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| DIANA'S
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS |
March 2001.
Part 1 of answers to questions placed between November 2000 and
February 2001
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From Goldie
- Well, I guess that you told me to try
again - What did you mean by "inflation" at the end of
Crown of Dalemark? And are any of your books to be reprinted in
America anytime soon? (the Travel Jinx does not seem to have hit
yet, but the Pit Jinx is really scaring me. I never really
expected to fall into a rather large hole at school...)
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Diana's Reply
'Inflation' is a Mitt joke. By this stage,
Dalemark has an industrial economy like we do, with all the usual
results, but what Mitt is talking about is the way that girls who
would be considered grown up 200 years before are now thought to be
still children. He is trying to suggest, quickly, tactfully and
probably quite shyly, that Maewen needs to grow up a bit before
taking an Undying ex-king on as a boyfriend. I think he has a point.
Nearly all my books are being reissued by HarperCollins in America
this year. If you can't find them where you are, ask Books of Wonder
in New York. They keep right up to date. I hope the Pit hasn't
opened under you yet. |
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From Gili Bar-Hillel
- How thrilling that you really do answer
these questions, and how generous of you! Wheee! My questions
have to do with cover artwork for your books. Have you ever had
any say in what illustrations will go on the covers of your
books? Do you wish you were consulted more often? Have you any
favourites or particularly un-favourite cover illustrations?
Other Comments
-
I've written to you before, and you
responded quite wonderfully. I live in Israel, I'm 26, and
have loved your books since I first picked "Charmed Life"
off a library shelf at the age of seven. I now work at the
publishing house that is translating two of your books into
Hebrew; they are in *very* loving hands
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Diana's Reply
Up to the recent reissues, I had almost no say
in what went on the covers of my books, and I still don't with the
American ones. What used to happen was that I would suddenly get
sent a perfectly horrible jacket design, usually with dire errors -
the worst were when all the Petrocchis appeared without red hair,
and when Christopher Chant turned up looking like a junior dwarf
with a huge head - and told 'Isn't this marvellous?' I always rang
up at once to say that no it wasn't, whereupon I was told, 'So
sorry, too late, it's gone to be printed.' These days, however, I am
consulted at every stage. This sometimes involves a three-way
compromise between the artist, the publisher and me, but the results
are much better. My favourite jackets are actually the
recent American designs for the four Dalemark books, which - even
though I wasn't consulted - turned out to be quite unusually
wonderful. |
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From Alison Statham
- Dear Diana My son has now read everyone
of the books you have in print, except Archers' Goon and Eight
days of Luke. Is there any way of getting hold of copies. It
would really make his Christmas
Other Comments
- I am a young and confident reader and I
love your books. My favourite book is Dogsbody because I love
dogs and I think it is very funny. I am 7 years old and I have
loved reading your books. love alistair jf statham
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Diana's Reply
Sorry I wasn't able to get back to you about
ARCHER'S GOON and EIGHT DAYS OF LUKE. We had an awful Christmas and
had to cancel all our plans because our cat left a large slimy leaf
on the bottom stair of our house and my husband slipped on it,
breaking bones in his hand. We wondered if she did it on purpose,
because she was supposed to be going into a cattery over Christmas
while we went away. Anyway, those two books were out just before
Christmas. I hope you found them. THE TIME OF THE GHOST and POWER OF
THREE are coming out later this year. Has Alistair read YEAR OF THE
GRIFFIN? Griffins are not dogs, but they have something in common. |
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From Katina J. Stuart
- You darling! Thank you so much for
being you and letting your characters be themselves! I have
several burning questions: HOW do I get hold of your books? Most
of the US of A is refusing to admit they exist. DID Rupert ever
tell Maree that he'd been looking through her files (in other
words, does he believe in "truth is healthiest for the
relationship" or "discretion is the better part of
valor")? What are your favorite books/authors in your
field? It's amazing--you wind up books so well that I have about
a tenth of the "plot" questions I usually have. Thanks
again, and over and over.
Other Comments
- A book-devouring fifteen, I discovered
you at eleven, and I can't stop! Please put off retirement
and/or letting your jinx get the best of you until I can meet
you in person. If you do get to tour the US, please make sure
you come to Salt Lake City (it's in Utah). I will blackmail my
parents into driving me down. (Actually, if you do a tour,
PLEASE post it on this site, so I'll know about it.)
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Diana's Reply
Rest assured, I don't intend to retire if I
can help it. There is Sir Walter Scott as an example. He rushed
upstairs and wrote three chapters (and you know how wordy he is) of
a new book after supper, and then died. I forget how old he was, but
he was getting on. My aim would be to finish the book first. My
books ARE around in America. If you can't bully bookshops into
admitting that they are all being reissued there, you could try
Amazon.com or, as I said to Goldie, get in touch with Books of
Wonder in New York. I think Rupert had to tell Maree he had looked
at her files. They would feel different and she would know. But I
suspect that he put it off for as long as he could and when he did
admit to it, Maree wasn't speaking to him for at least a day after
that. |
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From Seamus Feeny
- gosh .. you actully answer the question
with your schedule well thank you very much i also must say im
being gready by askin another but dont answer this if there are
others in need of ansewring i was wondering what type of books
do you read in your free time. you said in the answer to the
other question that you knew joyce's work ,one must then ask
have you read Ulysses? i dont know many who have yet ive been
told its one of the best irish litrature peices.
