At the turn of the decade, Wolfe published three widely differing novels. Soldier of Arete(1989) continues the story of Latro, the amnesiac narrator of Soldier of the Mist; Castleview(1990) is a heavily intertextual recruitment fantasy that plays in intricate ways with Arthurian myth and remains Wolfe's most poorly received novel since Operation Ares(1970); and Pandora by Holly Hollander(1990) is a charming murder mystery narrated by an all-American high school girl. Two short story collections, Storeys from the Old Hotel(1988), a British anthology that brought Wolfe the World Fantasy Award in 1989, and Endangered Species(1989) were also issued. Letters Home, a collection of correspondence from Wolfe to his mother during his posting in Korea, and Young Wolfe(1992) an anthology of short fiction, both appeared from United Mythologies Press and form the starting point of Jordan's interview.

As Jordan explains, ‘this interview was conducted during the 1992 World Fantasy Convention, held at Callaway Gardens, Georgia, Oct. 29–Nov. 1. The interview was conducted outside in a garden for two hours on the morning of October 30.’

JJ: A lot of what you publish comes out from small presses and sources. If you are not an insider to the SF fantasy world, you would not know where to get it or even know it had come out. Is there any comprehensive outlet for Gene Wolfe's stuff?

GW: Not that I know of. Mark Ziesing handles some of it, but he's probably as close as they come, and he has far from everything. I just don't think there is a good answer to that. I have done some stuff with Dan Knight's United Mythologies in Canada.

JJ: Is he the one that did Young Wolfe?

GW: Yes, he did Young Wolfeand Letters Home. And we may do another one, I am not sure. And then there is Cheap Street. The problem with Cheap Street is that they are anything but cheap! I would like to subscribe – get the Cheap Street series of books and so forth – and to be honest, I cannot afford it. I can't afford every few months to spend $75–$100 on a collector's piece, or at least I don't feel I can. I have better uses for the money.