The very best way I can make any reader believe in the nuts and bolts of an art form... is to know the mechanics, to make the characters grounded in convincing detail. Guy Gavriel Kay artboltcharacter Change image and share on social
When I was 18 years old, in a more innocent time, my first backpacking trip through Europe, I sneaked into the Temple of Saturn in the Roman Forum after nightfall and spent several hours in there avoiding the guards patrolling. Guy Gavriel Kay avoidbackpackeurope share on social
There's a level at which, if you take poetry seriously, the focus it involves... that never goes away. Guy Gavriel Kay focusinvolvelevel Change image and share on social
I ruefully admit that if the cat is asleep in my chair - which she regards as hers, of course - I tend to leave her there and take the other one. Guy Gavriel Kay admitasleepcat Change image and share on social
Even if we remember the past, odds are good we'll still repeat it. Guy Gavriel Kay goododdpast Change image and share on social
In general, the main themes emerge early for each book, even before the storyline and characters, as I research the time and place I want to draw upon. Having said that, every single book so far has offered me surprises en route, and these include motifs that come forward as I am writing. Guy Gavriel Kay bookcharacterdraw share on social
Do we value privacy in any real way? Thinking about blogs, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace... all these suggest we value exposure rather more. And instead of challenging this transformation, as they are supposed to - certainly at the more thoughtful edges of the art - novelists are buying into it wholesale. Guy Gavriel Kay artblogbuy share on social
As many have noted, the peril for authors is that our work space is too easily our play space. Guy Gavriel Kay authoreasilynote Change image and share on social
I'm happier not pretending I know anything about El Cid in Spain. He's a Spanish national hero. I'd rather invent a character inspired by him but clearly not identical to him. And then I feel liberated creatively. Guy Gavriel Kay charactercidcreatively share on social
I have always argued, in a good novel, interesting things happen to interesting people. Guy Gavriel Kay arguegoodhappen Change image and share on social