Q&A with Laurie R. King discussion
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Laurie R. King
Intros & Questions
message 51:
by
Anne
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Aug 28, 2012 10:20AM
Yes--Once a real scholar, always a scholar. I have a PhD and I can't stand to make a historical error. When I was writing SCENE OF THE CRIME, despite my own experience, there was one month when I had 62 ILL books open in my office at the same time to be sure I had everything right. It's inborn, I think.
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Wright wrote: "I would like to know if you have any plans to do further short stories from Holmes' POV? It was such a delight to get into his head and revisit the meeting of Mary Russell and Holmes in "Beekeeping..."Beekeeping for Beginners was such a pleasure. Must confess that I downloaded it onto my iPhone and read it in one session when I was supposed to be working. Then I broke out Beekeepers Apprentice and re-read it.
Hi, Laurie. You've written so many wonderful novels with intriguing and truly unique characters: Mary Russell, Rae Newborn, Allen Carmichael, Grey, Alastair Carstairs, Erasmus...to name just a few! I was wondering if you have a favorite character and why? Along with who you found the hardest to write? And just for fun... out of all the characters in your books:
Who would you invite to a dinner party?
Who would you dread meeting?
Which character would you like to befriend?
Erin wrote: "Anne wrote: "I know there have been two recent Lord Peter pastiches which worked well enough but not perfectly. The author did, It hink, have to get permission to write them."Do you mean those fe..."
Jill Paton Walsh has continued to write subsequent books, the latest of which is "A Presumption of Death". All of these are published with Dorothy L. Sayers as the co-author. Using "The Wimsey Papers" as a guideline for the story, this novel takes place during WWII.
@Carolyn, there is a later one, The Attenbury Emeralds. I've reviewed it; I would not presume to link to it in this thread, but you can find it if you're interested.
As a displaced corporate librarian I currently have lots of time to catch up on my reading. Mary Russell is helping me through some difficult times. I have always been impressed by the extensive historical research that goes into these books. I would like to know how Miss King does it? Does she prefer books, online, or some combination of the two?Oh, and for those people asking about Dorothy L. Sayers and Lord Peter Wimsey, you might like to try Margery Allingham. Many of us think that Albert Campion is a more interesting character.
Jane wrote: "@Carolyn, there is a later one, The Attenbury Emeralds. I've reviewed it; I would not presume to link to it in this thread, but you can find it if you're interested."That one I have and have read. Don't know how I missed one before it.
Hi, Laurie, thanks for inviting me to this discussion. IIRR, someone said this novel takes place in 1926. Will we see what happened in the intervening time? Hope so...I haven't had access to any of the pre-publication copies (galleys?). I love what you've done here. You, Sue Grafton, and Robert Randisi are among my very favorite modern-era mystery writers.
Thanks, Phili. I just finished
The Game
and I see the credits and research listed at the end of the book, along with the Junkers F-13 that I guessed might be the plane (see post above before reaching that point of information). Ms. King's credibility went up yet another notch after that realization. Nicely done!
Kevin wrote: ". . . IIRR, someone said this novel takes place in 1926...."Actually, it begins in late 1924, right after the events of Pirate King.
I'm a great fan of the Mary Russell series, and introduced the books to my sister which means I now buy TWO copies of each new book when it's released. :) My question is this, Ms. King: do you have an overall plan for how many Russell books you intend to write, or are you tackling each one now as it comes along in your head? I don't want to see the series end, but I am curious to know exactly how far ahead you mapped the books. In my opinion, it's been a simply brilliant set of works and I'm curious to know if it took off and grew more than you had originally expected/intended. The amount of research you put into each book is not only amazing, it's greatly appreciated by this reader - so thank you! Sorry for the rambling post; no tea yet this morning.
Hi Everybody, I just reread Oh Jerusalem and Justice Hall in preparation for the new book. Both were a real pleasure to revisit. I think I enjoyed them both more this time than the first, perhaps because I read them more slowly, knowing everything would work out fine in the end. Laurie, I have read all your major works and love them. My question is this: do you plot out a major overarching theme for your characters that carry over for all the lives of the series, then fill in the individual books, or do you plot a book at a time? So for example, did you know from the beginning where the relationship with Mary and Holmes would go? Did you know where Mary's back story would go?
