Post by icefang on Mar 25, 2006 21:24:05 GMT -5
Thanks to wandsandworlds.com, I have a chat transcript from Erin Hunter! ( link: wandsandworlds.com/community/node/52 )
(NP= New Prophecy)
On December 11, Cherith Baldry participated in an author chat with our members. Cherith is one of the two authors who write the Warriors series under the pseudonum Erin Hunter. The chat was scheduled to last 1/2 hour, but Cherith stayed for 2 and 1/2 hours answering questions from Wands and Worlds members! The transcript is as follows:
Snowpelt: thanks for coming, erinhunter!
greenbabynurse: Tanks for coming i love your books sooo much
SheilaRuth: Welcome to the chat everyone, and welcome to Erin Hunter, is now here.
Phantomheart(Q): How long did it take you to write the first book of warriors?
ErinHunter(A): About three months, I think, but it's a while now so I don't remember too well!
greenbabynurse(Q): Erin with there be any more books after this Prophcey is over?
ErinHunter(A): Yes, there will be a new series of six, and also a 'one off' special edition.
magicyop(Q): In the end of book three, cinderpaw was still called cinderpaw. However in the allegiances for book 3 it
said cinderpelt. then she was called cinderpelt in the beggining of book 4. why is this?
ErinHunter(A): Medicine cats have a special way of getting their full name, and you'll find out about that in this current
series - Book 4, I think it is.
SheilaRuth I forgot to ask if we can try to avoid asking any questions with spoilers. Some people haven't read all the
books yet. Snowpelt, I'm going to go ahead and forward yours to her, because it's not too bad but let's be careful
Liontail(Q): Where does the entire series take place? Where is the forest located? Any specific area?
ErinHunter(A): When we started, it was based on the New Forest in the south of England, but as we developed the ideas
it became more of a fantasy place, so it isn;t really located anywhere specific now.
Snowpelt: oops, sorry Sheilaruth.
Snowpelt(Q): Will the blood relationship between Hawfrost, Brambleclaw, Mothwing, and Tawnypelt play a large part in
the rest of the series?
ErinHunter(A): Yes, it will, but I'm not going to tell you how!
greenbabynurse(Q): Erin with there be any more books after this Prophcey is over?
ErinHunter(A): Scroll up a bit, as I already answered this. Let me know if you can't find it!
StarClan(Q): Where is the Warriors series set geographically (city/town, road, ect.)?
ErinHunter(A): Nowhere specific - see the answer to the other question a minute ago.
Liontail(Q): What were some of the reasons the point of view was changed from Firestar to the others in the new prophecy
ErinHunter(A): Well, we thought we'd really told Firestar's story, and so we wanted to get a fresh viewpoint. Another
reason was to use alternating viewpoints, which we do a lot in NP. If you've read Moonrise, you'll know that we use
viewpoints of cats who aren't in ThunderClan.
StarClan: Yes I read Moonrise. I was just disappointed ot see Firestar's point of view go.
Ravenpelt: How long does this chat last for? Is there a specific time it ends? (not directed at Erin Hunter)
Liontail: 30 minutes right?
Phantomheart(Q): Erin,are you gona make any warrior movies?
ErinHunter(A): There aren't any plans at the moment, but I'd be delighted if it happened!
Ravenpelt: No movies?! Aww...
SheilaRuth: It's supposed to be 30 minutes.
Ravenpelt: ok
Ravenpelt(Q): Hello, my name is Ravenpelt, and I have a few questions for you. 1. I wrote a fanfic on the events that
occurred between The Darkest Hour and Midnight. If you are interested, go to www.freewebs.com/ravenpelt16 to read it 2.
What will Squirrelpaw's and Leafpaw's warrior names be? 3. What is the fifth book called and when is it coming out?
ErinHunter(A): I won't tell you their names, you'll have to read Book 4! Book 5 is called 'Twilight'; I'm not sure when
it's coming out.
Ravenpelt: The rumors were true then, it is Twilight
Ravenpelt: cool
StarClan(Q): How did you come up with the idea for the Warriors series?
ErinHunter(A): The whole idea was discussed between me (Cherith Baldry as you probably know) the other writer Kate Cary
and the UK editor Vicky Holmes.
SheilaRuth: Several people asked about the Warrior movies, and since she already answered it I'm not sending the extras
to her
StarClan(Q): Will the books ever be in Firestar's point of view again (I miss it so bad)?
ErinHunter(A): The special edition may be, but I'm not promising, because we haven't worked out what will happen in that
one yet.
StarClan: Yesss!!!!
magicyop(Q): When firestar got his nine lives, why were patchpelt and halftail not there?
ErinHunter(A): They might have been there; there werer lots of StarClan warriors, and we couldn't name them all.
The nine most important cats in his life at that time each gave him a life. (Cats that had gone to hunt with StarClan, that
is.)
magicyop: oh, ok.
Snowpelt(Q): How did you first meet Kate and start writing Warriors?
ErinHunter(A): Believe it or not, we have never met! We were brought together as writing partners by Vicky, who is
wonderful!
Ravenpelt(Q): I managed to get an advance copy of Dawn, good choice of a warrior name for Crowpaw!
ErinHunter(A): Yes, we felt quite smug about that!
Ravenpelt: hehe
StarClan(Q): Did you or Kate write the first book?
ErinHunter(A): Kate wrote books 1, 2 and 4 of the first series, and I wrote 3, 5 and 6.
Snowpelt(Q): Have you and/or Kate come up with the titles for the rest of the books in A New Prophecy?
ErinHunter(A): As far as I know, Vicky thought of all the titles. I'm very bad at thinking of titles!
