Hello fellow Wookieepdians! Today we had the opportunity to connect with Sarwat Chadda--who authored the stories "The Eye of the Beholder" in the Stories of Jedi and Sith anthology and "Standard Imperial Procedure" from From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back.
Q1: How did you first get into Star Wars as a fan, and do you have a favorite
character?
A: Christmas 1977! I was the perfect age for the movie, 9, and I still remember seeing it at the Granada cinema (now long gone) in Harrow. Annoyingly I arrived some twenty minutes after it started, the scene when Obi-Wan gives Luke his lightsaber.
Back then you could just stay in your seat and watch it again (which my sister did a LOT for ESB) so caught the opening scenes after the end. There was hardly any merchandise in those days, we were obsessively trading cards (the blue ones). There was a frenzy at school during break as everyone would get out their stacks and work through who had what and who wanted what.
My first ever Star Wars toy was Obi-Wan Kenobi, so he became my favourite
character. That he was played by Sir Alex Guiness and had the coolest scene in the whole film (the cantina arm chop, yes even more cool than Han shooting first) just cemented him, the Jedi and lightsabers as the coolest things EVER.
Q2: Can you share some insights into your creative process when crafting characters within the Star Wars universe, or if you had a favorite of the ones you focused on in your work?
A: I have to admit I had to squeeze in Boba Fett, somehow! But I wanted the ESB Boba, the one we nothing about, no back story, no agenda, just all business. In both my SW short stories we’re looking at the iconic characters from the outside. It keeps the magic, the sense of wonder we have for such legendary figures such as Boba Fett and Anakin. For me Star Wars is all about the sense of wonder, and I wanted that in my stories.
Q3: Over the years, we’ve seen a lot of development of background characters. What inspired your creation of Carl Ashon in “Standard Imperial Procedure?”
A: My previous life as an engineer! An Imperial Destroyer must have thousands of engineers and mechanics busy keeping it all going, the so-called unsung heroes of the Empire. That was what was so cool bout the original films, they technology wasn’t all shiny and chrome, it felt used, worn-out, real. "Standard Imperial Procedure" just sounds like a term an engineer would have come up with. It’s real ‘checklist mechanics’. Utterly dull, utterly essential. As unheroic as you could possibly get.
Q4: I loved the small details in “The Eye of the Beholder,” especially being able to see Anakin and Obi-Wan helping those in need during the Clone Wars. What was your approach to developing that story’s setting?
A: The cost of war. I wanted it from the victim’s perspective. It’s all too sadly familiar to us from the news and I thought it would be an interesting way to present the Jedi, seeing them in action during the Clone Wars. Of course this has all been expanded on in the Bad Batch (for example) but I didn’t want the focus on the warriors, but the victims, the billions of innocents caught up in a galaxy spanning war they can do nothing about, except survive till the next day.
Q5: If you write more Star Wars content in the future, what character or topic would you like to write about?
A: Ah, the million credit question. Okay, I want to do Finn and Poe, causing trouble and mayhem across the galaxy. They are Star Wars’ Butch and Sundance Kid! Hair-raising adventures, lots of desperate escapes, lots of bickering and one-upmanship.
Q6: Thanks for taking the time to speak with us! Is there anything else you’d like to share with readers?
My pleasure! If readers want to find out more or drop me a line, do visit my
website sarwatchadda.com, or chase me down on X @sarwatchadda or on Instagram as sarwat_chadda.
Conclusion
And that's the end of today's interview, was super glad we got to sit down and talk with him and talk about his two short stories, and until next time, happy editing!
