| I have researched your bibliography, and I am impressed. For the benefit of fans, could you talk about yourself and your large career in book writing? Keith: Thanks! I was born and raised in New York City, and have wanted to write since I was a little kid. I worked for the school newspapers in high school and college, and worked as an editor for them as well. For several years I worked as an editor of both magazines and books and sold a great deal of nonfiction (reviews, articles, and such) before selling my first short story in 1994. In 1998, I became a full-time freelancer, still doing some editorial work, and writing novels and short stories and such. The vast majority of my work has been tie-ins such as my STAR TREK and Blizzard Games fiction. I don’t know. I see some qualities in your writing background that seems to match perfectly with the World of Warcraft scenario. It might be one of the reasons Blizzard sought you for this book. You have a large background with 13 Books focused in Star Trek: Deep Space 9 and Star Trek: Generations, Star Trek: Classic , New Frontier and Dominion War. A cornucopia of races, conspiracies, and diplomacy. Some of your books go heavy into the Klingon race and its customs which, pardon me—have similarities with the Orcs’ code of honor, born-to-be-a-warrior, rough-attitude, and primitive customs. However, these properties and characteristics in your writing background also apply to Starcraft Ghost: Nova. The intergalactic setting, three alien races and conspiracy among Terrans. Then we have your Dragon Precinct book—crime scenes in the back alleys wrapped with police procedurals investigating homicides with detective analysis. Marvel Comics’ Spider-Man: Venom’s Wrath (1998) which dances on the same tango. I am already thrilled on what to expect from you on World of Warcraft: Cycle of Hatred. And I haven’t even fathomed your work in Farscape, Young Hercules, Andromeda, Magic: The Gathering, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer books. And both Resident Evil movies. Keith: For what it’s worth, my facility with the Klingons was at least part of why I was approached to do a WARCRAFT book, with the orcs. Oh, and I’ve written another Spider-Man novel, called DOWN THESE MEAN STREETS, which is also a procedural-type book. How was the approach from Blizzard to contact you to write both books? Keith: Actually, it was Pocket Books who approached me. I’ve done a great deal of work for Pocket, mostly for their STAR TREK line, as well as the aforementioned Spider-Man novel, the novelizations of SERENITY and both RESIDENT EVIL films, etc., and they thought I would be a good fit for them. What are both books about? And how do they fit into the Games’ lore? Keith: They’re both prequels, actually. CYCLE OF HATRED takes place a couple of years prior to the start of WORLD OF WARCRAFT, and NOVA is a prequel to the STARCRAFT: GHOST game. The former shows the humans and orcs trying to live together on the continent of Kalimdor, and the tensions between their species that have come to the fore now that the common foe of the Burning Legion has been wiped out. At the end of Warcraft 3 and Warcraft 3X, humans and orcs were allies on the continent of Kalimdor. But in World of Warcraft, the two sides are enemies again. My task with the novel Cycle of Hatred, to be released in February, was to help explain that change. It takes place during the four-year gap between the two games, and involves the humans on Kalimdor lead by Lady Jaina Proudmoore and the orcs on the same continent lead by Thrall. Of all the characters in the Warcraft universe, I found Jaina and Thrall to be two of the three most compelling characters. Jaina is a powerful female wizard, who is put in a position of leading a small group of humans in a hostile land in the wake of a brutal war against a demon horde. Thrall is an orc raised by humans as a slave, who leads a rebellion of orcs against human bondage, and inspires the orcs to return to their old ways before they were cursed by demons. Both leaders are trying to forge a new future, moving past the old hatreds. Unfortunately, the old hatreds don’t die easily. (If you’re wondering who the third character is, you’ll have to read the book to find out—the character is also in the book, but who it is is a surprise. *big grin*) As for STARCRAFT GHOST: NOVA, it provides the background on Nova Terra, the Ghost in the game, and how she came to become a Ghost. In the short description of the book, both Jaina Proudmoore’s small nation of Theramore and Thrall’s nation of Orgrimmar were mentioned. However, we all know that there are two other dominant races who are native to Kalimdor. The Tauren and the Night Elves. What part, if any, will they play in this novel? Keith: None whatsoever, sorry to say. I had my hands full with the orcs and humans. Some trolls show up, and goblins as well. There is a World of Warcraft quest from Gnomeregan where a punch card says in Binary: “Thrall