I have just started reading "The Beekeeper's Apprentice" and am enjoying it! Thanks for the invite. Question: Which is your favorite of the original Sherlock Holmes stories and why?
I realize now that questions are supposed to be posted here. So here goes what I posted as a topic:I began reading this series when I was expecting one of my children. As I have seen (read about) Mary growing from an adolescent to reach womanhood and see her relationship with Holmes change, I have often wondered how motherhood might change Mary further. We caught a glimpse of that side of Mary in "God of the Hive," and I wonder, Is motherhood in store for Mary? Or was her body too badly injured in the accident that killed her parents and brother? (One might imagine the pair would be knowlegable about contraceptive measures, but they are not wholely reliable even in this day and age). So if they did become parents, how would Mary react? How would Holmes react, and how would it affect their relationship? I would love to see how the very logical pair deal with a young child (who are so often illogical).
Thanks for writing one of my favorite series of all time. Please keep the books coming!
I just re read "Beekeeper's Apprentice" and "A Montrous Regiment of Women," while I wait for my new book to arrive, probably tomorrow...I watched carefully for the reference to Lord Peter Whimsey, and LOL at how very obscure it had to be. I must admit I missed it the first time I read the book and would have missed it this time if not alerted to it. Was this really a purposeful reference or just fans gleaning from a little bit of fun writing? Have you hidden other little gems in your books?
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I'm thinking I should write a book set in England for a change, perhaps in Oxford. I'd intended Language of Bees to be an English book, but it and the sequel sort of got away from me!
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The lodge is somewhere inland and north from Half Moon Bay, I think. Not that the exact lake is there, but there are lakes, and there would certainly have been holiday getaways from San Francisco.
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Have you ever thought of bringing in other Golden Age detectives?"
I'm not sure I'd want to dabble more in Wimsey's life, or indeed with any of the others. Maybe a short story here or there. But Wimsey is firmly claimed by the DLS estate, and they were very generous to permit me as much as they did.
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The preface material in the first four books was threatening to evolve into a separate story, so in order to keep it under control, I cut it off. However, the further adventures of Russell & Holmes in the modern era are here, as free short stories entitled "MyStory" and "A Case in Correspondence."
Enjoy the Game:
http://www.laurierking.com/etcetera/m...
http://www.laurierking.com/books/etce...
Will Garment of Shadows be released as an audio selection soon? Love your books and love Jenny Sterlin's narration! Also enjoyed Folly very much. Thank you!
With so many other writers tackling Sherlock Holmes what made you feel you can succeed at producing a top quality Holmes story?
Hi everyone!I don't really have any questions, but I love both detective series by Laurie and am eager to see what everyone else is asking about (more eager to see the answers).
Thanks for the invite!
Small feminist presses created the audience for the lesbian mystery genre. With large booksellers dominating the market, and presumably shaping what is getting released to a wide audience, is there a place for a lesbian detective at the moment? I think the Mary Russell series is great, but I also wonder about Kate Martinelli and the future for the that kind of niche genre finding its audience again.
I have so enjoyed Laurie's Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series. Two of the most riveting being THE LANGUAGE OF BEES and THE GOD OF THE HIVE. Laurie's Robert Goodman character so fascinating and well developed I truely want to sit down and visit with him. Laurie, please say he can come back for a visit in a later book?
I would love to be friends with Mary Russell in real life. I always have an extra copy of the Beekeeper's Apprentice so I can introduce her to other people.My question is about an adventure mentioned in Locked Rooms. Before arriving in San Francisco, they stopped in Japan and solved a case. Are you considering going back and writing about it?
