Ask the Author: Lois McMaster Bujold
Answered Questions (1501)
Lois McMaster Bujold
The foxes in "Penric's Fox" were directly observed and inspired by the family of foxes who took up residence under my garden shed for two wonderful springs, to the great benefit of all my garden plants suddenly not being chewed down to the roots by rabbits. Six or eight fuzzy fox cubs tumbling over one another playing out beside the shed were a dose of cuteness (I will not say overdose) that had even the neighbors stopping to watch. I wish the foxes would come back, and the rabbits be their lunches... Alas, only those two years.
Something else is under there this year but I haven't seen what. Suspect it's raccoons, but, despite also being fun to watch if you catch them in daylight, can carry distemper or rabies, and leave problematic droppings.
So, no connection to the Rivers of London, fun reading though that series is.
Ta, L.
The foxes in "Penric's Fox" were directly observed and inspired by the family of foxes who took up residence under my garden shed for two wonderful springs, to the great benefit of all my garden plants suddenly not being chewed down to the roots by rabbits. Six or eight fuzzy fox cubs tumbling over one another playing out beside the shed were a dose of cuteness (I will not say overdose) that had even the neighbors stopping to watch. I wish the foxes would come back, and the rabbits be their lunches... Alas, only those two years.
Something else is under there this year but I haven't seen what. Suspect it's raccoons, but, despite also being fun to watch if you catch them in daylight, can carry distemper or rabies, and leave problematic droppings.
So, no connection to the Rivers of London, fun reading though that series is.
Ta, L.
Lois McMaster Bujold
Well, I did explicitly give Pen's age -- 27, was it? Might have been 26. A couple of years before Llewen's death, and Pen's mother's. He was 30 when he first reached Cedonia, so must have been ~29 during his year in Lodi/Adria.
For a few more markers, he was 19 when he contracted Des, ~22 when he graduated seminary. 23 - 24, for "Shaman" and "Fox".
Ta, L.
Well, I did explicitly give Pen's age -- 27, was it? Might have been 26. A couple of years before Llewen's death, and Pen's mother's. He was 30 when he first reached Cedonia, so must have been ~29 during his year in Lodi/Adria.
For a few more markers, he was 19 when he contracted Des, ~22 when he graduated seminary. 23 - 24, for "Shaman" and "Fox".
Ta, L.
Lois McMaster Bujold
I can now say that there is! Blackstone contract is supposedly en route, and will get here when it gets here.
Word is they will try to move production along briskly, and have Grover Gardner as narrator again. Couple of months, maybe? Average the lead times of the last three between epub and audio release, and you can likely get a good estimate.
Ta, L.
I can now say that there is! Blackstone contract is supposedly en route, and will get here when it gets here.
Word is they will try to move production along briskly, and have Grover Gardner as narrator again. Couple of months, maybe? Average the lead times of the last three between epub and audio release, and you can likely get a good estimate.
Ta, L.
Lois McMaster Bujold
Umegat's first love was indeed horribly executed. Daris was a later love. Who also ran into grave perils, presumably on some joint spying mission, possibly against the Golden General's forces, but at least he survived. There might have been a heroic or at least clever rescue by Umegat in there somewhere.
Ta, L.
Umegat's first love was indeed horribly executed. Daris was a later love. Who also ran into grave perils, presumably on some joint spying mission, possibly against the Golden General's forces, but at least he survived. There might have been a heroic or at least clever rescue by Umegat in there somewhere.
Ta, L.
Lois McMaster Bujold
Thank you!
My birthday is going pretty well, starting with living to have it... Otherwise a nice quiet Minnesota fall day, remote relatives reporting in by phone, my son to arrive with fancy pizza for dinner in due course. My best present came a little early, with "Testimony of Mute Things" topping out in the 80s in the top 100 of the Kindle store yesterday. (Which commonly happens the 2nd weekend of sales, but still nice.)
Ta, L.
Thank you!
My birthday is going pretty well, starting with living to have it... Otherwise a nice quiet Minnesota fall day, remote relatives reporting in by phone, my son to arrive with fancy pizza for dinner in due course. My best present came a little early, with "Testimony of Mute Things" topping out in the 80s in the top 100 of the Kindle store yesterday. (Which commonly happens the 2nd weekend of sales, but still nice.)
Ta, L.
Lois McMaster Bujold
Ah, glad someone noticed that.
I fancy that modest sums are forwarded to Pen now and then. This will get harder to effect the farther he moves away. Medieval international banking is a fascinating real-life study. But usually money transfers came down to finding some hopefully trustworthy person going that way, giving them the purse, and hoping they didn't run into disasters along the route. Erratic method.
