Martha Wells's Blog, page 103
March 2, 2015
Compilation Post
Just to keep it in one place, here's a compilation post with the first two batches of suggested authors, plus a new batch.
This is for: I Challenge You to Stop Reading White, Straight, Cis Male Authors for One Year by K.T. Bradford, about trying to diversify your reading and find new authors.
These are mostly SF/F, but also horror, and a few YA and MG SF/F
David Anthony Durham, Prudence Shen, Violette Malan, Nnedi Okorafor, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Nicky Drayden, Karen Lord, Judith Tarr, Craig Laurance Gidney, Sharon Shinn, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Wesley Chu, Ramez Naam, Catherine Lundoff, Joyce Chng, Kate Elliott, Barbara Hambly, Jaye Wells, Charles R. Saunders, Steven Barnes, Stephanie Diaz, Laura Lam, Alyx Dellamonica, N.K. Jemisin.
Jessica Amanda Salmonson, Varsha Bajaj, Mario Acevedo, Grace Lin, Tananarive Due, Carrie Patel, Kay Kenyon, J. Kathleen Cheney, Nahoko Uehashi, Jessica Reisman, Linda Nagata, C.S.E. Cooney, Maurice Broaddus, Beth Bernobich, Michelle Sagara, E.J. Swift, Teresa Frohock, Nalo Hopkinson, P.C. Hodgell, Aliette de Bodard, Ellen Oh, Carol Berg, Kari Sperring, Courtney Schafer, Milton J. Davis, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Amy Tintera
L.A. Banks, Mazarkis Williams, Malinda Lo, Jenn Reese, Rachel Neumeier, Walter Mosley, Helen Oyeyemi, Kat Richardson, Laura Anne Gilman, Jemiah Jefferson, Ken Liu, Emily Jiang, Lisa Tuttle, Susan R. Matthews, Cixin Liu, Dia Reeves, Juliet E. McKenna, Zoraida Córdova, Patrice Sarath, Heather Marie, Yoon Ha Lee, G. Willow Wilson, Janny Wurts, Greg van Eekhout, Marjorie Liu
I also have more authors on my book rec tag that would fit.
This is for: I Challenge You to Stop Reading White, Straight, Cis Male Authors for One Year by K.T. Bradford, about trying to diversify your reading and find new authors.
These are mostly SF/F, but also horror, and a few YA and MG SF/F
David Anthony Durham, Prudence Shen, Violette Malan, Nnedi Okorafor, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Nicky Drayden, Karen Lord, Judith Tarr, Craig Laurance Gidney, Sharon Shinn, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Wesley Chu, Ramez Naam, Catherine Lundoff, Joyce Chng, Kate Elliott, Barbara Hambly, Jaye Wells, Charles R. Saunders, Steven Barnes, Stephanie Diaz, Laura Lam, Alyx Dellamonica, N.K. Jemisin.
Jessica Amanda Salmonson, Varsha Bajaj, Mario Acevedo, Grace Lin, Tananarive Due, Carrie Patel, Kay Kenyon, J. Kathleen Cheney, Nahoko Uehashi, Jessica Reisman, Linda Nagata, C.S.E. Cooney, Maurice Broaddus, Beth Bernobich, Michelle Sagara, E.J. Swift, Teresa Frohock, Nalo Hopkinson, P.C. Hodgell, Aliette de Bodard, Ellen Oh, Carol Berg, Kari Sperring, Courtney Schafer, Milton J. Davis, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Amy Tintera
L.A. Banks, Mazarkis Williams, Malinda Lo, Jenn Reese, Rachel Neumeier, Walter Mosley, Helen Oyeyemi, Kat Richardson, Laura Anne Gilman, Jemiah Jefferson, Ken Liu, Emily Jiang, Lisa Tuttle, Susan R. Matthews, Cixin Liu, Dia Reeves, Juliet E. McKenna, Zoraida Córdova, Patrice Sarath, Heather Marie, Yoon Ha Lee, G. Willow Wilson, Janny Wurts, Greg van Eekhout, Marjorie Liu
I also have more authors on my book rec tag that would fit.
February 27, 2015
More Author Recs
Yesterday I did this post with a bunch of author recs for the challenge to diversify your reading and find new SF/F authors.
Here's a bunch more. I like making lists so I'll probably do some more on Monday.
Jessica Amanda Salmonson, Varsha Bajaj, Mario Acevedo, Grace Lin, Tananarive Due, Carrie Patel, Kay Kenyon, J. Kathleen Cheney, Nahoko Uehashi, Jessica Reisman, Linda Nagata, C.S.E. Cooney, Maurice Broaddus, Beth Bernobich, Michelle Sagara, E.J. Swift, Teresa Frohock, Nalo Hopkinson, P.C. Hodgell, Aliette de Bodard, Ellen Oh, Carol Berg, Kari Sperring, Courtney Schafer, Milton J. Davis, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Amy Tintera
Here's a bunch more. I like making lists so I'll probably do some more on Monday.
