Mary: I know you are currently writing "In a Time of Treason", the second book of the Eye of Heaven trilogy. Do you have any other projects you are working on?

David: I don’t imagine that may writers work on only one idea at a time. Friends of mine and I have been collaborating on an idea for television. Some film has actually been shot (although the product is in the very most preliminary stages right now). The process has been fascinating. Although I haven’t been around to see the filming, watching friends tackle the nearly impossible project of getting ideas from paper to the screen has really shown me a few things about what people can do when they’re stubborn.

Mary: What are your thoughts on "writer's block"?

David: When people say “writer’s block” I think they imagine an absolute condition. The creative juices have dried up and the

On Writing

Mary: What is your writing background, and when did you first consider yourself a writer?

David: I’ve wanted to be a writer for a very long time. When I was a kid, I used to fill newsprint pads with cartoons and drawings – always telling one story or another. When I went to university, I chose my courses based on what I really wanted to do someday. I took courses in anthropology, psychology, philosophy, pre-history, history and writing. I was even fortunate enough to take a creative writing course from a woman who went on to win a Pulitzer Prize a year or two later.

Now, as for when I first considered myself a writer, that’s a longer story. I have been writing with an eye to getting myself into print since I was teenager and, when I began, I had very little luck. In fact, I am among those who managed to pile up mountains of rejections early on. And we are living in a time when even excellent writers are often working other jobs during the day. All of which has meant that I’m very reluctant to run around calling myself a writer even now.

Mary: Who or what has influenced your writing, and how?

David: Like a lot of people, I had an obsessive passion for science fiction in television and the movies as a child. I saw Star Wars in the same theater that my piano teacher once played along to silent movies. I watched Star Trek in the afternoon when I got home from school (often wincing through my fingers at the scary bits).

Eventually, I read what everyone reads. I gobbled up Tolkien in one long weekend (ruining a perfectly good family camping expedition by suddenly refusing to put my book down). I’ve enjoyed Patrick O’Brian and Graham Joyce and Douglas Adams and Elmore Leonard. And I’ve a great love of good lyrics as well. Maybe all of that shows.

Mary: Has your environment and/or upbringing impacted your writing?

David: I grew up in prairie Canada: a funny part of the world. We cut bows and arrows in the park and swore oaths to the Queen in Boy Scouts. (I remember being very careful not to play war on Sundays). Among my friends, we played with our imaginations more than we played with bats and balls. We told stories and cobbled together toy guns from hockey sticks while the Americans were fighting in Vietnam. Maybe it’s not surprising that people like Steven Erikson and Guy Gavriel Kay grew up in my home town.

Mary: Do you use an outline?

David: Outlines are a very useful thing and I fill notebooks with sketches, back stories and brainstorms. The word “outline” conjures images of tidiness and organization – which certainly doesn’t fit my process. In any case, I can’t imagine writing without a pretty solid plan (and a few hundred pages of scribbles for good measure).

Mary: What conditions do you need to write?

David: I’ve written under quite a variety of conditions over the years, but I find that there is one ingredient that I can’t do without: sustained time. I usually talk about needing to have ideas percolating in the back of my mind. If I take a week away from writing, I need a long time to get back. Ideas that should be simmering on the back burner go cold, and writing becomes a halting process. A person simply must find time to write.

Mary: I know you are currently writing "In a Time of Treason", the second book of the Eye of Heaven trilogy. Do you have any other projects you are working on?

David: I don’t imagine that may writers work on only one idea at a time. Friends of mine and I have been collaborating on an idea for television. Some film has actually been shot (although the product is in the very most preliminary stages right now). The process has been fascinating. Although I haven’t been around to see the filming, watching friends tackle the nearly impossible project of getting ideas from paper to the screen has really shown me a few things about what people can do when they’re stubborn.

Mary: What are your thoughts on "writer's block"?

David: When people say “writer’s block” I think they imagine an absolute condition. The creative juices have dried up and the

Now, as for when I first considered myself a writer, that’s a longer story. I have been writing with an eye to getting myself into print since I was teenager and, when I began, I had very little luck. In fact, I am among those who managed to pile up mountains of rejections early on. And we are living in a time when even excellent writers are often working other jobs during the day. All of which has meant that I’m very reluctant to run around calling myself a writer even now.

Mary: Who or what has influenced your writing, and how?

David: Like a lot of people, I had an obsessive passion for science fiction in television and the movies as a child. I saw Star Wars in the same theater that my piano teacher once played along to silent movies. I watched Star Trek in the afternoon when I got home from school (often wincing through my fingers at the scary bits).

Eventually, I read what everyone reads. I gobbled up Tolkien in one long weekend (ruining a perfectly good family camping expedition by suddenly refusing to put my book down). I’ve enjoyed Patrick O’Brian and Graham Joyce and Douglas Adams and Elmore Leonard. And I’ve a great love of good lyrics as well. Maybe all of that shows.

Mary: Has your environment and/or upbringing impacted your writing?

David: I grew up in prairie Canada: a funny part of the world. We cut bows and arrows in the park and swore oaths to the Queen in Boy Scouts. (I remember being very careful not to play war on Sundays). Among my friends, we played with our imaginations more than we played with bats and balls. We told stories and cobbled together toy guns from hockey sticks while the Americans were fighting in Vietnam. Maybe it’s not surprising that people like Steven Erikson and Guy Gavriel Kay grew up in my home town.

Mary: Do you use an outline?

