# Interveiws with Dan Abnett and Graham McNeil, ask your questions



## macewind (Feb 8, 2009)

Ill soon be interveiwing both these great authors and posting the transcripts online. But rather than me just ask a bunch of generic questions I thought id ask you guys what you wanted to know.
Please post any questions you'd like answering below and say who they are for. Im limited to the number of questions I get to ask so ill be cherry picking the best ones im afraid, so make them count!


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## Lord of the Night (Nov 18, 2009)

Hmm, well I suppose i'd ask the following.

Abnett:

1. When do you plan to start writing the _Bequin_ trilogy?

2. Will Cherubael return in _The Keeler Effect_ or the _Bequin_ trilogy?

3. Will the fates of Providence and Prudence ever be revealed?


McNeill:

1. Now that _Sons of Ellyrion_ is finished, what are you currently writing?

2. Will you be writing anything more of the Thousand Sons in the future?

3. Is your next Horus Heresy novel _The Outcast Dead_?, or is it still to be revealed?


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## Baron Spikey (Mar 26, 2008)

Lord of the Night said:


> Hmm, well I suppose i'd ask the following.
> 
> Abnett:
> 
> 1. When do you plan to start writing the _Bequin_ trilogy?


I can answer this one! He's going to start writing it this year with the first book out some time in 2012.

http://www.youtube.com/user/adeliehigh
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Abnett

-Dan, you've stated your wish to do a White Scars book for the Horus Heresy series, will you be including the confusion that the Khan is suggested to experience in the current fluff when he returns from campaigning to find the Imperium several years into a brutal civil war? 

-Can we expect a Space Marine Battles book from you in the future, or is that not a series that would hold a great deal of interest to you?

-When you eventually snap and demand to be allowed to do a Warhammer novel is there any particular faction (playable or otherwise) you're keen on weaving a tale about?

McNeill

-Will you be writing the Battle of Calth book, or part of a duology about that event? If so, is there a time frame when we might see such a book(s)?

-Will we see Honsou again?

-Any more Warhammer books in works or pitches to the Lord of BL Towers at least?


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## Jezlad (Oct 14, 2006)

I trust you'll be ammending your first post with the full interview once you've* used* the heresy online forum for your own forums benefit?

Here's a few questions... 

Who would win in a fight out of a squirrel and a meerkat?
Will you be writing Jezlad into your next movie script?


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## bitsandkits (Mar 18, 2008)

i would ask both " can one of you chaps send me a message when you get around to progressing the horus heresy as its become a bit stale as i thought you would have had it cranked out in 10 books"


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## TheKingElessar (Mar 31, 2009)

I would like to know if there will be any expansion upon the Iron Hands and Raven Guard - as good as their parts have been so far, I feel each Legion deserves AT LEAST a novel of its own.


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## Stephen_Newman (Jul 14, 2009)

I would like to ask both writers which faction or army they liked writing for best as well as which army would they liike to write one day?


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## Akhara'Keth (Nov 20, 2010)

I would like to know if there is a book planed, that shows the Horus Heresy from the sight of the Eldar or another Xenos race


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## imm0rtal reaper (Jul 15, 2008)

Hmm an unlocked thread. What a fuss 

Questions I'd like to ask:

What the next few heresy novels each will be working on are.

What the next ultra novel from mcventris will be.

And if writing the ultramarines script has given Abnett a god complex yet lol.


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## normtheunsavoury (Mar 20, 2008)

bitsandkits said:


> i would ask both " can one of you chaps send me a message when you get around to progressing the horus heresy as its become a bit stale as i thought you would have had it cranked out in 10 books"


:goodpost:
I like the idea of fleshing things out but can we please jolly things up a bit?


