Ask the Author: Tom Doyle
Answered Questions (8)
Tom Doyle
Thank you for reading the books! Yes, though I gave the trilogy a definite end, I left open the possibility of continuing in that universe if there's ever publisher interest or enough reader demand. If you'd like to know what I was thinking, please feel free to message me on Goodreads and I'll give you the details--some folks prefer to have the story ended, so I don't share those thoughts generally. For my next novel, I'm hoping to publish The Wizard of Macatawa, a book-length extension of my award-winning short story. In the meantime, I have an audiodrama trilogy that's like American Craftsmen in the 6th century BCE--Agent of Exiles. If you're interested, let me know and I'll send you the first one free from Audible.
Tom Doyle
Terry, thank you for reading the book! The blunt answer is that I'm not sure. I wrote Border Crosser as a stand-alone, but as you've seen I gave it an epilogue where there could be more books if readers and the publisher want them. At one point years ago, in response to my first agent's request, I even created a brief synopsis for what a book 2 would look like and gave it a title: The Stars in Their Courses. But looking at that synopsis now, I see it would need a lot of changes. I apologize for not being more certain--I would love to write more books in the border crosser saga, so we'll see what the publisher says.
Tom Doyle
The answer used to be Middle Earth, no question. But thinking about it now, I realize that Middle Earth really doesn't have room for me in its stories; it's Tolkien's world and complete in itself. That's a reason why an author might do their own subcreation--to create a world that has room for them. So I would go to the world where my craftspeople are real because there's room for me there. I would be the historian for those who could never tell their secrets. This isn't an ego thing--there are certainly better fictional worlds. I just wouldn't want to trespass anymore.
Tom Doyle
Eagle and Empire by Alan Smale
The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland
Any Hugo nominees that I have read already.
The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland
Any Hugo nominees that I have read already.
Tom Doyle
One of my favorite couples is Phedre and Joscelin from Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Dart. There's a point in the middle of great battle at which all seems lost and Joscelin prepares to kill them both with a single blow that has echos of the "Farewell My Concubine" scene in Chinese opera, and it's a terribly romantic moment.
Tom Doyle
I have a blog post that outlines some of the steps new writers should consider (written for Nanowrimo participants, but applicable to all): http://www.tomdoyleauthor.com/2014/12...
Tom Doyle
To my own surprise, one of my initial inspirations for this book was L. Frank Baum. When he began telling children’s stories, he had the notion of discarding the existing European folk tales and building a fantasy that was modern and distinctly American. That’s how we got The Wizard of Oz.
I wasn’t going to write a children’s story, but the thought of confining myself to a U.S. mythos for an adult fantasy was oddly exciting. With plenty of books retelling European myths and folklore, it seemed like our own stories had been neglected. I looked at American folklore, but I ended up spending more time with the great early American writers of the fantastic.
I wasn’t going to write a children’s story, but the thought of confining myself to a U.S. mythos for an adult fantasy was oddly exciting. With plenty of books retelling European myths and folklore, it seemed like our own stories had been neglected. I looked at American folklore, but I ended up spending more time with the great early American writers of the fantastic.
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