What has been the most rewarding aspect of Talislanta for you?
Meeting people who have played the Talislanta game. I've met them at game conventions, online, on the phone, in game stores, through the Talislanta e-mail list, and occasionally under even more unusual circumstances (such as my step-daughter finding out that her boyfriend and his bother were Talislanta fans when they were teenagers). I've never met a group of people who are as bright, creative, talented and nice as Talislanta fans. It's very rewarding to find something you created has brought some fun and enjoyment into other people's lives.

How long have you been involved in roleplaying?
I started playing back in 1981 or so. My younger cousin Fred, from Seattle, was visiting my folk's home in Connecticut, and he kept pestering me to try some weird new game he was into, called D&D. After a while I gave in and said 'okay, I have time for one short game'. Four hours later Fred was telling me he was too tired to keep playing, and I was hooked. After playing D&D for about a year I started writing my material. By 1983 I'd formed a company called Bard Games with two other partners, and created our first RPG product, a book called the Compleat Alchemist.

When you play Talislanta, what character(s) do you typically like to play?
Oddly enough, I've only actually played Talislanta once; the other times I've always been GM for a group of players or playtesters. In my one experience as a PC I played a Rogue Magician of rather dubious principles. I tricked a Gnomekin NPC into stepping into some sort of inter-dimensional rift in order to acquire his valuables; the poor fellow was never seen again. My fellow PCs learned to give my character a wide berth (and to keep one eye upon him at all times) for the duration of the adventure.

What caused the split from the Jovialis team and Bard Games?
Two things. First, I wanted to hire writers to develop the Talislantan milieu, extrapolating material from The Chronicles and from my notes. Some of the writers understood what I was looking for; others wanted to go in their own direction, and resented having to work within the guidelines presented to them. Needless to say, things didn't work out.
The second problem was more complicated, and had to do with a disagreement over the work-for-hire vs. royalties aspects of the writer's contracts. It began when Bard Games went out of business, and got pretty ugly. After trying unsuccessfully to resolve the various issues, I finally ended up licensing the Talislanta game to WotC (Wizards of the Coast) - minus the Cyclopedia material which Jovialis helped produce, and which was the source of the dispute.

Pink heffalumps or purple woozles? Why?
Both, in copious quantities. Because they're good for you.

What advice would you give to people who want to start up their own new game?
I don't think I know enough about the current game market to comment intelligently. But, I can say this: if it's a labor of love rather than money, do it. You'll never regret spending time on something that you love doing.

Other than the works of Vance, what other factors would you say gave you the most inspiration for Talislanta?
Besides Vance, there was also Marco Polo's 'The Travels', Lovecraft's 'The Dreamquest of Unknown Kadath', certain of the works of William S. Burroughs (from which many ideas of Talislanta's illicit substances were derived), and many others. Visually, I was very much influenced by 'Salome', a three-part story published in Heavy Metal magazine, and written and drawn by Phillipe Druillet - I've looked for it ever since, but with no success. Richard Corbin was also an influence, especially his vivid use of colors; also Steve Ditko's 'Dr Strange', and his depiction of spells and other dimensions. Those are just a few.

We all know you're involved in music ('despite knowing better'), but what do you actually listen to?
I've always had eclectic tastes in music, though I tended to concentrate almost exclusively on a very few favorite bands, composers and musicians. The first album I ever bought was the Beach Boy's 'Pet Sounds'; I still think it's incredible. From there I went to the Beatles, and Jimi Hendrix (an odd choice for a sax player at the time), Sly and the Family Stone; then Tower of Power, Steely Dan, The Police, and saxophonist Tom Scott. Nowadays I listen to lots of things; the last albums I bought include the Chemical Brothers, Suzanne Vega, 311, David Bowie, Beck, Sublime, and Porno for Pyros.

If you were an animal, what animal would you be?
A werewolf. We keep similar hours.