On a 63 acre estate Manny raised his children, looked after his animals and collected stamps, medals and records. He worked in his study in a converted colonial schoolhouse on his grounds. After Lee married the cousins rarely visited each other. As they frequently phoned each other their writing methods were unorthodox. The Queen collaboration evolved over time.
Clash of personalities is good for the ultimate product.
And we fight like hell. We're not so much collaborators as competitors. It's produced a sharper edge. They refused to discuss their system, but in years since, their children have revealed that Fred plotted all the novels and short stories, creating the characters and providing Lee with detailed skeletons that Manfred fleshed out. I'm sure Dad could never have come up with the sort of plots Fred did ' son Rand Lee said in an interview.