Laurie’s Comments (group member since Aug 19, 2012)

Laurie’s comments from the Q&A with Laurie R. King group.

Clearly, many Martinelli fans are lesbian, but then I think the same could be said for Russell fans. And the Kate books are popular with many branches of the reader tree. There may have been some small concern when Grave Talent was published 20 years ago, that it was aimed at a niche audience, but that is no longer true.

I think the somewhat lesser popularity of the Martinellis has nothing to do with her sexual orientation, here or abroad.

I don't read many pastiches, since it's all I can do to keep track of the Conan Doyle stories and I am afraid of incorporating plot points and characters from non-Doylean works.

Although yes, I did enjoy Michael Chabon's novel. And for very different reasons, Michael Dibdin's dark Ripper tale, The Last Sherlock Holmes Story.

Lenore, thank you, that review is really helpful!

And I can add that yes, Russell considers herself Jewish, although what interests her is less the day to day practice than the big picture of a Jew's relationship with the Divine. However, her mother was more of a practicing Jew, despite marrying a Christian, and in times of stress, Russell tends to return to her childhood nurturing.

The sequel is scheduled for next year, although I'm not sure Stuyvesant et al will ever meet Russell & Holmes.

No, she's just 112 years old.

The time is pretty much set for me, in the Russells anyway, and I choose a place depending on what I think would be interesting. When I research, I again look for something out of the ordinary that's going on, and some person who isn't what you would immediately think of. It makes for more flexibility, and for greater surprise on the part of the reader.

Raissa wrote: "I've always adored Sherlock Holmes so I can see why you would write a character who ended up married to him. I remember you wrote in your intro to the collected Holmes stories that Watson was neces..."

I'm not sure that Russell is much of a common touch, although because you follow her inner thoughts, she may be more appealing than the somewhat fact-oriented Watson.

If I'd been free to choose an age for Holmes, not just the year Conan Doyle was finished with him, I'd probably have made him a few years younger, maybe in his early fifties rather than (I think?) 57.

Too, my husband was 30 years older than I, and although the character of Holmes was not patterned on him in any way other than age, it did give me a different perspective of how a relationship with such disparity is affected by that gap. But in fact, the limitations are few.

Bzak2 wrote: "Albert wrote: "Considering the age difference, will there be a time when age has an effect on Holmes and how will Mary handle that? Its difficult to see her as a caregiver. By the way, I've always ..."

You may have noticed that the last ten books cover a period of just 16 months. At that rate, Holmes will wear out rather than age.

Yes to both--if I live long enough! The Touchstone sequel should be out next year, set in 1929 Paris, but another story with the characters of Darker Place, or indeed Kate Martinelli, will have to be pushed off for another couple of years. I hope, however...

RuthG wrote: "There have been concerns about current bee health for a number of years. Did that in any way affect the stories as you were writing them?"

Certainly I am aware of hive collapse and other bee diseases, but it's more an interest of Holmes than of Laurie King. Although Mary Russell often comments on her Twitter feed, when developments hit the news...

I used the theme of bees as early as The Beekeeper's Apprentice ("the segregation of the queen") but here I was looking at the mysterious ability of bees to communicate. In 1924, beekeepers well knew their charges were conveying information to the rest of the hive, even though they did not yet know it was through a sort of dance. The parallel is in the ways in which human beings, particularly when they're related, can share a sort of bone-deep communication. Matters can be conveyed without the need of words.

Yes, I'm very sorry, and disappointed in Recorded Books, which not only hasn't released it when they said, they haven't responded to my increasingly desperate questions.

As for future projects, that won't be the title, but it is going to be a sequel to Touchstone, set in Paris 1929.

Jacqueline wrote: "This book series always has interested me because the romance is such a I don't want to say downplayed one, maybe the word I'm thinking of is quiet. Laurie I'm curious as you mapped out the early books in the series, did you plan on Holmes and Russell getting married or did it sneak up on you?

I think the first book only makes sense if you assume a permanent relationship beyond that of partnership, especially with two people who are all or nothing in everything they do. So yes, I'm sure that I knew from the beginning that was where it was going.

"The Green Man" is also a mini story with illustration, broadsheet-sized, that is available at some bookstores.

Seems to me there's a mention somewhere in Russell's memoirs about A Serious Injury resulting from the accident when she was 14. So perhaps there is another explanation than personal choice...

As for where they're going, I'm not sure why you think I would know that. I'd like them to visit Japan, and spend time in Oxford, and maybe Turkey, but until I start the next book, I'm unlikely to know.

Nobody mentioned my favorite fantasy Holmes, who would be Patrick Stewart: intelligent, a vein of dry humo(u)r, intriguing. But he has said he wouldn't read for a Holmes part, sadly.

I love the variety of suggestions in the above, and I'll make sure my Hollywood agent sees them!

Bethany wrote: Was the romantic relationship between Holmes and Russell planned? Or did the characters just take on a life of their own in the matter?

Bethany wrote: DO your characters ever act in a way that surprises even you?

Anne wrote: how did you decide which of Lord Peter's attributes to use so that we would all recognize him without your saying his name? That was another bit of brilliant writing.