Justine Larbalestier

reading, writing, eating, drinking, sport

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Next novel poll

What 27% of my readers want is for me to write a novel about unicorns versus zombies. And right now I gotta tell you I’m dead tempted cause it wouldn’t require nearly as much research as the current novel.1 So colour me slightly nudged on the zombie v unicorn front. I may have news to report upon said subject at some point in the future. Or not. You never know where my ten-second attention span will take me.

The next most popular options were a ghost story where the ghosts are perfectly aware that they’re ghosts. Which would be just a regular ghost story, right? One day I will write one of those. And then the snowboarding werewolves. Gotta tell you, I don’t see it happening. I’m not oudoorsy and I am particularly against being outdoors in snow. I have no desire to try snowboarding. None at all. And you can’t write about a sport you haven’t tried yourself. Also I’d have to learn all about wolves. Too much research! I am currently against research.

However, what most astonished me about the latest poll was that several of my readers—3% of the total—voted for mainstream realism. Clearly, they were messing with me. There can be no other explanation. Me write non-genre? Are you insane? I have noted all your names and will go after you in my own time. Watch your backs.

Enjoy the new poll. I was feeling random. It happens.

  1. Don’t hit me, Diana. I know you’ve done tonnes of research for your unicorn novel. But my unicorn v zombies novel would be a lazy one, okay? [↩]

Posted by Justine at 14:42, 2 March 2008 under Unicorns, Writing goals & milestones, Zombies | 18 Comments »

Comments

  1. Ted Lemon Says:

    I think people are voting for Quokkas because it’s the coolest-sounding word in that lot.

    March 2nd, 2008 at 4:03 pm

  2. 2. Justine Says:

    They are all cool sounding! Because they are all cool.

    Quokkas are all round wonderful not just cause of the name. Why, they even recycle!

    March 2nd, 2008 at 4:06 pm

  3. Laini Taylor Says:

    Mainstream realism? BAH!! I can’t imagine. Who are those three nutjobs?

    March 2nd, 2008 at 4:28 pm

  4. janet Says:

    I’ve been meaning to mention that I recently saw a quokka somewhere other than on this blog: in an animal alphabet book. Given the ubiquity of animal alphabet books and the difficulty of coming up with “q” animals (second only to the difficulty of coming up with any word that begins with “x,” which is the only reason anybody other than percussionists knows the word “xylophone”), I was surprised I’d never seen one in an alphabet book beforel.

    March 2nd, 2008 at 4:31 pm

  5. serafina zane Says:

    yes! this leaves me free to write MY snowboarding werewolves novel.
    no, really, i have one. even before i heard about yours.
    although, to be fair, as i have not tried snowboarding, it just sort of takes place in a town next to a ski resort and no one actually snowboards.
    truly, it is a novel about lacrosse, another sport i have not tried and which is luckily not played in the text either.
    so it’s a novel about running away from annoying popular kids? or being obnoxious? or being so hardcore you quote Martin Luther King Jr on the spot during a fight?
    i don’t know. one of those. or maybe witches.

    also, MAINSTREAM REALISM? ha.
    i have no need for your lack of werewolves, non-genre.

    March 2nd, 2008 at 6:17 pm

  6. Electric Landlady Says:

    I don’t play lacrosse, but I watch it from time to time. It’s insane. Mostly in a good way.

    March 2nd, 2008 at 6:55 pm

  7. Tim Says:

    Please, please — no unicorns! I know I’ve been remiss about keeping up with my RSS feeds, so no doubt I’ve missed some poll-driven developments, but still — how did we fall so far so fast from the beautiful vision of the daikaju / ghouls / vampire epic? That story *needs* to be told!

    March 2nd, 2008 at 9:40 pm

  8. serafina zane Says:

    the kind of way in which MURDEROUS WEREWOLVES ARE INSANE! woo! GO MERCY MILLS WOLVES!

    March 2nd, 2008 at 9:41 pm

  9. ysa Says:

    i was seriously torn between cricket and vionette because i someone sent me a few lovely pictures of vionette frocks. i am not much into couture, but wow! they were loverly.

    March 3rd, 2008 at 12:27 am

  10. limeywesty Says:

    You may not care, but now that you’ve said you were feeling random, it can’t be random anymore, because random is something spontaneous, and when you say something is random/ spontaneous, it comepletely negates the spontaneity because it’s not spontaneous if you’re expecting it to be spontaneous!!! anyways… sorry about that. au revoir. Emily xox

    March 3rd, 2008 at 3:59 am

  11. 11. Justine Says:

    Emily: “Random” and “spontaneous” are not synonyms.

    March 3rd, 2008 at 8:33 am

  12. Carrie Says:

    there can never be too many books about unicorns and zombies. that’s my personal motto!

    March 3rd, 2008 at 11:08 am

  13. ysa Says:

    what about a book that features unicorn zombies? or is that zombie unicorns?

    March 3rd, 2008 at 11:33 am

  14. Mark Says:

    Unicorns versus zombies would be a fun book, it would have to be handled right but it could work. Snowboarding werewolves? I keep thinking of teen wolf, not sure if that would work. On the new poll, no idea what most of the work but anything involving elvis that promotes the king and doesn’t denigrate his memory will be a big seller, its got a built-in readership..

    Perhaps Elvis went into another dimension to help the unicorns against the zombie infestation. Wasn’t there a fantasy series that used songs as magic spells? I can picture “hunks of burning love” flying into the attacking zombie army

    March 3rd, 2008 at 12:08 pm

  15. 15. Justine Says:

    Mark: Is not quiz about which novel to write next. That was the last quiz. This is just a random quiz. You can make the question be whatever you want it to be. Like, “Which is the fuzziest?” “Which is the sexiest?” Is you choice.

    March 3rd, 2008 at 12:28 pm

  16. Liset Says:

    i picked heyer,
    cause us women writers
    gost to stick together.
    yes?
    yes!

    March 3rd, 2008 at 3:55 pm

  17. Cat Says:

    I liked the plot suggestion that had Elvis now in an alternate universe fighting with the unicorns against the zombies using songs as magic spells. NOW that seems quite interesting. (Nice laughter.)I wish you well on your next novel and eagerly await what your plot will be. (I would definitely check the Elvis story out to see how it all ended up.) Good luck. cat

    March 8th, 2008 at 6:49 pm

  18. Cat Says:

    I forgot to mention I like the snowboarding werewolves….that also made me laugh or should I say “howl” (bad joke) or “scream” (another bad joke)…sorry it is Saturday night and I am still tired from work. So…bad jokes. But I still thought the werewolves idea was funny and interesting.

    March 8th, 2008 at 6:53 pm

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