We have a treat for you to day folks, our second interview!  Our beloved Kiwi, Philippa Ballantine, took time out of her schedule to flip through the questions I sent and apply her mind to them.  I confess to have found many of her answers surprising and certainly won’t argue with her choices for Favorite Actor and Movie.

Pip is sharing the release date of 08.08.08 with her Uber Nemesis Tee Morris for the release of her book Digital Magic, the many years later sequel to Chasing the Bard.  August 8th is also her birthday so let’s be sure to make it a special one and send her book flying up the Amazon.com charts on that special day.

For now, however, the application of her brilliant mind to my silly questions:

TWW -  What inspired Chasing the Bard and its squeal Digital Magic?
Pip - Chasing the Bard was mostly a writer’s curiosity about another writer- and when you are thinking of writers, they don’t get any better than Shakespeare. His ability to tap into humanity’s nature is so great that it made me wonder… was it magical? These idle thoughts turned to the Fey, because I have always had a love of myth and legend. There are many myths in the world of a ‘dark goddess’, a terrible and beautiful force to be reckoned with, and that is where Sive came from.

TWW - What kind of music would be on Sive’s iPod?
Pip - Sive most appreciates Celtic Music. Steve McDonald, Lorenna McKennitt and Capercallie would be on there. But then some Nine Inch Nails also might be on there for those moments of death and destruction she occasionally has to deal out.

TWW -  Was there any music or movie that influenced the stories or characters?
Pip - Strangely enough the only influence I can recall was a show that was on while I was writing CTB, and that was program called Roar, which starred a young Heath Ledger- set in Ireland while Rome occupied Britain. The vibe was Celtic and sexy and good fun. The interesting thing was that I finished writing Chasing the Bard just when Shakespeare in Love came out. I remember being annoyed thinking everyone would think that was the inspiration for my novel.

TWW - If you could have dinner with anyone in the entertainment industry (dead or alive) who would it be and why?
Pip - I’d love to have Peter Jackson. We do live in the same city, so maybe that is possible one day. His determination and art are something I have always admired. But if we are talking dead people, I’d love to have dinner with Errol Flynn, but then that would have been a dangerous thing for any woman to do, so maybe I will stick with Pete.

TWW - Pretend you’re casting Sive and Puck, who do you see playing them?
Pip - Sive would be a young Catherine Zeta Jones. I don’t know about Puck, he’s a hard one to pull off. The actor would have to be a child and pulling off his very non-childlike behavior would be difficult. It was just as difficult finding the right voice for him.

TWW - Will you podcast Digital Magic?  If so, would the production be as grand as Chasing the Bard has been?
Pip - Oh yes, I will podcast Digital Magic, the bug has really bitten me. And after having such fun with it, the production will be just the same level as Chasing the Bard because that wouldn’t be fair!

TWW - Going away from the book for the moment, what means of entertainment do you pursue in your free time?
Pip - When time allows, which lately it hasn’t, I enjoy watching movies, cross-stitching and gardening. And of course, I love travel which is turning out to be rather handy with all the hours I am having to clock in on planes.

TWW - With DragonCon around the corner would you consider cos-play?  Who would you dress up as?
Pip - Yes, I would love to get dressed up! The problem is of course the amount of luggage I’m allowed to bring over from New Zealand. I’d probably go for something Steam Punk inspired, a pirate, or maybe a Fey. I’d love to have the slightly pointed ears and commanding presence of Sive, but I don’t think I am quite tall enough.

TWW - On the subject of DragonCon and cos-play how would you costume your uber-nemesis Tee Morris?
Pip - Naturally the Uber Nemesis would have to be Captain Rafeton!

TWW - Some quick favorites:
Pip - Actress - Kate Winslet
Actor - Christian Bale
Movie - Bladerunner
Musician/Band - New Zealand rock band Shihad
Video Game - World of Warcraft (though I can’t play right now with writing and podcasting- it takes too much of my time too easily)
Podcast - Quarter Share
Writer – David Gemmell
TV Show – Doctor Who

TWW - If you could recommend one means of entertainment (movie, TV show, band, etc.) to the world, what would it be?
Pip - New Zealand has a wonderful blues singer called Hollie Smith. She has the most amazing voice and she is working on a US album right now, I think she is going to blow the rest of the world’s mind in the coming years.

TWW - When is the Amazon.com run for Digital Magic?
Pip - It all begins 8am PST (11AM EST)  8th of August 2008

TWW - And finally, is there any hope of seeing you in Austin, Texas for a book signing?
Pip - Not this year unfortunately, but I suspect this is not my last trip to the States. There is still so much of the States to see and I want to take it all in.

You can find more out about Philippa Ballantine at her website The Pen and the Sword and discover her writing and podcasting talent on Chasing the Bard or as Queen Askana in Morevi: Remastered.