Community

Hero or Villain?

How well do you know your FR Authors? Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, you can expect an update to the author roundtable, featuring many of our best Forgotten Realms authors’ answers to the world’s most important questions, right here on this blog. Submissions for new questions welcome through private message. 

Elaine Cunningham(co-author of The City of Splendors): A hero who knows that heroics and villainy are often a matter of perspective and degree.

Ed Greenwood (author of The Sword Never Sleeps): You mean, which do I prefer to be? The hero. Villains get the spoils and the good lines and to sleep with racy-looking companions, but they also tend to end up sleeping with the fishes . . . and in the meantime, I have to sleep with myself.

Erin Evans (author of The God Catcher): That always depends on the story.  I like characters who know what they want/need and take active steps to get that, and all too often that’s the villains, while the heroes are reacting and trying to clean things up. But I like the characters better if they’re considerate, too.

Mark Sehestedt (author of The Fall of Highwatch): Me or you?

Richard Lee Byers (author of Unholy): This is a tough one, but I’ll go with villain. Because they’re always fun to write, and most of the time, they drive the story.

Philip Athans (author of A Reader’s Guide to R.A. Salvatore’s Legend of Drizzt): Like a well-conceived villain, I’m a villain who thinks he’s a hero. No one wakes up in the morning with the intent to be villainous. I don’t, but by the time I go to bed at night I’ve offended, hurt, torpedoed, chastised, or belittled most of the people I’ve met that day, all for personal gain. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Erik Scott de Bie (author of Downshadow): Both.

Jaleigh Johnson (author of Mistshore): (Mischievous) Hero

Richard Baker (author of Avenger): Hero. I guess I’m secretly insecure and want to be liked and admired.

Jenna Helland (author of The Fanged Crown): A villain. I discovered my black heart at a young age and decided to fight my true nature. My resolve to play by the rules is entirely voluntary. And not entirely successful.

Rosemary Jones (author of City of the Dead): I’d like to be the hero of my own life: solve my problems and not rely on other people to solve them for me. But I’d love to be a cool dresser like many villains: have you noticed that they always get the best accessories?

Bruce R. Cordell (author of City of Torment): I’ll be a hero if I come up with a vaccine that stops the Zeta-prion in its tracks... But I have a sneaking hunch my vaccine is what is going to touch off the zombie apocalypse, which means . . . Villain. Damn it!

Jak Koke (author of The Edge of Chaos): Both in the same character. Shades of gray are what make interesting and ‘realistic’ heroes and villains.

James P. Davis (author of Circle of Skulls): Depends on the day I’m having, I suppose…In writing and reading however, I prefer villains and I like it even more when the hero and villain roles blur. Bad people can do good things for the wrong reasons and good people can do bad things for the right reasons. Getting into the heads of such characters is quite fun. You hate them one minute and love them the next. I particularly like the dark, borderline villainous, hero as opposed to the Lawful Good types. Villain and hero all in one package, so I can have my bloody, violent, brooding cake and hack it to bits too.

Lisa Smedman (author of Ascendancy of the Last): Hero. I’ve rescued many, many animals, as has my spouse. Our vetinary bills are atrocious, but it’s worth it.

Christopher Rowe (author of a story in Realms of the Dead): Is it not Hero? Who can blot that name/With any just reproach?

go to previous question, “Unexpected Talents”
go to next question, "Captain Obvious"

What unexpected thing are you really good at?

How well do you know your FR Authors? Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, you can expect an update to the author roundtable, featuring many of our best Forgotten Realms authors’ answers to the world’s most important questions, right here on this blog. Submissions for new questions welcome through private message. 

Elaine Cunningham(co-author of The City of Splendors): Baking pies. That’s not exactly an exotic skill, but I suppose it qualifies as “unexpected.”

Ed Greenwood (author of The Sword Never Sleeps): Remembering my way around, in cities I haven’t been to for forty years. Though the restaurants and cool old stores—especially bookstores—I go seeking have this depressing habit of shutting down, in the years I’ve been away. Not to mention all the prices going up sharply. I must be getting old.

Erin M. Evans (author of The God Catcher): Cursing. I am so good it routinely startles people.

Mark Sehestedt (author of The Fall of Highwatch): Movie quotes. Once you learn Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, Ghostbusters, and Animal House, you have a quote ready for any occasion. “Seven years of college down the drain . . .”

Richard Lee Byers (author of Unholy): Probably nothing unexpected, since I’ve mentioned pretty much all my talents in “About the Author” notes and such. I’m a halfway decent epee fencer and a good poker player. I also seem to have a good rapport with animals. It’s a rare dog or cat that doesn’t take to me.

