Comments on: The Big Idea: Diana Pharaoh Francis http://whatever.scalzi.com/2009/10/29/the-big-idea-diana-pharaoh-francis/ I FORGET WHAT EIGHT WAS FOR Fri, 10 Feb 2012 03:11:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Rob Aemisegger http://whatever.scalzi.com/2009/10/29/the-big-idea-diana-pharaoh-francis/#comment-174907 Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:51:59 +0000 http://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=8927#comment-174907 Diana,
Wow! What a spectacular start to a series! I loved Max and her “take no prisoners” attitude, and I loved the whole witches and shadowblades story line. In fact, it was one of only two books that I ever read, then re-read immediately, it was so good!

Here’s a quick response to the issue of the book’s cover raised by two of your readers. I’m a highly visual person (probably like most guys), and when I scan through 1000 different covers at a B&N or Borders, only the most attention grabbing covers draw me into reading the back cover. This cover of a “busty, leather-clad, “babexors” holding knives” (as one of your readers described it) is attention grabbing enough for 99% of your male readers that they will at least take it off the shelf and read the cover or the first few pages (which for a talented author like yourself is 90% of the battle). And for me, reading those first few pages was all it took to realize what a terrific book I was holding.

Bottom line: your advertising guys did a great job, and gave us a super picture of how to imagine Max. That cover is a perfect fit for your description of her.

Give us more “Max to the max”!
Rob

]]> By: Diana Pharaoh Francis http://whatever.scalzi.com/2009/10/29/the-big-idea-diana-pharaoh-francis/#comment-173104 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:02:37 +0000 http://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=8927#comment-173104 Richard! That’s terrific! I appreciate it. Thanks.

]]> By: Richard Davies http://whatever.scalzi.com/2009/10/29/the-big-idea-diana-pharaoh-francis/#comment-173094 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:22:52 +0000 http://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=8927#comment-173094 Diana,

BBC documentary on Lusi is in the pipeline and the Al Jazeera documentary is very good summary. Click on link.

http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/peopleandpower/2009/06/2009617134123752754.html

Richard

]]> By: Diana Pharaoh Francis http://whatever.scalzi.com/2009/10/29/the-big-idea-diana-pharaoh-francis/#comment-173081 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:16:31 +0000 http://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=8927#comment-173081 lilacsigil and Richard: I know it’s manmade, but at the time it started, I didn’t. Hence the trigger. But the fact that it is manmade works really nicely for my plotting (she said, rubbing her hands together and giggling). And Richard, I will look up those articles. Lusi fascinates me.

Joel: A DnD game. Hmmm. That *would* be fun, wouldn’t it?

]]> By: Joel http://whatever.scalzi.com/2009/10/29/the-big-idea-diana-pharaoh-francis/#comment-173078 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:04:57 +0000 http://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=8927#comment-173078 Not sure what cover would work, but everyone’s right. I only even read this “Big Idea” piece because Iwas out of Whatever to read during lunch. Glad I stopped by.

]]> By: Joel http://whatever.scalzi.com/2009/10/29/the-big-idea-diana-pharaoh-francis/#comment-173077 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:01:57 +0000 http://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=8927#comment-173077 I don;t suppsoe Diana wants to turn this into a series of adventures for DnD? Or any other system. This sounds so cool I’d buy and learn a new system to play it out.

This one HAS to go to the top of the Christmas list.

]]> By: Adam http://whatever.scalzi.com/2009/10/29/the-big-idea-diana-pharaoh-francis/#comment-173034 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:50:06 +0000 http://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=8927#comment-173034 Oh look, she’s using Shinzon’s knife on the cover. Maybe she can make better use of it…

]]> By: Richard Davies http://whatever.scalzi.com/2009/10/29/the-big-idea-diana-pharaoh-francis/#comment-173025 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:34:04 +0000 http://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=8927#comment-173025 We now know with 99% certainty that Lusi was man-made. It was caused by drilling a gas exploration well. I have published a couple of scientific papers on this. Google ‘Lusi Richard Davies’ to find these and related articles.

]]> By: lilacsigil http://whatever.scalzi.com/2009/10/29/the-big-idea-diana-pharaoh-francis/#comment-173007 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:52:50 +0000 http://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=8927#comment-173007 But Lusi is a human-created disaster!

]]> By: Tsauro http://whatever.scalzi.com/2009/10/29/the-big-idea-diana-pharaoh-francis/#comment-172954 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:21:52 +0000 http://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=8927#comment-172954 This sounds terrific. On my next up list. (just a side note…does she not have the greatest name for an author of fantasy, makes me want to check out the book even without the terrific Big Idea essay)

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