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truepennyQ: What question has not yet been asked that you wish had been?
A: I'm actually kind of sad that no one has any questions about The Bone Key and/or Booth.
Q: I would like to know how/from whom Mildmay learned all the Melusine history he's soaked up over the years. I know he listens more than he talks but other characters explicitly comment in the books, and it comes across very clearly even without that, that he talks about things that happened to various people long before he was born as though he knows the players involved. Does it tie in with his love of stories? Does it feel like a contradiction to you that Mildmay distrusts words but loves stories?
A: Yes, it ties in with his love of stories--that's what history is to Mildmay: stories. And he got them from everyone who would tell one to him. I suspect a lot of them came from Zephyr Wolsey.
And, yes, it's a contradiction. Real people are made up of contradictions.
Q: One of those silly old questions - do you write by hand, or type your stories?
A: Yes.
Sometimes I can only write longhand, sometimes I can only write on the computer. There's no rhyme or reason to it that I can discern; I end up just doing what works.
Q: Why is (was) Malkar the way he is (was)?
A: This actually gets talked about in Corambis, so I'm going to make you wait.
Q: Is 'Doctrine of Labyrinths' a name that you've always used for the series, or is it a name that appeared some way through the process? (It doesn't seem to be in the hype/cover text for them, but I may just not have noticed.)
A: The Doctrine of Labyrinths has always been my name for the series. Ace declined to use it, because Marketing feels that you get more people to buy a book if you don't tell them it's part of a series. (I know, I'm sorry. Add it to the list of things over which an author has no control.) I didn't start using it publicly until I realized that people were starting to call the books things like "the Mélusine series." At that point, I figured I might as well get my own preferred series title out there.
Q: As I was reading the three books, I kept wondering who each of the three narrators might be telling his/her story to with such candor and detail, when each of those characters is a trifle less than completely honest about anything. I finally decided that Mehitabel might be telling her part of the story to Vincent after Felix and Mildmay had left for Corambis, but Felix and Mildmay? Did you have a future lover/friend or psychiatrist in mind that they would be telling their story to?
A: Nope. It's a narrative convention. I agonized over it at first because you're perfectly right, there's no one they would talk to like this, but Felix WOULD NOT be moved out of first-person, so I gave in and went with it.
Q: In your last bout of answers, you mentioned your surprise that Mildmay is so popular. (Yes, he is far and away my favorite.) Why? Were you expecting someone else to be a big favorite?
A: I wasn't expecting any of the characters to get such an intense reaction.
Q: Do you consider DoL to have a "hero" or central protagonist? This has been a subject of friendly debate around my house, as my spouse views it as being primarily Felix's story but I feel it's more equally split between the two brothers. (I had an odd reaction to The Mirador where Mehitabel became a narrative "intruder" which took about 100 pages to work through, which has nothing to do with my question but I thought you might think it was interesting.)
A: That reaction to Mehitabel was one I knew would occur. And yet I wrote her anyway.
The series started with Felix, and in my heart, it's his story. Which is not to say Mildmay is not also a protagonist, because he is. And he's certainly turned out to be a vitally important character.
Q: Of the three published volumes, do you have a favorite? Or a favorite scene?
I think I'm proudest of The Mirador.
Q: Do you have any idea why my cats hate The Virtu? They have deliberately destroyed two copies so far, and I'm afraid to buy another.
A: O.O
No, I have no idea. My cats have not exhibited any hostility toward it. Of course, possibly this is because they know which side their kibble crunches on.
A: I'm actually kind of sad that no one has any questions about The Bone Key and/or Booth.
Q: I would like to know how/from whom Mildmay learned all the Melusine history he's soaked up over the years. I know he listens more than he talks but other characters explicitly comment in the books, and it comes across very clearly even without that, that he talks about things that happened to various people long before he was born as though he knows the players involved. Does it tie in with his love of stories? Does it feel like a contradiction to you that Mildmay distrusts words but loves stories?
A: Yes, it ties in with his love of stories--that's what history is to Mildmay: stories. And he got them from everyone who would tell one to him. I suspect a lot of them came from Zephyr Wolsey.
And, yes, it's a contradiction. Real people are made up of contradictions.
Q: One of those silly old questions - do you write by hand, or type your stories?
A: Yes.
Sometimes I can only write longhand, sometimes I can only write on the computer. There's no rhyme or reason to it that I can discern; I end up just doing what works.
Q: Why is (was) Malkar the way he is (was)?
A: This actually gets talked about in Corambis, so I'm going to make you wait.
Q: Is 'Doctrine of Labyrinths' a name that you've always used for the series, or is it a name that appeared some way through the process? (It doesn't seem to be in the hype/cover text for them, but I may just not have noticed.)
A: The Doctrine of Labyrinths has always been my name for the series. Ace declined to use it, because Marketing feels that you get more people to buy a book if you don't tell them it's part of a series. (I know, I'm sorry. Add it to the list of things over which an author has no control.) I didn't start using it publicly until I realized that people were starting to call the books things like "the Mélusine series." At that point, I figured I might as well get my own preferred series title out there.