Janetra wrote: "Oops, nevermind, I just reread the original comment and reply, and got my answer. The old "little gray cells" are falling down on the job (to further mix detective characters)!"As you suggested, I just reread "A Letter of Mary," and I was astounded at how much I had forgotten (of course, I did read it first about 15 years ago?). The Peter Wimsey scene was perfect! And Laurie, the construction of the story with two letters by sisters, the one tragic in consequences, and the other result unknown, is really well done. An amazing book. I already knew the world of the New Testament and the likelihood that early Christians were more open to the leadership of women than later ones (isn't it always the case in institutions?), but to think of Mary facing the destruction of Jerusalem (or Masada, whereever she is) is so sad. Thanks for the book.
Laurie, I've always been curious, did you plan on the marriage of Russell and Holmes or did that particular plot point sneak up on you?
Also, is there a setting you haven't used for the series yet that you would like to?
After the Beekeeper's Apprentice, I have waited desperately for each next Mary and Holmes installment. The first one is by far my favorite, except I do love that first kiss in the Regiment! My question is really a hopeful suggestion that maybe a future book might revolve around the Chicago Columbian Exposition of 1893? Maybe it wouldn't work because of the HH Holmes murders - anyway, it would put my two favorite topics to read about in one volume!
KimCo wrote: "After the Beekeeper's Apprentice, I have waited desperately for each next Mary and Holmes installment. The first one is by far my favorite, except I do love that first kiss in the Regiment! My ques..."That would be great, but I thought Mary Russell wasn't born until the turn of the century.
Thanks for the invitation to join the discussion. I'm a huge Holmes fan, and resisted these books for a long time because I was afraid they wouldn't properly capture the character of Holmes. So few of the non-ACD stories do. I was thrilled to find not only did they deliver on Holmes but gave us his female equal. I love that Mary is brilliant and independent; she and Holmes are partners, despite the age difference and Holmes' history of misogyny. So thanks, Laurie, for enriching the Holmes tradition.
I have loved all your Russell and Holmes books from the first onwards so I am delighted about your new novel.I was thrilled from the beginning to find a literary book which revealed an erudite author.
In the one about Mary's letter, you refer to Hebrew (or is it Aramaic?)-,as well as other languages. The way Russell worked with the evidence was a delight to read. It's a while since I've read the book but I know I could not put it down. I also liked The Beekeeper’s Apprentice A Monstrous Regiment of women and others.
I am English, living in Canada, so I delight in the way you draw us into different venues- such as the moors and even the kind of houses Russell visits.
I write for children myself and learn from good writers like you . I love the strength of Mary Russell's character and the interplay with Holmes just adds to our enjoyment. Russell reminds me of Gillian Linscott's Edwardian heroine, Nell Bray, an outspoken suffragette who solves mysteries too.
Thank you.
By the way, my questions is about languages. Did you study any or just have an interest in them?
My sister turned me on to your Mary Russell series, carefully curating the order of them. Each one captivated my imagination and were prop full of historical significance as well. They became addictive.Being a longtime fan of Sherlock Holmes, in reading your intriguingly crafted stories, you breathed new life into his character for me by giving him his equal in another protagonist, Mary Russell. We are sharing her (your) stories with younger female readers hungry for well-crafted stories far beyond the girlie genre.
Are you planning to take on any other wonderful and deep well-known literary characters in a new series?
Jacqueline wrote: "Laurie, I've always been curious, did you plan on the marriage of Russell and Holmes or did that particular plot point sneak up on you?
Also, is there a setting you haven't used for the series ..."
This was my question as well. Was the romantic relationship between Holmes and Russell planned? Or did the characters just take on a life of their own in the matter?
Which leads to my second question: DO your characters ever act in a way that surprises even you?
Tess wrote: "Will Grace Adler ever make an entrance?"I have to ask, do you mean Irene Adler? If so, she is mentioned in "The Language of Bees."
I discovered the Russell/Holmes series and it has become my favourite of all time. I have read (and re-read) most of them numerous times; each time as enjoyable as the first ( I own all twelve, both in printed and Kindle formats). My personal favourites in the series are: Oh, Jerusalem, Justice Hall, Locked Doors, and Garment of Shadows. (which I received yesterday and completed today). As you can tell, I seem to be partial to the wonderful pairing of Russell/Holmes with Ali/Mahmoud Hazr. It was a treat to have them re-united in this latest installment. I appreciate the attention to accurate historical detail in all of the books; educational as well as marvelously entertaining.