Jessica Amanda Salmonson, Varsha Bajaj, Mario Acevedo, Grace Lin, Tananarive Due, Carrie Patel, Kay Kenyon, J. Kathleen Cheney, Nahoko Uehashi, Jessica Reisman, Linda Nagata, C.S.E. Cooney, Maurice Broaddus, Beth Bernobich, Michelle Sagara, E.J. Swift, Teresa Frohock, Nalo Hopkinson, P.C. Hodgell, Aliette de Bodard, Ellen Oh, Carol Berg, Kari Sperring, Courtney Schafer, Milton J. Davis, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Amy Tintera
February 26, 2015
Bunch of Book Recs
I don't know why I haven't been posting more. I've been busy working on the book, but I think I'm also losing my will to persist, somewhat. I can keep writing, because I've always done that, but it's getting a bit hard to do other things.
A couple of years ago we had the conversation where some men decided that no one had ever written any fantasy set in non-European inspired settings, except these four or five dudes they could name. Ignoring the hundreds of women who wrote it during the 80s and 90s, and the whole realm of Japanese fantasy like Moribito, etc. (which is how we came up with this list). Now we have the no one has written "non-patriarchal" fantasy except for these three or four dudes someone can name. Ignoring all the women who wrote this in the 80s, 90s, etc. (We talked about this on Kate Elliott's twitter so it's a little hard to follow.)
I guess I'm really tired of feeling like nothing I've done in genre counts, because I'm not a bearded white dude.
Related: I Challenge You to Stop Reading White, Straight, Cis Male Authors for One Year by K.T. Bradford about trying to diversify your reading and find new authors.
I have a lot of authors on my book rec tag that would fit, but here's a small sample:
David Anthony Durham, Prudence Shen, Violette Malan, Nnedi Okorafor, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Nicky Drayden, Karen Lord, Judith Tarr, Craig Laurance Gidney, Sharon Shinn, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Wesley Chu, Ramez Naam, Catherine Lundoff, Joyce Chng, Kate Elliott, Barbara Hambly, Jaye Wells, Charles R. Saunders, Steven Barnes, Stephanie Diaz, Laura Lam, Alyx Dellamonica for a start.
Also in that list, N.K. Jemisin. I got to read The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin, which is coming out later this year and you should envy me, because it's really good. I gave it a blurb and said:
"This is an intense, exciting novel, where survival is always on the line, set in a fascinating, original and dangerous world with an intriguing mystery at the heart of it. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book!"
A couple of years ago we had the conversation where some men decided that no one had ever written any fantasy set in non-European inspired settings, except these four or five dudes they could name. Ignoring the hundreds of women who wrote it during the 80s and 90s, and the whole realm of Japanese fantasy like Moribito, etc. (which is how we came up with this list). Now we have the no one has written "non-patriarchal" fantasy except for these three or four dudes someone can name. Ignoring all the women who wrote this in the 80s, 90s, etc. (We talked about this on Kate Elliott's twitter so it's a little hard to follow.)
I guess I'm really tired of feeling like nothing I've done in genre counts, because I'm not a bearded white dude.
Related: I Challenge You to Stop Reading White, Straight, Cis Male Authors for One Year by K.T. Bradford about trying to diversify your reading and find new authors.
I have a lot of authors on my book rec tag that would fit, but here's a small sample:
David Anthony Durham, Prudence Shen, Violette Malan, Nnedi Okorafor, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Nicky Drayden, Karen Lord, Judith Tarr, Craig Laurance Gidney, Sharon Shinn, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Wesley Chu, Ramez Naam, Catherine Lundoff, Joyce Chng, Kate Elliott, Barbara Hambly, Jaye Wells, Charles R. Saunders, Steven Barnes, Stephanie Diaz, Laura Lam, Alyx Dellamonica for a start.
Also in that list, N.K. Jemisin. I got to read The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin, which is coming out later this year and you should envy me, because it's really good. I gave it a blurb and said:
"This is an intense, exciting novel, where survival is always on the line, set in a fascinating, original and dangerous world with an intriguing mystery at the heart of it. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book!"
February 18, 2015
Wednesday Already
A couple of links:
* How Authors Get Paid by Mette Ivie Harrison
This is a Tumblr post, and some of the misconceptions I'd heard before, but I hadn't heard that people believe that authors get paid by the publisher just for being authors, like there's a regular salary. No, that does not happen.
