From: Mary Lofstrom (mary@shimmeringfish.com)

First, let me say that I've read all four of your books and thoroughly enjoyed them. Secondly, I hope you aren't offended by this question; Do you also write under a pen name?

The reason I ask is that recently my Mom sent a copy of 'Assassin's Apprentice' by Robin Hobb thinking it interesting, and something I'd like and we could talk about. Either it's you Ms. Griffith or someone who has whiffs of your style in her writing. I'm curious is all.

Thirdly I found it interesting in a compassionate and cosmic way that you have multiple sclerosis. I am challenged with a nasty called scleroderma. My best to you in that regard.

I'm very sorry to hear about the scleroderma. I'm familiar with the disease--it's what my sister, Carolyn, had. When were you diagnosed? Do you have the systemic kind?

Robin Hobb, is a pen name, but not mine. I'm not at all offended by the suggestion that I wrote the Farseer books, which began with Assassin's Apprentice. They're nicely written, and a great read. But how cool that you talk to your mother about books. My mother bravely struggles through everything I write, but she doesn't much like it. "Don't you think there's too much description in the first few chapters, Nicola?" "Well, no, Mum, otherwise I would have changed it." "Hmmmnn. Do normal people read these books?" By normal she means married with 2.4 kids, in the PTA, go to church on Sunday people. Her reading preferences run to not-too-frisky bodice rippers, family sagas, young-woman-from-a-good-family-down-on-her-luck stories, and almost anything about how terrible it was to live in Ireland and emigrate to the US--as long as it has a happy ending. I love my mother, but where reading is concerned, we may as well be from different planets. There again, we do agree that reading is a Good Thing.

From: anonymous

This isn't a question. I don't know if you'll want to post this or not, but I ran across this website, and I thought it might be of interest to you, if you haven't seen it already:
http://users.netmatters.co.uk/ju90/

I took a look, and caught a glimpse of a terrible alternative road. I can see how, if I had been diagnosed with MS, say, twenty years ago, when I was a very, very angry person indeed, instead of ten years ago, I might have poured myself body and soul into an aggressive identity as a Cripple--much as I did, for a while, with being a Dyke. I think such lack of forgiveness--for myself, for the attitudes of others, for the universe--would have destroyed me.

From: Marcos

Just a response to the casting call for Aud. For whatever it's worth, being a big fan of the now defunct "La Femme Nikita" TV series, I've always pictured Peta Wilson playing the part. She's tall, blonde (okay, from a bottle, but we ARE talking Hollywood) and very physical. Get her under contract, quick!

We have a joke in our house: Nikita has trouble with section. It was a logline the producers recycled for countless episodes. So Kelley and I used variants of it for all kinds of situations. On a bad day at the grocery store: Kelley has trouble with shopping. A bad writing day: Nicola has trouble with writing. To us it means: Hey, things didn't go so well, but, whatever, it's just a thing, let's have some beer. I do sometimes miss that show, less for the acting or action than the music and clothes. Maybe I'm just getting more shallow as I get older.

From: amy (aim_a_thon@yahoo.com)

i am reading ammonite at the moment and am about 70% of the way through it. at this point i am stuck by the similiarities between orson scott card's writing and yours. have you read any of his works? particularly the ender series. there are things in ammonite and themes that are prevelant in his works. i am just wondering if you are influenced by him or if this was a coincidence.

As far as I know, I haven't been influenced by Card. There again, how do we ever know who influences us? I've read the first two Ender books; the second one was a struggle: I got bored. After a while it was all intellect and no emotion. If you ever get the chance, read Ender's Game in its original novella form: fast, clean, kind of cool. I don't read Card's stuff at all now. He's a devout Mormon, and has absolutely no problem agreeing in public with that church's views on lesbians and gays and women. I just don't like his work well enough to struggle to get over the bad taste that leaves in my mouth.

From: Rick Considine (rickinsac@earthlink.net)

"Aud is all about the body; how she moves is far, far more important than how she looks or sounds. A year ago I would have heaped scorn on the notion of Angelina Jolie as Aud--but then I saw that bungee ballet scene in Tomb Raider and can now understand why some people might at least consider the idea. Anyone else got any good suggestions?"

OK, I've got a suggestion for you. There's a very special lady called Kathy Long. She's an actress, or at least she has acted, in a few low budget martial arts films. She's also a five time female kick boxing world champion. She's a superb athlete, she moves like a predator, and watching her cross the room is almost hypnotic. She hasn't done any acting in a while, she quit to pursue a professional boxing career, but she's the only actress I know who can actually do all the things that Aud does. Check her out in 'The Stranger', it's kind of obscure and hard to find, but it's a pretty good way to spend a couple of hours.

I did a web search on Kathy Long and came across a few pictures and a bio. It certainly sounds as though she can hit people . I'll see if I can track down The Stranger and Under the Gun.

From: Claudia(cayld@jccomp.com)

Just some feedback on "The Blue Place"... I normally buy Xenaverse based authors, but sometimes I get brave and pick up a few Top Ten sellers from the Open Book. This month, this story was recommended.

It was a delight to read such finely crafted and breath-taking prose... and it made the ending even more poignant. I still haven't decided if I liked it. It does fit the tenor of the story, so I can't fault that... but it still was a shattering end.

I've rationalized part of it as the story that is never told in books that only refers to a first love or soulmate that tragically dies "some years before" the current plot. But it doesn't help much... But despite the Trolls winning in the end... it was a well told tale.

Thank you. I agonised over that ending--it made me feel like a monster--but no matter what I told myself, or how I tried to approach it differently, I couldn't escape the fact that, for Aud, for where I wanted to go with her, it was the only possible outcome.

I don't subscribe to the "Oh, the characters just took over" school of writing, but I do believe that sometimes our conscious minds want one thing and our subconscious minds dig their heels in, fold their arms, and say "Nuh-uh." Then we have to figure out what the disparity is, and why. This is what happened with The Blue Place. Originally, I'd hoped for a less, ah, permanent ending--had intended, in fact, to end the book on that fateful day in Oslo--but the more I thought about it, the more that just wasn't right. It was a cheat on some level. So I gritted my teeth, and kept going, and knew, immediately, that this was the right fit, given the beginning of the book. I could of course have gone back and changed the beginning, but that would have meant changing Aud, and once you start doing that, what's the point?

But I do understand your mixed reaction. Part of me wants to hover in bookshops, tapping customers on the shoulder and saying, "Have faith. Keep reading. I'll make it all work out for her in the end. I promise. Really. I think."