{"id":19362,"date":"2013-06-27T06:34:24","date_gmt":"2013-06-27T10:34:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/?p=19362"},"modified":"2013-06-27T06:34:24","modified_gmt":"2013-06-27T10:34:24","slug":"ten-questions-about-a-discourse-in-steel-by-paul-s-kemp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/2013\/06\/27\/ten-questions-about-a-discourse-in-steel-by-paul-s-kemp\/","title":{"rendered":"Ten Questions About A Discourse In Steel, By Paul S. Kemp"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The best compliment I can pay to Paul Kemp’s first Egil & Nix book is, for me, that it gave me the sudden urge to go out and play a shitload of D&D. It’s a deeply awesome, super-fun book and I’m comfortable assuming the next in the series in just as rad. Speakawhich — here’s Paul now to talk about that very book:<\/em><\/p>\n

TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF: WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?<\/h2>\n

Well, I\u2019m a proud geek, proud dad, whisky drinker, beer drinker, wine drinker (an alarming theme is beginning to emerge here), dude-who-quit-smoking-cigars-but-sometimes-still-longs-for-one (it\u2019s only a cigar, people! Jeebus!). \u00a0I\u2019m a RPG player, ASL fan, FPS fan, and such other nerdy acronyms as may give me credibility with the reading audience.<\/p>\n

On the writing front, I\u2019m somehow a multiple New York Times bestseller. You believe that shit? I write Star Wars novels, Forgotten Realms novels featuring my signature character, Erevis Cale, and I write sword and sorcery novels in my own fictional world for Angry Robot Books.<\/p>\n

GIVE US THE 140-CHARACTER STORY PITCH.<\/h2>\n

A pair of rogues take a run at the Thieves\u2019 Guild. Wit and action comes at you in a blizzard. It\u2019s sword and sorcery, but now with 25% more sorcery! 25% more! But you must call now!<\/p>\n

WHERE DOES THIS STORY COME FROM?<\/h2>\n

This book, and the Egil and Nix books generally, comes from my sweet, sweet sticky love of classic sword and sorcery and adventure fiction.\u00a0 It comes from a desire to write something that might, for some reader somewhere, make them feel the same wonder and joy that I did the first time I read about Fafhrd and the Mouser, about Doc Savage, about Conan or Elric.\u00a0 It comes from a desire to write something that feels like a throwback, that reads in most respects like the throwback, but that nevertheless has \u2018modern\u2019 sensibilities.\u00a0 When I first read those books (and I re-read most of them once every year or so), I felt like the story was just grabbing me by the shirt, giving me a shake, and saying, \u201cCome the fuck on, man!\u00a0 There\u2019s adventure afoot!\u201d\u00a0 Love that.<\/p>\n

HOW IS THIS A STORY ONLY YOU COULD\u2019VE WRITTEN?<\/h2>\n

Er, uh, because it\u2019s the product my particular brand of whiskey-soaked, unholy manlove of Fritz Leiber\u2019s work (give me a call from beyond, Fritzy!)? No? Then, uh, I guess I\u2019m not sure it is, you know? Well, maybe this:<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been writing a long time, sold a fair amount of books, and I\u2019m basically at the point in my career that I truly do not care what anyone thinks of what I write.\u00a0 So I can tell what I think is a gloriously fun, unabashed adventure story, and tell it without a hint of hipster irony, without so much as a knowing nod.\u00a0 And I can do that because i don\u2019t care if Locus likes it (maybe they won\u2019t because adventure fiction, I think, is not their cup of tea), or if it gets Hugo or Nebula nominated (it probably won\u2019t for the same reason!).\u00a0 I just care about telling a story that recalls for me the sensawunda I felt when reading Leiber\/Burroughs\/Howard\/Brackett\/Younameit for the first time. There\u2019s something pure about the storytelling in those books, something unselfconscious.\u00a0 There\u2019s a verve<\/em> to it.\u00a0 It elicits the same kind of feeling I had when I first saw an Imperial Star Destroyer start to fill the screen from the bottom up, chasing a tiny Tantive IV, the same kind of feeling Spielberg recaptured in Raiders of the Lost Ark. It\u2019s fun storytelling, really fun. And it\u2019s not fun with a knowing wink, or an arched eyebrow.\u00a0 It\u2019s just fucking fun.\u00a0 Still has something to say, sure, but it is, first and foremost and always, a ripping tale. I\u2019m not the only one who could do it, but I can damn sure do it<\/em> and do it pretty well.<\/p>\n

WHAT WAS THE HARDEST THING ABOUT WRITING a discourse in steel?<\/h2>\n

Oddly, none of it was hard and I don\u2019t say that lightly. Essentially every other book i\u2019ve written has had that bit (or bits) where it felt like getting words on the page was less fun than getting my teeth drilled, where frustration caused me to bob for apples in a vat of scotch, but not the Egil and Nix stories. Writing about these two and their adventures is nothing but an unadulterated blast and it comes easy (and now, by saying that, i\u2019m sure the writing gods have just looked down, realized that I\u2019m writing the third Egil and Nix book, and have decreed, \u201cAFFLICT THAT FUCKER WITH DIFFICULTIES!\u201d<\/p>\n

WHAT DID YOU LEARN WRITING a discourse in steel?<\/h2>\n

Man, that\u2019s a good question.\u00a0 How about this: If you build darkness into a character, it will come out even if you didn\u2019t intend for it to come out when conceptualizing the story.<\/p>\n