When I reblogged it, I added a bit to the end about payment for author appearances: Also, most SF/F authors don’t get invited to places that can afford to pay them for their appearance. Even if you’re doing several hours of programming at a convention, unless you’re a headliner/major guest, you have to pay for travel, food, hotel, etc, yourself, though you probably won’t have to pay for your admission to the convention, and some conventions will also give you an extra pass for your spouse. At WorldCon and World Fantasy, you have to pay for your convention pass like all the other attendees. (Though if WorldCon makes enough money, they sometimes reimburse the panelists for their convention pass, which is very exciting.) I’ve been a published writer for 21 years, and I’ve probably done less than ten paid appearances in all that time, and the paid appearances were usually $100 or less.
* Hands by Kari Sperring
My written words are judged, by some, by my age and appearance. They don't need to read me to know what I think, for older women are a uniform class. Our bodies, like our words, are not worthy.
More Books
* A kickstarter for The Labyrinth of Flame by Courtney Schafer
This is the conclusion to the Shattered Sigil trilogy, after The Whitefire Crossing and The Tainted City. I gave the first book a quote and said "A tense adventure fantasy, with magic, intrigue, and engaging characters in a desperate race to cross a deadly mountain range...an exciting original read."
* Forgotten Suns by Judith Tarr is up for preorder in ebook
* How Authors Get Paid by Mette Ivie Harrison
This is a Tumblr post, and some of the misconceptions I'd heard before, but I hadn't heard that people believe that authors get paid by the publisher just for being authors, like there's a regular salary. No, that does not happen.
When I reblogged it, I added a bit to the end about payment for author appearances: Also, most SF/F authors don’t get invited to places that can afford to pay them for their appearance. Even if you’re doing several hours of programming at a convention, unless you’re a headliner/major guest, you have to pay for travel, food, hotel, etc, yourself, though you probably won’t have to pay for your admission to the convention, and some conventions will also give you an extra pass for your spouse. At WorldCon and World Fantasy, you have to pay for your convention pass like all the other attendees. (Though if WorldCon makes enough money, they sometimes reimburse the panelists for their convention pass, which is very exciting.) I’ve been a published writer for 21 years, and I’ve probably done less than ten paid appearances in all that time, and the paid appearances were usually $100 or less.
* Hands by Kari Sperring
My written words are judged, by some, by my age and appearance. They don't need to read me to know what I think, for older women are a uniform class. Our bodies, like our words, are not worthy.
More Books
* A kickstarter for The Labyrinth of Flame by Courtney Schafer
This is the conclusion to the Shattered Sigil trilogy, after The Whitefire Crossing and The Tainted City. I gave the first book a quote and said "A tense adventure fantasy, with magic, intrigue, and engaging characters in a desperate race to cross a deadly mountain range...an exciting original read."
* Forgotten Suns by Judith Tarr is up for preorder in ebook
February 17, 2015
Books and Cons
It was below freezing last night and we had some icy overpasses and I didn't go to aerobics class this morning and now I already feel like a bad person.
ConDFW
As usual, ConDFW was a lot of fun. It was in a new hotel, which had a moat, and was arc-shaped, and disliked 90 degree angles, and was vaguely non-Euclidean. But the restaurant was pretty good, and the bar was right next to con registration and the dealers room and art show, so it was convenient and easy to find people.
I did almost have a blood sugar crash on Friday but managed to realize what was happening and avoid it. Saturday people kept giving me cookies and candy randomly, so I didn't have any trouble.
I read a section of a new Raksura story (it was actually this section) with Kristi Hutson, and she read a really scary horror story, and a neat military SF section. I also did a couple of panels, and talked to a lot of people.
New Books:
* Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Moreno-Garcia takes readers back to the age of mixtapes and records in this sweet debut. In 1988 Mexico City, 15-year-old Meche and her only friends, book-loving Sebastian and dreamer Daniela, discover literal magic in Meche’s record collection. They use their newfound powers to raise their social status, but the emotional stresses of magic and adolescence test their friendships to the breaking point. In 2009, Meche returns to Mexico City for the funeral of her father, a radio deejay and washout performer who fed her love of music, and confronts her estranged friends, reopening old wounds. This accurate depiction of outcast teenage life cycles effortlessly between eras. Meche, Sebastian, and Daniela are deeply believable characters, and numerous ’80s musical references make this unusual story a welcome blast from the past. Publishers Weekly
* Bud the Bunny by Heidi Berthiaume (Author), Travis Hanson (Illustrator)
Bud the Bunny is a children's picture book that starts with simple sentences and builds into a tongue-twisting alliterative adventure. The repetition encourages vocabulary building and the joyful illustrations by Eisner nominated Travis Hanson bring to life Bud's journey and all he encounters along the way.
This was written by a friend of mine, and she's awesome, and this is awesome too.
* The Very Best of Kate Elliott
Strong heroines and riveting storytelling are the hallmark of groundbreaking fantasy author Kate Elliott (Crown of Stars, Crossroads). Elliott is a highly-compelling voice in genre fiction, an innovative author of historically-based narratives set in imaginary worlds. This first, retrospective collection of her short fiction is the essential guide to Elliott’s shorter works. Here her bold adventuresses, complex quests, noble sacrifices, and hard-won victories shine in classic, compact legends.