I felt so clever when I recognized Lord Peter (it inspired me to re-read a lot of Dorothy Sayers). I love the idea of blending well-loved fictional characters. It takes a lot of chutzpah, and you carry it off beautifully, Laurie King!Lauren wrote: "I love the series and can't wait to read the next one! My question relates to the intro provided in the first couple of books - the "author" of the books was writing as if it was a non-fiction acc..."
Okay, how did Russell learn Spanish? And will Mrs Hudson learn to make preserved lemons?
Lenore wrote: "Anne wrote: " I couldn't think of the author's name. I remembered that it was Jill but I couldn't think of the rest of it...."The author is Jill Paton Walsh, and with the permission of the Sayers..."
Oooh, nice to know about these. Lord Peter is one of my favorites in detective fiction. Thank you.
Lauren wrote: "I love the series and can't wait to read the next one! My question relates to the intro provided in the first couple of books - the "author" of the books was writing as if it was a non-fiction acc..."Seconded! I think the mystery of the manuscripts and trunk is the most intriguing of them all!
Hi Laurie,How many Mary Russell books are you planning to write? I love this series!!!
I read the first Mary Russell book after reading the excerpt in the back of one of the Kate Martinelli books. Kate Martinelli had been recommended by a lesbian friend, but I fell in love with Russell instead. I'm looking forward to reading Garment of Shadows.Goodreads has a listing for The Green Man: A Novel of Suspense Featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes. Was this ever published?
I have two questions about the series as a whole. How and when do you see the Mary Russell series coming to a conclusion?
Julia wrote: "I read the first Mary Russell book after reading the excerpt in the back of one of the Kate Martinelli books. Kate Martinelli had been recommended by a lesbian friend, but I fell in love with Russ..."The Green Man is a different title for THe God of the Hive, ISBN-13: 9780553805543.
I stumbled on the series and started with Justice Hall, so my introduction had two serious spoilers 1) they get married and 2) Ali and Mahmoud Hazr are also Alistair and Marsh Hughenfort.This first spoiler changed my perspective on the whole series especially reading BEEK. During this book Holmes is referred to as a father figure and calls Russell "child" several times. Frankly, knowing how their relationship ends up, I found this a bit creepy.
How did their relationship evolve in the writing of the novels? Things happen in fiction for the sake of poetic license, but did you have any issues reconciling how you wrote the pair in the first novel with how their relationship turned out later?
I have commented elsewhere that I reread the first three Mary Russels and Justice and Jerusalem just waiting for GOS to arrive. I have now completed it. I am left with a burning question: what's the deal with Mycroft? He has certainly been more fleshed out in this series than any other, yet he remains an enigma and perhaps an important literary foil to Holmes. His murky role in the government and his relationship with Sherlock does make one wonder just how these boys were raised. Will that be revealed?
Hello! The discovery of this board has certainly brightened up my evening...I started reading the Mary Russell series when I was about the age Mary was when she met Holmes and absolutely adored them. Since then I have survived three years at the same venerable and eccentric institution that Mary attended. I've now come up for air to find that in the past three years, another five books have appeared! What a delightful post-Finals treat, Laurie - thankyou!! :)
My (first... I won't preclude by coming back to ask more!) question is about the book covers. As the author, do you have much say in the book covers, particularly those designed for the international market? I have an American copy of "The Beekeeper's Apprentice", with Mary in an enchanting dressing-gown on the front (a real-life version of which I have desired for six years!), and really like the look of the American covers for the latest books, but am not a huge fan of the cover-art used on the UK editions. They don't seem to quite fit the character of the books; they look quite 'modern' and dark. I wish I could get a hold of the full set in American covers!
