Ask Preston & Child! discussion

Preston & Child will be back on January 8, 2013 to answer a new round of questions! If you have a question for the duo, ask it in this thread.

I am so excited. By far Preston and Child are the only authors that I find worth my time to read their books. I can not say enough about how absolutely incredible their writing is. This is going to be one of the greatest days of my life so far. I can't wait.

Yes, I have a question for Preston & Child. When did you decide to bring Pendergasts wife back from the dead?

I have a question :3

Is there a baby to be expected :O??????

After introducing Tristram in Two Graves and his potential nemesis, Alban, moving Constance more into her own sphere independent of Pendergast, along with Dr. Felder, and giving Corey her own mystery to solve, it seems you have great potential for a spin off series. Any plans or thoughts on that?

Maya,
Good observation. I would like to see a Corrie Swanson series perhaps. I think Constance and Tristrom would still be part of the Pendergast series since they live in his home. But Corrie, definitely - always been interested in her. Would love to see her follow in Pendie's footsteps and see her graduate at Quantico.

Lanie - As Pendergast is gong on extended vacation (what a wealth of potential that has :-)) Tristram and Constance will be left pretty much to their own devices at at 891. Each has what the other lacks. Constance is cultured, educated an subtle; Tristram has feelings and intuition she has not explored. There is also the idea that in the genetic manipulation of the twins, certain parts of him have actually been freed but unrealized. They all have such great potential. Having just finished Two Graves I am already wanting more

Hi Maya,
Yes, you do have a point there - maybe a book with Constance as Tristrom's mentor would be good but I like having them in the Pendergast series. However, Corrie on the other hand, is very independent. Have you ever thought of writing any fan fiction with them in mind? I don't disagree with you, I just think as a separate series, they'd get more mileage out of Corrie Swanson.

I've already read 2G twice!! I've been a huge Pendergast fan ever since I read Relic. Only about a 6 month wait for "White Fire". Can't wait!

"White Fire" - tell me about this - I haven't heard a thing and can't seem to find anything about it online.

Hi Maya,
All I know is that Pendergast is in it, and it involves an arson and Corrie Swanson has a big role in it - Doug was talking about it at the Arizona book signing (webcast is what I watched). I'm a member of "Team Pendergast" (an online FB group), who Doug & Linc mentioned - we were very excited about that! Some of our "leaders" were present there, so that's how I knew about the webcast.
I'm sure more will emerge but if you ever wanna discuss 2G let me know - i'm dying to! (we have a blackout period right now at TeamP and are not allowed to discuss until February once most people have read the book)
Lanie

Hi Lanie, please share more about the Team Pendergast group.

Interesting...didn't think about Pendergast going off on vacation by himself, thought he would take his ward and son along with him, sort of a grand tour of the world for Tristram's education. And along the way, they get into a "situation" because Alban will be trailing them and challenging/competing with his father....?

Two questions:
Can you share any information on the next Pendergast book?
What are the odds of Diogenes coming back?

When is Diogenes going to be making his return?

Sirs,

I've enjoyed reading your work over the years and eagerly anticipate each volume for months in advance. You truly write magic.

My only question is really more of an observation regarding Sorrie Swanson. When reading "Crows" she immediately gained my attention as a potential standalone character. As such I'm glad to see you continue to expand her storyline. She truly is the Lisbeth Salander of the Preston/Child narrative world (no offense to MIME). While I enjoyed Lisbeth's story to a great extent, I can only imagine what you could do with Corrie's. Here's hoping we find out!

Kind regards,

J. Piner

I'm already done with two Graves - i loved the Story. So when will you're next pendergast Book come Out? I already can't weit to read more. I Hope there will be more coming about Tristram and Alban. Maybe even so more about Diagones and Constance or Dr. Felder. Since Constance mentioned that her heart belongs to someonelse (maybe she's still in love with Diagones!).

regards,
Steffi

Dear authors,

I have three questions for you.
1. Does Pendergast (still) take Antoine Lengs' life prolonging elixir? I ask this because throughout the series, several characters note Pendergast hasn't (visibly) aged since the last time they saw him.
2. Did Pendergast start to wear those dead black suits of his after his wife was eaten by the Red Lion, or did he wear them before that? Because the black suits could be some way of mourning her.
3. Where does the L stands for in Pendies name?
Thank you very much!

Ah I still have another question. Will there be coming a Movie of the pendergast series???

Only one question: When is the german translation availible?

I loved Two Graves. I've read it twice already! Thank you so much for this wonderful series!

How did you choose the names Tristram and Alban? What significance do those names have?

I have a couple of questions as well:

1) Are there any plans for another trilogy in the Pendergast series?