Philip Athans (author of A Reader’s Guide to R.A. Salvatore’s Legend of Drizzt): I sing like an angel, but not in front of people. If you can render yourself invisible and hide in the backseat of my car driving home from work on any given day you’ll get the full-on American Idol show of a lifetime.

Erik Scott de Bie (author of Downshadow): I am surprisingly good at improvised cocktails, which I am not all that good at drinking without getting really, really funny.

Jaleigh Johnson (author of Mistshore): In my high school P.E. class we had to learn to juggle and were graded on how long we could keep three bean bags in the air. At the time I was obsessed with getting straight A’s, so I got pretty good at keeping those bean bags flying.

Richard Baker (author of Avenger): Firearms. I’ve had occasion to fire pistols, rifles, shotguns (many times), grenade launchers, and machine guns. Turns out I’m a terrible shot with a machine gun though. It was really a little humbling.

Rosemary Jones (author of City of the Dead): Cooking a large meal for many people. I enjoy it. Most of the time I’m a lazy cook who just wants to reheat something and I love eating out. So finding that I can get a turkey and all the fixings on the table at the same time is unexpected joy.

Bruce R. Cordell (author of City of Torment): I’m good at learning things, whether those things are physical skills or mental tricks. But I’m not -quick- at learning things; I’m just good at putting in the long hours of practice required to get good at things.

James P. Davis (author of Circle of Skulls): Apparently I’m quite good at Feng Shui. According to my wife, who studies such things, my writing-office/library/geek-museum has perfectly balanced feng shui. Pure accident. Who knew?       

Lisa Smedman (author of Ascendancy of the Last): Roofing. When we bought our current home, I turned a dilapidated freestanding garage into a writing/gaming studio. Shingles are incredibly heavy (especially lugging them up a ladder) but the backache was worth saving several thousand dollars!

 go to previous question, "The Zombie Apocalypse"
 go to next question, "Hero or Villain?" 

What will you do when the zombie apocalypse comes?

How well do you know your FR Authors? Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, you can expect an update to the author roundtable, featuring many of our best Forgotten Realms authors’ answers to the world’s most important questions, right here on this blog. Submissions for new questions welcome through private message. 

Elaine Cunningham (co-author of The City of Splendors): Wear lots of gray-green makeup, spritz on the L’Air du Corpse, and try to blend in. And get a crossbow, just in case. 

Ed Greenwood (author of The Sword Never Sleeps): Go up to my cottage in the wilderness and catch up on my reading. After all, that’s where my axe and chainsaw are, and various ready firepits, and the marshmallows for roasting. Not to mention hungry bears; zombie flesh has GOT to be an improvement over the garbage they eat at the dump.

Mark Sehestedt (author of The Fall of Highwatch): Hide out until they finish decomposing (zombies are dead flesh and thus it’s only a matter of time), then help myself to all the Bushmill’s and cashews left in the world. Oh, and air freshener. All those decomposing zombies, after all . . .

Richard Lee Byers (author of Unholy): I will scurry in the direction of my friends who are gun enthusiasts, and hope they take me in. Then I will advocate that we become marauders. Because in post-apocalyptic movies, the marauders always look like they’re having more fun than the guys who are trying to cling to civilization.

Philip Athans (author of A Reader’s Guide to R.A. Salvatore’s Legend of Drizzt): Probably put on a good show at first then die pretty quickly. Assuming the whole infrastructure collapses, if I can’t watch TV, use a computer, and eat processed foods, I’d just end up shambling around moaning anyway—may as well get on with it!

Erik Scott de Bie (author of Downshadow): Assuming I survive the initial panic, I find myself a shotgun, a few spare gallons of gasoline, and (if possible) recruit Summer Glau because seriously, have you seen Serenity?

Jaleigh Johnson (author of Mistshore): I’m thinking I’ll head for the Galapagos Islands, find some remote spot to hold the zombies off as long as possible.  That way at least I’ll be able to cross off the islands on my list of 1000 places to see before I die.

Richard Baker (author of Avenger): Arm myself to the teeth and find a good place to fort up. I’m thinking a smallish island would be perfect. Blow up bridges if necessary, grid off the island, and de-zombify it one sector at a time. I’m handy with a rifle, shotgun, grenade launcher, pistol, and machete (well, just kidding about the machete) so I like my chances. Zombies don’t swim, do they?

Rosemary Jones (author of City of the Dead): Hide under the bed. Seriously, rotting dead people spook me out. Which is why there are always ambulatory but dry skeletons in my novels! I love skeletons, ever since I saw Jason & the Argonauts.

