moderator_gg1:
Good evening. Glad you could make it tonight. We have a little time before the chat begins. Hope you have your questions ready.
Good evening. Our guest tonight is Jeanne Cavelos. "Casting Shadows" is her most recent release. It's #1 in a trilogy about the Technomage. We will get started with the chat in about 10 minutes.

While we're waiting, here is some background on Jeanne. Jeanne is a writer, editor, scientist and teacher. She has taught astronomy at Michigan State University and Cornell. And she has worked in the Astronaut Training Division at NASA's Johnson Space Center. Her first Babylon 5 novel was "A Shadow Within".

moderator_gg1: Jeanne: I've read a lot of comments on the internet about your new book, Casting Shadows. Can you tell us how you began pulling the book together.

guest_gg1: The book is the first in a Babylon 5 trilogy. I received general outlines for the trilogy from the show's creator, J. Michael Straczynski . . . Then I started to think about what kind of people the techno-mages would be . . . They implant extremely advanced technology into their bodies so they can perform acts that appear magical . .. In a way they're part scientist, part magician. I thought of different reasons people might want to become mages . . .and different themes that could be explored through these characters . . .That led me into a really exciting plot.

zooey_franny asks: who are your favorite authors?

guest_gg1: That's a hard question to answer. But some of them are H.P. Lovecraft . . .Frank Conroy, H.G. Wells, Kathe Koja, Ian McEwan, Ursula Le Guin and Edgar Allan Poe too!

honey_crash asks: how long does it take to write a book for you?

guest_gg1: It usually takes as long as the publisher gives me. The longest amount of time it took was a year for THE SCIENCE OF THE X-FILES. That book had so much research necessary, it took every minute. The shortest amount of time was 8 weeks, for my first B5 novel, THE SHADOW WITHIN. That's all they gave me! I'm fairly comfortable with about six months to write a novel.

mggates39 asks: Has SF driven your study of sciences or the other way around?

guest_gg1: That's a tough question. I think I've been interested in both for as long as I remember . . I think they drive each other. SF makes me interested in new science issues and science gives me great ideas for SF. . . I'm currently developing a novel based on research I read for THE SCIENCE OF THE X-FILES. It was completely weird and fascinating.

wcpi46 asks: How did you begin your writing career?

guest_gg1: I started writing when I was very little, but I didn't write seriously until college . Even then I didn't feel writing was "important." I thought I had to do something more with my life . . .Finally I realized that if that's what I love to do, then that's what I should do. . .That's when I left NASA. I spent several years writing an awful 800-page psychic Western! Then I went back to school and got a master's degree in creative writing. I got a job in publishing until I "struck it big" as a writer, and ended up editing books for eight years until I finally decided I had to get out and focus on my own writing. . .That was six years ago. At that point, I'd published a bunch of short stories, but no books. Since then, I've got 4 books out and two more coming shortly. So it was kind of a long road. But I enjoyed all the stages along the way, and I think they all helped me to be a better writer.

mobrecht asks: On Casting Shadows, who is on the cover with Morden? We've been trying to figure it out forever! :) Thanks!!

guest_gg1: I've heard there's a big debate about it. It's Galen. I'm not surprised that people don't recognize him. Of all the people I've shown the cover, no one has recognized him either. I only knew who it was because I saw the photo that the artist based the painting on . . It was in one of the B5 magazines, and I studied those photos many times while writing the trilogy. I do like the mood of the cover, though.

honey_crash asks: have you always been interested in sci-fi?

guest_gg1: Yes. I remember when I was six and Star Trek first came on . . .I thought the name of it was "Star Truck," and I kept waiting for the truck to show up . . .But I did love the show. My favorite movie when I was little was PLANET OF THE APES. And I loved reading Asimov, Philip K. Dick, and Ray Bradbury. I also loved horror, and won a pumpkin for writing a story about a witch in second grade! My mother used to take me to R-rated horror movies when I was little, which she says explains why I turned out the way I did.

moderator_gg1: Jeanne: You direct a writing program called Odyssey. Can you tell us a little about that?

guest_gg1: Odyssey is a six-week summer workshop for writers of fantasy, science fiction, and horror held annually at Southern New Hampshire University. I'm the director, and we have various writers come in as guest lecturers. We also have one writer-in-residence each year. This summer it's Terry Brooks. t's a great way to focus on just your writing and escape the "real world" . . . People can find more information at www.sff.net/odyssey. I love working with authors from my time as an editor in New York. Odyssey lets me do that.

moderator_gg1: Wasn't Harlan Ellison the writer in residence last year?

guest_gg1: Harlan came in 1998, Ben Bova in 1999, Dan Simmons in 2000.

honey_crash asks: which do you prefer - writing, editing, scientist or teacher?

guest_gg1: I actually like them all, and each one sort of helps me with the others. . .If I had to pick one over the rest, it would be writing. But teaching does get me out of the house, and that keeps me sane. Or at least as close to sane as I can get. :0 Meant that to be a smiley face!

