Dina: Welcome to the inn. Today we have a wonderful guest. Dr. Luther Dillon, Assistant Director of Atlanta’s Center for Magical Containment and Disease Prevention.
Luther: It’s a pleasure.
Dina: Our chef prepared a special dessert for the occasion. He called it “The Doctor.” Strawberry biscuit, crème brûlée center, bird’s milk cream, and apricot nappage with assorted chocolate flavors.
Luther: Oh wow. A collection of Petri dishes with bacterial growth. This looks remarkably like E Coli and that … ::holding the dessert really close to his eyes:: S aureus? I hope that’s matcha flavor.
Dina: No worries, it’s perfectly safe.
Luther: This is amazing. Pistachio with white chocolate? Huh. The different flavors of the chocolate are just to die for. What’s bird’s milk? I assume that’s not actual bird’s milk because that the presence of mammary glands would prevent it from being classified as Aves.
Dina: I believe it’s a mousse like buttercream. No birds were involved. So Dr. Dillon…
Luther: Just Luther, please.
Dina: Luther. The most important things first. There are no witty wizard sayings on your T-shirt. In fact, I can’t even see a T-shirt. You’re wearing a suit.
Luther: I came here after giving testimony. Courts tend to frown on modern wizard attire. Heh.
Dina: Everyone wants to know what your actual degree is and how you made it to your current post.
Luther: I started out as a botanical mage. That is where my primary powers are. I can also identify the nature of most magic by taste, which at the time seemed useless, because going around licking people isn’t a reasonable career plan.
I took the traditional route and earned my Wizard of Science from Atlanta Mage College concurrently with the Bachelor of Biological Science from University of Georgia. While doing all that, I got stuck on biosystems. The interesting thing about plants is that everything in the environment affects them. Moisture, soil composition, air composition, amount of light, and so on, and I wanted to know more about how magic fit into that scenario.
There wasn’t really a degree that matched my needs, so I ended up picking up a Master Wizard in Environmental Magic instead. That degree required a lot of forensic work, because no matter what the Enviromage Faculty will tell you, the best way to observe magic’s effect on an organism is to dissect it. Listen here, kids, if you’re looking for Enviromage degree, you’re going to see a lot of really weird dead bodies. They will bus you to every incident scene they can find.
By that point, I’d been refining my magic identification powers for about 6 years, and through practice, managed to evolve my power to incorporate other senses besides gustatory. That was another interesting milestone for me. Despite what Mage College tells you, powers do evolve laterally if you put in enough effort. As you can probably deduce from my ramblings, Mage College and I have a complicated relationship. On one hand, they want to keep me around because I am one of their most successful graduates, and on other hand, they’d really like to get rid of me, because I have gone through their gauntlet and I call them on their bullshit. Really, they would be so happy if I died. They would erect a statue on campus in my honor and use it as a prop to convince prospective students to fork out tuition. I’ve warned them that I would haunt it.
Anyway, turned out that I was really good at magic forensics, so I went and got myself a Master of Forensic Science and then I followed it up with a doctorate for the hell of it. Then I got myself a job with PAD and the rest is history. There, more than you ever wanted to know.
Dina: That’s fascinating. Are you religious?
Luther: I’m agnostic. People have this weird misconception that scientists tend to be atheists, but the deeper you dive into science, the more you realize how truly miniscule our sphere of understanding is. There is a progression. When you are a freshman in college, you know everything. You get passionate and you deliver these outraged speeches about people who don’t take science seriously and about how jaded professors are. By graduation, you realize that you have the fundamentals, but things are a lot more complicated than you originally thought. In graduate school, you are even less certain, and if you go deeper, you eventually reach a stage where you are not sure if anything you know is accurate. A friend of mine has a lovely ancient proverb that fits. “The things you don’t know or realize are an ocean, and your mind is a tiny boat upon its waves.” Very apt.
I cannot tell you that some greater force – God, Providence, Fate – that influences the course of our lives doesn’t exist. Therefore, I keep my mind open.
Dina: Is there Mr. or Mrs. Luther?
Luther: There is.
Dina: Tell us more.
Luther: Mrs. Luther is… a writer. A very successful one. We’ve met in college and been married for 21 years. We have two children and three dogs, a Boxer and two Boston Terriers.
Dina: Aren’t Boston terriers just miniature Boxers?
Luther: How dare you.
Dina: I have a round of rapid-fire questions for you. I will say a name or an organization. Please respond with a short sentence.
Luther: Go ahead.
Dina: Order.
Luther: Competent but deeply misguided.
Dina: The People.
