Interviews
On Tuesday, March 3rd, barnesandnoble.com welcomed Greg Bear to discuss FOUNDATION AND CHAOS.
Moderator: Welcome, Greg Bear! Thank you for joining us online tonight. How is everything?
Greg Bear: All seems well! Is the title of the discussion an elaboration on my title? Which is, of course, FOUNDATION AND CHAOS...
Mark from NYC: Do you ever worry that Asimov would not approve of what you're doing? No offense intended -- I love the series!
Greg Bear: Good question! We've all tried to be totally faithful to the feel of the series and to the problems Isaac posed for us all. Inevitably, there would probably be some disagreements about characters, etc.; I'd doubtless feel the same about someone working in my universes!
Susan P. from aol.com: Do you have a personal favorite work by Isaac Asimov? Did either of you have the pleasure of knowing him while he was alive?
Greg Bear: I think my favorite works are the Robot Novels. It was a treat working with Isaac's robot characters, R. Daneel Olivaw in particular. I met Isaac three times -- never long enough! He rarely left the New York area.
Alex from Williamsburg: What's it like to work with Gregory Benford?
Greg Bear: Working with Gregory and David Brin has been a treat. We're all friends, we never argue with each other... we all have a group mind! Actually, we went through some moderately rigorous debates, but never rancorous. We work together quite well, as long as we leave each other alone for days at a time to write...!
Harley D. from Mamaroneck, NY: Do you try to "sound" like Asimov when you write? Do you ever get a twinge of an identity complex? I mean, it is your name on the cover, so do you consider this your own original work in the "vein" of Isaac Asimov? I'm very curious. Thanks!
Greg Bear: It's impossible to sound like Isaac. His style was deceptively clean and clear... But I think it is possible to work within his characters and by doing that to bring out much of his flavor. Isaac's characters are a remarkably civilized group, even his villains!
Ted Rowan from NYC: What periods in history do you enjoy studying, with your writing in mind? Thanks.
Greg Bear: I'm a great fan of ancient history, as Isaac was. I am also fond of the American Civil War, especially the period just before the war; World War II, history of technology, you name it!
Mary from New Hampshire: Hello Mr. Bear! How did you get into writing science fiction?
Greg Bear: I began as a child -- literally. Seeing a Ray Harryhausen movie got my mind perking when I was seven years old, and by the time I was eight, I was writing, illustrating, and binding my own stories. I read science fiction from the age of nine -- beginning with Heinlein's RED PLANET.
Roger Etite from Boulder, CO: Bear, Benford, Brin ... what's up with the trilogy of Bs? Significant at all? You guys always in the alphabetical lines together or something, and got to talking? :)
Greg Bear: You've read about Dolly? We're all clones. Actually, Gregory is a clone... of his twin brother, Jim! I think it's all coincidence, actually. But we do all share the same first initials... GB.
Eugene from Seattle, WA: What is the origin of SECOND FOUNDATION? The name and the series, respectively?
Greg Bear: Ours is the Second Foundation Trilogy, so to speak, though there have been enough "trilogies" in the series from Isaac's pen to make it a moot point! Good marketing, however. Isaac's SECOND FOUNDATION is, of course, the classic original volume two of the trilogy.
Matt from New York: Greg, I loved DINOSAUR SUMMER. With SUMMER and FOUNDATION, do you feel a great deal of pressure following up other people's creations and trying to make them your own without angering fans of the original?
Greg Bear: They do come out back-to-back! I've taken great care to respect the originals; but having said that, arrogance is a major asset in rearranging the furniture in the great mansions of past literature!
Tim Davis from Philadelphia, PA: Greg B., I thought DINOSAUR SUMMER was excellent. Did you have any say over the illustrations? What did you think of them? I haven't read FOUNDATION AND CHAOS yet, but i'm dying to.
Greg Bear: I worked with Tony DiTerlizzi and Betsy Mitchell and art director Don Puckey. Tony's work was pretty great without any input from me, and the book has turned out beautifully! All congrats to those who had the guts to take a chance! And thanks especially to Tony, who gives it a unique and wonderful feel.
Ian Sharpe from Princeton, NJ: I am wondering about the origin of your characters' names.
Greg Bear: In FOUNDATION AND CHAOS, I try to follow Isaac's format for creating names -- sometimes with just mild variations from present names.
Nick from New York City: Any chance we will see FOUNDATION AND CHAOS on the big screen?
Greg Bear: Gregory Benford tells me that a "Foundation" movie has begun pre-production, but it will, of course, be based on the originals.
Lisa Green from New York City: Do you have to do a lot of research for your novels, including this one, particularly the ones that have a "hard-SF" edge to them? Just finished SLANT, by the way...great!
