There is a curious bit of economics that happens in thrift stores across the country, and it goes like this: You can buy a book for a quarter. Or you can buy ten books for a dollar.
It is a curious bit of economics that made me a better writer and led me to be an editor for the Eberron, Forgotten Realms, and various other novel lines.
For nine months after I graduated from college, I lived in an RV and drove around the country with my now-husband in a fit of wanderlust. I wrote, I explored, I worried my parents constantly. We lived cheaply—we had to; the thing got maybe 12 mpg—and that meant no buying books. And no library cards—when your address is "The parking lot...for now" people don't tend to sign you up for things, in general. It was thrift stores, or it was nothing. And I couldn't live with nothing.
When you're saving money for gas and site fees, the difference between four for a dollar and ten for a dollar becomes slightly less academic, so I made certain i was always buying ten books. So strategy: Grab the fantasy books first—all of them. That usually got me up to three. The last seven or so would be chosen by a complex formula of cover art, interesting title, what my husband wanted to read, and the sense "Hey, I've never read one of those." To that end I read my first vampire novel, first bodice-ripper, first spy novel, first military science fiction, first creative non-fiction, first horror novel, and, yes, first Forgotten Realms novel, in addition to mysteries, romances, mainstream fiction, and whatever else piqued my curiosity.
When we choose books to read for pleasure, a lot of us self-limit. We like fantasy, so we go after fantasy. We like a particular world or series, so we go for that. The most restricted of us might only go after books by a single author. That's your business, but it most assuredly is not mine.
Because it was only through solid nine months of reading every possible book I could get my hands on—everything from Wuthering Heights to Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy to Under the Banner of Heaven to Homeland—that I started to understand how a book can come together and be something extraordinary. Different genres rely on different tropes and different tricks, but they're all surprisingly flexible when you get down to it—and cross-pollinating makes everything more interesting.
In my opinion, every D&D book gets a little cross-pollinated right from the get-go. It's one part fantasy novel, infused with the fun and flavor of the Dungeons & Dragons game. It still has to read like a book, but it should remind you of your best games--and maybe give you a few ideas for future games too. Then things get interesting. In the book I wrote, The God Catcher, I'd say it's also got a good mix of fantasy, comedy of manners, a heist story, a little bit of melodrama, and some action-adventure. A combination that makes the story something all its own.
This is what I love about my job—helping authors find the best ways of sharing their ideas, expressing themselves, and reminding people how cool these worlds and this game can be.
(Also, I will be at the University Bookstore in Seattle on March 17, from 7 pm with Rich Baker. We'll be reading from The God Catcher and Avenger and answering questions. Hope to see you there!)
Friend Me!
