Here are a few highlights from the Del Rey Internet Newsletter:

Elaine Cunningham will be reading from and signing her book STAR WARS: THE NEW JEDI ORDER: DARK JOURNEY at:

2/16/02 at 12 Noon
Barrington Books
Old Country Road,
Barrington Shopping Center
Barrington, RI 02806

2/16/02 at 7:00 PM
Borders Books & Music
190 Hillside Road
Cranston, RI 02920

2/23/02 at 6:00 PM
Borders Books & Music
North Attleboro, MA

DEL REY PUBLICATION DATA

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FEBRUARY 2002:

STAR WARS: THE APPROACHING STORM by Alan Dean Foster (SF)
0-345-44300-4
Hardcover, 352 pp.; cover art by Steven D. Anderson; SS editor

STAR WARS: THE NEW JEDI ORDER: DARK JOURNEY by Elaine Cunningham (SF)
0-345-42869-2
Paperback, 336 pp.; cover art by Steven D. Anderson; SS editor

APRIL 2002:

STAR WARS: ATTACK OF THE CLONES by R.A. Salvatore (SF)
0-345-42881-1
Hardcover; 336 pp.; jacket artwork by Steven D. Anderson; SS editor

THE ART OF STAR WARS: ATTACK OF THE CLONES by Mark Cotta Vaz (SF)
0-345-43125-1
Hardcover; 224 pp.; cover art by Eric Tiemans; SWS editor

STAR WARS: THE NEW JEDI ORDER: REBEL DREAM by Aaron Allston (SF)
0-345-42866-8
Paperback, 320 pp.; cover art by Dave Seeley; SS editor

STAR WARS: THE NEW ESSENTIAL GUIDE by Daniel Wallace (SF)
0-345-44900-2
Paperback, 224 pp.; cover art by Steven D. Anderson; SWS, editor

JUNE 2002:

STAR WARS: THE NEW JEDI ORDER: ENEMY LINES II: REBEL STAND by Aaron Allston (SF)
0-345-42868-4
Paperback, 384 pp.; Cover art by Dave Seeley; SS editor

Here are some highlights from an interview with Alan Dean Foster:

DR: In doing this kind of deep character examination, there must be times when a character almost comes to life and the writer discovers "surprise" information. Did this happen while you were writing THE APPROACHING STORM?

ADF: First of all, in TAS (I can't speak about CLONES...sorry), Anakin is growing troubled, but he's still first and foremost a Jedi padawan. A good guy. His difficult background afflicts him with more than the usual uncertainties, however. The surgeon who lifts himself out of the ghetto never forgets where he comes from. I was intrigued by how often I found myself having Anakin reflect on his origins, and how different they are from those of the usual Jedi padawan.

With the character of the Jedi Luminara Unduli, I was pleased with how she developed as a much more earthy character than the average Jedi, and how I was able to contrast this with the more austere Obi-Wan. Same thing for her padawan, Barriss Offee. The Jedi may be ascetics, but they're still human.

DR: Obi-Wan's story to the Yiwah is an interesting vignette about the interplay of reality and story--how much do you think about this while you're writing?

ADF: It depends on the story. Some of what I write is taken directly from today's headlines while other plots are more imagination-derived. It's always difficult for writers to wholly divorce themselves from their upbringing and from the time and place in which they exist, whether it be Dumas writing about the Musketeers or Tolkien about Middle-earth. I'm no different.

As for Obi-Wan's tale told to the Yiwah, I thought it would be fun to have him invent a story about his own reality, instead of ours.

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