
9. It must be asked…which flavour of jello for Obi-Wan?
10. You've written But and Betrayal, in which Qui-Gon is alive when Obi-Wan is knighted. Had Qui-Gon survived TPM, what would their relationship be like? That's a hard one to answer. It really depends on a lot of factors. But and Betrayal did not have the whole 'Anakin in the Council chamber' scene which, I feel, would have put a definite crimp in their relationship. Like it or not, Obi-Wan felt betrayed there and he'll probably carry that feeling in his heart the rest of his life. Also, with the increase in darkness and mission imperatives, it would be likely that they would hardly see each other. And when they did, it might be quite strained on Obi-Wan's part and confused/hurt on Qui-Gon's end. Knowing those two, I figure they'd never face their problems head-on, they'd just avoid them until it was too late. So, although I would like everyone to live happily ever after, I don't believe that they would have a good relationship after TPM.
11. In Betrayal, Obi-Wan has a
Padawan that is not Anakin. What traits does he have as a Master that are
the same no matter what apprentice he has? Different? Different traits with Atel in Betrayal – unhappy, secretive (hiding things as opposed to not sharing – subtle difference), protective, guilt/anger as opposed to just guilt. I pretty much kept his traits the same because he really is the same person just with different experiences than in AOTC. I think he would react differently depending on his apprentice. Anakin probably brought out the worst in him, Atel from Betrayal, since they had similar personalities, didn't until the mission to arrest Jinn.
12. You always joke about how
slow you are as a writer. Why do you think it takes so long? Why does it take so long? – Because I think about everything! The back-story, the environment, the way the characters interact, the way they talk, the balance of the story and where it's been and where it's going. Are the descriptions too much or not enough? Motives clear or not realistic? In longer stories, I put little hints of what is to come and then I worry that it might give things away. Shorter stories are just as bad because every word counts. Then there's the language itself. I hate to use the same words in a paragraph or even on the same page (unless, of course, I'm doing that deliberately for emphasis). So I mix them up, trying to find words that are similar enough to get the idea across but not too far off. I use the thesaurus for almost every word, changing whole paragraphs when it isn't right. I also choose words that sound good, so that if you read subvocally, you can hear it as well as read it. I try and find subtle ways to engage the readers – so that even if they don't perceive it immediately, they sense it subconsciously. I want my readers to enjoy the fic on many levels so I try and give them as much as I can. And I want them to be able to read it more than once and still enjoy it – find little gifts of language or nuance that they hadn't discovered the first time. When they find it, when they get it, I'm just so thrilled that it worked.
13. You like to have a lot of foreshadowing in your fics. How do you work
that out in advance? Does it ever backfire?
In Betrayal, I try and up the tension by hinting that things are about to happen (sort of like a car-wreck that you are speeding towards but helpless to avoid) and then letting them happen. It can really make the event much more intense. But, yes, it does backfire. It can get boring if it's done too often or not done right (another thing I worry about). I try not to do that but I'm not sure I always succeed. Working it in advance. For Betrayal, I have an in-depth summary of the story and where everything should go. That way, I can put hints and subtle changes in various parts of the story before the event happens. So a hint of an important plot-point can be found fairly early on and yet no one but me knows what it is. Then later, the reader will go and say – 'ah, so that's what she meant.' For other shorter stories like Bennie, where we know what is going to happen in the future, I like to hint about it with nuance and character interactions – physical reactions as well as dialogue. So an off-the-cuff remark about Telos isn't a major plot point in the story directly but it leads you to the future (after the story ends) to a place where it is important. The shorter stories, I don't work out in advance except in my head. Then I just rearrange things until it works.
14. And finally…Qui-Gon? Are you serious? Absolutely, positively serious. The man is so real, full of contradictions, flaws and feelings. He tries to do what he thinks is right, even if it hurts himself or the ones he loves. Duty, honor and a strong sense of right and wrong are key with him. Guilt, too, in that he knows that he's done his duty but he feels bad about how it affects others. Stubbornness in that he won't let go of his pain. Inability to understand why people don't understand what he's doing and then he gets angry/guilty when they don't. Subtle sense of humor and he feels things so deeply, too deeply. I don't know if I could live with someone like that but I like him very much. He's a joy to write, especially paired with Obi-Wan. Those two just resonate with character flaws and they set everything off-kilter between them. Qui-Gon's guilt, driving it deep inside him where it can fester and gnaw at him and doesn't let it go/ Obi-Wan's guilt where he lets it rule him for a while and then lets it out. Two battling each other. Perfectly matched. Qui-Gon Jinn is a great character.
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