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## 5tonsledge (May 31, 2010)

To Mcneil i would love to know if there will be another Iron Warriors book. Im going crazy man i dont want to read about Loyalist scum and ive already read all the chaos books. But Storm of Iron was my shit. And the other one forgot the title. Has ultramarines on the front Is it Dead sky blacksun. Whatever i need more


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## OIIIIIIO (Dec 16, 2009)

I would ask them who would win in a knock down drag out fight between Mike " Da Bita " Tyson and Perez " Lil Bitch " Hilton. My money is on Lil Bitch. Tyson is one crazy fucker though.


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## Azkaellon (Jun 23, 2009)

I would ask Why a purple power sword has not been found amongst the Salamanders.


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## Serpion5 (Mar 19, 2010)

Why isn`t anyone writing from a xeno perspective? We have _one_ decent book so far, in Path of the Warrior. I`m sure a couple of skilled writers like these two would be up to that challenge?

I`d like to know if there are plans for more of the eldar stories beyond the planned trilogy. Also a bit of Tau would be good.


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## TheKingElessar (Mar 31, 2009)

Serpion5 said:


> Why isn`t anyone writing from a xeno perspective? We have _one_ decent book so far, in Path of the Warrior. I`m sure a couple of skilled writers like these two would be up to that challenge?
> 
> I`d like to know if there are plans for more of the eldar stories beyond the planned trilogy. Also a bit of Tau would be good.


Gav Thorpe is writing an Eldar trilogy right now, of which Path of the Warrior is a part.


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## Bindi Baji (Apr 23, 2009)

imm0rtal reaper said:


> What the next ultra novel from mcventris will be.


Graham recently said (I can't remember where he said it unfortunately) that he was taking a break from the ultramarines for a while and he wasn't sure where he would take them next, 
of course were he interviewed in the near future this answer may have changed by then


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## tu_shan82 (Mar 7, 2008)

I've got a couple for Dan.

Q: What made you choose a career in writing?

Q: If you weren't an author, what career would you have chosen instead?


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## Jezlad (Oct 14, 2006)

Here's one for Dan

Did your recent medical scare have any effect on the way you approach your work?


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## Svartmetall (Jun 16, 2008)

Serpion5 said:


> Why isn`t anyone writing from a xeno perspective?



Excerpt from '*Silver Linings - Diary of a Necron Warrior'*, out soon:


Day 1: Nursed implacable hatred of all life.
---
Day 13: Still nursing implacable hatred of all life. 
Day 14: Swept the floor inside the Monolith, then went back to nursing implacable hatred of all life.
Day 15: Nursed implacable hatred of all life.
Day 16: Brief moment of excitement when life-signs were detected on far side of eastern continent; was just polishing up the old gauss flayer when it turned out to be a sensor malfunction. It's hard to put into words just how much I hate all life.
Day 17: Nursed implacable hatred of all life.
Day 18: Inter-Monolith Poker Night! Damn, that Lord's got a good poker face. I thought I had him cold, then he turns out to have a C'Tan Flush. Sigh. I hate him more than life itself. 
Day 19: Back to nursing implacable hatred of all life.
---
Day 2,583: Still nursing implacable hatred of all life.


_____


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## bitsandkits (Mar 18, 2008)

Heres one for Dan "could you take Gav thorpe in a fight?"


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## Khorne's Fist (Jul 18, 2008)

Svartmetall said:


> Excerpt from '*Silver Linings - Diary of a Necron Warrior'*, out soon:
> 
> 
> Day 1: Nursed implacable hatred of all life.
> ...


:goodpost::laugh::laugh: LMFAO.


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## TheKingElessar (Mar 31, 2009)

bitsandkits said:


> Heres one for Dan "could you take Gav thorpe in a fight?"


If Jervis Johnson and Alessio Cavatore were locked in a room with a knife, and only one of them was allowed out, who would it be?

And, would you actually let them out?


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## normtheunsavoury (Mar 20, 2008)

TheKingElessar said:


> If Jervis Johnson and Alessio Cavatore were locked in a room with a knife, and only one of them was allowed out, who would it be?
> 
> And, would you actually let them out?


The Knife?


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## Sethis (Jun 4, 2009)

Yeah. Knives are useful.