StarClan(Q): Will Cloudtail ever belive in StarClan?
ErinHunter(A): I doubt it.
Ravenpelt: Dawn was the best book of the new prophecy, I think
Phantomheart(Q): Erin,is it easy for you to make the warrior books?
ErinHunter(A): It varies. Some bits are really easy to write and some are harder. But it's always a great joy to do,
because there's so much in them.
greenbabynurse(Q): who will the nexted Prophcey/Series involve?
ErinHunter(A): Aha!
Snowpelt(Q): The main character in each of the serires (Firestar and Brambleclaw) both have StarClan mentors,
will this continue in the third series?
ErinHunter(A): I can't say at the moment, the third series is still very much in the melting pot.
Liontail(Q): Are all the cats fictional or were some characters derived from real ones
ErinHunter(A): Most of the cats were fictional, though I think Firestar was based on a cat Kate knows.
Brambleclaw and Sorreltail are based on my cats.
magicyop(Q): What happened to the rest of the pack in book 5? The leader and two others fell in but it was never
explained what happened to the rest.
ErinHunter(A): They were terrified and ran off.
Liontail(Q): Will there ever be an official site for Warriors fans to discuss about the series?
ErinHunter(A): The official site at present is warriorcats.com, but I don't think there's a discussion facility.
Email HarperCollins and they might provide one!
magicyop(Q): What happened to the rest of the pack in book 5? The leader and two others fell in but it was never explained what happened to the rest.
ErinHunter(A): I think I answered this and it's come up again. Maybe I'm not using the console right! Anyway,
the dogs were terrified and ran off.
magicyop: Oops, thats my fault. i think i accidently sumbitted it twice.
StarClan(Q): Do your readers/editors ever bug you about writing style diffrences (beetween you and Kate)?
ErinHunter(A): The readers don't, or haven't until now. It's the editor's job to make sure the styles match.
StarClan(Q): So If I lookup the New Forest in Engald I can get a rough ariel picture of the series setting?
ErinHunter(A): Very rough, because as I said we've really developed it beyond that now.
Snowpelt(Q): Have there been large parts of the books taken out during editing that you would have like to stay in?
ErinHunter(A): No, hardly anything at all. Usually when Vicky sees my first draft she thinks of extra things we might put
in.
StarClan(Q): How long does it take to write each book?
ErinHunter(A): It varies, depending on when the deadline is. Roughly three months, though I did do one in a month, and that was *hard* work!
StarClan(Q): Have you considered making a fouth series?
ErinHunter(A): It's a bit early for that.
StarClan(Q): I never notice any diffrences.
ErinHunter(A): Good - that's what we aim for.
Snowpelt(Q): Which covers came first, the UK covers or the US covers?
ErinHunter(A): The US ones.
StarClan(Q): Which covers do you like better, the US or UK ones?
ErinHunter(A): I like both, but I prefer the US ones.
Liontail: There are 2 different covers?
Ravenpelt: yeah, I've seen the Uk ones, they're so much better
StarClan: Yep
Liontail: anyone have the link for a view because I have never seen them
Ravenpelt: I asked her what happened to Mistyfoot's kits
Snowpelt: i like the uk
greenbabynurse: really..ravenpelt is there a web i could go to so i could see them
StarClan(Q): Do you or Kate write any other books? Do you have offical webistes?
ErinHunter(A): Yes, we both write other books. I don't have a website and I don't know if Kate does. Try googling
on our names - you'll see a number of my other books if you look up Cherith Baldry on, say, Amazon. {Stormy: I bet they're good!}
StarClan: www.amazon.com
magicyop(Q): Will Ravenpaw ever return to thunderclan?
ErinHunter(A): Hmmm...maybe.
greenbabynurse(Q): I writing books what you have allways wanted to do?
ErinHunter(A): Yes, one of my earliest memories is of sitting on my grandfather's knee and reading him a story
I had written.
Ravenpelt: I dunno, I don't remember where I saw them
Liontail(Q): Will there be any tours in the US/Canada promoting the books?
ErinHunter(A): There was a tour last May - I had a terrific time! It's possible there'll be another next year,
but nothing is fixed yet.
Ravenpelt(Q): Why does Ferncloud get picked on? (you know what I mean)
ErinHunter(A): No - explain!
Ravenpelt(Q): Ferncloud loses so much family, you know, in both Moonrise and Dawn. Why?
ErinHunter(A): I see. I'm not sure there's a specific reason; it's not because we hate her! She is the only cat
with young kits at this time, and very young and old cats are most at risk in hard times.
Liontail(Q): My friend wants to know is there a reason that the books are not available for online buying in
Canada? He has tried to order the new Prophecy but was unsuccessful and had to wait for the release
ErinHunter(A): Sorry, I've no idea. I don't have anything to do with marketing.
SheilaRuth(Q): I know you have to go soon, but some of the members of the group are writers. Do you have any
advice for young writers?
ErinHunter(A): Yes, lots. The most important thing is to read, read, read, and read some more. Then as you're still
in school, take advantage of your English classes. Publishers won't spend vast amount of time correcting grammar
and spelling. It has to be right. Then go off and have a life so you have something to write about.
StarClan(Q): Is the Warriors series considered popular compared to other children's books?
ErinHunter(A): I don't think we'll ever outsell Harry Potter! {Stormy: BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!} But it's doing very well otherwise. As you
probably know, Midnight and Moonrise both made the New York Times bestseller list.
StarClan: I think you could!
Snowpelt(Q): Who is Rosetail?
