|
Fan Forum Star
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 240,742
|
Someone posted all the Q&A that Karen did within comments.
Quote:
Thanks, Rachel I do, too. You still get her story and as narrator, exactly as I planned, just condensed.
-Ryodan is very much a key character, Jessica. In fact, you get 7 points of view in BURNED.
-Christian is very important in BURNED, Shelley!
- It's done [Burned], it's in and being made a book, Amie. No delays
-Like the first five books, Annette, the storyline that begins in ICED is completed in FLAYED. If you don't read ICED, some things may prove elusive. Many thought the threat the villain from ICED presented was eliminated. I'm not that sloppy. I plant things in the first installment for reasons I think you can skip ICED and still read and enjoy BURNED but the overall story impact will be richer if you read the complete trilogy.
-Old enough, Inge [how old will Dani be?]
-Cassandra Jensen Wow I'm kind of bummed... I was so happy having this Dani's series . To hear that it's now back to Mac kind of breaks my heart. Your books, your right to do with them how you wish, but I may just pass on the rest of this series. I don't know yet. Was looking forward to getting through the love triangle of the main characters of iced... Not Mac and Barron's ;(
KMM's reply: Then you'll miss out on one hell of a Dani story, Cassandra I didn't stop writing Dani, I condensed the books and switched narrative tools. I think it's far stronger this way.
-Kelly, I freaking adore Lor so yes, much more of him!
-POV: Mac, Barrons, Dani, Christian, Kat, Lor, Unseelie King.
-Tanya, I included a summary of the entire FEVER Series to date at the beginning of BURNED and a character guide.
- Melina, ICED will be available on Kindle in UK and Australia shortly. It was a foreign rights, glitch. I've taken steps to make sure BURNED is available there on Kindle on the day of sale!
Vicki Parsons After the trilogy is complete, I'd love to read a post or an essay about how you reworked and restructured the narrative. Sort of like a Director's Cut for books. Call me crazy, but I find process fascinating and you seem to put more thought and effort into it than many. Can't wait for BURNED!
KMM's reply: Vicki, it was a challenge! I had to edit four books in my head that weren't yet written and choose how to create the same effect and impact in a completely far less space and time. You must be a writer also to wonder about that
-Nice try, Joyce If I told you what happened to Dani, I'd have no reason to write the books. Keep reading! [if Dani would end up with Ryo]
-I'll leave it to the readers to decide who eclipses who at the end of the series. I'll be interested in your feedback!
-Madeleine, absolutely not. None of the Nine, and certainly not the Mega could ever be fillers! [can't find the person who said what]
-LOL, Beth, BURNED is the same length as ICED but the third book will either be very long or may have to be two books. I'm seeing how it plays out.
-Tasha, it worked better in 3 and there are other stories I want to tell, sooner rather than later. Not sure I get your question about agents and publishers. They give me the creative freedom to do what I like.
