Questions and Answers James D. Macdonald was born in White Plains, NY in 1954, the son of a chemical engineer and an artist. He attended the University of Rochester gaining a degree in Medieval Studies. He served in the US Navy. He ran the Science Fiction and Fantasy RoundTable between 1991 & 1993. He is known as Yog Sysop. He is married to Debra Doyle with whom he writes the majority of his stories. They live in New Hampshire. What are you currently working on? Right this red-hot moment? (And knowing that these change from day to day, and what is true today may not be true tomorrow?) Right now, a non-fiction YA book for Rosen on the Loch Ness Monster, and the next Mageworlds book, working title "A Working of Stars". Who or what has been a major influence on your writing and why? I regret to say that the greatest influence on my writing was The Hardy Boys (a YA series about Boy Detectives, which dates back to the 1940s). At a point early in my life, I threw one against the wall and said the fateful words, "I could do better than this!". After that I taught myself to type, and the rest followed. Alas, I'm still in Hardy Boys mode: series works, with action in every chapter, a cliffhanger at the end of every chapter, and intensely clean-minded characters. With which of your works are you most/least satisfied and why? I love all of my children equally, of course. I'm very fond of "City By the Sea", (which has recently been reprinted as "The Wizard's Statue") in our Circle of Magic series. There are cringe-worthy things in all of our works. Things that didn't work, but should have ... well, some of the cutesy little jokes I inserted in some of our books, which aren't nearly as funny on re-reading them ten years later. What are your favourite and least favourite words? Favorite word? As in one that I use too much? Or one that I really like the sound of? Or the meaning of? Oh, dear. This is a toughie. Well, here we go: agast. Least favorite: inchoate. A wonderful-sounding word, which, if our purpose in using words is to transfer meaning from our mind to our readers' minds, is unable to do the job. Who (Fact or Fiction) would you most like to meet, and what would you ask them? William the Earl Marshal, and I'd ask him if he really, deliberately didn't kill Richard, or if on second thought maybe he should have. Is there a book or story you wish you had written? "Exordium" by Smith and Trowbridge. That's a wonder five-volume novel. It only looks like a series. It's really a five-volume novel. If you could have one wish granted what would it be? The ability to heal people miraculously would do it. Is writing your full time occupation, if not what is? Yes, I'm a full-time writer. I also work as a volunteer with my local ambulance company, which serves to get me out of the house. What was your first professional sale? How did it feel when you received the acceptance? The first one was for a short story called "Bad Blood" in the anthology "Werewolves" edited by Jane Yolen. How did it feel? Wonderful. Marvelous. Like the clouds opening, a trumpet fanfare sounding, and a voice like thunder proclaiming "My boy, you have a new line of work!" Who is your favourite author? I'm quite fond of Ambrose Bierce. If you could give one piece of advice to a would-be author, what would it be? Write. Write some more. Look around you, observe, and then write. And when you're done, write. Then, if someone wants you to pay him to publish your works, that person is a scoundrel, a blackguard, and a cheat. Never, ever, ever pay anyone to publish you. The money comes to you, not the other way around. When did you first decide that you wanted to be an author? I was probably twelve or so. When did you first feel that you were an author? I'll let you know when it happens, okay? I still don't feel that I'm an author; all I feel is that I fake it well enough to fool the people out front. Are you for or against e-books? Neither. I feel that they're essentially trivial; that they'll fill a small niche, and twenty years from now the e-book enthusiasts will still be proclaiming that they will overtake the world of publishing Any Day Now. What's the one question you have never been asked in an interview that you wished you had? And what would be your answer? Darned if I know. No one's ever asked me about quadratic equations. Depending on the equation my answer might well be "Plus or minus four". Are you a music fan? If so, what? Anglo-scots ballads. Sea chanteys. Folk music. SF, Skiffy or Sci-Fi? What is the correct shortening of Science Fiction and does it matter? SF. It matters to the people who care, and why should we go out of our way to offend people who care? Do you have a favourite place to write? My office, with my wordprocessor. Do you enjoy book signings/conventions? No, not particularly. Why do you like SF/F/H? To read or to write? To write ... because no matter what I try, everything I write comes out at SF/F/H. (Some people, no matter what they try, have everything come out as an essay. Go figure.) To read ... I read everything. What book are you reading at the moment? "Road Fever" by Tim Cahill. Do you enjoy collaborating? Yes. It's the only way I've ever been able to write. How does your approach to the editing role differ from that of writing? Well, editing requires red pencils. Writing is just throwing whatever comes to mind up onto the screen or down on paper. Editing is careful reading, and twiddling the little bits, crossing out and drawing lines. What's your main ambition? I want to save lives. I'm also in need of redemption, but that's outside of what writing can do for me. Is there something you are particularly proud of? Raising some really great kids. Four of 'em, all still works in progress. Plug away - what do you have coming out? Well, we have a novel involving Peter Crossman, a Knight Templar, coming out one of these days, but I'm not certain when it's scheduled. Peter's been in a couple of short stories that appeared in Katherine Kurtz's "Tales of the Knights Templar" anthologies. James D. Macdonald Bibliography James D. Macdonald's Web Site