Buffyfest: What makes writing for Buffy different from other projects you've written?
Brad Meltzer: It'd be easy to say the sense of humor. But that's just not true. It's really the sense of "self." These characters know who they are and where they are and what they do. And we as readers/viewers do too.
Buffyfest: Can you talk about any of the ideas you had for your arc that didn't make it to the page?
Brad Meltzer: Nope. What if it's still coming? :)
Buffyfest: True. Your arc of Buffy Season 8 deals very heavily with the idea of power and how it corrupts. Was that something you'd set out to do thematically with this story? Did you draw from any real world scenarios, politically or socially when you wrote these issues?
Brad Meltzer: Every single one of my novels somehow gets around to this issue, so I can't say I'm fully surprised. It's just how I view the real world. George Washington said, "Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder." Guy knew what he was talking about.
Buffyfest: How do you feel about the choices Buffy and Angel are making and what do you think has informed those choices, not just in the last few issues, but with this season as a whole? What would you say Buffy was thinking at the end of issue #33 when Angel asks her if she wants to be happy?
Brad Meltzer: I think the final choices are as true to the characters as can be. What came before that final choice is of course the subject of debate, but I do think these characters know EXACTLY what each other wants. And what they want themselves.
Again, this is just a small teaser so look out for Part Two of our interview tomorrow, where we really get in the thick of issue #35 and the conclusion of Meltzer's now legendary arc in Buffy Season 8.
And don't forget to follow Mr. Meltzer on Twitter. He'll be doing a Buffy Twitterthon, taking fan questions for a whole 24 hours starting on Wednesday at noon.
