No, not really. George Lucas's world is so vivid, it allows another writer great freedom to take off. I think I'm more inspired by his vision than anything.
I was very influenced by Liam Neeson's performance in The Phantom Menace. He's an actor that projects a sense of layers, of a life deeply lived. The grace and intelligence of his persona really helped develop the character.
The humor in The Phantom Menace is mostly generated from Jar Jar, but I wanted to include humor in Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan's relationship in Jedi Apprentice. Qui-Gon is a dignified character in The Phantom Menace, but there is occasionally a sense of dryness from Liam Neeson. There are just small moments-- if you watch the film enough times, which I have -- that strike me. I love the scene when he catches Jar Jar's tongue, for example. That helped me write jokes for Qui-Gon -- sometimes he teases Obi-Wan in a very dry way, and it takes a beat or two for Obi-Wan to get it.
For me, there is also an undercurrent of sadness to Qui-Gon's character. He's seen a lot, but his compassion still drives him.
I would say that for the tone of Jedi Apprentice, I've gone back to the energetic mood of Episode IV. There's a sense in that film that the galaxy is crowded with some real oddballs who live by their wits. One of the things I really enjoy in Jedi Apprentice is throwing those kinds of characters at Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon.
Have you read or incorporated any inspiration or elements from the Star Wars "expanded universe" of books and comics?
I find that it's better for me to screen it out. I don't want to be influenced. I think what makes the Star Wars universe compelling for many readers is the many perspectives that different writers can bring to it. Yet it's never chaotic because one central consciousness conceived it.
It may sound odd, but one of my inspirations for Jedi Apprentice is Dickens. He wrote top-to-bottom, too, with all kind of characters and layered situations. Coincidence plays a role, as well as fate. And his universe is highly moral, as well. Specifically, I think of Dickens in my approach to secondary characters. Even in just a few pages, the reader should get a sense of someone who has a life beyond the story. For example, Paxxi and Guerra in The Hidden Past are very real to me. I could write a whole book about those brothers. We get short glimpses of other Jedi, such as the child care worker, Ali Alann, in The Captive Temple, and these kind of glimpses should give the reader a sense of real living, breathing characters, I hope.
What were the inspirations behind the new characters like Xanatos, Siri, Tahl and Bant?
The best thing we could do for Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan was to surround them with vivid, complex characters to interact with.
Dave Wolverton came up with Bant in the first book. When we returned to the Temple for Book #7, The Captive Temple, I re-read Dave's first Temple chapters -- which were so wonderful -- and was glad to bring Bant back and give her more to do. I liked that Obi-Wan had a younger, female friend. Bant is a soft, reflective character, and he's used to protecting her, so he has to come to recognize her great strength. That's a good lesson for any boy to learn.
As for Tahl, she was originally just a plot device-- a Jedi who needed rescue in The Defenders of the Dead. I didn't have a notion of who this Jedi was. This was one example of that happy event in every writer's life -- when a character appears and just takes over. When Qui-Gon opened the door to her cell to rescue her, a wisecrack came out of her mouth. She hasn't stopped since. She's had this tragic accident and lost her sight, and it's deepened her, but it's made her cranky at times, too. I liked the idea of giving Qui-Gon a peer who he would actually listen to and take advice from, and I wanted her to be as different from Qui-Gon as possible. Often reserved people choose outgoing smart mouths as good friends. She's allowed to tease Qui-Gon, and I like that, too.
