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with Harry Turtledove
Interview
with: Li
Rapkin
THE BIG Q&A
Q1.
You’ve often described Byzantine history as one of the least
marketable fields out there. What about the subject captured
your attention so thoroughly as to result in a doctorate?
A1.
I was about 15 when I found Lest
Darkness Fall in a secondhand bookstore. I didn't
know much about this stuff then, and started trying to find
out how much the author was making up and how much was real,
and ended up getting hooked. So, basically, my academic career
(and much of my writing, and my meeting my wife and having
the kids I have--details, details) is L.
Sprague de Camp's fault.
Q2.
A vast number of alternate history novels are set in (or based
on) World War II, the American Civil War, or prehistoric times.
What do you think makes these three eras so appealing as settings
for alternate history?
A2.
Don't know about prehistoric times; that covers a lot
of ground. But the Civil War is the great chokepoint of U.S.
history; we are what we are, for better and for worse, because
of what happened and how it happened in those four crowded
years. Had it happened differently, in a variety of different
ways, we'd be different now. People think the same thing about
WW2. It's certainly true, but WW2 is only the second act of
the 20th century. The First World War is even more important,
but overshadowed in our memory by the more recent conflict.
Q3.
What other historical periods or events do you think hold
a lot of potential for alternate history?
A3.
World War I, as I noted above. The "fall of the Roman
Empire." A possible industrial revolution in Hellenistic times,
and what might have come from it. A Spanish victory in the
Armada. A world where Bolshevism didn't succeed in Russia.
A world where nuclear physics didn't get off the ground, and
we've already fought a conventional WW3.
Q4.
It seems to me that one of the most difficult parts of writing
alternate history would be extrapolating the results of a
single change, while keeping your story believable, especially
considering how many improbable and unbelievable events have
occurred in “real” history.
A4.
This is certainly true. All history has to do is happen. Fiction
has to be plausible, too. If anyone wrote a novel in 1999
setting out the 2000 election in detail, no editor would have
bought it because it would have seemed too unlikely.
Q5.
What do you consider a promising “breaking point” from real
history? For example, what made the dropped dispatch a better
jumping-off point for How Few Remain than changing
the outcome of a battle?
A5:
The point is, if the despatch hadn't been lost, the battle
would have happened somewhere else, and under different conditions,
which is the key to the breakpoint. Changes should be made
at places that are both interesting and would have important
consequences if they happened differently.
Q6.
You’re a frequent guest at science fiction conventions, including
your turn as Toastmaster at last year’s WorldCon
in Chicago. What’s your perception of the fan community?
A6:
They're bright people who like to think, like to read,
like to find books that make them think, and like to get together
with others of their own kind. I fit into that group fairly
well, I believe, though I'm more social caterpillar than social
butterfly.
Q7.
How does the experience of collaborating with another author
compare to writing solo?
A7:
A collaboration, somebody said, is a book where both partners
do 100% of the work. With luck, you manage to get both writers'
strengths and neither writer's weaknesses. I've done relatively
little, but I've been pleased with The
Two Georges and especially with Household
Gods, my recent work with Judith Tarr.
Q8.
Your wife is also a professional writer, and one of your daughters
won a writing contest at Chicon 2000. Any comments on the
ups and downs of writing as a family business?
A8:
If you can do it, writing is the best job in the world.
You set your own hours, you can wear whatever you want, you
get to run full-sensory movies in your head and write down
what your characters see and feel and experience, and they
pay you for it. What could be better? Whether the kids will
be able to make a living at it remains to be seen. They have
the talent, I think; they also need the desire and the discipline
to make it go. Only time will tell if those are there, too.
Q9.
For the past few years, you’ve had several series going, as
well as producing stand-alone novels, short stories, and editing.
How do you keep up with your publishing schedule?
A9:
The short answer is, I'm obsessive-compulsive, probably
in the clinical sense. People laugh when I say that, which
doesn't mean it isn't true.
Q10.
How do you think the publishing industry is going to look
ten or twenty years from now, given that there are so many
relatively new media, such as the Internet and e-books?
