Online Chat With Guy Gavriel Kay, May 2

Pollstream is hosting an online chat with Guy Gavriel Kay for his newest book Under Heaven.  You can pre-register for the conversation here, as well as submit questions.  The talk will take place on May 2nd, at 2 pm (EDT) and will last one hour.

Under Heaven, Book Review

By: Guy Gavriel Kay

Pros: lyrical writing, interesting characters, detailed history/world, political intrigue

Cons: ending is a bit long

Under Heaven tells the story of Shen Tai, second son of a famous general. Upon the passing of his father, Tai decides to spend his time in mourning burying the dead from a battle site that brought his father sorrow. For this service he is gifted with 250 Sardian horses. This gift propels him into a role of importance in the country, and will either save him from assassination attempts, or create more of them.

The book is patterned off of the Tang Dynasty of China. Kay adds in a lot of historic details (way of life, poetry, class distinction) to make the book feel real. There is a lot of rich detail and imagery.

The intrigue is mostly concerning a few people in power and how the gift of these horses will be used (and if Tai will be killed before he can claim them). There is very little physical action. Most of the tension comes from verbal sparring and trying to grasp Tai's sudden change in status. The novel is very immersive. I missed my subway stop because I'd reached a point in the book where I HAD to keep reading. There are many such points in the book.

The ending is a bit long. Kay tied up as many loose endings as he could, which took a while. This isn't really a problem as the characters are all fascinating and you want to hear how things turn out for them.

If you're looking for action, look elsewhere. If you want court intrigue, poetic writing and a great story, you've come to the right place.

Guy Gavriel Kay - Author Interview

Novels:

Under Heaven

Ysabel

Last Light of the Sun

Sarantine Mosaic: Sailing to Sarantium, Lord of Emperors

Lions of Al-Rassan

A Song for Arbonne

Tigana

Beyond This Dark House

Fionavar Tapestry: The Summer Tree, Wandering Fire, Darkest Road

Websites: www.guygavrielkay.ca/ And www.brightweavings.com/

> What is the premise of Under Heaven?

Under Heaven is inspired by the genuinely dazzling Tang Dynasty period in Chinese history, in this case essentially the 8th century. Though the Dynasty began earlier and lasted longer, this is considered its peak, and one of the peaks of world civilization. Having said that, such peaks are not without extreme dangers, violence, tensions, amid the glory and sophistication, and I wanted the book to explore both aspects of the time.

> What made you want to be a writer?

In a way I have always wanted to write, but I also, as a kid always wanted to play in the NHL. I am old enough for my dream team then to have been the Maple Leafs (hard to believe, I know, I know!). At some point, rather earlier than I would have liked, the sheer and uttermost absurdity of the latter fantasy led me to the former one. On the way I pragmatically picked up, like a loose puck in the neutral zone, a law degree, for the classic 'something to fall back on' ... I've been lucky enough to never have needed that.

> In the books you’ve written, who is your favourite character and why?

Truly impossible question! In each book there are characters and moments that perhaps resonate most strongly for me within that story, but I honestly can't point to a single figure, or even two or three, and say 'I like them most'.

> Why have you varied the historical periods and geographical areas you've based your books on?

Simple answer is that I try hard not to repeat myself, in my approaches to themes and aspects of history. In a way this is not the smartest commercial decision, since we live in an age that devours sequels, but creatively this movement from one place to another keeps me energized, challenged, even anxious, which is good for the adrenalin flow that a three year writing project requires. And the research phase is always my favourite. Learning things, no responsibility yet to do something with it ...

> Which of your books would you consider the best introduction for new readers to your work?

I always ask people what interests them most. If, for example, they are fans of high fantasy, Fionavar is likely to work for them, as it is my 'statement' in that field. If they are drawn to the more historical approach I evolved towards, I try to find out what periods engage them, because the books - as you mentioned above - evoke different times and places, through the prism of the fantastic. For many book clubs, Ysabel was the easiest way in, because it has a contemporary setting, and a very appealing one, at that - the south of France.

> If you could live in one of your fantasy worlds, would you?

One of my ongoing themes, explored most directly in Ysabel, perhaps, is that there are often darker, dangerous undercurrents in even the most sophisticated civilizations. Having said that, since I’ve lived and written four different times in the countryside around Aix-en-Provence, I suppose I’d have to say that Provençal world of A Song for Arbonne or, in a modern version of the same place, Ysabel.

> What was the first novel (published or unpublished) that you wrote and how long did it take to write it?

First novel was never published. I took a year off (having promised it to myself) after finishing law school, and ‘escaped’ to the island of Crete. Bought a typewriter (it was that long ago), found a fishing village, and spent a winter there drafting a book, working seven days a week, to assuage my guilt at being so irresponsible and living in such an absurdly beautiful place.

> What is your university degree in and does it help with your writing?

Well, as mentioned, I was called to the bar as a lawyer here in Ontario. I also have a degree in philosophy. Looking back, the legal training helped in several ways. In one aspect, a litigation lawyer (and my interest was always criminal law) needs to be capable of becoming an ‘instant expert’ in something, at least the level of being able to cross examine a real expert on his or her terrain. That aspect of research to a focused purpose comes into all my work. In addition, lawyers need to learn to juggle and keep aloft many files and variables at a time, and a novelist working with a large cast and a complex plot has to have that same skill set. Fiction writing on a grand scale needs to balance an intuitive, instinctive dimension with control, and I think my studies and training helped to develop that second aspect.

