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Will Brinkman

Thursday night at the Cryptozoic Store in downtown San Diego for Comic Con, fantasy author Christie Golden dropped by to meet with fans and sign autographs for her many Blizzard Entertainment novels. We have a video segment with Christie going up on the Cryptozoic YouTube channel later on, but here’s some of the questions we were able to ask the New York Times bestselling author.

Christina Sims: How did you come to work with Blizzard on novels?

Christie Golden: Blizzard had project and they went to my publisher looking for someone. My publisher got me involved and I had a great experience communicating between Chris Metzen with questions like “What color is Orc blood?” That was Warcraft: Lord of the Clans. They were excited and I had a great time. A few years later when World of Warcraft came out, I got hooked (on the game) and told my agent “I want to write books for them!”

What do you play in the game?

I play everything. Part of my research is to understand all classes and races. I have a Human Warlock and Blood Elf Mage. I also have a Night Elf Priest and a whole bunch of lower level characters.

I like playing both factions. I’m primarily known as the Horde writer, but I play both and I’m well versed enough in lore. It’s been nice with World of Warcraft: The Shattering and Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War to be able to work on both sides.

As an author, how do you feel about the digital publishing phenomenon?

I don’t mind it. Readers love books. Books are never going to go away. There will always be the beautiful feel, smell of books. I think a lot of people are buying the book they want in physical form, keeping it in pristine condition, and then buying the digital version to read. That’s two sales and that’s making me happy. They can get their copy signed to keep, treasure and then read the digital version.

Let’s Talk about Devil’s Due. What’s the process in StarCraft as opposed to Warcraft?

The process is the same. The feel is different. Readers would see a difference in voice. Devil’s Due is a raunchy romp. I was told to think Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in space. The voice actor for Tychus (Findlay) is so incredible. I could hear Tychus in my head and see him. It’s the most fun I’ve had on any project.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I play World of Warcraft. I am a big movie fan. I love movies; I’m a big Netflix person. I watch anime. I do not read in my field much because I tend to go into critical mode when I read. It starts feeling like work. I love Elizabeth Peters, Peabody Mysteries. I’d love to write a detective story, but then I won’t be able to write any of those. Ha ha!

Do you have any current projects you can discuss? What’s in your future?

I just had a two month period where I finished up various phases of 5 different projects. I have a lot of books coming out this year. I have Jaina Proudmoore and I have Flashpoint for the StarCraft II universe. It’s a very active year for me.

Where can we find you online?

http://www.christiegolden.com/. Anybody can drop me a line. I try to respond to emails. It’s become increasingly difficult, but I do read everything.