Club Jade

Dave Filoni and Henry Gilroy answer fan questions on The Clone Wars over at TheForce.net. A lot of interesting tidbits on the show, its relation to the EU, George’s involvement and other food for thought, like Gilroy’s comments on the unique challenges of writing a digital show:

It wasn’t really an issue of balance. When I wrote the first episode, I wished I could have used the entire Jedi Council, but because we were just building the studio, the only characters I had available were Anakin, Obi-Wan and Yoda. Mace wasn’t originally in the movie story, because he wasn’t built yet, he was added way later. This was the incredible challenge as the head writer, I was tasked with writing Star Wars and making it feel as big as Star Wars, but only allowed to build ONE new character per episode (I started with 9 — can you name them?). So Luminara and Kit showed up at the very first chance I could put them in the show.

Oh, and there’s also something in there about George and the Wookieepedia. Yes, seriously.

In other interview news, EUC has one with The Force Unleashed’s Sam Witwer, and is taking questions for Matt Stover.

A good number of you probably don’t need me to tell you that Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor will be in stores tomorrow, but so it is. Also, the paperback of the Legacy of the Force finale, Denning’s Invincible.

Comic fans won’t go empty-handed this week, either: Arriving in comic stores on Friday (not Wednesday!) will be The Clone Wars: Crash Course and the Vector conclusion, aka Legacy #31.

Interviews: Matthew Stover talks to SWBooks about Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor, while John Jackson Miller discusses the Knights of the Old Republic comics at IGN. And finally, Drew Karpyshyn at Lightsabre.

• Buy stuff: Some Star Wars books are 3-for-4 at Amazon.com. It’s all older paperbacks (no Mindor, though it is 34% off) but a good chance to catch up.

• Awards: Sean Williams and Karen Miller are up for Aurealis Awards.
• Contests: Ben Harper and Chronicle Books pick the most obsessed Star Wars fans; Suvudu is giving away a copy of Millennium Falcon with the custom dedication page.
• Previews:Knights of the Old Republic #36, Knights of the Old Republic #37.

Matthew Stover and That Upcoming Luke Novel. There are only 21 days to Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor, and Bookspot Central has a lengthy interview with Stover.

There’s plenty about his infuences, the Caine books, and of course, Star Wars, starting about halfway. (via)

• Comics: There’s another interview over at CBR, this one with Dark Times writer Mick Harrison; The Clone Wars: Crash Course preview.

• Titles: SWbooks noticed that Rebel Force #3 is Renegade on Amazon. (via)
• Hot topic: People sure have strong feelings about canon… I don’t know why this surprises me.

Surprise audiobooks! A couple days ago, Zee Zee spotted audiobook listings on the Random House catalog for the first four Jedi Quest books: Way of the Apprentice, The Trail of the Jedi, The Dangerous Games and The Master of Disguise. All four are listed as $9.99 unabridged digital downloads with spring release dates.

Audiobooks years after the fact? Plus, the original books were published by Scholastic, which isn’t a Random House imprint, though the audio versions are listed under Random House’s Imagination Studios. (Del Rey’s Star Wars audiobooks are Random House Audio.) Lucasbooks is clearly trying something new here, but we’re still awaiting some kind of confirmation…

• Interviews, upcoming: NJOE wants your questions for Abel G. Peña, while Immortal Darkness is taking questions for Matt Stover and Kevin J. Anderson.

• Comics: Preview Legacy #31, aka the Vector conclusion.

E-books of Heroes Die and Blade of Tyshalle, his first two Caine novels (currently out of print) have been given a tentative release date of November 4th.

Scalzi is hosting fan-favorite Matthew Stover in his Big Idea feature today – Stover is talking about his latest book, Caine Black Knife. Which, coincidentally enough, is in stores today.

When asked for his take on the Expanded Universe’s use of the themes he introduced in Traitor, this is what he had to say.

…due to my privileged position as a Star Wars novelist, my opinion would be given more weight by the fans than it actually deserves — it would tend to tip the perceptions of, at least, my particular fans, and even others would be tempted to end arguments with “Well, Matt Stover says . . .” I’ve decided I just have to keep it to myself.

Yes, some fans will angst at not having that clarification/ammunition, but hats off to you, Mr. Stover.

Wow, is it time for Coruscant Nights: Street of Shadows already? The new Michael Reaves book should be in stores today. Also keep an eye out for The Dark Lord Trilogy trilogy, a trade omnibus that collects Labyrinth of Evil by James Luceno, Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover, and Luceno’s Dark Lord.

Don’t worry, comic fans: There’s plenty for you on Wednesday. The much-anticipated Darth Wyyrlok-focused Legacy #27, Rebellion #16 aka Vector part 8, and the fourth Knights of the Old Republic trade, Daze of Hate, Knights of Suffering. Punny!

So sayth the official blog this evening: Stover’s Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor has been moved back to December, and Luceno’s Millennium Falcon moved up to October. But the main focus of the post is a nice bit from artist Dave Seeley on the how and why of the image, and we get our first look at Mindor’s back cover – Lord Shadowspawn.

This is also the second time we’ve gotten a real news item via the blog… Interesting, no? (I suppose an all-Flash site would be mildly bearable if this method continues. Permalinks good!)

Yes, yes, I’m updating the book schedule.

UPDATE 05/20: On TOS, we have word from Sue Rostoni on the how and why of the switch:

Matt is late with his manuscript, and Jim is early — just made sense to swap them to give us a bit more time.