So far....
HAVE ANY OF YOUR BOOKS BEEN MADE INTO MOVIES?
Not yet. I wrote the treatment (story) for STAR TREK-THE MOVIE. The story OUR LADY OF THE MACHINE was featured as the opening episode of the short-lived Sci-Fi Channel series WELCOME TO PARADOX. The following books are currently under option to be developed as possible films.
MONTEZUMA STRIP together with its follow-up THE MOCKING PROGRAM
GREENTHIEVES
THE I INSIDE
JED THE DEAD
WHY HAVEN'T ANY OF YOUR STORIES BEEN MADE INTO MOVIES?
Several reasons. I don't live in Los Angeles. I don't go to the right parties. I say what I think. The average film takes two years and many millions of dollars to make. It's safer to make AMERICAN PIE 8 than try something new. The people who call the shots financially in Hollywood a) don't read books, b) don't understand science-fiction, and c) are afraid of everything-especially that which they do not understand.
IS IT TRUE YOU GHOST-WROTE THE FIRST STAR WARS BOOK?
Yes.
WILL FLINX FINALLY ENCOUNTER AND HAVE TO DEAL WITH "THE GREAT EVIL" THAT IS MENTIONED IN SEVERAL STORIES?
Yes, eventually--but not for a while yet.
CAN I MEET YOU AT AN SF CONVENTION?
Because of my wife's health and my other travels I do very, very few conventions. Maybe one or two a year. If you do see me, say hi. At my first con, in 1968, I spent an hour talking with an older man I didn't recognize. A friend later informed me I had been arguing with John W. Campbell. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
HOW CAN I GET STUFF AUTOGRAPHED?
Send anything you would like to have signed, together with an appropriate SASE, to: Thranx Inc, PO Box 12757, Prescott, AZ 86304. Indicate how you would like the book/story/whatever inscribed. I'm happy to oblige.
HOW CAN I FIND COPIES OF YOUR WORK THAT'S OUT OF PRINT?
Try your local used bookstore. Try Ebay on the web. Use Amazon's used book search. Go to www.abebooks.com.
I have some copies of some of my o.p. works. Feel free to inquire.
HOW CAN I FIND HARDCOVER COPIES OF YOUR WORK?
Again, I have some copies of some titles. A number of books that appeared originally in paperback were done in h.c. by the SF Book Club. Of especial note for collectors are the beautiful h.c.'s of the first six SPELLSINGER books done by Phantasia Press of Michigan, and the good quality h.c.'s of many other books issued by Severn House, a British publisher. These include several of the Flinx books, many of the other COMMONWEALTH novels, and some real rarities like h.c. versions of movie novelizations such as KRULL and ALIENATION. Nice dust jackets, too.
The hardest-to-find of my books was a set of 24 signed and numbered copies of the first edition of INTO THE OUT OF (Warner) that were boxed and bound in quarter cobra skin, with moire endpapers. Good luck locating one. After that, I would say probably the U.S. first h.c. editions of ALIEN and STAR WARS.
WHY DO YOU TRAVEL TO SO MANY OUT-OF-THE-WAY PLACES?
1) Being stuck on one small planet, it's the best I can do.
2) For research.
3) Why doesn't everybody?
WHAT COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES HAVE YOU SPENT SOME TIME IN?
Great Britain, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Russia, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg,
France, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Spain,
Vatican City, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Ukraine, Moldova, Gibralter, Turkey, Northern Cyprus, Greece, Republic of Cyprus, United Arab Emirates, Oman,
Malta, Tunisia,Morocco, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, Gabon, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire,
Burkina Faso, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Angola, India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius, Japan,
China, Taiwan, Phillipines, Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, Papua New Guinea,
New Zealand, Samoa, American Samoa, Tuvalu, Niue, Tonga, French Polynesia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Palau, Guam,
Federated States of Micronesia, Pitcairn Islands, Vanuatu, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Venezuela, Guyana,
Trinidad, Costa Rica, Belize, Panama, Mexico, Bolivia, Canada, Puerto Rico.
So far....
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MOST ISOLATED PLACES YOU HAVE VISITED?
Aua, Wuvulu, the Ninigo and Hermit islands in the Bismark Sea. The islands of the
Halmahera Sea in Indonesia. Mamiraua in Brazil, Kuelap in Peru, Lauca National Park in Chile. Solnhofen
in Germany, Kiruna and Esrange spaceport in Sweden. The lost city of Sagalassos in Turkey.
Kanha National Park in India. Ruaha National Park in Tanzania. Rowley Shoals, Lancepede
islands, and Purnululu in Australia. The tiny countries of Tuvalu and Niue in the South
Pacific. The central Kalihari Desert, the Namib Desert between Swakopmund and Soussusvlei
in Namibia, and the Kunene River on the border between Namibia and Angola.
Oh yes...and Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska.
WHAT IS THE SYMBOL ABOVE THE "FORWARD--MAIN VIEWER" ON THE HOME PAGE?
Years ago, I designed a flag for a united Earth. I wanted something simpler than the U.N. flag, meaningful but easy
to remember. The hourglass shape in brown is 1) A stylized representation of North and South America, 2) A full
hourglass, representing the fullness of time available to humanity, and 3) A stylized infinity symbol. Blue stands
for the oceans, and the green field for the fecundity of life on our planet. As no thranx have objected, I've
adopted it for use as the flag/symbol of the Commonwealth.