ConDFW
As usual, ConDFW was a lot of fun. It was in a new hotel, which had a moat, and was arc-shaped, and disliked 90 degree angles, and was vaguely non-Euclidean. But the restaurant was pretty good, and the bar was right next to con registration and the dealers room and art show, so it was convenient and easy to find people.
I did almost have a blood sugar crash on Friday but managed to realize what was happening and avoid it. Saturday people kept giving me cookies and candy randomly, so I didn't have any trouble.
I read a section of a new Raksura story (it was actually this section) with Kristi Hutson, and she read a really scary horror story, and a neat military SF section. I also did a couple of panels, and talked to a lot of people.
New Books:
* Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Moreno-Garcia takes readers back to the age of mixtapes and records in this sweet debut. In 1988 Mexico City, 15-year-old Meche and her only friends, book-loving Sebastian and dreamer Daniela, discover literal magic in Meche’s record collection. They use their newfound powers to raise their social status, but the emotional stresses of magic and adolescence test their friendships to the breaking point. In 2009, Meche returns to Mexico City for the funeral of her father, a radio deejay and washout performer who fed her love of music, and confronts her estranged friends, reopening old wounds. This accurate depiction of outcast teenage life cycles effortlessly between eras. Meche, Sebastian, and Daniela are deeply believable characters, and numerous ’80s musical references make this unusual story a welcome blast from the past. Publishers Weekly
* Bud the Bunny by Heidi Berthiaume (Author), Travis Hanson (Illustrator)
Bud the Bunny is a children's picture book that starts with simple sentences and builds into a tongue-twisting alliterative adventure. The repetition encourages vocabulary building and the joyful illustrations by Eisner nominated Travis Hanson bring to life Bud's journey and all he encounters along the way.
This was written by a friend of mine, and she's awesome, and this is awesome too.
* The Very Best of Kate Elliott
Strong heroines and riveting storytelling are the hallmark of groundbreaking fantasy author Kate Elliott (Crown of Stars, Crossroads). Elliott is a highly-compelling voice in genre fiction, an innovative author of historically-based narratives set in imaginary worlds. This first, retrospective collection of her short fiction is the essential guide to Elliott’s shorter works. Here her bold adventuresses, complex quests, noble sacrifices, and hard-won victories shine in classic, compact legends.
February 9, 2015
Links Mostly
I have some more Raksura questions to answer, but I got kind of busy so I'll try to do that this week.
This weekend we replanted a sapling tree today, probably the biggest thing I've ever replanted. It was a weed tree growing up against the fence so it had to go anyway, but there was a spot for it in the front yard and I wanted to give it a fighting chance. It resisted this process strenuously. It's like, you can't stay here, that giant oak tree you're cuddled up against is going to murder you. So hopefully it will live in its new spot.
I've also been working more on The Three Worlds Traveler's Guide. (Here's the copy paste link for LJ people, since LJ won't link to it. http://www.marthawells.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page )
Couple of things I posted on Tumblr:
* Kitty Pictures: proof Tasha likes to have her belly rubbed
* The Time I Met Gene Roddenberry
Links
* Feminist linguist, poet, and SF writer Suzette Haden Elgin passed away in January. Here's an appreciation of her work by Catherine Lundoff.
* The Indie Fantasy Story Bundle has eight great authors and you set the price.
* The Absence of Women Marie Brennan does an analysis of the female characters in The Name of the Wind
* Liz Bourke: Violette Malan's Wandering Mercenaries
In the past, we’ve debated the definitions of epic fantasy and sword and sorcery, its social orientation, and what Fantasy Has Done For Us Lately. Well, you know what fantasy has done for me lately? Violette Malan.
This weekend we replanted a sapling tree today, probably the biggest thing I've ever replanted. It was a weed tree growing up against the fence so it had to go anyway, but there was a spot for it in the front yard and I wanted to give it a fighting chance. It resisted this process strenuously. It's like, you can't stay here, that giant oak tree you're cuddled up against is going to murder you. So hopefully it will live in its new spot.
I've also been working more on The Three Worlds Traveler's Guide. (Here's the copy paste link for LJ people, since LJ won't link to it. http://www.marthawells.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page )
Couple of things I posted on Tumblr:
* Kitty Pictures: proof Tasha likes to have her belly rubbed
* The Time I Met Gene Roddenberry
Links
* Feminist linguist, poet, and SF writer Suzette Haden Elgin passed away in January. Here's an appreciation of her work by Catherine Lundoff.
* The Indie Fantasy Story Bundle has eight great authors and you set the price.
* The Absence of Women Marie Brennan does an analysis of the female characters in The Name of the Wind
* Liz Bourke: Violette Malan's Wandering Mercenaries
In the past, we’ve debated the definitions of epic fantasy and sword and sorcery, its social orientation, and what Fantasy Has Done For Us Lately. Well, you know what fantasy has done for me lately? Violette Malan.
