Here's a transcript from the exclusive Obernewtyn.net IC interview, taken place at the Little Fur launch in August '05, which Isobelle Carmody personally invited our members. Emerald, Yvette and Frankie were on the scene and recorded the following! Thanks to Kayt for transcribing it! Please note, this interview was recorded by Frankie, and transcribed by Kayt, for Obernewtyn.net, and may not be used anywhere else without those members and Obernewtyn.net's express permission! Back to all Interviews & Media [hr][/hr] IC: ...well, I've almost finished it. I thought I'd finish it before I came here, and it comes out next year. It should come out next year, if it doesn't, it will slip into the beginning of the following year. Yvette: Okay. IC: But, as far as I'm concerned, it should come out next year, so... Yvette: Cool. Same for Darkbane? IC: Darkbane? Well, I don't know if it will be ready to go for the following year, but it's well and truly on its way to being written, so I home that will come out the following... it won't come out in the same year, no matter what year it is. If this slips over into the next year, that won't come out until the year after. Much chatter from Yvette and co. IC: But they're coming now. The next big I've got coming out is like a 600 page novel called Alyzon Whitestar. In September. Yvette: This month? IC: Next month. Yvette: So... this year? Oh my God! IC: It's a big one, so hopefully that will make people feel okay about me taking so long to finish other books. Yvette (or Em): Is that going to be in Melbourne, at a book launch? IC: I don't know whether I'll launch it, because I think I'll be basically out of the country by then, so yeah... Yvette: Okay. We've been wanting to know these question for like forever. IC: I should have introduced you guys to some guy here today, another writer, who says to me "You should have a website", and I said "Why would I want a website, I have these kids who run this incredible website that's the best website I've ever seen in my life. They know more about me then I know about myself. Sometimes, I look there to find out what's happening in the world." He said "but you could have control", and I said "I don't have control over anything in my life. What makes you think I want control?" And he says "You could get them to have up to date, accurate information." "They know more about me then I know about myself, I don't need a website." Yvette: Okay. This is the one that's probably been bugging me for the last couple of days, is it "In-lay" or "In-el". IC: I would call it In-lay. Yvette: Ah, YES! Woohoo! IC: Yeah... and it's a really good website, incredible website. Yvette: Cool. IC: Sometimes I go on under another name, to see what the arguments are. Emerald (possibly): Yeah, we were really rapt when you posted, like Ohmigod! Yvette: What user names do you use when you go on Obernewtyn.net? IC: The names... I quite often use firecat, or firecatz. Chatter. IC: Yeah, I come on sometimes to find out what's happening, but I don't want to be me, I just want to like ask what's happening. The funny thing is, if I post, I go back and there's been ten responses in what was really a very short period of time. I love it! "Ohmigod, ohmigod, is that you?" and I love it. Yvette: Alright... um... okay, the Destroyer. Do you know who the Destroyer is. IC: Yes I do. No one's ever guessed. Yvette: Has it always been the same person? IC: Yes it has. And no one has ever guessed. And you've made lots of guesses. Yvette: Ariel? Dameon? Daffyd? IC: No no no! I'm not going to tell... Yvette: Not those three. Okay. Alright. So obviously, he's been in it since the first book. The person who is the Destroyer... IC: Is in the first book, yes. Yvette: Is it the pig? IC: No, I can't tell you. You'll have to wait and see... Interlude as IC talks to someone else. Emerald (maybe): The wolves on the shawl... IC: The what? Emerald: The shawl, that Maryon made. IC: Oh! Yes. They're in the next book. Yvette: Are they actually wolves, or are they people? IC: No, they're wolves. And they're really important, so... Girls: Ooh! Yvette: Because there was a vague mention of wolves in the first book. IC: Yes. Yvette: When they were going to the cave. Emerald: Yeah! IC: And Sharna is half wolf, so... did I say that? Yvette: Sharna. Sharna? IC: Perhaps I never said that in the first book. Emerald: You might have suggested that he was part wolf, Sharna. Because he was shaggy. IC: That connects to the final book, too. Yvette: I must have missed it. I'm re-reading them again. Emerald: Are you still planning to write another series related to Obernewtyn? IC: The Beforetime Chronicles? When I can't bear to be away from Obernewtyn anymore, so yes... one day. I'm saving them for when I can't stand it. Yvette: Alright. Okay. Land of the Red Queen. Does Elspeth actually ever go there, in the book? IC: Yes. She does. Yvette: In real life, or Dreamtrails? IC: No. She really goes there. In the next book. Yvette: