The Unofficial Clone Wars Site

STEVEN BARNES INTERVIEW
(PART 1 of 2)

Author Steven Barnes has written fifteen novels and as many teleplays. He has been nominated for both the Hugo and Cable Ace awards. He is most well-known for his alternate historical novels Lion's Blood and Zulu Heart. Barnes is the author of the new Clone Wars novel: The Cestus Deception, which will hit bookstore shelves in June! Now he been kind enough to answer a few of our questions.

Hello Steve, and thanks for taking some time out of your schedule to come and talk to us.

TUCWS: First off, can you tell us a little about yourself? How did you decide to become a writer? What are some of the stories that you've worked on already?

SB: I was born in Los Angeles in 1952, and pretty much knew in grade school that I wanted to be a writer. I didn’t make the real decision until college, when I realized that I enjoyed writing more than almost anything else in my life. I’ve published about nineteen novels, the most popular of them being the “Dream Park” books about an amusement park of the future, and “Lion’s Blood” which is an alternate history set in about 1870.

TUCWS: You're not just a writer but a screen writer as well, correct? What have you written for on the TV, and how was it to watch your work in action?

SB: I’ve written for Outer Limits, Twilight Zone, Star Gate SG-1 and others. It can be enormous fun to see your work on screen—when it’s done well. There have also been some extremely disappointing experience.

TUCWS: Some authors go through a certain process when writing a fiction novel. How do you go about a story that you have in mind?

SB: I start with either a character or a plot idea, and then develop the relationship between these two. A plot should be the inner world of the lead character turned inside-out. This is where an appreciation of structure is vital. It actually frees your creativity.

TUCWS: Who are your biggest influences, Sci-Fi or otherwise?

SB: Arthur C. Clark, Harlan Ellison, Larry Niven, Ian Fleming, Robert E. Howard---literarily, I think these were central.

TUCWS: Is Star Wars your first universe to play in, or have you worked with other worlds before?

SB: I’ve played in lots of different worlds. The Star Trek universe, the Batman universe, the “Ghostbusters” universe, Larry Niven’s magical universe, and others.

TUCWS: How has it been working on your first Star Wars novel? There aren't many authors chosen to write for Lucasbooks, so how does it feel to be asked to write a novel for the Clone Wars?

SB: It was an honor and a challenge. I’d seen every Star Wars movie multiple times (and usually on opening day!) so I was pretty familiar. I also knew that the real fans knew so much more than I did that I really had to watch my step. So I concentrated on telling a good story set in that universe, rather than trying to show off how much I knew about Lucas’ incredibly complex creation.

TUCWS: You have to be well published before you can even think about entering the Star Wars universe as a writer. What other books have you written?

SB: Beside the ones mentioned, my favorites include “The Legacy of Heorot”, “Blood Brothers”, “Iron Shadows”, “Zulu Heart” and “The Kundalini Equation”.

TUCWS: Were you a Star Wars fan to begin with from the old movies? Or is this all sort of new to you?

SB: Already answered that one!

TUCWS: I don't think that it would be wise to ask much about your upcoming novel, The Cestus Deception, seeing as that it's not out yet. But how did you go about researching the novel? Did you read the existing Clone Wars novels and stories?

SB: I read collections of Star Wars short stories—easier to get a feel for the way different writers deal with the same universe.

TUCWS: The above question aside, what can you tell us about writing The Cestus Deception? Did you enjoy working with any characters in particular?

SB: I deliberately avoided Anakin for the most part. Because we don’t know the exact reason he becomes Vader, I decided it would be impossible to honestly portray his internal monologues. So I really enjoyed writing the ARC scenes, working with Obi-Wan, and dealing with my villainess, Asajj Ventress.

TUCWS: Attack of the Clones started off the entire Clone Wars. What did you think about the movie? Kit Fisto and Obi Wan have time in the movie at the start of the Clone Wars, at the battle of Geonosis. Did that affect how you wrote your novel?

SB: Well, I did enjoy the glimpse of Kit Fisto, and drew some of my thoughts about him from those flashes. AOTC also contains one of my very favorite Star Wars scenes ever—Yoda’s lightsaber duel with Christopher Lee. Man, that was serious, serious fun.

TUCWS: Have you enjoyed working with the Star Wars universe? Would you do it again if asked?

SB: I enjoyed it immensely. I’d do it again if the project caught my interest.

TUCWS: How have the fans been, the ones that you've talked to? Has the fandom of Star Wars seemed to change at all from before you were a Star Wars writer to now?

SB: I’ve had a great time with the fans, especially Andrew Liptak, my interviewer, who helped remind me to take this project very seriously. They are an intelligent, energetic bunch—they really care, and helped me connect to the potential audience.

TUCWS: Some of our readers are aspiring writers, can you give us some advice on writing?

SB: I’d say go to my web site: www.lifewrite.com. There’s a ton of information on writing there!

TUCWS would like to thank Steven Barnes for his time, and we can't wait to hear from him again when Part Two arrives!

Conducted by Andrew Liptak, May 2004.