February 3, 2015
ConDFW
The weekend of February 13-15, I'll be at ConDFW in Dallas, TX, one of my favorite conventions.
Major guests will be: Sherwood Smith and Rachel Manija Brown and the Artist Guest of Honor is Galen Dara
My schedule. For the reading I'll probably do something from the new book.
FRIDAY: AUTOGRAPHS (DEALERS ROOM) Friday, 6pm: Martha Wells, Paul Black
SATURDAY: READING (ADAMS) Saturday, 10am: K Hutson, Martha Wells
PROGRAMMING 3 (HAMILTON) Saturday, 2pm: Genres of Fantasy Explained Panelists: Larry Atchley Jr. (M), Amy Sisson, Angeline Hawkes, Martha Wells, Chris Donahue Just what is “Fantasy” any more? You have the Mythological Fantasy, “Lost World” Fantasy, Swords and Sorcery, High Fantasy, Urban Fantasy and any number of variations. Our authors and historians talk about the history of the fantasy genre and the reasons for its continued popularity.
MAIN PROGRAMMING (JEFFERSON) Saturday, 4pm: Animals in Science Fiction and Fantasy Panelists: Dusty Rainbolt (M), J. Kathleen Cheney, Martha Wells, Gloria Oliver, Bradley H. Sinor Fear the cute little rabbit. Hear the roar of dragons. Most of all, run really fast if you see the Cheshire Cat. Animals have been present in stories even in Viking sagas. But these cute little critters are often overlooked, and it’s time we rectified this. From David Weber’s treecats to Anne McCaffery’s dragons there are many examples of animals, intelligent or not.
Major guests will be: Sherwood Smith and Rachel Manija Brown and the Artist Guest of Honor is Galen Dara
My schedule. For the reading I'll probably do something from the new book.
FRIDAY: AUTOGRAPHS (DEALERS ROOM) Friday, 6pm: Martha Wells, Paul Black
SATURDAY: READING (ADAMS) Saturday, 10am: K Hutson, Martha Wells
PROGRAMMING 3 (HAMILTON) Saturday, 2pm: Genres of Fantasy Explained Panelists: Larry Atchley Jr. (M), Amy Sisson, Angeline Hawkes, Martha Wells, Chris Donahue Just what is “Fantasy” any more? You have the Mythological Fantasy, “Lost World” Fantasy, Swords and Sorcery, High Fantasy, Urban Fantasy and any number of variations. Our authors and historians talk about the history of the fantasy genre and the reasons for its continued popularity.
MAIN PROGRAMMING (JEFFERSON) Saturday, 4pm: Animals in Science Fiction and Fantasy Panelists: Dusty Rainbolt (M), J. Kathleen Cheney, Martha Wells, Gloria Oliver, Bradley H. Sinor Fear the cute little rabbit. Hear the roar of dragons. Most of all, run really fast if you see the Cheshire Cat. Animals have been present in stories even in Viking sagas. But these cute little critters are often overlooked, and it’s time we rectified this. From David Weber’s treecats to Anne McCaffery’s dragons there are many examples of animals, intelligent or not.
January 29, 2015
More Questions
* There is an ARC giveaway for Bone Swans by C.S.E. Cooney. This is a story collection, and I got to read it ahead of time, and I said "These stories are rich original fantasy with a sharp edge, peopled by vivid engaging characters inhabiting fantastic worlds. This is a brilliant and thoroughly enjoyable collection."
* This morning I'll be mailing out the last four of my kickstarter rewards for the SixbySix project. So if you signed up for a reward of signed books from me, you should either 1) have it now 2) have it by the end of next week.
* I'm going to be a panelist at ConDFW in Dallas on February 13-15. Main guests will be Sherwood Smith, Rachel Manija Brown, and Galen Dara.
More Raksura questions:
chaseafterchance on Tumblr asked: Ok, this is a little late, but here it goes; the Abora castes. How does that work? We know that mentors get sorted out from birth, but what of the others? Do they choose when they are older, or are they forced to be in the caste of thier parents?
The other Arbora castes (hunter, teacher, soldier) are based on personal preference. They're also fluid, in that Arbora can switch between them when they feel like it. So you might have someone start out as a hunter when they're young, and switch over to teacher or soldier when they get older.
pilgrim3
asked: Will we see the Fell again? And failing that, at least get opposition as dangerous and cunning as Fell/Raksura hybrids?
Yes. :)
* This morning I'll be mailing out the last four of my kickstarter rewards for the SixbySix project. So if you signed up for a reward of signed books from me, you should either 1) have it now 2) have it by the end of next week.
* I'm going to be a panelist at ConDFW in Dallas on February 13-15. Main guests will be Sherwood Smith, Rachel Manija Brown, and Galen Dara.
