Dear Readers,
Welcome to yet another month of Ask Terry. Hopefully you are enjoying these sessions and getting questions of your own answered, as well. I think the level of questions keeps getting higher, but maybe that's because everyone has to work harder at finding something that hasn't been asked.
So now that summer is finally starting out here in the Pacific NW, I feel renewed energy and can proceed with answering the latest batch!
Jason Parsley writes: What I loved about the Four Lands was being able to escape reality and learn about a whole new world. And what I loved about the original books was that each book introduced a new part of the Four Lands. Do you plan on introducing any new areas of the Four Lands in your upcoming novels? How about any new Elfstones?
Terry Brooks replies: Jeez, Jason, did you read my mind? Have you been sneaking peeks at my notes? Starting in 2012, I will publish the first of three books in the future of the Four Lands some eighty years or so after the conclusion of the books in High Druid. I am just now working up the outline for these books. One of the central plot lines will revolve around a search for the missing Elfstones, gone since the time of Faerie. You will also have a chance to visit some new places. What else can I do for you?
David Salchow writes: Dear Terry,if you could invoke the Druid Sleep and unnaturally extend your life, would you continue developing the Shannara universe? Do you have story ideas that will never be developed because of your own mortality and other priorities?
Terry Brooks replies: This is kind of depressing, David, thinking about my own death. I sort of thought I was going to live forever. But, just in case, I'll consider your question. The Druid Sleep doesn't seem to work for me. I can't get anything done that way. If I invoke it, then no more books for maybe fifty years and by then all my readers will have moved on to one place or another. But I do have some story ideas, and if things start looking grim or my interest in writing falls away, I will consider letting someone else do the heavy lifting. But that's still down the road.
Angela Marie Willis writes: About two years ago I started casually looking into self-publishing companies. They like to charge lots of money for different publishing package deals, and though I am a poor lowly college student, that's not my biggest concern. My biggest concern is, are they even worth it? I have heard mixed reviews concerning such companies as AuthorHouse, iUniverse, etc. What do you think is the best way to go about getting my book out there? Going through a publishing company or a self-publishing company?
Terry Brooks replies: Well, Angela, I always think that going with an established publisher is the best choice, if not the easiest. The whole idea of writing professionally is for if for someone to pay you, not the other way around. Those who have gone outside the box to find a publisher have established online websites and relied on word of mouth to alert potential readers to a new writer's work. They do this initially for no charge, then wait for the number of hits to skyrocket. But I like the idea of going to conferences and conventions, writing in hand, and speaking to agents and editors about what they have to offer. Sometimes, personal contact is the best way to open a door. Mostly, editors and agents at writing venues are looking to find new talent and will speak with you about what you have written. I think pay to print with your work is sort of a last resort.
Simon Passant writes: Would you ever do a series of books concerning the Leah bloodline like you have with the Ohmsfords in the Shannara series of books?
Terry Brooks replies: Probably not. But never say never. At some point, a story idea might take hold. Right now, my plate is full where Shannara books are concerned, and the best I can promise is to include more members of the Leah family in future stories. One of them will appear in the new books mentioned in the answer to question #1 above.
Edward Keswick writes: In First King of Shannara and The Sword of Shannara (I believe) it mentions that Brona carries a black staff or one of his minions has a staff. Is this the same staff that Knights of the Word have and if so does that mean that they are a fallen Knight? Also, if thats the case the staff that Bremen gives to Kinsin Ravenlocks wife in First King is a staff of the Word?
Terry Brooks replies: Lots of Druids and Warlocks carry black staffs, Edward. But they do not all come from the same source and they are not all the same staff. The history changes from one group to the next. So with the Knights of the Word, when they all die out — as they do eventually — those staffs they carry die out with them. The Druids carry a different staff entirely. Yes, they are all infused with magic, but they do not all come from the same source. More on that later.
Guess that's it for this session. That last question is something of a problem because I am still writing about the sources of the staffs and their magics. So I am hedging a bit on that one. Right now, I think I will go invoke that Druid Sleep and see if it gives me any ideas.
See you next month,
