Did it ever occur to you to have Don Rolon use his power as a werewolf instead of being a victim?
No, it didn't, because it would be inconsistent with the vision of the times. In this setting such a positive figure would be inconsistent with the society and the belief-systems in place. Environment is a tertiary character, and one that affects every character and every action in the story.
Werewolves and the Spanish Inquisition aren't the most obvious combination. What inspired you to set a lycanthropy story in 16th century Spain?
You can call it a challenge from the editor who bought it, Kathy Malley. As to sixteenth century Spain, it seemed to me to be the height of religious paranoia, and the place where the werewolf would be at highest risk in both his normal and his transformational state. Secondarily, it was a homage to Giuseppe Verdi, though Verdi has no Lugantes in Don Carlo.
Did any particular fictional or movie treatments of werewolves serve as models for Don Rolon?
Just Don Carlo, which doesn't have a were-wolf in it, only a bi-polar prince and an obsessive-compulsive king. The only supernatural element is the ghost of Charles V. I make it a point when I'm writing in a particular genre not to read in it, to avoid any chance of literary cross-pollination.
Your character, Ragoczy Saint-Germain, has witnessed four thousand years of human history by now. At the conclusion of Dark of the Sun, he (like many others) genuinely believed that the world might be coming to an end. Would he be worried by the state of affairs in the twenty-first century, with the human population so high, nuclear war still quite possible and the prospect of devastating climate change? Would he be attempting to intervene in some way?
The world—which until very recently meant the heretofore normal conditions for a given region or society—is always on the brink of coming to an end, and there is always some place in the world that such a belief is very strong. Unfortunately, Christianity has latched on to the apocalyptic view of things, and ever since St. Paul, has been certain that the end is near. We have better communications now than ever before, so we're constantly aware of the perils this planet can offer. We can see instantly the results of the earthquake in China, the starvation in Africa, the disease in India, the warfare everywhere, and that brings home the certainty that if this goes on... Personally, I am of the opinion that overpopulation is the single most basic problem facing us as a species, and I am often shocked that so many people reject the notion of reducing our numbers.
That said, Saint-Germain would probably not get actively involved in any of the various movements afoot; he tends to do his work up close and personal, and to approach his science in the same way, working toward a specific goal on his own. He learned a long time ago that mass movements inevitably lead to trouble politically, and outsiders—and he is the ultimate outsider—are usually the first to be thrown to the wolves.
In a number of the novels, Saint-Germain gains the trust of rulers and kings and tries to steer them toward more humanitarian choices. Would he be attempting to form relationships with world leaders now to advise them and influence their decisions? How would you envision him doing that?
Article comments
1 - Mayra Calvani
Great interview! Thanks for sharing!