mggates39 asks: How much did JMS work with you in developing the story lines for the books?

guest_gg1: He provided the initial outline for the trilogy, which laid out a story arc for the techno-mages . . As I developed the trilogy, I sometimes asked him questions, such as the date when something happened in B5 history or how to reconcile some things that seemed contradictory in the B5 universe . . He'd give me the answer if there was one, and if there wasn't, I'd offer a suggestion and he'd okay it. I love working with Joe because as a writer, I think he knows that writers required some creative freedom . . If the entire story was laid out, there would be no creativity to it, and I wouldn't want to write it. But the way he did the outlines, he left a lot of room for me to add my own ideas which made it a very exciting process. After I got my ideas down, I wrote a 200-page outline for the trilogy and sent it to him, to make sure he was okay with what I was doing. He was fine with that, so I went on and wrote the books.

mggates39 asks: How much of a fan of B5 were you before you wrote the first novel?

guest_gg1: A huge fan. I used to work at Dell Publishing. When the show first came out . .I was extremely excited by the idea of a 5-year story with a beginning, middle, and end. The early episodes really struck me as sophisticated and well-written, so I contacted Joe and asked him if he'd like us to do some B5 novels. I'm the one who started the line of books before I decided to leave Dell and focus on my own writing career. I never dreamed I'd end up writing any B5 novels myself. I had another novel I was working on at the time. But I ended up getting very excited about writing an Anna Sheridan novel which turned into THE SHADOW WITHIN. The idea just grabbed me, and I wrote up a proposal and outline, and Joe liked it. I knew the show and loved it, but of course I had to go study specific episodes to write that novel, and to write this new trilogy. That research is really tough . . . yeah, right. :) I also do other types of research for my books, even the novels. For THE PASSING OF THE TECHNO-MAGES trilogy, I researched how magicians do tricks the history of magic, different types of burns and their medical treatment, body language . . .all sorts of things. Orson Scott Card says, "To be a good writer, you have to know everything about everything" and I agree with that. But it isn't easy.

moderator_gg1: Would the technomage series have tied into the Crusade series?

guest_gg1: It doesn't cover the same time period. It runs during the B5 series. But it ties in because you learn a lot about Galen and how he became the way he is in CRUSADE and you also learn about his past with Isabelle, Alwyn, and the other mages. You learn a lot more about their order, and their goals, and how they've changed. So after reading the trilogy, you may see Galen's actions in CRUSADE in a new light.

honey_crash asks: do you write every day?

guest_gg1: Nearly. For the past two years, I've been working on the trilogy for 12-20 hours per day . . When I turned in Book 3 a couple weeks ago, I took a few days off from writing to catch up on other things . . Now I'm back to writing again, though for fewer hours. I've got a backlog of editing projects and other work I've been neglecting . . I kind of miss the single-minded focus on writing. And I especially miss the mages. But I'm happy to be catching up on my sleep. And my iguana is happy I'm paying some attention to him again!

jean_michel_delioncourt asks: will the rangers be in the book?

guest_gg1: No. You get mages--Galen, Elric, Isabelle, Alwyn, and many others--and B5 characters . . .John Sheridan, Anna Sheridan, Kosh, Morden, Garibaldi, Franklin, Lorien . . .and many original characters, but no rangers. Sorry. And Londo and Vir, of course!

mggates39 asks: Do you have any more books in the B5 universe in the works?

guest_gg1: Hey, I just finished a trilogy a couple weeks ago! :) I'd love to do more in the future . . Right now I'm hoping to do a near-future SF novel in my own universe (assuming a publisher will buy it) . . .After that, I'd love to return to B5.

moderator_gg1: Jeanne: You have some convention appearances coming up. What are they?

guest_gg1: I'll be at I-Con in Stony Brook, NY (on Long Island) March 30-April 1. I'm also planning to do Readercon in Boston in July. I have a ton of bookstore signings and other publicity events scheduled--you can see my schedule on my website, www.sff.net/people/jcavelos.

moderator_gg1: Last question: What advice do you have for would-be writers?

guest_gg1: Several things are important. First, you must write, regularly and often. Think of all the other would-be writers out there, working and improving their skills while you're watching TV. That's something I always tell myself. Next you must get feedback on your work. Find writers as good as you are or better, and have them critique your work. Be ready for serious criticism, and try to be open to it and learn from it. Third, you have to read all sorts of things. Read good fiction, in all genres, and read nonfiction, so you know about the world. You can't make up convincing other worlds if you don't know how this one works. I guess that's enough advice to get started. Hope it helps.

moderator_gg1: Thank you so much for joining us tonight.

guest_gg1: I really enjoyed all the questions. Thanks for having me.

moderator_gg1: It's been great. I encourage everyone to go out and buy "Casting Shadows". Even JMS thinks it's a great book! Thanks everyone for coming out to chat tonight. Thanks for the great questions. Good night everyone.