Luther: Secretive research hoarders.
Dina: The Pack.
Luther: Interesting field of study.
Dina: Nick Feldman.
Luther: Damaged fanatic.
Dina: Ghastek.
Luther: Smart but narrow-minded.
Dina: Jim Shrapshire.
Luther: Difficult, earnest, and biased.
Dina: Dr. Doolittle.
Luther: A deeply ethical, brilliant man. His research into regeneration… Oh right, one sentence. Continue.
Dina: Julie Lennart.
Luther: Loyal to a fault.
Dina: Conlan Lennart.
Luther: Unlimited potential.
Dina: Curran Lennart.
Luther: Reliable.
Dina: Kate Lennart.
Luther: ::laughs:: One sentence to describe Kate, huh? A good friend. Both she and Curran. They are a good family, all four of them. Someone who will help you when you need it.
Dina: Thank you so much for visiting with us today.
Luther: My pleasure.
I love Luther
He is my late father in wizard form!
First 10? Nice read!
Terrific! Thank you.
Thank you very much!
Have a good weekend and I hope all is well at HA
Thanks. Soooo… what does Mrs. Luther write? 🙂
Stories featuring brilliant and dashing wizards, of course. Someone had to come up with all those T-shirts.
Thats so cute I love it.
That’s adorable! <3
Love it!
I do not buy merch any more. Not for decades… I really, really would buy a „Wizard at large“ T-shirt.
Thank you for delivering smiles today; my dad is in the hospital for some checks and medicine readjustments, but he told me he had a bad night with fear-of-death panic attack today, and now I am worried.
Best wishes to both of you. Overnights in the hospital are not nearly as fun as people think.
Sending good thoughts to your dad. Hopefully, he’ll be home soon!
I love Bostons!!! Hehehe!!!
I love Luther too! One of my favourite characters. So cool to hear his backstory. So happy to hear he has a life-partner. I know these are fictional characters but I used to worry about Luther being along in his life. Glad to know that he is not. Love his descriptions of other characters. Thank you.
+1
+1
Love me some Luther! He deserves a book.
Luther hesistated when descrbing his wife as a writer. What can that mean?
He respects her privacy. There is a spam block on our home line and we tell people we do clerical work online. There are valid reasons for both. 🙂
how did you get a spam block on your home phone. my parents desperately need something like that.
you order a box from Amazon. then you get people not listening to the message and leaving voice mail on the box you never check and missing appointments because you didn’t whitelist the appropriate number.
https://www.amazon.com/Effective-ROBOCALLS-Scammers-Telemarketers-Solicitors/dp/B019ERMS90/ works loads better than
https://www.amazon.com/CPR-Call-Blocker-Landline-Phones/dp/B0191XMBV2/ ever did.
House Andrews wrote about a few years ago, I will ask if there have been updates to the tech since ???? https://ilona-andrews.com/2018/stopping-annoying-phone-calls/
Thank you! Loved it!
Oh so wonderful. I love it. Frinndax on a Saturday
+100!
I loved learning more about Luther. Thanks!
Going around licking people… BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
One of the classroom assistants licked a toy one of our preschoolers had mouthed “for immunity”. I’m betting he’ll be sick til new years.
You’d be shocked at the number of artificial sweeteners that were discovered because a researcher tasted his work — for example, took a lunch break without washing his hands and realized that his sandwich tasted really sweet. Examples: aspartame, cyclamate, saccharin, sucralose… Really, it’s true. As my scientist daughter says, “OMG, LAB SAFETY, PEOPLE!”
And continuing in the “unsafe theme”… microwave ovens are an offshoot of that (I belive there’a Darwin winner) as well as Marie Curie carrying around radioacive stuff in her pcokets because she loved the blue glow…..
No, the genesis of the microwave oven was an undegreed engineer at Raytheon whose first name was Percy, who always had a Hershey bar in his shirt pocket. He was working with a microwave tube, which was “leaky” and the radiation RF leak from it, melted the chocolate bar.
Raytheon bought Amana which was an appliances maker, and came out with the “Radarange” microwave oven as a commercial and consumer product.
The Raytheon engineers who told me the story, used the line, “And thus was born Amana” but I think Amana had already existed.
https://www.invent.org/inductees/percy-l-spencer
“In 1941, magnetrons were being produced at a rate of 17 per day. Spencer set out to create a simpler magnetron that could be mass produced. The result was a magnetron that replaced precision copper bars with lamina and replaced soldered internal wires with a simple solid ring. These improvements and others allowed for the faster production of 2,600 magnetrons per day. In 1945, Spencer created a device to cook food using microwave radiation.
