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Things you'd like to ask Tad Williams


ylvs

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Westerosi,

friends and humble self will do an interview with Tad for youtube in two weeks time.

If you have a question you'd like to ask him about Osten Ard or life, the universe and everything, this is your chance to have it conveyed to him.

Ask away ...

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First question right into the heart. Not sure we'll get an answer but more than worth trying. Thank you Ser Scott. 

*bows*

@peterbound because people are stupid? Just a thought. ;-

kuenjato, thankyou for the perfectly phrased witty question. Will rely it thus.

I can  say a bit about something close to the last part of your question. It is known that GRRM holds MST in high esteem calling it one of his inspirations of ASOIAF. The many things that appear in both stories are proof of that.

So I talked with him about all this before he started writing the new books but after having decided to do so. He said that he would "like to keep the conversation going".

Fast forward two years. Having read the manuscript of The Witchwood Crown I can confirm that he kept his word.

 

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I think the success of the Bobby Dollar books varies a lot depending on the market.

All three were mainstream bestsellers in Germany which is one of Tad´s biggest markets. They also did well in Poland and Russia (again, two markets Tad´s books have always done well in). Translations into French, Dutch and Spanish, however, were discontinued after one or two volumes, so sales were obviously not satisfactory. As to why, I would guess that people like big, epic fantasy from Tad and not much else it seems. Whenever he writes something that is NOT big, epic fantasy, sales are down. The War of the Flowers, his other urban fantasy, also suffered from disappointing sales in the English-language market.

The Bobby Dollar books had some of the best reviews of Tad´s entire career, but that did not make much of a difference.

 

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3 hours ago, ylvs said:

First question right into the heart. Not sure we'll get an answer but more than worth trying. Thank you Ser Scott. 

*bows*

@peterbound because people are stupid? Just a thought. ;-

kuenjato, thankyou for the perfectly phrased witty question. Will rely it thus.

I can  say a bit about something close to the last part of your question. It is known that GRRM holds MST in high esteem calling it one of his inspirations of ASOIAF. The many things that appear in both stories are proof of that.

So I talked with him about all this before he started writing the new books but after having decided to do so. He said that he would "like to keep the conversation going".

Fast forward two years. Having read the manuscript of The Witchwood Crown I can confirm that he kept his word.

 

The GRRM one is well known, particularly with the homage that is in (I think) ACoK.

I was curious if he's aware/has read Bakker, Erikson, Lynch, Rothfuss, etc.... the usual suspects on the westeros lit page.

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What does he think of the digital market explosion?   How does the electronic book medium affect him as a writer (creatively) and as an author (professionally)?  Particularly after his attempt to do an online serial before it became a printed series.

Are there any sub-genres of fantasy/speculative fiction he admires and thinks about maybe taking a stab at?  Are there any that he admires but thinks he could never carry off? 

What is the one living author of fiction (any genre) he likes but thinks he is one of the only to know about?

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10 hours ago, OlafK said:

I think the success of the Bobby Dollar books varies a lot depending on the market.

All three were mainstream bestsellers in Germany which is one of Tad´s biggest markets. They also did well in Poland and Russia (again, two markets Tad´s books have always done well in). Translations into French, Dutch and Spanish, however, were discontinued after one or two volumes, so sales were obviously not satisfactory. As to why, I would guess that people like big, epic fantasy from Tad and not much else it seems. Whenever he writes something that is NOT big, epic fantasy, sales are down. The War of the Flowers, his other urban fantasy, also suffered from disappointing sales in the English-language market.

The Bobby Dollar books had some of the best reviews of Tad´s entire career, but that did not make much of a difference.

 

I dug them. 

 

I do struggle to understand why they did so poorly.  Bad marketing?  Those god awful covers?  The cross genre stuff?  

 

I guess it's not the type of question he's looking for.  I can't seem to come up with something more like a softball.  

 

What does Tad think of the very obvious influence his MST books had on aSoIaF?  And do you think it should be more exploited in his future books for sales?

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