Coming Back to Astreiant

The new Queen of Swords Press edition of Point of Knives, the novella that comes between Point of Hopes and Point of Dreams, comes out August 29. It’s the first Points book I wrote after Lisa’s death, and the first one that we hadn’t discussed before her death, so it remains a bittersweet project for me.

At first, I’d thought I wouldn’t be able to face the world and the characters without her — especially the characters. We’d always enjoyed coming up with new characters and exploring new aspects of the old ones — we used to go to Provincetown in the shoulder seasons and again between Christmas and New Year’s in part to make space to think about characters and the stories they inspired. I remember once we took a picnic to the beach — a fancy basket from a gourmet shop, alas, no longer with us, lovely sandwiches and cheese and homemade pickles, champagne and a lemon tart — and suddenly realizing that we’d been talking so much that the seagulls were closing in to steal our neglected lunch. If there’s a hint of salt air about the city, that’s where it comes from.

I was at a convention a few years after she died (I can’t remember if it was an Arisia or a Balticon) and ran into Steve Berman, the founder and editor of Lethe Press, at a room party. He told me how much he had loved the two books we’d done together (Point of Hopes and Point of Dreams) and asked rather wistfully if I’d thought of continuing the series. I told him that it was hard to imagine even thinking about it without Lisa, but as we talked more I admitted that there were notes for at least two more novels. Steve said Lethe would love to publish them; I said again I couldn’t manage it. Besides, the books were out of print at Tor, having been abandoned in the great purge of the midlist. Steve promptly asked if Lethe could reprint Hopes and Dreams, and asked if I’d at least think about writing something to fill in the missing middle — the story in which Philip and Nico actually establish a relationship. I agreed to think about it.

He was right, that piece of the story was missing. I knew — we had worked out — what had happened, but there had never been enough of a plot around those events to make a full novel. However, Steve had said he would be interested in something even novella-length, and to my own surprise, I found myself wanting to try.

I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to capture the voice. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to do justice to the characters that were Lisa’s invention. Most of all I was afraid that working on this world without Lisa would be just another gaping loss. And there were times when it was… not fun. When I stared at the screen and needed her voice so badly that I had to close the file and walk away. But there were also times when I realized I was getting it, that I was telling the story in a way that worked and that brought the world and the characters back to life, and with them, a bit of Lisa lived on as well. By the time I’d finished the final draft, I was starting to think about the other two books we’d talked about, the books that became Fairs’ Point and Point of Sighs.  And I’m really glad I did.

I’d also like to give a shout out to Alex Jeffers, who was the copy editor for the new work. He was an absolute joy to work with, and knew the world as well as (and in some cases better) than I did. He kept me on track when I no longer had Lisa to keep me honest, and I owe him a great deal for that. 

But, to put it simply — Point of Knives is the book that brought me back to Astreiant, and I will always be grateful for that. I’m glad to see it back in print, and in such good hands at Queen of Swords Press.