[quote] she refused to do any research prior writing the novels. [/quote] This is by all accounts a myth. She does not like to have a prior understanding of a universe that she is signed on for so her own personal opinions of that universe or prior assumptions do not get in the way (if she was a fan of Gears of War before she was signed on, she wouldn't have written those novels). When she [i]does[/i] get signed on, then she does her research, Which, and I'm quoting Frankie here, resulted in "thousands" of letters getting sent back and forth asking for lore advice and other facts she would need to know. She approaches it like the journalist she's trained as. Everything she did was approved by 343i prior to her writing it. And to be honest, after several years I'm not sure where this myth came from or how it is persisting.