I’m going on vacation! Today, I’m running around like a… crazed mom getting ready for vacation. Grocery shop, pay bills, pick up grandparents from airport, figure out what to pack, pick out outfit for school picture day, setupplaydatesleaveemergencyphonenumbersargh!
Deep breath. Vacation is always better than leaving for vacation. And it’s rather whiny to complain about all that you need to do before going on vacation when you’re Actually. Going. On. Vacation.
So, without further ado (or whining), today’s book.
Book Title: The Vorkosigan Companion
Author: Edited by Lillian Stewart Carl and John Helfers
Publishing Info: Baen (August 2010)
Pages: 688 (paperback)
Genre: SciFi, anthology
Why did I read this book?
Because I love Love LOVES me some Miles and it was taking too long for the next book to come out (in November by the way…). Miles Naismith Vorkosigan is the star of this long-running series of SciFi books with hints of adventure, thriller, and romance.
I know I’ve mentioned here that Jane Yolen is my hero. Well, Lois McMaster Bujold is another one. I love her books. Of her fiction, I’ve read all but three of her books and loved all but two. No mean feat when we’re talking 21 books. I will not listen to anything bad about the Vorkosigan series. Seriously. I’m putting my fingers in my ears and singing (tunelessly), “La la la la la la…”
Ahem.
And what did I learn from it?
One writer’s writing life.
This particular book is a combination of essays by Bujold and love lett… er… essays by fans (other writers/agents/editors). Bujold’s essays are especially interesting as she gives us a candid look into what it takes to write a series of books and novellas and short stories featuring a main character who ages from 17 (OK, birth) to 40 over the course of about 13 books. Bujold discusses “prequel predestination” vs “sequel free will” as she laments about the order in which the books were written (not chronologically). She discusses how she’s managed to keep the series interesting for fans as Miles ages and different problems she’s come up against with this type of series.
Bujold also regales us with tales of when and how she wrote with young children. She discusses the hardships and joys of book tours and how those affect her writing. She even discusses how all her random (typically nonfiction) reading coalesces into ideas for her stories.
If you aren’t a fan of, or haven’t read, the Vorkosigan series (any why not?), most of the book will be uninteresting to you. But regardless of your stance on Miles, Bujold’s essays on the writing life are well worth a trip to the library.