More Raksura questions:
chaseafterchance on Tumblr asked: Ok, this is a little late, but here it goes; the Abora castes. How does that work? We know that mentors get sorted out from birth, but what of the others? Do they choose when they are older, or are they forced to be in the caste of thier parents?
The other Arbora castes (hunter, teacher, soldier) are based on personal preference. They're also fluid, in that Arbora can switch between them when they feel like it. So you might have someone start out as a hunter when they're young, and switch over to teacher or soldier when they get older.
pilgrim3
asked: Will we see the Fell again? And failing that, at least get opposition as dangerous and cunning as Fell/Raksura hybrids?Yes. :)
January 28, 2015
Raksura Answers
First, here's a link back to an older post that might be handy for people: Plot Stalls, and Tips for How to Unstall them
Questions:
nojojojo
said Speaking of Stone, what is up with the line-grandfathers? In "The Tale of Indigo and Cloud" it was mentioned that l-gs are apparently a weird occasional quirk that runs in certain lines, and it's not actually a good thing. But it also seems like they're just really, really different -- they're not considered consorts anymore (although other old Raksura are still treated as full members of their respective castes), they're not even recognizable as Raksura (by the groundlings at uhhh that city in THE SIREN DEPTHS), Moon can't see Stone's face unless he's semiconscious, and they can't talk. I'm kind of getting the idea that they're like... were-kethel, or something? Raksura who aren't quite Raksura anymore, or maybe a rare fourth caste of Aeriat or... I don't really have a question, here. :) I really just wanted to gush about how awesome it is that you have a species so notoriously cranky that their irascible old men turn into giant monsters.
Line-grandfathers! I think my original idea was that they were sort aging into proto-dragons and that yes, they were a sort-of Raksuran version of the major kethel. I say my original idea because I don't plan my worldbuilding out meticulously in advance like a lot of writers. It's kind of like my plotting, it's much better when I let it sort of evolve naturally as it goes along. This was especially true with The Cloud Roads and The Serpent Sea, where I started out optimistically thinking they were marketable books and gradually realized that there was a good chance no one would ever read them but me and a few friends. That they sold at all was mostly luck and my agent. So when I was writing the first two books, I was discovering bits and pieces of the world as it grew, and thinking I was never going to get much further into it. Now that I have had chances to get further into it, I'm figuring out more things that were mentioned in passing and that I didn't really have any chance to reveal to the reader. (Like, in one of the upcoming novellas, there's a clue about what actually happens when the Raksura shift, that they exist simultaneously in two dimensions.)
curtana
asked I have a question about daughter-queens and sister-queens. Am I right that those are more like ranks rather than literal descriptions of biological relationships? Does a queen change from a daughter-queen to a sister-queen in relation to who is the current reigning queen, or based on her own age/power/influence? Are there ever ... I guess they'd be mother-queens? Older queens who haven't been reigning queen but are still around the court? Or would it be unlikely that such a power dynamic would persist that long before someone split off to form their own court, or killed each other quarrelling? ;)
and related,
otterb
asked That makes me wonder ... is there any such thing as a queen emeritus? Or do reigning queens reign until they die? And is succession by seniority or could there be power struggles within the court over who becomes the next reigning queen?
Yes, sister queen and daughter queen are ranks, not contingent on being related to the reigning queen. And yes, there are queens who never become reigning queen, and remain sister queens. These would be queens who are possibly less aggressive, possibly just enjoy being more free to travel outside the court on diplomatic trips, and possibly just don't want the burden of being a reigning queen. If a sister queen did want to become a reigning queen, and the current reigning queen wasn't interested in stepping down, the sister queen would have a couple of options. She might go to another smaller court and "marry" into it by taking one of their unattached consorts, if the other court was agreeable. Or, if her original court was getting crowded, the sister queen could take her consort and a group of warriors and Arbora off to create a new court. This could only happen if she had enough Arbora willing to go with her. Because the important part to being a reigning queen is having the support of the Arbora.
Couple of examples: In Opal Night, Malachite and Onyx are about the same age. Onyx was actually reigning queen before Malachite returned from the east with the survivors of the eastern colony. Malachite took over the main court from Onyx and became reigning queen. At this point, Onyx could have taken part of the court and gone off to create a new court, but because of what happened with the Fell attack in the east, the Arbora wanted to keep the court together and basically made everyone stay where they were and get along with each other. So Onyx became a sister queen.
In The Cloud Roads, Stone and Flower's original idea was to get Pearl to give way to Jade, and basically step down and let Jade become reigning queen. Pearl is so depressed at this point, and doesn't seem to want to be reigning queen anymore, that it seems like a reasonable solution. But when Pearl gets away from the Fell influence, she starts to rule the court again, and replacing her with Jade is no longer necessary.
michael_mock
had a great idea for a fanfic fusion Great. Now you've got me crossing books, and picturing a Dowager Queen -- specifically Ravenna, from The Element Of Fire -- as a Raksura.