One of the interesting anecdotes from my great-something uncle the ironclad riverboat medic in the American Civil War was about entrusting his year's pay to be taken home to New Hampshire by hand, and it never arriving. I'm not sure what $500 translates to in today's dollars, but that loss had to have hurt.
(See: The Gerould Family of New Hampshire in the Civil War: Two Diaries and a Memoir on Kindle.)
Ta, L.
Ah, glad someone noticed that.
I fancy that modest sums are forwarded to Pen now and then. This will get harder to effect the farther he moves away. Medieval international banking is a fascinating real-life study. But usually money transfers came down to finding some hopefully trustworthy person going that way, giving them the purse, and hoping they didn't run into disasters along the route. Erratic method.
One of the interesting anecdotes from my great-something uncle the ironclad riverboat medic in the American Civil War was about entrusting his year's pay to be taken home to New Hampshire by hand, and it never arriving. I'm not sure what $500 translates to in today's dollars, but that loss had to have hurt.
(See: The Gerould Family of New Hampshire in the Civil War: Two Diaries and a Memoir on Kindle.)
Ta, L.
Lois McMaster Bujold
Not yet!
(Padding for effect, I often count my career as starting in late 1982, when I first started writing those books that were first published. But nothing says I can't have two (career) birthdays. Like Miles.)
Ta, L.
(Padding for effect, I often count my career as starting in late 1982, when I first started writing those books that were first published. But nothing says I can't have two (career) birthdays. Like Miles.)
Ta, L.
Lois McMaster Bujold
It's an entirely alternate world, not our far future. I just borrowed some prefab worldbuilding.
Hey, if Terry Pratchett can do it with the Chalk, I can do it with the Ohio River...
Ta, L.
Hey, if Terry Pratchett can do it with the Chalk, I can do it with the Ohio River...
Ta, L.
Lois McMaster Bujold
Armsmen are traditionally proles from the count's own district, yes. This custom presumably extends back into and from the Time of Isolation. I expect, as with all things on Barrayar, there have been exceptions.
Ta, L.
Armsmen are traditionally proles from the count's own district, yes. This custom presumably extends back into and from the Time of Isolation. I expect, as with all things on Barrayar, there have been exceptions.
Ta, L.
Lois McMaster Bujold
This is a question that only a god can answer, through inner knowledge unavailable to human perceptions, a very private transaction between each human and their chosen or choosing (or rejected or rejecting) deity. There is no list of rules that one may mechanically check off to ensure a particular outcome.
Sincere repentance likely does count for something. (Not everyone, after all, is going to get an extended lifetime to make amends.) And the god would know whether or not the person was faking contrition in a mere self-centered attempt to avoid reprisal.
Ta, L.
This is a question that only a god can answer, through inner knowledge unavailable to human perceptions, a very private transaction between each human and their chosen or choosing (or rejected or rejecting) deity. There is no list of rules that one may mechanically check off to ensure a particular outcome.
Sincere repentance likely does count for something. (Not everyone, after all, is going to get an extended lifetime to make amends.) And the god would know whether or not the person was faking contrition in a mere self-centered attempt to avoid reprisal.
Ta, L.
Lois McMaster Bujold
Real Soon Now! Later this week (10/20/25) if all goes to plan.
I will, as usual, make a blog post with links when it goes live.
Ta, L.
Real Soon Now! Later this week (10/20/25) if all goes to plan.
I will, as usual, make a blog post with links when it goes live.
Ta, L.
Lois McMaster Bujold
Another question for FanficPerson, I expect. Personally, I see Jin as a future zookeeper, though probably a biologist as well. (Think Gerald Durrell, who was a partial inspiration for the character -- see his classic memoir My Family & Other Animals. Which is a great read, btw.) On what planet is an open question.
Ta, L.
Another question for FanficPerson, I expect. Personally, I see Jin as a future zookeeper, though probably a biologist as well. (Think Gerald Durrell, who was a partial inspiration for the character -- see his classic memoir My Family & Other Animals. Which is a great read, btw.) On what planet is an open question.
Ta, L.
Lois McMaster Bujold
I do indeed have enough Pen & Des stories for a couple more paper collections, and have packaged them that way for foreign sales, though so far the foreign publishers seem to prefer to buy the novellas ala carte and make their own assemblages.
The paper-only Baen version started out promising with sales, then the second volume was released in May 2020 when all the bookstores were closing, and so tanked through no fault of its own. Third one has not done well in sales, as far as I can tell from my royalty reports (which always arrive a year or more out of date, so, more history than current events.) I don't think any publisher could make bank with further paper volumes only, and most won't take paper without e-rights that that would reduce my income from them by half. There are scenarios where this would be a good choice, but I'm not there at this time.
Meanwhile, my ala carte e-editions and audio editions are selling just fine, and retain more flexibility for inserting prequels (which I've just again done, with the coming-very-soon "Testimony of Mute Things".)
