December Ask Terry Posted

Julie Lambert writes: Will you ever write about the Time of Faerie? Like when the King of the Silver River wasn’t the last one.

Terry Brooks replies: I think that is a long way off, at best. My job now is to finish The Fall of Shannara by the end of the decade and then go back to try to finish up the prehistory. Also, if Street Freaks is successful, I would have to think about doing another in that series. Also, a new Magic Kingdom is in the works for about three years down the road. So you can see that at the moment, it’s hard to picture where a story about the world of Faerie would fit in. But you never know. I also have been saying for years I wouldn’t be doing anything more in Word & Void and suddenly I am rethinking that, too.

Keith Beavis writes: Out of all of his books, which one would you say was the easiest to write in terms of the idea and story being the easiest to pull from your mind?

Terry Brooks replies: Believe it or not, Running with the Demon is the first book that pops into mind. It relied so heavily on my childhood, used my hometown as a setting and was thought out for years before I wrote it. It was also a labor of love that kept drawing me in and on. It might also be the best book I’ve ever written. The only other one I might mention is the Star Wars book, Phantom Menace. I wrote that in 90 days, and I was allowed to color outside the lines, but did have the advantage of a story pretty much already in place.

Terry Tipton writes: Do you have any tips for writers who want to create stories as rich as yours?

Terry Brooks replies: My advantage is that I was writing and creating through role play stories of the sort I write for years before I wrote Sword. A lot of what happened with me had to do with the way I grew up. But otherwise, I would say you just have to keep plugging away for away to find a story that really works for you and to get to a place where writing it is possible. Writing is a craft, and you learn by doing and get better by doing more. I didn’t write anything in fantasy for the first dozen years of my early writing life (meaning 10-22) so I came to a realization that this is what works for me rather late. But I think as a writer you know when you are onto something. Also, all that early work that never saw the light of day helped prepare me for what did. Writing is tough, but it is also compelling. Find something you believe in, find a way to express it in a new way or a different place or with different characters, use your own voice, and just keep ramping it up as you go.

Trina Massey writes: What made you create Get Lit at the Beach and what exactly goes on there? Sounds fun.

Terry Brooks replies: Well, I didn’t create Get Lit. I was one of several who sat down at the urging of the Mayor of Cannon Beach to come up with a literary event for the town. Cannon Beach is a hotbed of vacationers and a part of this is due to all their festivals and celebrations. But they didn’t have a full-out book event. So we decided to come up with something different – a celebration of books by bringing authors and readers together. It would have to be small – no more than 125-130 guests because we lack event space for any more. We wanted it to be casual, so that readers who came to see authors would have the chance to do not only that but also to visit on a casual basis. So we created a three day event – a meet-and-greet in a casual setting on Friday night, three author talks with Q & A followed by a signing of all books on Saturday during the day with a banquet and fourth author speaking on the night and ending with a Sunday morning plenary session of all authors and a moderator discussing their work, the work of others, writing, publishing and anything else that came to mind with give and take with the audience in a theatre setting. The program has worked well. Our first authors were Elizabeth George, Susan Wiggs and Jamie Ford along with me. Everyone had a great time and we were off and running. We started holding it in April but now hold it the third weekend in May. You can read more on my website or on the Get Lit at the Beach sites on the web and Facebook. Already, we are getting close to being sold out for this coming May.

Tonde Lungu writes: Have we seen the last of the Dark Omhsford… Grianne? Given what we know of her dark arts knowledge gained by the Morgawr and probably more from her time where you sent her, I know you want to write new material, and we’re excited. But you’ve given us characters we just can’t stop loving, no matter how damaged they are.

Terry Brooks replies: Grianne will return as a character in the four book set I am writing now, The Fall of Shannara. As usual, things will not go as you might think.