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1 year ago ::
Jan 09, 2012 - 5:41AM
#1
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Date Joined:
Feb 19, 2006
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Welcome back Book Club to our tenth selection. That’s right, we’ve hit double digits. We’ll be returning to the Ed Greenwood Presents: Waterdeep series again with City of the Dead by Rosemary Jones. This is a Forgotten Realms novel that follows the Carvers, a family who has taken care of the burials and tombs in Waterdeep for generations. Until one of them makes a mistake… Rosemary Jones is the author of several books and stories including the Realms book Crypt of the Moaning Diamond and the recent Neverwinter e-novella Cold, Steel, and Secrets. She also has fiction that appears in the anthologies Realms of the Dead and Realms of the Dragons II. City of the Dead is a stand-alone novel, so you can start fresh with this one. If you’re new to the Book Club, we’ll be reading around 50 pages a week and then commenting on them. We’ll start the discussion next week on Monday, January 16th, so pick up your copy and get ready. In the meantime, drop by this forum to let us know you’ll be participating and ask Rosemary any questions about the book or her other writing.
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1 year ago ::
Jan 09, 2012 - 9:34AM
#2
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Cool! I'll be jumping back in for the discussion. Happy new year to all!
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1 year ago ::
Jan 09, 2012 - 10:02AM
#3
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Date Joined:
May 22, 2008
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Welcome back Book Club to our tenth selection. That’s right, we’ve hit double digits. We’ll be returning to the Ed Greenwood Presents: Waterdeep series again with City of the Dead by Rosemary Jones. This is a Forgotten Realms novel that follows the Carvers, a family who has taken care of the burials and tombs in Waterdeep for generations. Until one of them makes a mistake…Ask Rosemary any questions about the book or her other writing.
Happy New Year, everyone! And welcome to Waterdeep's most famous graveyard. Watch out for the shrubbery, be polite to the dead, and don't worry about the funny lights and noises. I'm sure that it's nothing.....too bad.
Best wishes,
Rosemary Jones
You can find me on the web at
www.rosemaryjones.com
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1 year ago ::
Jan 09, 2012 - 10:24AM
#4
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Date Joined:
Mar 17, 2010
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> In the meantime, drop by this forum to let us know you’ll be participating Absolutely! I am not sure if I will be reading the Print or Kindle version of this--I plan to stop by the used book store & see if they have a copy before I decide. I have read the last few #WNBC in eBook formats and have found that my reading habits with eBooks sometimes causes a problem--I am not sure how much longer the book has to go without the feel of the back cover getting closer so I stop reading for a few days because I think I have like 100 pages left; when, in fact, I only have like 10 pages until the end. I do not have this problem with print books at all & maybe it is just something that I have to get better at--clearly I am going to be reading more and more of my stuff in eBook formats; like I read Cold, Steal, & Secrets. Which I loved, by the way. Not sure if it was the writing so much as the tie to the Encounters season--I really wish WotC did more of the Novels connected to the publised Adventure stuff--for example a series of novels set in the Tomb of Horrors would be awesome! but I digress.... > and ask Rosemary any questions about the book Ok. How were you chosen to write in Ed's world? How long did it take to write the book? How many drafts? Who were your editors? Anything else about the writing process that you would like to share with us? I just briefly looked at your blog [and followed you on Twitter] and I see you have a TON of stuff up there which I will start going through this week. But before that, are you going to design a Book Plate for our Reading Group? I will definetly order the Print Copy if that is going to happen! > or her other writing. Who are your favorite authors? What was your favorite book in College? What are you reading now? Do you read much outside of Fantasy, if so what? Lots of questions--really looking foreword to this read!
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1 year ago ::
Jan 09, 2012 - 11:16AM
#5
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Date Joined:
Feb 19, 2006
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I forgot to mention that you can pick up City of the Dead in paperback, ebook, or as part of an omnibus. The Ed Greenwood Presents: Waterdeep series was broken up in to two of these omnibus editions, this one contains: City of the Dead, The God Catcher, and Circle of Skulls.
We'll be reading Circle of Skulls next, so the omnibus is a good buy!
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1 year ago ::
Jan 09, 2012 - 12:20PM
#6
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Hi Rosemary, I just noticed from your twitter page that you live in Seattle. Me too!! Perhaps our paths will cross at some point.