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## bobss (May 18, 2008)

For both Graham and Dan: Do both of you have any interest in writing for the Space Marine Battle's series?

And then, for Dan inperticular - will the Malus Darkblade be continued? (I _*refuse*_ to accept Mike Lee wrote _The Daemon's Curse _and _Bloodstorm_) and ''You had an interest in writing a novel based on a Tyranid, planetry invasion - from lowly citizens to Guardsmen and PDF forces; if not Astartes, will this be combined into your Gaunt's Ghost or Inquisitorial series?


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## Duke_Leto (Dec 11, 2010)

For Dan:

1. When will we see Interceptor City?

2. Will there ever be another Titanicus novel?

3. You've written a duology with Graham McNeil - what other BL writer would you most like to try that with?

4. What W40k and HH factions that you have not written about would you like to (ie a book "starring" the Arbites or Navigators or Rogue Traders)?

5. If Codex Pictures are successful and able to make another W40k film and approached you - which faction would you most like to focus on?

6. When will we see the Eisenhorn/Ravenor short story anthology?

7. Are you REALLY expecting the first of the Bequin Trilogy to be publshed in 2012?

For Graham:

1. More HH and W40k please and less WHF - thank you!!!!!

2. You've written a duology with Dan Abnett - what other BL writer would you most like to try that with?

3. What W40k and HH factions that you have not written about would you like to (ie a book "starring" the Arbites or Navigators or Rogue Traders)?


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## macewind (Feb 8, 2009)

Final publication available without signup on the dragons frontend.

Dan Abnett

Mace: Did you find writing the script for Ultramarines more or less challenging than writing a novel?

Dan: It was differently challenging 

The sheer word count workload of a novel is greater, but there are so many things about a screenplay that are specific to a screenplay so it brings demands of it sown. It was different mindset, and it took a lot of careful thought to hit the best balance between what we could manage to put in the movie and what NEEDED to go int he movie.

Mace: If Codex Pictures approached you again - which race would you most like to focus on?

Dan: I’d want to do more Space Marines, with Imperial Guards, maybe? And Tyranids.

Mace: The movie has received mix reveiws, have you had a chance to watch it yet, and if so, what did you think of it?

Dan: Nothing pleases everyone all the time. I think some of the comments have been honest and fair, while others seem to have come from an angry, vocal minority for whom nothing is ever right. I’m delighted with it. It’s fun, it’s got some great action and great moments, and I know how much genuine effort and intent went into it. Space Marines shooting Chaos Marines, on film. What’s not to love?

Onto writing in general.

Mace: Which writers inspired you growing up and which books stick in your mind the most as influential works.

Dan: Ray Bradbury for Dandelion Wine, Alan Garner for Elidor and the Owl Service, Jack Vance for the Demon Prince novels, HP Lovecraft for everything he wrote, John Buchan for Greenmantle, Edgar Rice Burroughs for Pellucidar and Mars, Tolkien, Frank Herbert, Keith Laumer, John Wyndham...

Mace: Are your characters based on real people? And do you ever grow attached to them and miss them when they die? (the characters)

Dan: Some are definitely based on real people...and oh yes, I miss some of them a lot.

Mace: What is your approach to writing - daily word quotas (and if so, what are they), weekly quotas, creating detailed outline that is strictly adhered to, more free-form writing, or any combination of both?

Dan: I write 2-3 thousand words a day, and switch at lunchtime to comic book scripting. I use to be a very loose plotter, but since my Adventure with Epilepsy, I have become much tighter about planning. I’ve also become a real morning person: no more late nights working.

Mace: You've written a duology with Graham McNeil - what other BL writer would you most like to try that with?

Dan: Graham and I get on well, and we’d done it before (kinda) with the first two Horus books. The Horus books are generally very collaborative, but I reckon I could happily play the same kind of character tennis with Jim Swallow or Aaron Dembski-Bowden.

And now your books.

Mace: When you suffered from your recent illness (I hope you are now fully recovered!), did you change your mind or make any changes to prospero burns?