“Raytheon saw the possibilities of this, and after acquiring Amana Refrigeration in 1965, was able to sell microwave ovens on a large scale. The first microwave oven was called the Radarange, and today, there are over 200 million in use throughout the world.
https://www.technologyreview.com/1999/01/01/236818/melted-chocolate-to-microwave/
” Raytheon credits the discovery of microwave cooking to a grade-school-educated engineer named Percy L. Spencer. One day in 1945, Spencer was walking through a radar test room with a chocolate bar in his pocket; he came too close to a running magnetron tube and the candy began to melt.
“Spencer was already known at the company for his curiosity and ingenuity, and he reacted true to form-he pointed the magnetron at kernels of corn and watched them pop, aimed for an egg and saw it cook so quickly it exploded. Soon, Raytheon officers were sampling microwaved meals in the executive dining room and within a few years the company was marketing the Radarange for $2,000 to $3,000…”
if we can ask. what was Luther’s impression of Dina’s magic signature?
+1
the final Kate book when she & baby Conlan go to see him in his office has it. Excuse to reread >:)
Dina’s not in the Kate Daniels series. She’s Innkeeper. The answer to this question will not be found in the canon as it presently exists.
Thank you. I was so looking forward to this. Luther is just wonderful. You are both brilliant and amazing. I hope you have a marvelous weekend.
+1
Yay
Happy FRINNday!
Being forgetful means you get pleasant surprises. Lol. I totally forgot this weeks edition was going to be Luther, who I love because he talks to my inner science geek!!!
Thanks!!!
Thank you. I look forward to checking your website every day. If there is a post, Bonus…also Thank you for keeping it free.
There’s a Mrs. Luther?! Also kids and dogs. That surprised me. I always pictured a Luther as solitary. Cool. Thanks again. This was great.
If House Andrews ever becomes bored (I cannot imagine that it happens regularly), a Luther short story would be pretty awesome . . . Just saying’ . . .
Thank you for this lovely interview gifts these last weeks. They have been a delight.
Thank you!
My heart grew three sizes. Thank you! ????
I was thinking of the other characters we voted on for FRINNday and who would interview them.
How about Caldenia interviewing Erra?(2 ruthless ladies sharing tips on ruling worlds lol)
Or Sean interviewing both Desandra and William at the same time? (Werewolf party!!!)
Thoughts?
This will probably be the last FrInnterview this year ????. Between the Innkeeper release, Holiday Surprise and merch, the remaining 3 working Fridays in December are already booked full of fun!
But definitely keeping the suggestion list for next year!
Thanks Mod R, I’m just throwing out ideas for whenever House Andrews gets to it!
I’m happy with what ever I get. Love Luther . Thank you!!
The only thing better than a Luther snippet would be a Luther book! Who am I kidding I want a series lol. I know I will probably never get it so the snippet is doubly precious and appreciated! Love the insights. Thanks!
I have been dreaming of a PAD procedural in magic Atlanta for some time (I’m also very fond of Patrice).
I think I just ruined my computer drooling all over it. Can you imagine a desert restaurant with delights like these? First it would cost too much for us normal folks to go to and second, you would have to make reservations years in advance, OK, I always fixate on what treat the inn is serving for the interview and it takes me a while to come down from the sugar high and concentrate on the interview, which is always great!
I voted for Illemina, but I gotta admit Luther is fantastic.
Now I want a book of short stories about each of the interviewees. I would totally buy it. And the voice for each story needs to be the main character.
How many books would I need to promise to buy to get that to happen? *Peeks at bank account.*
bank… bank… I really wish I could edit.
Fixed ????
You really are the best Mod R! Thank you!
I kind of want to know what you accidentally typed first ????
Heh… I typed ‘back account’. My brain was way ahead of my fingers. 😀
Hehe Luther has boxers!! Our family has had them since I was 8yo and my youngest son who’s 6 will be taking my moms champion gal out for his second PeeWee show next weekend here in Oaks, PA. Love Frinnday! And love that it’s FREE!
ahahaha … I read “Luther has boxers” and I spit out my coffee. I blame it on my current re-reading of Hidden Legacy. Alessandro is on Catalina’s bed, distracting her 😀
????????????????
i totally read that the same way
hmmm… see now I’m just seeing potential for stories with Luthers kids. 🙂
+1
Wonderful! These interviews are just a delight – so lovely to gain extra insite into your characters.
Orro’s dish sounded so strange – is that based on a real recipe?
It’s a collection of Petri dishes that simulate bacteria ????- it’s designed with Luther in mind.
