The eagerly awaited interview with Joe Schreiber, author of  Death Troopers and other novels such as No Doors, No Windows, has finally been posted!  In this segment, Schreiber talks about Star Wars on a more general basis, as well as his upcoming prequel to Death Troopers (scheduled to release Fall of 2010), so be sure to check that out below the break!  Also check out the Death Troopers segment here on NJOE and the No Doors, No Windows/general horror part here on Fight-Evil.  Thanks to Joe Schreiber for taking part in the interview (also check out his blog, The Scary Parent, here)!

Star Wars – past, present, future

1. You talked previously about your first experience with Star Wars – but I find it more interesting to talk about
people’s first experience with The Empire Strikes Back. Do you recall how you felt after hearing ‘I –am- your father’?

It’s funny because I’ve talked to a few other people about that, and I think I’ve forgotten how upsetting that was to hear for the first time.  I remember there being a lot of debate about whether or not Vader was lying.  You didn’t want to believe it, but you sort of knew it had to be true.

2. Along those same lines, do you have a favorite Star Wars film – and any reasoning behind it?

Empire is the best movie.  Period.  It’s a clinic on structure, character dynamics and tension.  The only thing it has working against it is that it’s an Act II movie which means you’re not going to get satisfying resolution in the end.

3. Who inspires the most fear in Star War: Darth Vader or the Emperor?

Vader.  At his best, he’s a void.  Soulless.  It’s terrifying.

4. I know authors don’t necessarily have a lot of time for reading, but were you a fan of the Star Wars literature line prior to being invited to write Death Troopers? Had you read any books, either as a kid (like some of the Brian Daley stories) or the more modern novels? Did you do any research/reading of any Star Wars literature for your work in Death Troopers?

Most of the research I did centered on the “non fiction” Star Wars literature, the references and essential guidebooks.  I think writers need to make time for reading — all kinds of reading, in all different genres — but I didn’t read much of the other Star Wars novels.

5. On a similar subject, what is your favorite Star Wars novel?

See above…

6. I think the horror theme works well in the original trilogy era.  Do you think it would have worked in the prequel era?

I hope so.

7. If you were a Star Wars character (movie or Expanded Universe), who would you be?

Salacious Crumb.  I love the idea of perching on some enormous amoral crime lord and cackling as he sends various helpless victims to their doom.

8. With the success of Death Troopers could this turn into a regular gig for you?  Personally I wouldn’t be against a Star Wars horror story every year.

Believe me, if the opportunity arises, I’d jump at it every time.

9. The ending of Death Troopers, with the zombies attempting to travel under their own, leaves an opening for some pretty frightening possibilities.  Do you have any intention of following up on this, or is Death Troopers the end of the line?

The next book, due out in fall of 2010, isn’t a sequel.  But it does follow some of the same themes.

10. Circumstances permitting, would you have any interest in writing the first R-rated Star Wars novel?

I thought I already did.

11. You recently revealed having completed work on a prequel to Death Troopers.  Should we expect a darker, more horror-based novel now that Star Wars fans have had the chance to ease into the genre, or should we expect a tone closer along the lines of Death Troopers?  What kind of story are you trying to tell this time?

It’s another very scary story with a cast of original characters interacting with some of my favorite Star Wars tropes and technology.

12. In discussion, it’s been said often that the Blackwing project would make for a good story to either follow up on or go back and reveal the origin of. I was glad to see your next Star Wars book will be a prequel giving us some of that background. I know the implant will explode should you give out any details, but is there anything you can give us in terms of what to expect?

Not yet.

13. Will we find out who ordered the Blackwing project in the first place? Will there be any familiar characters in
this story too?

Stay tuned.

The results from this year’s AD awards are in! To see who won what category, head on over to this link! Congrats to all of the winners and once again, thank you to everyone who has kept this site going for two years!

As of September 2nd, 2009, Approaching Darkness is celebrating the second anniversary of it’s opening. The site started as the first Darkness role play and as it’s gathered more members, it’s slowly grown beyond, spreading into spin-off sites such as Beckoning Darkness, Crescendo or Shattered Darkness. To commemorate this occasion, ID Administrator (and AD Administrator) MizzeeOH has completely redesigned the site’s look from the ground up including a new banner, ranks, forum markers, forum banners, a starry background and, true to the site’s spiritual color, a purple theme.

As was done last year, site administrators MizzeeOH and Zinnos (Magenta Marr and Darth Aeacus on site) have created this year’s nominations which can be found here. Votes are due to Magenta Marr’s inbox (via PM) in ten days at which point the votes will be tallied and the winners announced.

To everyone who’s made these last two years so successful, we here at Immortal Darkness would like to say thank you and we hope you continue to enjoy your Star Wars Role plays!

I just received an email from cover artist Dave Seeley, who informed me that he’ll be attending the San Diego Comic Con at the end of this week. He’ll be at Booth 4600 and will bring the canvas of the Crosscurrent. Furthermore, he’ll be handing out free promo cards featuring the front and back covers of Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor.

He also made note to check out his website, daveseeley.com, to check out the origins of the Crosscurrent cover.

Due to disagreements between the administration of Calculated Darkness and that of Immortal Darkness, the administration of Calculated Darkness has decided to disaffiliate itself from Immortal Darkness and will no longer be considered a “Darkness” site. We regret what has happened, and do not discourage any from leaving their memberships to the site. We wish Calculated Darkness luck with all its future endeavors.

The Staff of Immortal Darkness

One of our members, Eron Nightwind, has opened up a new Star Wars role playing site called “Shattered Darkness.” Set during the Empire Era and centered on the civil war between the Rebellion and Galactic Empire, it’s sure to be a interesting adventure.

Check it out

Our affiliate NJOE is hosting an event for Aaron Allston, who has recently suffered from a heartattack and is recovering now.  The “Get Well” project lets people send in letters to an NJOE forumer (it could be thanking him for his contributions to the SW universe, telling him to get well soon, or anything else of that nature) who would then send them to Allston.  You’re required to put in your name and your location (for privacy’s sake you aren’t required to be too specific with either things if you don’t want to be).  Submissions are due April 11th, so if you want to do this, try and make it as soon as possible.  Check out this PDF article for more information.

Immortal Darkness and NJOE, two sites that have been close for awhile now, have finally made the relationship official; we’re announcing an extended affiliation with NJOE!  From now on, major general discussion of SW works are to be conducted at NJOE, and any major RPs are to be done on ID.  Each site has redirecting forums linking to one another, and we will also be sharing things such as interviews from now on.  If you haven’t seen NJOE yet, here is the link – be sure to check it out, because it’s a great site!

Also, due to this development, ID’s Discussing Darkness will be closed.

This has been announced for awhile now, but I’ve neglected to put it up on the front page.  I figure I probably should, so…..

Immortal Darkness is having an interview with the writer of the Knights of the Old Republic comic series, John Jackson Miller!  There is no current deadline, for reasons we cannot yet explain (well, one is so that we can get more questions, but there is another).  Submit any and all questions here!