-Chicneccu, absolutely not! I adore Dani and ICED sold as well as every other Fever book I've written with one exception: Shadowfever (which we expected, first book in a change always takes a dip.) It's my editor's favorite book and frankly, mine. Dani's not going anywhere. I love her character and have a great deal planned for her. [in response to someone speculating Dani will be killed off]
-Yvonne, BURNED is still from Dani's POV. It's also from Mac's. Dani's story is still being told by Dani . KMM condensed the five planned books into three because she needed to run the Dani and Mac story lines concurrently in order to let events unfold. Leiha
-Jade, ICED will be available on Kindle in UK and Australia shortly. It was a foreign rights, glitch. Karen taken steps to make sure BURNED is available there on Kindle on the day of sale! Leiha
-I've been getting emails from readers (with a gazillion different questions, sorry I can’t answer them all!) who seem to think I've decided not to tell Dani's story. That’s not true. Dani's story is still being told, in BURNED, in all the delicious detail I planned it. Ryodan, Christian, Dancer are all still primary players, just like Dani. What I said was that in BURNED Mac is the primary narrator. I can't stress that word enough. Narrator. I base that on the number of scenes written from her first person POV opposed to the number of scenes written from Dani's first-person POV. (POV as a narrative tool is critical.) You're still getting Dani's story. Just not entirely from her first person POV. I wrote it the manner I did in order to give the reader the best possible view into Dani's world. That’s not always from inside the characters’ head. (Like JZB)
-And am getting this question frequently also--why did I decide to write three combined POV books instead of 3 Dani, followed by 2 Mac? I merged five books into three because two thirds of the way through ICED I realized Mac and Dani’s story had to unfold concurrently in order to achieve a cohesive chronological narrative that made sense of events. I also realized the narrative devices that propel the action had to function differently than I wanted them to. I didn’t reduce the primary character stories in any way. There were entire secondary stories from “new” characters I decided not to introduce in BURNED and FLAYED (tightening the focus and intensity) and lots of backstory that became obsolete (and stopped bogging action) when I opted to include a concise Fever summary and character guide instead. There are secondary villains whose storylines were postponed to future books. I can’t go into greater detail about what I did and didn’t tell and why without giving away things that wouldn't even make sense to you guys at this point.
-Siara, you're not alone in that. A lot of fans love Dani's perspective and I love writing it. I'm not done But when I finished Shadowfever, I left Mac’s story unfinished. It was a challenge to write the ending to Shadowfever in a way that delivered a degree of closure or rest, even though the true villain of the story wasn’t really defeated. Although one Sinsar Dubh was securely imprisoned (one hopes), another copy of it was left roaming the streets of Dublin, held in check by mere force of will. Three battles remain: man (or woman) against self, man against man, and man against world. In many facets, involving many characters. Dani and Mac's stories have to intertwine.
- LOL, Angie, thanks! I'm writing Flayed right now and hate taking time away but when I get a lot of emails asking the same things, and see how worried and passionate the fans are, I figure I'll keep explaining until Burned comes out and the answers are obvious. The funny thing is I think Dani fans and Mac fans are both going to love where it goes...but the darned book won't be out till January!
-I just really enjoyed seeing Ryodan through Dani's eyes in Iced. It was captivating. That's one of the reasons why I loved Dani's POV.
KMM's reply: Zuzana, you still will. In a very different way
- It's not that two aren't enough. They wouldn't work split up. When I finished Shadowfever, I had to make a choice: continue with Mac’s story right away or give myself and the reader a small pause between. As Dani was chomping at the bit for her own moment in the spotlight, I chased it in ICED with single-minded focus. Unfortunately, two-thirds of the way into writing it, I realized it was impossible for me to tell the story the way I’d originally planned because Mac and Dani’s story needed to unfold concurrently in order to achieve a cohesive chronological narrative that made sense of events. I also realized the narrative devices that propel the action had to function differently than I wanted them to. Once I understood that, I analyzed options as follows:
A: Do one Dani book, followed by one MacLayla book, followed by a Dani book, then a MacKayla book—which had all kinds of problems. Not only was that proposition too jarring, it left too long between events that needed to occur concurrently.
B. Do a Dani chapter, a Mac chapter, a Dani chapter, a Mac chapter. I played with it. It didn’t work. Forcing the narrative to switch impeded the necessary action, plot development and emotional flow.
C. Find the organic flow of the narrative.
I opted for C. It’s tighter, more natural, suspenseful and fun. At the end of the day, I’m the only one that knows the entire story, the breadth and girth of the FEVER world, where I want it to go, and I’m the only one who can make this decision. Just because I said I wasn't doing five books for this particular story arc doesn't mean I'm not doing more Fever books after it.
-No words from Ryodan's POV Zuzana but, well, ****, I can't tell you anything LOL! Seriously, can't wait till you guys read BURNED! So much blows up. It was so much fun to write.
-As if I could ever forget Lor!
|
|
Although I feel bad for her that she has to constantly explain herself. She shouldn't need to.
He was awesome, and also in Iced.
