Because of these several impediments, as well as other technical difficulties, you will find typos and occasional replication of text. In our humble opinion, typos show that the logs are of *live* chats, not canned interviews, and minimal editing of these logs has taken place.

Mark Shepherd's Home Page

[Cybling] folks...we have Mark Shepherd with us now...please join me in welcoming him to chat!
[Cybling] Welcome Mark
[MarkShepherd] Hi everyone
[Ryan] Hello Mark.
[Cybling] If you have questions for our guest, please just ask. But please, let the guest answer one question before you ask another.
[Cybling] Mark...your a fantasy author with your first novel published...
[Cybling] congratulations first off.
[MarkShepherd] I started out collaborating with Mercedes Lackey way back in 1991
[Cybling] So Elvendude is your first SOLO novel?
[MarkShepherd] first PUBlished
[MarkShepherd] there have been several others which fortunately were NOT published
[Cybling] I am assuming that you started out writing solo before collaborating.
[MarkShepherd] I published in a few local mags, short stories. I submitted to Alyson publications in 1985
[MarkShepherd] but nothing really came of that
[Cybling] A little background here. how did you first meet Mercedes Lackey and how did you come to collaborate?
[MarkShepherd] I met her at a local con in
[Cybling] Excellent!
[MarkShepherd] Tulsa, OK
[MarkShepherd] and a few years later she hired me on as a personal secretary
[Cybling] Wonderful. So it's possible to meet name authors at some of the smaller cons. You don't have to come to WorldCon to meet authors!
[MarkShepherd] Well, she happened to live in Tulsa then
[Cybling] 8^D
[Cybling] That helps.
[Cybling] Elvendude is the first of a series of books. Can you tell me a little about this book?
[MarkShepherd] The Elvendude series is a spin off of the Serrated Edge series from Baen.
[MarkShepherd] I developed my own family of Elves and went off in a different direction
[Cybling] Wonderful. We just had Toni from Baen here earlier.
[MarkShepherd] Yes! a wonderful editor
[Cybling] elvendude came out when
[Cybling] ?
[MarkShepherd] 1994
[MarkShepherd] and one every two years after that!
[MarkShepherd] eeeeeek
[Cybling] and the two sequels are out...do you have more planned?
[MarkShepherd] I am currently working on a Science Fiction novel (again) called Blackrose Avenue, and will be available from Yard Dog
[MarkShepherd] Press next year. See Elvendude.com for details (soon)
[Cybling] BTW, folks, http://www.elvendude.com/ is the URL of Mark's page.
[Cybling] Okay, Mark. Here's a tough question...
[Cybling] if you had your druthers which would you write...SF or Fantasy.
[MarkShepherd] tough question. I found a niche in fantasy, but can write either
[Cybling] Well that's excellent. Glad you're so flexible. A lot of authors stay in one group or another.
[MarkShepherd] That has a lot to do with marketing. pub houses tend to steer you one way or the other
[MarkShepherd] depending on what is selling the best
[Cybling] Understandable.
[Cybling] Mark, I see that you're on a panel later this afternoon...
[Cybling] Creation of a Publishing House
[Cybling] On
[Cybling] You'll be talking about the history of Baen Books, correct?
[MarkShepherd] Yes, indeed. With my publisher Jim Baen, Tom Doherty (TOR), Toni and Lois McMaster Bujold
[MarkShepherd] I feel. . . inadequate
[Cybling] LOL, I wouldn't say that. I believe you're probably going to be...
[Cybling] the best dressed of the group.
[MarkShepherd] Wait till you see me tomorrow
[Cybling] (mark's here in a dress shirt and tie, which is most uncommon at a con)
[Cybling] LOLOLOL.
[Cybling] Are you in the Masquerade?
[MarkShepherd] I could pass as a pyschotic executive
[MarkShepherd] But don'
[Cybling] LOLOLOLOLOL.
[MarkShepherd] don't know what category that would be in
[Cybling] I understand. I know several folks who feel uncomfy in comfy clothes.
[Cybling] Mark. Can you tell us a little more about your fantasy series, in particular. Do you set up magical rules that are similar or different from other authors?
