1) How much of this did you have plotted in January 2001?

Actually, a surprising amount was plotted at the outset - though I don't think I had any real idea of the final length. Still, I had a sneaking suspicion it would be big, which is why it sat on a back-burner for about a year before I took it up again in January of 2002. One reason the background for many of my movieverse stories seems fairly consistent is because I'd already planned Scott and Jean's history for this novel. Those early parts mostly involved their first date, the Bruce-Banner arc and Jean's breakdown - i.e., the first couple chapters and about the second half of the novel. Scott's college years were a fuzzy blur with a few specific events sketched in, and the general parameters. Thus, that's the part that expanded the most in the writing.

EJ Haight and Frank Placido were first "born" when I plotted the Heyoka series. It was thus obvious and natural to use them in AIoF. It's somewhat ironic, then, that they made their public debut in Climb the Wind, by which point, they were actually fairly well fixed in my mind.

The plot element that fell into place last was the inclusion of 9/11 events. I debated whether to deal with them, but as the timing of the story would automatically span it (since Scott proposes on New Year's Eve, 2001/2), it could hardly be ignored, and it fit very well into the themes of the story. So when I returned to the novel in 2002, the ending was adjusted to include it and the rest of the plot arc was filled out. Very little tweaking was done to account for X2 - mostly what's seen in the epilogue. I had real fears that the details of X2 would torpedo AIoF, but there turned out to be surprisingly little conflict. The origin story of Bobby is the biggest clash. Obviously, the story conflicts more strongly with events from X3, so just disregard that.

2) Why did you call Accidental Interception a Romantic Comedy when there's so much other stuff going on, some of it very serious and unfunny?

First, let me explain the term "comedy," as it's easier. I'm using the traditional definition - a story with a happy ending - although certainly I did try to give AIoF some humorous moments and a certain whimsical tone at times. But it's not humor, by any means.

As for "Romance" - well, I deliberately designed the novel both to adhere to and to break the conventions of the genre.

The usual pattern for a Romance (dating all the way back to Greco-Roman antiquity) is to follow the courtship of a Hero and Heroine (capitals intentional) from their first meeting (or significant interaction) until their eventual marriage (or other public confirmation), with the to-be-assumed tag, "And they lived happily ever after." The story should not extend beyond these points, nor follow (significantly) the story of anyone else. The Hero and Heroine are the main protagonists.

During their courtship, the couple should experience challenges, and may be parted for a portion of the story. Common challenges include opposition from family and friends; some kind of real or perceived social inequality; the interference of a femme fatale or male rogue figure who woos (or just kidnaps/attacks/rapes) the Hero/Heroine; plus actual physical danger to one or both protags. But True Love will see them through all these things until they're permanently reunited at the story's close. That's the traditional Romance formula.

It should be evident how AioF fits that pattern, as well as how it doesn't. It follows Scott and Jean precisely from their first significant meeting until their marriage ten years later. They're the main protagonists and the story has few scenes that don't include one or the other (or are about one or the other). They're parted for a portion of the story (by Scott's college years), and face opposition from family and friends (largely due to their age difference and, to a lesser degree, social status). They both have fairly significant romances with another characters that distract them temporarily from each other, and the Hammer Building Incident places Jean's sanity at great risk (plus other adventures).

So AIoF has everything a good romance should. (Hey, it's a long book.) The fun came in taking the conventions and playing with them.

First, the Hero is a 'status inferior' to the Heroine in not just one or two, but three ways: he's significantly younger, he's from a lower socio-economic class, and he has a lower educational degree. Three strikes, you're out.

Second, the external love-interests of the Hero and Heroine are real, rather likeable people, and those romances fail for mundane reasons. Clarice is not a femme fatale and Ted is not a bastard. In fact, poor Ted is rather tragic. And even the antipathy between Scott and Warren is more Scott's fault than Warren's.

Last, and most importantly, the novel itself may be centered on Scott and Jean, but their romance is really just the backbone that supports the real plot: the evolution of the X-Men, and the coming of age of Scott and Jean (individually). Thus the novel has two interwoven plots, and they intersect at the explosion in the Hammer Building.

So is AIoF a Romance? Yes, and no. It might best be described as a coming-of-age story in Romance clothing.