As a scientist I have to say that dessert sounds glorious!
Doesn’t it just? 😀 I’m a sucker for food that looks like other stuff!
Illusion food is a skill I never mastered.
Loved it. May I have a t-shirt (or sweatshirt since it’s almost Winter) with that Ocean quote and possibly some nice graphics with that? Pretty please?
I frikkin’ LOVED this interview! Luther is not only brilliant, but he is also absolutely hilarious! I have the urge to type or copy/paste my favorite parts, but there are so many that I would have to paste the whole interview. Thank you!
Loved it! Thanks. Another great FriINNDAY treat.
Mrs Luther is Lorna Sterling.
This is now my canon
*Snort* ????
I’m trying to remember – was that the author of the romance books Andrea was reading?
I believe our friend CurriedChanna got the name! Also I LOVE That take!
that’s what I was trying to remember.
maybe she has a wizard series as well as a pirate series
I speculated the same thing, so it’s not just them!! =)
????????????❤️❤️❤️ Yes!
Hahaha +1
Thanks for the reminder and a good idea of her name!
That is the perfect match
Luther is wonderful and I can’t wait to see who we interview next. Thank you for your wonderful contributions to the writing world.
Lovely. Now where can I get a T-shirt with that saying on it?? Hope you have a great weekend.
I’d like Luther’s take on Derek, but I’ve been trying to remember, and I don’t recall any mention of them dealing with each other face to face. Ah, yes. An excuse to re-read.
that would be a fascinating insight.
in the last book when they go to the old Walmart to find the boiled remains. Teddy Jo, Kate, Derek & Luther
But as I recall there isn’t a dialogue between the two.
I loved this interview ????
So many hilarious moments
Thank you HA
and best of luck for your friend
yay Luther!
thank you so much for working on a Saturday, especially after a hard day. It’s so very generous of you.
Thanks also for the culinary education. I had to Google nappage and yes, my brain accepted bird milk as an Orro alien thing, not even considering the mammary/avian discrepancy.
one of Innkeepers’s charms is anything is possible. . . except making fish. does Helen ever get her fish?
LUTHER HAS A FAMILY!!!! I love it! And curious what Mrs. Luther writes. Love that Dina doesn’t assume one way or the other. Wait wait wait wait! Does this mean we get the pleasure of Julie interacting with Luther’s kids!!! Oh please that would be so much fun! <3
Also his responses to the rapid fire questions just fill my heart with joy! So excited to see him in future works. He is one of my favorites… I have many, but he is absolutely one of them!
Thank you for the gift!
Also Orro bringing the top tier food game! I know of so many folks who would loose their mind out of joy for those treats!
Ilona answered higher in the comments 🙂 “Stories featuring brilliant and dashing wizards, of course. “
Wow, Luther has a lot of qualifications! I see a mention of merch being available soon, another Friday surprise? Be ready to be inundated with orders!
Might I suggest to all IA fans to REQUEST from your local library any IA titles they don’t have? If the fiction librarian isn’t a SF fan, she/he might not be aware of IA. I’ve worked at 3 libraries in the past 3 years and I’ve seen bits and pieces of IA series at each one.
I’m taking great pleasure at my new job purchasing the books, ebooks, audio CDs and eaudio for all of IA (not all at once, mind, I have a budget and other items to get – but what we had when I came on circulated well so I’m justified in purchasing the rest)
For libraries, a patron request is often a iron-clad justification for an item purchase.
I second that. I work at a library but I order non-fiction. Our person in charge of fiction does not like romance or SF but when patrons request things she can’t say no.
Thank you for the Library request suggestion. I always hesitate to suggest because, yah know budget for my city, but now I’ll revaluate what IA is in their system ????✨
This was so great! Thank you so much. Luther is one of my favorite characters and I can’t describe how much I enjoyed this.
Thank you for the Luther interview! Very discreet is our wizard for not discussing his personal life when he deals with Kate. ????
Loved the one sentence descriptions. Trying to describe Kate in one sentence is not easy.
I agree that next year’s interview should be Caldenia interviewing Erra.
Love the new avatar Mod R!
If Caldenia and Erra ever got together, Moloch would be toast.
Woooooo – there is a Mrs! What a very fun peek at another of your characters I’d invite to a party.
Thank you for posting – this was a great treat to read on a cold and rainy day.
Thank you for the wonderful treat!
There’s a merch shop? I’m totally up for BDH swag.
One will be launched very very soon!