A10:
As far as I know, nobody is yet making a living from the
Internet or e-books. I have no idea what things will look
like 10 or 20 years from now. I look forward to finding out.
Q11.
Read any good books lately?
A11:
Things I've read lately include Sabatini's Scaramouche,
le Guin's The Telling, an oral history of Japanese life during
WW2, and the letters of Mary Wortley Montagu, the wife of
the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire in the early
18th century. High on the to-read pile are a book about man-powered
flight and another on the history of science in the Hellenistic
period. I read all kinds of weird stuff, in other words.
Born:
June 14, 1949, in Los Angeles, CA
Education:
Ph.D., Byzantine History, UCLA, 1977. Dissertation: The
Immediate Successors of Justinian: A Study of the Persian
Problem and of Continuity and Change in Internal Secular Affairs
in the Later Roman Empire During the Reigns of Justin II and
Tiberius II Constantine (A.D. 565-582)
Family:
Married to Laura
Frankos, who writes mysteries. They have three daughters,
Alison, Rachel, and Rebecca. Allison was born right before
the 1984 WorldCon in Los Angeles, the first convention Dr.
Turtledove attended.
Former
Day Jobs: Professor of Byzantine History; Technical Writer
for Los Angeles County Office of Education. Dr. Turtledove
has been writing full time since 1991.
Professional
Organizations: Science
Fiction Writers of America (Treasurer 1986-1987)
Awards:
1996, Sidewise
Award for Alternate History, Honorable Mention, World
War series
1996, Hugo Award, Best Novelette, "Must and Shall"
1996, Nebula
Award, Best Novelette, "Must and Shall"
1995, Sidewise Award for Alternate History, Honorable Mention,
"Must and Shall"
1995, Sidewise Award for Alternate History, Honorable Mention,
The Two Georges
1994, Hugo Award, Best Novella, Down in the Bottomlands
1993, John Esthen Cook Award for Southern Fiction, Guns
of the South
1990, HOMer Award for Short Story, “Designated Hitler”
Pen
Names: Mark Gordian, Eric Iverson, H. N. Turtletaub
Publishers:
Baen Books,
P.O. Box 1403, New York, NY 10471
Del
Rey Books, 201 East 50th Street, New York, NY 10022
Tor Books,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
In Europe, PO BOX 244, 1150 Vienna, Austria
Novels
1999, Household Gods (with Judith Tarr)
1998, Between the Rivers
1998, Justinian (as H. N. Turtletaub)
1997, How Few Remain
1997, Thessalonica
1995, The Two Georges (with Richard Dreyfuss)
1993, The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump
1992, The Guns of the South
Series
Works
Gerin the Fox (as Eric Iverson)
Wereblood,
1979
Werenight, 1979
The Prince of the North, 1994
King of the North, 1996
Fox and Empire, 1998
Wisdom of the Fox (Werenight and The Prince
of the North), 1999
Tale of the Fox (King of the North and Fox
and Empire), 2000
Time
of Troubles
The
Stolen Throne, 1995
Hammer and Anvil, 1996
The Thousand Cities, 1997
Videssos Besieged, 1998
Tale
of Krispos
Krispos
Rising, 1991
Krispos of Videssos, 1991
Krispos the Emperor, 1994
Videssos
The
Misplaced Legion, 1994
An Emperor for the Legion, 1994
The Legion of Videssos, 1987
The Swords of the Legion, 1987
War
World
"Tribute
Maidens," War World I: The Burning Eye, 1988
"The Field of Double Sowing," War World II: Death's Head
Rebellion, 1990
"Juchi the Accursed," War World III: Sauron Dominion,
1991
"Hang Together," Codominium: Revolt on War World, 1992
Bloodfeuds (with S.M. Stirling, Judith Tarr & Susan
Shwartz), 1993
Blood Vengeance (with S.M. Stirling, Judith Tarr &
Susan Shwartz), 1994
"Those Who Lose," War World IV: Invasion, 1994
World
War
In
the Balance, 1994
Tilting the Balance, 1995
Upsetting the Balance, 1996
Striking the Balance, 1996
Colonization: Second Contact, 1999
Colonization: Down to Earth, 2001
Great
War
American
Front, 1998
Walk In Hell, 1999
Breakthroughs, 2001
Darkness
Into
the Darkness, 1999
Darkness Descending, 2000
Through the Darkness, 2001
Fantastic
Civil War
Sentry
Peak, 2000
2 additional titles in work
Novellas
& Short Stories
2000
"The Catcher
in the Rhine", The Chick is in the Mail
"A Different Vein", Chicon 2000 Guest of Honor Book
"Farmers' Law", Crime Through Time III
"The Last Word", Drakas!
