Ask the Wife

Posted By: Kathleen DavidPosted On:

Along with the BID columns, I thought I might give you a chance to ask me questions.

Of course this comes with some conditions.

I won’t get into either political or religious discussions or debates. It can make this kind of opportunity dissolve into nothing real fast.

There are certain projects that I cannot and may not discuss because of various non-disclosure agreements I have signed or the company has signed.

I will answer as time allows within the comments/questions. I am in the middle of getting ready for the Shoreleave Costume Contest among a few other things that I need to do.

Kathleen

68 comments on “Ask the Wife”

  1. Hmmm… What’s the airspee#Q(*%!$)$)))…..

    Nah, can’t do that.

    Okay. Whatever happened to YOUR writing blog that you had started last year. You posted three entries, but not anything after that. Still going to work on that, or is it an abondoned project with all the puppetry that you’ve been able to do as of late?

    (Answer: I plan to get back to that later this summer. I finished the outline and now just need to write the bloody thing. Thanks for asking. If nothing else I will pick it up in November for the Novel in a Month deal.)

  2. How’s it going?

    -Rex Hondo-

    (Answer:Not bad. The heat hasn’t been killer this week like it was 2 weeks ago. We may get some rain later today which will help the lawn a lot.)

  3. 1) What CD’s are currently getting airtime in the David household?

    (Answer: Forbidden Broadway: Special Victims Unit; Avenue Q; Bend it Like Beckham Soundtrack; the New Beck CD which title escapes me; The Beatles; Duran Duran; and Chopin)

    2) Which of Peter’s writing projects first caught your attention, and what did you think of it?
    (Answer: Can’t really say. I know I read a lot of his stuff before I realized that it was the same name that was consistantly amusing me.)

  4. Perhaps this has been discussed here, but I’m curious…How did you and Peter meet?

    (Answer:We first formally met at an Atlanta Fantasy Fair when he bought a Klingon Puppet of mine to use in a sketch he was doing with a couple of his buddies at Shoreleave. The puppet came with a half hour lesson so I taught him the basics of hand and rod puppetry while he signed autographs.)

  5. (Answer: I have no answer to this since I didn’t write it but I did enjoy the series in its various incarnations)

    1) You probably don’t remember what you were planning, but it’s something that’s I’ve always wondered. You wrote the “second half” of the Dreadstar series after Starlin, and after that ended you wrote the six issue miniseries for Malibu, which took place 20 years later and starred Kalla, the daughter of Dreadstar. In that mini, you showed what had happened to all the characters after a big catastrophe and where they had been, except you never showed Oedi or addressed what happened to him. Not a “he died”, or showed a gravestone, or even had any of the other characters wonder “I wonder what happened to Oedi”. Oedi was the pretty much the second most popular character, behind Dreadstar himself. Did you have any particular plans for him (a second mini?), or you just never thought to include him in that series? You handled him well in the regular series, so it’s not like you didn’t have a understanding of the character and just ignored him.

    Thanks.

  6. I’ve been wondering about your involvement with the Negima translation. Your names weren’t on the latest edition and I am wondering if you are done with it? I like the series and appreciated the jokes you inserted that probably weren’t in the original.

    –your pal, Hoy

    (Answer: We did the first 4 I believe which is what they contracted us for. After that they decided to “save money” and get one person to do both the translation and adaptation. Which is too bad since we were really having fun with it)

  7. GUYS…. (and gals, too) We aren’t asking PAD questions, we’re asking his WIFE (hence the title, “Ask the Wife”) questions.

    How’d you first get involved in making costumes?

    (Answer: That’s sort of a tough one to answer. I got into theater and sidestepped into costuming at conventions. I think my first costume was a recreation of Blake from the last episode of Blake’s 7 after he encounters Avon. Then I got involved with the Blackpool group and we did a couple of big costumes at the Atlanta Fantasy Fair. After that I started helping with the various costume contests at various conventions and thought I was done with costuming for conventions. Peter and I hooked up and I found myself building costumes for sketches he and Ariel would come up with. Last year I was able to do my ultimate costume wish when I did the recreation of Labyrinth. )

  8. Peter David gets a lot of stuff from either fans or publisher; how do you manage to keep it all organized and neat (if it is organized)?

    I ask because my wife I have an agreement; I have one room in the house to do whatever I want with it. That is where all my stuff goes. Does Peter have a room like that?

    (Answer: If you have read my blog you would see a pattern of stuff building up and then stuff getting organized. It kinda goes in waves around here. Over all we manage to keep things pretty tidy. Peter has his office which a lot of his stuff goes as I have my studio but the house is really where our stuff goes since a lot of stuff is stuff we both enjoy. Which is an advantage and disadvantage of fans marrying.)

