"...IT WAS INTERESTING WRITING HOW HE FOUGHT AND VIEWED BATTLES": AN INTERVIEW WITH CONAN: SONGS OF THE SLAIN'S TIM LEBBON

In the latest novel to continue the adventures of Robert E. Howard's Conan, Tim Lebbon looks at the man in middle age and is king. In keeping a word to an allie from his past, he journey's a dangerous road to save the man's family from slavers lead by Grake, a barbarian who wishes to face off with him and joined to people with magical powers who have their own reasons to kill Conan. Mr. Lebbon was kind enough to take some questions.

SCOTT MONTGOMERY: How did you get the opportunity to write your own Conan story? Did you approach Titan or was it the other way around?

TIM LEBBON: Titan approached me, I've worked on quite a few tie-in projects with them before.  

S.M.: What drew you to the latter part of his life?

T.L.: I wanted to write about Conan when he was my age (mid-fifties). It made it easier to put myself in his head (though his muscles are bigger).  

S.M.: Is there anything you wanted to make sure of Howard's writing that was in your book?

T.L.: I wanted to make sure there was a hint of cosmic horror in my novel as there is in much of Howard's writing. But not too overt.  

S,M.: Grake is a great foe. What do you think makes for a good Conan willan?

 L.B.: Someone who knows or knows of Conan and who believes themselves his equal or better. They'll always come off worse.

S.M.: I loved the battle scenes in the book. What advice can you give about writing passages like that?

L.B.: I think it's important to stick to one point of view, and from that you have a constrained view of what's going on elsewhere. This leads to confusion and fear, which I'm sure exists in real battles (having not been in any, I can't tell for sure). But as Conan is a great tactician, it was interesting writing how he fought and viewed battles, seeking awareness of the larger scale events as well as those he's intimately involved in.

S.M.: What do you enjoy about these opportunities you get to take on a famed character?

L.B.: It's a chance to write about characters I've loved from my youth and all the reading I've done! There are pressures (I have to get it right), but that's part of the fun. You can't please all the people all of the time, but mostly I think I did OK by Conan.