With Guy Gavriel Kay's Europe ) about to be published, I had the chance to have a little chat with the author.Enjoy!--------------------------I never work out good soundbites or elevator pitches for the books, I dislikethem that way. But this one is inspired by 15th century Italy, specifically the lifelong enmity between two of the greatest military commanders of their day, but filtering that tension through the lives and perceptions of a number of other people who come into contact with them.I think setting came first here, it takes place before(though it is a standalone) as I realized there were more things I wanted to explore in this time and place. The themes (especially memory, and the issue of how much control we have over our lives and how much ‘randomness’ comes into them) emerged.Not at all. I never know what the next book is. With thepair, it was in my mind as a diptych from the start, so I don’t seeas a ’next book’ I pushed straight on into it. This time, as always, there were many things, many settings, that interested me, but my reading and note taking gradually circled down to this one.A single malt whisky distiller in the Highlands. (Joke, but, actually…)Everyone has their own metaphors, their way of framing creativity, I don’t personally see it as falling intoneat dichotomy. As between these two, I’d be more an architect because theof a novel matters a lot to me (as a reader, too). It is one reason (among others) I don’t write multi-volume, in fact.This is, as people have probably learned by now with many projects, a long game. But the people involved at Boat Rocker are seriously smart and experienced, and I have a lot of confidence in them. There are also other projects based on my work being explored, but it is too soon to share anything. As a general note for people, one thing GoT on television did was create a very high level of expectation for budgets, production values. That puts a strain on many possible projects. Have a look at what is being budgeted for the Tolkien adaptation...I‘ll agree with that ‘hopefully’ as to wiser, Pat! Readers of this book will see, I suspect, what is engaging me, and has been for a few years (because I live with a book for years). I’m fascinated by how we examine and remember the past — our own and our culture’s, or the world’s — and shape narratives we need or want from that. We tell ourselves stories, and they are immensely important. That whole subject of storytelling, that a novel you read is aNo train, no station! Never know what might come up next, or next after that, or ...American stops so far in Seattle on the 17th of May (University Bookstore), and San Francisco on the 18th (Borderlands) in the afternoon, then the evening of the 19th at a fun gig called SF In SF (which will include the great Simon Vance, who does the audiobook of this one, and has done many of mine in the past).I always say this, but I always mean it: I am immensely grateful for the gift my readers give me, of being able to take the time to write the books I want to write. It really is a blessing.