P. R. Bunke
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
Hi there! I wish I could rant on about how much I love your work, but space is limited, so you'll have to trust me on that. I find myself enjoying your romances more than those in most fiction I read--definitely in part for the high-quality witty banter, but also because you write characters who really seem to complement each other. Is this based on your experience of romance? Some idealized version of love? Both?
Lois McMaster Bujold
Idealized, I suppose. Most F&SF readers demand their main characters be smart, and I have a low tolerance for the "stupid misunderstanding" romance plot as a way to keep the principals apart for whatever the length of the story. (Certain comedies excepted.*) There are lots more interesting problems that can be evoked to keep people apart as needed.
Those who spurn romance stories because the outcome seems set are mistaking what the plots are about, I think. The question a romance plot must pose, and answer (showing one's work!) is not "Do these two people get together?" but rather "Can I trust you?" Which is most certainly not a trivial problem, in art or in life.
Ta, L.
* I am now thinking of Georgette Heyer's Friday's Child, where nearly all the main characters are young idiots, and the reader's hilarity and suspense comes from watching the ensuing train-wreck. But while the characters are over-the-top feckless, the book itself is very smart.
Those who spurn romance stories because the outcome seems set are mistaking what the plots are about, I think. The question a romance plot must pose, and answer (showing one's work!) is not "Do these two people get together?" but rather "Can I trust you?" Which is most certainly not a trivial problem, in art or in life.
Ta, L.
* I am now thinking of Georgette Heyer's Friday's Child, where nearly all the main characters are young idiots, and the reader's hilarity and suspense comes from watching the ensuing train-wreck. But while the characters are over-the-top feckless, the book itself is very smart.
More Answered Questions
Talli Ruksas
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
One of my favorite relationships is that between Penric and Llewyn though we only get to see it a few times. I've always wondered if there is something more intimate between Llewyn and her secretary than that between employer and employee. I feel like you almost hint so, but I might just need better glasses for reading between the lines. Also, could Desdemona have chatted with Llewyn while Penric was asleep-in theory?
Susan Anderson
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
Any chance of a historical fiction project? Have you ever read Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond series, Stephenson's Baroque Cycle or Brim's Uplift series? As do yours, these authors’ heroes embrace their era’s complexities. Did you read Pilgrim's Progress? Lastly, thank you for having an entomologist in your books. They are fine and unique people who live among us (and with us) too often unappreciated.
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