  9. What are some of your favorite charaties to donate to?

    (Answer: CBLDF, Broadway Cares, Big Brother Big Sister, American Red Cross, and a couple of local ones as well.)

  10. This is a question I recently came up with and have been trying to find a place to put it on. This might as well be it, and maybe it’s better answered by someone on the periphery of the hobby instead of in the middle of it.

    Suppose DC and Marvel were to merge one day. (Forget about discussing whether they ever would or not, any legal problems surrounding it, etc. Just suppose it happens, period.) Would it be better to keep the two universes separate, ala the JLA/Avengers crossover, or should they be merged, like most of the other DC/Marvel crossovers?

    (Answer: Personally? I would like to keep them seperate from each other totally. It wouldn’t happen but I look at it the same way I look and loath interleague play. You lose something when you start to combine two different but similar things. The big games or crossovers become meaningless because we have already seen them during the year so the big one for all the marbles means a lot less than it did when it was the only time these two universes met to play.)

  11. I’ve seen you and Mr. David at many conventions with your kids in tow. That’s extremely comforting to me. I’ve run room parties at some local conventions that turned into kiddie dumping grounds for certain fan parents who couldn’t be bothered to take care of their own kids while they went off drinking. I never volunteered to be child care, and I worry who else the kids might have associated with if I wasn’t there.

    Anyway, how do you and Mr. D work with your kids at conventions? Do you split up the child-watching duties for the younger ones? And how do you arrange things with the older ones who can wander by themselves? Do you all have cell phones with direct radio talking or something?

    (Answer: Sometimes it depends on the convention. If it is one where Peter has a very heavy schedule and I am unscheduled then I take point. If we are both scheduled we split it and Ariel pitches in to help. We do have a set of cell phones but that is only a recent addition and has come in very handy. For the older ones, we set up a time to meet up to check in and figure out the rest of the day. Many of the conventions we go to are ones that we attend every year so we do have the advantage that the staff knows the kids. For new conventions, we tend to keep the kids a lot closer. Since they have grown up/are growing up going to conventions they know the rules before we even leave the house. In the evening usually Ariel takes over babysitting giving Peter and me a little time to enjoy the convention without the kids.)

  12. Hi,

    I sent Peter a Cerebus coffee mug a year or so ago (was it two years ago?)

    Anyway, I was just wondering if he ever got it?

    Also, any chance of you guys coming anywhere near WI for a con?

    Matt

    (Answer: yes he did. And he really likes it. Thank you.)

  13. Hello!

    I was just wondering… A couple of years ago at ICON, I spoke with a woman with a puppet version of Angel (very similiar to the one used in the television episode). If I recall correctly, she told me that not only did she create the puppets, but she sold them. Could that have been you? If so, are you still selling your creations?

    As you might guess, since I recall this brief meeting almost 2 or 3 years later, it made quite an impression on me. 🙂

    Thanks!

    Christine

    (Answer: Yep. That was probably me. You can see one version of the puppet at http://homepage.mac.com/kathodavid/PhotoAlbum11.html and I am still selling puppets. I will have work in the Art Show at DragonCon this year along with maybe one or two other conventions.)

  14. For Mrs. David:

    Those who have read Peter’s “But I Digress” columns, as well as this forum, are aware of the “biggies” that impressed HIM over the years.

    Which celebrity, or celebrities, left a strong impression on YOU? (They could be writers or actors)

    (Answer: I am going to limit it to people I have met.

    Peter David. He impressed me so much that I married him. *grin*

    Jim Henson. I met him a couple of times over the years and he was always a gentleman. I loved watching him talk to children about puppets and the muppets.

    Neil Gaiman. I have always enjoyed his writing before we met. His style was something new and refreshing and like Peter, he never sits on his laurels but stretchs his abilities.

    Tori Amos. Classy lady

    Andre Norton. could tell you something about your cat you never knew

    Penn and Teller. Teller can talk he just chooses not to.When he does, he is a brilliant conversationalist)

  15. Pizza: Jagger’s, Pepe’s, or Sally’s? 🙂

    (Answer: Pepe’s hands down. Jagger’s doesn’t exist anymore unfortuantly but I did love the Jagger’s special.)

  17. Nothing to add, but just wanted to pop in to say what a nice job you’re doing at holding down the fort. -Joe

    (Answer: Thanks Joe. You going to be at Shoreleave?)