and Jaina sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G”.. Will the book explore a close relationship between Thrall and Jaina as they interact through the length of plot? If so, it would be like the Beauty and the Beast-type of relationship? Keith: The book will explore the relationship between Jaina and Thrall, yes. Beyond that—you’ll have to read the book…. Concerning Theramore, there are Roleplaying Servers in World of Warcraft where players created a roleplay guild themed to the nation of Theramore. From your view point, are there important characteristics to the Theramore people and culture that we should consider?” Keith: These are humans who are trying to forge a new life for various reasons. Some of them are refugees from the war; some are trying to start over; some are soldiers with nowhere else to go; some are simply fiercely loyal to Jaina and go where she goes. Not sure if this is what you want, but I hope it helps…. “For the aspiring writers within the community, do you have any suggestions in how to write stories? or get noticed by Publishers?” Keith: Write. Write some more. Finish what you start. Submit what you finish. Write more while waiting to hear on the submissions. Research your markets so you submit to the right places. Persevere. Don’t let rejection stop you, because you =will= get rejected. (I’ve published over 30 novels, and I =still= get rejected.) Keep writing. “If the opportunity arrives, would you write more novels for Blizzard Entertainment other than your current projects with them?” Keith: Absolutely. I enjoyed writing in both worlds, and I’ve become especially fond of Nova. “Do you play World of WarCraft or any games of the WarCraft franchise?” Keith: Not much, no, because I’ve seen what the game does to people. I’d never get =any= work done if I played ..... The excerpt mentions that in this time-frame after Admiral Proudmoore died at Northwatch Keep(Warcraft III: Frozen Throne) the Barrens is neutral place. However, in World of Warcraft the Horde has two outposts: Crossroads and Camp Taurajo and bunkers at the Barrens’ borderlines to Stonetalon Mountains, Ashenvale, Durotar, and Tauren Guards by the Great Lift in Thousand Needles. While the Humans only have Northwatch Keep and Bael Modan. For a neutral place, the Horde pretty much owns the Barrens; and the Dwarves are expanding into the Barrens. Something we are missing between your book’s time-frame and the MMORPG? Keith: There’s a good year between the book and when the game kicks off. Any discrepancies can be chalked up to that. Did Blizzard provide you with specs of the population size of both Orgrimmar and Theramore? Keith: Not as such, but every step of the manuscript was vetted by Chris Metzen as I wrote it, and he provided huge amounts of guidance, both general and specific. Is the Theramore in your book on an island or attached to the continent? This comes from a fan, and I sense some pun. Theramore in Warcraft III: Frozen Throne was a huge island with canals where we had to navigate on a ship to escape the island. However, in World of Warcraft MMORPG, the island is right on the shore with a tiny bridge and no canals. Keith: It’s an island close to the continent. Did the humans of Stormwind know of the existence of Theramore yet in your book? This comes to mind because World of Warcraft MMORPG starts off with the King of Stormwind kidnapped on his trip to Theramore by the Defias Brotherhood. So it is obvious that at some point Theramore and Stormwind will be in contact through ambassadors or diplomats. Keith: They are aware. There’s a line in the novel when Jaina’s chamberlain makes a reference to Theramore’s allies, and Stormwind is who he’s talking about. Based on the excerpt of your book, I see a conspiracy to set Theramore and Orgrimmar into war. However, we also know of the Defias traitor among the ranks of Theramore which leads to the kidnapping of the King of Stormwind eventually. Will that be explained? Keith: Not as such, no. The kidnapping of the King of Stormwind doesn’t play into my novel. Will the book explore how the Night Elves came to join Stormwind? It was left in the air in both games. Keith: The Night Elves aren’t involved in the book. Will the novel shed light on past events such as how did Jaina managed to convince and fund a massive expedition to sail west?