Christie Golden – World of Warcraft: Rise of the Horde Interview

Christie: Ha, you name it! This is the fantasy equivalent of writing a historical novel. Durotan as I have said is the point of view character for most of the book. We also see Orgrim, Blackhand (and his kids, whom I loved portraying as teenage thugs), Ner’zhul, Drek’Thar, Gul’dan, and many others who are familiar names.

Christie: Very few people know who I am there (as of this writing anyway!) and that gives me a wonderful freedom to just play and make friends and do role-play just as “myself” without the encumbrance of “ZOMG you’re Christie Golden!” out there. In the end, I am as big a fan as anyone, and I love the friends I have made and the stories I’ve been involved in. People are so very, very creative! As for what I play, I play both factions and enjoy them equally. I’ve played every single class one time or another. I’ve played orc, troll, tauren, human, night elf and gnome. Can’t wait to play blood elf and, of course, a draenei!

Christie: I think it would have helped more if the novel had been set in present day Azeroth. Knowing things like how far away Ratchet is from Stormwind is invaluable in making a place feel “right” to someone who knows the game well. What it did do was let me play with the orcs as characters, and nail down how certain spells looked. For instance, I would have had a harder time describing shaman and warlock spells had I not known how they “looked” to an observer.

Christie: They’re all mentioned. Terokkar Forest, Hellfire Peninsula, Nagrand and Shattrath get a bit more “air time” as it were.

Christie: We’ll see ogres and their really nasty masters, the Gronn, as well as a variety of demons. But primarily, this is a tale of two races.

Christie: I’m glad you liked the book, and I do think this one will feel much richer. When I wrote LORD OF THE CLANS I did not have the advantage of the deep familiarity I now have with the world, and as you mentioned, six weeks is a pretty short time to write an entire novel. Of course I needed to stick to the history Blizzard gave me, and I wanted the orcs to feel real to people who already knew (and played) them. But I had a wonderful opportunity to create some lore of my own, as well as creatures, as well as the chance to really flesh out Durotan, Velen, and even Kil’jaeden. I think you’ll find it’s a richer reading experience because of that.

Christie: Pretty deep! I was able to create many rituals and clan structure on my own, and the draenei were still very “new” at this point.

Christie: I’ve always enjoyed writing about Orgrim, and it was wonderful to get to establish both him and Durotan as youngsters. Chapter One details how they meet, and the novel follows their friendship even as their destinies take them on seemingly different paths. We’ll also learn about the prophecy of the Doomhammer.

Christie: Oooh, I think I’ll need a “spoiler” warning on this one if I’m to talk about it?

Christie: Yes indeed. Another scene that was really fun to write, and also a big responsibility, since is such a pivotal moment in the history of the orcs. I hope it’s disturbing enough for you all!

Christie: Yes, you’ll see all of that!

Christie: One of the really remarkable and wonderful things about this whole experience is that Blizzard is a company that doesn’t just look at things from one direction. Usually, when an author does a tie-in novel such as RISE OF THE HORDE, things all go one way?from the original creation (the game) to the novel. Seldom if ever does anything that is mentioned in a media tie-in novel make it into the game/TV show/etc. Usually such novels aren’t even considered “canon.” Not only is my work canon, but characters I have created (such as Taretha) are showing up in the game as a solid part of the history.

When the folks at Blizzard read the first draft of RISE OF THE HORDE, they liked a lot of the things I had brought to the book and incorporated them into the expansion. Honestly, there really aren’t words for how excited and honored I am by this. It’s an enormous compliment. I’ve played Beta but I haven’t seen everything yet, so I can’t tell you exactly how things got incorporated. I did get a sneak peek at a few things when I met with Chris Metzen and some other great members of his team at Blizzard HQ a few months ago. What a great time that was! 😀

Christie: I had four months total. MUCH more time, and I’m glad to have had it as this is a much more epic storyline. LORD OF THE CLANS focused on one person, Thrall; this is a story of how an entire people became corrupted and lost.

Christie: Mainly Chris Metzen, though I do have the Player’s Guide and used it as a reference as well. Because the expansion was in actual development at this time, his was the final word.

Christie: As I mentioned, I had the chance to meet Chris and other members of his team for a tour of Blizzard HQ a few months ago. When you enter the lobby, you are greeted by the statue of Illidan that was at E3. WOW is that thing huge and intimidating! It was wonderful to meet some of the artists and lore masters and designers as well as catch a glimpse of a few things that are coming. My husband and I were the first non-employees to see the cinematic trailer for the expansion, so we knew you were all in for a treat! I think the most fun was going out to lunch and just jamming for a bit.

My husband and I are avid RPers and we were able to let Chris and the others know how RPers were really making good use of the world. RPers are a minority of course, so it was nice to be able to be their “reps”. One thing I requested if they could manage it was more character slots, because you see, we need those extra alts to help move our stories along? *coughs* We’ll have to see if we get more slots in the expansion. I left with some cool Blizzard goodies, including the Burning Crusade mousepad of Outland from Chris’s own desk. That was a highlight of a business relationship that?well?is pretty much composed of highlights.

Christie: Thank you, I would to! I hope it comes to pass. We have mentioned such things and it will depend on where they want to take the novels and also my own schedule. But I am keeping my fingers crossed, because this has been an amazing experience.

I think it will add a layer of richness to the gaming experience. I know that some are uneasy about the draenei’s role in the world, this might make it make a bit more sense. There’s also a lot of stuff there for RPing, ideas for rituals that could be part of your characters background or the basis for an RP event. Mostly, though, because I think readers will enjoy it!

Christie: Yes, I love the covers for all of these. Vampire of the Mists is doing very well. Of all the books I’ve written, I think that is my most beloved with readers. It’s wonderful that it’s back in print for diehard fans to have a new copy and for new readers to meet Jander. And I’m indirectly responsible for the elven vampires you see playing in WoW, as Jander Sunstar was the first elven vampire ever. I really believe that that archetype will be my writing legacy, and I think it’s a pretty good one. The “Final Dance” series, ON FIRE’S WINGS and IN STONE’S CLASP, have hit a bit of a snag. I’m waiting to hear from the publisher if they plan to continue the series. I certainly hope so, I don’t want to leave readers hanging! A lot of people who have read my Warcraft and Ravenloft novels have read this series and enjoyed it. There are excerpts on my website if anyone’s curious.

Christie: So far nothing’s been optioned, but never say never, right? I think ON FIRE’S WINGS would make a great movie personally, or Vampire. And since a Warcraft movie is underway I think they’ll be doing a brand new story for that, but obviously a Warcraft movie would totally rock! I actually do have a couple of ideas for screenplays, we’ll see what happens with that.

Christie: Ah, that’s the easiest question yet. From the bottom of my heart? “Thank you!”