Other Comments
- 17/male/ireland love all your work the
younger reraders stuff aswell as you adult books
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Diana's Reply
Books I read in my free time? Well usually
fantasy, but lately I read Tom Shippey's study of Tolkien, which I
thought was marvellous. Actually at the moment I am going around
threatening to give up reading as soon as I have finished judging
the World Fantasy Awards. Huge parcels of huge books arrive daily,
all fantasy and all terrible. It's enough to put one off for life!
And one problem I have is that when I'm writing something myself, I
find other writers' mannerisms very catching, so I have to make do
with rereading things I know well, like Pat Wrede, Lois McMaster
Bujold and Tanya Huff. I love SING THE FOUR QUARTERS. Do you know
it? |
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From Fiona
- Having gone through a crush very like
that of Polly's on Thomas in Fire & Hemlock (except we
didn't end up in love - he went out with some other girl who had
had a crush on him ironically) I laughed out loud when I read
the bit about the postcard and the rippling muscles in F&H
and having got through unembarrassed thanks to Polly's comment
on the need to lock up girls of 15, (and Fiona's running away to
Hamburg episode) I went on to notice you often pair up younger
women with older men. (Rob & Maree, Polly & Thom, Sophie
and Howl, Elda & [censored since not everyone will have read
Year of the Griffin] to name but a few) I would think it was
more common in 'life' than the reversed circumstance but is this
a purposeful theme? Or just what you've observed ?
Other Comments
- Thanks for signing my book at the book
festival (Edinburgh)! I also just want to add I love your
descriptions of hair as 'wriggly'. Speaking as someone with very
curly hair - I like to know that some people notice there are
gradations .
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Diana's Reply
Do you know, I had not noticed this tendency
for younger women to pair off with older men? ! It just seems to be
the way it happens - a particularly striking example is in THE CROWN
OF DALEMARK, isn't it? It strikes me as very odd, because every one
of my sons has in fact married a woman slightly older than they are,
so I should be used to the idea. Can't explain it. 'Wriggly' hair is
from personal experience. My own hair runs the whole gamut, from
dead straight (and often straight upwards), through wavy, to curly,
to wriggly. There is no other possible word for this last. |
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From Laura
- Hi Diana, I hope you don't mind this
question. My favourite book of yours )and perhaps anyones) is
Fire and Hemlock. When I first read the book I saw Tom and
Polly's relationship as being really romantic. Not so long ago I
lent the book to a friend who thought that the relationship
between them was a bit dodgy and that Tom was a dirty old man.
How do you see their relationship? I suppose both elements can
be true but I would love to know your thoughts. Thank you for
Fire and Hemlock - I don't think I'd have got through ages 12 -
22 without it!
Other Comments
- I wrote my dissertation on Fire and
Hemlock. I looked at it along with John Masefield's Box of
Delights and Midnight Folk. It was a delight to write. I can't
wait for your next book as I finished Year of the Griffin much
too quickly.
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Diana's Reply
How great of you to tell me of the help FIRE
AND HEMLOCK was to you. I always hoped that it would be to someone.
It makes me feel I really got it right. As to the dodginess or
otherwise of Polly and Tom's relationship, this is how the book was
meant to be - both things there - hence Granny's reaction to it all.
F&H was a multi-layered book all along, and terribly hard to
write in consequence. I'm sorry you finished the latest book so
quickly, because I expect you'll have to wait a while for the next.
Because of being so busy last year correcting proofs for the
reissuing of ALL my books, I have only just finished the first draft
of the next one. It needs a LOT of working on yet. |
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From Christina Hsu
- Well, I hope this is nowhere else. In
Fire and Hemlock, in the end is Tom Lynn thirty-three years old?
Or does he stop aging, being under Laurel's spell. I've read the
ballads before and I thought Tom Lynn does not age.
Other Comments
- Hi. I love your books. Especially
Howl's Moving Castle and Castle in the Air. Now I just added
Fire and Hemlock to the list. I've written to you before, in
August of 2000. I'm thirteen years old, adn have been an avid
reader of your books since I was ten.
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Diana's Reply
Yes, I remember your letter. I don't think Tom
does stop aging. But he is of the age when people stay much the
same, while Polly is growing and changing all the time. Even so,
they are pretty far apart in age. My sense is that Laurel had given
up keeping her men unaging, or maybe she only keeps them the same
age in her actual domain. Thomas the Rhymer - which is really the
other side of the same story - has Thomas only aging when he left
Laurel's land. |
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From Emily
- I read "Fire and Hemlock" and
I LOVED it. But I didn't completely understand it: who's Laurel?
Is she some kind of witch or evil fairy? I also didn't
understand the ending - what did you mean when Polly said she
didn't want to see Tom anymore? I loved the book, but I didn't
get any sense of closure to it because I didn't understand a lot
of things. Can you please answer this question? I'm sure many
other people have the same problem with "Fire and Hemlock".
Also, are you going to write a sequel to "Eight Days of
Luke"? I thought that book was amazing, too.
