Friends and Readers of Liad! Your Opinion Please!
Saturday, January 5th, 2008 01:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rolanniI found something on my computer today, tucked down in the directory marked "Short Stories," which is only, yanno, supposed to contain completed short stories. The title of the file was "DaavandAelliana." I thought to myself, "Self, I don't remember writing a Daav and Aelliana short story, much less a Daav and Aelliana short story with a lame title." So I opened it, to find that, in fact -- not a short story. It's about 1500 words (which is to say, Not Very Much) of what appears to be a follow-on book to Scout's Progress.
Now, I have always said that I was not going to write a follow-on to Scout's Progress, because I have a Thing about not writing books that End Badly. End Ambiguously? I'm there. Badly? Nope.
What this means in terms of Aelliana and Daav is that there is a lot of backstory that Steve and I know, which readers don't (nyah-nyah), some of which is going to play into the book-after-I-Dare-if-ever-&c.
The poll below is to help me clarify my thinking. If you have thoughts, insights, or comments, please put them in comments.
Thanks!
EDITED TO ADD: There are spoilers for Scout's Progress by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller in comments. You have been warned!
[Poll #1116157]
Now, I have always said that I was not going to write a follow-on to Scout's Progress, because I have a Thing about not writing books that End Badly. End Ambiguously? I'm there. Badly? Nope.
What this means in terms of Aelliana and Daav is that there is a lot of backstory that Steve and I know, which readers don't (nyah-nyah), some of which is going to play into the book-after-I-Dare-if-ever-&c.
The poll below is to help me clarify my thinking. If you have thoughts, insights, or comments, please put them in comments.
Thanks!
EDITED TO ADD: There are spoilers for Scout's Progress by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller in comments. You have been warned!
[Poll #1116157]
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-01-05 06:50 pm (UTC)Oh please. Ideally via Baen. Ooooh story.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-05 06:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-05 07:05 pm (UTC)I think we'd pretty much read anything you wrote. Got copy for ads? Let us know where to find it:)
I like the no bad ending rule
Date: 2008-01-05 07:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-05 07:09 pm (UTC)I found out about the series after I kept getting comments asking if my lj name was from there. Finally, I had to see what these people were gushing about when I was at Dreamhaven. At this point I've not had my loaner copy of Agent of Change in my hands for more than a week in over a year, and I'm only mostly sure where my copy of Partners is. Hopefully it'll show up soon so it can go onward.
Ace annoyed me horribly by putting the Liad books back out of print. Totally scuttled my plans to buy Agent or Local Custom for Christmas for *everyone*. Have you seen what "acceptable" used copies are going for, let alone new? My house owns four sets of the trilogy, and as with Silverlock, we pick up every copy of anything you wrote we see in the wild to loan out and never expect back.
This is a long winded way to say that yes, I want the next book, any book, please a book! in the Liaden series. Or anything else. I want to bridge that gap between Scouts Progress and Fledgling.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-05 07:12 pm (UTC)addictsreaders, but it's certainly an obvious hole in the story.Mostly, I'm amused to have confirmation that the book doesn't exist because we know how it ends and it is Not Happy.
Re: I like the no bad ending rule
Date: 2008-01-05 07:19 pm (UTC)sequel to Scout's Progress
Date: 2008-01-05 07:54 pm (UTC)You didn't ask, but I still think that Balance of Trade is the most sequel-needing book. But author's choice - you write it, I'll buy it.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-05 07:59 pm (UTC)Anything you write, I'm pretty much buying a minimum of 5 copies... and trying to increase the list to 8... or as many as I can get to.
So, yes please. May I have some more?
no subject
Date: 2008-01-05 08:35 pm (UTC)Yay, another Silverlock fan! I lent out my 'lending' copy before Christmas.
And yes, I want to read that book!
no subject
Date: 2008-01-05 08:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-05 08:55 pm (UTC)The thing that pushed it from "yes: to "hell yes" for me is that I WANT to read more about Aelliana. She isn't my favorite character, but I really like her and she's the only one that I can think of for whom we don't see the person they grow into. Scouts progress has her growing out of who she isn't, and then ends. WANT MOAR, as the saying goes :)
no subject
Date: 2008-01-05 09:02 pm (UTC)Does it have to end badly?
Date: 2008-01-05 09:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-05 09:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-05 09:12 pm (UTC)I don't even mind tragedies, and this really wouldn't quite count as one, for reasons given by others.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-05 09:45 pm (UTC)The shortest lifespan of Silverlock in our hands was 3.5 minutes. I was checking out when a friend walked in behind me and said hi. She'd never read it--so I gave her one of the four copies I had just purchased.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-05 09:46 pm (UTC)Followon to Scout's Progress
Date: 2008-01-05 09:51 pm (UTC)Seems you also have some back story for Er Thom too... hint hint.
