From ultrarodimus of the energonplant…TF novel writer David Cian. The exerpts below are taken from the post by ultrarodimus.
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He wrote the TF trilogy: Annihilation, Fusion, and Legends. He’s currently getting ready to work on the prequel novel for the TF movie this summer.
Of major note, the title of the novel will be TRANSFORMERS: GHOSTS OF YESTERDAY
Q) So why dont you tell us how you became an author.
DC: I decided I wanted to be a writer when I was about twelve or so. I started off writing some short fiction and a lot of poetry. In college, I focused on poetics a lot – it was a passion of mine and still is, to some degree. I also realized I was going to starve to death, and started writing more fiction. I wrote two novels early on which were ritually burned in the backyard before I sold my first one. By then, I’d already written and sold a number of short stories.
Q) What hobbies do you have?
DC: I read a lot, but that one’s a given. I play poker and hope to go to the World Series event this next year – if I’m ready. I ride horses and spend a lot of time with my kids. Periodically, an MMORPG will catch my interest and I’ll play for a while. Anarchy Online is my current favorite.
Q) Is there any story you wish to write for in the future? (For instance a Super Hero book, a Star Wars book or basically any other story continuity?)
DC: I do a lot of original work as well as tie-in work, but for the future, my hope is to do more work – period. I don’t take on projects that don’t interest me. A Star Wars books would be a very interesting challenge, of course, but to tell you the truth, my primary goal right now is to try and find a balance between media tie-in projects and original work. I would also like to do more script consulting and rewriting.
Q) What kind of Genre’s do you mostly enjoy writing for?
DC: I mostly work in SF or Fantasy, but I enjoy working in the mystery genre, too. I have a secret passion for westerns.
Q) What projects are you currently working on?
DC: Beyond the current Transformers book, which is a prequel story to the movie, which will be titled GHOSTS OF YESTERDAY, I have a mystery/thriller novel that I co-wrote and two young adult series that are making the rounds.
Q) How did you get into writing novels based on the Transformers?
DC: To make a fairly long story short, after TRANSFORMERS: HARDWIRED by Scott Ciencin came out, both Hasbro and iBooks (the publisher) felt they needed to make a change to finish the trilogy. The iBooks editor, Steve Roman, had worked with me before and knew I was a fan of the series. He called me and asked if I’d be willing to take on the last two books, and a few phone calls with some other people (the publisher, Byron Priess and the point of contact at Hasbro) finalized the project. I wrote the next two books in the trilogy – ANNHILATION and FUSION, then put the LEGENDS anthology together.
Q) How did you get the job of writing the prequel book for the upcoming Transformers movie?
DC: A lot of begging. Actually, it was mostly a matter of keeping my name in circulation. I knew that the movie was coming out and that it was likely there was going to be at least one book. I kept talking about it with the people involved and when the opportunity was available, my agent got in touch with the publisher who had been planning on contacting me anyway. It worked out nicely for everyone, I think.
Q) You have read the movie script, I’m sure. Other than the appearance, and some new characters, is there a major difference between the movie and the G1 Series? Or are there enough similarities to keep the G1 fans happy?
DC: That’s a good question. Yes, I’ve read the script. I think the majority of the fans are going to be happy – it’s a good story and there’s a lot there that will appeal to the core fan base. I also think fans need to remember that this is a movie, a major motion picture, establishing a new continuity all on its own, and some things have to change for the franchise to move in this direction.
Q) Where does your upcoming book lean toward? Is it more G1inish, or is it more adapted towards its own story style?
DC: I’m not sure quite how to answer this. I try to write the best story I can, and stay true to the characters as I think they are generally perceived. If I do that, most readers will enjoy it, I think.
Q) Any new characters in the book that you could discuss? Any characters that are not in the movie?
DC: Oh yes, there are a lot of characters in my book that aren’t in the movie. And some that are. And some that may show up down the line later on.
Q) What can you tell us about the book?
DC: Not as much as you’d like me to. The book is titled GHOSTS OF YESTERDAY and reveals some of the backstory of events that happened prior to the film – some as far back as the late 1800’s. The majority of the action in the book takes place during the late 1960’s.
Q) Will your story be a canon continuity as the movie? Or will this kind of end up like the Star Wars novels where not all the books are canon?
DC: I think so, but I don’t know that for sure. Obviously, Hasbro wants everything to be in continuity, so hopefully most of what I write will be part of that.
Q) How did you get into the Transformers and when did you get into them?
DC: I watched the original cartoon series when I was (a lot) younger than I am now. I thought the character archetypes were very engaging, and I’ve always enjoyed that with the Transformers what you see isn’t always quite what you get. It’s one of the reasons I enjoy writing about them so much.
Q) Anything you want to say to your fans, promising authors or Transformers fans before we go?
DC: To my fans – thank you for your continued support. I hope you enjoy the book. To promising authors – write your own work first, master the art and craft, read constantly, and down the road, you’ll be in a much better position to write for established worlds like the Transformers. And to Transformers fans, a big thank you and a reminder that the movie and the books are trying to do something fairly rare: create an entirely new generation of fans. That means change, but not necessarily change for the worse. Have faith that the people working on this MASSIVE project truly do care about it.
Here’s a couple of pictures of us having fun during the event.
Cosplay.ph, Filcosplay, and other cosplay organizations held group and individual cosplays during the H3. Nearly 250 participants joined this year’s contests.
Last part of coverage: part 4.
Cybertron Philippines supported the event by relaunching the Don Figueroa interview. Don Figueroa is a Filipino based in the US who is one of the most popular comic book artists and pencillers for many different Transformer titles for IDW Publishing. Cybertron Philippines was given the rare opportunity to conduct the interview with Figueroa.
The poster session was held right at the entrance of the H3 Convention. Fans would see the HeroTV logo along with the interview proper and samples of Figueroa’s work prominently displayed in the exhibit area. The poster session was such a hit, that one of Don’s work was stolen during the first day of the H3!
Don is a valued member of Cybertron Philippines. Rest assured that the group will feature more of his work and that of other Transformers artists in the near future.
Next two sections of coverage: part 3. part 4.
HeroTV has done it again. Surpassing the previous year’s H3, the 2006 Hataw Hanep Hero was the unstoppable juggernaut! The event was held November 18 to 19 in two halls of the World Trade Center in Pasay City. As partners of HeroTV, Cybertron Philippines came in full force to support the H3. The group was at the ingress as early as Friday afternoon. Most of the other sponsors and participants were setting up their respective booths and areas. Displaying the collectibles is a tiring task, but around good friends, one wouldn’t notice how fast time flies.