...Ravenna.
As a Raksura.
I was about to say that, wow, that wouldn't end well for anyone trying to keep her out of power, but on further thought I'd guess that given Raksuran social dynamics, there'd be nothing to stop her from resuming her role as reigning queen. Raksuran courts are more fluid, that way.
...And those poor Unseelie Fay wouldn't know what hit them.
thesaraghina
asked I've actually wondering why Indigo Cloud left the Reaches, only to end up in the smaller ruin? I'd gotten the impression that the court was too big, and/or the Reaches were too crowded when they left, but from the descriptions of the ruin in the 1st book, would the ruin have been able to house everyone from the colony tree? Or did parts of the court split off and go elsewhere? Or, from what Stone said about the Kek dying out in their part of the forest when they left, was the court growing smaller at the time, making them able to fit well in the ruin?
This is just something I'd been thinking about in my latest re-listen to the audiobooks. ;) Anyway, I love the books, and am very much looking forward to Volume 2 of the Stories! :)
Thank you!
Yes, Indigo Cloud was fairly small when it left the Reaches, and one of the reasons why it left was a belief that the overpopulation of the Reaches was affecting Indigo Cloud's growth somehow. (We don't know if they were right, but that was their thinking at the time.) They actually stopped and lived in a few other places for a few generations before they finally settled on the ruin.
From Dreamwidth,
spatz
asked Oh, I have a question! I was re-reading the series and noticed that some Raksuran senses are different in shifted form and some are not. Moon mentions repeatedly that his sense of touch is more keen in groundling form, and smell is stronger in shifted form, and I *think* I remember Chime shifting to eavesdrop at some point, which implies that hearing is stronger as well. Anyway, I couldn't recall anything about sight or taste, so I was curious if they are different as well.
and
voidampersand
commented What an excellent question! I remember Suzette Haden-Elgin writing about how she gave linguistics seminars to groups of people with different dominant senses — doctors tend to be touch-dominant. Of course, different body forms would have different dominant senses.
I can't remember if I've nailed this down anywhere, but sight would be keener in their scaled forms and taste would be keener in their groundling forms. Though with sight, it might not make that much of a difference, and they do have very good night vision in both forms.
Questions:
nojojojo
said Speaking of Stone, what is up with the line-grandfathers? In "The Tale of Indigo and Cloud" it was mentioned that l-gs are apparently a weird occasional quirk that runs in certain lines, and it's not actually a good thing. But it also seems like they're just really, really different -- they're not considered consorts anymore (although other old Raksura are still treated as full members of their respective castes), they're not even recognizable as Raksura (by the groundlings at uhhh that city in THE SIREN DEPTHS), Moon can't see Stone's face unless he's semiconscious, and they can't talk. I'm kind of getting the idea that they're like... were-kethel, or something? Raksura who aren't quite Raksura anymore, or maybe a rare fourth caste of Aeriat or... I don't really have a question, here. :) I really just wanted to gush about how awesome it is that you have a species so notoriously cranky that their irascible old men turn into giant monsters.Line-grandfathers! I think my original idea was that they were sort aging into proto-dragons and that yes, they were a sort-of Raksuran version of the major kethel. I say my original idea because I don't plan my worldbuilding out meticulously in advance like a lot of writers. It's kind of like my plotting, it's much better when I let it sort of evolve naturally as it goes along. This was especially true with The Cloud Roads and The Serpent Sea, where I started out optimistically thinking they were marketable books and gradually realized that there was a good chance no one would ever read them but me and a few friends. That they sold at all was mostly luck and my agent. So when I was writing the first two books, I was discovering bits and pieces of the world as it grew, and thinking I was never going to get much further into it. Now that I have had chances to get further into it, I'm figuring out more things that were mentioned in passing and that I didn't really have any chance to reveal to the reader. (Like, in one of the upcoming novellas, there's a clue about what actually happens when the Raksura shift, that they exist simultaneously in two dimensions.)
curtana
asked I have a question about daughter-queens and sister-queens. Am I right that those are more like ranks rather than literal descriptions of biological relationships? Does a queen change from a daughter-queen to a sister-queen in relation to who is the current reigning queen, or based on her own age/power/influence? Are there ever ... I guess they'd be mother-queens? Older queens who haven't been reigning queen but are still around the court? Or would it be unlikely that such a power dynamic would persist that long before someone split off to form their own court, or killed each other quarrelling? ;) and related,
otterb
asked That makes me wonder ... is there any such thing as a queen emeritus? Or do reigning queens reign until they die? And is succession by seniority or could there be power struggles within the court over who becomes the next reigning queen?Yes, sister queen and daughter queen are ranks, not contingent on being related to the reigning queen. And yes, there are queens who never become reigning queen, and remain sister queens. These would be queens who are possibly less aggressive, possibly just enjoy being more free to travel outside the court on diplomatic trips, and possibly just don't want the burden of being a reigning queen. If a sister queen did want to become a reigning queen, and the current reigning queen wasn't interested in stepping down, the sister queen would have a couple of options. She might go to another smaller court and "marry" into it by taking one of their unattached consorts, if the other court was agreeable. Or, if her original court was getting crowded, the sister queen could take her consort and a group of warriors and Arbora off to create a new court. This could only happen if she had enough Arbora willing to go with her. Because the important part to being a reigning queen is having the support of the Arbora.
