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| | Interview with Age of Conan author Loren L. Coleman
 As the first book of the Cimmerian trilogy Legends of Kern is in stores, conan.com touched base with author Loren L. Coleman and asked him about his work.
Give us some background information about you. How did you get into writing?
I've been writing and telling stories all my life. I just never realized it until I took my first creative writing class in high school. I used elective credits to take about two and a half years of different fiction-style courses. Even then, though, I didn't think of it as a potential career. And when I graduated, I stopped. For awhile.
But in 1990 I was in the US Navy and getting ready for a Med-Cruise deployment. Looking at six months without a lot of recreational outlet, I thought about writing again. I had a book idea that had been bugging me. So, I bought a Smith Corona word processor and in the next six months wrote a few short stories and a contemporary fantasy novel. I couldn't believe I had ever stopped writing. This time I didn't stop. Once I got out of the military, I kept at it and met some writers who have been great friends and mentors, and finally started to sell.
Are you a Conan fan long since? How did you come in contact with Conan?
I love Conan. I remember the original Howard stories, and some of the early comics. I was even the perfect age to really enjoy the movie. I've always been a large fan of quest fantasy, which can trace some of its strongest roots back to Howard's work.
What where your thoughts when you were offered to write this trilogy? What was it like to go into Hyboria and write your own stories?
I was very excited about writing the Cimmerian trilogy. Here was a fantasy universe I enjoyed as a kid, and now I get to go play in it as part of my career? How lucky is that? But it was a bit scary as well. I mean, the world of Conan is huge. And I had big shoes to step into.
Once I got rolling, though, it seemed to get easier. Possibly because I was allowed to invent a new hero and cast of characters. These were creations I knew inside and out, and I could pay homage to Howard's work without having to worry as much about rewriting all the good material he'd already done.
What was most fun, and most difficult?
I'd say the most fun was being able to create some rather... errr... interesting situations for a group of barbarians to suddenly find themselves in. I don't want to give anything away. Of course, the good old-fashioned blood-slinging battles were great fun as well.
The most difficult was trying to write three interlinked novels in such a short amount of time. It was a first for me, having these books planned and published so quickly. It pushed me as a writer, and helped me discover new skills I could work on and improve.
Wherefrom do you get inspiration? Which other fantasy/scifi authors do you personally think are great? Any reading tips for Conan fans?
Like many writers I know, I tend to be rather sponge-like. I'm always trying to learn, and when I find an author who I really enjoy, I tend to read a lot of him or her for enjoyment and to study their styles and techniques. I pick up tools from all over.
I think Conan fans especially would also enjoy fantasies written by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (The Fey), Mike Stackpole (The Dark Glory War, Talon Revenant), and Robin Hobb (The Liveship Series). Oh, and plenty more Conan stories coming out soon!
You are well known for MechWarrior and BattleTech novels, especially for your battle scenes. Were you able to use your storytelling skills in the same way with AOC?
Yes and no. Of course, my writing style is my writing style. I can tweak and twist some things, but my voice is still likely to come through. So the Conan novels are the result of twenty other novels worth of practice, including a dozen or so BattleTech/MechWarrior books.
But battle scenes. Yeah, I think I drew directly quite a bit from my experience in the BattleTech work. As a way of knowing how to pace myself through large battles. When I needed to focus down on the nitty-gritty elements. The weight of the sword. The hot splash of blood. And when to pull back for the long shots. The ebb-and-flow of combat.
In a way, Age of Conan probably made it easier on me in this regards. Because when you're cleaning the blood off your sword with your dead enemy's hair, well, it gets personal really fast.
What are you writing on presently?
Currently, I'm working on a new novel for MechWarrior: Dark Age, a continuation of the BattleTech universe in which I've done so much work. I also write and do editing for an online publishing forum www.battlecorps.com. And have completed the first of a possible young adult/juvenile contemporary fantasy series which I hope to send out to publishers soon.
Legends of Kern are being published one book a month, May-July 2005.
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