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Christopher_Rowe
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
879 Posts |
 Posted - 13 Sep 2010 : 21:27:04
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Hey all!
I know, I know, it's been a beholder's age since I posted in these parts--I kinda backed off the internet in general as I got busy this year. Hopefully as the fall progresses I'll be able to drop in more often again.
Meantime, my exciting news is that I love the cover for my Realms novel, due March 1st, Sandstorm. I think it's awesome-like-a-possum myself and hope y'all like it, too.
Check it out here: Rawr!
Cheers,
Christopher
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Lord of Bones
Seeker
United Kingdom
78 Posts |
Posted - 13 Sep 2010 : 21:43:12
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Colour me impressed! As a man who hasn't read a Forgotten Realms novel in a while, what could you tell me about your novel that might sell me on it?  |
Come watch the Gentleman's Guide to Gaming!
http://www.youtube.com/user/clackclickbang
On my channel I review and dissect role-playing games with great gusto. Please do take a look and let me know what you think. |
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Pazuzu
Seeker
Germany
61 Posts |
Posted - 13 Sep 2010 : 21:46:56
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| Cool cover! Now I wait for some information about the novel! :-D |
May your dice obey your will. - Gary Gygax (*1938 - †2008) |
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Christopher_Rowe
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
879 Posts |
Posted - 13 Sep 2010 : 22:29:55
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I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to say just yet but have queries in to the powers that be. For now I can give you the publisher's blurb and tell you a little about me as a writer.
Here's the blurb:
quote:
A hero rises from the ranks of slaves!
The genasi control almost all of Calimshan for their djinn overlords—all but a few outposts like the floating Island of the Free, where escaped slaves from Calimport’s coliseum run their own brutal games. There, Cephas, a genasi with no memories of his past, has spent his entire life fighting. But one day a circus of misfits, lead by the crowlike Corvus Nightfeather, appear and free Cephas—and for the first time Cephas can harness his inborn powers and control the ground beneath his feet.
The newest Forgotten Realms® author brings his talents to an area that has changed dramatically with the fresh take of Dungeons & Dragons® 4th Edition. The powerful elemental race of the genasi and the xenophobic and ruthless cultures of Calimshan are revealed through the rise of the Forgotten Realms' newest hero.
As for me, I'm Christopher Rowe. I was a 1996 attendee of the Clarion West writing program and since 1998 I've published a couple of dozen science fiction & fantasy short stories in various magazines and anthologies. My story "The Voluntary State" was a finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, Sturgeon, and Seiun (Japan) Awards, and my story "Another Word For Map is Faith" was a finalist for the World Fantasy Award (the year a certain Ed Greenwood was a judge). That same story was on the long list for that year's Best American Short Stories anthology, edited by Stephen King. My work has been translated into a half-dozen languages and routinely reprinted in various genre year's best collections. My early short stories were collected in a chapbook available from Small Beer Press, Bittersweet Creek and Other Stories.
I've been reading and collecting Realms material since before the Gray Box if Dragon Magazines and the H1-H4 series count.
Cheers! (and hopefully more anon)
Christopher
PS Also, look! Big scary guy with two-headed flail fighting a displacer beast! C'mon! |
My Realms novel, Sandstorm, is now available for ordering. |
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Brimstone
Great Reader
USA
3287 Posts |
Posted - 13 Sep 2010 : 22:50:55
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Pretty cool CR.
I was planning on checking it out anyways.
Nice to see ya around these hallowed halls again... |
"These things also I have observed: that knowledge of our world is
to be nurtured like a precious flower, for it is the most precious
thing we have. Wherefore guard the word written and heed
words unwritten and set them down ere they fade . . . Learn
then, well, the arts of reading, writing, and listening true, and they
will lead you to the greatest art of all: understanding."
Alaundo of Candlekeep |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2010 : 01:50:56
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Excellent cover! And the story sounds good. It's time to see the genasi in action! I'll surely buy this book!