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Diana's Reply
Laurel is the same as the Fairy Queen in the
ballads of Tam Lyn and Thomas the Rhymer and she never dies. You can
see her as an alien or an Elf really. People have different names
for her and her kind all through history. And they love her as well
as hate her. Whichever way her men feel, they find their lives are
completely disrupted by her. The ending IS difficult. Basically
Polly had to find some way of making Tom bring back the energies of
the horse that he had got rid of, but to do that she had really to
FEEL she didn't want him. If you love a person enough, you should
love them enough to let them go. Does this help? |
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From Janet
- I have enjoyed every single one of your
books, but the one that has always moved me most is The Homeward
Bounders. It just leaves me always with a intense longing;
inexpressible feeling. Jamie seems to have taken on a burden as
great as or greater than Him on his Rock (love that phrase) and
I always find a voice in my mind crying, Oh does it have to be
that way, is there no other way to balance the world. On the
other hand, that's the only kid of ending that's truly
satisfying, because that is exactly the way things really are,
you can't get rid of all the sadness and have only the happy. I
can't find a reference to this book in your other articles on
this site and I was wondering if you might be so kind as to
answer that important question "what do you think you were
doing when you wrote this book" with reference to the
Homeward Bounders. Thank you for sharing all your writing and
for answering questions too (what a bonus!).
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Diana's Reply
When I wrote THE HOMEWARD BOUNDERS I was
trying to understand the relationship between hope and memory, and
then the nature of hope. And the more I thought, the more it seemed
to me that hope was an evil as much as it was a good. It was in
Pandora's box, you see, which was otherwise full of evils, and it
seemed to me that the Greek people who invented the story of
Prometheus and his brother knew what they were doing. Hope inspires
you, but it also makes you sit back and accept a bad situation.
|
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From Laura Maisey
- Over the past few months I've noticed
that in many of your novels you mention King Arthur. Being
ridiculously interested in the great and wonderful Pendragon to
the extent I'm half way through writing a novel about him
myself) I couldn't help wondering if these mentions were
coincidence or whether you have an interest yourself. I'm also
thinking about writing a fantasy novel for children and although
i have an idea and have written the first 3500 words for part
of my degree course i was wondering if you could give me any
tips. I don't write that much for children and i'm scared of
writing it for too old an audience.Lastly as a Welsh girl i
can't help asking where in wales you lived as a child?
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Diana's Reply
I do indeed have a great interest in King
Arthur, but I've never found I could write DIRECTLY about him. He's
too big somehow. And it always worries me that the Arthurian experts
put him so late on in history. My feeling is that he actually comes
much earlier, in pre-Roman times. My interest dates from when I was
eight and - as usual - there were no books in the house except adult
ones, so I picked up Malory's Morte Darthur and read that. A
bible-like edition in columns of small print. I couldn't put it
down, even when it got so sad. Tips - I think it's fatal to worry
about what audience you're writing for. It makes your whole tone
uncertain. I think you should just write your fantasy and let some
publisher pigeonhole it for you. Write the exciting things, the ones
you can't wait to do, and forget who you're aiming it at. Besides,
most young people prefer not being talked down to, even if some
things go above their heads. My family originally came from
somewhere near St Davids, I think, but when I used to go and visit
my grandfather's manse, they were nearly all just outside Swansea.
|
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From Julie
- First of all, I must say how excited I
am at finding this website! What a fantastic resource for fans!
I am so glad to hear you are still writing, Mrs.Jones. The first
of your books I read was Black Maria and instantly I fell in
love. Fire and Hemlock is my favorite so far. It is one of the
best books I've ever read and I tell all my friend about it. For
weeks after I kept seeing Mr.Lynn ... in my dreams and even once
on the streetcar! Well, my question is: I've noticed that all
your works have been republished recently (I haven't seen any
older copies). Are you happy with the cover art? I think they
are lovely and Mr.Wyatt should be proud! Also, is your next
story going to be for older readers (like Fire and Hemlock)?
Other Comments
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Diana's Reply
Odd you should see Mr Lynn on a streetcar.
It's that kind of book. While I was writing it, things out of it
kept happening and people out of it kept appearing. I actually went
to a lecture where the speaker was the image of > Mr Leroy, black
poached eyes and all. And I was followed everywhere by a van
labelled Kings Lynn - which, since I live about as far away from
Kings Lynn as is possible in this country, was pretty strange. Oh, I
am very happy with the cover art of all my books now. |
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From Jo Jacomb
- Dear Diana This is going to be a bit of
a stinker I'm afraid! I'm a Children's Literature MA student at
Roehampton and I'm planning to write my dissertation on how
scientific theroies of time are reflected in your work,
particularly in Hexwood, Tale of Time City and in the
Chrestomanci series. It would really help me if you could let me
know whether you were exploring any particular theories when you
were writing these or whether it was just an area that you
developed an interest in without researching in depth any of the
particular theories. How important has 'time' been to your work
and where did the interest in how time works come from?
Other Comments
- I've been reading your books since I
was about 7 and its great that get to use books that I know so
well for my dissertation - takes half the workload away!
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Diana's Reply
I never have researched the various theories
of time. When I do read about them, I nearly always find them
irritatingly limiting - what I'm trying to say, i suppose, is that
I'd like to keep the whole matter fluid, time as waves, particles,
dimension, you name it. But I love discovering new time ideas. My
friend Neil Gaiman came up with one lovely one a few years ago. He
called it the oxbow theory. Time is seen as a river which every so
often pinches out a great loop of itself and flows straight, leaving
such things as the time when there were dragons, for instance, as a
sort of half-existent backwater or even a detached lake. Mary Gentle
has put this idea to work in her novel ASH - she was sitting beside
me when Neil propounded it - but I've never so far done anything
with it myself. I think it's a LOVELY idea, a sort of extension of
the idea that History is not the only truth. One thing I have been
fairly certain of, though, is that time and the existence of other
worlds are closely connected. But, yes, I've always been interested
in time. |
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From Eleanor Joslin
- What is the "saucepan song"
that Calcifer sings in Howl's Moving Castle? Is it a
real song? I always feel as if I should recognise it.