ErinHunter(A): I don't think I've heard of Rosetail. Good name, though.{Stormy: }
Ravenpelt: wasn't Rosetail killed in the very first book?
Liontail: no
StarClan: Should we quit asking questions so Erin can finsih up the ones remaining?
Phantomheart(Q): Erin,do you go on anyones(fans of the warrior books) web sites?
ErinHunter(A): Not really, though I've looked in on one or two. It's probably best for writers not to be too close to the fan writing.
Phantomheart: It was Redtail
magicyop: Good idea. otherwise some questions might not get answered.
Ravenpelt: Rosetail was killed in Into The Wild, and Redtail was too
StarClan: oh, yeah...
StarClan(Q): If the cats move to another area in Dawn how will they access Highstones?
ErinHunter(A): That's a problem the cats tackle in Book 4.
StarClan: Who was Rosetail? {Stormy: I KNOW I KNOW!! She was a ThunderClan elder who was guarding the nursery during the ShadowClan attack in Into the Wild, Blackfoot killed her}
greenbabynurse(Q): Are that cats featured in a larger painting on the covers of the books usullay the cat that the
book is most about?
ErinHunter(A): Yes.
magicyop: Rosetail? I don't seem to remember rosetail... I only remember redtail.
Liontail: Redtail and Lionheart I remember
StarClan: Lets look it up later.
Ravenpelt: In the very first book, she was killed trying to defend the nursery, but her name wasn't in the
Alleigiances. They only mentioned her in one chap
greenbabynurse: same...but i like the name Rosetail i allso like Greyfire and Rosepelt
Liontail: Do you know what part of the book ( beg middle end) I could skim through and check
Snowpelt(Q): Rosetail was mentioned in Into the Wild by Frostfur who said she died bravely, killed by a ShadowClan
warrior, but there was never a cerimony for her and she was never previously mentioned.
ErinHunter(A): Ah, well now you've exposed my ignorance! That was Kate's book, of course.
Ravenpelt: told you so!
Snowpelt: Oops.
magicyop(Q): I have only just started book 6, so i dont know much about bloodclan, but will there ever be an
updated map shoing their territory?
ErinHunter(A): No, I don't think so.
Ravenpelt(Q): What happened to Mistyfoot's kits?
ErinHunter(A): They grew up to be warriors.
magicyop: Here is a joke: Let's say there is a kit named starkit. then that kit becomes an apprentice, starpaw.
then a warrior named starheart. then becomes leader of the clan. named: starstar!
StarClan(Q): Do you frequent any online forums or web sites?
ErinHunter(A): Not really.
StarClan: lol
SheilaRuth(Q): Sorry, Cherith, that was my fault. He asked it twice and I submitted it to you twice.
ErinHunter(A): Oh, OK. No problem.
StarClan: I did?
StarClan: Sorry
SheilaRuth: No, not you, it was magicyop a while back
magicyop: no, i think she meant me.
StarClan(Q): Will you ever change the map?
ErinHunter(A): Yes, but if you don't know why I won't spoil it by telling you.
magicyop(Q): Will any of the other kittypets become important?
ErinHunter(A): There's an important kittypet character in Dawn, and later on some sort-of kittypets come into the story.
SheilaRuth(Q): Do you make a timeline or something to keep track of everything going on and the ages of the cats in each
book?
ErinHunter(A): Vicky does that. I try to keep family trees, so we know whose kits everyone is. It can get quite confusing!
StarClan: Will full chat transripts be avai;lable afterwards?
SheilaRuth: Yes, I'll post the chat transcript to the site
Ravenpelt: cool
Liontail(Q): Which character best represents you in any series. What about Kate?
ErinHunter(A): I don't know about Kate. I feel a bit like Yellowfang, because I get irritable easily, and a bit like
Leafpaw, because I think about things a lot.
Snowpelt(Q): What are Mistyfoots kit's names
ErinHunter(A): I don't think we ever worked them out.
greenbabynurse(Q): BrambleClaw and Squirrelpaw are becoming very close will it ever be somthing more?
ErinHunter(A): That would be telling!
Ravenpelt: of course they will!
StarClan: I think so
Snowpelt(Q): Will there be any friendships between cats and other creatures?
ErinHunter(A): Have you read Midnight yet?
magicyop(Q): Will any other animals besides cats and dogs be introduced? (I haven't read the New Prophecy yet)
ErinHunter(A): Yes, there's one important other animal who comes into NP.
Snowpelt(Q): Will there be any future inter-species (other animal) friendships?
ErinHunter(A): Yes.
StarClan(Q): Who comes up with the names?
ErinHunter(A): All three of us.
Ravenpelt: Brambeclaw and Squirrelpaw are bascially Firestar and Sandstorm all over again!
Snowpelt(Q): Was Whitestorm in any way related to Bluestar?
ErinHunter(A): Not as far as I know.
greenbabynurse(Q): Has Dawn allready been written and is just waiting to come out or are you still writing it?
ErinHunter(A): Dawn comes out just after Christmas - it's Kate's book, not mine. At present I'm writing book 6.
magicyop(Q): Will a new clan ever be introduced?
ErinHunter(A): Have you read Moonrise yet?
magicyop: no, i haven't.
Liontail: same
Liontail:
Snowpelt: brambleclaw and Hawkfrost are like firestar and tigerstar
Liontail: ah
Phantomheart: they are called tribes as I have heard
Snowpelt(Q): Will there be a love-trianble between Brambleclaw, Squirrelpaw, and Stormfur?
ErinHunter(A): No. That's not to say there might not be one with some other cat...
