I definitely adore Lianon as a character, and part of that fondness is rooted in her gender-fluidity. It wasn’t easy to strike a balance between her masculine toughness and her softer, more vulnerable, feminine side–and I’m glad it seemed to work so well.

And you’re right about the sequel-baiting. Part of the problem with having fully developed backgrounds for all your characters is you always end up wanting to give them their own stories. The chancellor and his lover will get theirs in my next book (not an Emissaries book, but a Belthalas one). It also makes you want to revisit their pasts, which I may just do by giving Lianon and her first wife, Rhianna, a prequel.

After that, I might have to leave Belthalas for a while. There are plenty of other cities in that universe to explore, though, and tons of stories.

Oh, and I do need to get to Anthoril of Harrowsfail and his four Darjhian wives. *ahem*

Thanks again.

I’m a huge fan of Kirsten’s books as well. This one was the best for me out of all of them. I felt that this one was just a bit more colorful and had a more complex plot than Crossing Swords had. But all three books are very different and fun.

And I do agree with you totally about the variety of relationship types and as you say gender bending characteristics and acceptance that each character has of their own sexuality. Love that.