Jean Johnson

[Jean]

Men who are slaves? o.O *iz tempted, but nooo, will behave...* (Curse me for being a rabid equalist! *snicker*)

The two lands you're thinking of are Mandare, and Natallia.

Mandare is where women are considered "inferior" to men, lacking citizenship rights, etc., to the point where most of them have indeed been enslaved (particularly any woman with magic).

Natallia is where men and women are actually equal in the eyes of the law and the eyes of society both...except for the peculiarity that only women are born with magic (which means they're ruled by a matriarchal monarchy, magic = might/power/political clout, and all that, see The Master as to why this peculiarity exists).

Slaves in Natallia come in three types: Those who indenture themselves to pay off debts (or are indentured by their creditors), criminals (idem, to pay off debts to society), and war-slaves (aka Mandarites). Those who indenture themselves to pay off debts have the lightest loads to bear, as they are protected by several laws regarding working conditions, etc. It's more of a mandatory employment for a set period of time than anything else. Those who are indentured to pay for crimes have fewer rights and many more restrictions. Mandarite war-slaves have the least number of rights under law, and are often treated the worst. (There are nice slave owners as well as cruel ones, so there are exceptions to all three categories in both directions.) All three can be sold and resold at auction.

For the record, any child born to a slave in Natallia is NOT born a slave, themselves. Alas...girls born in Mandare usually are. (Boys are considered future upstanding citizens and are never made into slaves--even if they're collaborators with "the enemy" over in Natallia. *snort* They're just made into prisoners of war and subjected to brainwashing attempts.)

The war has made a lot of Natallians hard-hearted, mostly toward their enemy, but it's crept into a number of other areas in their lives. The Mandarites are just...wrong. Totally wrong. (Remember, I'm a rabid equalist.)

At this point in time, I don't have plans for writing another story set in Natallia, and no interest in writing one set in Mandare. However...I do have a short story (in an anthology due to be released around January 2011) regarding a former Mandarite man, Eduor. If you'll remember, he was the younger son of the Earl of Aragol from The Sword. Only it's not set in either of those two lands. It's set in Sundara, which lies to the north of Natallia, across the sea. (Eduor was the only redeemable member of that family.)

Jean
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Scripto, Ergo Sum
Or, a four-leaved clover saltirewise slipped vert.

[MelissaBrown]

But I think it was just cause of Dominor, well I am excited to learn about the short story. And have to stop and say thank you fort taking the time to explain that to me. Most writers are not so one on one with thery eir fans. Props to you for not letting it go to your head.

I am excited to read more no matter where you place it. Your descriptions and writing is very...trancing...I think thats the word I want. Thanks again and good luck!!

[Jean]

Well, I have all these details tucked into my head. And, erm, well...I'm not going to allow anyone to crack open my head and poke around at my gray matter in the attempt to find out all these fiddly little details, so I might as well share some of 'em, right?

Jean
_________________
Scripto, Ergo Sum
Or, a four-leaved clover saltirewise slipped vert.

[Cesa]

I just finished this book and think it was excellent! I actually had put it off for a bit because I didn't think I'd be very interested in reading about the Shifterai. Amara was probably my least favorite of the Brothers' wives, and that obviously influenced my opinion.

I did make the connection between Tava and Aitava quite early in the book. I was surprised because I thought (and who knows where I got the thought from?) this book was quite a bit earlier than the others by at least a hundred years.

Regarding your question about the other guys in the book, I felt really bad for Kenyen. I think he needs a woman who appreciates him, unlike his older brother who walked all over him. Actually, I had two thoughts on the matter. That was the first. The second was Kodan better watch his back. I'd love to see what Kenyen does to get back at him.

Deian was interesting and maybe an obvious love interest. I was more interested in Manolo's story. Such a nice guy!

As usual, your book was a delight to read and I should have bought and read it the moment it came out. I apologize for doubting you!

P.S. You should join Goodreads! I was surprised your profile there wasn't filled out, but just linked to a list of your books.

[Jean]

Kenyen knows his brother loves him. And Kodan's not doing anything to Kenyen that Kenyen hasn't already done. (You know, hiding snakes in the bed when they were kids, skipping out on chores to go play with the other boys, teasing each other over girls...) Kenyen knows he doesn't have the shapeshifting skills of his brother, but he's okay with that. He has his own strengths and abilities (and to be honest, he doesn't want to be a high-ranked shapeshifter; not everyone wants to be a leader or considered leader-potential). Besides, their mother wouldn't let Kodan get away with too many "YOU do the dishes" tricks on his siblings.

