Those two sentences you quoted are my favorites too, and I think they’re both very important and frequently overlooked. Doing science is all about knowing you’re wrong and being willing to change your mind when you get new information, something that doesn’t translate well into the political and popular arenas, much to my frustration.

I’m very interested in worldbuilding, being an ecologist who writes SFF and all, and try to get my ecology and biology plausible. That way the reader is less likely to bounce off something trivial, and more likely to stay with me as I diverge from what they know. I hope.

Leaves are usually background, it’s true, but the background needs to match, even if it’s vague and fuzzy.

Both things I’ve been trying to articulate for ages! And I never knew there was so many interesting things about plants and leaves. I mean, I’ve always just seen then as just, you know… background.