In honour of the upcoming release of the Star Wars Dooku: Jedi Lost script book, Del Rey Books recently hosted a reader’s Q&A on Twitter and Facebook. Here’s a round up of Cavan’s responses. Keep reading to see if your question was included!

The biggest challenge was trying to establish a through line so the various flashbacks didn’t seem too disjointed. That was done by using various characters as tent-poles; Sifo-Dyas, Kostana, Qui-Gon, Rael. Each provided a familiar voice & showed how much Dooku was changing. ~CS https://t.co/VMV1wDsmwq — Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) September 23, 2019

I started with what we knew from both the prequels and the Clone Wars, going over his scenes, looking for clues, preparing to reverse engineer the Count, keeping in mind that this wasn’t a character who was evil from day one.The focus was always going to be on Dooku the Jedi. ~CS https://t.co/0XCuLo3Q7t — Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) September 23, 2019

If Dooku had stayed at home you mean? I like to think that Jenza and Dooku would have been close but I doubt he’d ever get on with Ramil. One of the early drafts of the outline actually showed them together as children, and it was not a happy House! ~ CS https://t.co/wAnFhIYvUs — Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) September 23, 2019

Because funeral moons are 1000% cooler! The idea came from the old London necropolis complete with its own train of the dead. As for Dooku’s tailor, well the House of Serenno is known for its sartorial elegance. I reckon he wore his Jedi robes with a certain flourish. ~ CS https://t.co/jhvbvvFK69 — Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) September 23, 2019

It was written as an audio script from the [start]. Audio was the very first medium I wrote for, so in many ways it was like coming home. There were five drafts, the first delivered on 1st January 2019 and the fifth delivered on the 4th March. ~CS https://t.co/VDbiLORSGH — Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) September 23, 2019

I received some guidelines but it was more of a list of suggested characters that Dooku could encounter rather than imperatives. The framework was there in the brief though – Dooku’s life would be explored as he trained Ventress. ~CS https://t.co/f3ZFHKpKs9 — Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) September 23, 2019

We talked a lot about Rael and also about the rules concerning members of the Jedi Councils taking Padawans. We both shared early drafts of any sections with Rael and Dooku to make sure his voice was consistent. ~ CS https://t.co/Mm7EtlUi83 — Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) September 23, 2019

They came from a visit to an exhibition on witchcraft at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford where I saw an old set of bandages inscribed with the spells. The words of the Balm of the Luminous itself were based on my studies of Celtic Christianity. ~ CS https://t.co/LaLew2Qh3v — Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) September 23, 2019

Quinlan Vos. I was a huge fan of the STAR WARS REPUBLIC comic back in the days of the EU and would have loved to have brought Vos and Dooku face-to-face, but of course, it wouldn’t link up with what we now know about their relationship from the Clone Wars. ~ CS https://t.co/sPC7oqUaco — Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) September 23, 2019

I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that the Prequel Jedi seemed to have turned their backs on their history. I can’t believe they were all that blind to the threat of the Sith. There would be plenty who wanted to learn from the past. That was the beginning of Kostana. ~ CS https://t.co/tWUC0BOoA1 — Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) September 23, 2019

Some answers were also posted on Facebook…

Jonathan Koan: Were there any specific episodes of Clone Wars or other smaller stories like books and comics that you researched in order to write Dooku and Ventress? “I started by listening to the DARK DISCIPLE audiobook and then went back and watched some of my favorite episodes of the Clone Wars including my all-time favorite, NIGHTSISTERS. I think that episode is the nearest we come to seeing the real Dooku, when he struggles with the order to kill his assassin. That was the relationship I wanted to touch on whenever writing the two of them.



I also went back and watched the original CLONE WARS episodes and read all of her appearances in the Legends REPUBLIC comic series from Dark Horse, which has been a favorite of mine for a long, long time. I wanted to reference both of those in the audio too.” ~ CS

Andrés Carrandi Esmenjaud: I’m curious about the hidden Sith artefacts scene, which feels quite Harry-Potter-like. How did that come about? “I live with a complete Potter-Head in the form of my 13-year-old daughter, so I guess the Hogwarts comparisons were inevitable. But I’m also a sucker for stories about secret archives and hidden relics.



The window on an internal wall with lights behind it came from a pub I used to go in Bath, Somerset which had fake windows with light bulbs hidden behind the curtains on a back wall which always gave the place a weird time-less quality.” ~ CS

Richard Gawel: How difficult is it to balance the need for exposition with an all-dialogue story against letting your characters sound too wordy or obvious? Very! I try my hardest and hopefully succeed most of the time. The trick is to try to make most of it sound as natural as possible, so instead of saying ‘look, this room has a giant fireplace,’ you put your characters in situations where they say things like, ‘it’s there, next to the fireplace.’ ~ CS

Fin Langton Burnell: How closely did you work with Claudia while she was writing Master & Apprentice? With characters like Averross did you plan his character out together or was he the brain child of one that leeched into the other story? “Rael was Claudia’s baby. We first discussed him soon after I received the brief for Jedi Lost and, although I was never asked to include him, I knew I wanted too. One decision I made early on, however, was that we wouldn’t see Rael as a Padawan. I think that’s a story for another day.” ~ CS

Eddie Davis: Cavan, when you write Dooku do you hear Christopher Lee’s voice or Corey Burton? I hear Lee’s voice but see the CLONE WARS version of Dooku in my mind’s eye (although I did surround myself with Dooku action figures and models).~ CS

Finally, Del Rey rounded off the Q&A with the following extract:

It's been a Dooku-filled day! Hope you enjoyed hearing the answers to your q's from the wonderful @cavanscott.



To close it out, here's an audio except paired with the upcoming text, as Asajj investigates her dark master.

DOOKU: JEDI LOST is out in HC on October 1. pic.twitter.com/l3OH59hREL — Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) September 23, 2019

Want to ask Cavan a question of your own?

Then visit his #AMA page. Answers will appear on this website, plus in his email newsletter.

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