Enter The Realm
of
Sharon Green

Please come in and take seat on the sofa next to Internationally bestselling writer Sharon Green. Now don't get nervous, take a deep breath and ask her anything you want. Still to nervous? Can think of a thing, huh? Well, we have made it easy for you as The Integrity Tech Times interviews Sharon Green. As you follow along, we hope you will say, "Wow, I always wanted to know that too!" Enjoy!


ITT: At what point in your life did you decide that you wanted to be a writer?

SG:I've been writing pretty much since grade school, but when I reached High School I became determined to get into the creative writing class. You needed a 90 or better in your ordinary English class to qualify for the honors Creative Writing class, so I made sure I'd get in by earning a 95. Had to read 20 plays and 8 novels to do it (boy, having to read.... talk about rough!) and then write short papers about them (two pages max, that was even harder) but I somehow managed. I guess that means I've wanted to write most of my life.

ITT: Do you feel that your style of writing is like any other writer's?

SG:When I first began to write, I tried to copy the style of my favorite author, Robert A. Heinlein. If you've ever stopped to notice, Heinlein is fairly lean on descriptions. You tend to picture the scenes and his characters - especially the characters - from ancillary material you pick up as you read. When I tried it it came out looking like a play for statues: all dialogue and no motion. I had to give up on the idea of doing it Heinlein's way and try my own, which is almost what you now see in print. That "almost" means there was one other writer who influenced my current style: John Norman. I read one of his Gor books, never having read or heard of them before, got a few pages into it, then exploded and hit the ceiling. When I sat down to counter him, I also tried to lampoon his style of overstating every description. I didn't quite get that far, but I got far enough to add to my own writing what it was lacking: a decent amount of description.

ITT:What inspired the idea for the Terrilian books? The Amazon books?

SG:The answer to both of these questions is the same: That aforementioned Gor book. I didn't just hit the ceiling and explode when I read one, I immediately began to write once I came down. The Terry-Warrior books were my attempt to show a three-dimensional helpless female character, not the two-dimensional ones you see in the Gor books. Then, of course, I turned to the other side of the coin, a nonhelpless female character. That became Jalav, in all her glory and weaponry. So I can't really complain about that Gor book. I read one of his, and got 10 of my own from it.

ITT:In your books, you have a flair for writing about the strong and courageous side of women. Did you have a model for this? Are your heroine characters more like you, or are they more like you wish you were?

SG: I write mostly about strong women because writing the Terrilian books showed me how hard doing the helpless sort is. By the time I reached sixth grade in public school (in Brooklyn), there wasn't a bully in the entire district who would come within a mile of me. There's also the fact that I had my first street fight at the age of four against a slightly older boy - and won! - and you have my delicate and sweet personality. I just am not the doormat type, and I've walked through New York City at night and alone and haven't been bothered. Writing the Terrilian books made me realize (intellectually, not personally) that some women find it hard to stand up for themselves. I've never been able to really understand that, but trying to bridge the gap is something I decided a writer should attempt. Terry is a doormat throughout most of the books, even with her special abilities. I tried to show that special abilities don't do a thing for you if you don't have the right attitude , and that that's the key to work for: the right attitude. It's hard to gain, but it can be done.

ITT: Is there a message that you're sending out to women with these 'never back down' heroines?

SG: (SEE ABOVE)(ALSO...)In Silver Princess, Golden Knight, you have a strong, secure, all-around heroine, Alex. In The Hidden Realms, you have a much less secure heroine - Chalaine - despite the fact that she's a strong sorceress. In Dark Mirror, Dark Dreams, you have both of these women together, and when they change places they each have trouble actually *being* the other one. Why the trouble? Attitude.

ITT: In your realm fantasy books, you go from realm to realm on quests. What inspired this?

SG: If you deal with an endless number of parallel or alternate worlds, you have to know that the variety is also endless. Not many people have gone into showing those worlds, so I decided to take a stab at it.

ITT: The magic you use in these books is very unique. Did you use some reference for this?

SG: When I first read Roger Zelazny's Amber series, the concept blew me away. Then I read his books about magic, and the way his characters handled it. It was nothing like what anyone else had done, and that set me to thinking. There *had* to be other ways of looking at magic than the one that everyone else used, and that decision brought about my own way in The Far Side of Forever .

ITT:What inspired the setting for the Blending?

SG: The whole setting came from the question of: what would a world filled with magic users be like? I considered using my concept of magic, but that's another set of books. What I settled on, to begin with, is a more limited version that's easier to start with. There are major differences in the Blending world, such as the fact that almost no one uses a weapon of any sort. Only those whose ability is all but missing would even consider using something other than their aspect, and even if they did they would still have to contend with the ability of the person they're attacking. That's why there's such shock and horror when a murder is committed with a knife.

ITT: Do you see any specific direction that your writing has taken in the last few years?

SG: The slave-driver inside me seems to like the idea of using multiple character points-of-view - even though I find it harder than what I used to write. That probably means I won't be allowed to give it up, even though I almost wish I could. And my imagination seems to be branching out into other fields as well. For instance, I have a great idea for a serial murderer novel, and just have to get it right before I submit it somewhere.

ITT: Do you foresee any major projects coming up for you in the near future?