2) Can you share any details about the next Pendergast book? (the one after Two Graves)

3) Are you going to write any non-Pendergast/Gideon books in the near future? (smth like Thunderstorm, etc.)

4)What authors can you name as your main inspirations?

Hi, guys! Just two questions:

1. Does Pendergast have any irrational fears or phobias (spiders, snakes, heights, clowns, etc), and if so will it ever become an issue in a future story?

2. Pendergast is skilled at most everything and a quick learner when confronted with something out of the ordinary, but will we ever see him attempt something new, and fail, totally frustrated at his inability to master it? (I'm thinking along the lines of minor failure - such as not being able to ride a bike - that eats at him to an obsessive degree - not a life or death failure.)

If you get a chance to answer - thanks! If not, thanks anyway for answering all the questions you can!

What was the reason that Pendergast choose to kill himself - that is not an action I expected, because he is so determined normaly that the first reaction should have been to get after Fischer.
Don´t get me wrong, I think it is good to see, that a man like Pendergast has so strong feelings about his wife, that the secound true death breaks him like that and I also like the way he gets out of the selfdigged grave.

Second question: when will Constance be able to tell Pendergast how she feels about him?

Does Judson have a twin?

SPOILER ALERT: So Helen's death in 2G was the first grave. Who did the second grave belong to?

1. Is Diogenes actually dead?

2. Can we expect more teamwork from Pendergast and D'Agosta?

3. Are you guys working on a sequel to Ice Limit?

Do you guys have any plans to write any non AP or Gideon books together? I adore AP & Gideon, but I also love books such as Riptide, Ice Limit, Mount Dragon, Thunderhead.

Ladyangela wrote: "I am so excited. By far Preston and Child are the only authors that I find worth my time to read their books. I can not say enough about how absolutely incredible their writing is. This is going t..."

Thank you, we hope to keep you entertained!

Ladyangela wrote: "I am so excited. By far Preston and Child are the only authors that I find worth my time to read their books. I can not say enough about how absolutely incredible their writing is. This is going t..."

Thank you! We are excited to be here.

Jcurtis wrote: "Yes, I have a question for Preston & Child. When did you decide to bring Pendergasts wife back from the dead?"

We felt that we ought to make the cases that Pendergast is faced with to be more personal, to involve him directly. How better than to "resurrect" his dead wife, who readers have been curious to learn more about since she was first mentioned, in passing, in RELIC?

Stephyn wrote: "I have a question :3

Is there a baby to be expected :O??????"

Not anytime soon! ;)

Maya wrote: "After introducing Tristram in Two Graves and his potential nemesis, Alban, moving Constance more into her own sphere independent of Pendergast, along with Dr. Felder, and giving Corey her own myste..."

You and Lanie have some interesting speculations about Corrie and Constance. While we like them both, and consider them very strong characters, we feel they function best as satellites within the Pendergast universe. There may be spinoffs that feature them sometime in the future, but we're too busy with Pendergast and Gideon at present to write such titles! (However, Corrie does play a particularly important role in the upcoming WHITE FIRE.)

Maya wrote: ""White Fire" - tell me about this - I haven't heard a thing and can't seem to find anything about it online."

WHITE FIRE will be the next Pendergast novel after TWO GRAVES. It will be a standalone novel, featuring (as I said) Corrie front and center. I don't want to include any spoilers here, save to say that while we love all of our stories, but I don't think we've been quite as excited about a novel since perhaps CABINET OF CURIOSITIES.

Ev wrote: "Interesting...didn't think about Pendergast going off on vacation by himself, thought he would take his ward and son along with him, sort of a grand tour of the world for Tristram's education. And ..."

That would certainly have made an interesting tale, as well. But as we'll make clear in the opening chapters of WHITE FIRE, Pendergast really needed to get away by himself for awhile--to get some distance from the traumatizing events of the "Helen Trilogy."

Joel wrote: "When is Diogenes going to be making his return?"

Gregory, Joel--even we don't know for sure when (or if) Diogenes will make his return. However, rest assured that, one away or another, he will make himself felt.

Jarrett wrote: "Sirs,

I've enjoyed reading your work over the years and eagerly anticipate each volume for months in advance. You truly write magic.

My only question is really more of an observation regarding S..."

Thanks for the kind words, and we hope you like the way that Corrie fulfills her expanded role in WHITE FIRE.

Steffi wrote: "I'm already done with two Graves - i loved the Story. So when will you're next pendergast Book come Out? I already can't weit to read more. I Hope there will be more coming about Tristram and Alban..."

Thank you! No set pub date yet for WHITE FIRE, but it will be most likely coming out in the late fall of 2013. The book itself is now complete, by the way.