StarClan(Q): Will the cats ever fully understand cars and the thunderpath?
ErinHunter(A): No, I don't think they're able to do that, and they can't get very close to observe them because
it's too dangerous.
Phantomheart(Q): Erin,is it hard to make the warriors names?
ErinHunter(A): Not really, though it can be hard to come up with the exact right name. We discussed for a long time
what Squirrelpaw's warrior name would be.{Stormy: not long enough, apparantly}
magicyop(Q): No, I haven't read moonrise.
ErinHunter(A): Ah, well, you need to do that, then, and you'll find the answer to your question.
StarClan(Q): Did Bluestar trust Whitestorm in the last three books in the first series?
ErinHunter(A): Yes, he was about the only cat she did trust all the time.
StarClan(Q): Then why didn't she allow his apprentince to become a Warrior?
ErinHunter(A): I think because she didn't trust any of the apprentices, except for Firestar's. She wasn't being rational,
so don't expect all her actions to be logical.
Snowpelt(Q): I meant other than Midnight.
ErinHunter(A): Not at present, but it's always possible.
StarClan(Q): What is book 6 called? When will the future books be released?
ErinHunter(A): The working title for Book 6 is Sunset, but that could change. I don;t know when it will be out.
Liontail: The books seem to go in order from time of day ( any one else agree)
greenbabynurse: i do liontail
Liontail: yay
Ravenpelt: I noticed that too Liontail
Liontail(Q): Will there ever be a short that fills in the blank between Darkest Hour and Book1 from the NP
like Ravenpelt's fanfic
ErinHunter(A) That might be what we do for the special edition, but again I can't say for certain
because we haven't worked out that story yet.
magicyop(Q): Are there certain defined starts and ends for warrior names, and you just choose one of each,
or do you sometimes come up with entirely new starts and ends for names.
ErinHunter(A): There are a lot of obvious ones, but sometimes we come up with quite new ones. I find it very confusing
if there are cats with names that are too similar - Mudclaw and Mudfur, for example, and there's also Ashfur and Ashfoot. {Stormy: Or Ashfur and Ashfur, or Webfoot and Wetfoot}
StarClan(Q): What is the plan fo rwho will write the books in the New Phorpecy?
ErinHunter(A): I have written all except Dawn because Kate has had a very busy time and moved house.
But it will be three each again for Series 3.
StarClan(Q): What are the workin gnames for books 4, 5 and 6?
ErinHunter(A): Eeek - these 'time' names confuse me. Let's see...it's Starlight, Twilight and Sunset, I think.
StarClan(Q): Will apprenences names always end with paw? How about kits?
ErinHunter(A): Because that's the way it is. Kits' names end with 'kit'.
StarClan(Q): Can StarClan reject a leader?
ErinHunter(A): Ooh, good question! Yes, in theory I'm sure they can, but I don't know what would make them do it.
They didn't reject Tigerstar or Brokentail, after all. They rejected Nightstar, who if you remember never got his nine
lives, but that was because Brokentail was still alive.{Stormy: Ah, it all makes sense now!}
Snowpelt(Q): Is there any way we can see the family trees?
ErinHunter(A): No, they're all on scruffy bits of paper in a folder on my desk!
Snowpelt(Q): Will they ever be put in print?
ErinHunter(A): I suppose it's possible, but there are no plans at the moment.
Snowpelt: awwww
greenbabynurse(Q): what was the very first warrior name you or Kat came up with?
ErinHunter(A): I don;t know about Kate. The first one I invented myself was Thistleclaw, who never
actually appears as a character. He was the cat who would have become deputy of ThunderClan if Bluefur
(as she was then) had kept her kits.
Liontail(Q): In real life, what is the moonstone?
ErinHunter(A): A large piece of quartz, I imagine.
[Sun Dec 11 16:57:24 PST 2005] greenbabynurse ohhhhh
SheilaRuth(Q): Maybe you should get someone to draw the family trees up nice and publish them in a supplemental book!
ErinHunter(A): Yes, that would be great! We could put all sorts of Warriors background in it. {Stormy: YES YES YES!}
SheilaRuth(Q): Yes, that would be really cool to do that. There have been similar books for other series.
ErinHunter(A): I agree!
magicyop(Q): Will StarClan ever actually cause misfortune on a clan or fight with a clan?
ErinHunter(A): Again, no plans at present. I think StarClan's normal way of working isn't to interfere directly with Clan
life, but to guide through dreams and signs.
greenbabynurse(Q): do you know how many copies of Moonrise have been bought?
ErinHunter(A): No, sorry, I've no idea. A lot!
Ravenpelt(Q): Does Spottedleaf continue to send dreams to Firestar in the New Prophecy?
ErinHunter(A): We don't have Firestar's viewpoint, so we don't know for certain. But I'd be surprised if she didn't.
magicyop(Q): Do you enjoy being famous?
ErinHunter(A): I'm not that famous, because most people don't know that I'm part of Erin Hunter, and anyway Warriors isn't
as big over here as it is in the US. I wouldn't like to be really famous so I got recognised in the street.
Snowpelt(Q): Have you read the Lord of the Rings? There seem to be some parallels between your books and LOTR
ErinHunter(A): Yes, I have, and I love it. I think there are parallels, because we deal with the big questions like good
and evil, courage, faith and loyalty.
Snowpelt(Q): Have you read the Clare Bell books, such as Ratha's Creature and Clan Ground. They are very similar to your
books.
ErinHunter(A): No, I haven't. Are they just in the US?
Snowpelt(Q): No, I don't think so. Clan Ground is about two Clans of large cats. . . and I forget the rest, but they
had Clan gatherings and a leader like Bluestar.