SG: What I consider a major project is the reprinting of my backlist. We're starting with Lady Blade, Lord Fighter , properly called Book One, The Silver Bracers , and it will be out in February. The second book, The Argent Swords , which hasn't yet been printed anywhere , is already written and on disk and is all ready to go. Hopefully we'll be able to get to that one three or four months later, and then we'll go on from there.

ITT:We've heard whispers about the possibility of a film. Is this true, and for what book or books?

SG:I've had an inquiry from a longtime fan about the Jalav books, and he says he's almost ready to get his production company started on the project. I certainly wish him good luck doing it, and will let everyone know the minute he begins. For my own part, I'm trying to interest someone in The Far Side of Forever , since this is the day and age of special effects. The book would be spectacular on film, and the effects should be relatively easy and cheap to produce. Ain't computers grand?

ITT: Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

SG: Simply put, don't give up the dream. If you just have to write it, you're already a step ahead of the pack. Listen to the book, don't try to fight it, and you should end up with a product worth reading.

ITT: You write in four different categories; what's the difference between writing fantasy, science fiction, mystery and romance?

SG: The main difference is, most simply, the requirements of each genre. In the Harlequin Intrigues I've done, there's a set formula a writer has to stick to. This happens here, that happens there, the sex doesn't come in before that spot, and so forth. A lot of writers claim they WON'T write formula, but don't kid yourself. It takes a lot of self discipline, and some people just don't have that. My own private boast is that if you can't be creative in formula, you can't be creative anywhere else either. And the length restriction is a killer. My usual books run 120,000 to 150,000 words. Intrigues are 75,000 words, 85,000 max. As for the mystery part, you have to play fair with your readers. My all-time favorite mystery writer is John Dickson Carr, the king of locked room mysteries. The man puts all the necessary clues in front of you, but camouflages them so well that you just don't see them. That's the sort of thing I tried to do, and some people seemed to like it. Historical romance is hard because of the research necessary - and the need to keep your eyes open for bloopers. My first Historical was set in England in 1761, and I almost had my heroine ask a servant to bring sandwiches - until I stopped to ask myself what the date of the Earl of Sandwich was. I discovered he didn't come up with his little invention until after the end of the 1700's, so that request was quickly edited out. Fantasy romance can be as long as you like and doesn't have to be researched, but the fantasy part has to be a more simple kind of thing. The average romance reader doesn't have experience with all the ideas constantly thrown around in s.f. and fantasy, so they don't adapt quite as quickly and easily as our crowd. Science fiction and fantasy have one thing in common: they have to adhere to the natural laws of their respective universes. S.F. is easier in that we've all grown up in that universe, and so we only have to come up with scientific inventions to get the effect we're after. Fantasy, on the other hand, is supposed to be in an unfamiliar universe, and you have to make it up as you go along - but be as consistent as you'd be in s.f. It isn't always easy to do.

ITT: From time to time you attend science fiction and fantasy conventions across the country. What's the best thing that ever happened to you at a Con?

SG:I was at Nolacon, (Worldcon in New Orleans,) and had just finished a panel when a very nice woman came up to me. She said she had an odd double occupation: she was a Southern Baptist minister and a rape counsellor, and she wanted to thank me for writing the Terrilian-Warrior series. It turned out that she used the books with the women she counselled, making them read the things as part of their therapy. She was the first person to notice (or at least to say they noticed) that the Terrilian books were a how-to guide for victimized women in developing the proper attitude. I can't imagine any award or prize being better than to be told you're actually helping people who need the help.

ITT: What's the funniest thing?

SG: One of the most amusing incidents happened when I was on a panel where all the writers were supposed to share our favorite fantasies with our audience. As you can imagine, the room was fairly well packed - but no one on the panel seemed to be willing to go first. After we all spent some time looking back and forth at each other and getting blank (cowardly) looks in return, I decided to volunteer to be first. As soon as I announced my decision, a complete hush fell over the entire room. After all, considering what I write, no one wanted to miss even a single word of what I said. So I smiled and told them, "My favorite fantasy is to be 25 pounds underweight, and have to eat my way back up." The applause was deafening.

ITT: After you complete the Blending series, what other projects do you have in mind?

SG: Actually, that's a stranger question than you know. All five of The Blending books are completed and turned in, but it came to me recently that the story isn't really finished. There are at least another three books to go, maybe even five. I'd like to start the new trilogy I've come up with, Spirit Master, and I'm waiting (and hoping) that someone will make a decent offer. I'd also like to get my serial-murderer idea, Siren Voices, to work to my satisfaction, so that that can be offered. I also want to finish the unfinished trilogies I started for DAW so many years ago.

ITT: What is the best piece of advice anyone ever gave you?

SG: When I was very young, an older cousin of mine gave me a card that said, "If you're so smart, why ain't you rich?" The point was an excellent one, and I like to think that the advice has kept me from being lynched due to an excess of ego.

ITT: What is the one piece of advice you think everyone should know?

SG: Sometimes stubbornness can get you farther than a whole lot of ability. If you really dream about something, make up your mind to go after it and don't let anyone tell you that you're wasting your time. Just don't throw everything else away until you get it. It could be a long while in coming and you want to survive until it does, but things that take a long while in coming along usually prove to be very, very sweet when they finally do show up.

The Integrity Tech Times wishes to thank Sharon Green and you for participating in this interview. If you wish to know more about Sharon Green and up-to-the-minute information on her you can join THE SHARON GREEN FAN CLUB . If you are already a big fan and would like to order her never before published ONLINE BOOKS just click on the link.


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