Sarah Monette's Blog, page 99

Q&A 4

Q: Much like Tolkien, you have created an entire world with the Doctrine of Labyrinth series. Throughout all 4 books there are references to tales, people, history and places. Is it possible that at some point you will publish a "Silmarillion" type book describing more details of the universe there? And do you have sketches or designs or maps of things in that world?

A: The map of Mélusine is over here.

I doubt strongly I'll ever write a Silmarillion or similar object, for a couple of reasons:

1. A

Q&A 3

Q: You are working on a new manuscript you're very excited about when a friend shows you a book you've never heard of. And one of the main characters in that book has the exact same name as one of the characters in your manuscript. What do you do?

Well, first of all, is this a common name (e.g., Stephen), an uncommon but historically real name (Mildmay), a common or uncommon name in a language other than English (Jacqueline Carey's Phedre), or a made-up name (Maiah, the protagonist of the novel I

Q&A 2

Q: Reading about the various old cemeteries, off-shoot chambers and secret underground culture makes me think of the old houses and history in and around New Orleans. I've lived within spitting distance of the city my entire life and as I was reading about the different parts of the city, I couldn't shake the sensation of being on a tour of The Quarter or the Garden District or the Marigny, and somehow France steeped in courtly manners. And Vey reminds me of a much bloodier Marie LeVeaux.

So, my

Q&A 1/Storytellers Unplugged for April

So the inaugural question of this round of Q&A was such a good one that I stole it for my Storytellers Unplugged column for April.

Q: You've mentioned what you think a secondary world story should and shouldn’t do a few times, but I don't think you’ve ever specifically elaborated on the subject, so, to be blunt: What do you think a secondary world story should do for the reader? What shouldn't it do? Do you think you’ve accomplished this in your writing so far? etc.

A: Here.

Question Box

Ask your questions here. Comments are screened.

I will answer questions for as long as people ask them. You may ask more than one question; you may ask questions more than once. Use courtesy and common sense (if it's a question you wouldn't answer in public or from a stranger, odds are good I won't either), but nothing is intrinsically out-of-bounds.

Have fun! I know I will.

Reminders

1. Tomorrow, being April 7, is the official release date of Corambis. I will be celebrating by starting another round of Q&A, so be thinking of your questions. You can ask anything you like, although, of course, I am not obligated to answer.

2. My box of copies of Corambis came today, which means that my items for the con_or_bust and accessiblehouse auctions will not be delayed, but will ship as soon after the close of the auctions as is physically possible for me. So this is a good time to remin

5 things abt Corambis, Project Valkyrie, & fluffy cats

Another half hour last night with the Wii. Was completely thrown off by suddenly having the male trainer "filling in" for my female trainer on the first exercise of the evening. Mercifully, he went away after that, but it was the worst halfmoon pose I've done in quite some time. wtf, Nintendo?
Thank you to everyone who has commented with support for and love of my books on the previous post. I appreciate it a great deal more than I can express.

Thank you also to casacorona, who stepped up to the p

publishing, series, fantasy, an announcement of a personal nature, and a big helping of wtf

So here is the thing about which I am thinking--and I should note that I am genuinely puzzled. This isn't sarcasm or rhetoric.

One of the things that the unimpressed Publishers Weekly review of Corambis mentioned was that it probably wouldn't make sense if you hadn't read the first three books in the series. Which, you know, is absolutely true, and I don't deny it. What puzzles me is (a.) why anyone needs to be warned about it, and (b.) why the reviewer seemed to feel it was a defect.

This seems t

Project Valkyrie: WiiLog

Another half hour with my perky little Big Brother.


I am, for my sins, a child of the eighties, which means that my experience of physical education was shaped, or warped, by the Presidential Fitness Awards. And here's the thing. I remember, all too well, how they explained to us that girls have poor upper body strength, but what nobody ever said was: You can do something about that if you want to. Maybe they thought it didn't need to be said, but with a president who wanted to convince us that

The Sibyl's Nine

(1) The words pour out of her like vomit. (2) She can't hear them, only taste them, bitter and foul and jagged. (3) They catch in her throat, making her gag and retch again. (4) Her stomach muscles ache for hours afterwards, and her throat is always raw. (5) She has no voice of her own; it's been eaten away by the acid of the oracle. (6) She would stop if she could, but it's not her choice, any more than it was her choice to begin. (7) She would leave if she could, but there's nowhere to go that