Creator wrote:and FOUL language!! Linden swears like a sailor (well ... maybe not that bad). Most incondign in the Land!!
Not surprising. There was no language worse than 'hellfire' in any of SRD's books for Del Rey, but as soon as he jumped to Bantam he pulled out all the stops. (Is there any
clean language in
The Gap?)
Lester and Judy-Lynn del Rey had the reputation of being extremely puritanical, figuring that all their books were going to be read by nothing but innocent wee kiddies. Jack Chalker once told me a story about one of his experiences being edited by the Del Reys:
He wrote a book including this passage, with language just barely rude enough that I'll spoiler it out here:
'Some people would have been shocked. Some would have been disgusted. Nathan Brazil had a hardon.'
(I defy anyone to find a word in there that would bring a blush to the cheek of their dear old maiden aunt.)
The Del Reys changed this to 'Nathan Brazil was aroused.'
Seeing the change in the corrected manuscript, Chalker changed it back.
The Del Reys ordered the copyeditors to change it again.
Seeing the change in the galleys, Chalker changed it back.
The Del Reys ordered the typesetters to change it again.
Seeing the change in the page proofs, Chalker changed it back.
When the book appeared in print, the Del Reys had changed it again. It said 'Nathan Brazil was aroused' . . . and at no time had the author approved this change. That can be legal, depending on the details of the author's and publisher's contract, but it's considered pretty sharp practice.
About this time, Chalker got fed up with Del Rey, particularly because they were paying him the same small advance book after book, though his sales were steadily rising. Unfortunately, they had an open-ended option clause in his contract, allowing them to buy each new book on the same terms as the last one. His only way out was to get them to reject a book.
He tried asking to be released from the option. They refused.
He wrote the worst book he could think of. They accepted it and swallowed the loss, just to keep the option clause going.
Then inspiration struck. He wrote the most disgusting, perverted, depraved book of hard-core pornography that he could dig up out of the sewers of his brain. If you took out all the sex and foul language, there would be literally no book at all. (I gather that it was several degrees worse than
The Real Story in this respect.)
The Del Reys rejected it, and Chalker was free to sell to another publisher. His income soared, beginning with his very next book.
So if Linden is cussing like a sailor in
Runes, she's just doing as comes natural. She would have talked like that all along if it hadn't been for her editorial chaperone.
) 
