Liaden fans, help me out

[CRussel]

It's always OK to ask. Yes, I enjoyed it. There were many stories I'd read somewhere else, but at least a couple I hadn't. And some really good ones in there. One of the things I find unusual is that Lee&Miller are equally as good at shorter works as they are at novel length works. Many writers don't cross over that well. So that they do is a real bonus, because I quite enjoy their "outtakes" -- the vast majority of their shorter works start life either as "Well, that didn't fit there, but it's too good to throw away" and so gets worked into a full story/novella, or is the result of "gee, I wonder what happened to <fill in the blank>" and once it gets in their mind, just must be written. My favourite example of the latter is Skyblaze, a novelette that covers the story of the taxi driver from I Dare, Vertu dea'San, and what happens to her.

In this one, among others, we have the two stories that bookend Fortune's Favors, Degrees of Separation, and Block Party.

[Victoria]

Oh good, I’m glad there were some new pieces for you. I’m quite a slow reader, so I’ve bought all the short pieces as they come out, but haven’t read them all yet. And now I’m excited to get to Skyblaze.

Yes, their short works are very rich. Each one stands alone, but they add so much to the novels too. That glimpse of Nova having her first frightening vision as a youth, helped explain a lot about her. And great backstories, like how Luken joined Korval. I find it amazing how brilliantly Lee&Miller portray customs and practices in society evolve over time too. It’s a very believable world. And the details in the short works add so much texture to that world, each new piece feels like a little bit of treasure.

Something I found surprising in Sharon’s blog, was how she sometimes describes their process of co-writing. For example, she’ll say “Steve is writing x section”. So it sounds like they write the pieces independently, even major events. Yet everything comes together so seamlessly, you don’t get that impression at all.

The only time I’ve wondered if we’re hearing one writer’s voice, verses both voices, is with humour & dialogue. I really enjoy Shan’s repartee and find him quite funny; sometimes he can be laugh-out-loud funny. Miri’s thoughts & observations about the Liadens can be quite humorous too. But Shan’s voice is so consistently ‘Shan’ that I sometimes think “that’s got to be pure Miller”, or “pure Lee”. Have you ever thought you were hearing distinct voices coming from them?

L&M certainly have an incredible partnership. I wonder if anyone here has had a chance to attend one of their presentations. It would be so interesting to hear about their creative process, or just their thoughts about the world they’ve created.

[CRussel]

A very good description of where the shorter pieces fit into the overall universe.

As someone who co-wrote with my spouse for many, many years, it can be an interesting process. When we first started out, we used to read/edit each others chapters. But we quickly found we didn't have time for that with some of the huge books we did later. (Windows Server 2008 R2 Administrator's Companion was >1700 pages. And all the Admin Companions were about that same length. ) But having started that way, we both knew the other's voice and could write without any real concern about it being disjointed. When we started, Sharon was the far better writer, and I was the techie. Over time that blended. And, of course, it helped that we had superb editors. In all our joint projects, I can only remember one really, really bad editor. And she never worked for MS Press again, so far as I'm aware.

Back to Liad, however. Sharon Lee has said that for any given project one or the other of them is "lead", and that's how we worked as well. Someone has to have a vision of the book as a whole and what's still missing and take responsibility.

[Victoria]

Wow - talk about your herculean projects! That’s very impressive, on so many levels.

But it’s interesting to hear how you tackled the writing together. I was picturing two people sitting at a keyboard, but this makes much more sense. That’s why the characters’ dialogue, etc, does have internal consistency; the episode or scene was written by just one person. Also, I can see how one person taking the “lead” is necessary for the whole piece to come together as a whole.

I suppose co-writing might bring other benefits as well. More room for personal preferences in tackling certain types of content. Or maybe free to enjoy writing one character more than another.

[CRussel]

From a blog post today...

Originally Posted by Sharon Lee

Shout of Honor: Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 29 is in production, and will, in a well-run universe, be available for purchase on May 15. Watch the skies. . . .Honor is a brand-new novella which looks in on some briefly-seen characters. It happens in-between Neogenesis and Accepting the Lance.