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1 year ago ::
Jan 10, 2012 - 8:44AM
#7
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Date Joined:
Jul 12, 2009
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Well met, all! I'm so glad we got to hit up this novel for the Bookclub, as it's one of my favorites to be released in the Realms in recent years. City of the Dead is something of a departure from the standard Realms fare of high-vaunted heroics and derring-do, and more a story of people going about their lives in a fantastic setting, and gradually getting caught up in wonder. Rosemary's strength is characterization: how her characters think, interact, and exist. They seriously breathe right from the page. This book contains one of the most actualized heroines in Realms fiction, as well as one of the best realized characters in the line: Lord Adarbrent, who basically leaps straight out of Waterdeep. It's really pretty remarkable. (Fun fact: Her Realms of the Dead story also ties into City of the Dead--specifically, it takes place shortly before and explains why the family's a little fuzzed at Leaplow.) Also, Rosemary and I are good friends in real life, so I support her work both because of its quality and because she's awesome. I read Cold, Steal, & Secrets. Which I loved, by the way. Not sure if it was the writing so much as the tie to the Encounters season--I really wish WotC did more of the Novels connected to the publised Adventure stuff--for example a series of novels set in the Tomb of Horrors would be awesome!
This is a cool point, and one I want to reiterate: I would also love to see this. I think CS&S connected to The Lost Crown of Neverwinter in part because Rosemary and I would regularly meet up for coffee and donuts and discuss the two stories we were writing. This kind of collaboration produces the best stuff!
(And a Tomb of Horrors series would indeed be really neat!)
But lest I steal Rosemary's spotlight, I'll expeditious retreat my way out of here with one parting word: "Enjoy!"
Cheers
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1 year ago ::
Jan 15, 2012 - 2:36PM
#8
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I'm looking forward to this book. I bought it right after we read The God Catcher because I thought it'd be next, and then the whole Abyssal Plague came along. I've been holding off on it because I figured we'd get around to it at some point. Very glad to be doing so now.
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1 year ago ::
Jan 17, 2012 - 3:41AM
#9
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Date Joined:
May 11, 2005
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I read City of the Dead some time ago, and provided a review (first on Candlekeep, and later on goodreads). It's a fun read, with great characters in a very well pictured environment. I won't comment too much yet (as people still have to read), but one of my favorite characters is lord Adarbrent. The other is Sophraea, the main character. Note on connecting novels to adventures: Leaplow appeared in a Living Forgotten Realms adventure (where he has a significant role). Not exactly the same thing as "Encounters', but still a cool connection. Gomez
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1 year ago ::
Jan 24, 2012 - 6:53PM
#10
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Date Joined:
May 22, 2008
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HI! I've been answering questions in other parts of this forums but thought I'd circle back around here and deal with the ones not answered elsewhere. If you are in Seattle, I'm heading toward Emerald City Comic Con this spring and happy to chat with folks there. Keep an eye on my blog for more: www.rosemaryjones.comEd, Erik, James, Steve, and my editor Susan are profusely thanked in the dedication for their help in navigating Waterdeep and the Realms. After I wrote my first Forgotten Realms novel, Crypt of the Moaning Diamond, I found myself receiving emails, forum invitations, notes, and more from one of the BEST communities of readers out there: the FR fans. You guys all rock! And City of the Dead is dedicated to you too. So here we go, questions answered. How were you chosen to write in Ed's world? My understanding is that Ed suggested my name to my editor for this series. He's been a great champion of many writers and I feel very privileged to get his blessing for this project. How long did it take to write the book? I was given six months to deliver the first version to the editors and about the same amount of time for rewrites, edits, and back-and-forth work. I can safely say that there is not a single sentence in the book that I didn't re-read at least ten times. Every time I read my work, I make changes. Some big, some small, some require gnashing of teeth, some create chortling with mad glee. Anything else you can tell us about the writing process? Have the other authors mentioned that these books were written BEFORE all the changes to the city were codified as it were? I was working off a series of notes from Ed and the Wizards designers about things that were probably happening in Waterdeep and the Realms. And other people, like Steve and Erik, were busying writing their books about mighty changes with mighty characters. Which all inspired Sophraea to muse that she was sure very, very exciting things were happening elsewhere as she hung the laundry! But before that, are you going to design a Book Plate for our Reading Group? I have very special bookplate for City of the Dead. Just email me your address and tell me you're in this group. I'll mail one to ANYWHERE that the post office can deliver. I've sent bookplates all across the United States, South Africa, Great Britain, and more. If you have the Kindle version, I can sign that too via Kindlegraph: www.kindlegraph.com/authors/rosemaryjone...Do you read much outside of fantasy? Favorite authors?Oh yes! I read extensively in all areas of fiction ... and a lot of nonfiction. My bookshelves are crammed with 2000+ volumes ranging from 19th century popular fiction to the latest out from Wizards and other fantasy publishers. One of my cousins once said staying at my place was bit like sleeping in the stacks of a library! I wrote numerous books about collecting books prior to writing the Forgotten Realms stories. You find some authors I especially enjoy at my GoodReads account. There's a link on my website. City of the Dead was strongly influenced by my love of Gothic literature. Think Woman In Black and those type of ghost stories. Where as Cold Steel & Secrets, which just came out recently, was a tip of the rapier to Jeffrey Farnol, Rafel Sabatini, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and other swashbuckling authors.
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