League of Superheroes: The Reilly Factor 2

Ansric: Yesterday I asked Tom Reilly, or Darklight, about a few oddities in League of Superheroes. I'll continue that line today, though in a different direction.

To begin with, you say in LoS that you decided to write the story based on what you knew at the time. I can understand your reasoning, but it does lead to some contradictions. At one point you will clearly state one thing, but then a book or two down the line you say something else.

Tom: I had no choice. If I started out with the truth, or anyway with what I know and think now, it would be really hard to follow. This way, the reader should hit the changes gradually. I bet most readers won't even notice.

Ansric: But there are times when you'll make a remark that only makes sense in light of something that happens later. I edited out a few of those, but I left quite a number in. I sometimes think I should've tossed them all.

Tom: I bet Frank Creed would've left them in.

Ansric: Actually, he advised me to take a few out. Still, he's more a writer than an editor, and you definitely need an editor. Anyway, to clarify the change in situation, when you wrote this was near the beginning of the final story arc of the League of Superheroes series--"Heirs of Excalibur."

Tom: I thought we were going to call that "The Excalibur Solution." It sounds better.

Ansric: Perhaps readers can vote on it. Anyway, my point is that you're writing this well after the fact. You're in your twenties, recently married, contemplating possible children and a world that looks like it's about to explode. You're beginning to realize the magnitude of the solution, and you have to leave some kind of explanation behind.

Tom: That's where it went. At first I was just trying to make sense of it all and give our kids something to think about. That's also why I had to write it the way I would've originally.

Ansric: Some people have asked me why you don't go into your school life much.

Tom: I mention classes and tests, but we were home schooled, more or less: our parents pooled their talents to teach us. So our group is more important than our school. I guess we stay to ourselves. I'm closer to Rod than to any of the guys from church, much less school. And I'm not that close to Rod. I also wanted to avoid distractions. Some of our school-based adventures show up in short stories, but the timing was awkward. Like the time we stumbled into a group of half-wit thugs--it was a good story, but it would've interrupted the narrative at a bad point: during the last chapter of League of Supeheroes, in fact.

Ansric: Let's see... I can think of various questions and comments that would go well beyond the current story. Oh, the "Mad Scientists" bit: That's a reference to The Mad Scientists' Club, by Bertrand R. Brinley.

Tom: Dad came up with a copy of it when we were looking for comics or science-oriented fiction. There are various books, but the first one's the best, even though it's really dated. We liked it because the science is real and the guys act like real teens.

Ansric: And there's considerable similarity between your group and the kids in Secret Agents Four, by Donald J. Sobol.

Tom: That sounds more like your hangup than ours.

Ansric: Both books are worth reading, though they are dated, as you said.

Tom: Maybe I'll check out Secret Agents Four, then.

Purchase League of Superheroes at Writer's Cafe Press, Barnes and Noble or Amazon.

Check out these other member blogs this week for more info.