Yay!!! I have to have a Dr Loose Cannon mug
I am eagerly awaiting the opening of the shop. Hoarding my pennies – well, except the pennies involved in book purchases. My book hoard needs constant care and feeding.
Wait wait wait! Who’s this Mrs Dillon writer you’re speaking of????? And… Children?! The greatest wizard at large isn’t a candidate for the most eligible bachelor crown?! Be still my heart!
First Augustine, now Luther… ????
But, wait again…
Does this mysterious successful writer wife go under the name of Lorna Sterling by the way?! ????
Oooh! like the speculation re: Mrs. Luther…
That would explain one of Luther’s T-shirts…
Who is Lorna Sterling?
Lorna Sterling is the author Andrea Nash reads ????
That is a deep, deep cut AND I LOVE IT.
Am I imagining things or does Luther’s last indicate that he is related to another character? I’ll keep the question in mind as I reread, but if someone knows, I’d love to hear it. Thanks so much for this, I am another big Luther fan.
last *name ????
I think Luther’s children would be a very welcome addition to Conan, Bea, Sophia, Mahon and Ricardo’s adventures. In a happy to watch Ascanio from a safe distance sort of way. Their daring adventures such as the pirate ship, the Impala worm, and the the Minotaur could only be enhanced by having baby wizards in the mix. Nothing but good times ahead!
thank you!!! love the background on Luther!
Luther rocks!
Whooop! Luther is married with kids!?!? I honestly doubted it. When Kate was asking him how he knew so much about childhood stages, he said he had nieces, not kids of his own. Talk about keeping it private. I wonder if anyone knows, especially Kate. Chortle
Thanks!!
Remember, Blood Heir takes place about ten years after the battle with Neig (I am not going to attempt the Gaelic spelling). Plenty of time for Luther to produce his own kids!
I loved this, thank you HA.
Great update about Luther being married, kids and dogs ???? He is awesome!
my Fav is still Roman ❤️❤️
love love love love the commentary on higher ed lololololol. His whole backstory is so interesting, and realistic!
Also extremely intrigued by the idea of broadening one’s magical talent/characteristics
Ahhh, did we already know that Luther was married?I feel like this is completely new information to me! That was sooo good. I might need a Kate reread, it’s been a while!
Now I want the strawberry biscuit… ????
Why do I get the impression that Luther would save his family from freshly backed pies when the next magic wave strikes, hm-m…
Oh! He could taste if any interesting magic starts to develop there!
Thank you, HA, or another delightful FrInntervew!
Sorry – “for… interview!”
haheharheee. thanks
“…because going around licking people isn’t a reasonable career plan.” Oh! How I love Luther.
Mrs. Luther and two kiddos plus 3 bully breed dogs. Imagining having Luther as a father makes me shudder and giggle at the same time. Parent/teacher conferences as an example. Mrs. Luther must be amazing!
Thank you so much for this!!! Hope all is improving with your friend.
Yes. Except for the magic, my dad was very like this. Growing up with him was an adventure. Critters, experiments, and explosions were common. Mom didn’t let him do parent/teacher conferences. She was our sanity.
Dad’s description of education was a little different: “When you’ve read your text books and think you know everything, they give you a bachelor’s degree. When you’ve gone to the library and realized that you don’t know everything, they give you a master’s degree. When you’ve discovered that authors and professors are just people who don’t know any more than you do, they give you a PhD. And then you can make up your own answers.”
He never stopped learning and could explain almost anything related to science or mechanical engineering. When people asked me what my dad did for a living, I usually told them he was a “mad scientist.” He would have loved to have had Luther’s job.
Mr. and Mrs. Luther…just some faint little bell ringing way in the back of my mind. Perhaps I am reminded of something, someone. I just know the thought of them gives me warm and fuzzy feelings of happiness and comfort. Hmmm.
I love Luther. It must have been the suit, he seemed a little subdued. It was interesting and surprising to learn about his private life. I wonder if his kids will grow up to give Conlan a run for his money? Hmmm…. Always happy for more Luther.
Thank you.
Darn, there goes my shipping of Luther and Stella Davis. They already had the enemies portion of enemies to lovers down pat.
I ship Stella and Ascanio! 😀
Oh, the possibilities! The world is not ready though.
Me, too.
Love Luther and it was wonderful to hear how he became Kate’s ‘go to guy’ at PAD!
Luther says “the FOUR of them” when referring to Kate & Co. Does Conlon have a full sibling somewhere or is Luther including Julie?
Julie Lennart
Thank you that was fun to read and some interesting new info.
“I’ve warned them I will haunt it”
????????????