No, I have ideas for both Kenyen and Deian. Stand-alone stories, but with a few plot threads linking them to Kodan's novel. I just don't have any contracts in the offering at this point in time.

Yeah, I knew Amara wouldn't be the most popular of brides. She's high strung, and therefore a tad high maintenance. But at heart she's a good woman, fiercely loyal and quite intelligent. (Intelligence and grace under pressure do not necessarily go hand in hand, lol.) I also knew the Shifterai culture would be fun to explore...mainly because I originally wrote an earlier version of SHIFTING PLAINS before I came up with the Sons of Destiny books.

As for the "hundreds of years"...well, it says "Centuries" on the back cover, but, erm...that's a typo. Sorry. >.> I tried getting a corrected copy to the publisher before the covers went to print, but...no go. Tava's story takes place only 20 years or so before Kelly shows up on Nightfall Isle.

Jean
_________________
Scripto, Ergo Sum
Or, a four-leaved clover saltirewise slipped vert.

[Cesa]

Ahh, maybe I looked at the back of the book at B&N then. I buy my books on the Nook now (used to be Kindle, but it died). And I pretty much bought this one because you wrote it, rather than because the accompanying text interested me. So I don't remember reading the "back of the book" when I bought it.

In any case, it turned out well. It was a really good read, and I'm looking forward to more. I've got your upcoming anthologies on my to-be-read list.

[Jean]

I am happy to sucker you in...er, I mean, to lure you...hmm...

I am happy to entertain you by whatever method catches your attention! *cheazybrite grin*

XD
Jean
_________________
Scripto, Ergo Sum
Or, a four-leaved clover saltirewise slipped vert.

[dorthyinwonder]

I got Shifting Plains (excitedly) before my Christmas vacation and spent the hours on end spent in the car reading...devouring both Shifting Plains and The Mage (I actually made them stop the car at a bookstore on the trip so I could get The Mage).

I really enjoyed Shifting Plains. It was actually one of my favorites and after reading some of the comments, I am wanting to re-read it tonight. I guess that means tonight will be a bath... ^.^

I just absolutely love the culture of the Shifterai and find the books about them absolutely enthralling. I actually liked Amara, despite her obvious issues...but even if she was a pain in the arse, you understood why. Time to re-read!!!!

[Jean]

I tried to make Amara understandable (if high-strung) and sympathetic. I'm glad that did come across. I also love hearing that people want to re-read my books. (I grin, bounce, and squee inside whenever I hear something like that.)

Enjoy your bath and book!
Jean
_________________
Scripto, Ergo Sum
Or, a four-leaved clover saltirewise slipped vert.

[Cil]

I'm glad you Amara basically honest. In Kor's book, I liked the fact she openinly admitted that she does not like Kelly.
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Proud to be Cecil B. deMille's great granddaughter!

[Jean]

I loved that both of them openly admitted that they could work together, yet still didn't like each other. That's real life. I wanted that feeling, that situation, in my story arc. You may start out hating each other and not getting along, and then for whatever reason you're brought to a point where you do get along...but you don't automatically become *sparklysparkly* Bestest Buds For Evah An' Evah *sparklysparkly*!!

...It just doesn't happen in real life. At least, not for the vast majority. Not over such a short period of time. From antipathy to grudging tolerance, to tolerance, to acceptance is the usual progression. Then comes grudging respect, respect, and maaaaybe grudging liking, then liking if you're really, really lucky. But that progression takes a lot of time. Kelly and Amara are two alpha females. They're used to being in charge, and they like being in charge. But you can only have one person in charge, ultimately. Amara was raised to believe that would be her, and trained long and hard to be that in-charge person. Kelly...didn't train so much, but had it happen to her through a series of choices and circumstances. Naturally they'll argue about it from time to time.

Jean
_________________
Scripto, Ergo Sum
Or, a four-leaved clover saltirewise slipped vert.

[Juli]

I was just now able to take the time to sit down and read Shifting Plains although I have had it for a while. Very well written Jean Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down! I can't wait to see Deian's story.

[Jean]

I'm hoping to tell both his and Kenyen's stories at some point... We'll see!

Jean
eyebrow deep in futuristic military scifi, of all things...
_________________
Scripto, Ergo Sum
Or, a four-leaved clover saltirewise slipped vert.