Interview with Ann Crispin

FLYING
SOLO

Author Ann Crispin turns from the adventures of the Starship Enterprise to the early enterprising adventures of Star Wars' resident flyboy

A. C. Crispin is a very busy woman. Aside from being a mother, a caretaker of 5 cats, 2 horses and 1 dog, the Eastern Regional Director of the Science Fiction Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), and a regular guest at dozens of science fiction conventions around the county, she is also responsible for chronicling the formative years of one of the most beloved characters in the Star Wars Universe. As I write this, the first two novels of her Han Solo trilogy, The Paradise Snare,and The Hutt Gambit are flying off bookshelves across the world, with a third book, Rebel Dawn due in early 1998.

A well-known author from Maryland, A.C Crispin has written several top-selling Star Trek novels, including Sarek, and is also the writer of the popular Starbridge series. Crispin is now taking on the daunting challenge of providing Star Wars fans with the story of Han Solo's mysterious past, from his childhood as a street urchin and pickpocket, to his smuggling days with Chewbacca aboard the Millennium Falcon, and his transformation into a hero at that fateful meeting with Obi-Wan Kenobi and a young farmboy in the Mos Eisley Cantina.

ECHO STATION spoke with Ann recently to find out all about Han's youth, his past loves, what Ann wasn't allowed to say about our favorite Corellian, and how she really feels about the changes to the Greedo scene in the Star Wars: Special Edition.

FIRING UP THE ENGINES
ES: How did the opportunity to write about the adventures of Han Solo as a young man come?

AC: As you may know, writers don't write a Star Wars book then submit it to Bantam -- they have to be invited to submit a book proposal. I have had considerable experience in doing work-for-hire over the years: novelizations, Star Trek novels, etc. So when I heard that the Star Wars books sold very well, naturally I was interested. I had always loved Star Wars, ever since seeing the first film the first night it was in the theaters, back in 1977. I told my agent that I was interested, and the next time she met with the Bantam editor, she let him know that.

I (also) made sure I sent a copy of my New York times bestselling Star Trek hardcover, Sarek, to the Bantam editor. In that book, I created "backstory" for some popular Star Trek characters, including Sarek, Amanda and Spock. I took hints and tiny snippets of information from the films and television shows and used them, along with my imagination, to create a complex history for the characters. In addition to my work on Star Trek, I've also created an original s.f. series called StarBridge, and one of the main story elements is young people learning to interact with aliens as they have adventures on alien worlds. This series has received considerable critical acclaim, citations from the A.L.A. as an excellent series for young s.f. readers, etc.

Tom Dupree, the (former) Bantam Star Wars editor, was aware that I was the creator and writer of StarBridge, as well as Sarek. So when Mr. Lucas decided to allow a writer to invent the story of Han Solo's life before SW:ANH, Tom Dupree thought of me. He asked my agent for a copy of StarBridge, the first book in the series, and read it. He was looking for a writer who could produce backstory on a media character, based on hints and little snippets of information, and for someone who had a good handle on writing realistic young people having adventures in space. Apparently I fit the bill and he liked what he saw, because Tom called my agent and offered me the chance to write "The Han Solo Trilogy" for Bantam.

I was only too pleased to accept, I assure you! Han Solo has always been my favorite Star Wars character -- I like Luke, Leia and the others just fine, but from the first time I ever saw him in the Mos Eisley Cantina, Han captured my interest and my heart. I just love the guy. He's cute, sexy, has a sense of humor, and a lopsided grin that the ladies just can't resist. (I've been a Harrison Ford fan since "American Graffiti" and I've seen nearly all his movies.) Han is also a rogue, a scoundrel... and what woman can resist a guy like that? If it sounds like my libido has a lot to do with my fondness for Han as a character -- it does! <g>

ES: Did chronicling these critical years of such a beloved character seem daunting to you?

AC: Not at first. I was pretty sure I was up to the job. After all, I'd done it several times before, for Mr. Spock and Sarek, and they're both pretty popular characters in a fandom even older than the Star Wars!

HOWEVER, I must admit when I received that big box of reference materials that Lucasfilm shipped me, I did feel rather daunted. Novels, short story anthologies, West End Games books, audio tapes, you name it! I quickly realized that I was responsible for all this material. I now probably have the equivalent of a Master's in Star Wars! By the time I finish Rebel Dawn, I suspect I'll have a Ph.D. <g>

No matter how careful I try to be, mistakes do creep in. I have a couple of people who read stuff for me, most notably Steve Osmanski. He's a SW gamer who is very knowledgable. Without these research assistants, I'd be up the creek. The research is ongoing. With every book, I need a couple of different references.

The other day I was chatting with Mike Stackpole, and I actually wound up telling him about some little bit of information regarding pirates in the SW universe that he didn't know. And, as many readers have noted, Mike Stackpole is very well informed about Star Wars. Kevin Anderson is another source of information, as are the guys from West End -- Peter, Paul, Tim, and Mike. All of them have been very generous with their time and information. I Acknowledge their help in every book, believe me! The Star Wars universe is now so HUGE that it's hard for any one person to know all the things about it. The people from Lucasfilm do remarkably well, but even THEY make mistakes occasionally. All I can do is try to make sure I make as few and as minor mistakes as possible. It's a lot of work, but worth it. The fans like it when the authors are conscientious about details in their favorite universe.

ES: The events in Han Solo's and other Star Wars characters lives prior to the original Star Wars film have always been shrouded in secrecy by George Lucas. Were there story ideas that Lucasfilm told you were taboo?

AC:Yes, there were a number of things I was told not to touch upon in my stories. Number One was that Han's parents must remain a mystery. He doesn't know them, doesn't know anything about them, not even their names. I realize that this conflicts with the hints about his family given in the Zahn trilogy, but hey, Lucasfilm is calling the shots. So in my books, Han has no parents, no memory of parents, and was never part of a family. (As I indicated in Paradise Snare.)

Number Two was that while I could refer to events in the Empire, I could not use Darth Vader or Emperor Palpatine as characters. I was kind of disappointed by this, but when you do work-for-hire, you must play by the rules. So I concentrated on Hutt and smuggler intrigues instead of showcasing the Powers-That-Be in the Empire.

Number Three was that I was not to "show" in realtime Han's time in the Imperial Academy OR his meeting with Chewbacca. I don't know why this rule was given, so don't ask me to speculate. From the time-frame that I've heard about the new films, the timing is wrong for this event to be included in the new trilogy. (After all, the new films are supposed to end 20 years before ANH, and thus Han would be only 9 years old -- far too young to be a cadet in the Academy.) I did sketch in the events of Han's meeting with Chewbacca, but only as Han remembers them. So readers will find out more than they knew before, but not nearly as much as they would like to know!

And, lastly, I was told that how Han got his bloodstripe was to remain a mystery. That was a disappointment, as I'd worked out something cool for that. But...like I said, the name of the game in work for hire is "this is not your universe, or your characters, and you must play by the rules you've been given."