Incidentally, I would like to say about that book that it's
always astonished me how even though I know Sophie isn't
really an old woman, I always manage to forget this fact as I'm
reading! Just the way Sophie herself forgets even though she
knows who she really is. I always wondered, did you do that too
as you were writing it?
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Diana's Reply
Yes the saucepan song is a real one, but its words are in Welsh.
You may recognise it if you've ever watched Rugby Union, because
Welsh supporters sing it occasionally - not as often as hymns,
though. Your other question made me think hard. DID I think of
Sophie as an old woman while I was writing that book? I think the
answer is that I thought in two layers, on one layer she was a nosy,
energetic old woman, incensed at the squalor Howl lived in, but on
the other she was a girl who simply couldn't help finding Howl
charming in spite of his faults. The two things have to go on at the
same time, even if Sophie herself forgets. After all, in one way,
she wants to forget, because she has received such dreadful warnings
about Howl. |
From
Pascalle
- Are there any words to calcifers
saucepan song?
Other Comments
- im 16 and i live in America. I have
just finished Eight Days of Luke, and i thought it was very
good, but Howls moving castle is my favorite of all your books.
(i think Howl is your best character ever!i even made a shirt
with long sleeves and silver stars like he has)
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Diana's
Reply
Yes, in Welsh. The meaning fits in very well
with Sophie's life in the castle, because the song is all about the
trials of a woman trying to keep house. |
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From Pascalle
- Dear Mrs. Jones You have already
answered my other question about calcifers saucepan song; i
recived my letter from you the other day. i was really excited
to get it~ thanks ever so much for writing back :) I searched
online and found the song-both the lyrics and the tune. You can
reach it at
http://www.
acronet.net/ ~robokopp/welsh/ mysweetm.htm Just thought
you would like to know! :) thanks a million again ps.(did i say
this in my other question?) i finished making my Wizard Howl
shirt the other day-it is dark blue with glittery silver stars
and the sleeves are ENORMOUS! they have silver insides and hang
down nearly two feet! :) my mom thinks im crazy now :)
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Diana's Reply
I'm glad you got my letter. I LOVE the thought
of your shirt. Take care it doesn't suddenly grow large though. My
books have this creepy habit of coming true. |
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From Dean Phillips
- It's a bit of a personal question, but
here goes anyway. When you write your stories, how do you like
to do it? Do you need to be on your own with no iterruptions at
all and complete silence, or do you write a bit and then wander
off for a while before returning to write some more. I ask,
because you were the one who inspired me to start writing
stories, and I find it easiest to write during the night, with
my favourite music playing(a bit bizarre, I suppose). I guess,
because I love your stories so much, I'd love to know just how
they are brought into the world.
Other Comments
- I'm 24 years old, and I first
discovered you when I was thirteen. It was a copy of A Tale of
Time City in the school library. It was amazing to read, and is
still my favourite book now. I thought I'd mention that, as A
Tale of Time City seems to be forgotten by everyone else, and
never gets the praise it deserves!
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Diana's Reply
Thank you for mentioning A TALE OF TIME CITY.
I like that book too. The way I like to write is in the most
comfortable chair I can find, on my knee - this for the first draft,
you understand - and ideally with no interruptions, because when a
book hits me, it really hits and I want to write it all at once.
This never happens of course. And in actual fact I need to wander
around a bit, like you suggest, because some things need careful
thinking out. Your method sounds ideal, but these days I can't do
that, being under medical advice not to get too exhausted. I did,
however, write much of FIRE AND HEMLOCK like that, with cello music
blasting out too, AND got up at six in order to get on with it again
- much to the amazement of my family. |
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From Carol
- You happen to be my favorite living
author and I thought I had read just about everything you've
ever written (except Year of the Griffin, which I have on
order), but in Everard's Ride there are several references to
another story that takes place in the same area but is set a
hundred years later. True? If so, what IS it? I am dying to read
it.
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Diana's Reply
I'm so sorry. I had forgotten those references
in EVERARD'S RIDE. Those stories never got published, I'm afraid.
They were a huge cycle - not all very good really - about the island
and the hidden lands over the bay that I wrote when I was pretty
young. Publishers didn't want them, and later I decided they were
probably right. |
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From Zigrida Eberhardt
- Do you ever venture into crossing the
ocean blue and coming to the states, preferably Allentown,
Pennsylvania? With all good wishes,
Other Comments
- I am a librarian at Parkland Community
Library. Laughed myself silly with the Dark Lord of Derkholm and
am waiting for the Year of Griffin to arrive!!
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Diana's Reply
I used to come over a lot, and my American
publisher still wants me to, but I have had so much surgery in the
last ten years that I don't really travel well these days.The last
time I came over was 1995, to a convention in Boston, and I was in
hospital again almost as soon as I got back. I regret this
enormously. I love visiting America. Enjoy YEAR OF THE GRIFFIN.
|
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From Amelia Klock
- Dear Diana, You are my favorite
author, and I love every book you've ever written (I believe
I've read them all). I'm a writer, and so I've noticed the
expert plotting that you do - I'm always surprised by the end,
even if I've read the book before. I was wondering - do you plan
all of your books carefully beforehand, or do you just write and
weave in plot twists as you think of them? Thanks for taking the
time to read my letter, and I look forward to your next book!