"The Lieutenant", The Touch
1999
"Drang
von Osten", First to Fight
"Forty, Counting Down", Asimov's
"Myth Manners' Guide to Greek Missology #1", Chicks 'n
Chained Males
"Twenty-One, Counting Up", Analog
1998
"La Différence",
Did You Say Chicks?
"Ils Ne Passeront Pas", Armageddon
"The Phantom Tolbukhin", Alternate Generals
1997
"Elder
Skelter", George
"The Seventh Chapter", Fantasy & Science Fiction
1995
"The Bleeding
Moon", Orphans of the Night
"Goddess for a Day", Chicks in Chainmail
"The Maltese Elephant", Analog
"Must and Shall", Asimov's
"Suffer a Sorceress", Ancient Enchantresses
1994
"They'd
Never--", Alien Pregnant by Elvis
1993
"Down
in the Bottomlands", Analog
"Vermin", Fantasy & Science Fiction
1992
"Breakups",
Unnatural Diplomacy
"Deconstruction Gang", Amazing
"The Decoy Duck", After the King
"The Green Buffalo", The Ultimate Dinosaur
"In the Presence of Mine Enemies", Isaac Asimov’s Science
Fiction Magazine
"In This Season", Christmas Bestiary
"The Last Reunion", Amazing
"A Massachusetts Yankee in King Arthur's Court", Alternate
Kennedys
"Mebodes' Fly", Fantasy & Science Fiction
"Ready for the Fatherland", Alternate Wars
"Secret Names", Analog
"Two Thieves", Tales of Riverworld
1991
"Gladly
Wolde He Lerne", Analog
"The Great Unknown, Part I", Analog
"The Great Unknown, Part II", Analog
"The Great Unknown, Part III", Analog
"The Long Drum Roll", The Fantastic Civil War
"Thirty Pieces", Phases in Chaos
1990
"Designated
Hitler", Fantasy & Science Fiction
"The Emperor's Return", Weird Tales Spring 1990
"The Field of Double Sowing", War World II: Death's Head
Rebellion 1990
"Half the Battle", There Will Be War IX: After Armageddon
1990
"Island Of The Gods", The Diplomacy Guild, 1990
The Pugnacious Peacemaker, Tor SF Double No. 20
"Reincarnation", Amazing
"The Summer Garden", Kaleidoscope
1989
"Counting
Potsherds", Amazing
"Curse of the Three Demons", Arabesques 2
"Departures", Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine
"Festival Night", Spells of Wonder
"Islands in the Sea", Alternatives
"Nasty, Brutish, And…", Analog
"Nothing in the Night-Time”, Analog
"Pillar of Cloud, Pillar of Fire", Isaac Asimov’s Science
Fiction Magazine
"Precious Treasure", Friends of the Horseclans 2
"Ten Times Over", Amazing
"Trantor Falls", Foundation's Friends
1988
"After
the Last Elf is Dead", Weird Tales
"The Banner of Kaviyan", Arabesques
"Batboy", Fantasy & Science Fiction
"Clash of Arms", New Destinies IV
"Freedom", Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine
"Gentlemen of the Shade", Ripper!
