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4.
AOTW: If you could be a character from a fantasy novel (your own included), movie or game, who would you be? Why?
Juliet McKenna: In general, I'd prefer to be one of the nameless happy people in the background rather than risking life and limb to save the world. Put me on the spot and I think I'd opt for Nerilka, in Anne McCaffrey's Pern. There's an intelligent woman who works through her trials, finds a use for her skills and ends up with a respected, settled place in her world.
Teresa Edgerton: I don't think I would want to be a character in a fantasy novel, movie, or game. If I was a character, I would be stranded in one particular story, in one set of experiences. As the writer, I can go anywhere and see anything, and experience it all through the eyes of all the different characters. Not to mention, I have the advantage of being in charge.
But if I had to be a character, I suppose I would choose Teleri, in my "Green Lion" books, since I gave her everything I ever wanted when I was eighteen: a tower full of books, a magical garden, an amazing castle to explore --- not to mention action, adventure, and a werewolf boyfriend. My inner-adolescent gets a little thrill just thinking about it.
Margaret Weis: Lady Maigrey from the Star of the Guardians series. (Galactic fantasy.) She is who I would like to be, not who I am.
Michael Stackpole: Boy, that's a really tough question because there are so many great characters in fantasy novels. REALLY tough. Okay, it would be a toss-up between Tiger, from Jennifer Roberson's Sworddancer series or one of the Bloodguard from Stephen R. Donaldson's Thomas Covenant novels. Tiger because of his attitude and the delightful Del; and a Bloodguard just because of their very unearthly nature.
L.E. Modesitt: If I had my choice... I'm not sure I'd want to be any of them. As authors, we write about interesting and difficult times. Those are not the best or most pleasant times in which to live. If I positively, absolutely, had to be one of my characters, I'd probably chose Lorn from The Mag'i' of Cyador and The Scion of Cyador. He understands the complexity of life while making hard choices in impossible times.
Robin Hobb: Hmm. Well, part of the fun of writing is that I DO get to be ALL the characters. To a lesser extent, this is true when I'm reading also. So. In Leiber's stuff, I'm the Mouser. When I'm reading George RR Martin, I like it when I'm being Arya. Zelazny, I'm Corwin. Brust, I'm Vlad. I think that's what reading is all about. I've been everyone from Doc Savage and Mowli and Tarzan to Gandalf and Arthur and, well, you name it. Isn't that why we read? To try on a different life for a while?
Terri Windling: In my own fiction, I wouldn't mind being Maggie Black, the heroine of The Wood Wife. She's got such a lot of confidence. As for other people's creations, I'd like to be John Lang in Austin Tappan Wright's utopian classic Islandia. John's a bit of a prude, I'll grant you, but I'd like to live in Islandia myself.
Martha Wells: I don't think I'd like to be a character in any of my novels because I like to live a much quieter life than that. Also the modern conveniences like plumbing, air conditioning, hospitals are kind of nice too. That said, I think I'd like to be Sagai, one of my characters from City of Bones. I always felt he was one of the most genuinely nice, normal characters I ever came up with and also he had a very interesting job as a relic hunter and expert on the ancient culture of the area.
Lois McMaster Bujold: I can't think of any character I'd want to be; I rather like being myself, these days. Most heroes and heroines lead such uncomfortable lives! Not that I wouldn't like to be smarter, healthier, more athletic, longer lived, and with a perfect memory --- of all the fabulous attributes of fictional characters, I most envied all those heroes with photographic memories.
Lynn Flewelling: I suppose my character Seregil is something of a wish fulfillment for me. Gender aside, he's intelligent, dashing, sexy, highly and diversely skilled, and surrounded by good solid friends willing to put up with his tantrums and oddities because they love him for who he is. If I were to chose someone else's character, it's a toss up between Ripley from the "Alien" movies (one and two, only, please!) or to be the Fifth Ghostbuster.
Elizabeth Haydon: Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings. Actually, I guess I would rather be Merlin, but in my view Merlin is unscrupulous, one might even say evil, so instead I will pick Gandalf. I like the idea of being the wise old wizard, one who has friends among a great many kinds of people, who can both lead and counsel without needing to always lead, and who gets to play with magic and come back from the dead.
Sean Russell: Oddly enough, this is not a fantasy I have. I'm rather happy being who I am and living in the twenty-first century.
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