Dan: I am, thank you. No, it just took longer 

Mace: Who is your favourite character from the ones you have created for your novels?

Dan: Maybe Loken or Rawne? John Grammaticus? Harlon Nayl or Kara Swole? Tough question!

Mace: How many Gaunt's Ghosts novels are in the pipeline before the conclusion of the current story arc, and is it the last Ghosts story arc?

Dan: Three more to finish this arc. I’m working on the latest - Salvation’s Reach - right now. It isn’t the last arc.

Mace: Are we going to see more Malus Darkblade books?

Dan: yes 

Mace: Are there any current plans for titles where legions that took smaller parts in the Horus Heresy, such as the Salamanders and Night Lords receive 'top billing'?

Dan: We’ll try and cover everyone one way or another, either in a book of their ‘own’, or as part of a major storyline.

Mace: I would like to know if there is a book planned, that shows the Horus Heresy from the sight of the Eldar or another Xenos race?

Dan: It’s a possibility 

Mace: You expressed an interest in the past for writing a novel based on a Tyranid planetry invasion - from the perspective of lowly citizens to Guardsmen and PDF forces; will this be combined into your Gaunt's Ghost or Inquisitorial series?

Dan: If I get to do it, it will be stand alone. No one will survive.

Mace: Can we expect a Space Marine Battles book from you in the future, or is that not a series that would hold a great deal of interest to you?

Dan: I’d like to do one, actually. It’s just a matter of finding a slot to fit it into.

Mace: And that concludes the interveiw! Thank you again for your time and I wish you every success with your future work.

Dan: Thank you! It’s been fun!


Special thank you to the following members for helping think up questions for this interview.
Whitehorn, Midgard, Fingol23, Apologist, MarneusCalgar, Mouthrax, Baron Spikey, Akhara'Keth and Duke_Leto from The Great Crusade, Heresy Online and of course The Painted Dragon.


Graham McNeil

Mace: Which writers inspired you as you grew up, and which books stick in your mind the most as influential works?
GM: I was (and still am) massively influenced by David Gemmell. I love the heroic aspect he brings to his characters, the grit to the fantasy and the sweep of the landscapes they inhabit. Waylander has always been my favourite of his books, though The King Beyond the Gate would give it a run for its money. Clive Barker has been a great influence too, the sheer breadth of his imagination staggers me when I go back to reading his books – especially Imajica and Weaveworld. Beyond that, I’ll admit to not having read a lot of ‘classic’ SF, but have latterly gotten into writers like Gene Wolf, Conan Doyle, Verne and so on. And it would be rude not to mention Dan Abnett, who writes 40k like everyone wants to.
Did you always want to be a writer or was it something you naturally fell into?
GM: Yeah, I think it was something I was always going to do, and just kind of took my time getting there via university and a few other jobs in-between. I don’t think anyone ‘falls’ into writing, I think that its something their born to do, and will go there in the end if they get the chance. If you want to be a writer, you’ll not be happy doing anything else. I certainly never was, and that’s why I think, since an early age, I always knew I’d have to tell stories for a living or else risk being very unhappy in work and life.

Mace: You published about recently travelling to Paris and Lille to do some book signings, does it ever amaze you the sheer amount of popularity your books receive, especially overseas in other countries?
GM: It’s always amazing to imagine your books being read, let alone in another language. Every author hopes his books will get to the widest audience possible, but to cross the language barrier and be read in many, many different languages is just amazing. Every time I go abroad, whether it’s to an English speaking country or not, I’m always blown away by the passion and enthusiasm folk have for my books. It never gets old seeing eager faces who clearly like the books coming up to see me. It never gets any less strange either, ‘You’re queuing to see me??’. It’s the strangest life I’ve ever known…

