Lois’s answer to “A lifelong fan of sci-fi books, I worked in publishing for 40 years. Yet it was only in 2021 when I…” > Likes and Comments

27 likes · 
Comments Showing 1-42 of 42 (42 new)    post a comment »
dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by Mary (new)

Mary Catelli Then MG could work on it by reviewing the stories and spreading the word. . . .


message 2: by Carro (new)

Carro I was sent a copy of A Civil Campaign for a book review site. I managed to read it as almost a stand-alone and then went hunting for all the rest. LMB books just didn't appear much on UK bookshelves until the couple that came out with UK imprint Earthlight. Having online booksellers that stock US editions and don't charge high tax and postage charges for shipping to the UK also helped.


message 3: by Lois (new)

Lois Bujold @ Carro --

Yeah, my paper book career has been pretty much dead in the UK for 2 decades. Happily, my indie ebooks interpret British publishing as damage, and route around...

Ta, L.


message 4: by Carro (new)

Carro What do you mean by interpreting UK publishing as damage and routing around.....? (There aren't any books I'm missing because I'm in the UK are there?)


message 5: by Norine Luker (new)

Norine Luker I was coming off of my cyclic Romance reading moving into SciFi again, and I think Shards of Honor came up as a recommended book on Kindle. (I mean technically it is a romance.) I started it, put it down, because not quite light and fluffy enough for a recovering Romance reader used to only minor conflicts. After a run of SciFi came back to it, became immersed in your writing, and then started binging your works. I think I have always pretty much picked my books from bookstores whether electronic or real, so never too much influenced by any other kind of marketing.


message 6: by Lois (new)

Lois Bujold @ Carro --

It's a joke on a saying, or quip: "the internet interprets censorship as damage and routes around."

(I'm not censored in the UK, in the legal sense, just not bought by publishers because my prior sales sucked. Judging whose fault this was may left as an exercise for the observer, though to be fair I think I did myself harm by jumping, early on, from Headline to publishers who did less well. Water over the dam by this time.)

Anyway, nowadays, all my titles are available as ebooks in the UK market, on various platforms --Amazon, Kobo, and Apple Book Store, to name 3. (Barnes & Noble Nook is USA only.) We will, slowly, also be adding them to Google Play Books, but that seems to be a thin market for me so far. I'm not sure how far Blackstone has my audio editions spread, but they seem to be doing a pretty good job.

On average, my UK indie ebook sales seem to run a little better than 1/10th my US sales, not too bad calibrating for the relative sizes of the markets.

Ta, L.


message 7: by Heather (new)

Heather I read The Warriors Apprentice in 2000 at my local community college. I took the sci-fi and futurism literature class. I then went in to the rest of her books


message 8: by Rupert (new)

Rupert Morrish I got Shards of Honor in a Humble bundle in 2013 and was hooked. Then I passed the infection on to my wife.
It still bugs me that when our favorite book (A Civil Campaign) came out we were living in the same city as you, but never heard of you or it until over a decade later and half a planet away.


message 9: by renmus1510 (new)

renmus1510 I was fortunate that fresh out of uni in '93 and devouring fiction again like crazy that I took a chance on Shards which had been turned face forwards as a featured book in a local bookstore... Then I went nuts searching all over for the next books before having them ordered in. I still try to give out Shards as a gateway drug to your work to people! :-D


message 10: by Jonathan (new)

Jonathan Palfrey The main barrier I experienced was in picking the wrong ones to start with. I read “Falling Free” in 1990 and wasn’t keen on it (sorry). Then I read a few of the early Miles books in 2000 and wasn’t hooked. I didn’t become hooked until I discovered Penric in 2019. It turns out that what I like best are your fantasies, and Miles’s later civilian career. The earlier stuff, I can read it, it’s ingenious and well written, but it’s not quite what I’m looking for (though I do like “Ethan of Athos”, which has no Miles at all).


message 11: by Ruth (new)

Ruth A friend recommended Paladin of Souls, and when he mentioned a "saint of the Bastard" I knew I had to give it a try. Then I realized it was a sequel, hunted down Curse of Chalion, and they quickly became favorites. The hard part became finding the early Vorkosigan books. Finally got a copy of Shards from an interlibrary loan and the book nearly fell apart in my hands. Once I got a Kindle it became much easier.


message 12: by Beth (new)

Beth Whenever I recommend your books, I explain that they're funny. And that they STAY funny. Whenever I re-read Miles's thoughts about Taura when he first meets her, it tickles me!


message 13: by Jenny (new)

Jenny Schwartzberg I picked up Shards of Honor and The Warrior’s Apprentice back in 1986 from the newspaper and book rack at the local grocery store at my university. You’ve been an auto-buy ever since.


message 14: by Debbie (new)

Debbie I think The Curse of Chalion as the first LMB book I listened to, or it may have been Ceteganda. It’s been years. But either way, I’ve listened to every book available on audible and have a few short stories on my kindle. They all get a relisten on a regular basis. Favorite author standing in our house.


message 15: by Christine (new)

