Dragaera

Authors and their produce

Fri Dec 6 14:36:51 PST 2002

It occurred to me as I was devouring The Paths of the Dead, that an Author might be a bit ambivalent about his works finally being released. I am sure there must be a feeling of great satisfaction, especially, as seems to be the case here, when the Readers find the fruits of his labor to be sweet.
To the left, after the Author has spent some months or years (or decades in the case of some Historians)toiling over his manuscript, that sweet fruit is consumed in mere hours, leaving the Reader with (if I may mix the metaphor) an unquenchable thirst for more. How does this delicate calculus of satisfaction of a job well done against the thunderous and immediate calls for the next work balance in the Author's mind? Perhaps if the Author would deign to comment, I would cease to wonder and move to, if not knowledge, at least cessation of wondering.

Ken