Greg Bear: I love reading and researching, and my books usually require a great deal of both -- background reading I've already done and new research. For F&C I had to read all of Isaac's books over again to catch the facts and feel, and of course to read Gregory's book in manuscript. For SLANT, the research was more direct. Talking with movers and shakers in software and modern entertainment, putting two and two together... Listening and drawing my own conclusions. For the current novel in progress, DARWIN'S RADIO, I have a stack of books on biology and evolution to get through... Texts, mostly. All fascinating and very challenging.
Yvette from Raleigh, NC: Who were your science fiction teachers?
Greg Bear: Just about all the great writers. Elizabeth Chater, my professor at San Diego State University, was a great encouragement, and still is! Ray Bradbury and I began our friendship and correspondence 30 years ago and still get together whenever we can. So many others!
Paul from Morris Plains, NJ: Do you think that sci-fi writing of today is different from the '50s and '60s? Many people believe during those years sci-fi peaked. What do you think?
Greg Bear: SF today is marvelously rich and accomplished, but it won't have the same feel as something you first read when you were 12! I know that a fair number of writers have me running as fast as I can in hopes of keeping up! Of course, I've always felt that way about Benford!
Jack from Alabama: How was it decided who would write which part in the series?
Greg Bear: I don't remember feeling too cramped, though I did joke about it. Having to follow on from both Isaac and Gregory, in FOUNDATION'S FEAR, was a bit of a challenge, but Gregory's book was wonderful, with many wonderful possibilities to play with.
Joe from Troy, NY: It says in your bio you have been writing since 1967, although I didn't know about your work until BLOOD MUSIC in the '80s. Was there a time when you didn't think you would ever get the recognition you deserved?
Greg Bear: Of course. No writer is ever happy with the recognition they've received. If we have fame and literary credit, but no money, we worry about money -- if we have money but get terrible reviews, we worry about that! Being a writer is never easy and never comfortable!
Georgette from Rockville Centre, NY: Hi, how's Seattle? My question is, do you think that a future FOUNDATION could exist on Earth, or in space, where scientists like Hari would be altering the future? Basically, how plausible in your mind is the scenario you write about?
Greg Bear: Wow! Terrific idea for a novel... FOUNDATION is taking place right now, and Earth is a backwater about to be (re-)discovered! Given the time scales and distances and numbers of stars involved, the only thing I have difficulty imagining in the FOUNDATION universe is how one world could control so many millions of others. I tried to suggest the scale of this problem by pointing out that the information coming in to Trantor by whatever means could easily heat the planet's surfacet to white heat!
Franklin from Indiana: Who would you consider the five best sci-fi writers in the history of the genre?
Greg Bear: Much too much of a tough question. There are easily 30 or 40 who influenced me, some considered major writers, others less well known. The majors are obvious--but have you ever heard of Richard McKenna? M. K. Joseph? William Hope Hodgson? Some may not have heard of the great British writer Olaf Stapledon...
Matt from New York: Okay, I give up. Greg, I love your short stories, but I cannot find any of your collections.THE VENGING, BEAR'S FANTASIES, EARLY HARVEST, TANGENTS...you're killing me! I can't find any of them :) Any chance of a mainstream publisher doing a collection soon?
Greg Bear: I hope to bring out an omnibus collection soon. The collections are all out of print right now. THE VENGING was a British edition of WIND FROM A BURNING WOMAN (still available in a hardcover edition from Arkham House, by the way), with one additional story, the title story. Seems the British had a thing about the original title...
Scifiguy from somewhere else: What games did you play as a kid? I find that you can learn a lot about a science fiction writer by what he played and what toys or hobbies he liked most as a kid. Thanks!
Greg Bear: As a kid, I built plastic models, read books, collected coins for a while... My major hobbies involve reading and movies and music.
Joseph P. from Florida: Greg, you've done a good dose of limited editions and small-press books. Any plans of doing any kind of limited editions again soon? I'm a collector and just recently have gotten into your stuff.
Greg Bear: FOUNDATION AND CHAOS is coming from Easton Press in a signed edition, but there are no plans for other limited editions at the moment.
Steve Michaels from AOL: Greg, I see that you've edited an anthology of Hard SF stories. Who do you think are some of the genre's hot up-and-comers?
Greg Bear: Everyone listed in NEW LEGENDS! And a number of others besides, of course. Baxter, Egan, Goonan, Griffith, Nagata, Macauley... so many more!
Jasper from Toronto, Canada: Would
you ever take a robot bride? Just joking -- but do you see it happening one day?
Greg Bear: It's certainly going to happen. I believe the artist Kokoschka is credited with inventing the first prosthetute... non-robotic, of course. Isaac's robots are just human enough that it doesn't seem too perverse.
Dean from Montreal, Canada: I was just wondering what your writing routine is like? Do you write for a certain maount of time each day? Seven days a week? Beginning writer here.
