DCML digest #579

[Don Rosa]

From: "Eero-Pekka Halinen" <e_halinen at hotmail.com>
>>>>Hey Don, are you going to make a sequel to this great, ticklying story?
("The Black Knight")

I invented Arpin Lusene only because I needed a villain to use the
Universal Solvent armor which was an idea from my 25-year-old "Pertwillaby
Papers" stories that I wanted to reuse. It actually comes from my original
version of the story that I mostly reused in "The Once and Future Duck"
about King Arthur. I got two Duck stories outta that one, not including the
"Universal Solvent" story which was separate, as had been the original
"Pertwillaby" version.
Anyway, my point is that I created a villain who did not want to steal
$crooge's money, only destroy it to make it *seem* as if he stole it. But
he doesn't need or want the money itself... he's wealthy enough and is not
so interested in money as he is in adventure (which is also my personal
interpretation of $crooge, even though he doesn't know his own mind as
Arpin understands himself). Anyway, I am in a position now where I created
a character that everyone wants another adventure of, but I don't know any
other way he could try to destroy all the money in the Bin without doing
any damage to the Bin. But I'll think of another plot when I have to. See,
my other problem is that nice publishers have *their* list of stories that
they want me to do, and I have my *own* list of stories that *I* want to
do, and I must balance the selection... plus I work veeerrrry slooooooow
anyway, so it takes forever to make much progress through the list of ideas
and get anything done. Look at just now: I finished that "Crusader Crown"
story a month ago, but I am still tied up with special projects for
publishers and collectors, and I am about to start on a period of camping,
traveling to a European (Luxembourg) convention and then to San Diego. I
can't seem to get going on the next story! If my stories weren't so
(inexplicably?) popular, I'd get a lot more of them done!

>>>Douglas Adams also writes very good stories.

You mean "wrote". Hadn't you heard?