Other Comments
- I'm 15, and a writer. I'd also like to
say that I loved the way that you made the griffins so real in
The Dark Lord of Derkholm and Year of the Griffin. They seemed
like people while still being distinctive, and I've never seen
an author do that so well.
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Diana's Reply
Thank you. No, I certainly do not plan every
book out in advance. This leaves no loose space for unexpected
things to happen in, and I love to be surprised by things suddenly
happening at me when I'm writing. What I do, is to know the
beginning and (usually) the end, and something pretty vivid and
intriguing in the middle, and then let the book do what IT wants to
do. Things can get pretty wild two-thirds of the way through. But
just after that, I see the pattern the plot makes. Have you noticed,
as a writer, that most stories, if they are right, make a pattern
you can almost draw as a diagram? (For instance, the one I have just
finished the first draft of makes a design like the caduceus -
Mercury's wand with snakes wrapped round it - starting off in loose
loops that get tighter and tighter). When I see this pattern, it is
quite easy to pull the plot into line. But I think that, because the
plot has usually surprised ME, it tends to surprise other people
too. |
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From Julie Beckett
- Any sign of a republishing of The Ogre
Downstairs? I've read mine twice to my daughter now, after
reading it to many classes for many years - and it's falling
apart...
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Diana's Reply
THE OGRE DOWNSTAIRS is, alas, the only one of
my books unavailable to HarperCollins. It is with Macmillan instead.
They do have a moderately recent paperback, over which we had a
tremendous row, because they insisted on 'modernising' it, but it is
supposed to be still in print. If you do find it, you may be annoyed
by their changes. I was. |
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From Rachel
- How do you get idea's for your books?
How can you think of so many characters for all of your books??
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Diana's Reply
Ideas come from all over the place, strange
happenings, things people say, scenery and many other sources. One
was a tune I heard that didn't have words and was crying out for
some, and the one I am in the middle of now came to me as read a
very learned article all about history! Characters quite often
simply walk into the book. Some people I have in my head waiting for
the right book to go into. But I do put real people in as well,
mostly people I don't like. YEAR OF THE GRIFFIN has two surgeons in
it who were particularly obnoxious when I was in Hospital - although
you wouldn't know this unless I told you. It was a great pleasure to
have one turn into a bar stool. |
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From Sarah Holyoake
- Do you think that fantasy literature is
neccessarily escapist?
Other Comments
- I am in my final year at the University
of the West of England, aged 21, studying for an English degree.
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Diana's Reply
Deep question. Short answer, No. Longer answer
- though not the longest, which would fill volumes - fantasy
actually works the way your brain works. Your brain is built to
solve problems and - most important - solve them joyfully. It
employs all sort of what-if devices to do this, including >
day-dreaming and revery and building little scenarios and dreams (as
when you sleep on a problem). It also involves your emotions if
possible. Fantasy tends to have happy endings for this reason - and
NOT for escapism - that a problem is better solved when you are not
in hopeless despair about it. Everyone has problems. People who are
well-advised go to fantasy for help (not to speak of recreation)
because it is a sort of blue-print of the way life should be when
you are properly mentally sorted. It usually includes the process of
sorting along the way, in a way that we enjoy. Important thing,
fantasy. I might point out that the generations that most despised
fantasy were my immediate seniors and were responsible for two world
wars and the Cold War. Anyone who had read any fantasy would have
sussed Hitler as soon as he started. |
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From Nozomi Murray
- I've been told that Archer's Goon was
made into a TV movie or some such for the BBC; if so, is there
any way you're aware of that I (an American living in New York)
could get my hands on it? A vaguer, slightly related question:
did you have any particular myth/book/influence in mind while
writing Archer's Goon_ or did it just spring up out of nowhere?
The idea of the seventh child with extra powers is familiar, of
course, but I wondered if there were any other hidden
sources...though I know you're more than capable of coming up
with that and more on your own. And, have you ever read Pamela
Dean's Tam Lin, another treatment of the same ballad you took on
in Fire & Hemlock?
Other Comments
- I'm a New Yorker in my early twenties,
an obsessive reader, and a Diana Wynne Jones fan since finding
Charmed Life in a London bookshop when I was ten. I've read
Charmed Life and Fire and Hemlock in Japanese translation, just
for the hell of it, and enjoyed them that way too. Hard to pick
a favorite book...both of those, Deep Secret lately (although it
seems to me not quite as perfect in execution as some of the
others), Eight Days of Luke (I'm pretentious enough to listen to
Wagner while reading it)...and so on. Please go on writing your
wonderful books.