Marije wrote: "Dear authors,

I have three questions for you.
1. Does Pendergast (still) take Antoine Lengs' life prolonging elixir? I ask this because throughout the series, several characters note Pendergast ha..."

1. Actually, he never took it, although he was sorely tempted.
2. Interesting idea, but I think he probably wears black suits for the same reason (I imagine) that Steve Jobs wore black turtlenecks and jeans--it was a signature look that suited him stylistically and philosophically.
3. We aren't quite certain about that ourselves! There is some disagreement about what it stands for that we still have to resolve.

Steffi wrote: "Ah I still have another question. Will there be coming a Movie of the pendergast series???"

Because they made a film of RELIC, Paramount owns the rights to the Pendergast character, and we have to wait for them to either make a new movie or release those rights.

Mary wrote: "I loved Two Graves. I've read it twice already! Thank you so much for this wonderful series!

How did you choose the names Tristram and Alban? What significance do those names have?"

You are most welcome!

The names really have no significance, save perhaps for the fact that they both sound (to my ear, anyway) at least faintly German.

Thank you for what you do!
I mean, first your books but also your involvement with your fans like your Facebook page and the Goodreads discussions,....Isn't your wonderful work a bit exhausting sometimes? Well again: thank you very much for your time and also (of course) for your characters and books,.... !!!

Alex wrote: "I have a couple of questions as well:

1) Are there any plans for another trilogy in the Pendergast series?

2) Can you share any details about the next Pendergast book? (the one after Two Graves..."

Thank you for the questions.

For the time being, we plan to focus on standalone Pendergast (and Gideon) books rather than trilogies. And for the time being we don't plan to write books featuring protagonists other than them. However, there WILL be a sequel to ICE LIMIT--in one form or another!

Our main inspirations were probably the great English nineteenth century storytellers like Dickens, as well as early thriller writers such as Erskine Childers, Geoffrey Household, and Hammond Innes.

Deirdre wrote: "Hi, guys! Just two questions:

1. Does Pendergast have any irrational fears or phobias (spiders, snakes, heights, clowns, etc), and if so will it ever become an issue in a future story?

2. Pe..."

1. That is a very interesting idea, and one that we will have to think about further!

2. We did try to show Pendergast suffering a huge failure, and it takes place at the end of the opening sequence of TWO GRAVES.

Gentlemen,
Thank You so much for bringing AXL Pendergast to life in these novels which I so much enjoy, but also for allowing it to be a bridge to connect with other Pendergastians across the net (via forums & Team Pendergast, which I visit every day!) Thank You for writing such interesting stories with colorful characters like the Pendergasts (want to hear more about their history) and also people like Corrie and Constance. I miss Aunt Cornelia - do you have any plans to write more Pendergast histories? Also, loved EXTRACTION. Do you plan to do more Kindle Singles?
Thanks again for all that you do!

Thanks for answering my first question! Here's another one:

There are a lot of different languages spoken throughout the Pendergast books. While reading Two Graves, I kept stopping to make my husband translate the German for me. (I recognize some words, but he grew up speaking German as a second language.) How many languages do the two of you speak?

Oh, also, any plans for Margo and Nora? I miss them. Not to beat a dead horse, ha ha, but I miss Smithback too. :(

I don't have any questions for I love the suspense and I loved being surprised. I just want to convey a heartfelt THANK YOU for so many hours of reading pleasure & also plead that the both of you don't stop writing any time soon.

Thank you so much too for the opportunity to get signed first editions from The Poisoned Pen for those of us that can't travel to your signings.

"Because they made a film of RELIC, Paramount owns the rights to the Pendergast character, and we have to wait for them to either make a new movie or release those rights. "

I don't understand how they can own the 'rights to the Pendergast character' ... he wasn't even in that movie!

question by Marije
3. Where does the L stands for in Pendies name?

answer by Linc

3. We aren't quite certain about that ourselves! There is some disagreement about what it stands for that we still have to resolve.


I would have sworn that in one of the books that you stated his full name. I've not been able to locate it yet, but I remember reading it... or perhaps... did i dream it?

Lincoln wrote: 2. We did try to show Pendergast suffering a huge failure, and it takes place at the end of the opening sequence of TWO GRAVES.



Ah, yes...we know about that one. ;) And THAT was quite the ride, for me the reader. I loved seeing how low the man could go. However, in my question I was thinking more along the lines of something a bit lighter and more of a personal annoyance, like not being able to master public speaking in front of a large audience (that's just an example, not a suggestion).

Thanks so much for your answers! Looking forward to the next Penderadventure!

I'd like to know: have you (or one of you) some common points with A.X.L. Pendergast? Or some habits?