Well, Rosemary and Rue has been on bookstore shelves for a month, and that means it's time for me to split off the Toby Daye FAQ into its own page. What questions would you like to see answered? I'm dividing them roughly, for now, into "series" (IE, publication dates, number of books, typos), "world" (Toby's world), and per-book, but this could change.
Please expect mild spoilers in the comments on this thread, with the stress being on mild. I won't answer FAQ questions that read like "on page 189 you say, but on page 317...," since that's way too much of a spoiler for a publicly-accessible website.
1) The human spouses can't come with because living in Faerie as a human is very, very hard, and most fae spouses just aren't willing to go through that. It's happened in the past, but it's an absolute one-way ticket; there is no going back, and if your human spouse freaks out, you get to kill them, too. The fae parents can go back, if they're willing to abandon their kids.
2) He knows. And good question.
3) Because while she was imprisoned, they completely forgot that she existed. They had no home.
4) Because her subjects had no home and no one to protect her.
5) Could you really look at the only child you were ever likely to have, the child that was broken by forces beyond your control, and go "whoops, can't be repaired, let's throw it out"? They're blind because they can't bring themselves to be any other way.
6) She looks exactly the same, doesn't have the magic to update her human disguise in a reliable way, and has absolutely no way to explain where she was. He thinks she's a deadbeat because there were always things that didn't add up. That's going to happen when you build a relationship on lies.
7) No. They all ignore death as much as they possibly can. Dying Just Isn't Done.
1) But you'd think after, oh, ten years, Amandine would go back to the mortal world, not being satisfied in the Summer Lands with her daughter, the way Toby tells it. And I know, her husband wouldn't take her back, etc.
3) So people forgot about Lily, but not Toby?
5) I'm not saying they should throw it out; rather, I thought it was strange how they didn't seem to care much about how Rayseline ripped on Toby, though they themselves were all warm and lovey. And, they seem like the sort of people who would say, "Hey, our daughter's crazy and we love her, but that doesn't mean she should be the next ruler." Especially after Sylvester was so concerned about the local Queen being crazy.
6) Eh, this just conflicts with the image initially presented of how much they loved each other. I more expected Cliff to be torn over the years, wondering if she had been killed on assignment, had gotten in too deep...
7) Still, I thought you made a point of making her reaction odd. They may hate and fear death, but Winter was an important person. That the queen didn't call for vengeance or investigation was weird, even if they don't want to admit they aren't really immortal.
Like I said, I really enjoyed the book. Totally reminded me why I had promised not to start any new series that weren't finished (because waiting for the next one suxx). I can just be mega-picky reader when called upon, and you can thank catvalente for introducing me to new levels of pickiness.
And the weirdo question... Are there any fae with no reaction to iron, like brownies? I mention this because I'm kind of cross-comparing your fae to LKH's (two different things, I know).
1) You'd think. Assuming Sylvester would let her. In Amandine's case, she was partially being PUNISHED—she should have presented Toby with the Choice herself, rather than expecting someone else to show up and handle her problems for her. There are other factors at work in her specific case, but a lot of it was the "she didn't make this decision, it was made for her, and so the decision was made to burn it all down."
3) Correct. They remembered Toby existed, but had no way of knowing where to look for her.
5) They care. They care a lot. But there are other factors at work, especially where Luna and her family are concerned. (Wait for book three. You'll understand more.)
6) Cliff was torn for a long time, and then he moved on, for his daughter's sake. When she came back, she had no explanations, no preparation, and frankly tried things much too soon. She wasn't ready to present herself sanely. She failed.
7) Ah! Yes, the Queen's response is definitely over-the-top crazy, and it's noticed, but unseating a Monarch is very difficult, especially a monarch with no heirs. It would be a war far larger than most of them are willing to commit to on a single instance of bad taste.
I don't mind picky! Although there's some stuff I can't really explain, I just wave my hands in the air and say "oogie boogie wait for book six."
There aren't any fae with NO reaction to iron, but there are some with a much reduced reaction. Coblynau, Gremlins, most of the other races who work extensively with metal...
I promise that all the pieces are there. By the end of book three, you have enough to know what the puzzle looks like, if not how it's all going to come together.
tired
October 16 2009, 02:55:48 UTC 7 years ago
2) He knows. And good question.
3) Because while she was imprisoned, they completely forgot that she existed. They had no home.
4) Because her subjects had no home and no one to protect her.
5) Could you really look at the only child you were ever likely to have, the child that was broken by forces beyond your control, and go "whoops, can't be repaired, let's throw it out"? They're blind because they can't bring themselves to be any other way.
6) She looks exactly the same, doesn't have the magic to update her human disguise in a reliable way, and has absolutely no way to explain where she was. He thinks she's a deadbeat because there were always things that didn't add up. That's going to happen when you build a relationship on lies.
7) No. They all ignore death as much as they possibly can. Dying Just Isn't Done.
October 17 2009, 02:50:33 UTC 7 years ago
3) So people forgot about Lily, but not Toby?
5) I'm not saying they should throw it out; rather, I thought it was strange how they didn't seem to care much about how Rayseline ripped on Toby, though they themselves were all warm and lovey. And, they seem like the sort of people who would say, "Hey, our daughter's crazy and we love her, but that doesn't mean she should be the next ruler." Especially after Sylvester was so concerned about the local Queen being crazy.
6) Eh, this just conflicts with the image initially presented of how much they loved each other. I more expected Cliff to be torn over the years, wondering if she had been killed on assignment, had gotten in too deep...
7) Still, I thought you made a point of making her reaction odd. They may hate and fear death, but Winter was an important person. That the queen didn't call for vengeance or investigation was weird, even if they don't want to admit they aren't really immortal.
Like I said, I really enjoyed the book. Totally reminded me why I had promised not to start any new series that weren't finished (because waiting for the next one suxx). I can just be mega-picky reader when called upon, and you can thank
And the weirdo question... Are there any fae with no reaction to iron, like brownies? I mention this because I'm kind of cross-comparing your fae to LKH's (two different things, I know).
October 17 2009, 03:06:14 UTC 7 years ago
3) Correct. They remembered Toby existed, but had no way of knowing where to look for her.
5) They care. They care a lot. But there are other factors at work, especially where Luna and her family are concerned. (Wait for book three. You'll understand more.)
6) Cliff was torn for a long time, and then he moved on, for his daughter's sake. When she came back, she had no explanations, no preparation, and frankly tried things much too soon. She wasn't ready to present herself sanely. She failed.
7) Ah! Yes, the Queen's response is definitely over-the-top crazy, and it's noticed, but unseating a Monarch is very difficult, especially a monarch with no heirs. It would be a war far larger than most of them are willing to commit to on a single instance of bad taste.
I don't mind picky! Although there's some stuff I can't really explain, I just wave my hands in the air and say "oogie boogie wait for book six."
There aren't any fae with NO reaction to iron, but there are some with a much reduced reaction. Coblynau, Gremlins, most of the other races who work extensively with metal...
October 17 2009, 03:09:43 UTC 7 years ago
I have to wait... possibly three or four years... for the answers?
NOOOOOOOOOOO!
horrible, horrible woman.
October 17 2009, 03:16:37 UTC 7 years ago