Greg Bear: I write during weekdays, sometimes weekends, and try to turn out between four and five pages a day. Regularly!
Theresa X from cyberspace: Would you agree with the statement that science fiction and fantasy writers rely on one another more than authors of other genres?
Greg Bear: We certainly do. And judging from many modern movies, a number of prominent filmmakers rely on us, as well! My credo is, if I borrow an idea, I must return it with interest... and credit the origin!
Tim B. from San Francisco, CA: I'm a huge fan of horror fiction, and I still think BLOOD MUSIC is one of the scariest novels I've ever read. Do you think you could ever see yourslf doing a horror novel that
didn't have SF overtones?
Greg Bear: PSYCHLONE is my ghost story, but it still has some SF overtones. (May have influenced some ideas in GHOSTBUSTERS, a film I enjoyed a lot.) I haven't written much in the horror genre besides this one, but I enjoy ghost and horror stories a great deal.
David from Syosset, NY: What is it about space and other worlds that is so intriguing to science fiction writers? Is it all metaphor for the world we do inhabit?
Greg Bear: Metaphor, certainly, but also real places we're going to visit and be a part of someday, in a big way. We have to prepare. Literature is all well and good, but thinking about real futures is essential.
Darango from Reston, VA: Regarding research... Do you focus your research activities looking for particular topics that support the ideas you are developing in your books, or do the research topics guide your ideas?
Greg Bear: Both!
Mark from NYC: Are there little inside jokes and hidden clues we should look for in these books? Things that all three authors planned to include ahead of time?
Greg Bear: Not too many, mostly those put in by Isaac. You might look up the Committees in the French revolutionary government...
Marcus from 75th Street: How does the science fiction writers' community (and readers, to an extent) feel about cloning? The inevitability of human cloning experiments? Welcomed evolution, or recognized prophecy? Thanks.
Greg Bear: SF has bypassed cloning for some time. Too obvious, too common. As I mentioned above, Gregory Benford is a clone... human cloning is coming, and not necessarily whole-body clones but duplicates for organ transplants, clones for replacing children who have died, a great many humanitarian and useful possibilities!
Patrick from Brooklyn, NY: Who actually decided the path the story line would take? What kind of process is necessary for divying up a story among three writers -- particularly three writers who all have their own distinctive styles and followings.
Greg Bear: We all chose our own periods and our own stories. It just seemed to work out... we're flexible and work well together.
Neil from America Online: I've heard that BLOOD MUSIC actually appeared as a short story before it was a novel. is that true? Just curious, since I love the book so much. Keep up the great work. Loved SLANT and am reading DINOSAUR SUMMER right now.
Greg Bear: BLOOD MUSIC came out first in Analog as a novelette in 1983, and won the Nebula and Hugo awards in 1984. It's currently under option by Warren Zide. Thanks for the compliments!
Nick from New York City: Who do you think are some of the best sci-fi writers of all time? What do you think is the best sci-fi movie of the year?
Greg Bear: I enjoyed CONTACT a great deal. I'm a sucker for female scientists. As a complete change of pace, I thought THE FIFTH ELEMENT was a hoot, but it seemed to miss the critics completely.
Mark from Minnesota: I must confess to not having kept up with science fiction much in recent years. I am well familiar with the name of Greg Bear, but I haven't read any of your novels. Is there one you would suggest I start with?
Greg Bear: Perhaps EON, MOVING MARS, or BLOOD MUSIC.
Anne from Indiana: How important do you consider the Hugo and Nebula awards? You've certainly deserved the awards you've won (I love your books) but I know some authors just hate the whole awards scenario. Just wondering about your thoughts on it.
Greg Bear: Awards are a real crapshoot, involving equal mixes of irritation, anguish, and joy. They are terrible guides if all you read are award winners. Some of my best books were never nominated for awards, and, of course, many of my works that I prize most have won nothing!
Leslie Green from Trenton, NJ: Do you have a personal favorite of the novels that you've written?
Greg Bear: Difficult to say. QUEEN OF ANGELS is my most complex book, with the most pyrotechnics. MOVING MARS was my most complete character study. BLOOD MUSIC is perhaps my most original idea.
Darango from Reston, VA: Is writing a social or solitary experience for you? Does perfectionism help or hinder writing?
Greg Bear: I write alone and seldom collaborate. The social part is when readers and critics tell me how well (or not at all well) I've done. Perfectionism is great up to a point, but too much self-criticism leads to writer's block!
Moderator: Thank you for setting aside some time for us this evening, Mr. Greg Bear! We truly enjoyed having you. Thanks to all who asked such great questions. Mr. Bear, any final remarks before we part company tonight?
Greg Bear: Thanks to all those who showed up! Fine questions! Hope to see you all soon at conventions, signings, etc!