Q: As I was reading the three books, I kept wondering who each of the three narrators might be telling his/her story to with such candor and detail, when each of those characters is a trifle less than completely honest about anything. I finally decided that Mehitabel might be telling her part of the story to Vincent after Felix and Mildmay had left for Corambis, but Felix and Mildmay? Did you have a future lover/friend or psychiatrist in mind that they would be telling their story to?
A: Nope. It's a narrative convention. I agonized over it at first because you're perfectly right, there's no one they would talk to like this, but Felix WOULD NOT be moved out of first-person, so I gave in and went with it.
Q: In your last bout of answers, you mentioned your surprise that Mildmay is so popular. (Yes, he is far and away my favorite.) Why? Were you expecting someone else to be a big favorite?
A: I wasn't expecting any of the characters to get such an intense reaction.
Q: Do you consider DoL to have a "hero" or central protagonist? This has been a subject of friendly debate around my house, as my spouse views it as being primarily Felix's story but I feel it's more equally split between the two brothers. (I had an odd reaction to The Mirador where Mehitabel became a narrative "intruder" which took about 100 pages to work through, which has nothing to do with my question but I thought you might think it was interesting.)
A: That reaction to Mehitabel was one I knew would occur. And yet I wrote her anyway.
The series started with Felix, and in my heart, it's his story. Which is not to say Mildmay is not also a protagonist, because he is. And he's certainly turned out to be a vitally important character.
Q: Of the three published volumes, do you have a favorite? Or a favorite scene?
I think I'm proudest of The Mirador.
Q: Do you have any idea why my cats hate The Virtu? They have deliberately destroyed two copies so far, and I'm afraid to buy another.
A: O.O
No, I have no idea. My cats have not exhibited any hostility toward it. Of course, possibly this is because they know which side their kibble crunches on.
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no subject
Date: 2008-08-27 04:53 pm (UTC)And thank you for reminding me that I hadn't changed my series-level designation on the booklog.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-27 04:55 pm (UTC)No questions, just demands. For example: more! :-p
no subject
Date: 2008-08-27 05:33 pm (UTC)Or, will there be more?
(Also, hi to
no subject
Date: 2008-08-27 04:59 pm (UTC)Silly old questions '2
Date: 2008-08-27 05:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-27 05:53 pm (UTC)I like him very much so far, though!
no subject
Date: 2008-08-27 06:34 pm (UTC)How about this: do you plan on trying to shop around a second volume of Booth stories when there are enough?
no subject
Date: 2008-08-27 06:50 pm (UTC)While I warmed up to the addition of Tabby as a narrator, which eventually turned into gratitude for her alternate vision of Felix and Mildmay (and I was glad that she also got her voice, considering her role in the plot), Felix had so little POV in the Mirador that it was a little frustrating. His POV turns (IIRC--it's been a year since I read it) were so short and unsatisfying that I gnashed my teeth a little. (This isn't a complaint, quite the opposite: it increased my readerly tension very nicely.) Did you do this on purpose, or did it just happen? I can see The Prick being all pricky and not speaking.
(For the record, I did ask if there would be more Booth. Doesn't that count for just a little? *sad eyes*)
no subject
Date: 2008-08-27 07:14 pm (UTC)Do you envision the stories as eventually forming a complete mosaic, or are they written as new facets evolve, or is neither of these an applicable question? Also, am I the only person who would like to have seen them illustrated by Edward Gorey?
no subject
Date: 2008-08-27 10:12 pm (UTC)I hadn't thought of it before, but now that you mentioned it--no, you're not. :)
no subject
Date: 2008-08-27 07:45 pm (UTC)Holy shit, are you serious? Are they mental? Is this, like, a universal thing? Is that why I can never figure out how many books there are in a series/what order they go in/ect.? Because this has always really ticked me off. I just thought it was a ridiculous oversight, not intentional.
If you ask me, you get more people to buy books when they don't get utterly confused by having accidentally bought the 3rd book in a series. (But nobody ever asks me these things.)
no subject
Date: 2008-08-27 09:19 pm (UTC)P.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-28 11:19 pm (UTC)(Dear Ace: Yes, I like to know it's a series. Love, Kate.)
no subject
Date: 2008-08-27 08:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-27 10:31 pm (UTC)Here you go!
Have you ever thought about writing Booth a novel? It seems like Bone Key was only the beginning of the story, like one giant exposition.
Also. Is there a reason you chose not to have continuously recurring characters that play a central role, besides Booth? I know Blaine shows up in a couple in memories and dreams and such, and...whatshisface shows up in "The Venebretti Necklace" and "Wait for Me," but I mean on a slightly larger scale.
8. I'm actually glad you wrote Mehitabel in as a narrator. It gave us a more objective look at some things, and it makes her a little more likeable as a character (she's hilarious in a way different from Felix or Mildmay). She originally annoyed me a little in The Virtu, and yes, I was a little confused/annoyed that she was the quote-unquote narrative intruder, but all-over I'm glad you did it. (It also helps that I'm a theater nerd and like the way she talks about it)
no subject
Date: 2008-08-28 12:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-28 04:11 am (UTC)Oh, and I just want to mention that I absolutely loved the character of Miss Coburn.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-28 07:53 am (UTC)