[MarkShepherd] The magical rules are pretty much the same as in the SERRa universe.
[MarkShepherd] Its all part of the Elves-in-the-Mall subgenre
[MarkShepherd] Its a tiny subgenre
[Cybling] LOLOL! I'm sorry, I'm mostly a hard sf fan...Elves in the Mall? Can you expand on that?
[Cybling] It sounds great, btw. I'm chuckling here.
[MarkShepherd] Urban Fantasy; magic in the real world, in particular the world of youth
[Cybling] Okay...so your stories inhabit a world that is very similar to our real world...
[Cybling] with the added magic element?
[MarkShepherd] It takes place in our world, with the magic added. What happens when magical beings get in deep doodoo here
[Cybling] LOL...okay.
[Ken_of_the_White_Crane] neat.
[Cybling] If you have questions for our guest, please just ask. But please, let the guest answer one question before you ask another.
[Cybling] And I'm assuming that deep doo-doo happens a lot. How much does humor show up in your books?
[Cybling] Is it an important part of this genre?
[MarkShepherd] A great deal. for example, elves don't deal with cold iron very well. So they need to drive import autos with lots of plastic
[Cybling] LOLOL.
[Cybling] That's possible now.
[MarkShepherd] The evil elves take advantage of humans, and my heroes try to fix this.
[Cybling] So, your work is more for the Fantasy fans who enjoy having a good time with what they're reading...
[MarkShepherd] Yes indeedy
[Cybling] not necessarily for deadly serious Tolkienites.
[MarkShepherd] Well, no. Epic is sort of another direction I would like to explore. Film at eleven.
[Ken_of_the_White_Crane] heh.. nice Kentucky Fried Movie ref.
[Cybling] Interesting, the way you've explained Elvendude reminds me a little of Nye's books. Is her myth series in this sub-genre?
[MarkShepherd] To some degree
[Ken_of_the_White_Crane]
*will need to find one of mark's books and read it.. sounds very interesting
*
[Cybling] And where can he find your books?
[MarkShepherd] Just about anywhere. They are in all the chains
[Cybling] And you're lucky that you're with Baen...
[Cybling] because Elvendude is probably still in print, right?
[MarkShepherd] Well, it is OSI--sort of in print. The rest are still available
[Cybling] OSI? Sorry. Out of Stock?
[MarkShepherd] Yes. I hope to see another run, or maybe a three-volume set
[Cybling] Excellent. I know that may be very possible.
[Cybling] Mark, can you tell me a little more about the new book you're working on now?
[MarkShepherd] Blackrose Avenue is set in the near future, when a rad right wing government has taken over the US
[Cybling] Oooh.
[MarkShepherd] HIV positves are put in concentration camps.
[MarkShepherd] Its a little on the dark side
[Cybling] Yeah...nearly cyberpunk?
[Cybling] or just anti-utopian?
[MarkShepherd] Not really. the internet infrastructure is not very strong, as there have been civil wars.
[Cybling] Oh...so things have been bombed up a bit.
[MarkShepherd] More like terrorism.
[Cybling] Okay. That would put a crimp in the system.
[Cybling] So, the protagonist is HIV positive in a camp or?.....
[Ken_of_the_White_Crane] Mr. Shepherd, I want you to know that I had never heard of you before, but now I think I'd like to read at least one of your books.. so, your PR is working.
[MarkShepherd] There are to main characters;one hiv+ in a camp, and one a guard who is in hiding, and becomes part of a resistance
[Cybling] This sounds like an excellent book. when can we expect to see it on the shelves?
[MarkShepherd] Some time next year. Available through Yard Dog Press. Not sure if we can get it in the chains yest
[Cybling] Mark, thank you so much for joining us in chat today! Definately looking for the Elvendude series. I enjoy fun fantasy.
[Ken_of_the_White_Crane] Yes, thank you. It was very interesting.
[Cybling] folks...we've come to the end of Mark's time. Let's give him a hand and say thanks!
[MarkShepherd] Thank You
* Cybling applauds
[Cybling] Thank you!
* Ryan smiles.. Thanks for joining us, Mark.