ErinHunter(A): I'll have to look out for them.
(NP= New Prophecy)
On December 11, Cherith Baldry participated in an author chat with our members. Cherith is one of the two authors who write the Warriors series under the pseudonum Erin Hunter. The chat was scheduled to last 1/2 hour, but Cherith stayed for 2 and 1/2 hours answering questions from Wands and Worlds members! The transcript is as follows:
Snowpelt: thanks for coming, erinhunter!
greenbabynurse: Tanks for coming i love your books sooo much
SheilaRuth: Welcome to the chat everyone, and welcome to Erin Hunter, is now here.
Phantomheart(Q): How long did it take you to write the first book of warriors?
ErinHunter(A): About three months, I think, but it's a while now so I don't remember too well!
greenbabynurse(Q): Erin with there be any more books after this Prophcey is over?
ErinHunter(A): Yes, there will be a new series of six, and also a 'one off' special edition.
magicyop(Q): In the end of book three, cinderpaw was still called cinderpaw. However in the allegiances for book 3 it
said cinderpelt. then she was called cinderpelt in the beggining of book 4. why is this?
ErinHunter(A): Medicine cats have a special way of getting their full name, and you'll find out about that in this current
series - Book 4, I think it is.
SheilaRuth I forgot to ask if we can try to avoid asking any questions with spoilers. Some people haven't read all the
books yet. Snowpelt, I'm going to go ahead and forward yours to her, because it's not too bad but let's be careful
Liontail(Q): Where does the entire series take place? Where is the forest located? Any specific area?
ErinHunter(A): When we started, it was based on the New Forest in the south of England, but as we developed the ideas
it became more of a fantasy place, so it isn;t really located anywhere specific now.
Snowpelt: oops, sorry Sheilaruth.
Snowpelt(Q): Will the blood relationship between Hawfrost, Brambleclaw, Mothwing, and Tawnypelt play a large part in
the rest of the series?
ErinHunter(A): Yes, it will, but I'm not going to tell you how!
greenbabynurse(Q): Erin with there be any more books after this Prophcey is over?
ErinHunter(A): Scroll up a bit, as I already answered this. Let me know if you can't find it!
StarClan(Q): Where is the Warriors series set geographically (city/town, road, ect.)?
ErinHunter(A): Nowhere specific - see the answer to the other question a minute ago.
Liontail(Q): What were some of the reasons the point of view was changed from Firestar to the others in the new prophecy
ErinHunter(A): Well, we thought we'd really told Firestar's story, and so we wanted to get a fresh viewpoint. Another
reason was to use alternating viewpoints, which we do a lot in NP. If you've read Moonrise, you'll know that we use
viewpoints of cats who aren't in ThunderClan.
StarClan: Yes I read Moonrise. I was just disappointed ot see Firestar's point of view go.
Ravenpelt: How long does this chat last for? Is there a specific time it ends? (not directed at Erin Hunter)
Liontail: 30 minutes right?
Phantomheart(Q): Erin,are you gona make any warrior movies?
ErinHunter(A): There aren't any plans at the moment, but I'd be delighted if it happened!
Ravenpelt: No movies?! Aww...
SheilaRuth: It's supposed to be 30 minutes.
Ravenpelt: ok
Ravenpelt(Q): Hello, my name is Ravenpelt, and I have a few questions for you. 1. I wrote a fanfic on the events that
occurred between The Darkest Hour and Midnight. If you are interested, go to www.freewebs.com/ravenpelt16 to read it 2.
What will Squirrelpaw's and Leafpaw's warrior names be? 3. What is the fifth book called and when is it coming out?
ErinHunter(A): I won't tell you their names, you'll have to read Book 4! Book 5 is called 'Twilight'; I'm not sure when
it's coming out.
Ravenpelt: The rumors were true then, it is Twilight
Ravenpelt: cool
StarClan(Q): How did you come up with the idea for the Warriors series?
ErinHunter(A): The whole idea was discussed between me (Cherith Baldry as you probably know) the other writer Kate Cary
and the UK editor Vicky Holmes.
SheilaRuth: Several people asked about the Warrior movies, and since she already answered it I'm not sending the extras
to her
StarClan(Q): Will the books ever be in Firestar's point of view again (I miss it so bad)?
ErinHunter(A): The special edition may be, but I'm not promising, because we haven't worked out what will happen in that
one yet.
StarClan: Yesss!!!!
magicyop(Q): When firestar got his nine lives, why were patchpelt and halftail not there?
ErinHunter(A): They might have been there; there werer lots of StarClan warriors, and we couldn't name them all.
The nine most important cats in his life at that time each gave him a life. (Cats that had gone to hunt with StarClan, that
is.)
magicyop: oh, ok.
Snowpelt(Q): How did you first meet Kate and start writing Warriors?
ErinHunter(A): Believe it or not, we have never met! We were brought together as writing partners by Vicky, who is
wonderful!
Ravenpelt(Q): I managed to get an advance copy of Dawn, good choice of a warrior name for Crowpaw!
ErinHunter(A): Yes, we felt quite smug about that!
Ravenpelt: hehe
StarClan(Q): Did you or Kate write the first book?
ErinHunter(A): Kate wrote books 1, 2 and 4 of the first series, and I wrote 3, 5 and 6.
Snowpelt(Q): Have you and/or Kate come up with the titles for the rest of the books in A New Prophecy?
ErinHunter(A): As far as I know, Vicky thought of all the titles. I'm very bad at thinking of titles!
StarClan(Q): Will Cloudtail ever belive in StarClan?
