Stephanie

Stephanie asked Mary Robinette Kowal:

What's your favorite piece of word/language history that you've learned while working on your Glamourist Histories?

Mary Robinette Kowal I had "Melody flicked her fan open" and discovered that in 1814 "flick" meant "to cut." The use we commonly use today, "To give a brisk, sudden motion to" doesn't come until the 1840s.

Sigh...

BUT the Oxford Historical Thesaurus, which shows synonyms in the order in which they came into the language, offered me the *perfect* alternative. So the final text reads, "Melody flirted her fan open."

More Answered Questions

Shannan

Shannan asked Mary Robinette Kowal:

Do you have a favorite book?

Kerri

Kerri asked Mary Robinette Kowal:

I really enjoyed the Lady Astronaut of Mars. Her honesty in making the hardest decision of her life led me to question my own integrity. Out of curiosity, do you set out to shake people's emotional world when you begin a new story, or does that sort of deep impact develop as the characters evolve? Do you ever start off with an idea for a story and end up with something completely different?

Beth Goder

Beth Goder asked Mary Robinette Kowal:

I'm always curious about the career paths of writers. After you began writing, how long did it take you before you published a short story? How many stories did you submit before you became published?

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Mary Robinette Kowal

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