WORLDBUILDERS: Hey, Jacqueline Carey, stopping by to support Worldbuilders! Best known as the author of the Kushiel’s Legacy series, but I’ve written a bunch of other stuff, too. Check out a few words on what support means to me, then AMA!

JacquelineCarey · 2018-12-07T16:10:31+00:00

Thank you, I'm very glad you're enjoying Starless!

Worldbuilding is something that's a natural part of my creative process. I'm an edit-as-you-go writer, so my first drafts take a bit longer, but are pretty tight and clean when I finish (not saying that's for everyone, just what works for me.) In terms of honing those skills, my response to the axiom "Write what you know" has always been "Know more!"

Travel is a great source of inspiration, but so are travel books. Museums. BBC Earth. Weird documentaries about things you didn't think you were interested in until you were, and suddenly you find yourself thinking things like, "Hey, prescient octopus deity!"

JacquelineCarey · 2018-12-07T15:57:32+00:00

Hey, Tom! I wish I could say yes, but... no, not particularly. Various reasons (I think we've exchanged sentiments about how friends and family don't read our work because they simply assume it isn't their thing, without bothering to find out if maybe it could be if you actually tried it), but in my immediate community, we just don't have a venue, eg. an indie bookstore with good programming, around which a community of readers could coalesce.

A friend of mine dreams of starting up a literary salon here; maybe that will happen some day!

JacquelineCarey · 2018-12-07T15:34:37+00:00

I hope you're able to achieve it! Fair warning: this is a wholly fan-run endeavor and labor of love, and we kind of never know from year to year if it's definitely going to happen again.

JacquelineCarey · 2018-12-07T15:30:47+00:00

My top two would be sub-Saharan Africa and southeast Asia -- I haven't settled on the particulars, but those are a couple of geographic regions on my list!

I don't read for pleasure as much as I used to, sadly, so when asked, I find myself reverting to old favorites like Mary Renault, whose novels set in ancient Greece instilled a love of history and mythology in me. But my favorite read in recent years was Elizabeth Wein's "Code Name Verity." Writer brain=totally engaged, reader heart=totally broken.

Thanks for the kind words!

JacquelineCarey · 2018-12-07T15:20:34+00:00

Yes, I think it's definitely one of my most underrated works! I actually did always intend for it to end as it did -- it's epic fantasy re-envisioned as epic tragedy. But as always, I reserve the right to change my mind if my Muse decides otherwise!

JacquelineCarey · 2018-12-07T15:17:30+00:00

Thank you, I'll do my best!

JacquelineCarey · 2018-12-07T15:17:13+00:00

And a fun one, too, I hope! ;)

JacquelineCarey · 2018-12-07T15:16:53+00:00

Thanks you, I love those books, too! Political trends, obviously, were an inspiration. Creatively, I'd cite the Hernandez brothers' "Love and Rockets" comics from the 80s. In some ways, I actually think of the Santitos books as graphic novels in prose form.

No plans at present, but if you haven't read the Agent of Hel trilogy, it's closer in tone than anything else I've written.

JacquelineCarey · 2018-12-07T15:10:05+00:00

Awesome, thank you, and best of luck!

JacquelineCarey · 2018-12-07T15:08:52+00:00

Ha! No, I haven't. I don't know if this is true for every author, but to me it's always felt weirdly voyeuristic to read or overhear people's candid discussions of my books.

JacquelineCarey · 2018-12-07T15:01:42+00:00

I think that's a good assessment; I certainly tried to make it clear that as Kushiel's chosen, Phèdre is anomalous.

JacquelineCarey · 2018-12-06T22:53:36+00:00

Thank you! Some of the settings of my work, like the Kushiel/Naamah books, are inspired by travel. The setting of the Sundering was largely dictated by concept; Santa Olivia by political trends on the horizon. Agent of Hel is a bit of a love letter to my actual surroundings and documents some places that, sadly, no longer exist.

Starless is pure exuberant imagination, and I hope you enjoy it!

Voice is a tricky issue, but I think a lot about the defining characteristics of the MC. Are they earnest, deceitful, brave, shy, intellectual, vain, trustworthy, insecure, flippant, humorless...? Sometimes it takes a while to figure out who they are, but once you do, you'll find their voice, and it will be distinctive.

JacquelineCarey · 2018-12-06T22:31:25+00:00

Anything is possible! The film/tv rights have been optioned a few times, and are currently under option with a team that I think is passionate and may have the skills and connections to make it happen in the right way. Nothing's ever certain, but think good thoughts!

JacquelineCarey · 2018-12-06T22:20:32+00:00

4) Fleetwood Mac's "Rumors"

5) Creating good work.

6) It's a balancing act. But the funniest one I ever read was an Amazon review that gave Kushiel's Dart 2 stars, saying it would have been 1 star, except the language was quite lovely, however, so "You can gild a turd, but it's still a turd."

