Mr. Hughart (apparently pronounced "hew-gart"), author of the
stellar novel "
Bridge of Birds" has been suspiciously absent from the
publication front since the 1991
publication of "
Eight Skilled Gentlemen." After a little
nosing about, I came across a transcript of an
interview with Mr. Hughart that, among other things, details his
disillusionment with his
publishers and his
traumatic encounter with the most evil creature this side of a
balrog.
The following excerpts were taken from a written interview with Barry Hughart by
Jerry Kuntz. The entirety of the interview may be viewed at http://www.rcls.org/hughart/ which is maintained by
Jerry Kuntz.
Excerpt, the first:
JK: All fans of the
Master Li books want to know why the series stopped after
Eight Skilled Gentlemen. Can you explain?
BH: The
Master Li books were a tightrope act and hard to write, but not, alas, very remunerative. Still, I would have continued as originally
planned if I'd had a supportive
publisher: seven novels ending with my heroes' deaths in the battle with the
Great White Serpent, and their
elevation to the
Great River of Stars as minor
deities guaranteed to cause the
August Personage of Jade almost as much trouble as the
Stone
Monkey. Unfortunately I had St. Martins, which didn't even bother to send a postcard when I won the
World Fantasy Award;
Ballantine, which was
dandy until my
powerhouse editor dropped dead and her successors forgot my existence; and
Doubleday, which released The
Story of the
Stone three months before the pub date, guaranteeing that not one copy would still be on the shelves when reviews came out, published the
hardcover and the paperback of
Eight Skilled Gentlemen simultaneously, and then informed me they would bring out further volumes in
paperback only, meriting, of course, a considerably reduced advance.
Excerpt, the second:
JK: What noise has been made about making a
Master Li movie?
BH: Everybody turned it down except
Paramount, where it eventually reached the desk of a
senior vice president who exclaimed, "
Gooks? You
want me to make a movie about
gooks? And not even modern
gooks?" Exit the silver screen.
fume....grind.....
AAARGHHH!
Does anyone know if the
EDB takes
contract assignments?