Q. Okay, seriously, are you EVER going
to actually publish this thing? You finished the first draft in 1996 and this
webpage has been up since 2002.
A. I would like nothing better than to see my novel published.
However, I don't want to send it out into the world until I'm satisfied that it's
the absolute best writing I can do. And the older I get, the more life experience I
accumulate, the more great fictional worlds I'm exposed to, the more I realize that HitS
needs work. I still tinker with it from time to time but then reality interferes and
it goes on the back burner again. Muses are fickle things. To more directly
answer the question, yes, I fully intend to seek publication for my novel someday.
Whether it's this year, next year, or beyond, I cannot even begin to estimate.
Until then I appreciate any interest in this odd, epic universe I've imagined!
Q. Can I draw these characters?
A. Absolutely! I'd be glad to add them to the Guest Gallery. I do
ask that if you post pictures of my characters on other website you include a disclaimer
that they are © Katie Sullivan and link back to this
site.
Q. Couldn't you come up with better
alien names than "Xorax" and "Zenni," etc?
A. When I first started working in this universe I intended for it to have a more
satirical slant, poking fun at sci-fi clichés and such. By the time I realized I
wanted it to be more serious than that, some of the names were so engrained in my mind
that I couldn't possibly change them. I also had some initial inspiration from the
alien names in J. M. Dillard's novelization of the War of the Worlds television
premiere ("Xana" and "Xashron," especially.)
Q. Why did you make your aliens so
cliché in appearance? Green skin and antennae? Come on!
A. See the previous question. I intended them to be satirical and they took
a more serious turn on their own. Now I cant imagine them any other way! For
the full scoop on how they came to look the way they do, see this page.
Q. Is Xorax related to/named after
Zorak on Space Ghost?
A. NO!!! I've never even watched that show for more than five
minutes. And don't let Xorax hear you comparing him to that weird bug guy!
He'd do grievous bodily harm to you!
Q. How do you come up with names for
all these aliens?
A. Mostly I just play around with sounds and syllables until something
strikes my fancy, and my idea of the character.
Q. How long did it take you to write Heritage
in the Stars?
A. I wrote the first draft between the fall of '95 and late summer '96.
I've been working on it off and on ever since, basically.
Q. Where did you get the idea for the
book?
A. I was sort of zoning while taking a shower, and all of a sudden I got
this mental picture of a parade with an alien Empress waving to a crowd, her guard with
sunglasses watching over her, and a homeless girl being chased through the crowd by a dark
stranger. As soon as I got out of the shower I started scribbling down notes and
doodles, and before long I had enough plot to start writing!
Q. Are you going to write a sequel?
A. I already have, more or less. I have two sequels lined up,
although I'm playing with the idea of combining the two. Both of them still need a
lot of work. No hints about the plot, though!
Q. Who's your favorite character?
A. Ooh, don't make me choose! They're like my children! I'm
awfully fond of Vazali and Delzeena, since they're my main characters. I love
Bronzar, though. And I have fun making Xeebec as detestable as possible...
Zadie and Abarok are a blast to write, too.
Q. Has this book had any other titles?
A. For a very long time it was just "Heritage," and I
still tend to refer to it that way. I just felt it needed something a bit more
distinctive so I added to it.
Q. Have these characters ever looked
differently?
A. Check out this page for a full explanation
of how the inhabitants of Kavrillia came to look the way they do.
Q. What voices do you imagine for these
characters?
A. I have a few ideas...
Q. Do you like to eat cheez doodles?
A. Yes. Thanks for asking. :-)
Q. What kinds of things inspired Heritage?
A. The inspiration for Heritage has come from places too numerous
to mention, but I'll rattle off a few. Some of these are pretty obscure, and some
would be hard to identify as having anything remotely to do with Heritage, but
trust me, they're all there in some way, shape or form...
Watership Down by Richard Adams, John Christopher's Tripods trilogy, the
War of the Worlds book, movie and short-lived TV series, Les Miserables,
odds and ends of Shakespeare, The Bodyguard, Disney's TaleSpin, Evita,
songs like "Everything I Do" by Bryan Adams, "Wind Beneath my Wings"
by Bette Midler, "Run to You" by Whitney Houston, "I Love You,
Goodbye" by Celine Dion, and others I've lost track of through the years!
In other words, Heritage is a great big mix of many things from my life, plus a
lot of stuff that my imagination just whipped up for no discernable reason! ;)