So, short answer, no more paper collections are in the pipeline at this time. They are not ruled out for the future, but that's not up to just me.
Ta, L.
I do indeed have enough Pen & Des stories for a couple more paper collections, and have packaged them that way for foreign sales, though so far the foreign publishers seem to prefer to buy the novellas ala carte and make their own assemblages.
The paper-only Baen version started out promising with sales, then the second volume was released in May 2020 when all the bookstores were closing, and so tanked through no fault of its own. Third one has not done well in sales, as far as I can tell from my royalty reports (which always arrive a year or more out of date, so, more history than current events.) I don't think any publisher could make bank with further paper volumes only, and most won't take paper without e-rights that that would reduce my income from them by half. There are scenarios where this would be a good choice, but I'm not there at this time.
Meanwhile, my ala carte e-editions and audio editions are selling just fine, and retain more flexibility for inserting prequels (which I've just again done, with the coming-very-soon "Testimony of Mute Things".)
So, short answer, no more paper collections are in the pipeline at this time. They are not ruled out for the future, but that's not up to just me.
Ta, L.
Lois McMaster Bujold
Your Penric problem is alas between you and your budget. I'd point out that they are novellas, not short stories -- each about a third of an average novel long, if that helps your calculations. I suppose you could try the first one, "Penric's Demon", and decide then if they are worth it. Or pick one up once in a while when you are having an otherwise too-busy-to-listen-much month?
The collections, technically, are not mine -- they are a Baen Books exclusive, and Baen does not have audio rights to them. So, no to that one.
Re: Audible, you'd have to ask them. I have no idea why my works were acquired in the order they were, whether constraints were budget or processing time or someone purchasing who had no idea what they were. (Wholesale buyers can't possibly read all the books they acquire for their employers; they have to use other metrics to decide.) I don't actually know how Audible's credits or indeed business generally work, not being an audio consumer myself.
Ta, L.
Your Penric problem is alas between you and your budget. I'd point out that they are novellas, not short stories -- each about a third of an average novel long, if that helps your calculations. I suppose you could try the first one, "Penric's Demon", and decide then if they are worth it. Or pick one up once in a while when you are having an otherwise too-busy-to-listen-much month?
The collections, technically, are not mine -- they are a Baen Books exclusive, and Baen does not have audio rights to them. So, no to that one.
Re: Audible, you'd have to ask them. I have no idea why my works were acquired in the order they were, whether constraints were budget or processing time or someone purchasing who had no idea what they were. (Wholesale buyers can't possibly read all the books they acquire for their employers; they have to use other metrics to decide.) I don't actually know how Audible's credits or indeed business generally work, not being an audio consumer myself.
Ta, L.
Lois McMaster Bujold
Thanks for the rereads of increasing understanding!
Almost all my titles are widely and instantly available as ebooks and audio downloads, internationally on Kindle, Apple Books, Google Play Books, Rakuten Kobo, and (US only) Barnes & Noble's Nook. I don't see how, if you have enough computer power to be here, you can't get to them through at least one of these vendor platforms. I can't speak to the other vendors, but Amazon gives away their Kindle app as a free download, in multiple formats for multiple kinds and brands of devices.
I don't know how to make this any easier.
A paper boxed set seems unlikely. Print-on-demand may happen someday, although my current two, about to be three, PoD titles, have been selling in too small of numbers to make it an obvious thing to try, given the start-up hassles. For the moment, the ones we have are through Ingram Spark, which I believe is US-only (somebody please correct me if I'm wrong about that) and through Amazon -- I don't know how their PoD program works internationally. (Have any non-US readers out there been able to successfully order The Spirit Ring or "Knife Children" PoDs though this on Amazon international?)
Ta, L.
Thanks for the rereads of increasing understanding!
Almost all my titles are widely and instantly available as ebooks and audio downloads, internationally on Kindle, Apple Books, Google Play Books, Rakuten Kobo, and (US only) Barnes & Noble's Nook. I don't see how, if you have enough computer power to be here, you can't get to them through at least one of these vendor platforms. I can't speak to the other vendors, but Amazon gives away their Kindle app as a free download, in multiple formats for multiple kinds and brands of devices.
I don't know how to make this any easier.
A paper boxed set seems unlikely. Print-on-demand may happen someday, although my current two, about to be three, PoD titles, have been selling in too small of numbers to make it an obvious thing to try, given the start-up hassles. For the moment, the ones we have are through Ingram Spark, which I believe is US-only (somebody please correct me if I'm wrong about that) and through Amazon -- I don't know how their PoD program works internationally. (Have any non-US readers out there been able to successfully order The Spirit Ring or "Knife Children" PoDs though this on Amazon international?)
Ta, L.