Christine A friend recommended one of your books in the mid 90s and I was hooked. Read everything you’ve published. Got my husband, sons, mother hooked too!


message 16: by Meliors (new)

Meliors Simms Around 2000 I first found a Miles book by chance in the public library, swiftly worked my way through their collection and have eagerly awaited every new release for 24 years. I don't buy many books, but these days you occupy more of my small shelf space than any other
author. I am an enthusiastic word of mouth agent as I always name one of yours when I'm asked for a recommended or favorite book (usually palladin of souls or shards of honor). I'm currently rereading vorkosigan series in order again thanks to the plot tryst podcast.


message 17: by Cindy (new)

Cindy A friend recommended the Vorkosigan series in 2021, and I was instantly hooked and read all the fiction. I did see Lois’s books in some “best of” lists (after I had read them), so I might have discovered them by that route eventually. Still, it seems like word of mouth continues to be effective.


message 18: by Lara (new)

Lara Miller I first tried the Vorkosigan books after they were recommended by several of my friends - you’re probably the best-known author in my friend group, anyway! I did bounce off Chalion the first couple of times I tried to read it, before I had read more than a couple of the Vorkosigan books - I think I just wasn’t in the right mental state to get past Caz’s own fragile emotions in the first chapter or so. I’m glad I kept trying, since it’s one of my very favorite books ever!

I would think winning awards like the Hugo would help get the word out! But I guess you’re never going to reach everyone, there are just too many authors to choose from.


message 19: by Chris (new)

Chris I think for wider sales, a movie or tv show would help. But who wants the hassle?

I don't remember when i first found Miles, but having worked at a sf/f bookstore for most of the early 90's, my guess is it was the cover of one book or another that pulled me in. I read them in publication order, since that's the only info I had I expect


message 20: by Jerri (new)

Jerri I discovered your books because I kept seeing them recommended on a Georgette Heyer email discussion list to which I belonged. I started with Warrior's Apprentice and continued with the Miles books in internal chronological order until about Diplomatic Immunity or Cyroburn or ??(which every was the most recently published at the time.) Then I went back and read Shards and Barraryor and had to go back and read the Miles books again at once since they were completely different reading experiences now that I knew more about Miles's family and companions than what Miles knew. After completing the Science Fiction books, I moved to the fantasy, and with the exception of The Spirit Ring, love them all and own ebook and audiobook versions of everything and have purchased dead tree versions to donate to my small public library, several of which I have had to replace as they tend to "walk away" in some mysterious fashion. At the moment I think Penric and Desdemona are my very favorites, but I have re-read and re-listened to all of them a number of times. I also recommend to others, and feel I have started at least a few on the road to Bujold readership.


message 21: by Pierre-Alexandre (new)

Pierre-Alexandre Sicart I think I discovered your work when Cryoburn won the hugo.


Lee at ReadWriteWish A friend of mine who lives in the US recommended the books to me. Unfortunately I don't think many Australian readers know of your books as they have never been released in print here (that I know of anyway!). My friend also recommended Connie Willis. I don't think her books are available here either. I often screw my face up in front of the 'scifi/fantasy' section in our bookstores at the "variety" on offer.


message 23: by Jonathan (new)

Jonathan Palfrey Lee: How’s the supply of e-books in Australia? I no longer buy paper books, myself; but I live in Spain.


Lee at ReadWriteWish Yes, you can, thankfully, buy all the titles on the ebook platforms. And many are included in my Audible membership. If they aren't in print version though, they are a lot less visible to the public at large.


message 25: by Ian (new)

Ian I bought Paladin of Souls because someone on Twitter (Ursula Vernon, if I remember correctly) once praised it for being one of the few books where the protagonist was a Woman Of A Certain Age who was not belittled by the narrative.


message 26: by Emily (new)

Emily P. Oh, great question! I read "A Civil Campaign" at age 30 after finding it on an NPR list of "100 greatest scifi books" or some such. I then read every other Vorkosigan book. After that, I wondered why none of the kind librarians of my teenage years ever put one of your books in my hands, and instead let me continue reading the crap I was reading? I concluded that maybe the sexual violence in Shards of Honor made people think these weren't good books for teenagers. (I don't personally think this is a good reason not to give these books to teenagers.)


message 27: by Michelle (new)

Michelle Hi Lois, I found your books at the local library. I was browsing the shelves and tried one of the earlier Vorkosigan books and was hooked. I ended up buying all of the Vokosigan, Sharing Knife, and all of the World of the Five Gods books. I love rereading books so wanted my own copies. Thank you for so many hours of reading joy, Michelle


message 28: by Steve (new)

Steve Early in your publishing career, you made a trip to Indianapolis to speak to our SF club. Several of us bought books and started reading. Many of us became life-long fans and spread our love of your books to friends and relatives. Your writing reads aloud well. I started with Falling Free because my then girlfriend wanted to read Shards of Honor.


message 29: by KR (new)

KR I was lucky enough that my mother had a full collection of your work, and that I was given free rein of my parents’ library from a young age!