> When and where do you write?

I used to go abroad, as often as I could, for the relative isolation and the focus that gave me (and the chance to be in some gorgeous places). Once you have children you may labour under the naive illusion that you can ‘ground them’ for transgressions, but the reality is that they ... ground you. I’ve written primarily in my study/library here in Toronto for the last decade or more, with one return sortie to France in 2004-05.

> What’s the best/worst thing about writing?

Easy one! Best thing is ‘having written’ whether on the scale of a given day’s work, or the profoundly intense sensations that come when a book is done. Worst thing is the blank screen that starts all mornings, coupled with the never-absent feeling that one is just not smart enough, creative enough, good enough, to make a given scene come out right. I truly believe that if an artist never has that latter feeling, they aren’t pushing themselves hard enough.

> What is something you didn’t know about the publishing industry before you had your first book published?

Truly? Almost everything! One of the impulses behind the ‘Journals’ I have kept on brightweavings.com, the authorized website on my work, is to offer readers a glimpse behind the scenes of how books get made. I discovered long ago that most people, even passionate readers, know almost nothing about the publishing world – and that included me, before I got into that world. I’m doing another Journal now online, and have even featured some ‘guest posts’ this time, by people involved in the making or editing of Under Heaven.

> How do you discipline yourself to write?

It may sound glib, but for me the core aspect is to remind myself that if I don’t write the book, no one is about to do it for me. There’s no ‘delegating’ here.

> How many languages have your works been translated into?

We’re at around 25 now, with some new markets being explored this spring for many of the titles. This is actually something I’m proud of, and something that gives me a great deal of pleasure: corresponding with editors or translators, having a chance to do promotional tours in foreign markets and meet these people and my readers there ... a major perk of what I do.

> How many rejection letters did you get for your first novel or story?

First one was never accepted, as I mentioned above. But the six or seven rejections were wonderfully generous and positive: everyone seemed to want to see what I would do next. My agent had sent it to major NY mainstream houses (it wasn’t a fantasy book) and we were both rendered hugely upbeat by these letters (I was only 24 at the time). His next submission on my behalf was the first seven chapters of The Summer Tree, and the whole trilogy was accepted starting from those.

Penguin Auctions off First Copy of Guy Gavriel Kay's UNDER HEAVEN for Indigo's Love of Reading Fund

Yesterday I received the following press release Penguin Canada:

To celebrate the worldwide launch of international bestseller Guy Gavriel Kay’s much anticipated new novel Under Heaven, Penguin Group (Canada) is auctioning the first book off the press anywhere in the world, autographed by the author. Signed and verified by the printer and the publisher, this first copy includes a product identification slip and letter from the printing press identifying the book as the first copy printed in Canada. The auction begins March 18, 2010 on eBay, and closes March 25, 2010. http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290415297662

All proceeds from the auction will be donated to Indigo Books & Music, Inc.’s Love of Reading Fund. The fund directly supports high-needs elementary school literacy programs across Canada. Guy Gavriel Kay will personally match the winning bid to a maximum of $1000 (CDN). Additionally, Penguin Canada will match the winning bid to a maximum of $500 (CDN).

Under Heaven will go on-sale in Canada on April 3. Inspired by the glory of Tang Dynasty China in the eighth century, Guy Gavriel Kay melds history and the fantastic into something both powerful and emotionally compelling. Under Heaven is a novel on the grandest narrative scale, encompassing the intimate details of individual lives in an unforgettable time and place.

Earlier this month, Penguin Group (Canada) launched www.guygavrielkay.ca, a website dedicated entirely to Kay’s oeuvre, and featuring an array of music files, artwork, and downloadable wallpaper and posters, plus a first chapter excerpt of Under Heaven, a journal by the author, Twitter and Facebook links, book synopsis, and Canadian tour information.

Guy Gavriel Kay was born in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, and raised in Winnipeg. In the 1970's he was retained by the Estate of J.R.R. Tolkien to assist in the editorial construction of Tolkien's posthumously published The Silmarillion. He returned to Canada from Oxford to take a law degree at the University of Toronto and was called to the Bar in Ontario.

Kay became Principal Writer and Associate Producer for the CBC radio series, "The Scales of Justice", dramatizing major criminal trials in Canadian history. He also wrote several episodes when the series later moved to television. He has written social and political commentary for the National Post and the Globe and Mail and for The Guardian in England, and has spoken on a variety of topics at universities and conferences around the world.

In 1984, Kay's first novel, The Summer Tree, the first volume of The Fionavar Tapestry, was published to considerable acclaim in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, and then in a number of countries and languages. In 1990 Viking Canada's edition of his novel Tigana reached the national bestseller list, and his next book A Song for Arbonne debuted at #1 nationally. Kay has been a bestseller with each novel since.

Translations now exceed twenty languages and Kay has toured and read on behalf of his publishers and at literary events across Canada, and in countries ranging from the United States and England to Poland, France, Russia, Croatia, Serbia, Mexico and Greece, among others, with his next international appearance being slated for June 2010 in Shanghai and Beijing. He has been nominated for and has won numerous literary awards and is the recipient of the International Goliardos Prize (presented in Mexico City) for his contributions to the literature of the fantastic.

And come back in April to see the interview I did with Mr. Kay.