About Lars Walker
VITAL STATISTICS
Date of Birth:
Place of Birth: Faribault, Minnesota
Home Town: Kenyon, Minnesota
Marital Status: Tragically single
Day Job:
Librarian/Bookstore Manager for the
Free Lutheran Schools in Plymouth, Minnesota.
Publisher: Baen Books
Novels published to date: Erling’s Word (1997), Wolf
Time (1999), The Year Of the Warrior
(2000), Blood and Judgment (2003).
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: Your Erling books concern an Irishman living in Norway. You have an Irish last name, so I assume your heritage is Irish-Norwegian. Right?
A: Wrong. One of my Norwegian great-grandfathers took the name Walker more or less at random after arriving in America (which was rather courageous of him, considering he couldn’t even pronounce the letter “W”). I confess to being a quarter Dane though.
Q: How are we supposed to believe anything you say when you tell us you’re Norwegian but have brown hair and brown eyes?
A: Lots of Norwegians have brown hair and brown eyes, especially those who (as I probably do) have some Sami (Lapp) blood. Also some Jewish blood if family tradition is to be trusted. And I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s Troll blood in there too, from what I hear about great-grandpa John Johnson. Anyway, my eyes are actually piebald – an oil-and-water mixture of brown and gray. And I’m making steady progress toward having white hair.
Q: How many words do you write in a day?
A: I try to write 1,000 words a day when I’m doing a first draft. After that it’s revision, and I try to cover ten pages a day. Except for Sundays. I don’t write for money on Sundays.
Q: Where do you get your ideas?
A: I bid for them on Ebay.
Q: I have a great idea for a book. Want to write it for me?
A: No.
Q: How many Erling books do you plan to write?
A: I have no idea. The Erling books are a series, not a serial. Each book stands alone, so you don’t have to hold your breath waiting to see how it ends. I’m bringing the books out roughly on the thousand-year anniversaries of the events described (i.e., THE YEAR OF THE WARRIOR ends in 1000 A.D., and it came out in 2000 A.D.). Erling lived until 1028, so I figure to keep writing the books at least till 2028, which means I have to live to nearly 80, something of an accomplishment in my family.
Q: How many Epsom books do you plan to write?
A: I have even less idea about that. I intended WOLF TIME as a one-off, but then BLOOD AND JUDGMENT (a prequel) came along, and now I’m working on DEATH’S DOORS, a sequel to WT in which Carl Martell makes a brief appearance. I keep thinking I’m done with that cycle, but I keep getting surprised.
Q: How come you’re still single?
A: That question can best be answered by the women who’ve rejected me. Personally I’m not sure I want to know the answer.
Q: You don’t really believe this Christianity stuff, do you?
A: Yes I do.
Q: If God’s a loving God, how come there’s so much suffering in the world?
A: If the God who made you’s not a loving God, why would you care?
Q: Can God make a rock so heavy He can’t lift it?
A: Yes and no. God made M.C. Escher, and Escher could have drawn it.
Q: If Christianity is true, how come you’re such a jerk?
A: You should see what I’d have been like without Christianity.
Q: Do cats go to Heaven?
A: Sure. The dogs have to have something to chase.
Q: Aren’t your books an obstacle to human progress?
A: I certainly hope so.
Q: You remind me of somebody who used to act with the Indian River Players in Melbourne, Florida. Was that you?
A: Yes. Acting is even more fun than writing, and I wish I still had time for it.
Q: How can you say you have a social phobia and be able to act on stage?
A: Read some actors’ biographies. Shyness is a common affliction among actors.
Q: If you can act, do you speak in public?
A: Glad to, if it fits my schedule. Contact me through this site. Just pay my expenses, or promise to let me sell some books (or sell them yourself) so I can take the deduction. Honoraria will not be refused.
Q: I have some money in an African bank I need to send to America, and I’ll give you 10% if you let me run it through your bank account. OK?
A: Your money is cursed. Give it all to me and let me put it in this handkerchief. I’ll remove the curse and give it back to you.