|
Diana's Reply
You are right that there was a television film
made of ARCHER'S GOON, but the BBC never bothered to release it to
the public for some reason, so I am not sure there is any way you
can see it unless you know one of those people who pirate things off
television. (I have a friend who pirates any Japanese animation he
can get near - you get these enthusiasts). As for how this book came
to my mind, I can hardly tell you, because, of all my books, this
was the one I knew least about when I started writing it - and for
most of the time I was writing it too. I did realise, when I had it
about half written, that some of it came from a terrible pun: 'urban
gorilla' - but otherwise I still have no idea and I was surprised by
almost every page of it. Pamela Dean actually gave me a copy of her
Tam Lin book when I was in Minneapolis for a convention. I was very
flattered. Too true about EIGHT DAYS OF LUKE. I had the proofs of
the new edition a few months ago and my husband - who, thank
goodness, loves correcting proofs - got halfway through helping me
with them and then said in slight distaste, 'You can tell this book
was an early one, it's not up to standard.' Fine. He keeps saying it
though. |
|
From Herman Verschuren
- Dear Mrs. Diana Wynne Jones, That was
an amusing report of a Day Visiting Schools and certainly many
Dutch authors will recognize the traumatic happenings. Therefore
my question: would you mind if I let make a Dutch translation of
this report to publish in Studiehuis and/or Leesgoed, two
periodicals I am editor-in-chief of? Kind regards, Biblion
Publishers
Other Comments
|
Diana's Reply
Please make your translation and go ahead and
spread it as widely as you can. It might even come to the eyes of
some schools. It might just make them behave better to the next
unfortunate writer they get their hands on. |
|
From Adam Schefflan
- Hi, Diana. I've been a huge fan of
yours ever since I was in grammar school. Unfortunately, the
lack of availability of your adult books in the USA has always
been very annoying. I'm glad that HarperCollins bought your
former USA publisher (Morrow); now your books are starting to be
available on a more regular basis. I even went so far as to
purchase one of your adult books when I was in the UK over
Summer, 2000! So, anyway, my question is by any chance will you
ever be writing that thick (over 500 pages) fantasy novel for
your adult fans? And, how about some African/ Afrocentric-
themed fantasy books as well? Thank you very much for your time.
Peace.
Other Comments
- I discovered your books at the City &
Country School, New York, NY, USA (http://www.cityand
country.org) over 20 years ago, and I've been hooked ever
since!
|
Diana's Reply
Oh groan! I am currently struggling with fifty
or more 500 page fantasy books as a judge for the World Fantasy
Awards. There are physical problems when they get that big. My
present feeling is that I'm not sure I could DO that to readers. On
the other hand, the book I am in the middle of writing is nearly
twice as long as usual, so I suppose I am about to do it to people -
but whether these people are adults or not that I'm doing for is for
readers to judge. The book has gone and planted itself squarely on
neutral territory (which tends to be called YA at the moment). As
for African themes, oddly enough I find myself thinking of this at
the moment. We'll have to wait and see. |
|
From Sarah Osborn
- would you ever consider writing a
sequel to howl's moving castle, this was the first book of yours
i read, and still my favourite. i just would love to find out if
howl could cope with morgan as a "terrible Two" let
alone sophie?
Other Comments
- i always seem to be reading your books
before exams, hand-ins, unable to put the book down, totally
emersed, reading straight till 3 in the morning! thanks for
creating the most wonderful and diverse assortment of characters
and stories. <
|
Diana's Reply
I've made several efforts to write a book with
Morgan in it. It's quite certain he'd inherit the worst of both
parents - as well as interesting things of his own - but so far
nothing has come of it. I don't know why. But please believe I do
want to. And thank you for the nice things you said. I hope you
didn't get into trouble for having your head in one of my >
books. |
From ?
- Will you write more in the "Dark
Lord of Derkholm" and "Year of the Griffin"
series? Another sequel or something? Pretty please? Those are
the books that got me hooked on your books.
|
Diana's Reply
About DARK LORD OF DERKHOLM and YEAR OF THE
GRIFFIN. I am under solemn oath to one of my sisters to write
another of these. She made me give my sacred promise. So I must. |
|
From Themistoklis
Diamantis
- We are a Greek publishing house and we
would like to aknowledge whther it would be possible to contact
you in order to publish your books in Greek language. Sincerely
Themistoklis Diamantis Synchroni Orizontes
|
Diana's Reply
It would be marvellous if you could publish a
Greek translation of my books. The person to get in touch with is my
agent, Laura Cecil. Her email address is laracecil@mac.com |
|
From Mai
- We're writing projects in school about
people we thought influenced us (apart from family) and I
immediately thought of you. I was wondering if you minded if I
did you for my project. I think you and your books really
influenced me: they inspired me to start writing, to think a
little differently, and to believe in magic. I sincerely hope
you don't mind me using you, because I can't think of someone
who has influenced me as much (we can't do family).
Other Comments
- I'm from Israel, but I spent a few
years in the states. I'm obsessed with your books and I'm trying
to get a copy of every single one.
|
Diana's Reply
Of course I don't mind you using me for your
project and I hope you have great fun doing it. It is a little
awesome to have influenced someone so much. |
|
From Tyler Johansen
- are you related to Tim Wynne Jones. If
so you must have given him some pointers on how to write books.
If possible can you put some fun facts on your books on this
site thank you. Yours truly Tyler Johansen c/o
robert.johansen@sympatico.ca
Other Comments
- I am 9 years old and in grade 4.
|
Diana's Reply
No, as far as I know I am not related to Tim
Wynne Jones. But anyone with a Welsh name tends to be related not so
far back, so who knows? Um, fun facts. Well, I gave my cello teacher
a copy of HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE and she lent it to the boy next door
who was a year older than you then, because she had fallen out of
her chair laughing at the seven league boots. His parents brought
the book back severely the next day. He had fallen out of bed
laughing at the same bit, so they discovered he was reading it with
a torch under his bedclothes. A bit mean of them really. And all my
books come true in some way. Not always comfortable ways. The nicest
is CHARMED LIFE. About ten years ago I met and made friends with a
real enchanter - yes, they do exist even in this country - and his
name is Cat. The strange thing is that at the time I didn't notice
that the book was coming true. Enchanters have that sort of effect.
|
From
Rebecca Malsin
- Are you any relation to Canadian author
Tim Wynne-Jones. He's done two books of short stories and one
novel. His stuff actually rather fantasy influenced.
