TEXT: WRITING BATTLETECH:
  THE SWORD AND THE DAGGER
  By Ardath Mayhar
  
  Writing BattleTech • Page 2
  By 1986 I had a long list of published books to my name, and my agent was Ray 
  Puechner, who had sold a goodly number of those for me.  Being in my usual state 
  of financial embarrassment, I welcomed the  sometimes odd and unusual projects 
  he found for me to do.  Also clients of his at the time were  Margaret Weis and Tracy 
  Hickman, who had contracted with FASA, publishers of the BattleTech games and 
  books, to write the second in that sequence of novels.  
  They had  written a short synopsis of their proposed novel when  a much better 
  deal came into being, one they could not afford to refuse.  Ray knew that I could 
  write the BattleTech book, so he arranged to transfer  their contract to me.  
  Along with the ten-page synopsis, I received a gaming packet containing the his-
  tory of this future universe in which the BattleTech books are set, along with details 
  of the Mechs and the names and houses of the principal participants in the novel. 
  Examining these, I found that the synopsis as written would not work  well, for  the 
  logistics were wrong for the areas of the star systems in which the plot must be 
  acted out.  
  I took the basic idea, which was the substitution of a major ruler  with a look-alike 
  created by his enemies.  Then I turned my imagination loose and had a great time 
  getting inside Ardan and Hanse Davion and watching them interact and work out 
  their  tasks and their destinies.
  I loved those Mechs.  Being under-sized myself, the thought of expanding my 
  bodily capabilities  by means of such  creations was most intriguing.  I had great 
  fun creating  the conflicts featuring those.  However, the material I received did not 
  give any details of more personal  weaponry or that operating in space.  Because 
  of that my ability to  write believable battles that did not involve Mechs was much 
  curtailed.  To solve the problem the editors asked Walter Keith, author of the first 
  novel, to  write  the scenes using those  weapons, which he did so well that I have a 
  hard time determining what he wrote and what I did.
  Even more intriguing was working out the personalities of the main characters 
  and Ardan’s fellow Mech-Warriors.  Internal conflicts concerning loyalties, as well 
  as overt ones with enemies, became  compelling factors in the story.  I also had the 
  opportunity to invent some pretty interesting alien  creatures and landscapes (or 
  swampscapes).  
  The plot formed before my eyes as the situations evolved, and I found the end-
  ing suited me very well indeed.  I hope it suited readers as neatly.  
  This was a project that I wrote, as I do all my work, with all my heart and soul.  I 
  enjoyed doing it, and though I made very little from it  the  book has brought some 
  most interesting people within my ken.  
  I do think it a shame that while most of the rest of the series has been reprinted 
  those first two novels have never been  reissued, as copies of  my book, at least, 
  have become very rare and are selling at much inflated prices.   Perhaps the later 
  ones went in a different direction, but those two had a lot going for them, I have 
  always believed.
  It is too bad that this was work for hire, as that does not allow me to get rights 
  reverted so I can put The Sword and the Dagger up with my electronic publishers, 
  Renaissance E. Books and Fictionwise, where most of my out of print and unpub-
  lished work is appearing regularly.  I think there are  many gamers who might like to 
  read it, as I get  frequent requests for copies, which I do not have.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/BattleTech [multi]/EXTRA/Novels/Battlecorps Novels/Writing Battletech - Ardath Mayher.pdf