Besides, I always felt that those two fine ladies deserved to have stories written about how they were whacked. They are your characters, and you have every right to whack them, but it's not fair to just whack them in the background.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-05 10:04 pm (UTC)Plus, I'm with the camp that considers that the ending would be at worst ambiguous -- especially if the story continues to the point where the reader (if not Daav himself) are given to understand that Aelliana is still with him.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-05 10:40 pm (UTC)Re: sequel to Scout's Progress
Date: 2008-01-05 10:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-05 11:00 pm (UTC)Doc
no subject
Date: 2008-01-06 12:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-06 01:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-06 02:59 am (UTC)(In other words, HELLS yes. I will buy multiple copies, if I can.)
Dumpster Diving
Date: 2008-01-06 04:50 am (UTC)Some of us might like to rummage for that grocery list (and other things.) No fair shredding either! :)
no subject
Date: 2008-01-06 06:23 am (UTC)Hell Yes!
Re: I like the no bad ending rule
Date: 2008-01-06 07:00 am (UTC)Maybe a silly question...
Date: 2008-01-06 02:02 pm (UTC)Baffledly yours,
Growly
Re: sequel to Scout's Progress
Date: 2008-01-06 03:12 pm (UTC)I imagine he inspires this in many acquaintances. Can you say why, particularly?
Re: Maybe a silly question...
Date: 2008-01-06 03:16 pm (UTC)"Ticky Box" is just a game. Some people may not have an opinion on a particular poll question, but they want to participate, or let the poll-taker know that their question has been seen -- so there's a ticky box for them.
Others -- ahem -- just like to click on boxes, so the more the merrier.
Re: Maybe a silly question...
Date: 2008-01-06 04:43 pm (UTC)I voted yes. I love Aelliana and always felt there ought to have been more told of her, and Anne and Er Thom for that matter.
Local Custom is my favorite of all the Liaden books (followed closely by Scout's Progress) and since it's also the first one I read, I was in for a rude awakening when I got to the 'main arc' of the story line to find out they had all been killed off.
I'm still holding that against Val Con and he just doesn't float my boat at all. In fact, Local Custom and Scout's Progress are much more interesting to me than the 3 following books, which most likely has to do with the fact that Agent of Change, Conflict of Honors and Carpe Diem seem more adventure than relationship stories albeit they have relationship stories in them.
Adventure stories don't do much for me (which doesn't mean that a, to me, satisfying relationship story can't be full of action. I came to Liad as a romance reader following the recommendation of fellow RRA-l readers and love Local Custom because it's focus on the relationship.
I'd love to see a follow-up to Balance of Trade as well and can't wait for Theo's finished first and second books!
I just hope Daav morphs into a more likable character in the re-write of Fledgling and beyond. I have to admit, I have a hard time warming up to him in Fledgling. While some mysteriousness can be a good thing, he's a bit too into being mysterious for my taste.
There I said it... let's hope I don't get my head ripped off! :)
Growly
no subject
Date: 2008-01-06 05:16 pm (UTC)Re: Maybe a silly question...
Date: 2008-01-06 05:43 pm (UTC)...and then there are the sf readers who came to Local Custom and Scout's Progress and accuse us of "selling out" to Mills and Boone. *g*
The "three following books" came first, and were supposed to be seven books in series. We had some ...interesting times, and couldn't get anything published for about ten years. It was during that time that we wrote LC and SP because I had always wanted to write a Regency romance, without, yanno, actually having to do the Work. Since nobody was buying what we were writing, we could afford to please ourselves.
It does make for a wide range of differing reader expectations for the series, however.
I just hope Daav morphs into a more likable character in the re-write of Fledgling and beyond. I have to admit, I have a hard time warming up to him in Fledgling.
Now, see, I've never thought Daav was a likable fellow. I adore him, but even I killed him off once, just to get him out of my head and have some peace for a few days...
no subject
Date: 2008-01-06 10:53 pm (UTC)Yes she said yes she said yes!
Date: 2008-01-07 04:04 am (UTC)Wallet opens, more money put aside until it can be spent on this.
Laura
no subject
Date: 2008-01-07 05:33 am (UTC)Hmm, for that matter, that ship while part of the Korval complement of ships, as Aelliana's lifemating to Daav meant that the ship came with her Korval...., the ship was still Aelliana's emotional property, and I wonder if she came out sometimes when Daav visited it.
For that matter, I wonder about her paternal genetic donor ancestry, if "wizard bond" involved descendance from Clan Tiazan....
no subject
Date: 2008-01-07 09:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-07 04:40 pm (UTC)B. O'Brien
no subject
Date: 2008-01-07 11:19 pm (UTC)Re: Maybe a silly question...
Date: 2008-01-08 02:02 am (UTC)What? When? Now that would make a chapbook or short story of a different color! Poor Daav is dead? Tell us more . . .
So, I guess I missed the poll, but...
Date: 2008-01-09 02:56 am (UTC)Plus, I love Daav--he's much more interesting than Er Thom, fond as I am of him.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-09 12:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-09 06:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-10 12:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-11 04:56 am (UTC)My sister and I have been chanting
"more Daav more Daav more Daav more Daav more Daav more Daav" [repeat]
since we finished Scout's Progress. As has my old boss. And my current boss. And my friend Luisa. And everyone else I've ever pimped your books to.
More Aelliana would be good too.
We would buy multiple multiple copies.
Regardless of how it ends.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-12 03:13 am (UTC)