Bruce R. Cordell (author of City of Torment): Stock up on Interferon that targets the Zeta-prion responsible for rapid zombification. In the meantime, I’ve been experimenting with vaccine, injecting test subjects with heat-denatured Zeta-prion to see if they build up an immunity. Lately I’ve been seeing some strange results. In fact, I’m sort of worried I may have miscalculated . . . Damn it!

James P. Davis (author of Circle of Skulls): I will try very hard not to appear excited . . .

      . . . then I will put into motion one of my many well thought out, highly detailed, plans for survival depending on where I am and who I’m with when* the zombies arrive.

      *I believe the word ‘when’ is important to note. Not ‘if’, but ‘when’ . . . be prepared.

Lisa Smedman (author of Ascendancy of the Last): Run! (Zombies are slow, aren't they?)

 go to next question, "Unexpected Talents"

Ever want to know what Elaine Cunningham will do in the case of a zombie apocalypse? What Ed Greenwood knows far too much about? What song Richard Baker will sing when it comes time for karaoke? Or what word just grates on Richard Lee Byers’s last nerve?

You’re in luck! Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, starting February 1^st, you can expect an update to the FR Author Roundtable, featuring many of our best Forgotten Realms authors’ answers to the world’s most important questions, right here on this blog.

Suggestions for new questions always welcome via private message.

Today, I received the following surprising treat in my inbox:

******************
Google Web Alert for: A Practical Guide to Wizardry

Is Aldwys Acadamy for wizards real? - Yahoo! Answers <www.google.com/url?sa=X&q=http://answers...>

I was reading "Practical Guide to Wizardry" and found a secret note on the back of the book that ... 
******************

Sadly, the question was taken down before an answer could be posted, and the clip that google alerts sent me didn't have the full message! My duty is clear. As a public service to Aldwyn's Academy, I must answer the question here.

Yes. Yes it is.

If you need more proof, just look for the secret message!

Sometimes the holidays give us a bit of extra cheer in the form of a Google Alert on a book we've written. I can't even express how happy the story [copied and linked below] makes me. Families like this are exactly the reason I wrote A Practical Guide to Faeries. It is so encouraging. It really makes me feel as though I am connecting with people through my writing--something I've always aspired to do. Thanks, Sherrie!

From a post entitled "Believe" on solvangsherrie.blogspot.com/2009/12/beli...:

My daughter asked if I believe in faeries. Because she's pretty sure she is one. She just hasn't figured out the flying part yet.

"Of course I believe in faeries," I said. "Obviously if you're a faerie, then I am too."

She stared at me solemnly, trying to figure out what magic could possibly lay beneath my motherly exterior.

We were in the Book Loft, browsing through "A Practical Guide to Faeries," a book that now accompanies her to bed each night as she memorizes the words. I read a passage out loud to her in the store.

"Faerie-touched humans often have huge appetites...sometimes craving...charred toast, raw sugar or a stick of butter."

We both turned to stare at her brother who sat on the floor reading Anthony Horowitz. Her brother who consumes startling amounts of food, who eats pats of butter without bread, who begs for the bowl when I cream butter and sugar together for cookies. He felt our curious gazes and looked up uneasily.

"What?"

We giggled and ran to the counter to purchase the book.

Sometimes we faeries are mysterious that way!

Check it out!

www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd/w...

We are once again open to receiving writing samples from prospective authors. We won't necessarily have an opening that suits your talents, but we will keep your sample on file for when new opportunties arise. Please be sure to indicate which of our shared worlds you are interested in.

I look forward to seeing what you guys come up with!

You know what? I love the undead. I love the poignant, disturbing questions they explore, the sense of tragedy and history they evoke, and the end-of-their-ropes characters they attract. I love the monsters (Skin kites! Rot angels! Visages!) that fray at our nerves and our moral understanding of the world. I love the haunting, dirt-encrusted, desperate, beyond-the-pale stories they inspire. I love the way you can order them around and they can't say boo about it...

Whenever I get to work on a book about the undead, I really feel like I've been handed such a treat. Like the undead anthology I'm editing right now: Realms of the Dead (due out January 2010). So. Good. With stories by Richard Lee Byers and The New York Times best-selling R.A. Salvatore, among others. And full of groovy undead. But to sate you until it comes out, check out The Haunted Lands trilogy by Richard Lee Byers (Unclean, Undead, and Unholy) and City of the Dead, by Rosemary Jones.

For a glimpse into what I (and a host of other editors, including WotC Senior Managing Editor Philip Athans) do every day, read this interview with Clarkesworld Magazine: clarkesworldmagazine.com/book_editors_in...

Don't I have a dream job?