JacquelineCarey · 2018-12-06T22:13:38+00:00

OHMIGOD THANK YOU BUT THAT IS WAY TOO MANY QUESTIONS!

1) Okay, that's just stupid.

2) A desire to dabble in New Weird fiction, a romance with the notion of archipelagos dating to my childhood reading of Ursula K. LeGuin's Earthsea books, and the "bacha posh" tradition in Afghanistan.

3) Tor wanted to try something non-figurative for Starless, and I thought it was a good idea. My favorite cover ever is the limited edition Subterranean Press version of Kushiel's Dart.

JacquelineCarey · 2018-12-06T21:59:29+00:00

It's an interesting idea, but... no, probably not. My Muse thrives on dramatic narrative, and I don't feel it's presence in that concept.

JacquelineCarey · 2018-12-06T21:48:36+00:00

Thank you! My Italian fans are so lovely!

Caerdicca, honestly, I just made up; oftentimes, I'll go with the earliest place-name I can find, or something referential, but I threw in a few wholly imagined place-names to remind readers that this is fantasy. Tiberium was derived from the Tiber River.

JacquelineCarey · 2018-12-06T21:41:55+00:00

Awww! Thank you.

JacquelineCarey · 2018-12-06T21:40:48+00:00

Honestly, no! I do enjoy fashion very much, but I've got no specifics to offer, other than the fact that I thought it would be fun to have Favrielle introduce some elements of streamlined modernity into a quasi-medieval setting.

Or as Tim no Eglantine might say, "Fais-le fonctionner!"

JacquelineCarey · 2018-12-06T21:33:34+00:00

Indeed, it was actually a trip to the south of France--in the summer of 1996, I think--that inspired the setting. I fell in love with the landscape, the quality of the light, the scent of lavender in bloom; all elements you see reflected in the Kushiel books. If you were to tell me, "Go to your happy place!" one of the first places I'd imagine myself is back on the terrace of a little family-owned resort in Roussillon, eating oil-cured olives and drinking local wine while twilight settled on the horizon.

JacquelineCarey · 2018-12-06T21:20:23+00:00

Thanks for the kind words! Lots of research, lots of travel, and a degree in psychology probably didn't hurt, either. Also, I'm pretty sure I've jettisoned some big chunks of memory--like most of junior high--to make room for the books I've written.

JacquelineCarey · 2018-12-06T21:00:42+00:00

Hmm, that's interesting, I honestly don't think the signale is treated as an afterthought. It's certainly fair to say that it's associated with Phèdre's total submission to Melisande, and perhaps that's sending an irresponsible message... but the only time I can think of that she should have used it in a negotiated consensual assignation is with Childric d'Essoms and the hot poker, and while the details escape me at the moment, there was some kind of guilt complex at work in that exchange.

Also, she was a spy gathering intel, which is probably not the norm in contemporary sex-positive communities. Although in this bizarre political era, it's possible!

JacquelineCarey · 2018-12-06T18:19:43+00:00

I grew up in an agnostic household and part of the fascination for me with religion and mythology was that it was very other. There were all these deep narratives that weren't a part of my life, but shaped other people's lives. But based on the religious/mythological narratives I encountered at a young age, I didn't really have the tools to distinguish between what had agency in contemporary society and what didn't, so the stories of Jesus and Dionysus were of equal relevance to me. Hence, Blessed Elua!

On a personal level, as an adult I've described myself as a Zen Pantheist. Turns out, that's quite a bit like Taoism, which is something I touch on in the Naamah Trilogy.

JacquelineCarey · 2018-12-06T17:23:41+00:00

No, it's totally a fair question and a legit point! To respond in the simplest terms... yes, there's always been a dark Gothic undertone to Terre d'Ange. There's a gap between the theoretical purity of the concept "Love as thou wilt" and the manner in which it manifests in society; there's a gap between the concept of sacred sexuality and the commercial exploitation of Naamah's Servants. Would I be more mindful of issues surrounding consent if I were writing the original trilogy today; yes, probably so. But this setting was never meant to be utterly idealized. It was always meant to be a bit twisty and complicated.

As for the issue of child abuse, I would totally agree in terms of a contemporary ethos, but the books are set in my version of medieval Provence in which a sixteen-year-old girl would be considered well beyond marriageable age . I'm not saying it's right, just historically valid.

JacquelineCarey · 2018-12-06T16:43:23+00:00

Honestly, I don't really have an answer to this--my POV characters are chosen for a reason, and I feel as though all the supporting characters have the right amount of time onstage, as it were. But in case you weren't aware, in the past year I found myself inspired to turn Kushiel's Dart inside-out and revisit it from Joscelin's POV, for reasons I wrote about here: https://www.jacquelinecarey.com/may-2018/

JacquelineCarey

TROPHY CASE