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Q: The Isle of Madness is mentioned in the coffee table book. Do you have any plans on incorporating it into one of the next books?
A: Read And Find Out! There are some things I might do that might take place there, but those things could also just as well be done in other places.
Q: Has there been any serious discussion about making a WoT movie?
A: Yes. Not a movie as such, but a miniseries. NBC has purchased an option to do a miniseries of "The Eye of the World." Most options are not exercised, however. If you want NBC to make the miniseries, write to them and say "make the miniseries of 'The Eye of the World.' "
Q: Did you have the entire storyline, bar a few details, before you even started writing Book One?
A: Yes. There were a good many details I didn't have, but the story line, the major events; those were all in my head. I could have written the last scene of the last book more than 15 years ago. And what happens in that scene would not be any different from what I intend to happen now.
Q: Was the name of Far Madding a literary allusion to An Elegy in a Country Churchyard?
A: No. That straight-out answer shocked you, didn't it?
Q: Has this saga taken on a life of its own over the years?
A: I am not sure what you mean. If you are talking about the claim by some writers that characters take on a life of their own and begin writing the story then, No. I created the story. I created these characters, and I am an Old Testament God with my fist in the middle of their lives. The characters do what I want. The story goes where I want.
Q: Does the healing of the taint reverse its previous effects? Or does the victim have to live with whatever he's gotten to that point and be grateful it won't get worse?
A: The second.
Q: Do you think literary critics take you seriously as a good writer despite your writing of fantasy?
A: Some do, and some don't. That's the way it always works. But I would like to add there is a lot of fantasy out there that does not call it fantasy. The magic realists are fantasists. A.S Byatt is a fantasist. A good many mainstream literary writers are fantasists. So maybe the critics won't put things down, just because they are fantasy, quite as readily as they once did.
Q: Why do stories of the titanic battles between good and evil seem to attract such a large and loyal audience?
A: Because most people believe in good and evil, in right and wrong. And I think most people would like to believe that they would stand on the side of good -- of right -- however they happen to define those things.
Q: What are the most crazy reactions you have received from your fans?
A: I suppose it's the people who believe that I am telling them the absolute truth: that there is a thing called channeling, and that I can teach them how to do it. I'm not a guru. I'm not a sage. I'm not a teacher. I am just a storyteller.
Q: Where do you come up with the original spelling of the names of the characters?
A: Some of them come out of myths and legends. And others come because the sound is somewhat familiar, or because I like the sound of the name.
Q: Is it true that many of your chracters are based on Norse mythos?
A: Not many. Some. And no character is purely based on one myth or one legend.
Q: What do you want readers to see in your books?
A: A good story.
Q: Is stones based on GO, the Asian game of skill? It is more complex than chess so it is appropriate if so. And what stones are used (type of stone)?
A: Stones is based on Go, and the actual stones used can vary.
Q: Are you still planning only 7 books in the series, and will the next book be released on the tradtitional date of mid-October?
A: It's been a long time since I was planning only seven books in the series. There will be several more books, and the next one will be published when I can finish it.
Q: Is there any specific reason why there isn't a name given to the continent in which Rand and company inhabit?
A: Simply because people don't generally give names to their homes that way -- it's other places they give names to.
Q: Thanks for many hours of enjoyment. there were so many new stories/threads in LOC did you always intend to go in these directions or did it take on a life of it's own?
A: For the major threads, I'm going exactly where I intended to go -- and for most of the minor threads, I'm going fairly much where I intended to go. With some minor threads, it seemed, as I went along, that there was a better way than I had first thought.
Q: Much of your work reminds me of J.R.R. Tolkien and David Eddings in scope and character development. My question is, who are YOUR favorite authors and why?
A: Mark Twain, followed by Charles Dickens and Jane Austin, because they're good.
Q: Are any of your characters based on anyone you know?
A: All of the women are based on my wife.
Q: How did the ajahs originate?
A: Simply because I needed an organization for the power structure, and it seemed to me that a collective organization was something women were more likely to come up with, rather than something strictly hierarchal.
Q: Are your books based on any biblical themes/characters?
A: Not directly. Influenced by. And not wholly -- there are other influences as well.