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Gradually the ideas caent, Barbara Bova, said that she'd like to sell a book to To house, Tor, I realized that the book I wanted to write next was Speaker of Death So I wrote an outline and the first few chapters, the contract ritten, the deal wason a doctorate at Notre Da Chronicle, and Saints for another publisher It wasn't until the recession interrupted ram (forever, I'm afraid--no doctorate for me now!) and senthonest labor since 1978 that I had a chance to get back to Speaker of Death

What I discovered then--the spring of 1983--was that the book was unwritable In order to in of Speaker , kind of boring opening chapter that brought hi of the story of Speaker soeous I couldn't write it

When Co for as a book editor, sentto the American Booksellers Association convention in Dallas, I noticed that Toreeted him, and then on impulse asked him if I could talk to hihtened when he said, "Sure," and set an appointh the crowds as I explained to hi Speaker The only solution I could think of, I said, was to write a novel version of Ender's Game, so I could put all that material about how Ender became a Speaker for the Dead at the end of that book, thus allowing Speaker to begin at its true beginning

Once I proposed the idea (having only thought of it a short while before) it seemed so obvious that I wondered why I hadn't tried to sell a novel version of Ender's Game years before (Only later did I realize that it wasn't until I orking on Speaker that the character of Ender Wiggin grew enough to be able to sustain a novel) Still, Toood idea "Let's do it," he said "Same terms as Speaker?"

"Sure," I said, hardly believing that the decision could be made so easily--I hadn't talked to him more than five minutes

"Fine We'll send a contract to Barbara as soon as I get back to New York"

Lo! It happened exactly as he said! This was so a decision instantly, and then having everything he said turn out to be true! I still marvel at it--a publisher who is not only an honest man, but also loves (and reads) books, makes decisions quickly, and then can sell the books he publishes!

Gratefully I set aside Speaker and began plotting Ender's Game By the time I quit my job at Compute! that fall, after only nine months in the position (I'm not cut out for corporate life anyan Ender's Gao to Utah to promote my novel Saints, and then returned home and finished the book in a couple more weeks

Then I turned to Speaker and the real suffering began By now, of course, the title had changed from Speaker of Death to Speaker for the Dead, as the concept had clarified at the end of Ender's Game By now, the character of Ender had developed soof Speaker was alun (except for the "introductory chapter") with Ender's arrival on the planet Lusitania, just in time to speak the death of an old lout named Marcao But it was hollow and e board and began all over again

I began the book severala little farther, but each tiht I didn't knohat "right" was, of course--but I did have several hundred pages of "wrong" (During this struggle with Speaker I wrote the novel Wyrms, which in some as a tryout of the scientific ideas in Speaker and, eventually, Xenocide--using a semisentient molecule that adapts itself easily to alien species in order to take them over and control them)

Finally I knew I had to begin with the character of Novinha, who hadn't even existed in the original outline And the characters of Pipo and Libo had also e with Pipo's death, pretty much as they happen in the first few chapters of the book you now hold in your hands But I still wasn't done It still wasn't enough I was about 200 pages deep and the book was dead in my hands and I didn't knohat to do

It happened that a good friend offor Compute! In fact, I was the one who had recruited hilish teacher (for which I think he has forgivenwhen he becaht in the University of Utah's evening school progra students who are simply brilliant when they walk in the door, so the teacher can't take the slightest credit for anything they do He was also one of the s I knohich makes me very nervous around hiotten thoroughly and stupidly lost have been while he was in the car withSome teacher!