I love him so much
Hooray for FriInnday, and hooray for Luther! So good! 🙂
Thank you. In the midst of other work, holiday madness, and friends’ difficulties you still post FrInnDay.
And Luther is such a treat! So much more than smart remarks and attitude would suggest. It was good to learn he has a satisfying home life.
Mrs. Luther has now replaced Costco lady at the top of my “Characters I want to Meet” list.
they should have tea together at the Inn! ????
I was just going to ask if Mrs. Luther shops at Costco.
We’ve met Costco lady – she’s [Spoiler from Sweep of the Heart- Edit Mod R]
Sorry Maura, no spoilers yet!
Protect the Horde members who haven’t read the blog serial and are waiting until the 13th!
Damn – yes thanks & sorry ????
Oh, thank you! Looking forward to seeing more of Luther in the future. ❤️
Thanks for another fun interview!! 🙂 “The Doctor” sounds delicious – love that Orro makes the treats with the interviewee in mind. 😉
I enjoyed the previous BDH comments speculating on Mrs. Luther being Lorna Sterling. Andrea would flip if she ever found out! Hahaha.
Can’t wait for the merch shop!
I was in my local Barnes & Noble to check out getting the paper book, and they have the release date as January 13. Which is cool, since that’s my birthday, but it’s a month later than you say.
Paper book is coming later because it’s print-on-demand, so their orders are probably going in that day, so the delay is probably print, ship, distribute time. My guess, anyway.
Love it….also not sure if it was intentional but a dessert called The Doctor….I’ve been rewatching too much of Doctor Who
This was enlightening and awesome! Thanks so much!
We also need an interview with Orro. With recipes!
I love him so. Thank you
Luthor is married and has Boston Terriers!!! As a BT lover & foster that made my day. Our last foster pup would have loved to have the job of licking all the people.
I love Luther too????
My wish for dad
Mrs. Luther!! So cool. I agree with the others…too many cool quotes to pick!
so wanted his thoughts on Dina and the Inn…oh well thanks loved the interview…thanks
This was lovely! Such a pick up after a really hard week.
I am happy that Luther has his family, complete with pets. As with all such well written and fully fleshed out characters, I still have so many questions!
What’s the thing with his vision? What was his impression when he saw Kate unshielded and does he have other opinions of Conlan? It sounds like he slid into his job by taking what existed rather than what he wanted, is there something he would rather do? He is probably forty-ish if he met Mrs. Luther in college and has been married 21 years. Funny, before Ilona sad she writes fiction I imagined science or magical research. I love the idea that she writes as Lorna Sterling!
I imagine him subject to the parents’ curse “May your children be just like you,” and am intensely interested about the children. Is he an active parent? He seems like he would be. Are the kids teens? Does he bring them to work?
Is he social friends with the Lennarts? His response to the quiz seemed like it but I didn’t think of that before.
So many questions! Luther is just a very interesting character. Brilliant and quirky and funny and now we have backstory to make us like him even more.
What a nice end to the week.
Part of the reason I love Luther is that he’s the one character whose voice I actually hear in my head. I know someone who talks exactly like he does, except that guy’s background is finance IIRC. There are lots of other reasons to love Luther though. What a great character. Thanks for giving us more of him.
Loved this!! Finding out there is a Mrs. Luther really blows my mind! Love me some Luther!
Luther!!! ????????????????
I’m in grad school right now and the idea of getting a doctorate for the hell of it is taking me out lol. Loved Luther’s academic history!
I have always hoped there was a Mrs Luther. Good to know there are two kids and dogs for him to go home to.
Thank you for the great read on a hard day.
Yea! Thanks ????
There is a Mrs. Luther! And kids! And pets! I am so happy
Bird’s milk?
My mom used to work as a docent at a small farm. She taught bus loads of school children where food comes from. One day, she was showing off the milk goats and asked the kids, “Where else does milk come from?”
“Pigeons,” one little boy said. White stuff comes from pigeons.
Kids say the most awesome things…. 😀
pigeons and penguins produce “crop milk”. You do not want to eat it as it is partially digested food that they ate.
Weird what facts stick in your memory with out knowing the source (or how true it is)
Team Luthorna? Thank you, this was the interview I was most excited for. I would love a Wizard at Large PS Atlanta police procedural with Luther having a special evidence cabinet for weird stuff he’s found after incidents Kate was involved in.
Love! Are we working our way down the whole list we voted on? I hope so, I want to hear more about Illemina and maybe Otubar also.
Sounds like Luther has the sort of relationship I was hoping he did. Somebody who appreciates him for what he is and can live with the peculiar hours. It also sounds like the feeling is mutual.