Other Comments
- I'm eighteen years old and have been
reading you for the last nine years, ever since my mother gave
me a copy of Witch Week when I had chicken pox. Am currently
trying to track down as many books of yours as I can, but mostly
I have to get used.
|
Diana's Reply
I see that Tim Wynne Jones and I are going to
have to meet some time and go into our ancestry. Welsh people do
this, even though Jones is such a widespread name - 'Oh, your auntie
was DOREEN Jones! She was my second cousin twice removed! Wenallt
Jones was my father's third cousin!' That sort of thing. |
From
Xerxes Starfire
- Ms. Jones, will you please consent to
do an e-mail interview with me for posting at my website? I have
had the fortune to rediscover your Chrestomanci novels, which I
had read once but was unable to locate for purchase until
recently. Having reread them--and enjoyed them anew--I was happy
to note the URL for your website on the inside back cover and so
am applying to you for an interview. The URL for the interview
related section of my website is as follows:
http://www.
geocities.com/ Area51/Shadowlands /3932/ corridor.html
There is no immediate rush for a completed interview--one took
almost a year for completion. Nothing will appear at my site
until after you have completely approved the contents of the
interview.
Other Comments
- "Xerxes Starfire" is the name
selected for my web presence; I'm quite sane, though. I'm 25,
living in Honolulu, Hawaii, and am an English teacher by
training, Reading instructor by current profession.
|
Diana's Reply
I think I'd better email you about this
interview. I am frenziedly busy at the moment and I'm glad you said
there was no hurry. And last time I tried to contact a website for
interviewing, my computer blandly informed me that the Internet
didn't exist. Still, we can but try. I'll be in touch. |
|
From Adele Mariadass (or
you can call me Lynn)
- Hi there! I'm Adele from Malaysia! Have
you had any fans from here? I just *have* to tell you that I
never regretted the day I picked up 'Charmed Life' and paid for
it! It made me an ultimate worshipper of yours! I absolutely
LOVE all of your stories! You have a humourous way, and I
absolutely adore it. But my favourite of all would have to be
Howl's Moving Castle! I love it! It was *so* intriguing, and I
instantly fell in love with Howl! (*swoons* *swoons* *faints*)I
loved every bit of it! Anyways, I just wanted to ask you who is
your ultimate idol? And which other authors would you recommend
me to read? Thanks and I hope you read/reply this! Wonderful
stories you have, so kudos to you!
Other Comments
- I am 14. I live in the small country of
Malaysia. I love reading, and writing fan fiction. I write
mostly humour, of course. Wit is the best gift a person can get.
Lovely, lovely Diana Wynne Jones. (guess which book I got that
sentence from?!)
|
Diana's Reply
I think you are the first fan from Malaysia
that I have known. You are not alone however in your reaction to
Howl. The book was only published a week when a young lady from
Yorkshire and another from New Zealand both wrote demanding to know
if Howl was a real person because, if so, they wanted to marry him.
NOW. I had to write back saying that so far I had not actually met
Howl - if I had, I might have jumped the queue. I know I didn't make
him up, so you might be lucky. Other authors? Have you tried
JKRowling's Harry Potter books? Or Philip Pullman? At one time I
used to fancy Andre Agassi - this is male idols I'm back to now -
but not since he took all his hair off. |
|
From Kathleen
- Is Dulcinea Wilkes from Witch Week
real? I mean, is she a real archwitch? Or did you make her up?
Or is she even based on a real person??
|
Diana's Reply
No, Dulcinea Wilkes is not historical. She
came into my head as the sort of person who ought to have existed in
the world of WITCH WEEK, along with the title of archwitch. Both of
them seemed thoroughly real to me while I was writing the book. |
|
From VEN
- Hi Diana, this is a follow up to my
previous question on 8 Days of Luke and the possibility of an
affair between Luke and Astrid. Thanks very much for your reply,
I think you write lovely answers. So, it was Thor all along! Our
discussion centred on three areas: the actual and apparent ages
of the characters, the changes in the way Luke and Astrid relate
to each other, and my interprtation of one of Astrid's lines. I
thought Luke's apparent age varied subtly according to who he
was talking to -- younger for Dot and increasingly older for
Astrid. Also, I noticed he goes from calling her Mrs Price to
Astrid. The line that got me going was the one where Astrid asks
David if it was worth it to be happy for a while even if you
knew you would be sad ever after -- I thought she was referring
to a possible dangerous liaison with Luke (we all agreed he's
more than a bit of a cad). I also thought Luke wanted to
urgently catch up on his sleep for the same reason...... I've
always really liked Astrid, she strikes me as a very typical 70s
girl who wakes up to the fact that she's a grown woman and
doesn't need to put up with a man like Ronald for a meal ticket.
I always want to cheer at the bit where she stays with Luke when
the rest of them desert him.
Other Comments
- I'm a 44 year old mendicant scholar
from Sheffield, I read voraciously especially fantasy and
especially Diana Wynne Jones.
|
Diana's Reply
You seem to have said it all. I particularly
liked your shrewd point about the way Luke (arch-trickster after
all) varies his age subtly according to who he's talking to. I
thought no one had ever noticed this. And I'm glad you like Astrid.
A friend of mine who read the book once said she was the kind of
person she hated, and I've been nervous ever since. |
|
From Katina J. Stuart
- Okay, I know I'm on the list already,
but now I've seen YOG and I can't help but ask--did Querida see
the essays of "our friends" when she was looking them
over and finished by saying "half of these deserve to fail,
to my mind"? Did Policant read Ruskin's and agree with him
(those must have been the policies once)? Why don't we know more
about the healer? Whatever happened to the mermaid daughter? did
they just decide not look at the idea? Did Derk ever create a
Chesney? Did Elda push the mountain out of shape magically or by
means of brute strength?
