Issue5

1.Erica Rice, Christiane Buehler, Dana Jeanne Norris and Susan Shulman and probably some other fans would all like to know if there is going to be a 6th Adept book? "It has been a while since the last one, and I am starting to miss Adam, and the others," Erica says.

Katherine says: This may be one of the down-sides of moving the Deryni books to Ace, because they now want me to concentrate on the Deryni. Debby and I would like to do at least one more Adept, but that all depends on whether/when Ace is willing to let us do it. If we do get to do another—and I do think it's a question or when, not if—it will probably be both Adept 6 and the sequel I've long wanted to do of Lammas Night. I set this up in The Templar Treasure, by introducing the elderly John Graham and dropping hints about Philippa's role in what Graham did later in the war. Anyway, this is the way my thinking is going right now.

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2.Hubbardtree says: I was just reading King Kelson’s Bride and I again noticed Bishop Arilan's attitude of superiority to Morgan and Duncan. I was just wondering why he hasn't taken it upon himself to fill in any gaps in their training if their being only patchwork-trained is such an annoyance. For that matter, why hasn't Richenda seen to it that her husband receives more complete training over the last 5 or 6 years? Even if she is not Qualified to train him herself, she definitely has access to people who are. It seems to me that after being married to such a well trained Deryni for so long Alaric would have been able to learn enough to not be so intimidated by other trained Deryni such as Arilan, Rasoul, and various members of the Camberian Council. Just curious.

Katherine says: Er, Hubbard, they’ve been a little busy. But now that I’m going to leave them alone for a while, I expect that Alaric will do some serious catching up! (Also, remember that both Arilan and Alaric have been thinking along these lines for so long—that “proper” Deryni training is vastly superior to what Alaric has—that it’s going to take a little while to shift their thinking patterns. We may get some further insights into this mindset by the end of the Childe Morgan Trilogy, which I intend to bring right up to Deryni Rising.)

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3. Jason de Jesus says: In the Year 948 many characters died. Joram, Tieg, Camber (the nephew) and the reigning king also died. What happened, was there a war or something?

Katherine says: Oh, yes, things happened in 948. But I'm afraid you'll have to wait for a book about that time....after the Childe Morgan Trilogy, and maybe after Orin and Jodotha. And then there’s that fascinating period focused on 1025, parts of which are hinted in KKB, as you’ll see. Sigh. So many books, so many other tempting things to do!

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4. Donald Lantzke asks Concerning Wards Cubes: At Darkover 1999, you mentioned that the raw material the cubes were made from wasn't particularly important and that the first set were made from balsa wood. My question is: how significant is the shape of the cubes for the function(s) they perform? In spite of the name, do the wards cubes have to be cubical or could the same things be done with a series of flat discs, pebbles or some other naturally occurring shape? From this, are you able to provide any speculation on the development of wards cube 'technology' from its (presumably) prehistoric origins into its modern form?

Katherine says: For simple Warding, I suspect that one could use some other shape besides cubes. The physical items are visual keys to mnemonics that trigger psychic procedures. The salient points would seem to be the pairing and balance of opposites, light and dark, and a bringing into harmony of the forces that actually produce a protective Ward. This is probably material for Orin and Jodotha to explore.