  18. Hi, Kathleen!

    Thanks for giving us an excuse to pester you with questions. Since you asked, how about considering some ideas for the site:

    1. How about an FAQ page? And how about taking the two or so Questions entries that Peter did in which he answered our various questions, and incorporating them into the FAQ, to prevent repeated instances of the same question if Peter does more?

    2. How about a page on the site in which the BID columns are listed chronologically (and/or another page where they’re listed by category), and perhaps a search engine with which one can search for some by content or key words?

    (Answer: I’ll pass these onto the Webmaster. I am not sure of the limitations of the system we are using. I just know that it works for the most part.)

  19. Hope you all have a good time down at Shoreleave. Would love to be there but I’m heading back to London for a few weeks. -J-

  20. Kathleen,
    I have two questions:
    1.) Is there any chance of PAD and yourself hitting a con or book signing in the Scranton or Philadelphia areas anytime soon? It was a blast interacting with the both of you a couple years ago, and I would like to do so again. I can virtually guarantee you some press. If not, do you know the closest you will come to either one of those destinations?

    (Answer: not in our current plans but not out of the realm of possibility. We’re almost at our convention limit for this year.)

    2.) What first interseted you in muppets and puppets and can you explain your enduring interest? I think it is beyond cool and beyond cute at the same time:)

    (Answer: I have been interested in puppets almost as long as I have been alive. I had a set the Wizard of Oz puppets that were put out by Downey Fabric softener that I played with from a very young age. The Muppets I picked up first from Sesame Street and I loved them on first viewing. The Muppet Show was aired on TBS and that just cemented my obsession with all things Henson. I didn’t see the Saturday Night Live stuff until much later or the stuff on Ed Sullivan which is now on a handy DVD called Muppet Magic)

  22. If Robocop the cyborg cop & Roise the Jetson’s maid had a child, what would it be?
    (Answer: You remember the little robot that was in the belly of the Jawa Sandcrawler that bowed to C-3PO? Kinda of like that)

    If Morpheus offered you the blue pill or the red pill, which one would you take?(Answer: I can’t remember which is which so on a guess blue)

    Which donut would win in a boxing match: vanilla-cream filled or old fashioned plain? State your reasoning, please.

    (Answer: Old Fashioned because he would beat the pudding out of the other one)

  23. What do I have in my pocket?
    (Answer(best Golum voice: What has he in his pocketsies?)

    Sorry, couldn’t resist.

    But (sorta) seriously, since I find this kind of fluff question amusing:

    If you could be one of your husband’s characters, who would you be? And, who do you think you actually are most like, if the two are different?

    (Answer: Ooo that’s a hard one. Probably Arthur, he seems to have the most fun. Which one I am like? Hard to say. I know that I am an Admiral in Starfleet in the New Frontier as well as an entire Alien Race so I’d go with the Admiral.)

    -Rex Hondo-

  24. Okay…

    I know I asked Peter this before but…

    Does Oscar the Grouch wear pants?
    (Answer: Yes. There was one episode that had Oscar out of the can and he was wearing very torn-up and dirty jeans)

  25. 1Geek question:
    In Many Happy Returns, you have Kara Zor-El attempting to push the Earth out of orbit (a common practice for Superman in the Silver Age), but she is unable to do so.
    Was this because a) she just wasn’t as powerful as Pre-Crisis Superman? or b) because the actual laws of physics are different in the Post Crisis DC Universe and certain really extreme absurdities are no longer possible (although, of course, there still ARE absurdities)…

  26. Oops…that’s what happens when you don’t read carefully…anyway, that geek question was for PAD.

    (Answer: No Problem and I think he answered that one before)

  27. Sorry Kathleen – I should read the title a little better. I thought it was questions for PAD – didn’t mean to ask you a question you couldn’t answer.

    Rob

  28. Simply put:
    I was re-reading Stormrider by David Gemmell for the tenth time last night, and found a thank you to many people including “Kathleen O’Shea David.”
    Is this you?
    And if it is… Cool! You know David Gemmell? And how do you get on THAT reading list 🙂

    Travis

    (Answer: Working at Del Rey had all kinds of perks including getting to know David. Great Guy.)

  29. I meant:
    How do I get on that reading list? 🙂

    Travis

    (Answer: Well it isn’t easy. I got on because I was working at Del Rey with his editor. He is a really nice guy and very knowledgable about many subjects.)

  30. Are the children from in “In the Beginning” of House Jaddo?

    I was watching the DVD of “In the Beginning” with the commentary and was reminded of something I noticed from previous viewings. I’ve always wondered if Luc and Lyssa Deradi, the children in the Palace, were there because they were scions of House Jaddo, the family Londo joined to House Mollari and swore to protect after the death of his friend, Urza Jaddo in “Knives”.