"The Girl Who Took Lessons", Playboy
"King of All", New Destinies VI
"The Last Article", Fantasy & Science Fiction
"Lure", Analog
"Not All Wolves", Werewolves
"Trapping Run", Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine
1987
"Crybaby",
Twilight Zone
"Images”, Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine
"The Irvhank Effect", New Destinies II
"Last Favor", Analog
"The Report on Bilbeis IV, Part I", Analog
"The Report on Bilbeis IV, Part II", Analog
"The Report on Bilbeis IV, Part III", Analog
"6+", Analog
"Superwine", Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine
"The Weather's Fine", Playboy
1986
"And So
To Bed", Analog
"Around the Salt Lick", Analog
"The Barbecue, The Movie, & Other Unfortunately Not So Relevant
Material", Analog
"A Difficult Undertaking", The Dragon
"The Eyes of Argos", Amazing
"The Iron Elephant", Analog
"Second Survey", Analog
"Strange Eruptions”, Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine
"Thicker Than Water", Fantasy Book
"Though the Heavens Fall", Analog
1985
"Archetypes",
(as Eric Iverson) Amazing
"Bluff", (as Eric Iverson) Analog
"The Castle of the Sparrowhawk", (as Eric Iverson) Fantasy
Book
"Hatching Season", (as Eric Iverson), Analog
"Les Mortes d'Arthur", (as Eric Iverson), Analog
"Noninterference", (as Eric Iverson), Analog
"Notes from the General Secretariat", (as Mark Gordian), Analog
"The R Strain", (as Eric Iverson), Analog
"The Road Not Taken", (as Eric Iverson), Analog
"Unholy Trinity", (as Eric Iverson), Amazing
"Vilest Beast", (as Eric Iverson), Analog
1984
"Herbig-Haro",
(as Eric Iverson), Analog
"Hindsight", (as Eric Iverson), Analog
1983
"Blue
Fox and Werewolf" (as Eric Iverson) Amazing
"Traditions", (as Eric Iverson), Amazing
1982
"The Summer's
Garden", (as Eric Iverson), Fantasy Book
1981
"Death
in Vesunna", (as Eric Iverson, with Elaine O'Byrne), Isaac
Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine
1980
"Report
of the Special Committee on the Quality of Life", (as Eric
Iverson), Universe 10
"Honeymouth" Pulphouse 9
"Gilgamesh and the Home Boys" Pulphouse 11
Nonfiction
2000,
"Catherine Crook de Camp: An Appreciation", Locus
2000, "Hox in Box", The Bulletin
2000, "L. Sprague de Camp: An Appreciation", Locus
1999 Essay on Writing How Few Remain, SFWA Bulletin
1999, with Geoffrey Landis and John Barnes, "Science: Looking
Backward, One Must Be as Forward Thinking As When Looking
at the Future," Science Fiction Age
1998, "How I Do What I Do," SFWA Bulletin
1997, editor, with Stanley Burstein, "Meeting with a King
of Axum," Ancient African Civilizations: Kush and Axum
1996 “Introduction” Lest Darkness Fall & To Bring the Light,
L. Sprague de Camp & David Drake
1995, "How the Worldwar Series Came to Be," Science Fiction
News: Crystal Tower Issue 1
1992, with Laura Frankos Turtledove, "Pros and Cons of Being
a Writer Couple," SFWA Bulletin
1992, "Thank You," Requiem, edited by Yoji Kondo
1987, “Historical Realism, or, Oh my God, Not Another Movement”,
OtherRealms
1985 "The Date of Composition of the Historia Syntomos
of Patriarch Nikephoros," Byzantina kai Metabyzantina,
4: Byzantine Studies in Honor of Milton Anastos
1984, with Mary D. Martin, Patricia Cabrera and Joseph F.
Payne, The Green Book: A Manual for School Districts on
Developing Proposals for Special Funding
1983, editor, The Chronicle of Theophanes
1983, "Justin II's Observance of Justinian's Persian Treaty
of 562," Byzantinische Zeitschrift 76:2, pp.292-301
1983, "The True Size of a Post-Justiniac Army," Byzantine
Studies/Études byzantines 10, 216-22
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