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Ask the Author: L.E. Modesitt Jr.

“Ask me a question.” L.E. Modesitt Jr.

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No question, just a thank you for writing some of favorite books. ?
L.E. Modesitt Jr. You're welcome, and I appreciate your support.
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It is likely that you did not anticipate "The Saga of Recluce" making it to a series of 26+ books so it would not have occurred to you to present "The Saga of Recluce" separate sub-series? If there to be a reissue group under the main character. Recluce: Alyiakal, Recluce: Lerris, Recluce: Lorn, Cerryl, Beltur, Lerial, Kharl, Rahl, etc.. though there are other ways to give sub-series names.
L.E. Modesitt Jr. Whether there will be reissues of the Recluce books in specific formats is not my choice but Tor's. As an author, once I've sold a book, my choices are quite limited.
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I initially thought the "Alyiakal" sub-series of "The Saga of Recluce" would be set at the start of the colonization/ terraforming that supposedly had occurred. However, it's 90+ "years" since "AF" (after the fall?). Is there a sub-series to come that chronicles events at the start of human discovery of a planet that forces medieval technology due to the presence of chaos-order, i.e. electricity is non-existent?
L.E. Modesitt Jr. At this point, it's unlikely that I'll be writing any novels set prior to FROM THE FOREST. There is one short story in RECLUCE TALES -- "The Vice-Marshal's Trial" -- which takes place just after the First have landed.
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"I want to thank you—your characters, their stories, and the worlds they inhabit have expanded my perception of reality over many decades. Your books feel like more than fantasy and science fiction; they offer ways of looking at life and the challenges all beings face. I’m curious—when you create your worlds, do you think about the ways they might shape a reader’s understanding of reality?
L.E. Modesitt Jr. Thank you for your comments. I try to raise fundamental questions about cultures and their structures and beliefs. I'd like to think that, at least sometimes, what I've written might get readers to think differently and, hopefully, more incitefully about life and the universe in which we live.
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Hello. Will there be a sequel to Fairhaven Rising? And if there will be one or more sequels, what to expect. Just completed a 4th re-read of the Beltur/ Taelya saga - super hopeful there will be more.
L.E. Modesitt Jr. I'm currently working on something else. After that, we'll have to see. I won't promise something I can't deliver, which is why don't mention what I'm working on until after I have an idea that it will be actually published.

There are so many Recluce stories that I could tell, but I can't write quite as quickly as I once could. So I have to be careful about any commitments I might make.
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Will there be a book on Bilbryn the Imager under Rex Caldor mentioned in Imager’s Intrigue?
L.E. Modesitt Jr. At this point, it's unlikely that I'll write another Imager book. There are so many books I could write, but there are only so many hours in every year, and right now, I have my hands full with the books I'm writing.
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I was wondering what led to the shift in Sub Majer's Challenge to remove the conflict with Saelora's mom regarding Alykkial's consorting and how that impacted the book?
L.E. Modesitt Jr. Time... and the fact that Saelora isn't suited to anyone else, that Alyiakal is now a senior officer and holds the same rank that Saelora's father did, and that Alyiakal is part of the reason Saelora's successful, not to mention that the two love each other.
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I listened to four of the chapters in The Timegod. How many minutes is in a unit in The Timegod?
L.E. Modesitt Jr. A "unit" in THE TIMEGOD is essentially equivalent to one minute,
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I listened to some of the chapters in Legacies. How far is a vaunt between home steads in Legacies?
L.E. Modesitt Jr. Your question had me confused for a moment. It's spelled "vingt, and is the equivalent of a mile.
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I've been doing a blitz read through many of your science fiction novels and am amused to see how often an ethicist named Exton Land is cited, often at vastly different times and locations. Is he an "immortal" who doesn't bother to hide his name, or do you just like the name? (For those curious, Archform: Beauty, The Octagonal Raven, The Ethos Effect, The Elysium Commission, and The Eternity Artifact.)
L.E. Modesitt Jr. "Exton Land" is generally quoted in my science fiction. My full name is "Leland Exton Modesitt, Jr. So... yes, I do have a fondness for the name.
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In Imager's Challenge what are flat cakes?
L.E. Modesitt Jr. Flatcakes are pancakes,
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I bought Imager's Challenge and read most of the chapters in that novel. What is an anumen?
L.E. Modesitt Jr. Anomen is the term for the house of worship for the followers of the Nameless.
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In Imager's Challenge how old was Rhennthyl? In Imager's Challenge how old was Seliora?
L.E. Modesitt Jr. Rhennthyl is twenty-four at the beginning of IMAGER'S CHALLENGE.

Seliora is roughly the same age.
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In the Imager Portfolio what's the name of the currency in Solidar?
L.E. Modesitt Jr. The currency isn't named. There are golds, silvers, and coppers, and the value is determined by the value of the metals.
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I listened to some of the chapters in Imager's Challenge. Is a mille a mile?
L.E. Modesitt Jr. Effectively... yes.
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Where in L'Excelsis was the hellhole?
L.E. Modesitt Jr. It's located east-northeast of Imagisle, directly east of the Third District Partrol Station, and bounded roughly by South Middle, Quierca, and L'Avenue D'Artisans.
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I listened to Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, and part of Chapter 4 in the audiobook Imager's Challenge. How many inches is a digit?
L.E. Modesitt Jr. Slightly less than an inch, say seven-eights.
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I bought and read Imager. What did Rhennthyl learn in Grammaire?
L.E. Modesitt Jr. Rhennthyl learned rhetoric and grammar, mathematics and geometry, history, and the basics of philosophy.
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Have been trying to purchase The Magic of Recluse in Hardcover. But unfortunately they have been sold out for a very long time. Only ones selling it online are 2nd handed sellers for prices that are double, triple & sometimes more than quadruple to what the original price was. I wanted to know if there's any way or hope that you can contact Tor Publisher to look into doing Hardcover Reprints! Can you look into this?
L.E. Modesitt Jr. Tor has never liked to issue hardcover reprints. I've tried for years to get THE MAGIC OF RECLUCE reprinted, but had no luck. Around 2010, I managed to persuade Subterranean to issue a 20 year anniversary hardcover edition that came out in August of 2011.

I've brought the matter up since, but Macmillan (parent company of Tor) hasn't been interested.
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I would love special editions of your books. Like a Grim Oak Press Edition or Broken Binding Edition. Can you consider making some? I think a lot of people would be interested in that!
L.E. Modesitt Jr. There's only been one special edition of any of my books, and that was the Subterranean Press limited hardback edition of The Magic of Recluce, which was a 20th year commemorative edition, and I had to press for that.

I'm certainly open to special editions, but at my age, I'm not interested in trying to sell the idea of various special editions to specialty printers, and none of them have contacted me.
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