    Since you wrote the novelization (which I have not had the pleasure of reading), I figured you would know.

    (Answer: Because I work at Del Rey and we did the novel and I had to organize all the notes to this one if I am remembering correctly yes they are but I’ll check with Peter.)

  32. Going to go see Land of the Dead?

    (Answer: Not in the theater but probably on cable sometime.)

  33. Here’s a dopey question, I guess:

    As a creative person married to a creative person, do you actively comment on each others’ work as its being created? “Do-you-like-this?” “Oh-I-don’t-think-that-character-would-say-that.” “No-that-doesn’t-work-for-me.” kinda stuff, or do you leave that part of the creative/editorial aside from the marriage relationship?

    (Answer: That’s an interesting question. Yes we do comment on each other’s work. Peter is my eye for puppets when I am doing recreations and he does critique my writing work. We bounce ideas off of each other and it can build to the final product. We dicussed Maddrox for a long time until he had the structure worked out in his head. So there is give and take. The nice thing is neither of us is afraid to say to the other “Honey you know I love you, but that is a terrible idea.” I get to read the raw manuscripts and make my comments as an editor/reader. The creative is such a part of us it would be hard to seperate that from our home life.)

  34. Kathleen, do you wade through all of the threads here (political, PAD project discussions, social commentary, etc) or are there certain subjects that you limit your browsing to? I notice that your comments are fairly limited and this question just popped into my head.

    Fred

    (Answer: Mostly time crunches. There are only so many hours in a day and I have my own blog as well as a number of dicussion groups I belong to. I do read the comments and if I have something I feel I can add positive to the discussion I do or a quick question I can answer for Peter to get the information out faster. Overall I stay an observer since it is my husband’s website not mine (Did I mention I had my own *grin?))

  35. Kath,
    If I’m wrong and I have the wrong Kathleen David, forgive me, but what involvement did you have in working on the Star Wars (especially the New Jedi Order)books, and what it was like working on them?

    (Answer: You have the right Kathleen David. I also worked on a couple of the Del Rey Star Wars “Non-Fiction” books and on occation I get to work within that universe as a freelancer. I was the assistant editor for the fiction under the direction of Shelly Shapiro. I tend to keep story threads in my head so I became another set of eyes for continuity among other things. It was a blast working on them. Everyone was fun to work with and I would work with any and all in a heart beat. The fan part of me just giggled everytime we were working out what was going to be since these books (unlike Trek books) are part of continuity in then Star Wars universe.)

  36. What comic artist, who you have not worked with before. would you most like to do a book with?

    (Answer: If I were to do a comic I would like to work with Dave McKean not that he doesn’t have enough to do. I don’t know who Peter has on his list)

  38. Dont know if you ever met them personally but here goes
    1.Is John Byrne as big an assclown as I think he is?

    (Answer: No. John Byrne on the internet is different than John Byrne at a convention or John Byrne at a Marvel Office Party. I have encounter him in all three of these situations and Marvel Office Party gets my vote as the John Byrne I wish I could see more of)

    2.Is Gail Simone as nice as she seems on the DC message boards?

    (Answer: In person? Yes.)

    3.If you could write an episode of JLU what characters would you love to write??

    (Answer: Hmmmmm there are so many but I would like to do a supernatural episode with a number of the more mystical bent characters of course I am not Peter but that is what I would do)

  39. To Deano:

    While I may be discounting the fact that MRS. David MAY have met those people and/or write an episode of JLU, I doubt that’s what you meant.

    This is ASK THE WIFE. NOT ask PAD. Pay attention.

  40. To BBayliss:
    While your intentions may be good, I would think that Kathleen can handle the folks who misunderstand the intent of this particular topic. As PAD has posted under Kathleen’s name on occasion (and, presumably, with her full knowledge and consent), it’s not entirely unreasonable that some may be misunderstanding this topic and to whom to address their questions.

    Now, for some Kathleen-directed questions:
    1) How would you rank film genres in terms of costume–that is, do you prefer fantasy over science fiction over period dramas, etc.? If that’s too broad a generalization, what are your 5 favorite films based solely from a costuming standpoint?

    (Answer:Depends on my mood. I love the period costumes esp. the Asian costume dramas. I think Science Fiction costuming can be interesting to do but I don’t find myself looking at the costumes when I watch an SF film. Fantasy costuming is fun to look at and figure out how they did it or how many layers are they Wearing?

