From: anonymous

I just finished reading your books "stay" & "blue place". They were in my local library and I truly enjoyed them both. Will there be another book with Aud as the main character? If so when?

There will be another Aud book. The working title is ALWAYS. When it will hit the shelves is the sixty-four dollar question.

There are two parts to publishing a novel. The first is finishing it. The second is getting it into print. Let me explain.

As far as Part One, writing (and, more to the point, finishing to my satisfaction) the book, is concerned, I am largely in control of scheduling. At least in theory. In practise, what is happening is that I keep re-thinking the book. What began as a fairly straightforward continuation of the Inner Learning Curve of Aud became, a few months ago, a grand Quest. Aud, the character, was born in a dream: a woman (who was and was not me--you know how dreams are) woke in the middle of the night in her apartment to find a man pointing a gun at her. Without a moment's hesitation, she surged from her bed (the floor, actually--read the book) and killed him with one blow from a heavy flashlight: waking to killing in two seconds. I woke up wondering, What kind of person could do that without thinking, without *blinking*, and what would her life be like? I started The Blue Place to find out. Halfway through, I realised I had stumbled across Aud at the beginning of a journey, an great inner change. So then I had to write Stay to find out how she was coping. Then I started ALWAYS, and it was only after I'd "finished" the book (more than a year ago) that I understood I had in fact only scratched the surface of what I was trying to do, that if I dug a little deeper, I might find out why and how, exactly, Aud came to know so much about how to defend herself. So that's what I've been doing. I thought it would take a few months. I was wrong. But it's proving an interesting journey (for me, at least).

Part Two, getting the book onto the shelves, is largely up to others. I have a contract with Riverhead, so the book is already sold. But when I turn in the finished manuscript, business wheels will begin to turn: What kind of book is it? How do Riverhead intend to position it? (Crime novel? lesbian novel? staggering work of literary genius?) What kind of publicity will the book require? (Talk shows to showcase the how-to self-defence aspects? Seattle radio and tv to highlight Aud's love of a new city? Coordinated web push to get the book into the hands of young things in love?) Given potential sales (which depends on the marketing spin and support), what financial quarter is best for the release of the book? The release date of the book is not yet as fine a science as movie release dates, but it's getting there.

So, my best guess is that ALWAYS will be out in late 2007, but I want to stress it is only a guess.

The exciting part lies ahead--I can't wait to finish this and see what I've got. I can't wait to see if I need to write more Aud or if it's time to turn my attention to all those other projects I'm interested in. And of course I can't wait to take Aud on the road and introduce her new self to all her readers, and to meet those readers. Good times ahead...

From: anonymous

I'm not sure that my email went through the first time. I've been having some trouble with it lately.

I just completed your books Stay and The Blue Place. I really enjoyed the books, very deep and interesting character. I wanted to know if there will be another book with Aud as the main character.

Another question. I was reading some of your previous emails/response. What did you mean with your answer that all women are lesbian?

I gave into one of my baser instincts and committed the lowest form of wit, sarcasm (which, before 1995, is what we used to call what people now label "irony"). I have no idea if Judi Dench is a lesbian. How could I? Though having said that I imagine I could find out. My cousin, Clare Higgins, is a well known actor in the UK. I could probably ask her. However, if she told me then I'd forever have to keep my mouth shut about what I know; I hate keeping secrets, never been any good at it (probably why for me it was way easier to be out than in). This way is more fun. I just assume everyone's a dyke until they swear otherwise. It makes life more interesting, and it's one small way to counterbalance the heterosexist assumptions of the rest of the world. (Picture me giving the Right On! salute here. Which reminds me of a joke: God said the hippie, I can turn you into you want, what do you want? And the hippie said, I want to be uptight, outta sight, and in the groove! And She turned him into a tampon.)

From: Candace (clove883@aol.com)

Hi, first I want to say I LOVE your books and your website!! Your relationship with Kelley is inspiring. I discovered "Stay" 2 days ago and have finished the book, read practically your whole website, and am about to begin "The Blue Place" (wish I would've read it first, but I didn't realize "Stay" was 2nd in the Aud books). "Stay" kept me entertained the whole time and I can't wait to read "The Blue Place"! Perhaps you've already answered this, but when will there be another in the Aud series? I think I read something about a book called "Always"...? Any idea when it will be out? Thanks!

If you want to read more about my relationship with Kelley, see the essay I just posted, As We Mean To Go On, which I wrote with Kelley last year.

As for more Aud: yes, and soon. How soon? Don't know. See above. But there's love and drugs and sex and rock n'roll and earthquakes and blood and herons and Seattle and Atlanta and...well, everything really. An early reviewer of my first novel, Ammonite once said that the book was the mark of a young novelist putting everything she knows into her first novel, exclusing the kitchen sink. Well, ALWAYS even includes a kitchen sink. It's my alpha and omega, my sum of all things. So far.

From: Candace (clove883@aol.com)

Nicola, hi. I'm almost finished with "The Blue Place" now, but I try to take breaks in between so I can keep reading longer...I just wanted you to know that I realize you've already answered the question about when ALWAYS will be published, but I asked because I was hoping MAYBE you had a better idea now...:( I can't wait to read it!

I do now have a better idea of when I'll finish (I'm thinking spring) but not a very clear idea of when the book will be published (see above).

It's interesting, isn't it, not wanting to finish a book? As far as I'm concerned, there are three kind of book: the kind you will never finish (because it's crap, because it's irritating, because it's badly written, because it's boring--pick one, hell pick more than one, I usually do), the kind you want to finish because you're sick of reading it but it's good enough that you feel the need to complete the experience, and the kind that you never want to end (and, sometimes, you start again immediately, as soon as you've finished). I'm delighted that you think The Blue Place belongs in the third category. It what I always hope for a writer.