Couple of examples: In Opal Night, Malachite and Onyx are about the same age. Onyx was actually reigning queen before Malachite returned from the east with the survivors of the eastern colony. Malachite took over the main court from Onyx and became reigning queen. At this point, Onyx could have taken part of the court and gone off to create a new court, but because of what happened with the Fell attack in the east, the Arbora wanted to keep the court together and basically made everyone stay where they were and get along with each other. So Onyx became a sister queen.
In The Cloud Roads, Stone and Flower's original idea was to get Pearl to give way to Jade, and basically step down and let Jade become reigning queen. Pearl is so depressed at this point, and doesn't seem to want to be reigning queen anymore, that it seems like a reasonable solution. But when Pearl gets away from the Fell influence, she starts to rule the court again, and replacing her with Jade is no longer necessary.
michael_mock
had a great idea for a fanfic fusion Great. Now you've got me crossing books, and picturing a Dowager Queen -- specifically Ravenna, from The Element Of Fire -- as a Raksura....Ravenna.
As a Raksura.
I was about to say that, wow, that wouldn't end well for anyone trying to keep her out of power, but on further thought I'd guess that given Raksuran social dynamics, there'd be nothing to stop her from resuming her role as reigning queen. Raksuran courts are more fluid, that way.
...And those poor Unseelie Fay wouldn't know what hit them.
thesaraghina
asked I've actually wondering why Indigo Cloud left the Reaches, only to end up in the smaller ruin? I'd gotten the impression that the court was too big, and/or the Reaches were too crowded when they left, but from the descriptions of the ruin in the 1st book, would the ruin have been able to house everyone from the colony tree? Or did parts of the court split off and go elsewhere? Or, from what Stone said about the Kek dying out in their part of the forest when they left, was the court growing smaller at the time, making them able to fit well in the ruin?This is just something I'd been thinking about in my latest re-listen to the audiobooks. ;) Anyway, I love the books, and am very much looking forward to Volume 2 of the Stories! :)
Thank you!
Yes, Indigo Cloud was fairly small when it left the Reaches, and one of the reasons why it left was a belief that the overpopulation of the Reaches was affecting Indigo Cloud's growth somehow. (We don't know if they were right, but that was their thinking at the time.) They actually stopped and lived in a few other places for a few generations before they finally settled on the ruin.
From Dreamwidth,
spatz
asked Oh, I have a question! I was re-reading the series and noticed that some Raksuran senses are different in shifted form and some are not. Moon mentions repeatedly that his sense of touch is more keen in groundling form, and smell is stronger in shifted form, and I *think* I remember Chime shifting to eavesdrop at some point, which implies that hearing is stronger as well. Anyway, I couldn't recall anything about sight or taste, so I was curious if they are different as well.and
voidampersand
commented What an excellent question! I remember Suzette Haden-Elgin writing about how she gave linguistics seminars to groups of people with different dominant senses — doctors tend to be touch-dominant. Of course, different body forms would have different dominant senses. I can't remember if I've nailed this down anywhere, but sight would be keener in their scaled forms and taste would be keener in their groundling forms. Though with sight, it might not make that much of a difference, and they do have very good night vision in both forms.
January 27, 2015
Questions
Question for the Journal:
Someone asked: Will you ever write a novella or short story about how Stone and Azure got together? From reading The Tale of Indigo and Cloud, it seemed as if Stone wouldn't have been considered desirable as a consort because of his bad eye. I'm wondering what the story was between him and his queen, especially since he's so fantastically cantankerous.
I answered:
hanks for your question! I don’t have plans to do it at the moment, but it is a story I’d like to tell at some point. It would also be taking place not too long after the court first left the Reaches, so that would be interesting, too.
Anybody else have Raksura-related questions?
Someone asked: Will you ever write a novella or short story about how Stone and Azure got together? From reading The Tale of Indigo and Cloud, it seemed as if Stone wouldn't have been considered desirable as a consort because of his bad eye. I'm wondering what the story was between him and his queen, especially since he's so fantastically cantankerous.
I answered:
hanks for your question! I don’t have plans to do it at the moment, but it is a story I’d like to tell at some point. It would also be taking place not too long after the court first left the Reaches, so that would be interesting, too.
Anybody else have Raksura-related questions?