    1.Labyrinth
    2.The Star Wars Saga
    3.Hero (I loved how they used the color of the costumes to tell the story)
    4.The Three and Four Musketeers (Richard Lester Version)
    5. Something Wicked this Way Comes)

    2) Of the film Batmans, whose costume was best?
    (Answer:Until this film I would have said the Tim Burton one but now I am kinda torn between the two. I do like how they let you see the “pieces” transform into the final costume.)

    3) If you had unlimited funds and could buy the costume from ANY single character in film history, which costume would it be?

    (Answer:David Bowie’s outfit he worn at the beginning of Labyrinth)

    4) Which Muppet (from Sesame Street or The Muppet Show) do you feel best represents your personality?

    (Answer:Ooooo that’s a tough one. I have been compared to Scooter and Kermit by others. But I would have to say Bean Bunny.)

    5) What’s the scariest puppet (whether traditional puppet or marionette or animatronic) that you’ve ever seen?

    (Answer: Hard to say. I don’t really find puppets scary. Scary to others? Probably the Alien chest burster. It was cool.)
    Thanks.

  41. Atlanta Fantasy Fair? I thought I was one of the few still-active long-time convention people to remember the AFF. Does it feel like a lifetime ago to you too?

    (Answer: Yes it does in so many ways. My life has changed so much since the last Fantasy Fair that I attended which I believe was the last one they did. I still run into people who I first met at AFF at DragonCon. I loved it best when it was at the Omni Hotel and convention center.)

  42. Here’s a Q for you:

    A while back, I heard that you were a Dr. Who fan. I was wondering, ever make a puppet of one of the Doctors?

    (Yep. In fact I made Hartnell through McGann. Doctor #5 is with Peter Davison. Doctor #7 is with Sylvester McCoy.
    http://homepage.mac.com/kathodavid/PhotoAlbum24.html
    for Dr.’s 1,2,3,4,8. I should really put the set back together and add the new Dr. [adds to her list of projects])

  44. To BBayliss:
    Dude get a life and stop playing hall monitor ,I read quite well and Mrs.David answered my questions.Please stop with the correction of everyone Sheesh

  45. Kathleen:
    >(Answer:I do read the comments and if I have something I feel I can add positive to the discussion I do or a quick question I can answer for Peter to get the information out faster. Overall I stay an observer since it is my husband’s website not mine (Did I mention I had my own *grin?))

    I enjoyed your response regarding answering only when there is something positive to add. Thanks for answering and I’ll check out your site.

  46. Kathleen,

    Thanks for answering my question. I actually have seen the 7th Doc puppet. I was at I-Con in 99 when Syl was the guest. Some friends and I were waiting in ‘the green room’ at the convention to interview Syl and saw Peter showing the puppet to Syl. If you need ideas toward making the 9th Doctor puppet, you should check out whona.com’s front page since they’re selling a bathroom buddy of Eccleston.

    -Jason

    (Thanks for the information)

  47. Reading the Star Wars question and answer got me thinking about something I’ve wondered for a while. How DO the creative minds behind the Expanded Universe react when George Lucas does things in the prequel films that screw around with established continuity or even directly contradict it?

    I always envision cursing, followed by a mad scramble to come up with explanations for the seeming contradictions, so as to maintain at least an illusion of cohesion.

    -Rex Hondo-

    (Answer: Well I can’t really give you a complete answer on this one because it is one of those under the non-disclosure agreement. Let’s just say that senario doesn’t happen all that often and there are ways we deal with it.)

  48. It’d be real nice if you and PAD could do something in Japan (where I live) one day!

    Hey, a guy can dream…

    -Jools

    (Answer: Japan is on our list of places we would like to visit. Now we just have to see if a convention will invite us there sometimes.)

  49. Is there anything B5 related coming out of Del Rey in the near future? Also are Peter’s (and for that matter the other Del Rey) B5 books staying in print?

    Neil

    (Answer: Sorry I can’t answer that one because of non-disclosure due to the number to parties involved. )

  50. Kathleen,

    You responded to a question above about costuming by saying, “I think Science Fiction costuming can be interesting to do but I don’t find myself looking at the costumes when I watch an SF film.”

    Do you happen to be a fan of the (much missed) show Firefly? I wondered if this held true for Firefly as with other SF shows, as the costuming seems like it would be considerably different from the “standard” Sci-fi look.

    (Answer: Well it depends. Farscape sort of opened the door for this sort of costuming. Yes, I am a big Firefly fan. The scruffy look first really showed up in the first/fourth Star Wars movie. People were unkempt and clothes were rumpled except the bad guys who were neat and tidy. Since then Alien and Aliens among other films have had that sort fo look so if anything it may be becoming the norm.)

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