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Posted by dalton whaley

April 6th 2009

this isnt some junk mail i want to ask u if there will be a 4th book in the wind on fire trilogy. if not i ask u to make one. even if it means making a new series about the homeland. or bowman the bowmana and sisi the johdi. or maybe even write a book of how kestrel and the singer people find a way to the earth and visit all their friends and family. plz make another if u are already not because the way the third ended was to abrupt that i started crying for hours. and im crying as i write this note because i love the wind on fire trilogy. so plz make another book and plz if u do make a way for all the singer people and even kestrel to be reunited with loved ones such as for kestrel. bowman, hanno, mumpo, pinto, sisi, all their friends and family because wothout this book my life is a black hole that sucky everything in and i cant realize the true beauty of things.

William Nicholson responded:

I hate to think the ending of Firesong upset you - I didn't mean to - I want you to feel that Kestrel lives on, in Bowman. But another book - well - that's hard for me, because I do feel that the series came to a true end, so I don't know where I'd go next. Maybe you should write a further book yourself. Or you could try my next trilogy, The Noble Warriors. It's not the same, but once you're into it you may start to love Morning Star as much as you love Kestrel. Meantime I'm writing a new book which isn't fantasy at all, it's a modern love story called Rich and Mad. You might even like that one when it comes out in a year or so. Thanks so much for your message to me, and I hope you don't mind, I have shortened it a little.

Posted by Ruthie

April 5th 2009

Are you truly writing William the Conqueror or 1066? And is it slated for production anytime soon?

William Nicholson responded:

Yes, I am. No dates will be set for production until I've done the screenplay, and it has a director and a cast, which means it should be in production next year some time. If all goes well.

Posted by David Karapetyan

April 4th 2009

Hello William, I am writing a book and was wondering if you could help me with names. The title is Desert Mist and I am stuck on the characters names right now. Please tell me how you come up with names such as 'seeker'. Thank you very much!

William Nicholson responded:

If it's a fantasy, and you can make up your own names, my way is to think of a word that expresses the character, and either use it straight (like Seeker) or in a slightly jiggered form (like Baraka, which sounds like 'bark', an aggressive shout). Have fun with your book.

Posted by Alex

April 3rd 2009

Hi, when you are writing a novel how much changes between the 1st draft and publication? I sometimes find when I am writing a new draft there are bits I don't want to change from the 1st draft. Is this perhaps me being lazy or unaware of improvements? Do you ever have bits of writing that don't change between the 1st draft and when are published? Thanks.

William Nicholson responded:

A lot changes, but not everything. There are some passages that seem to come out whole, as it were. But I do a great deal of rewriting on my own account, and then more at the behest of my agent, and then my publisher. I do believe books improve a lot in the revision stage. Also I like it: the hard labour is over, and you can try to get the pages really as good as possible.

Posted by Kate Lawrie

April 2nd 2009

Not a question, but our expression of huge enjoyment of your play,"Map of the Heart" which we are rehearsing now.There is much discussion of the motives of the characters and whether Ruth will really have Albie back after all they've gone through. We have a tiny stage so it's been fun to set all the different scenes, but I have an inventive stage crew so we've solved most problems. We want more plays with smallish casts and good parts for women! Thank you so much for an enjoyable 2 months rehearsal; we open on the 26th April, so we're on the final approach. Kate Lawrie,director, Durham Dramatic Society.

William Nicholson responded:

How wonderful to hear of Map of the Heart in production again. I saw it a couple of years ago in an amateur production and felt more pleased with it than I'd expected. It does make great demands on staging, I know. I think the secret is not to worry too much about scenery, just let the audience imagine it. I hope it goes well for you.

Posted by Troy Taylor

March 29th 2009

How long did it take you to write First Knight? How many words/pages was the treatment for First Knight? How much did the script sell for?

William Nicholson responded:

Sorry, it was all long ago, and I can't remember. All I can tell you was there was no treatment. I discussed my approach with the director, Jerry Zucker, and he left me to get on with a first draft.