Интервю с Ерин Фостър Хартли

RONNIE: “So, my first question is what would you share with your readers? Could you tell us about your background, what is your vocation, hobbies, etc.”
ERIN: “I teach film studies at a community college in Iowa City, where I live with my husband and two dogs. I watch a ton of movies, of course (I just finished Chan-wook Park's Stoker, which I'm still trying to process) and I enjoy gardening and reading. I'm about halfway through Justin Cronin's The Twelve, which is amazing. I'm also writing a more traditional novel--a historical fiction story set in 1920s Hollywood. I'm nearly done with a first draft of that.”
RONNIE: “What is your favourite gamebook(s) that affected you as a gamebook author? Do you like dice usage?”
ERIN:”I grew up reading the old school Choose Your Own Adventure books. Wizard's Choice has also been a huge influence on me, and Sam Landstrom has been a great person to sort of show me the ropes of how it's done. I personally don't care for dice usage, just because I like dealing with skill and logic over chance.”
RONNIE: “Sam really did a great job with Wizard's Choice. I really enjoyed the series and my feeling is that Zombie High has been living up to the high standard set by him. I've found some CYOA gamebooks on Kindle about zombie apocalypses. Do you think that it was easy for you to appeal to an already established group of zombie-loving gamebook readers, or was it a challenge to really stand out. (By the way, Night of the Necromancer is a great gamebook, I really recommend it, if you want me, I can give you a link to it). My next question would be how many words and sections are the two volumes of Zombie High.”
ERIN: “There's so many variations of zombie stories out there now, so I just tried to write something I knew I'd never read or seen before and hoped people would like it. Also, writing it from the perspective of a 13-year old girl gave me a lot of fresh ground to cover. I've gotten some really kind feedback so far, so I couldn't ask for anything more than that. One review said ZHv1 was better than The Walking Dead, and though I don't really agree, I am extremely flattered by the comparison.The word count for volume 1 is around 50,000 words, and volume 2 is closer to 45,000. I'm not sure about sections…”

RONNIE:”Is writing a gamebook more difficult for you than writing a linear novel?”


ERIN:”That's a good question. I think they both have their unique challenges, but writing a gamebook has definitely made me a better linear novel writer. Gamebook writing forces you to focus 100% on developing action that will move the story forward, and you always want to keep the reader engaged and guessing about what will happen next no matter what you're writing.
“The process of gamebook writing is also a lot faster paced, since I'm on a strict deadline and there's constant pressure from fans to push out the next volume. But I think that's a good thing, because it trained me to maintain a regular writing schedule and it showed me I could write under pressure. It also doesn't give you much time to second guess every little detail, which is easy to do when you're writing a novel. You just have to go with your gut.”

RONNIE: “Did you receive any negative feedback and if so, what was it about?”
ERIN: “The negative feedback is mostly "reading isn't a game," or something to that extent, which obviously misses the whole point of gamebooks. One review called the first volume "gender biased," which I thought was really funny. Us girls have been playing male focused games forever and dealing with it just fine, so I think it's nice to turn the tables and let the guys see what it's like. But I also see a lot of "I'm a guy, and even I liked it," which I think is great. My goal was to write something that would appeal to the YA female reader, but the bigger my audience, the better.”
RONNIE: “As a male reader, it was important for me to differentiate between me and the protagonist (to get away from the slogan 'an adventure in which YOU are the hero). It wasn't hard as you provided a well described heroine. I felt, however, that using 3rd person instead of 2nd could help as well.
“As far as I know, very few of the gamebook readers are actually females but there are guys who like playing with heroines, so that shouldn't be a big deal, as revolutionary as it may seem.
“Now, about the software provided by Sam, did you find it ok to deal with? Was there some mechanic you wanted to use but the platform didn't support? I find it a bit strange that instead of 'coolness' and 'popularity' there were 'cool' and 'popular'. Was it necessary so that all 4 stats could appear on a single line?”

ERIN: “Perhaps there are fewer female fans of the genre, but based on the readers who have contacted me, I'd say it's split pretty evenly on gender.
“Re: the software: I wrote the stories and Sam took care of everything on the programming end after that, so I had no direct contact with his software. As far as the stats you mentioned, I envisioned them as "popularity" and "charisma" as I was writing, but it was Sam's decision to change them for the final product. I agree that they're a little awkward.
RONNIE: “Did you work with an editor?”
ERIN: Sam took care of it as well.
RONNIE: “I think my final question would be about your plans regarding the series. How long do you expect it to be? Is it going to be 6 volumes like Wizard's Choice? Have you thought of your next gamebook (after Zombie High)?”
ERIN: “Sadly, I won't be writing the third volume of Zombie High. I'm dedicating myself full-time to finishing my novel. Someone else will be taking over the ZH series for the time being, though, so it will continue. After my novel is finished, I may return to gamebooks.”
RONNIE: “I'm sure whoever that is, he'll have to live up to the high standard set by you. I wish you success with your novel. Thanks for the interview. I'll shortly publish it in our forum (I think it might be interesting for your fans if you publish it on your facebook page, but it's up to you). When I'm ready with the translation, both the English and Bulgarian versions will be published on our internet site... but it may be awhile since I'm spending most of my spare time working on my gamebook. It was a real pleasure to be able to chat with you .”
ERIN: “Thanks Ivailo. It was a pleasure. Send me a link when it's up, and I'll definitely post it on my Facebook page. Good luck with your book, as well!”

Между другото, "Нощта на Некромансъра" е страхотна книга-игра, препоръчвам я, ако ме желаеш, мога да ти дам линк към нея.