Several times in Destiny's Way, the latest book of The New Jedi Order, characters proclaim that it is indeed the turning point of the bloody war between the Yuuzhan Vong and the New Republic. Author Walter Jon Williams takes the story through many pivotal confrontations, including an immense battle at novel's end that will leave indelible scars on the defeated fighting forces.

Though work on the novel started about half a year ago, Williams' introduction to the Star Wars mythos began as it did for most, in a darkened movie theater in the late 1970s. "The first showing of Star Wars in my town was at something like 11:30 am on a weekday morning," he recalls. "I had been kicked out of grad school and had no job, and decided to go on the spur of the moment. A line had already formed and all my friends were already in it. This was my first clue that Star Wars was going to be a special phenomenon for people of my generation"

Fast-forward years later, Williams, already a published and successful author, was approached by Del Rey Books to officially enter the Star Wars galaxy. "The first calls were between Del Rey's Shelly Shapiro and my agent, and were along the lines of, 'If Walter were available when we needed him, would he write a book?' Then, very suddenly, the theoretical project turned concrete, and things began happening very fast."

Williams underwent a crash course in Expanded Universe lore, as he was only familiar with the Star Wars films and not the quarter-century of published adventures that accompanied them. Diving into The Star Wars Encyclopedia, the Essential Guides, and other helpful reference material provided by LucasBooks, Williams was brought up to speed on the evolving Star Wars galaxy. "I developed a kind of Zen response to it all: 'Okay, Luke's married to a red-headed assassin, and they've got a kid. Fine. Next.'"

Others have likened working on The New Jedi Order to a relay race, with each author handing the baton to the next in line. Williams is the tenth author in the series, following on the heels of Traitor, a paperback installment by Matthew Stover. "I have to give special thanks to him because he provided a highly detailed outline of his book, and I was able to pick up from Traitor without a hitch. He made picking up the baton easy."

LucasBooks and Del Rey began developing The New Jedi Order in March of 1998, for the first time planning one large story to be told through a multi-year publishing program of books, both hardcover and paperback. A series bible and outline provides valued guidance to new authors, though those involved remain flexible enough to explore new directions in the story as it develops.

"For the sake of series continuity, there were a certain number of plot points that had to be introduced in Destiny's Way, but how they got there was up to me, and I had a great deal of freedom in regards to everything else. Much more freedom than I expected, actually," notes Williams.

"Developing the big pictures and writing the big scenes was never a problem. It was always the little details that made life miserable," the author reveals, recalling a series of surprises that caused a few headaches and frantic rewrites. "What do you mean I can't kill Zavval the Hutt because he's already dead? What do you mean Winter's married? When did Winter get married? What do you mean, years ago? All these little discoveries meant more rewriting -- Jaina Solo's love-life in particular. That certainly wasn't in any of the outlines."

These are the burdens of writing in a shared universe, ones that Williams takes in stride, having chalked up his share of experience in other multi-author series. "I'd worked on the science fantasy series Wild Cards -- now being reprinted - and I'd worked in film and TV, and these are all collaborative media featuring a lot of give and take. I was used to the process."

Whereas the preceding novel, Traitor was a more focused character study on Jacen Solo and his journey through the hellish environs of the Yuuzhan Vong, Destiny's Way returns to the sprawling space epic roots of Star Wars, complete with gigantic space battles, one-on-one confrontations, personal choices, intricate politicking, and an large ensemble cast. "I enjoyed the contrast," says Williams. "Each of these elements plays to one of my strengths as a writer, so I was able to jump from one to the other and a have a good time."