It did take me quite a while to ever actually pick up any of your books — I think the covers and blurbs didn’t always catch my alien-and-fantasy-minded eye when I was youngest, especially in competition with Star Trek novels, Alan Dean Foster, and Discworld — but once I started, I was hooked.

I think the one I picked up first was the Vor Game, specifically reading the Weatherman intro late one night and then wandering off to see if I could find the earlier beginning of the story. I was so excited to have found an explicitly disabled protagonist, between myself with ADHD and my brother with physical disabilities.


message 30: by Celtic (new)

Celtic I read a review of Borders of Infinity in a gaming zine which intrigued me enough to pick up the book when I saw it. I was instantly hooked. That would have been the early 90s and I spent the next 20 years scanning bookshop shelves for more - mainly US imports - picking up the books rather haphazardly as a result, but the thrill of finding each new treasure never waned. The last decade or so, my experience had been very different, finding you here and being able to pick up and read Penric and the new Miles books on the day of publication! Your generosity of time with your readers here is appreciated (nearly) as much as your books. Long may you continue.


message 31: by Erik (new)

Erik A cousin that worked in a bookshop in Dubrovnik recommended you back in 2003 or so. I'm in New Zealand and didn't have a Kindle so ordered your books online. You are my favourite author. My three sisters and my mother also love your books. My partner really liked Shards of Honour and Barrayar but it took her a few attempts at Warriors Apprentice before she built up enough tolerance to Miles' antics to make it through the book. I think she has since read and enjoyed the rest of the Vorkosigan saga and your fantasy books too. Thank you for writing them.


message 32: by Dan (new)

Dan Ferguson I can not remember how I found your books it has been to long, Started and devoured the Miles saga and have never turned back. Not a thing I have read has disapointed.


message 33: by Marie-Estelle (new)

Marie-Estelle Bruman I still remember buying my first book, in 2000. I was 11, in search of the book I was allowed to chose while my parents were doing groceries. I have to thank the French supermarkets and their wide range or books back then!

I stumbled upon Komarr, got attracted by the cover and how thick the book was. That would last me until the next groceries trip, and this synopsis was just too intriguing.

I do wonder now how much I understood of it so young, but I kind of skipped children's books all together. I appreciate now the strong female characters pictured, and am convinced this discovery opened me to science fiction and adult fiction in general.

I read again little by little those books I started with so many years ago, in their original language. What a blast! 


message 34: by Aishoka (new)

Aishoka I got started with Weatherman in my dad’s Analog magazine MANY years ago! I’ve never stopped reading, recommending, and gifting your books since. I think Ista is my favorite character but we’re spoiled for choice really.


message 35: by Steven (new)

Steven McCormick I started reading your books nine years ago after seeing Jim Butcher say in a reddit AMA, "Lois is the overall most skilled writer working today, in my opinion."


message 36: by amy (new)

amy salley I am a life long SFF nerd and I didn't hear about your books until I started recording a Hugos-related podcast. A travesty! Read Barrayar for an episode last year and am now hooked. Only read scifi so far, but am looking forward to getting into the fantasy stuff.


message 37: by Connie (new)

Connie My first encounter with your books was from my, by now, husband. I found your Vorkosigan books in his extensive science fiction collection. I believe I has read all of yours now.


message 38: by Eric (new)

Eric Taysom My older sister liked your books, but I didn't read them until I was at university as saw Curse of Chalion in the BYU library. I fell in love that point.

Not sure how she found your stuff. It's probably because she was looking for Sci-fi stuff similar to E. E. Smith. We grew up on the Lensmen series.


message 39: by Janice (new)

Janice Hovis I first came across The Mountains of Mourning in an anthology, and my sister loaned me Cordelia's Honor. I read every Vorkosigan novel I could find, many of them when they came out in paperback.


message 40: by Michelle (new)

Michelle Several years ago I was searching the library shelves for a new author to try and came across Memory. I loved it and proceeded to read all of the other books in that universe that I could find followed by any other series I could get from the library. Eventually, I bought physical or Kindle copies of all series.


message 41: by Donna (new)

Donna McMaster My parents, Robert and Phyllis McMaster, were avid readers, and in the mid-70s started a used bookstore. I inherited their love of books and bookstores, and somewhere in the late 90s one of the Vorkosigan books caught my eye at a used bookstore, not for the title or cover, but because “McMaster” was part of your author name. 🙃 I fell in love with your books, and when I discovered that your father’s name was the same as mine, I felt as though I’d discovered a long lost sister. One of my nieces is named Lois McMaster (sadly, after her aunt, not you). I tried to interest her in your books, but alas, she is not an avid reader, a sure sign that she must have been adopted. I now have almost all your books as ebooks, some as hardbacks, and most as audiobooks as well, and recommend them whenever I can find someone to listen to me. Thank you for many years of reading pleasure!


message 42: by Richard (new)

Richard Boothe Hard to recall, lo these many years, but I believe the first Miles shorts in Analog SF&F got me stared. I have a crumbling paperback of Shards I bought at A Change of Hobbit when it first came out.


back to top