ErinHunter(A): I doubt it.
Ravenpelt: Dawn was the best book of the new prophecy, I think
Phantomheart(Q): Erin,is it easy for you to make the warrior books?
ErinHunter(A): It varies. Some bits are really easy to write and some are harder. But it's always a great joy to do,
because there's so much in them.
greenbabynurse(Q): who will the nexted Prophcey/Series involve?
ErinHunter(A): Aha!
Snowpelt(Q): The main character in each of the serires (Firestar and Brambleclaw) both have StarClan mentors,
will this continue in the third series?
ErinHunter(A): I can't say at the moment, the third series is still very much in the melting pot.
Liontail(Q): Are all the cats fictional or were some characters derived from real ones
ErinHunter(A): Most of the cats were fictional, though I think Firestar was based on a cat Kate knows.
Brambleclaw and Sorreltail are based on my cats.
magicyop(Q): What happened to the rest of the pack in book 5? The leader and two others fell in but it was never
explained what happened to the rest.
ErinHunter(A): They were terrified and ran off.
Liontail(Q): Will there ever be an official site for Warriors fans to discuss about the series?
ErinHunter(A): The official site at present is warriorcats.com, but I don't think there's a discussion facility.
Email HarperCollins and they might provide one!
magicyop(Q): What happened to the rest of the pack in book 5? The leader and two others fell in but it was never explained what happened to the rest.
ErinHunter(A): I think I answered this and it's come up again. Maybe I'm not using the console right! Anyway,
the dogs were terrified and ran off.
magicyop: Oops, thats my fault. i think i accidently sumbitted it twice.
StarClan(Q): Do your readers/editors ever bug you about writing style diffrences (beetween you and Kate)?
ErinHunter(A): The readers don't, or haven't until now. It's the editor's job to make sure the styles match.
StarClan(Q): So If I lookup the New Forest in Engald I can get a rough ariel picture of the series setting?
ErinHunter(A): Very rough, because as I said we've really developed it beyond that now.
Snowpelt(Q): Have there been large parts of the books taken out during editing that you would have like to stay in?
ErinHunter(A): No, hardly anything at all. Usually when Vicky sees my first draft she thinks of extra things we might put
in.
StarClan(Q): How long does it take to write each book?
ErinHunter(A): It varies, depending on when the deadline is. Roughly three months, though I did do one in a month, and that was *hard* work!
StarClan(Q): Have you considered making a fouth series?
ErinHunter(A): It's a bit early for that.
StarClan(Q): I never notice any diffrences.
ErinHunter(A): Good - that's what we aim for.
Snowpelt(Q): Which covers came first, the UK covers or the US covers?
ErinHunter(A): The US ones.
StarClan(Q): Which covers do you like better, the US or UK ones?
ErinHunter(A): I like both, but I prefer the US ones.
Liontail: There are 2 different covers?
Ravenpelt: yeah, I've seen the Uk ones, they're so much better
StarClan: Yep
Liontail: anyone have the link for a view because I have never seen them
Ravenpelt: I asked her what happened to Mistyfoot's kits
Snowpelt: i like the uk
greenbabynurse: really..ravenpelt is there a web i could go to so i could see them
StarClan(Q): Do you or Kate write any other books? Do you have offical webistes?
ErinHunter(A): Yes, we both write other books. I don't have a website and I don't know if Kate does. Try googling
on our names - you'll see a number of my other books if you look up Cherith Baldry on, say, Amazon. {Stormy: I bet they're good!}
StarClan: www.amazon.com
magicyop(Q): Will Ravenpaw ever return to thunderclan?
ErinHunter(A): Hmmm...maybe.
greenbabynurse(Q): I writing books what you have allways wanted to do?
ErinHunter(A): Yes, one of my earliest memories is of sitting on my grandfather's knee and reading him a story
I had written.
Ravenpelt: I dunno, I don't remember where I saw them
Liontail(Q): Will there be any tours in the US/Canada promoting the books?
ErinHunter(A): There was a tour last May - I had a terrific time! It's possible there'll be another next year,
but nothing is fixed yet.
Ravenpelt(Q): Why does Ferncloud get picked on? (you know what I mean)
ErinHunter(A): No - explain!
Ravenpelt(Q): Ferncloud loses so much family, you know, in both Moonrise and Dawn. Why?
ErinHunter(A): I see. I'm not sure there's a specific reason; it's not because we hate her! She is the only cat
with young kits at this time, and very young and old cats are most at risk in hard times.
Liontail(Q): My friend wants to know is there a reason that the books are not available for online buying in
Canada? He has tried to order the new Prophecy but was unsuccessful and had to wait for the release
ErinHunter(A): Sorry, I've no idea. I don't have anything to do with marketing.
SheilaRuth(Q): I know you have to go soon, but some of the members of the group are writers. Do you have any
advice for young writers?
ErinHunter(A): Yes, lots. The most important thing is to read, read, read, and read some more. Then as you're still
in school, take advantage of your English classes. Publishers won't spend vast amount of time correcting grammar
and spelling. It has to be right. Then go off and have a life so you have something to write about.
StarClan(Q): Is the Warriors series considered popular compared to other children's books?
ErinHunter(A): I don't think we'll ever outsell Harry Potter! {Stormy: BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!} But it's doing very well otherwise. As you
probably know, Midnight and Moonrise both made the New York Times bestseller list.
StarClan: I think you could!
Snowpelt(Q): Who is Rosetail?
ErinHunter(A): I don't think I've heard of Rosetail. Good name, though.{Stormy: }
Ravenpelt: wasn't Rosetail killed in the very first book?
