Four Erins in One (Guest Blogger: Erin Hunter)

This time, you get to hear from all four of us!

Hi from Vicky Holmes
When I'm on tour, I often get asked, "What's it like being an international bestselling author?" Well, my everyday life isn't hugely different from being an author who hasn't sold any books at all: I still spend a lot of time thinking up stories and writing and discussing tiny character details with my co-writers and editors. Sitting at my keyboard, wrestling with a hundred different ways to kill cats or studying a map to figure out if four bears could really walk that far in a day, I never stop to think about hundreds of thousands of books being printed, packed in boxes, shipped in trucks, unpacked in bookstores and warehouses, and sold to long queues of readers.

And that's the difference: YOU. The readers who buy our books, and send them shooting up the bestseller charts, and make it possible for me to come on tour and have amazing experiences that I could never have dreamed of. I am constantly amazed by your response to each new book, or series, or character--and when you express your opinions, by mail or online or when I see you on tour, I really do listen! You are all part of the Warriors Clan, and I'm honoured to have each one of you as my Clanmate.

Hi from Kate Cary!
My goodness, here I am writing an Amazon blog! When we started Warriors we had no idea that it would be so successful. Watching the series grow in popularity (and in depth) has been enormous fun. The Warriors world has become so complex that, now, when I sit down to write a Warriors book, I have to begin by reminding myself of the family trees, romantic relationships, and Clan politics before I start. Which is great because, the more deliciously elaborate the Warriors world gets, the more I enjoy it. The cats have all become old friends. Characters like Firestar and Graystripe and Sandstorm have become so real that they almost speak for themselves while I'm writing. I just put them in a situation and simply record their reaction; nowadays I consider myself more their spokeswoman than their guide.

Of course the greatest joy is our connection with our fans. It's their excitement that fuels our creativity, series after series. They are so loyal and energetic and utterly brilliant with their RPG sites and fan fiction and art, not to mention their awesome YouTube animations [ed.: see below ]. I love it when Vicky returns from a tour and sends me a parcel of stories and letters and drawings she's collected. I can hear all the voices of all the fans who have put so much time and effort into their own Warrior creations. It's like being part of a huge, happy family. Thank you Warriors fans. As Vicky would say, "you rock!" Your enthusiasm has changed my life most wonderfully and I will always be grateful.

Hi from Cherith!
When Vicky first asked me to write a Warriors book, I was delighted, because I have loved cats all my life, and as soon as I saw the storyline I realised what awesome books these would be. But I had no idea how Warriors was going to change my life!

It has given me a tremendous sense of achievement to write my share of the books and watch how the series grows and becomes more complex as we add more cats and more settings. I don't know how Vicky continues to come up with so many fresh ideas, though it's great for Kate and me to be able to contribute ideas of our own. I was especially happy when my new kittens, Bramble and Sorrel, came to have roles to play in the world of Warriors as Brambleclaw and Sorreltail.

I was even more excited when I was asked to tour the US in the spring of 2005, which was a wonderful experience. I loved meeting our fans and talking about Warriors with them. Since then, I've been able to make contact with fans through online chats, and through the stories, letters and artwork they send to the Erins. I'm so impressed that we have such loyal and creative fans. A big thank you to all of you!

Hi from Tui Sutherland!
I am so thrilled and grateful to be part of this Erin Hunter team! A million thank-yous to Vicky and Cherith and Kate for including me, and to all the wonderful Warriors fans for supporting and loving these books as much as we do. I remember editing the very first book and how much I loved all the different new characters--I just wanted more of Sandpaw and Dustpaw and Lionheart and Tigerclaw and, of course, Firepaw! I also remember how exciting it was when we hit the bestseller list for the first time.
And somehow the stories just keep on coming from Vicky's magical giant brain! I do think it helps that we can have a new generation every couple of years--that's one of the many advantages of having cat heroes instead of people (another one: never having to describe what they're wearing). :) On the other paw, coming up with that many new cat names is a crazy challenge of its own! At least in the Seekers series there are many fewer characters to name. :)

But most of all, it's the terrific fans that help keep the series going. We love finding them all online; the YouTube tributes to the warrior cats are SO awesome, and if we ever run out of cat names, we know we can rely on the imagination of our Internet community to help us out. :) I had my first online encounter with Erin Hunter fans earlier this year, in a web chat at Wands and Worlds, and it was SO much fun! I love (and am so grateful for) how welcoming and warm and funny and brilliant everyone is. Erin Hunter's readers are the best! We love you all!

Until next time, all best wishes--
Vicky, Kate, Cherith and Tui x

[Ed.: I've added a sample of a pretty professional fan animation here:]

Comments

[Hazelleaf of RiverClan on November 20, 2008 at 04:48 PM]

You guys are soo amazing!!!! That animation is spectacular- there's another by the same group of people if you search on "warrior cats animated series into the wild sneek peek" you should find it :)
Cheers,
Hazelleaf

[Rainpath of SkyClan on November 20, 2008 at 05:40 PM]

I love you all! *glomps Erins*

Thanks for mentioning us, Tui (I hope you remember me; I was CloudWind at the chat)

Thanks for making such a great book series for all of us ^_^

[Edgars on December 04, 2008 at 09:36 PM]

U guys rock. I reccomened this series to my little sister she read way more than me! Nice vid. Are you using Flash to creat this video?

[cookie on December 20, 2008 at 03:54 AM]

Hazelleaf you can search badasi as well hes making it
he says sorry that he has not got it done yet hes been buzy(i was talking to him on msn a 4 weeks ago about it)

[cookie on December 20, 2008 at 03:58 AM]

edgars asi uses flash i beleve i'm not sure but him rosi and digi have the same animation progam i belive as the 3 did eevee party 1 and 2