The reader wants to see something happen between pages one and four hundred, and nothing happens if the characters don't change.

We forget that what matters begins with the imagination.

Herein lies the heart and soul of the nations. Their right to be free men, Their desire to live in peace, Their courage to seek out truth, Herein lies the Sword of Shannara.

In bad weather, I spent hours drawing action figures on paper, coloring them, backing them on cardboard, then cutting them out and creating whole stories around their lives.

Anyway, several rewrites later, Del Rey Books did publish my first novel, and it did become the first work of fiction on the New York Times trade paperback bestseller list.

For a writer, its very attractive to stay in one world for a time.

On the other hand, I still approach each book with the same basic plan in mind - to put some people under severe stress and see how they hold up.