Alright, um... so that's for the Red Queen's brother's grave. Um... the key slash signs... IC: No! I can't! I'm not telling you anything about the keys or any of the signs. Yvette: Alright, just one thing. Are they physical things, or are they just pieces of knowledge. IC: Some are, and some aren't. Yvette: Some are both. Okay. Is Lidgebaby Gavyn? IC: I'm not going to tell you anything, but a lot of people guessed that. I'm not going to answer these questions. Emerald: What about Jes? IC: I can't answer that question either. Yvette: Is Elspeth part gypsy? IC: I can't answer THAT question either. Yvette: Is Rushton an enthraller? IC: I can't tell you! No no no! You have to read the book for these questions. Even answering them is dangerous for me. It's not quite finished yet. Yvette: That's cool. Um... Is Dameon the Templeguardian? The new temple guardian. Emerald: Another one you can't... IC: I can't tell you that either. Because it give away... nah, I can't tell you these questions, you'll have to wait for these things. When did you write all these questions? Yvette: oh, about 20 minutes [ago]. Um... But you can't answer any of them, so all for nothing! Oh! What about Daffyd. Do you actually pronounce his name Daf-id, or... IC: Da-fid, I call him. Yvette: Da-fid. We had this theory this morning that he keeps on popping around whenever Elspeth is on the right track. Is that like... she does mention when she first meets him... IC: He is very important. He's important in a symbolic way, as well as a real way, so like, change happens through him a lot of the time, or because of him. Yvette: Have we been reading too much into it? IC: I don't think so. I love reading your theories. But I don't read the fanfiction anymore, because it's so good, I'd be influenced by it. So I don't read it anymore, I can't. When I've finished, I'll be allowed to read it all. Some of it's fantastic. There's some real writes on your site. Emerald: [unclear]...the writing competitions that we have. So many of the younger girls are just so talented. IC: They are yeah, there's some incredible things. Yvette: We don't want to know anything about the Legendsong series do we? We're not AS interested in the Legendsong. Emerald: Well, it IS Obernet... Yvette: Yeah, true. Do we have any other questions? Burning questions? IC: You can always ask Firecat when she comes on. Yvette: I can now get back on now, I couldn't get on for about a year, cos the school wouldn't let me on, cos "weaponmachines". One of the schools I was at would censor it. Weaponmachines. IC: Really? Yvette: And I was, like so annoyed. IC: Well, my books were burned once, so... In America. Yvette: Really? IC: Yeah. Just The Gathering. They felt it was inciting devil worship. Who knows, something like that. Yvette: That was really sad, The Gathering. IC: She did the cover, the lady in orange, who just went out. She's a great illustrator. Yvette: Ooh! Yeah. Did we want to know what Elspeth looks like? Chatter Yvette: Is Elspeth an idiot? IC laughs. Yvette: It's an opinion of mind. IC: She's... she sees herself in dense, in some ways. And she is. There are some things she doesn't GET. To do with Empathy, mostly. And to do with feeling how other people feel. I mean, she would have figured out about Rushton a lot sooner, wouldn't she? I mean... I would have. But she doesn't. Because she didn't want to. Yvette: Cos she like had the idea that she couldn't be with anybody, kinda thing. And then she thought "Stuff it. I think I will be." Emerald: Will Dameon ever tell Elspeth that he loves her? Yvette: Is he in love with her, cos I don't think he is. Well, maybe as a friend. IC: You'll have to wait and see that in the next book. I can't answer any more questions. Yvette: Okay, you've been great. What did we find out that was really burning? The wolves are actual wolves. They're real wolves. Emerald: Everyone will be rapt. IC: Right in the moment of... I actually had to find, in the Canberra archives, when I was at [unclear] archives, recently. Going through old papers that I'd donated. 20 boxes of them, for one piece of paper about the wolves, that I knew was in there somewhere. And I found it. I found it. I couldn't have finished the book without it. Yvette: I just had a brainwave. Then it went. Emerald: You can come online and tell us all about it. IC: Thankyou for coming, I appreciate it. You can go back and tell them I did invite them, I'm glad you came. Yvette: And that it IS in-lay. I was right all along. I was right all along. IC: I told them so. Yvette (to tape): I'd just like to say that it WAS in-lay. NOT in-el. Thankyou. IC: GO home and read Little Fur. And let me know what you think about Alyzon Whitestar, too, when it comes out. Many thankyous and chatter, the sounds of Frankie turning off the tape. [hr][/hr] Whee!!! That's it!! Thanks to Emerald, Yvette, Frankie, Kayt, and of course, Isobelle (aka firecatz!) for making this interview possible!! Back to all Interviews & Media