My Favorite Book/Series That I Wrote

[kateelliott]

fezabel asks:

What is your favorite book or series that you have written? Or do you love them all equally?

Good question.

In a way my books are like my children. I love them all equally for what is best about them, and I put up with the faults since there's now nothing I can do about those -- unless I was willing to revise and republish, and I am not at this time interested in revising and republishing any of my already published books (even if I could find a publisher to do so), because

1) I have tons of other books to write

2) each book seems to me to reflect where I was at the time I wrote it, and revising the book would lose that context, which I think matters because I see my books as part of a progression in my life as a writer.


Here is a thing I love about each of my novels/series (ask me tomorrow and I'll tell you something different for each one):

The Labyrinth Gate: How I worked in the working class correspondence societies of late 18th/early 19th century Britain.

The Highroad Trilogy: Published in 1990 (in three volumes, natch). Most of the characters (including the main character) are PoCs because I tried to set out a "realistic" scenario for colonization, which happened to result in this outcome. I like that I was able to think a bit out of what was then (and is often still) "the box" two decades ago.

The Novels of the Jaran: I love the jaran. I doubt I could write quite so romanticized a culture now, but I admit that I'm glad I did it then.

Crown of Stars: Hugh. No, srsly. It's not often one creates a villain so many people love to hate.

Crossroads Trilogy: Traitors' Gate is the best thing I've ever written in terms of characters revealing themselves purely through action and interaction.

Cold Magic: (publication details not yet announced, but a revised version is complete): Beta readers keep telling me that there are actual funny things in this book that make them laugh out loud. I've never managed that before (I mean, unless you count disdainful readers laughing AT me).