Other Comments
- Now that I've pestered the life out of
you, let me reiterate: I love you to death, to bits and pieces
and bits, and I hope you never, never, never stop writing,
because I sincerely believe my entire psyche would collapse.
Even waiting a year and half in between books puts me on edge. I
adore your books, I adore your characters.
|
Diana's Reply
Hallo again. Some answers. Querida was
probably looking at essays such as the one the lordly student was
selling, I think, or essays by poor folk who were desperately trying
to say the kind of things Corkoran wanted to see, but couldn't
afford to pay for them. I'm sure Policant did agree with Ruskin,
though he didn't read the essay because Ruskin wrote it indoors in
the concert hall. Those were certainly the sort of ideas Policant
had. The healer is a rather boring young woman. Only Ruskin ever
found her interesting. The mermaid daughter was a rejected idea
because she had to live in water and, if you remember, Derkholm was
a long way inland and actually relied on springs from the hills for
water - how would she ever get to the sea where she would be
happiest? I'm not sure about the Chesney. Wait. There has to be
another book, doesn't there? Elda pushed the mountains out of shape
by what you might call brute magic - her own strength put into
rather crude enchantments. Will those answers do? |
|
From Rosa Pasquale
- Not a question--no need to respond.
Just wanted to say I'm 37 and discovered your stories last year.
Sorry I missed them back in 1973 when I was 10. Hope you keep
writing for as long as it gives you pleasure. It sure has
cheered me up.
|
Diana's Reply
Thank you. I'm sorry you didn't find my books
earlier too, but better late than never. This is the kind of
response that truly gladdens me. |
|
From Katie Glasby
- Dear Diana I have been enjoying your
work for the last twenty years and many of my defining memories
are fixed in time according to which of your books I was reading
at the time. My question is about The Homeward Bounders (such a
wonderful sweet and sour ending).I always based my image of
Jamie's school on something I knew (as you do when reading). To
be specific, one I had seen on the Iffley Road in Oxford. Having
read your autobiography on this site it occurs to me that the
school may in fact have been one of your sources. I would love
to know if this is right or just wishful thinking. On another
point, I work at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art and
we were very amused to read about your destruction of the flower
drawings (better not let them know up at Brantwood though).
Finally, thank you for always writing exactly what I wanted to
read.
|
Diana's Reply
Now this is a srange thing. One of my sons was
at Magdalen College School for a year - we lived just up the Iffley
Road from there - but when we moved to Bristol he transferred to
Bristol Grammar school, which has the original schoolhouse sort of
enshrined among the other buildings, together with some of the
original fittings as I remember. This was what I was thinking of
when I wrote THE HOMEWARD BOUNDERS, but I now see that I had clean
forgotten that there was almost exactly the same thing in Oxford! As
for the flower drawings, we only discovered what I had done when I
went and talked to the lady who had inherited the house belonging to
Ruskin's secretary. I prattled innocently and a look of horror grew
on her face until my husband kicked me to shut me up. Even then I
didn't understand - and I'd been going on about the monogram they
were signed with which I'd thought was a mosquito and later thought
was very like Tolkien's - and he had to spell it out to me as soon
as we'd got out of hearing. The lady seemed awfully hard up, you
see, and would no doubt have been glad to have drawings to sell,
though as I indignantly said later, I only rubbed out about a THIRD
of them. Someone else must have taken the others away. |
|
From Cheyenne Brown
- in the book, THE CHRONICLES OF
CHRESTOMANCI, how come you made it 12 worlds and not any other
number?
Other Comments
- i am 10 and i really like your book.you
are on my 'most wanted' list along with J.K. Rolling and L.J.
Smith.
|
Diana's Reply
There were a whole lot more than just twelve
worlds really, but the scholars who explored them only found that
twelve. And then it got to be thought of as the truth that there
were only twelve. Christopher gets a bit puzzled about this too in
the book. But you know what teachers are - they tell you this is SO
and you can't argue. |
|
From ?
- yes, hi. I LOVE YOUR BOOKS!! i think
hey are so cool when you wrotethe books about CHRESTOMANCI, wee
they yor favorite?here is what I really wanted to say:there are
two books in THE CHRONICLES OF CHRESTOMANCI VOL. 1 and i want to
do a book report on it. should i just pick out one book, or
should i do both books? :-}
|
Diana's Reply
These were four books to start with and they >
put two in each volume much later. So I think you only need to do
one - unless you want to do more, of course. |
|
From ?
- this may be personal, but how old are
you?
|
Diana's Reply
I was born in 1934. |
|
From ?
- Diana, i like your books. will you
please wright more? if you do, i'm a good reader and would love
to revew your book. THANKS, YOUR FAN
|
Diana's Reply
I do intend to write more books, promise.
Sometimes I want to write so many that it's difficult to know where
to start. |
|
From ?
- I think that you should talk to your
publishers about the summaries they put on the covers of your
books. These make me not want to read the book, so I have to
make myself start to read, because I know from experience how
great your books always are.
|
Diana's Reply
That WILL surprise them. Most of them think
these summaries make people want to read the book more. Why don't
you send us some suggestions of what would really make you want to
read the book? We could put them up on this page and show the
publishers. |
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