I hope he has a fairly large part in the second Ryder book. Or a short story all his own.
Ahhhh this is epic!!! Thank you! Luther has forever been one of my faves.
my favourite so far! sorry Roman
“Mrs. Luther is… a writer. A very successful one. We’ve met in college and been married for 21 years. We have two children and three dogs, a Boxer and two Boston Terriers.”
And in the comments:
“Thanks. Soooo… what does Mrs. Luther write? ????
Ilona says
Stories featuring brilliant and dashing wizards, of course. Someone had to come up with all those T-shirts.”
Sounds a lot like Ilona herself to me (albeit with different dogs) ????
Which would mean Luther would be Gordon, which seems pretty cool to me too.
I’m probably way off base, but…
If you factor in that Ilona’s education is as a scientist (Chemistry) and that they write the stories together, it’s coming up criss-cross (applesauce) to me: Ilona would be the Luther of the family 😀
We must of course keep in mind that the authors or their family are not characters :), and it’s just small aspects that can inspire certain narrative.
Well, the authors do have an up close and personal view of the kind of relationship they’ve described Luther and his wife having. There doesn’t have to be more of a resemblance than that to give the Horde ideas that everybody knows somebody will run with.
Perhaps, but I’m trying to mark some healthy boundaries between characters and real life, before too much speculation infringes on the privacy of people we all love and their family life 🙂 .
As moderator, I have seen things.
Oh, I know. In my own personal life, I know about half a dozen people who write and get published.
One married couple writes (together and separately), SF, horror, and TV scripts.
A couple of women write historical romances of various times, though I’ve only actually met one in person.
They all have entirely respectable lives, and infinitely more patience than I do.
I like the criss-cross!
(And wasn’t suggesting anything more than fun coincidences…)
I immediately thought it was the IA family. ????
The Boxer / Boston Terrier joke… I snorted my drink!
Sure, a Boston is just like a Boxer… just as a compressed spring is like rod stock–or Kate Daniels simile!– a sword compared to a high-carbon steel blank!
e.g, all the confidence of a huge dog, plus a heaping helping of stubborn, with a dash of perpetual-motion machine 😉
I want to meet Mrs Luther!!!!
Thanks for the peek into our favorite wizard-at-large! So weird to think of him in a suit… ????
And I hope your friend is doing better.
Mod R: love the new avatar!
Mod R(udolph) hohohoho ????
Guiding the BDH’s sleigh through the comments. ????????????
wow didn’t realize Luther is not only married but has kids!! Too cute! One of my fave side charas in the KD world 🙂
Thank you! For the interview with Luther! Loved it! Now off to do some wrapping. My husband has business travel to Detroit and since my sister lives close he is taking some things so I don’t have to ship so much.
Have a great rest of the weekend
That was so cool, thank you. Luther is a brilliant character! I’ve always wondered how he knew that Aurelia was Julie.
As always, endlessly delightful and maddeningly short.
Thank you
Yay! A peek of merch!!!!
That was lovely. Love Luther
I love Orro and the fact he made a dessert that looks like e-Coli. ???? Luther is great and I enjoyed getting his back story. As a forensic Wizard! I bet Luther sees all kinds of things and creatures. Messy and amazing.
Le Sigh…The Lennart’s…I’m do for a reread soon.
I do sense some familiarity with Luther and Mrs. Luther…hmmm! ????
Love FriINNDay. Thank you! ❤️
A bunch of bacteria have very distinctive smells… Pseudomonas aeruginosa, for instance, smells like juicy fruit gum. Which I mention because the idea of incorporating such flavor elements strikes me as deeply creepy.
Petri dish pastries, FTW! ???? Great to hear more about/from Luther!
Love this but, I need more on Mrs Luther!
As always, this was a delight to read and learn more about Luther. I was intrigued by his description of Mrs. Luther. It sounded oddly familiar…
I would like to know if the ancient proverb exists in our world & what it comes from. I really like it!
Most fun one yet .
Great job, the back stories make your characters real and believable
I like this. I really like this. I am getting to know further about all the interesting characters in all the ‘verses that I always wondered about. Thanks for that. Have a beautiful day
There’s a Mrs. Luther? Wow. Somehow, I always pictured Luther as sleeping on a cot in some back room of the laboratory. And kids…and dogs. Oh, wow.
it would be nice to see Mrs. Luther, lol. Anyone who can live with Luther has to be a personality in herself.
Just saying, not begging, just putting it out there <>
Question. Will you be on the list in the future to be intercity Dina or has it already happened and I have missed it.