Mace: How do you plan a book? Do you have the ending already worked out or does the story grow on its own?
GM: A little of both, but mostly the former. My synopsis style is quite verbose, as I like to make sure the editors get how things play out along the way and don’t need to scratch their heads wondering how the characters get from situation A to B. Knowing how it’s ‘likely’ to play out is kind of like having a safety net, but one that’s a bit frayed around the edges. Going into a novel, I like my plots to be robust enough to stand up to scrutiny and offer me a good guide (and that’s all it is really, it’s not Rand McNally or Ordnance Survey) but has enough flex in its bones to adapt to better ideas that often occur along the way. The folks at Black Library like to know what they’re getting before they commission a novel, but they understand that novels are organic things that grow in their own way, and sometimes won’t end up the way you planned. Sometimes the characters demand their own stories, folk you planned to kill off won’t let you, or, now that you’ve got into the nitty gritty of the book, some of the logic doesn’t quite hold up. All those things can help twist the story in ways you didn’t expect, so it’s best if your plan can meet those changes and still work out pretty much the way you wanted. If you read the synopses of most of my novels, you’d not recognise half of them.

Mace: Are your characters based on real people? And do you ever grow attached to them and miss them when they die? (the characters)
GM: The only person I’ve based a character on is myself (though I didn’t realise that until someone pointed it out to me) in the Ambassador. It’s never a good idea to base characters on folk you know, as they can get upset if you do terrible things to them or portray them in unsympathetic ways. Anyway, it’s more fun to invent my own characters!

Mace: What is your favourite book, and character that you’ve written and why?
GM: I get asked that a lot, and it’s always a tough question to answer. The glib answer is ‘the one I’m working on now’, but that’s a little disingenuous. The one I can go back to and actually read, as opposed to dipping into for background research, is The Ambassador Chronicles, as I think it’s a nice, self-contained pair of books that tell their story in an energetically direct way and don’t outstay their welcome. I’m very proud of all my books, and each one has a particular memory attached to it that makes it special: Nightbringer for being my first, A Thousand Sons because I was writing it when my son, Evan, was born. And so on. When it comes to characters, it’s often not the big guns that stay with you as favourites, it’s often the smaller roles. Pasanius and Honsou are immense fun to write, as is Wolfgart from the Sigmar books, but I can’t deny that I love writing the heroic exploits of Uriel Ventris of the Ultramarines and Sigmar of the Unberogen.

Mace: What army is your favourite to write about?
GM: I don’t write about ‘armies’ as such, so I can’t really answer that. Tyranids are fun to write, as they’re so alien and unknowable and scary that they make great antagonists. I’m going to be writing about Necrons soon, and I’m looking forward to the challenge of making them properly scary and serried. It’s the character of the characters that makes them favourites to write about, not what army they come from.

Mace: If you could invent a brand new army to introduce to the 40k world, what/who would it be?
GM: Fishmen of Aquapolis Binary. Or maybe not. I don’t know yet, but when I get going on my new trilogy (starting towards the end of 2011…) I’ll be introducing a lot of new things into the galaxy. The characters are going to be venturing into vast swathes of wilderness space that the Imperium hasn’t even begun to survey yet. So we’ll see what happens there…

Mace: Any current plans for titles where legions that took smaller parts in the Horus Heresy, such as the Salamanders and Night Lords receive 'top billing'?
GM: Not for me, no, but I expect both the Legions you name to have a little firelight shone on them soon. Once I get done with The Outcast Dead, I’ll be hitting one of the biggest Legions…

Mace: I would like to know if there is a book planed, that shows the Horus Heresy from the sight of the Eldar or another Xenos race?
GM: I bet you would. So would I. Since the Heresy engulfs them as well, I’d be surprised if we don’t see something from their perspective, but whether that’s a full novel, I don’t know.

Mace: If Codex Pictures approached you - would you be interested in writing a script and which faction would you most like to focus on?
GM: Of course I would. I’d love to write an Ultramarines movie if there’s to be a sequel. But as Dan did such a fine job on the first one, who knows what will happen. If it wasn’t to be an Ultramarines movie, then I dunno, maybe a Chaos one or an Ork one.