Julie wrote: "I have commented elsewhere that I reread the first three Mary Russels and Justice and Jerusalem just waiting for GOS to arrive. I have now completed it. I am left with a burning question: what's th..."When you reread Beekeeper's Apprentice, pay close attention to Russell's analysis of Holmes. It gives you a clue as to their boyhood, which clearly was not an extremely pleasant once and is regarded by Holmes himself as an enigma.
Regan wrote: "...Frankly, knowing how their relationship ends up, I found this a bit creepy..."I think that if you pay close attention to the time line, you will find the marriage significantly less creepy.
When they meet, Holmes is 54 and Russell is 15, an age difference of 39 years. At first he recognizes her as a child, and even occasionally calls her “child,” without irony. However, they met at a time when Holmes needed the kind of distraction that an apprentice could provide, and Russell needed someone whom she could trust and with whom she could be truly herself. Thus, as Russell says in BEEK,
I know that from that first day he tended to treat me more as a lad than as a girl and seemed in fact to solve any discomfort my sex might cause him by simply ignoring it: I was Russell, not some female . . . .
. . . My attitudes, my choice of clothing, even the shape of my body combined to protect him from having to acknowledge my nature. By the time I grew into womanhood, I was a part of his life, and it was too late for him to change.
It is clear that this state of affairs continues for almost three years, until Russell’s 18th birthday when, her hair done and attired for the first time in a gown, it seems first to occur to Holmes that she IS in fact a young woman.
But by the time Russell reaches 18, she is mostly away at Oxford. They do have a case together during August of Russell’s 18th year, the recovery of the kidnaped senator’s daughter, but they have to present themselves as a gypsy father and daughter, and so thrust themselves wholly into a role which, for security’s sake, they play to the hilt, even when alone together scouring a hillside for clues. Moreover, if Holmes has decided by this time that his interest in Russell is anything but platonic, it is clear that he has decided to keep it entirely to himself – that he must await the time when she is an adult. Nowadays, in the U.S. at least, we consider 18 to be adulthood, but in those days, in Anglophone countries, it was 21.
Russell returns to school right after the kidnaping case, and Holmes does not see her at all until the attempt on her life just before the beginning of the Christmas vacation. At that point they are fleeing for their lives, and there is no opportunity for anyone to have a sexual or romantic thought. For approximately a month, Russell is posing as a man and, as Holmes tells Ali, they must think of her as a man at all times to avoid exposing themselves. Even in the one instance that Holmes puts his arms around her, it is clear that he is soothing her, in her words, “like a frightened child.” She turns 20 during that escapade. She is then away from Holmes until the spring, after which she spends time in hospital and then at Holmes’ cottage recovering from a bullet wound. After her recovery they travel to France and Italy for six weeks, but the trauma of the discovery of Holmes’s son and his problems must certainly prevent Holmes from thinking of Russell as anything other than his now long-time assistant and confidant.
And then Russell returns to Oxford for another term, and they do not see each other again until the week preceding Russell’s 21st birthday. Russell IS an adult; in her own words in MREG, “a mature scholar.” And, as her friend Ronnie Beaconsfield points out, in the shortage of young men after WWI, many “surplus” women wed older men. Although the age difference between Russell and Holmes hasn’t changed, their ages have, and there is no sensible reason why Holmes should not realize that the person who has become his soul-mate is now of marriageable age. Nothing creepy about it.
That was a masterful analysis; however, Holmes himself says that he has wanted to kiss Russell since their first meeting. When she points out that at their first meeting he thought she was male, he says that caused him some consternation. Also, there is his odd reaction when the cats run out of the shrubbery. It is clear that he regards her as sexually attractive from the very beginning, and firmly puts that thought away, without a whole lot of success.I don't, however, find it creepy. Both of them are emotionally extremely needy, and it is good that they have found each other.
Q&A with Laurie R. King
Books mentioned in this topic
The Green Man (other topics)Thrones, Dominations (other topics)
A Presumption of Death (other topics)
The Attenbury Emeralds (other topics)
Folly (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Jill Paton Walsh (other topics)Jill Paton Walsh (other topics)
