If
you took H.G. Wells' Time Machine and you say, 'OK, in one case you have a
professor
going traveling, in another case you have either a swindler or an escaped
criminal
going,' you end up with different stories. They would look at that setting in
totally
different ways. Their motivation for traveling would be totally
different.
"I hate to say the occasional trips down-time are
incidental,
but they aren't the main focus. For example, one of the upcoming stories we're
looking
at is when one of the street hustlers and a money changer get into an argument
about
who is the best able to raise money. It's almost literally $crooge McDuck versus
Gladstone Gander stuff. 'All right, all right, we'll start even and see who's
raised
the most in two weeks! ' and they are setting out about their respective
hustles,
which tend to involve ducking down-time. But the main focus is these two trying
to
outwit each other rather than 'Oh, good heavens, we go through into another
time!'
"I think we're looking at doing at least two more in
the TT86 series, and I hope to be working with Linda Evans again. I read some of
her stuff before we began, and liked both what I read and her background. After
trying
a couple of chapters, I liked it. I will admit frankly that she did the bulk of
the
writing on Time Scout. Also, I'm working on the third
'Phule'
book, which I've been working on for over a year now. It's set on a college
campus,
and for some reason it's giving me grief. Of course, I have two more
'Myth'
books to go. There's also License Invoked, a collaboration I'm
working
on with Jody Lynn Nye, which is about rock 'n roll, magic, and New Orleans. It's
sort of a magical secret service, a joint British-American project trying to
protect
a rock star."
A new series by Asprin is an exciting addition to the Baen
catalog, and it's a good bet that his many fans will find the new books
especially
enjoyable. Let's hope there are many
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