Lois McMaster Bujold
Heh. Yes, recent covers are an improvement, both from Subterranean Press and from Ron Miller. Nevertheless, all the old ones are still following me around, in used bookstores if nowhere else.
(Quite a few of my old covers were actually good art, but very ill-served by some obscuring poor cover design, and/or the fact that they did not convey the actual content or tone of the story they encased.)
If I had my wish my book covers would all be plain blue rectangles with title, author's name, and any pertinent series information, and nothing else. But that seems not to be the fashion.
Word-of-mouth routes around cover treatment, and I value it greatly. Keep it up, folks...
Ta, L.
Heh. Yes, recent covers are an improvement, both from Subterranean Press and from Ron Miller. Nevertheless, all the old ones are still following me around, in used bookstores if nowhere else.
(Quite a few of my old covers were actually good art, but very ill-served by some obscuring poor cover design, and/or the fact that they did not convey the actual content or tone of the story they encased.)
If I had my wish my book covers would all be plain blue rectangles with title, author's name, and any pertinent series information, and nothing else. But that seems not to be the fashion.
Word-of-mouth routes around cover treatment, and I value it greatly. Keep it up, folks...
Ta, L.
Lois McMaster Bujold
Not much Napoleon in Miles, no. Initial historical precedents/inspirations that I can recall were T. E. Lawrence and young Winston Churchill. And my own experience with Great Man's Offspring syndrome.
Later, after Miles was launched, people brought my attention to other quirky short soldiers of history, including Eugene of Savoy and the very interesting Homer Lea. (I recommend both to your attention.) But they were very much after the fact.
Ta, L.
Not much Napoleon in Miles, no. Initial historical precedents/inspirations that I can recall were T. E. Lawrence and young Winston Churchill. And my own experience with Great Man's Offspring syndrome.
Later, after Miles was launched, people brought my attention to other quirky short soldiers of history, including Eugene of Savoy and the very interesting Homer Lea. (I recommend both to your attention.) But they were very much after the fact.
Ta, L.
Lois McMaster Bujold
Nope, had never heard of him. Donna/Dono was invented out of the needs of a subplot for Ivan, on the spot as it were. He got a life of his own pretty instantly as I wrote him.
I had heard of other historical people gender-switching before then, usually women passing as men to become soldiers.
ACC was written in 1998, for anyone calibrating influences.
Ta, L.
Nope, had never heard of him. Donna/Dono was invented out of the needs of a subplot for Ivan, on the spot as it were. He got a life of his own pretty instantly as I wrote him.
I had heard of other historical people gender-switching before then, usually women passing as men to become soldiers.
ACC was written in 1998, for anyone calibrating influences.
Ta, L.
Lois McMaster Bujold
The actual answers to most of your questions are "not developed yet". Applying a bit of off-the-cuff logic, it does seem probable that any unhatched malices would be killed by another's blight. When blight recovers, it spawns no more malices, so that notion is supported. By the same logic, the Great Blight would indeed be malice-free once it recovers, whenever. Not a fast process.
Ta, L.
The actual answers to most of your questions are "not developed yet". Applying a bit of off-the-cuff logic, it does seem probable that any unhatched malices would be killed by another's blight. When blight recovers, it spawns no more malices, so that notion is supported. By the same logic, the Great Blight would indeed be malice-free once it recovers, whenever. Not a fast process.
Ta, L.
Lois McMaster Bujold
I've a notion there are survivors beyond the Great Blight and whatever lies athwart it, on the west coast. Some farmer navigator will discover it someday, circling the south coast. No, I don't know anything more than that.
The logical options for other continents are: fully blighted, slowly recovering but unpeopled; partly blighted, and fighting by some means magically related to what we've seen; or unblighted or fully cleaned, peopled, and keeping all other continents in quarantine. Or, some of each.
(When a malice had fully blighted its bounded region, a continent at the largest, but also possibly a closed circle or wall of other blight and, say, seacoast, it will die of starvation.)
I have a very dim memory of some reference to other continents on old maps somewhere in the tetralogy, but I couldn't for the life of me find it now.
Ta, L.
I've a notion there are survivors beyond the Great Blight and whatever lies athwart it, on the west coast. Some farmer navigator will discover it someday, circling the south coast. No, I don't know anything more than that.
The logical options for other continents are: fully blighted, slowly recovering but unpeopled; partly blighted, and fighting by some means magically related to what we've seen; or unblighted or fully cleaned, peopled, and keeping all other continents in quarantine. Or, some of each.
(When a malice had fully blighted its bounded region, a continent at the largest, but also possibly a closed circle or wall of other blight and, say, seacoast, it will die of starvation.)
I have a very dim memory of some reference to other continents on old maps somewhere in the tetralogy, but I couldn't for the life of me find it now.
Ta, L.
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Nov 09, 2025 09:25AM · flag