Intercity Dina?
Maybe it’s an autocorrect from “interview”?
Sorry interviews by Dina.
Where can I get the Dr. Loose Cannon t-shirt! I can’t find it!
The merch store with the tshirt designs will be opened soon! ????
Right? I’m pretty sure I’ve been called that during lab meetings…
This was fun!!
I loved the rapid fire questions.
I love Luther!
Now I’m really wanting to go back and find all his appearances in the books and re-read them… especially those first few early in the series when you don’t know he’s important yet.
I really did not expect Mrs. Luther or the kids.
Lovely; thank you. I particularly enjoyed his degree progression, and description of how ‘knowledgeable’ people are at different stages of education.
Oooh…..That was really good. I’ve always been curious about Luther so this was great.
LUTHER IS MARRIED WITH CHILDREN!?!?! WHAT! OH I NEED THAT BOOK, STAT!
Love Luther! Thanks for this post!
Trying to picture the cookies…
Something like this ?
http://notsohumblepie.blogspot.com/2009/11/biology-cookies-petri-dish.html?m=1
Or this?
https://twitter.com/anneamadden/status/1074327964039434241?lang=en
The comments on that blog were hilarious. Thanks for posting.
So now I have to have whatever the design is printed on. I have a PhD.
The merch shop is coming!
I LOVE these interviews. thank you.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
“The things you don’t know or realize are an ocean, and your mind is a tiny boat upon its waves.
He either got that quote from Julie/Aurelia or, more disturbingly, Luther is friends with Namtur.
A line I’ve grown up with is, “The more you know, the more you know you need to know.” (No idea where that comes from.)
Love this!!!
Thank you for another fun read: Luther is one of my favorites! He seems like someone I would love to hang out with: brilliant but irreverent, wicked sense of humor but pay attention or you might miss it, etc…definitely one of my peeps! ????????
Oh, loved this one.
It does answer questions. Unfortunately, now I what a full story with him.
*sigh*
I know we can never get enough.
lol!
also, love the shirt design. ????
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
happy SaturYAY! also, please add some merch we can wear that kinda sorta works for business casual 🙂 (if possible)
Mrs. Luther? I love it!
That was a fun interview! As usual, Orro’s treats make me drool.
Great Interview! BTW, My mil asked for Bird’s Custard at the store and got directed to the Pets aisle.
I would read a full Luther series.
I adore Luther. (Also Patrice, I’m just saying.)
I’m wondering what it means to be agnostic – or atheist – in magic Atlanta. I mean, gods are real, right? Or are they primarily a projection of magic shaped by the thoughts of people, and the debate is over whether there are more real gods, less dependent on what people think of them. (Or, for that matter, whether worship is the right way to deal with either type of god.)
“People have this weird misconception that scientists tend to be atheists, but the deeper you dive into science, the more you realize how truly miniscule our sphere of understanding is.”
This is my experience of scientists, too. (Though, I also don’t live in the world where the gods are likely to tromp around every seven years during a magic flare…) I hear that biology (and physics) produce that high proportion of atheists* – but I wonder how that is defined. If I were taking a survey, and the question was “do you believe in God” “yes/no” I would answer no… but that doesn’t mean I’m an atheist exactly, it means that there wasn’t enough nuance in the question. In my case, it’s not just that I don’t know, it’s that not knowing is foundational both to my practice of science and my spirituality. (Also, even if I knew absolutely and for certain that gods exist, this doesn’t mean I’m necessarily going to worship them. What kind of god are we talking? Mostly I’m team “be polite, and when at all possible avoid gods”.) Most of my colleagues have some sense of spirituality as well, though often pretty idiosyncractic ones.
* https://www.nature.com/articles/28478
I read it in a Pratchett interpretation, personally:
“ Most witches don’t believe in gods. They know that the gods exist, of course. They even deal with them occasionally. But they don’t believe in them. They know them too well. It would be like believing in the postman.”
Just because they’re there is no reason to get all emotional about it ????
« I’ve warned them that I would haunt it » : This is so Luther !!
What a wonderful character , I adore him.
I’m loving the interviews. are we still allowed to suggest characters to interview?
Yes, of course ????
Definitely didn’t mean to add that picture (face meet palm).
Why did this make me cry and laugh on the last question? I think I really miss Kate. Thank you for Luther he has always been one of my favourites. All your characters are so interesting and thoughtfully created. They truly are their own people… though I see a lot of parallels with Mr. & Mrs Dillon to our very own Dear Andrews couple.
Love these!
Dina, Boston Terriers are NOT miniature Boxers. Nuf said.