Politically, I am so with you. I can't bear to listen to them, and I read the paper sideways, literally holding it sideways as if that makes it better, or not so close to me or something. I try to stop myself doing it, because it's silly, and find myself doing it again, twitch. Even Jerry Pournelle, amazingly, is with you, on imperialism, see his web page. I was amazed.
As for Prize, yes, there ought to be a sequel, (SPOILERS for the Sulien books) in which Conal and Emer commit adultery, Conal kills Maga, Chanerig breaks the Ward and the "happy ending" is everyone invading Tir Tanagiri in hope of a better future. But I haven't written it and I'm not writing it right now. It's possible it will feel like a good plan to write it at some point. As you know already that that's what happens, do I actually have to put the words down one after the other and then deal with a copyedit and a proofread -- I'd have to write it, and then read it all the way through three times, and it would all be so grim, the only fun bit would be getting to kill Maga, bloodily and messily and permanently.
But you're right about the balance. I thought it was a book about Elenn with a happy ending, I thought it was a book explaining how it is that Elenn doesn't come out of Caer Tanaga, even though Sulien has insufficient sympathy for her to be able to see that. I didn't want to do Emer POV, but I had to, and yes, that isn't an end to that, it requires the "Conal kills Maga" novel. If I hadn't stupidly painted myself into a corner with time by writing the Sulien books first, I could have had him kill her at the end, him plus the bull, anyway, and then they couldn't have got married. But I had, and so I was stuck. Once things are published you can't tweak them, and the timing on Maga's death is crucial, dammit.
I've written a lovely cheerful book about dragons. It'll be out in the Fall, or I could email it to you. Or you could borrow some of Pamela's soothing Josephine Tey's, especially if you haven't read them, they always work for me as comfort reading.
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As for Prize, yes, there ought to be a sequel, (SPOILERS for the Sulien books) in which Conal and Emer commit adultery, Conal kills Maga, Chanerig breaks the Ward and the "happy ending" is everyone invading Tir Tanagiri in hope of a better future. But I haven't written it and I'm not writing it right now. It's possible it will feel like a good plan to write it at some point. As you know already that that's what happens, do I actually have to put the words down one after the other and then deal with a copyedit and a proofread -- I'd have to write it, and then read it all the way through three times, and it would all be so grim, the only fun bit would be getting to kill Maga, bloodily and messily and permanently.
But you're right about the balance. I thought it was a book about Elenn with a happy ending, I thought it was a book explaining how it is that Elenn doesn't come out of Caer Tanaga, even though Sulien has insufficient sympathy for her to be able to see that. I didn't want to do Emer POV, but I had to, and yes, that isn't an end to that, it requires the "Conal kills Maga" novel. If I hadn't stupidly painted myself into a corner with time by writing the Sulien books first, I could have had him kill her at the end, him plus the bull, anyway, and then they couldn't have got married. But I had, and so I was stuck. Once things are published you can't tweak them, and the timing on Maga's death is crucial, dammit.
I've written a lovely cheerful book about dragons. It'll be out in the Fall, or I could email it to you. Or you could borrow some of Pamela's soothing Josephine Tey's, especially if you haven't read them, they always work for me as comfort reading.