Under A Velvet Cloak (38 page)

A simpler explanation would be that in the course of seven complicated novels, the author lost track of some details. They were written before the days of the personal computer, so I couldn’t
do
a Find to verify prior references. In fact they were written in pencil, then typed for sending to the agent and publisher. I considered trying to address such questions in this 8
^th
novel, but concluded that one omnibus answer would have to do: there are many timelines, differing from each other in slight or significant manner, so that just about every possible combination of human event, science/magic effect, or hair color is to be found somewhere. The Incarnations have superior powers, and may catch glimpses of alternate timelines, accounting for stray references. Meanwhile I made sure to get Tim’s feedback on this present novel, and try to correct errors before they appear in print.

Fantasy is generally low-research writing, but this novel required a lot of background thought and some spot research. A decade back Patricia Telesco sent me her book
Folkways
-
Reclaiming the Magic & Wisdom.
I saved it for future research, and used it for some of the folk wisdom and belief Kerena learned from Morely. Of course there’s a great deal more in the volume than the tidbits I used. It really pays to have the right reference at the right time.

I also had an idea I wanted to use somewhere: the virtual computer, projected from a tiny cube, with the virtual parts such as screen and keyboard working in the normal manner. I was watching a movie in a theater when it abruptly jelled: that would fit in this science/magic framework. That was actually the point when I decided to write the novel; it tipped the balance. So that computer is there, concealed as Nox’s coin, and I hope that before too long something like it exists in our own realm. True convenience: carry it in your pocket or on your wrist, expand it by virtual projection when you need to use it while traveling, eating, taking a bath, in bed or wherever. Almost like magic.

In each of the prior novels of this series, the events of my life seemed to echo the subjects of the novels. Was that the case with this one, tackled fifteen years later? I’m not sure, but perhaps I can make a case. By this time I am pushing 70 in age, my children are long gone into their adult lives, and my career as a best-selling author is over a decade past. My wife and I and a big
dog,
Obsidian, live in a house on our tree farm, coming up on our 48^th ^anniversary in reasonable health considering our retirement age. It’s really a pretty dull life, aside from my writing career.

That career, however, may be changing. In that post-best-seller decade I made a sustained effort to get my books consideration by the motion picture industry, and at this time-mid 2004-have three serious movie options on three series, and interest in one or two more. A movie can make a big difference, and a
good
movie can make a huge difference. So there is a reasonable chance that I will live to see a restoration of my former success. Does that relate to the way Nox manages to rescue the other timelines from destruction? Well, it was a thought.

At any rate, I think this novel does conclude the series, though perhaps only Nox knows for sure, and she’s not telling.

-Piers Anthony