Nevermore has been circulated amongst fans since August this year and with the announcement of the new tie-in novel, Bone Key, expected for release in 2008 hitting the fandom, we asked Keith R.A. DeCandido if he’d be willing to answer a few questions; the interview was done via email.
WinchesterBros.com Exclusive – Q&A with Keith R.A. DeCandido, author of Supernatural: Nevermore
By: WinchesterBros.com Staff
Keith R.A. DeCandido has a prolific history when it comes to writing tie-in fiction. His range of work extends from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Command and Conquer, Doctor Who, Farscape, Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda, Magic: The Gathering, Resident Evil, Serenity, Star Trek, StarCraft, World of Warcraft, Xena and Young Hercules. He has recently jumped into the paranormal world of Supernatural, with the release of Nevermore in August this year. With the announcement of the new tie-in novel, Bone Key (expected for release in 2008) hitting the fandom, we asked him if he’d be willing to answer a few questions; the interview was done via email.
We want to thank you for agreeing to do this Q&A with us. We truly appreciate it.
You’re welcome!
First things first, the news of Bone Key has just reached the fandom! Congratulations! Before we go into the rest of the questions, can you tell us a little about it?
Not yet, as the final plot isn’t approved. I can say that it will take place during the third season and that the title gives a hint as to the location.
Q: You have been writing a great amount of tie-ins for different TV shows. How did you get started?
I started out writing short stories for Marvel Comics anthologies. I was also working as an editor in the field, and I was buying a short story from Andy Lane, who was putting together a Doctor Who anthology, so I got the chance to pitch to him. And then I did a Spider-Man novel, and things just snowballed from there….
Q: In a Q&A session with Supernatural.tv you mentioned passionate fandoms and their reaction to tie-in fiction. Does the fact that tie-in books already have a fan base, as opposed to original novels, for example, change the writing process or the way in which you approach writing?
Not really, no. I mean, I expect people who follow the show to be the ones who pick up the books, so it behooves me to get it right, but that’s true regardless of the passion the hardcore fans have….
Q: What made you decide to write about the supernatural element on which you based Nevermore?
I love writing about my home town of New York City. I decided to set the tale in NYC, specifically the Bronx (where I was born and raised and educated and still live), and since Edgar Allan Poe lived in the Bronx (and his wife died there), it seemed a good fit. Since I had a novel-length story to tell, I figured why not have two cases (the city’s big enough to accommodate two weird things happening at once, at the very least), and so I drew on my experiences as a musician.
Q: Who had the final word on Nevermore?
Warner Brothers. I only deal with my editor, and he gets to deal with Daddy Warnerbucks. I have no idea who does the approvals over there.
Q: Did you receive feedback from the cast and crew?
Nope. Although when I met Ben Edlund at Comic-Con in San Diego (he was at the Tick booth autographing), he thought the basic idea of the novel was cool.
Q: You recently posted an LJ entry titled “it’s a good thing I’m not vindictive” which alludes to the fandom’s response to Nevermore. Has the reaction been that strong?
Oh, it was specifically to a complaint made by some fans when I had Dean picking a lock in Nevermore. Several people excoriated me for that, because Sam’s the one who picks the locks. Leaving aside the fact that I can’t imagine Dean not knowing how to pick a lock (what, while Sam was at Stanford Dean was just stymied by locked doors?), in “The Magnificent Seven,” Dean knelt down and picked a lock while Sam was standing right there.
That was what prompted the LJ post in question.
Q: You and Jeff Mariotte [Author of Supernatural: Witch’s Canyon, the second in the series of the tie-in books – WB] have worked together in the past. Did you give each other any input while working on the Supernatural tie-in books?
Not as such, except we worked together so that Witch’s Canyon would follow on directly from Nevermore, which was the genesis of that final scene with McBain where she tells the boys about this thing in Arizona.
Q: Did you get a chance to read the other tie-in publications such as The Supernatural Book of Monsters, Spirits, Demons, and Ghouls; The Official Companion: Season 1 and/or the Origins series prequel comics? ? If so, what did you think?
I didn’t, because they were all being created at the same time. The exception is the comic book, which I saw the first two issues of.
Q: Out of all the shows you have written tie-in books for, which did you find the most intriguing?
Oh God. I don’t know if I could narrow it down. I guess if we’re going to use “intriguing,” I’m going to go with Farscape.
Q: Do you have any current or future projects?
Tons. I’ve got four novels coming out in 2008. Bone Key is one of them, as well as Star Trek: Klingon Empire: A Burning House, CSI: NY: Four Walls, and a short novel in the trade paperback Star Trek: Myriad Universes: Echoes And Refractions. I’ve also got an eBook coming out in the spring (Star Trek: The Next Generation: Slings And Arrows Book 6: Enterprises Of Great Pitch And Moment, the concluding part of a 20th anniversary TNG miniseries), I’ve edited a Doctor Who: Short Trips anthology called The Quality Of Leadership that’ll be out next spring, and I’m working on some comic books that I can’t talk about in detail yet, but which will be very very cool.
Again, thank you for agreeing to do this Q&A with us.
You’re welcome!
DeCandido.net – Keith R.A. DeCandido’s official web site
KRAD’s Inaccurate Guide to Life – Keith R.A. DeCandido’s LiveJournal
EXCLUSIVE: WinchesterBros.com.
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