General Thoughts On all Books

[cypherwulfe]

Xaa, I just wanted to say, very good books. I have read all of them except your boxer story. I intend on reading it eventually, but it is kinda a low priority for me, because the blurb you have on your site wasnt really enough to take me in.

I love all teh books, and have a observation I would like to ask you about. Is there a reason you tend to cover atypical relationship styles in your stories? Seems almost every book I have gone through of yours has some form of cross species/race/sex relationship that is deemed somewhat risque by the prevelant cultures. Is that just an area you feel strongly about, or?

Doenst bother me at all, in fact I think it adds greatly to the stories. The only one that doesnt have such a plot line out front, is Muse, but there is the undertone about how the Muse and the main character do feel love for each other that would be more than it is if they where able to. Size has a extreme implication here. I do however like the thoughts of one of the characters about what would happen if the muse could get a mod that would make them bigger. I am almost expecting that to happen in a far future book.

Again, just want to say, excellent works, looking forward to more.

CypherWulfe

[Xaa]

cypherwulfe said:

Is that just an area you feel strongly about, or?

It's just the way the stories came out. The only real "message" story regarding relationships is "Third Time's the Charm."

...Muse, but there is the undertone about how the Muse and the main character do feel love for each other that would be more than it is if they where able to.

Yep. Liz is an intelligent being - but, at the same time, she is a created being. And from a technological standpoint, she's not too far down toe road. Her feelings for the hero, Alan, are because she was created that way, and the initial bonding. Of course, this then begs the question "does this make the feelings any less real?"

Size has a extreme implication here. I do however like the thoughts of one of the characters about what would happen if the muse could get a mod that would make them bigger. I am almost expecting that to happen in a far future book.

From a biological standpoint it is possible. However, the ramifications on Liz as a whole being would remain to be seen. Organisms are the size they are because of genetic coding. Your chihuahua is the size of a football because it doesn't have the genetic coding of a Great Dane, even though their genetic coding is over 99% identical. And, once an organism stops growing (I.E. has reached it's final size), getting it to start growing again causes a host of problems (Acromegaly, in humans, is one disease related to this, and it's fatal). Given that the biological sciences in their universe are far more highly advanced than that which exists today, the "possible" becomes the "probable," but things which are "impossible" only become "possible." A more precise explanation of why your chihuahua won't grow up to become as big as your Great Dane is what's required - the mechanisms involved in growth and maturity are only beginning to come within the realm of our understanding today, and it's these mechanisms I would have to extrapolate upon for that to even become a real possibility in the stories.

Of course, doing that would change the dynamic between the two characters. The idea is that Liz and Alan have a platonic relationship built on love and respect. It's one that strikes a strong chord with female readers who have responded - women just adore Liz. I'm not entirely certain that it's quite worth discarding that element just to satisfy my own "male" outlook of wanting the two characters to live happily ever after in a relationship that also has a physical component. I think it's best to just let the stories write themselves, and let the characters dictate what happens. The Greeks invented the "Deus Ex Machina" ending, using it to solve insoluble problems in their plays. Yet, in real life, there is no "Deus Ex Machina", and some problems simply have no solution. I think a more compelling storyline can be developed by working around the existing situation, rather than trying to fix it.

And, of course, the stories are primarily detective stories. I could just as easily have set these stories in the 1930's, made Liz as Alan's secretary, and had the obstacle between them the fact that Liz was already married to someone else. This was, in fact, one of my original thoughts for a detective series. It's the dynamic of a platonic relationship between the two that's most important vis-a-vis the subplots of the stories.

[cypherwulfe]

I was in no way suggestion that you do make Liz bigger. I enjoy the story as it is, and teh characters as they are. I myself find Liz to be very cute and appealing exactly as she is. I doubt even if you had made her Alan's secretary that I would relate to the character the same way.

No, I am quite certain that I would not liek the story the same. I was only commenting on the ideas that the characters themselves where thinking.

I still want my own Muse though