Liontail: no
StarClan: Should we quit asking questions so Erin can finsih up the ones remaining?
Phantomheart(Q): Erin,do you go on anyones(fans of the warrior books) web sites?
ErinHunter(A): Not really, though I've looked in on one or two. It's probably best for writers not to be too close to the fan writing.
Phantomheart: It was Redtail
magicyop: Good idea. otherwise some questions might not get answered.
Ravenpelt: Rosetail was killed in Into The Wild, and Redtail was too
StarClan: oh, yeah...
StarClan(Q): If the cats move to another area in Dawn how will they access Highstones?
ErinHunter(A): That's a problem the cats tackle in Book 4.
StarClan: Who was Rosetail? {Stormy: I KNOW I KNOW!! She was a ThunderClan elder who was guarding the nursery during the ShadowClan attack in Into the Wild, Blackfoot killed her}
greenbabynurse(Q): Are that cats featured in a larger painting on the covers of the books usullay the cat that the
book is most about?
ErinHunter(A): Yes.
magicyop: Rosetail? I don't seem to remember rosetail... I only remember redtail.
Liontail: Redtail and Lionheart I remember
StarClan: Lets look it up later.
Ravenpelt: In the very first book, she was killed trying to defend the nursery, but her name wasn't in the
Alleigiances. They only mentioned her in one chap
greenbabynurse: same...but i like the name Rosetail i allso like Greyfire and Rosepelt
Liontail: Do you know what part of the book ( beg middle end) I could skim through and check
Snowpelt(Q): Rosetail was mentioned in Into the Wild by Frostfur who said she died bravely, killed by a ShadowClan
warrior, but there was never a cerimony for her and she was never previously mentioned.
ErinHunter(A): Ah, well now you've exposed my ignorance! That was Kate's book, of course.
Ravenpelt: told you so!
Snowpelt: Oops.
magicyop(Q): I have only just started book 6, so i dont know much about bloodclan, but will there ever be an
updated map shoing their territory?
ErinHunter(A): No, I don't think so.
Ravenpelt(Q): What happened to Mistyfoot's kits?
ErinHunter(A): They grew up to be warriors.
magicyop: Here is a joke: Let's say there is a kit named starkit. then that kit becomes an apprentice, starpaw.
then a warrior named starheart. then becomes leader of the clan. named: starstar!
StarClan(Q): Do you frequent any online forums or web sites?
ErinHunter(A): Not really.
StarClan: lol
SheilaRuth(Q): Sorry, Cherith, that was my fault. He asked it twice and I submitted it to you twice.
ErinHunter(A): Oh, OK. No problem.
StarClan: I did?
StarClan: Sorry
SheilaRuth: No, not you, it was magicyop a while back
magicyop: no, i think she meant me.
StarClan(Q): Will you ever change the map?
ErinHunter(A): Yes, but if you don't know why I won't spoil it by telling you.
magicyop(Q): Will any of the other kittypets become important?
ErinHunter(A): There's an important kittypet character in Dawn, and later on some sort-of kittypets come into the story.
SheilaRuth(Q): Do you make a timeline or something to keep track of everything going on and the ages of the cats in each
book?
ErinHunter(A): Vicky does that. I try to keep family trees, so we know whose kits everyone is. It can get quite confusing!
StarClan: Will full chat transripts be avai;lable afterwards?
SheilaRuth: Yes, I'll post the chat transcript to the site
Ravenpelt: cool
Liontail(Q): Which character best represents you in any series. What about Kate?
ErinHunter(A): I don't know about Kate. I feel a bit like Yellowfang, because I get irritable easily, and a bit like
Leafpaw, because I think about things a lot.
Snowpelt(Q): What are Mistyfoots kit's names
ErinHunter(A): I don't think we ever worked them out.
greenbabynurse(Q): BrambleClaw and Squirrelpaw are becoming very close will it ever be somthing more?
ErinHunter(A): That would be telling!
Ravenpelt: of course they will!
StarClan: I think so
Snowpelt(Q): Will there be any friendships between cats and other creatures?
ErinHunter(A): Have you read Midnight yet?
magicyop(Q): Will any other animals besides cats and dogs be introduced? (I haven't read the New Prophecy yet)
ErinHunter(A): Yes, there's one important other animal who comes into NP.
Snowpelt(Q): Will there be any future inter-species (other animal) friendships?
ErinHunter(A): Yes.
StarClan(Q): Who comes up with the names?
ErinHunter(A): All three of us.
Ravenpelt: Brambeclaw and Squirrelpaw are bascially Firestar and Sandstorm all over again!
Snowpelt(Q): Was Whitestorm in any way related to Bluestar?
ErinHunter(A): Not as far as I know.
greenbabynurse(Q): Has Dawn allready been written and is just waiting to come out or are you still writing it?
ErinHunter(A): Dawn comes out just after Christmas - it's Kate's book, not mine. At present I'm writing book 6.
magicyop(Q): Will a new clan ever be introduced?
ErinHunter(A): Have you read Moonrise yet?
magicyop: no, i haven't.
Liontail: same
Liontail:
Snowpelt: brambleclaw and Hawkfrost are like firestar and tigerstar
Liontail: ah
Phantomheart: they are called tribes as I have heard
Snowpelt(Q): Will there be a love-trianble between Brambleclaw, Squirrelpaw, and Stormfur?
ErinHunter(A): No. That's not to say there might not be one with some other cat...
StarClan(Q): Will the cats ever fully understand cars and the thunderpath?
ErinHunter(A): No, I don't think they're able to do that, and they can't get very close to observe them because
it's too dangerous.
