LKH's Seattle Q&A for A Shiver of Light

[blogfloggery.livejournal.com]

Many apologies for not posting this sooner, Lashers:

If the embed doesn't work, the link is HERE. For those who don't want to sit through 90mins of LKH talking or have issues with the audio, mod has done a thorough transcription: DOC and RTF format. It's too long to post to the comm in its entirety but we wanted it to be available.

Highlights of the video include:

● seven minute sexist monologue intro
● 4/24 questions relate to Merry Gentry and one doesn't count because it's a spoiler.
● LKH's opinions on body positivity, polyamory, pregnancy, therapy, Guy Zen, the French, Crocs footwear, and softcore porn. This is in addition to answering questions about the books/characters, writing, research, inspiration, and rejection.

Book/character discussions:
● LKH has notes on Anita going home to her family for Thanksgiving.
● She has no favourite book that she's written, she prefers character arcs and development.
● She has notes for a book about Nathaniel, his traumatic childhood, and giving that some resolution.
● Olaf will probably die. Also LKH does not think Olaf/Anita shipping is cool.
● Apparently Asher has always been a bag of dicks and LKH has no plan on Anita "fixing" his scars. Also he's not ambitious enough to try for a Council position.
● Bernardo Spotted-Horse and Peter will return if/when LKH writes about Edward's wedding.
● Belle Morte may come to America but struggle to adapt there.
● Anita will not willingly get pregnant. If Nathaniel could do it, LKH would go with that.
● There are plans for more books set in Merry's universe; two ideas include stories about Barinthus and Rhys. Merry is "content" so LKH isn't sure where to go with her story.
● The preternatural branch of the US Marshal Service may become its own entity. It has too much power and may go horribly wrong.
● LKH struggles to find myths in order to include more reptillian shapeshifters.

Comments

[apep727.livejournal.com]

I think I see what you're going for. Anita doesn't act like a real-world guy, she acts like a stereotype of a guy. Which I'd be fine with on its own, but combined with the fact that anything remotely feminine is treated as bad, and the treatment of most of the non-Anita female characters, it feels very misogynist. Like, the only reason Anita is a "good" woman is because she rejects everything vaguely feminine (I mean, I'm not sure she even cleaned her own apartment back when she live alone, for fuck's sake).

(Full disclosure: I have not read any of LKH's books first-hand, nor do I intend to, because I think my brain would melt. Also, I am hetero-, cis- member of the Has A Y-Chromosome Club.)

[deadsong.livejournal.com]

Yes. This. She uses the stereotype to basically preach her religion of men = good, women = bad. Only in a lot of ways men are awful, too, because they constantly try to keep her heroine down. So the only good man is a man with tits.

Really, the only person in her mind who is in any way worthy is Anita. Sex appeal of a woman--but only one type of women, because all other types of women are bad--but all man under the skin. But don't you dare call her butch, because then someone might think she's a scary lesbian, and lesbians are frightening and might want to touch her.

(Hey, we're not that far apart. Cis, y-chromosome, very-recently-realized-he's-bisexual-and-not-gay. And I've only read one full book, and forced my way through various chunks of others for research purposes.)