For the readers (lurkers welcome!)

[lagilman]

If there is any question you would like to ask me about any one of my works, then go ahead! What I meant by a particular line, why I chose that characterization, what I was listening to as I wrote, what crack I was taking and where you can get some ... anything. Anything you might like to know about how I wrote it, I shall do my best to answer.


*sits back and wonders...*

Comments

[stakebait.livejournal.com]

Were either The Council of Mages or the Silence at all inspired by the Watcher's Council on Buffy?

[lagilman]

Not at all, actually.

The Mage's Council is your basic Worker's Union, with a twist of the Mafia thrown in to their workings. There's actually more than one Council -- we've only had dealings with the metro NYS area, and a hint of the Midwest-Chicago Council. They're less concerned with the outside world than they are with internal affairs, as we've seen.

The Silence is a strange mix of Corporate America and the not-for-profit sector, both of which I've worked in/been horrified by.

[stakebait.livejournal.com]

Interesting, thanks!

[(Anonymous)]

What did Sergei see in Wren that made him realize she would make a good Retriever, back when they first met? I mean, she saved his life... right? How did it get from there to retrieval services.

Looking forward to the mm paperback, btw. Trade is just too pricy for my wallet. Oh, yeah. I hope Luna does a fresh copyedit for the mm reissue. The typos made me wince. I want a cleaner copy.

=^.^=
Vampirecat

[lagilman]

I think you mean proofread, not copy-edit? If you found specific typos, feel free to send them along to me, and I'll add them to the errata if they're not in there already.

As for Wren's proclivities, she was first 'found' by her mentor John Ebeneezer when she used her no-see-em to shoplift from the local five-and-dime. Neezer was a straight arrow, and she tried to please him, but Wren's always been sort of fuzzy on the whole "thou shalt not steal" thing. Especially if the person she's stealing from isn't on solid moral ground either.

And Sergei's just straight-ahead pragmatic capitalist. They have the skills to satisfy an existing market. Why not? Although it will be interesting to see what happens when they run up against a moral quandry on that front. (mwahaha...)

[liuseth.livejournal.com]

Are Wren and Sergei in short story form or a novel?
I haven't read any of them yet an i would like to. :)

[lagilman]

Both, actually.

STAYING DEAD is out in stores now, and/or you can check out the anthologies MURDER BY MAGIC and POWERS OF DETECTION, both of which have W&S stories. One takes place prior to the novel, one after, but they don't have any major spoilers.

If you check out the "Bookshelf" section of my website at http://www.sff.net/people/lauraanne.gilman/, you'll find all the info there. :-)

[mccalix.livejournal.com]

What was the inspiration for whizzing? I found that whole notion fascinating, and would love to see it explored further in a future story / novel.

[lagilman]

That was one of those totally organic writing-decisions that you don't have to really think about. I knew _something_ had happened to Neezer, far before the novel started. So. Current is dangerous -- why?

The answer just popped into my head (okay, much research into electricity and the human body was stirred, shaken, and opened roughly, and then the answer popped into my head). But it all made perfect sense, both in the science of this world, and in story-logic.

The name was (surprise) word-play.

[lagilman]

Oh, and it's dealt with in much more detail in the short story "Overrush."