Phantomheart(Q): Erin,is it hard to make the warriors names?
ErinHunter(A): Not really, though it can be hard to come up with the exact right name. We discussed for a long time
what Squirrelpaw's warrior name would be.{Stormy: not long enough, apparantly}
magicyop(Q): No, I haven't read moonrise.
ErinHunter(A): Ah, well, you need to do that, then, and you'll find the answer to your question.
StarClan(Q): Did Bluestar trust Whitestorm in the last three books in the first series?
ErinHunter(A): Yes, he was about the only cat she did trust all the time.
StarClan(Q): Then why didn't she allow his apprentince to become a Warrior?
ErinHunter(A): I think because she didn't trust any of the apprentices, except for Firestar's. She wasn't being rational,
so don't expect all her actions to be logical.
Snowpelt(Q): I meant other than Midnight.
ErinHunter(A): Not at present, but it's always possible.
StarClan(Q): What is book 6 called? When will the future books be released?
ErinHunter(A): The working title for Book 6 is Sunset, but that could change. I don;t know when it will be out.
Liontail: The books seem to go in order from time of day ( any one else agree)
greenbabynurse: i do liontail
Liontail: yay
Ravenpelt: I noticed that too Liontail
Liontail(Q): Will there ever be a short that fills in the blank between Darkest Hour and Book1 from the NP
like Ravenpelt's fanfic
ErinHunter(A) That might be what we do for the special edition, but again I can't say for certain
because we haven't worked out that story yet.
magicyop(Q): Are there certain defined starts and ends for warrior names, and you just choose one of each,
or do you sometimes come up with entirely new starts and ends for names.
ErinHunter(A): There are a lot of obvious ones, but sometimes we come up with quite new ones. I find it very confusing
if there are cats with names that are too similar - Mudclaw and Mudfur, for example, and there's also Ashfur and Ashfoot. {Stormy: Or Ashfur and Ashfur, or Webfoot and Wetfoot}
StarClan(Q): What is the plan fo rwho will write the books in the New Phorpecy?
ErinHunter(A): I have written all except Dawn because Kate has had a very busy time and moved house.
But it will be three each again for Series 3.
StarClan(Q): What are the workin gnames for books 4, 5 and 6?
ErinHunter(A): Eeek - these 'time' names confuse me. Let's see...it's Starlight, Twilight and Sunset, I think.
StarClan(Q): Will apprenences names always end with paw? How about kits?
ErinHunter(A): Because that's the way it is. Kits' names end with 'kit'.
StarClan(Q): Can StarClan reject a leader?
ErinHunter(A): Ooh, good question! Yes, in theory I'm sure they can, but I don't know what would make them do it.
They didn't reject Tigerstar or Brokentail, after all. They rejected Nightstar, who if you remember never got his nine
lives, but that was because Brokentail was still alive.{Stormy: Ah, it all makes sense now!}
Snowpelt(Q): Is there any way we can see the family trees?
ErinHunter(A): No, they're all on scruffy bits of paper in a folder on my desk!
Snowpelt(Q): Will they ever be put in print?
ErinHunter(A): I suppose it's possible, but there are no plans at the moment.
Snowpelt: awwww
greenbabynurse(Q): what was the very first warrior name you or Kat came up with?
ErinHunter(A): I don;t know about Kate. The first one I invented myself was Thistleclaw, who never
actually appears as a character. He was the cat who would have become deputy of ThunderClan if Bluefur
(as she was then) had kept her kits.
Liontail(Q): In real life, what is the moonstone?
ErinHunter(A): A large piece of quartz, I imagine.
[Sun Dec 11 16:57:24 PST 2005] greenbabynurse ohhhhh
SheilaRuth(Q): Maybe you should get someone to draw the family trees up nice and publish them in a supplemental book!
ErinHunter(A): Yes, that would be great! We could put all sorts of Warriors background in it. {Stormy: YES YES YES!}
SheilaRuth(Q): Yes, that would be really cool to do that. There have been similar books for other series.
ErinHunter(A): I agree!
magicyop(Q): Will StarClan ever actually cause misfortune on a clan or fight with a clan?
ErinHunter(A): Again, no plans at present. I think StarClan's normal way of working isn't to interfere directly with Clan
life, but to guide through dreams and signs.
greenbabynurse(Q): do you know how many copies of Moonrise have been bought?
ErinHunter(A): No, sorry, I've no idea. A lot!
Ravenpelt(Q): Does Spottedleaf continue to send dreams to Firestar in the New Prophecy?
ErinHunter(A): We don't have Firestar's viewpoint, so we don't know for certain. But I'd be surprised if she didn't.
magicyop(Q): Do you enjoy being famous?
ErinHunter(A): I'm not that famous, because most people don't know that I'm part of Erin Hunter, and anyway Warriors isn't
as big over here as it is in the US. I wouldn't like to be really famous so I got recognised in the street.
Snowpelt(Q): Have you read the Lord of the Rings? There seem to be some parallels between your books and LOTR
ErinHunter(A): Yes, I have, and I love it. I think there are parallels, because we deal with the big questions like good
and evil, courage, faith and loyalty.
Snowpelt(Q): Have you read the Clare Bell books, such as Ratha's Creature and Clan Ground. They are very similar to your
books.
ErinHunter(A): No, I haven't. Are they just in the US?
Snowpelt(Q): No, I don't think so. Clan Ground is about two Clans of large cats. . . and I forget the rest, but they
had Clan gatherings and a leader like Bluestar.
ErinHunter(A): I'll have to look out for them.