Libby
asked
Jo Walton:
This question contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)[Hello! Is it an *intentional* side-effect of reading My Real Children that I'll never be able to read Ada Palmer's blog without crying again? Harrumph! (hide spoiler)]
Jo Walton
This answer contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)[No, and I feel terribly guilty about that. I love Ex Urbe and I'd like it to continue to be a joy to you. This is like a special and worse case of people complaining I've made them cry -- it's very difficult to know what to say. When one writes about whole lives, then writing about death and grief is inevitable. When a reader grieves for the characters, that's a special case of grief, and I never know what to say -- I'm glad you care, but I'm sorry to distress you?
The first time I was in Florence after writing the book I couldn't help crying, I just kept tearing up all the time. It was as if I had them with me in my head whenever I looked at anything, or rather as if I was seeing it all through their eyes as well, a doubling.
When Ada and I were there in September, we took Perche No! a copy of the book, with all the mentions of them highlighted, and they were absolutely thrilled.
None of this is helping, is it?
Sorry.
I think all I can say is general advice for grief -- time helps and softens, live well for them, that's what they'd want, be glad you're in a world that has Ex Urbe in it. (hide spoiler)]
The first time I was in Florence after writing the book I couldn't help crying, I just kept tearing up all the time. It was as if I had them with me in my head whenever I looked at anything, or rather as if I was seeing it all through their eyes as well, a doubling.
When Ada and I were there in September, we took Perche No! a copy of the book, with all the mentions of them highlighted, and they were absolutely thrilled.
None of this is helping, is it?
Sorry.
I think all I can say is general advice for grief -- time helps and softens, live well for them, that's what they'd want, be glad you're in a world that has Ex Urbe in it. (hide spoiler)]
More Answered Questions
Christopher
asked
Jo Walton:
This question contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)[
I absolutely loved the Thessaly books. But there was one part that surprised me. In Necessity, why is the Marquis Florent-Claude du Chastellet-Lomont a character rather than his much more interesting wife, Émilie du Châtelet? I would love to have read her interacting with Socrates. [If you're ever bored and you want to write a dialogue between those two for your blog, I would still love to read it.]
(hide spoiler)]
Kelly
asked
Jo Walton:
Ms. Walton, I admire the ingenuity of Tooth and Claw, namely that it's animal fiction for adults. In my experience as an author, the market for these types of novels has all but died in the last decade. Have you considered continuing the Tooth and Claw story or creating another animal universe? If so, is the present market a deterring factor?
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more




