He has been to Europe, Asia, and the Pacific. His fans loved his work because Foster was so diverse, writing everything from fantasy and horror to hard Sci-Fi, historical fiction, westerns, and so much more.Įven with all the books he writes, Foster always finds the time to travel. The author got his big break when August Derleth discovered a Lovecraftian letter he had written in 1968.Īugust decided to publish the letter as a short story in ‘The Arkham Collector.’ In the years that followed, Foster made a name for himself as a prolific author of short fiction. Sci-Fi fans that don’t care for Star Wars probably know him for the many Star Trek books he wrote, not to mention novelizations for Terminator, The Chronicles of Riddick, Transformers, and more.īorn in New York City in 1946, Foster attended UCLA (Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and a Master of Fine Art in Cinema). He wrote a novelization for ‘The Force Awakens’ as well as a prequel-era story. When Foster wrote ‘Splinter of the Mind’s Eye,’ he was convinced that it would become a low-budget sequel to the original Star Wars film, but only if the original Star Wars was unsuccessful.īut Lucas’ gamble paid off, and ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ was made in place of ‘Splinter of the Mind’s Eye.’ Lucas ignored the book because it used concepts and ideas he had long since abandoned.īut Foster’s role in the Star Wars franchise did not end here.
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At the time, no one knew how well the movie would perform. He also wrote ‘Splinter of the Mind’s Eye.’ The novel stands out because it was written before the original Star Wars became a blockbuster hit.
As such, the author is not bothered by the fact that his name did not appear on the novel’s cover.
In interviews, he has acknowledged that the novel he wrote was based on ideas that Lucas created.