I hear so many people today talking tripe about the need to avoid long, detailed description that "gets in the way of the story." It's a no-brainer that anything that is clunky, awkward and badly crafted is going to get in the way of any story... That's why good authors work so hard at their craft to avoid such things. But the people who say--or even imply--that writers (and especially young writers) should take care to avoid being too descriptive have been watching too many movies and WAY too much TV.

This part of the "Medievalist" interview deals with my "Guardians" Trilogy and the entire story of how I finally worked my way around to dealing with, and writing about, Scots or Scottish history.