Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
We’d be the first fansite on the internet to tell you that being an Expanded Universe fan is not always a picnic. Every publishing cycle brings a new mystery: Will it work? Will it not? Glide on, my little mookas, for our take on the year in the Expanded Universe.
Knights Archive has a nice interview with Lucasbooks editor Sue Rostoni, who retired not that long ago. They chat about missing Lucasfilm, favorite moments, fan criticism, expanded universe regrets and more.
As an added bonus, there are several tributes to Sue from authors.
LucasBooks Executive Editor Sue Rostoni is retiring, the official site says today. She’s been working for Lucasfilm as an editor since (at least) the launch of the modern publishing program in the early 90’s with the Thrawn trilogy.
“I have enjoyed the best job in the world with the most wonderfully creative people,” said Rostoni. “I’m so grateful to have been a part of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones programs these past years — it’s been the most challenging and rewarding time of my life.”
This isn’t a total surprise – Rostoni stepped back from socializing with fans a few months back, and her final message had a touch of finality to it that led to some fans speculating that her retirement was indeed forthcoming.
Regardless of one’s opinions about the books at the moment, we can’t deny that Rostoni was a important figure in the creation and guidance of the Expanded Universe. She was always gracious and forthcoming with fans, and for that she has my gratitude. Club Jade wishes her a long, happy, and most importantly, stress-free retirement!
There’s no word on who will replace Rostoni as Executive Editor, but it certainly does put a new spin on that job listing for Senior Editor.
Interviews, everywhere! There’s been an absolute plague of interviews lately. EUC talks to Lucasfilm Licensing’s Sue Rostoni, Podcaster Sohaib had Del Rey’s Shelly Shapiro on his show last week, and Roqoo Depot has Jedi: The Dark Side writer Scott Allie.
Blurbs. Drew Karpyshyn’s Revan novel gets a summary.
Fandom. Michael Falkner is breaking up with the ForceCast over their recent treatment of Expanded Universe fans.
Namesake corner. I’ve got two fairly minor Mara Jade bits today: io9 named her one of their 10 sexiest assassins. Naturally, it features fan art of both the badly photoshopped and naked body paint persuasions. (Sigh.) On the other hand, there’s a new namesake: A foal. She has a twin sister named after Princess Leia.
LucasBooks editor Sue Rostoni bids farewell to the official forums (which are going away) but refrains from stating whether she’ll return in another venue.
I want to thank you all for welcoming me here. I’ve so appreciated our conversations and the fun we’ve had, and will really miss you all. It’s been a lot of fun getting to know you and having this forum be a part of my work-life. I’ve appreciated having a direct connection between the books and the readers — something most editors never get to experience in this way. I’m grateful to you all for your openness, your humor, and for staying with the adventure.
As far as keeping in touch via other sites — the future is hazy; outlook unclear.
Fans don’t exactly lack for places to mingle with Expanded Universe VIPs – both continuity guru Leland Chee and the Star Wars folks at Del Rey have active Facebook pages – but the casual question-and-answer format that evolved in TOS’s Expanded Universe VIPs thread was a great resource. We’ll certainly miss Sue, and hope she finds a place to keep in touch with fans in the future.
Two smugglers walk into a bar… Today on the official forums, editor Sue Rostoni shared a brief excerpt from the proof of Michael Reaves and Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff’s Shadow Games. Black-barred for the paranoid spoilerphobics:
“In case you haven’t noticed, Captain, there are Imperials all over the place. It would be in our customer’s interests to be discreet.”
The Wookiee said something, to which Han replied, “Of course I’m discreet. I’m always discreet.” To Dash he said, “What’d you have in mind?”
The proof, for those of you keeping track, is 338 pages. Shadow Games will be out in paperback in the fall.
Interview. Lightsaber Rattling talks to Paul Kemp about his just-released Old Republic tie-in, Deceived.
Blurbs. In other Kemp-related news, there’s a summary out there now for his September paperback, Riptide. (via)
Comics. The Crimson Empire story that will be in Dark Horse Presents #1 will feature Kir Kanos in a standalone tale that will both recap some of the earlier CE and set things up for CEIII, according to Randy Stradley.
First look. The next in the Lost Tribe of the Sith series, ‘Pantheon,’ will hit July 18th.
We got a number of schedule updates from Sue Rostoni today. There were a few notable delays – Riptide, Shadow Games and (sigh) Fate of the Jedi: Apocalypse have all been pushed back a few months. There were also a number of additions: Drew Karpyshyn’s contribution to The Old Republic tie-ins set for October. Looking forward into 2012, Luceno’s Plagueis novel is up for January, and Allston’s new Wraith book for July.
We also got what is perhaps our first conformation that John Jackson Miller’s Lost Tribe of the Sith is set for print. Head on over to our book schedule for all the details.
“There are no plans for reprints of Dark Force Rising or The Last Command at this time,” LucasBooks editor Sue Rostoni wrote this afternoon on the StarWars.com boards.
Note that it’s not an outright denial: Let’s hope that the sales figures for the annotated Heir to the Empire are good enough to make them consider doing the rest of the trilogy.
Revisiting the Jedi Academy trilogy. Bryan Young is a glutton for punishment: He reread Kevin J. Anderson’s first Star Wars novel, Jedi Search, even though he knows better. Joining him is Kelly, aka Scarlett Robotica, who actually likes the series. (I suppose someone has to.) They’re debating it. I’m sure you can guess whose side I’m on. (And no: I wouldn’t. Last time I tried I couldn’t get past Luke’s speechifying.)
Details, details… Sue Rostoni updated us on a couple of minor details this weekend: There’s a hint that the Heir to the Empire anniversery edition will indeed have a new cover, and confirmation that short stories are coming back, at least in the Insider.
More on The Jedi Path. Daniel Wallace has posted a four–part series of endnotes for the in-universe instruction manual.
Veitch talks Dark Empire on Tuesday. The comic’s writer is holding a discussion on the comic this Tuesday evening at the bookstore he co-owns in Bennington, Vermont.
Hey, remember Fate of the Jedi? The site StarWarsBookExtras.com is offering an excerpt from Try Denning’s Vortex – Chapter 5, to be exact. The catch? You need to redeem a code. Or, just click this direct link to the PDF. (Thanks, EUC!) The cards with the code were available at C5 or in the Hyperspace member kit.
Details, details. We got a couple of updates from Sue Rostoni on the StarWars.com forums last week. I had asked if there was a chance or others joining Zahn to do annotations for the Heir to the Empire anniversary edition, and she wasn’t sure — but did say that Del Rey was looking into it. She did have a solid answer on the ETA for the next Lost Tribe of the Sith story: October 25th, aka next Monday. (Hopefully it’ll contain a different Vortex excerpt.)
Short story. Speaking of John Jackson Miller, StarWars.com has an original Knight Errant short story, ‘Influx.’
Shadow Games. Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff reveals the main cast for the novel-formerly-known-as-Holostar.
Really? The Star Wars Books page on Facebook is starting a Reader’s Club. Not a bad idea, in theory… But starting with The Bounty Hunter Wars? Really? Uh… Good luck.