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Every beginning has an end. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31726 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2010 : 02:02:23
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Christopher, you had me at genasi. And Calimshan. 
Consider it mentally pre-ordered. 
And I concur with fellow Brimstone. You've been long missed here at Candlekeep. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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Dracons
Learned Scribe
USA
299 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2010 : 02:47:46
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That looks like a Fire Genasi.... falling into a deep sand... fighting a displacer beast.
I've always liked scenes of heroes, or creatures, fighting each other even while falling a great distance. (Gandalf and Balrog, Spiderman and Doc Ock, etc etc...)
So yeah. So going to read that. |
I love PMs! Please send me a message. Even if its Hi. |
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scererar
Master of Realmslore
USA
1618 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2010 : 03:18:54
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| Excellent cover and sounds like a great storyline. I too am ready for Genasi to get some more coverage. |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2010 : 03:31:28
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Is there a genasi that can control all elements? (Sorry, I lke Avatar Ang too much, and the genasi remind me of him)...
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Every beginning has an end. |
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Dracons
Learned Scribe
USA
299 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2010 : 03:40:30
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Closest genasi that can control all elements is likely the Janni.
Much like Earth, Fire, Water, and Air are the four classical elements, and the Tiefling and Aasimar are the Good and Evil genasi, (with axomatic and anaranic being the law and chaos genasi), the Janni are the closet to being all four elements. |
I love PMs! Please send me a message. Even if its Hi. |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2010 : 03:56:55
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Why just closest and not quite? I never heard of them, and they don't have an entry in wiki either.
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Every beginning has an end. |
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Dracons
Learned Scribe
USA
299 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2010 : 04:51:39
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| Janni could be considered of the Genie or Efreeti type. They're in the Planar handbook. |
I love PMs! Please send me a message. Even if its Hi. |
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Caolin
Senior Scribe
769 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2010 : 08:04:58
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| Has it ever been addressed anywhere as to why the 4E genasi look so different to the 3E genasi? I'm excited for your story, but I just don't like these new look genasi. Hopefully you will change my attitude towards them. |
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Archimedes of Syracuse
Acolyte
USA
28 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2010 : 17:20:14
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The cover art for this book is blowing my mind, every book is coming out with amazing cover art and I'm loving it
Question though, are these (and any new cover art) drawn by hand or are the made on computer, if it is by computer how does that work I don't get it lol |
Edited by - Archimedes of Syracuse on 14 Sep 2010 17:21:50 |
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Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
4598 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2010 : 17:49:56
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That's a pretty righteous cover.
I'll make no pretensions to establishing anything like canonical fact, but I suspect the alteration in genasi appearance can be attributed to the influx of genasi from Returned Abeir.
They were an established race in their own world, rather than the "junior genasi" in Toril that were spawned from human bloodlines--given time, I suppose this is how genasi might evolve.
CR, what do YOU think?
Cheers |
Erik Scott de Bie
'Tis easier to destroy than to create.
Author of a number of Realms novels (GHOSTWALKER, DEPTHS OF MADNESS, and the SHADOWBANE series), contributor to the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN GUIDE and SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, Twitch DM of the Dungeon Scrawlers, currently playing "The Westgate Irregulars" |
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Christopher_Rowe
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
879 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2010 : 17:57:24
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Well, y'know, variations exist in populations, and some persist over time and others don't. Throw in the extraordinary (possibly) species-wide mutations possible because of things like the Spellplague, the storms of elemental power thrown around by Calim and Memnon in their wars, direct godly intervention and/or editorial fiat (those last two are close to the same thing!) and accelerated speciation isn't all that surprising. And not unprecedented in the Realms, eh?
As to cover art, Archimedes, I'm not sure of my particular artist's methodology, but these days you can be sure a computer is involved somewhere along the production process, if only in color corrections and so on.
Glad y'all like it! I'm over Selune about it myself.