Mace: Will you be writing anything more of the Thousand Sons in the future?
GM: I think there’s certainly scope for another one, but it wouldn’t be for a while. When there’s so many new avenues to explore, it’s often counter-intuitive to go back to folk you’ve dealt with before. The main beats of their story has been told (as it’s known anyway…) and the main biggie of the Rubric doesn’t happen until after the Heresy. I became very attached to the Thousand Sons over the course of the book, so I’d be surprised if I don’t go back to them before it’s all over. I’d love to do a 40k story of Ahriman, where – in his mind – he’s still loyal, and is still fighting to prove that Chaos can be mastered and that the Emperor was wrong to chastise Magnus. Of course, he’s lost sight of the horrors he’s inflicting along the way, but that’s Chaos for you…

Mace: I would love to know if there will be another Iron Warriors book. Do you think the real Fulgrim is still around in the 40k universe, still trapped somewhere inside his painting?
GM: I suspect that Honsou is too bad to stay down for long, but how, where or if he’ll return with an Iron Warriors book is something I’ll need to think about. If there’s a story that he’d be perfect for, then I think he’ll come back. But I won’t bring him back just for the sake of it, only if there’s a good reason for him to be strutting around. As to Fulgrim, his presence in the portrait is something I quite fancy addressing in the Heresy series. Maybe some Emperor’s Children find out about it and, finding the idea repellent, try to do something about it. Not sure, but I think it’s a nice is he/isn’t he dangling hook.

Mace: Will we have more Ventris novels?
GM: You will indeed. The Chapter’s Due was NOT the last book, merely the end of an arc. I have the next three sketched out in my head already, and I can’t wait to get started on them, though it’s likely to be a little while as other projects elbow their way to the front of the schedule queue.

Mace: I’ve read you have Tau and Necron armies. Do you get to play often and do you write personalized background for your armies and units?
GM: I don’t get to play nearly as much as I used to (or would like to), but I still get my weekly fix of gaming in the roleplay group I’m part of. Writing and life and looking after my little boy often get in the way of gaming, but when he’s older, I’m sure we’ll be rolling dice and moving toy soldiers every week… I have self-penned backgrounds for my Tau and Empire armies, though not my Necrons (I like their faceless, unknown quality), and the Ultramarines 4th company army I have has its background in the novels, so that saves a job…

Mace: You've written a duology with Dan Abnett - how did you find that and what other BL writer would you most like to try that with?
GM: Writing with Dan was a great experience, and we’ve collaborated several times on varying projects, each time with great results. I think we’ve both enjoyed the creative buzz you get in throwing ideas back and forth and seeing what comes out of the process. Dan always inspires me, and hopefully he goes away with fresh ideas and perspectives. I suppose we must like it, as we keep doing it! Long may it continue. As to other writers I’d like to collaborate with, well in the Horus Heresy, we all work together on the stories, characters and plots, so I guess I get to work with them when we have our pow-wows at BL towers.


Special thank you to the following members for helping think up questions for this interview.
sivyour, Skartooth, Soot, MarneusCalgar, Midgard, Apologist, Lord of the Night, Akhara'Keth, 5tonsledge, Serpion5 and Duke_Leto from The Great Crusade, Heresy Online and of course The Painted Dragon.


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## Bindi Baji (Apr 23, 2009)

thank you for bringing that over macewind


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## imm0rtal reaper (Jul 15, 2008)

Nice interview. Reading it makes them seem more like gamers instead of just a couple blokes who write books for us :grin:


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## Bindi Baji (Apr 23, 2009)

imm0rtal reaper said:


> Nice interview. Reading it makes them seem more like gamers instead of just a couple blokes who write books for us :grin:


virtually all the BL writers are serious gamers


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## imm0rtal reaper (Jul 15, 2008)

Bindi Baji said:


> virtually all the BL writers are serious gamers


I gathered as much, I mean how could they write with such passion otherwise. It's just nice to have that visual representation


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