You're probably right about the movie, Slave Ruthie, but it's always so tempting to imagine, isn't it? I couldn't even think of actors that could do this justice, and there is a lot of questionable material that wouldn't go over well in America. Most importantly, as Carey herself said, "an openly masochistic heroine is controversial, but it's such an important part of her character that it could not possibly be done without." Or something to that affect.

Were you at all disappointed in Kushiel's Avatar? I wasn't, but I've heard that complaint from others, and not just in this forum. My feeling was that there are only so many times that Ysandre's throne could be threatened, and Phedre saves the country, before it would be repetitive. Religious quest--yes, on some levels, but how else could Carey have freed Hyacinthe? And it introduced Imriel's character beautifully, I thought. It would have been disappointing to simply run across him somewhere in Terre d'Ange and frog-march him off to the Queen.

There's a book that Carey used for research: A Dictionary of Angels, which is absolutely FASCINATING. I read some of it, and I never knew there were so many or that they were so different.

And another book that Carey wrote, which is out of print, which is the equivalent of the D'Angeline Bible: the story of Elua and his Companions. I've seen a picture of this book, but they only made so many copies and they're all sold out. I'm hoping against hope that they reprint. That book would be nice to have simply for beauty's sake. We ought to start a petition.

Morrighan

P.S. From Carey's own website, an excerpt from her blog (sort of):

So, I'm entering the final stretch on Book One of the Imriel Trilogy -- and no, I haven't chosen a title yet. Of course, with big books like these that means I still have a couple hundred pages to go. But it's at a point where I've got lots of things in motion, and I find myself laying awake in the middle of the night, plotting and strategizing. In the grand scheme of things, I know what happens, but there are always spots where there are a few different ways it could play out. I have to play them over and over in my mind to decide which one truly feels right.

dated this May. God, I can't wait!