[Victoria]

Originally Posted by CRussel

From a blog post today...

Fantastic- thanks! It’s not listed at Amazon for preorder yet, but I’ve marked it in my calendar. Exciting to see the flurry of releases.

[CRussel]

A new Liaden Universe chapbook, Shout of Honor, is out on Amazon. I'm just starting it now.

[Victoria]

Originally Posted by CRussel

A new Liaden Universe chapbook, Shout of Honor, is out on Amazon. I'm just starting it now.

Yahoo Thanks for the heads up.

[CRussel]

And, for those who didn't see it elsewhere, Liaden Constellation #4 is out and available from all the usual sources.

[Victoria]

Originally Posted by CRussel

And, for those who didn't see it elsewhere, Liaden Constellation #4 is out and available from all the usual sources.

Thanks Charlie! Just picked it up.

[Little.Egret]

Originally Posted by CRussel

And, for those who didn't see it elsewhere, Liaden Constellation #4 is out and available from all the usual sources.

And Amazon UK have discounted it to £5.49

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07SPDBDRY/

[CRussel]

I'm currently doing a partial reread of this series, starting with Mouse and Dragon, but skipping Agent of Change. (I've read it enough!) I've been having a really crap month and wanted some comfort reading. As always, the Liaden books have not disappointed. I'm up through I Dare, and now hitting the Theo Waitley sequence starting at Fledgling. Mostly these have been Audible reads, though I've also been switching to the eBook when I had actual time to sit and read. The plan is to finish up to the current book and by then I'm hoping the new Ava Lee book from Ian Hamilton (The Mountain Master of Sha Tin) will be sitting on my Kindle. (I know, that's not even close to a Liaden Universe series, but they are fun.)

[Victoria]

Originally Posted by CRussel

I'm currently doing a partial reread of this series, starting with Mouse and Dragon, but skipping Agent of Change. (I've read it enough!) I've been having a really crap month and wanted some comfort reading. As always, the Liaden books have not disappointed. I'm up through I Dare, and now hitting the Theo Waitley sequence starting at Fledgling. Mostly these have been Audible reads, though I've also been switching to the eBook when I had actual time to sit and read. The plan is to finish up to the current book and by then I'm hoping the new Ava Lee book from Ian Hamilton (The Mountain Master of Sha Tin) will be sitting on my Kindle. (I know, that's not even close to a Liaden Universe series, but they are fun.)

Good - at perfect antidote for a crappy month! It’s important to make some time for yourself when necessity exists, and you’re supporting others. Visiting Liaden always feels like coming home to me. I usually reread the last few books before each major release, as refresher on where we’ve left the main characters. Exciting to think we’ll have a new one soonish.

I’ve been tied up with some family matters, and also finishing up J Tey’s ‘Inspector Grant’ series. So haven’t gotten to an ‘Ava Lee’ book yet, but I’m looking forward to it. They sound like fun summertime reads. I hope your July is a big improvement on June!

[CRussel]

Indeed, a perfect antidote. And I figure July has to be better!

So, what shall we posit for our July nominations? I'm not going to go with Agent -- too recently re-read. Perhaps Nathan Lowell's Quarter Share? Or the first Nero Wolfe(Fer de Lance). The possibilities are myriad.

[Victoria]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Indeed, a perfect antidote. And I figure July has to be better!

So, what shall we posit for our July nominations? I'm not going to go with Agent -- too recently re-read. Perhaps Nathan Lowell's Quarter Share? Or the first Nero Wolfe(Fer de Lance). The possibilities are myriad.

I’m actually stuck for ideas, so have been reduced to trolling ‘famous first books’ lists lol. But I think Quarter Share and Nero Wolfe are both great ideas and they’d be fun to discuss. I thought of and rejected Agent too. I thought it might not be the best intro to Liaden for some of our members, (which I know isn’t strictly orthodox I also considered Harper Lee’s recently discovered first manuscript but the reviews were not encouraging. So back to the lists.