I don't have a problem with her answering the joke question seriously; I'd probably have said the same thing. And she *is* involved with a lot of animal welfare stuff, so it'd be hypocritical for her to play it as a joke. There is a big problem with people keeping exotic pets, so I don't blame her for getting some sensible advice in there. Same with the midgets/little people bit - it *is* a bit creepy to joke about owning them, like they're not people. Frankly, I found it refreshing to see something from her which wasn't self-contradictory.
Also, in terms of the research stuff, it does give an insight into how her mind works. That line about how people will believe the fantasy as long as you've researched the factual elements would go a long way to explaining why she thinks she can justify the increasing daftness of the books. It's well-researched, so she figures she's paid her dues in terms of making it believable. She talks as if she's still paying the same scrupulous attention to all of it as she did when she wrote the first books. But it's about time she researched the invented facts of life in her own imaginary world, if the U-turn on Vlad Syndrome I've heard about is anything to go by...
Really, the whole thing is like a statement of her original principles on writing that she doesn't even realise she's diverged from...
no subject
Also, in terms of the research stuff, it does give an insight into how her mind works. That line about how people will believe the fantasy as long as you've researched the factual elements would go a long way to explaining why she thinks she can justify the increasing daftness of the books. It's well-researched, so she figures she's paid her dues in terms of making it believable. She talks as if she's still paying the same scrupulous attention to all of it as she did when she wrote the first books. But it's about time she researched the invented facts of life in her own imaginary world, if the U-turn on Vlad Syndrome I've heard about is anything to go by...
Really, the whole thing is like a statement of her original principles on writing that she doesn't even realise she's diverged from...