David: Outlines are a very useful thing and I fill notebooks with sketches, back stories and brainstorms. The word “outline” conjures images of tidiness and organization – which certainly doesn’t fit my process. In any case, I can’t imagine writing without a pretty solid plan (and a few hundred pages of scribbles for good measure).

Mary: What conditions do you need to write?

David: I’ve written under quite a variety of conditions over the years, but I find that there is one ingredient that I can’t do without: sustained time. I usually talk about needing to have ideas percolating in the back of my mind. If I take a week away from writing, I need a long time to get back. Ideas that should be simmering on the back burner go cold, and writing becomes a halting process. A person simply must find time to write.

Mary: I know you are currently writing "In a Time of Treason", the second book of the Eye of Heaven trilogy. Do you have any other projects you are working on?

David: I don’t imagine that may writers work on only one idea at a time. Friends of mine and I have been collaborating on an idea for television. Some film has actually been shot (although the product is in the very most preliminary stages right now). The process has been fascinating. Although I haven’t been around to see the filming, watching friends tackle the nearly impossible project of getting ideas from paper to the screen has really shown me a few things about what people can do when they’re stubborn.

Mary: What are your thoughts on "writer's block"?

David: When people say “writer’s block” I think they imagine an absolute condition. The creative juices have dried up and the

Eventually, I read what everyone reads. I gobbled up Tolkien in one long weekend (ruining a perfectly good family camping expedition by suddenly refusing to put my book down). I’ve enjoyed Patrick O’Brian and Graham Joyce and Douglas Adams and Elmore Leonard. And I’ve a great love of good lyrics as well. Maybe all of that shows.

Mary: Has your environment and/or upbringing impacted your writing?

David: I grew up in prairie Canada: a funny part of the world. We cut bows and arrows in the park and swore oaths to the Queen in Boy Scouts. (I remember being very careful not to play war on Sundays). Among my friends, we played with our imaginations more than we played with bats and balls. We told stories and cobbled together toy guns from hockey sticks while the Americans were fighting in Vietnam. Maybe it’s not surprising that people like Steven Erikson and Guy Gavriel Kay grew up in my home town.

Mary: Do you use an outline?

David: Outlines are a very useful thing and I fill notebooks with sketches, back stories and brainstorms. The word “outline” conjures images of tidiness and organization – which certainly doesn’t fit my process. In any case, I can’t imagine writing without a pretty solid plan (and a few hundred pages of scribbles for good measure).

Mary: What conditions do you need to write?

David: I’ve written under quite a variety of conditions over the years, but I find that there is one ingredient that I can’t do without: sustained time. I usually talk about needing to have ideas percolating in the back of my mind. If I take a week away from writing, I need a long time to get back. Ideas that should be simmering on the back burner go cold, and writing becomes a halting process. A person simply must find time to write.

Mary: I know you are currently writing "In a Time of Treason", the second book of the Eye of Heaven trilogy. Do you have any other projects you are working on?

David: I don’t imagine that may writers work on only one idea at a time. Friends of mine and I have been collaborating on an idea for television. Some film has actually been shot (although the product is in the very most preliminary stages right now). The process has been fascinating. Although I haven’t been around to see the filming, watching friends tackle the nearly impossible project of getting ideas from paper to the screen has really shown me a few things about what people can do when they’re stubborn.

Mary: What are your thoughts on "writer's block"?

David: When people say “writer’s block” I think they imagine an absolute condition. The creative juices have dried up and the

Mary: Do you use an outline?

David: Outlines are a very useful thing and I fill notebooks with sketches, back stories and brainstorms. The word “outline” conjures images of tidiness and organization – which certainly doesn’t fit my process. In any case, I can’t imagine writing without a pretty solid plan (and a few hundred pages of scribbles for good measure).

Mary: What conditions do you need to write?

David: I’ve written under quite a variety of conditions over the years, but I find that there is one ingredient that I can’t do without: sustained time. I usually talk about needing to have ideas percolating in the back of my mind. If I take a week away from writing, I need a long time to get back. Ideas that should be simmering on the back burner go cold, and writing becomes a halting process. A person simply must find time to write.

Mary: I know you are currently writing "In a Time of Treason", the second book of the Eye of Heaven trilogy. Do you have any other projects you are working on?

David: I don’t imagine that may writers work on only one idea at a time. Friends of mine and I have been collaborating on an idea for television. Some film has actually been shot (although the product is in the very most preliminary stages right now). The process has been fascinating. Although I haven’t been around to see the filming, watching friends tackle the nearly impossible project of getting ideas from paper to the screen has really shown me a few things about what people can do when they’re stubborn.

Mary: What are your thoughts on "writer's block"?

David: When people say “writer’s block” I think they imagine an absolute condition. The creative juices have dried up and the

Mary: I know you are currently writing "In a Time of Treason", the second book of the Eye of Heaven trilogy. Do you have any other projects you are working on?

David: I don’t imagine that may writers work on only one idea at a time. Friends of mine and I have been collaborating on an idea for television. Some film has actually been shot (although the product is in the very most preliminary stages right now). The process has been fascinating. Although I haven’t been around to see the filming, watching friends tackle the nearly impossible project of getting ideas from paper to the screen has really shown me a few things about what people can do when they’re stubborn.

Mary: What are your thoughts on "writer's block"?

David: When people say “writer’s block” I think they imagine an absolute condition. The creative juices have dried up and the author has nothing left to put on paper. I’ve found that the writing life is made up of easy and hard days. Some scenes flash onto the page in moments. Others require a real effort.

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