LAST UPDATED: 24 October 2000

VZSciFi Live Creator Event: Author Yvonne Navarro
Thursday 15June, 1.00pm VZT (PST) Space City Conference Centre
Event Transcript Part Two

HereÕs the second part of our transcript of the Yvonne Navarro event, held on 15 June 2000. This has been edited slightly for spelling, with repetitions removed, and to add additional information where appropriate. Special thanks to Steve for going over it again for us! The event was moderated by Mr. Templeton (John Freeman).

Stig Redfin of the Ukrann: Do you like writing short stories, or novels?
Yvonne Navarro: That's hard to say, really. I'd probably say I prefer novels, but writing a short story can be a treasure in that it gives you something you can accomplish in a much shorter period of time. It's nice to actually see something finished in less than six months or a year.
Mr. Templeton: The short story market is harder, though
Yvonne Navarro: It is, and it doesn't pay that well in most respects.
INSERTED QUESTION, NOT ASKED DURING EVENT Linsue: Do short stories grow into novels?
Yvonne Navarro: Definitely. My very first novel, AfterAge, grew out of a 900-word short story called "Victory's Ode" -- and it wasn't even my idea to make it into a novel. That suggestion came from the editor of the magazine that bought the story. There have been plenty of other novelists who've done the same thing, taken a short story and expanded it into a novel.
Mr. Templeton: You've written for several genres… can we assume horror is your favourite?
Yvonne Navarro: Yes, it is. There's just nothing like a good scary story. <g> But a lot of my writing crosses over into multiple genres. I don't think you can have a truly good story unless you have a little bit romance in there, people who care about each other and want to see each other survive.
Archivist Shiren of the T'Chell: This new novel... it's not as 'supernatural' as others you have written are?
Yvonne Navarro: That's Not My Name actually isn't supernatural at all. It's probably the only novel I've written that isn't (discounting the science fiction ones). But it's still suspenseful.
Mr. Templeton: Can you tell us a little about how the story came about?
Yvonne Navarro: Okay. All of my stories, if you go all the way back to inception, usually come from a single what-if question. This one was, ‘What if a man kidnapped a woman because he really believed she was his missing wife?’ I actually started this novel over a decade ago, but it couldn't be published because I had a three-book contract at first for straight horror with a global slant.
Stig Redfin of the Ukrann: How do you research something like That's Not My Name? It sounds really scary to me.
Yvonne Navarro: It's set in a small suburb in which I used to live and which isn't very far away from me, so that part was easy. I did interview a police detective. He was from Chicago, and this was quite challenging -- it was very difficult to get him to see the case from the perspective of a small town, thus a lot of his suggestions weren't that helpful. For instance, in a small town a woman's shoe found in a parking lot in front of a very well kept grocery store, especially when a woman had been reported missing the day before would be an immediate big deal. In a big city like Chicago, it's just one more piece of trash on the street.
"I emailed back and forth with some agencies (I can't say which or I'll give too much away)... via the Internet and they were also helpful in answering questions. It isn't the first time I've had police procedures in there.
Mr. Templeton: Do you find the research for a novel sometimes takes longer than writing the book?
Yvonne Navarro: Not yet... The research on Final Impact was pretty daunting, and I had serious help on that one.
Mr. Templeton: This being in terms of the effects the rogue planet would have on Earth as it neared?
Yvonne Navarro: The whole thing -- given the exact same set of circumstances (size of the rogue planet, trajectory, speed, etc.)… everything that happened in Final Impact literally could happen on Earth, including stopping the rotation of the planet.
A big chunk of gratitude goes to a physicist named Rich Marasas, who worked out a complete computer program for it. I gave him the date I wanted the world to end and told him I wanted the planet to stop rotating, and he gave me the cause and how it would happen. He was great.
Mr. Templeton: Hmm, it sounds to me as though your research continues as you begin to write?
Yvonne Navarro: Oh, definitely. As you write you end up with more and more questions about what's going to happen.
Mr. Templeton: For instance?
Yvonne Navarro: Well, for instance, think about stopping the planet's rotation. All kinds of stuff happens then, and more than just the obvious day and night stuff. Rich worked out for me just how wide I wanted the Grayzone to be (the only area that's left which is truly inhabitable), what kind of things grow where, weather patterns, etc. Stopping the rotation itself was a trick, and the effects on the planet were enormous.
Stig Redfin of the Ukrann: Yvonne, do you have to do as much research for your media tie-in creations as you do for your own fiction?
Yvonne Navarro: Media tie-ins don't require as much research, generally, but depending on the book, they do require some. Species, for instance, was set in L.A. At the time, I'd never been there, so I made a two-page list of places I needed to know about. What was on such and such a corner, what kind of trees, etc. (I'm a stickler for detail) and I sent a couple of friends on a treasure hunt with my list.
"For Aliens I had a friend make me a tape of really dark classical music, the kind the composer in the book was writing. both Species' novels required various research stuff in the science/space area.
Buffy isn't as bad -- I just have to watch the programme over and over until I dream about it!
Yvonne Navarro: ha ha
Mr. Templeton: haha
Mr. Templeton: An editor I met recently defined media tie-ins as authors 'bread and butter'. Would you say that was true?
Yvonne Navarro: Somewhat reluctantly, because of the market for paperbacks nowadays, I guess I have to agree. I wish I could just write solo novels, but the media tie-ins do give me money to live on. That and living with Dad, too. :) -- (Land of Free Rent, Food And Phone)
Mr. Templeton: And yet, SF and fantasy is selling better than ever…
Yvonne Navarro: Yes, it is. I'm just glad people are reading books... (More...)

Part One of Transcript | Part Three of Transcript and Book Competition | Links: Yvonne Navarro's web site