I just had to do an interview for a overseas magazine. One of the questions on the list was:

What are your pet hates about SF and fantasy?

On the surface, it's a fairly simple question... but given this is an interview for a prestigious print magazine and I don't particulalry wish to offend anybody (or be misquoted), how do you possibly answer "what are your pet hates?" honestly, without upsetting someone?

Think about it... the question contains the word "hate" so whatever I say is going to be interpeted to mean "Jennifer Fallon hates..."

I seriously agonoised over this quesiton for hours, because every time I thought up an answer, it occured to me that I know someone who has published something along those lines (implying I hate them or their work).

Or my publisher has published something along those lines (implying I think the publisher is a bit of a dill).

Or worse, I might change my mind some day, tell everyone that my pet hate at the moment, in fantasy, is heroes in pink polka-dot tights with purple ribbons on their boots (sooo last year), only to decide a year from now that I could really rock a story about a hero who wears pink polka-dot tights with purple ribbons on his boots and have my words come back to bite me.

So I opted for something safe and not nearly as insightful as I would have liked...

So here's food for thought... if you're a journo and want honest answers, think carefully about asking questions that contain the words "what do you hate"...

What are my pet hates about SF and fantasy? Um... having to ask stupid or loaded questions?

I don't know if there's anything I really hate about fantasy. I suppose some cliches...but then, if the writing is good, and the story isn't full of cliches, I can overlook a few of them.

Er, that should've been 'answer' not 'ask'! I blame overwork...

Names, ones that are cliche ie Tolkien rip offs. Or names that make no sense within the cultural context of the book. The overuse of Welsh spelling. But then I have read works where the quality of the writing has overcome this too ie Sara Douglas books.