Date: 12/27/1999 

Author: Tom Clancy <tomclancy@aol.com>

There's been a lot of pontification here about Rainbow Six.

Guys, that is the book I decided to write two years ago. It was not imposed on me by any outside influence, including my lingering (but finally finished!) divorce. Nor did that proceeding have anything at all to do with the fact that I chose not to do a Ryan book in 1998. I only write the books I want to write, and I thought R6 had some possibilities. I guess I was right. It sold splendidly. I don't think I've lost my fastball quite yet.

People, copyright laws, which are authorized by the Constitution itself, guarantee the rights of the creator/inventor/author, and to the best of my knowledge nothing can violate this absent an explicitly (exceedingly so, as a matter of fact) worded binding contract. For those doubters, look up the Sam Spade case in which Dashiel Hammet signed a very explicit contract which was then tossed by a United States Court of Appeals.

So, those of you who speculated on all that divorce crap, leave the fiction to me, or do something original, and maybe I'll help you get it published. (I love helping new writers to get started. If you read the blurbs on the original hardback of Red October, a lot of good guys helped me, and I pass that along. It's an absolute union rule for writers. It's a very friendly union. We all get along just fine, and it's very nice to see that your heroes really deserve your adulation when you stumble into them for a drink and dinner.)

For myself, the current project is "The Bear and the Dragon," with all the usual suspects, and a few new ones. Some of you have speculated correctly on something minor——my congratulations. You'll see it in Chapter 1 or 2 of the current effort. We'll see how this character works out in his new job. Last hint. Even my editor doesn't know this yet.

Oh, yeah, I do have an editor, and he doesn't find me long-winded. For those of you with short attention spans, I understand the Potter books on the witchcraft school are pretty good (I mean that; I never trash other writers), and for the more erudite among you, John Lukacs (can't remember the spelling) has a history boom out called "Five Days in London" that is absolutely brilliant. This guy captures a scene as few historians can. I love the work of John Keegan, too. Marvelous chap to have a beer with, and a dazzling analyst, plus having a captivating writing style. He is, I think, the best military historian in the world.

How come you guys never talk about Keegan? Don't you read history? Yeah, I'm pretty good, but Keegan is one of the guys *I* look up to. So is John Varley. So are Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (good guys, both). So is Joe Haldeman. Steve King is a hell of a good guy (thank God he wasn't killed by that incompetent driver!). Jean Auel has a unique gift for capturing a completely different time. In fact, there's a bunch of good writers out there, and you are allowed to talk about them even in this saloon.

TC