"Getting ideas is easy. I just read the newspaper. I get hot and bothered about something. I'm always trying to get people to think about issues. Good fantasy does that. Tolkien did that. You tell a compelling story, but you are also talking about the world and the people in the world."

Brooks likes all his books (most of which are part of a series), but he thinks "Running With Demons" is his best writing, even though the "Shannara" books are the biggest sellers. He says he learned from Del Rey that "if the characters don't react in a believable way, the story fails. It's an imaginary world you are creating, but it needs to be a direct reflection of what's true about the world we live in."

He says that writing is "a discovery process. You have to live with the characters long enough that you know instinctively how they will react. But writers who 'fall in love' with their characters tend to make mistakes. You have to be willing to kill everybody — and the reader must know that. The story demands it."

Of his competitors, he especially respects the work of Phillip Pullman, R.A. Salvatore and Anne Perry.

For his own pleasure, Brooks tends not to read fantasy. He likes historical fiction, books on exploration and contemporary fiction. "I get ideas for stories from a lot of weird sources, but almost never from fantasy."

It took Brooks 42 years until he met the love of his life, Judine, now his wife. "I met her at a book signing. She was a book manager for Waldenbooks. My stock approach in those days was to invite staff members to dinner and we would talk shop. But this time all of them turned me down except Judine.

"I felt something special the moment I saw her. Now she is always my first reader. But I don't give it to her until I've finished it, because she mostly reads books other than fantasy. So if it works for her and she 'gets it,' I find that extremely useful."

If you go

What: Terry Brooks' keynote address, League of Utah Writers Annual Roundup

Where: Christ Evangelical Church, 280 S. 400 East, Orem

When: Saturday, 10-11 a.m. (book signing 11 a.m.-noon)

How much: $150 for nonmembers (includes entire conference)

Phone: 660-5618

Web: www.luwrite.com

Also: A free appearance Saturday, 2:30 p.m., South Branch Library, 725 S. Main, Bountiful

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E-mail: dennis@desnews.com