Also, swearing begets more swearing, until pretty much the entire book is one big expletive (albeit made-up fantasy expletives, in this case).<\/p>\n

WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT a discourse in steel?<\/h2>\n

I love Nix\u2019s voice, of course. I like to think he\u2019s witty and insightful and a lot of fun to read, and he and Egil play off one another very, very well.<\/p>\n

But I really love some of the small, evocative bits that aren\u2019t hugely important to the plot but which suggest so much about the wonder of the world \u2013 the talking, sassy magical key, the sexless flesh automaton that wanders the Low Bazaar hawking magical gewgaws for Kerfallen the Grey Mage, the magical tattoos on members of the Thieves\u2019 Guild.<\/p>\n

WHAT WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENTLY NEXT TIME?<\/h2>\n

WHAT!\u00a0 THIS NOVEL IS PERFECT, SIR!\u00a0 DO YOU GAINSAY THIS?<\/p>\n

Seriously, man, that\u2019s a tough question, since we\u2019re our own harshest critics. How about this: I would definitely make the sucky parts less sucky!\u00a0 Yeah, yeah, that\u2019s it.\u00a0 And I\u2019d make the mediocre parts great instead!<\/p>\n

More seriously, I\u2019d slow down. The Egil and Nix books come at me faster than any of my other novels. I\u2019m sure I could make small improvements throughout if I slowed the pace some.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s all I got, bro.\u00a0 And that\u2019s a shitty answer.\u00a0 But the book\u2019s brand new and I can\u2019t quite bring myself to crucify it just yet.<\/p>\n

GIVE US YOUR FAVORITE PARAGRAPH FROM THE STORY:<\/h2>\n

This bit occurs while Egil and Nix are in the midst of an assault on the fortified guild house of Dur Follin\u2019s Thieves\u2019 Guild. They\u2019re there to grab a man named Channis, the Upright Man (the guildmaster). I think this captures their dynamic pretty well.<\/p>\n

Nix shrugged. \u201cOf course if he\u2019s not in there, we\u2019re fakked. We may be fakked anyway. Bit off a big piece of meat here, my friend. Makes for a hard chew. But it\u2019s now or not. We have minutes at best, before those slubbers from the rooms below get word up here. We move fast enough, we may yet take them by surprise.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey feel safe here,\u201d Egil said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey should,\u201d Nix said, thinking of the reinforced doors and locks.<\/p>\n

Egil nodded. \u201cTake the two stupidest slubbers in Dur Follin to attack the guild house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBallsiest is what you mean,\u201d Nix said. \u201cI can barely walk I\u2019m swinging so low.\u201d<\/p>\n

Egil grinned and they hustled through empty rooms and corridors, making their way to the grand room. Presently Egil put up a hand to stop them.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight around this corner,\u201d he said softly.<\/p>\n

Nix peeked around the corner and saw two guards. They looked more bored than alert. Word of the attack hadn\u2019t yet reached them. Nix pulled back.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo men, as you said,\u201d he said to Egil.<\/p>\n

Egil pointed. \u201cThis hallway goes around to the other side, to the doors near Channis.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cChannis?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Upright Man\u2019s name. The boy said it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight. Aye,\u201d Nix said, then, \u201cI\u2019ll take these two then get inside the room and draw eyes. You go around to the other doors, kill the guards there quick, and stand ready. When you hear the commotion inside, you get in and grab this Channis. I\u2019ll meet you over there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood,\u201d Egil said. \u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean, \u2018then what?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe get him,\u201d Egil said. \u201cWe tell him why he\u2019s dying and do it. Then, how do we get clear?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy\u2019re you asking me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought you\u2019d have a plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy would you think that? I\u2019m making this up as we go. You\u2019re the one with the map of the place in your head.\u201d<\/p>\n

Egil shrugged. \u201cHmm. I guess we\u2019ll figure something out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nix looked at him a long moment. \u201cShite, man. I guess we will. Here I go.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

WHAT\u2019S NEXT FOR YOU AS A STORYTELLER?<\/h2>\n

Oh, I plan to stress over sales and my career while sitting on the couch in my underwear with a whiskey.<\/p>\n

Oh, maybe you mean something less depressing? \u00a0In October, my next Forgotten Realms novel, THE GODBORN, book II of the Sundering, will be released. Meanwhile, I\u2019ll be working on A CONVERSATION IN BLOOD, which is the next Egil and Nix novel (scheduled for a June 2014 release, I believe). After that, I\u2019ll be working on another two Forgotten Realms novels and a fourth Egil and Nix book, so \u2013 busy!\u00a0 And that\u2019s a good thing.<\/p>\n

Chuck, thanks for having me, man.\u00a0 I really appreciate it.<\/p>\n

Paul S. Kemp: Website<\/span><\/a> \/ Facebook<\/span><\/a> \/ @paulskemp<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

A Discourse In Steel: Purchase<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The best compliment I can pay to Paul Kemp’s first Egil & Nix book is, for me, that it gave me the sudden urge to go out and play a shitload of D&D. It’s a deeply awesome, super-fun book and I’m comfortable assuming the next in the series in just as rad. Speakawhich — here’s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-19362","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-theramble","8":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pv7MR-52i","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19362"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19362\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19374,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19362\/revisions\/19374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}