CotPL Interview With John Burkitt
As we know, TLKnet never posts a FanFic without the authors permission,
and John Burkitt kindly agreed to do this interview via email as he granted TLKnet permission to post CotPL.
On 09 October 1999 his replies to the questions that TLKnet had asked
dropped into my inbox.
When you started writing CotPL did you realise that it would grow into
such a large project, or did you originaly deicde to do a four part tale and
end it at that? Also, was it the idea at the start to overlap the chapters,
or was that a "spur of the moment" decision?
Actually the Chronicles started with a short story that looked into how Taka
got his scar from a badger. A few others came afterward, including a couple
that did not make it in as "canon" when Chronicles of the Pridelands was
compiled as a story. The name was chosen to honor C. S. Lewis' "Chronicles
of Narnia," the most well known story of which is "The lion, the witch and
the wardrobe." A must-read.
When you re-wrote CotPL to fix the continuity errors, did you re-write
all the parts, or just the first one?
Your age is showing. The current rewrite is the fourth revision. This is a
combination of the "four biggies." Doing it as one story was a thought I
had over six months ago.
How did you both meet, and had you worked on other projects together
before CotPL?
Dave Morris, a.k.a. "Unca Hawdy," was one of my biggest early fans when the
original Chronicles were written. I wrote The Legacy of Ahadi first, he
liked it and said so very strongly in a series of emails, and we got into
discussions of some of the beliefs and customs in the story. Answering his
questions in a series of personal emails, I realized they were the core of a
good second story. Very truly I can say that The Spirit Quest was written
for Dave, then shared with others. He helped me revise The Legacy of Ahadi,
the first time his name appeared as co-author with me, and I decided to give
him a substantially bigger role to create new materials in TSQ. By the time
we got to Shadow of the Makei, he was really cooking. SOTM is a very dark,
melodramatic story that exploited his emotional writing style. We both set
out to "out evil" each other. Actually the results were a little TOO evil,
giving the impression that a hyena couldn't let a fart without the
intervention of the spirit world. We toned down those passages that made it
into Chronicles II. Under the Acacias, the last of the "solid four," was
something we wrote to explore the character of Uzuri, our all time favorite
lioness (sorry, Nala!) and it had warmth and heart that came from very
genuine feelings.
What inspired you both to write CotPL, and did you ever think "It's never
going to get finished!" while you wrote it?
Sharing my innermost thoughts on literature and friendship with Dave kept me
going and inspired many of the events in the work. Some of the themes in
the work, especially some of the darker themes, came from life. Gurmekh's
death was patterned after a fight to the death between a baboon mother
protecting her offspring and a leopard. Beesa's death, one of the darkest
passages I ever wrote, was inspired by a tragedy that hit me--one I'm not
willing to answer questions about. As for the mass of work involved, even now
as I look at Chronicles II I still ask myself, "Is it ever going to get
finished?"
Are you proud that CotPL is possibly THE best (and well known) Lion King
related FF on the internet? And what are your views on people who are
wanting to try animating sections of it?
I'm proud of Chronicles because there is a lot of love and hard work in it,
because it's a dream I shared with another human being that means a lot to
me, and because it enhanced my appreciation of the original Lion King. To
the people trying to animate sections of it...well...I'm both flattered and
dismayed. It's a lot harder to animate than you think, and a lot easier to
run afoul of the law than you think. Some time I would like to record some
of the dialog on an audio CD for my friends.
Did you cry at all while making CotPL, and do you cry now when you read
it?
Are you kidding? Could you imagine having the nerve to write stuff like
that with a straight face? When Uzuri died, she became incontinent, wetting
on herself. That is how my father died. Most people when they die don't
look like they are falling asleep. And yet when these horrible things
happen to them the love and grief makes prevents you from being too shocked
at what you see. All my death scenes juxtapose brutal details with the
beauty of undying love, because that's what death is all about. I also
cried at the end of The Spirit Quest when Uzuri told Rafiki she loved him.
Ironically, I did not cry when Rafiki lost his wife and daughter. Such was
Uzuri's hold over me that I tortured myself to write anything sad about her.
When the last word was typed and the final version (before the re-write)
compleated, did you utter the immortal words "Never again!"?
More times than you know.
Out of all the characters on CotPL, who did you enjoy writing about the
most, and who came up with his/her character? And who thought of the names
for all the non-Disney characters?
By now it's no surprise that I am Rafiki and Uzuri is the one I love. Togo
is an African nation and Kombi was the name of a short-lived multi-purpose
vehicle by Volkswagen. The other names are by and large genuine African
names or place names used as personal names. I was the first to call Mufasa
"Muffy" and used to delight at calling someone who takes themselves so
seriously by that pet name. I also was the first to call the stone jut on
Pride Rock the promontory. Promontory means a walkway, and it's a term
often used in architecture to describe such spectacular scenic avenues. In
official Disney parlance, the entire huge stone lump is Pride Rock, and
that's the way I call it too. The big rock that goes straight up I call
"Mano's Rock" because at times the lightning strikes the top of the stone
and at certain times of the year the clouds hide the top of it from view.
Is there any part of CotPL that you regret making or wish that you had
done differently?
OH YES THERE IS!! I put an enormous amount of work into a follow-up story
called "The Promise" and made the mistake of giving away the "surprise"
ending at the very beginning. There were a lot of really wonderful moments
in that story, but in everyone's mind it was all garbage because I destroyed
the suspense the other 95 percent of the work was designed to create. I
could just kick myself!
What projects have you both worked on since CotPL? (Apart from CotPL II)
And was there life AFTER CotPL? Also, is there anything that you would like
to plug, if so do it now!
OK, that gets very iffy. The Spotted Lion and Yaguara were life after COTPL
for sure. But yes, Dave worked a bit with Mirco Zacher on Homecoming, then
I helped Mirco finish it. The sequel to that story The Long Path was
between Mirco and I. There is a possible story called "The Three Peaks,"
which is about Cougars. If Dave and I ever get around to writing it, that
is. As it is, after Chronicles II is done and I figure out how to finish
The Distant Shadows with Mirco (finale of the Homecoming trilogy), that's it
for me with Lion King stories. I want to stop while I'm ahead. And there
are stories in a totally different area that Dave and I would like to
write--furry stuff and fantasy. I get into seriously heavy nature poetry
and the like...maybe it's time I gave some of my fans something different to
read--something fresh.
Final question. Rumors are that CotPL II is an almost total re-write of
CotPL and will blow CotPL away! Can you confirm this rumor? Also, can you
give any other details away yet (like length, format (Word, text, Rich text,
etc..), estimated release date, etc...)?
Word 2000 (other versions will be available including PDF). It's 306 pages
long of fine print single spaced text. Why leave any trees standing?? .
The story starts with the birth of Ahadi and everything is totally new till
the birth of Mufasa and Taka. Then about a third of it is new till you get
to about the middle of what was the Chronicles. A vast amount of new Zira
and Kovu stuff appears. Writing for her was a hoot!
Thank you very much John. And that, folks, is the end of the interview!