Cybling Okay...why don't we get things started with some of the questions from the message board. Kris...How do the mechanics of collaboration work for you...that is...do you do one chapter and your collaborator another, or do you specialize in the characters/settings while your partner works on some other facet of the story?
Kris Rusch The mechanics work differently depending on my collaborator. My husband Dean Wesley Smith and I have the best collaboration [g] writing, that is. He does the plot and I do the characters/setting. Other times I work from someone's outline or in the case of Jerry Oltion, he and I wrote until we got stuck then we gave it to the other person.
Cybling Kris... You've collaborated with quite a few people in your career. Are there any dos or don'ts you can share with folks considering collaboration for the first time?
Atvar who (besides husband!!) is your favorite collaborator?
Kris Rusch Actually, besides my husband, Jerry Oltion was my favorite collaborator. We kept trying to stump each other and it never worked! As for dos or don'ts, never ever ever collaborate with anyone without an agreement beforehand. Otherwise you'll fight over everything from who does the first draft to how you split the money. Some folks take those fights to court. So even if you're good friends when you start, don't think that'll solve everything. It doesn't.
Kris Rusch One other thing, collaboration is *harder* than writing on your own, so it's twice the work, not half.
Cybling Thanks Kris... THE TENTH PLANET is another collaboration between you and your husband. It's just hit the shelves. Is this the first book of a series?
Kris Rusch Yes, it is. The next book will be out in February.
Cybling You've also written some Star Trek novels with Dean Wesley Smith. Do you approach series based on ST and SW in a different way that you would your own series?
Kris Rusch I wrote SW by myself. Believe it or not, Dean is not a Star Wars fan. (Don't know how I married him, considering that. [g]) But as to ST, he does the plot and I do the character...except on original Trek where he has a great mastery of their voices. He watched it more than I did...memorizing everything, I think.
Atvar I LOVE Star Wars!
Kris Rusch Atvar, I love Star Wars too. I don't know why he doesn't, but he doesn't. So when I wrote the SW book, he had to watch the movies several times. Poor him. [g]
Atvar I won't bore you with the number of times I've seen it, though I was known as Jabba...Guess a hint I should loose weight
Cybling For the book Diplomatic Corps Entrance Exam (Star Wars), you're listed as "compiler." LOL. Can you explain what that means?
Kris Rusch As to the compiler name...well, I guess you don't write trivia questions, you compile them. At least, that's what the publisher told me. Anyway, I did the book sort of as a companion to my SW novel. I had done all the research, and they needed a trivia book, so it seemed like a natural.
Cybling Thanks Kris. I see that The Black Queen (Black Throne Series, Bk. 1.) was just released in August. What relationship does this new series have with the Fey series?
Kris Rusch The Black Throne series is set in the world of the Fey, but you needn't have to read the Fey in order to read this series. The new series stands alone. Just a hint for those of you who have read the Fey, I envisioned this series as part of a 100 years war. So I skip years, go to new characters and write a new series.
Atvar only 100 years...not too bad. Who is your biggest influence in your career...was that asked yet?
Kris Rusch The biggest influence in my career...hmm, that's tough. Let me think on it. Currently, that would be my husband who gives me tons of good advice. Early on, Algis Budrys was great and so were Damon Knight and Kate Wilhelm. And of course, all my favorite authors from whom I drew a lot of inspiration.
WindyConJohn Who is the one person you would love to write a story with?
Kris Rusch I would love to write a story with Nina Kiriki Hoffman, but we've tried and we keep getting stalled. Believe it or not, our writing methods are too *similar* to work well together.
Atvar REALLY???Do you like Novels or short stories better?
Kris Rusch I like both novels and short stories, but I like to write short stories more. I don't know why. Maybe because you can finish them faster than novels.
WindyConJohn So, you would need to write with someone who is your complete opposite? But, less character development...can be a trade off.
Kris Rusch It helps to write with someone whose methods are different because that person usually has other strengths, strengths you don't have. So you compliment each other instead of getting in each other's way.
Atvar If you do a series of novels as a collaboration, can you promise to have them come out sooner than OSC and Kidd???
Kris Rusch Atvar, I don't know your code here.
Atvar Orson Scott Card...Still waiting for the next novel after LOVELOCK
Kris Rusch Ah, okay. Sometimes writers aren't in charge of when their books come out. The publishers make those decisions based on a whole bunch of things. I made a deal with my publisher on the Fey that the books had to come out within six months of when I turned them in. It has worked so far.
WindyConJohn Hey, ever overhear someone talking about your work (at a convention, maybe) and totally forget your name?
Kris Rusch Not yet.
WindyConJohn The person forgets your name
Kris Rusch Nope. Not yet. I think it would be fun, though. [G]
WindyConJohn Though, you forgetting your name would be a more interesting story!
Kris Rusch That happens too much to contemplate!
Atvar Ever coming to NYC to do a book signing?
Kris Rusch Atvar, I just left your fair city yesterday! But I didn't do a signing. It sure was nice, all that 70 degree weather. I hope to do a signing there sometime, but it's been years. Usually the bookstores set those up.
Cybling Thank you Kris for joining us today!!!
Kris Rusch Thanks for asking!
WindyConJohn Man, I wish I was in Chicago
Kris Rusch And watch for the next book in the Black Throne series sometime next summer.
