Robin Hobb's written debut was made in 1992 with the publication of Assassin's Apprentice, the first book in the Farseer trilogy. It was well received by both readers and critics, and Hobb earned a reputation as a "promising new author." Hobb had a polished writing style, yet no information could be found about the author other than that the author lived in Washington State. It was suspected that Robin Hobb was a pseudonym taken on by a well-known author. Given nothing so much as age, experience, or even gender, all guesses were given equal chance.
In early 1998, Locus Magazine presented an interview with Megan Lindholm, a little known author of numerous fantasy fictions. Can you guess what the highlight off article was? It turned out that Megan Lindholm restarted her career by taking on a new name, Robin Hobb.

What inspired you to start writing in the first place?
I've been writing stories since I was 7 or 8 years old, so it's hard for me to recall what put me on this path. Only that I've always known that I wanted to create stories.

You write as both Megan Lindholm and Robin Hobb. As whom did you start writing first?
Megan Lindholm. Megan is a variation on my given name and Lindholm is my maiden name.

Which novel did you enjoy writing the most? In your opinion, what is your best book?
Hm. Too many answers to these two. For research fun, Wizard of the Pigeons wins hands down. I wandered around Seattle, doing all the touristy stuff despite having visited there hundreds of times. And I talked to lots of random people and just sat on benches observing the city. For sheer exuberance, I loved writing The Gypsy with Steven Brust. Whenever I got stuck, I just sent the book back to him, and when it came back to me,it had grown and changed. I loved writing Assassin's Apprentice because I really enjoyed meeting Fitz and the Fool and watching them grow.
Best book? That's rather like a parent trying to choose a favorite child. I'll abstain.

What's you favorite book? Favorite Author? Which writer has influenced you the most? Who do you read for pleasure?
Again, too many answers to those questions, so I'll boil them down a bit. The book I'm most anxiously awaiting right now is George RR Martin's next one in A Song of Ice and Fire saga. He's had me hooked since A Game of Thrones, and I've loved every minute of dangling. My touchstone remains Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. For influencing my early years and making me love language, Rudyard Kipling remains my first love. When I want to forget everything, I go pick up a Spenser novel by Robert Parker, or dip down into some old Travis McGee from McDonald. Or spend some time with Archie and Nero Wolfe courtesy of Rex Stout.

At any one time, how many stories are you working on?
I always have one or two main ones. Then there's the story file on the computer. Ideas that won't shut up and leave me alone go in there, to percolate until I have time for them.

Since you just finished Fool's Fate. What's your next project? Will be be taking a short break or jump right into the next book?
I'm noodling around with several ideas. In the meantime, I've written a short story or two, but they aren't ready to be allowed out on their own yet. I don't like to talk about book ideas at this early of a stage. It's much too easy to talk them to death. So. I am writing and working. It's slower right now, because I'm hacking out space in a new world. But I'm working.

Your storylines are really interesting and well-thought out. Where do you get your story ideas from?
I truly have no idea. I think a book starts as a sort of 'what if' and then other ideas start to attach to that, and detail accumulates around it and then pretty soon you have a book.

How complete do you make the plot of a story before you write it?
I always think I know where the book is going and how it's going to end. Very often the book proves me wrong. But I do have a written prediction of how the book will go before I start the serious writing. I just feel no obligation to follow it if a better plot beckons.

On average how long does it take to write a book?
At least a year of the actual writing. The inspiration and the accumulation of ideas around the idea may take several years before the story is ready to be pinned down on paper.

Do you write sequentially, from beginning of the plot to the end? How do you go about writing your drafts?
Yes, I write from beginning to end. Sometimes books have flashbacks, but the reader reads generally in the order the books were written. Generally. My style of writing is more woven than linear. If I get stuck, I'll back up a chapter or two and work through it again, adding detail or cleaning out clutter, maybe even introducing an extra plot line.

Do you ever get writer's block or stalled on a storyline? What do you do to move past it?
> If I get stuck, I back up, and write through the piece again, making minor changes and polishing things. Often I'll find where I took a wrong turn. Sometimes it's because a character did something out of character, or I overlooked an obvious possible choice for a character. I follow I different fork in the plot line and the book starts moving again.

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
Write. Don't talk about it, or tell people you want to be a writer, or fantasize about what it's like to be a writer. Write. Too many people tell me, "I want to be a writer" and they mean just that. They want to leap into being something. The people I really take seriously are the ones that say, "I write all the time, and I'd like to get some of my stuff published." They'll be the ones that actually turn into writers; well, in point of fact, they already are writers. They're just waiting for their publishing opportunity.

What do you like on your pizza?
Lots of stuff. Almost anything, really. Smoked oysters are actually good on pizza. So are artichoke hearts. Freshly sliced tomatoes, put on cold after the pizza is cooked. Very light on the anchovies, but even those are okay. I don't like shrimp on pizza, or crab, because it seems to make it wet. And don't even think about giving me some white stuff on there instead of a tomato based sauce.

Robin Hobb's next book will be Fool's Fate. The US editions should be available in Jan/Feb of 2004. For more on Robin Hobb's works please visit her official website.