—that was left in the dark in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. Or info on what happened to nations such as Stromgarde, Kul Tiras, etc… Keith: No, although that is an interesting question, isn’t it? CYCLE OF HATRED mainly deals with the realities of ruling a human island on Kalimdor. The Dwarves of Theramore made a settlement and excavation site they named Bael Modan. There they have found some artifacts dating back to when the Titans were in Azeroth. Some of the artifacts heroglyphs implied the existence of Uldum in the desert sands of Tanaris. Will your book talk about this mystery? Keith: Nope, the dwarves aren’t involved in the book. Were the Undead Forsaken and Sylvanas allied with the horde at this time? And vice versa for the Alliance and Night Elves? Will the book explore how these affiliations came to happen? Keith: Those races have nothing to do with the book. The book only deals with the humans, the orcs, and the mysterious Burning Blade…. Onyxia just lives near Theramore at the Wyrmbog. Will we get some Onyxia or Dragon Aspects involved in the plot? Keith: Afraid the book is dragon-free. Are World of Warcraft: Cycle of Hatred and Starcraft Ghost: Nova a one-shot book or a trilogy? Does Blizzard have any plans with you for new projects besides both books? Keith: Those are both one-shot books, but I’d love to do more. If Blizzard wanted you for a new project, what timeframe in the rich story of Warcraft would you like to explore? Or which races’ story would you like to develop and write about? In terms of WARCRAFT, there are a couple of timeframes I’d be interested in exploring, including the future of one particular character in CYCLE OF HATRED (I’d rather not say who, as it gives away a plot point). I’d also like generally to do more with Jaina, who’s a very cool character. I don’t have anything in particular lined up with Blizzard, but I’m hoping to change that over the course of this year. Recently, you told me the Starcraft Ghost: Nova book is a prequel to the Xbox/PS2 Console Game. Blizzard recently released an intro to Nova’s background. What will the book focus on? Keith: The intro in that link is the main story of the game. If you click on the link that says “Nova backstory” on that page, you’ll get a better idea of the plot of my book. About half of that backstory is stuff I created for the novel, in fact. How long has it been since Infested Kerrigan swept her opponents and claimed victory in Starcraft: Broodwar? Keith: My novel primarily takes place before that—in fact, the bulk of NOVA is roughly concurrent with the action in STARCRAFT: LIBERTY’S CRUSADE. Kerrigan doesn’t play any kind of role in NOVA, though she is mentioned. However, there’s an upcoming STARCRAFT novel called QUEEN OF BLADES by Aaron Rosenberg that will deal with Kerrigan more thoroughly. Are any of the known heroes or characters from Starcraft and Starcraft: Broodwar in the book? Keith: Well, Nova, obviously, though she isn’t a character yet, until the game’s actually released. The reporter Dan Liberty from STARCRAFT: LIBERTY’S CRUSADE makes a cameo, and Arcturus Mengsk appears in the book as well. How will your book impact the events in the Console game? Keith: That’s up to Blizzard. As I said above, some of the backstory for the character of Nova that I established in the book is part of the game’s backstory. Since the book is a prequel or intro to the game, Are there plans to bundle the Console game and the book—to your knowledge? Keith: I have no idea. That’s up to Blizzard and Pocket Book. What’s the history of ghosts? Are they special humans or artificially augmented humans through genetic-conditioning(scientific experiments)? Keith: Ghosts are humans with telepathic abilities. So I guess “special humans” would fit. Do we get to know more about the Terrazine Gas plot in your book? Keith: No Well, one of the questions basically answered it when you said the book is set in the time-frame picking up after LIBERTY’S CRUSADE. What races and planets will your book talk about? (i.e. Mar Sara, Shakuras, Aiur, Tarsonis, etc.) Keith: Most of the action of the novel takes place on Tarsonis, though other worlds are mentioned. Is there an excerpt of Starcraft Ghost: Nova available yet? Keith: Yes, in the back of CYCLE OF HATRED. The same excerpt will also appear in the back of QUEEN OF BLADES. Do you have an estimate release date of both the World of Warcraft and the Starcraft Ghost books? Either month or season would work.(i.e. Fall/Winter 2006) Keith: CYCLE OF HATRED is out now. NOVA will be released alongside the game, so it’s been delayed from its original April release. As soon as Blizzard announces the release date for the game, that’s when the book will be out, too, if all goes well. Hope this helps! I’m happy to answer more questions if they come up. Keith R.A. DeCandido www.DeCandido.net kradical.livejournal.com Many thanks for sharing some details of both books. - You may order both books Here - Post a Comment about this interview. - Read an excerpt from World of Warcraft: Cycle of Hatred - Read an excerpt from Starcraft Ghost: Nova pocket book NOTE: This Q&A was made in part by picking questions from the RP-PvP.com Forum community. Fans who contributed to some of the questions listed above: Meara, Varghoss, Lothar, elfjorc. Many thanks. |     |
Read our recent interview with Richard A. Knaak concerning War of the Ancients Trilogy pocketbook and the Warcraft Manga: The Sunwell Trilogy. Did you know the Old gods created the Naga? More details by clicking the image below:
Return to:
Filed under: BlizzPlanet Articles, Interviews