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My Realms novel, Sandstorm, is now available for ordering. |
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Caolin
Senior Scribe
769 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2010 : 20:16:45
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Thanks for the input Erik and Chris. So is it safe to assume that the older more human looking (without all the crazy glowing lines) genasi still exist?
BTW, the cover at is pretty epic. |
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Kno
Senior Scribe
452 Posts |
Posted - 15 Sep 2010 : 13:32:29
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| It looks mighty, hoping for a mutated Guenhwyvar on a first thought. |
z455t |
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Bakra
Senior Scribe
628 Posts |
Posted - 15 Sep 2010 : 14:28:04
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| The cover is beautiful. I’m defiantly adding this book to my ‘must read’ list. |
I hope Candlekeep continues to be the friendly forum of fellow Realms-lovers that it has always been, as we all go through this together. If you don’t want to move to the “new” Realms, that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with either you or the “old” Realms. Goodness knows Candlekeep, and the hearts of its scribes, are both big enough to accommodate both. If we want them to be.
(Strikes dramatic pose, raises sword to gleam in the sunset, and hopes breeches won’t fall down.)
Enough for now. The Realms lives! I have spoken! Ale and light wines half price, served by a smiling Storm Silverhand fetchingly clad in thigh-high boots and naught else! Ahem . .
So saith Ed. <snip>
love to all,
THO
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Elfinblade
Senior Scribe
Norway
377 Posts |
Posted - 16 Sep 2010 : 21:44:55
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| Sounds like a very interesting read. Pre-order will now commence! |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2010 : 09:58:05
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Chris,
Is this a stand-alone or are we to expect a trilogy? |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Christopher_Rowe
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
879 Posts |
Posted - 01 Feb 2011 : 17:17:00
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Reviving this because I noticed that Wizards has posted a version of my book's cover sans text and other design elements. I love this image!
The image is shown in the February and Beyond Previews or here's a direct link. Rawr!
And Dennis, you'd probably forgot you even asked, but for now, this is a standalone novel.
Cheers,
Christopher
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7989 Posts |
Posted - 01 Feb 2011 : 17:53:41
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I look forward to Sandstorm ... it's about genasi and will serve as my introduction to a new author.
What is that brown sand-fiend creature? Or would the answer be a spoiler? |
[/Ayrik] |
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Christopher_Rowe
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
879 Posts |
Posted - 01 Feb 2011 : 18:46:37
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quote:
Originally posted by Arik
What is that brown sand-fiend creature? Or would the answer be a spoiler?
The cover image is the artist's impression/interpretation of the first chapter, and since that's online as a preview I suppose it's not a spoiler to reveal what it is. That's a displacer beast, specifically the subspecies (omlarcats) native to the Omlarandin mountains on the eastern frontier of Tethyr.
Unless you're talking about the other figure! (That's the artist's impression of the novel's hero, an earthsouled genasi named Cephas).
Cheers,
Christopher
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My Realms novel, Sandstorm, is now available for ordering. |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7989 Posts |
Posted - 01 Feb 2011 : 18:53:38
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A sandy displacer beast (like the normal uncamoflaged ones aren't bad enough). Learn something new every day.
Thanx for the quick response, C_Rowe |
[/Ayrik] |
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GRYPHON
Senior Scribe
USA
527 Posts |
Posted - 01 Feb 2011 : 19:09:55
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| Nice cover... |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 01 Feb 2011 : 23:53:15
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quote:
Originally posted by Christopher_Rowe
And Dennis, you'd probably forgot you even asked, but for now, this is a standalone novel.
Cheers,
Christopher
Ah, so it might turn into a trilogy? Like JJ's Unbroken Chain? I heard it was originally planned as a stand-alone but its success moved WotC to make it a trilogy. |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Christopher_Rowe
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
879 Posts |
Posted - 01 Feb 2011 : 23:56:39
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quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
Ah, so it might turn into a trilogy? Like JJ's Unbroken Chain? I heard it was originally planned as a stand-alone but its success moved WotC to make it a trilogy.
Well, we'll see, I guess!
Cheers,
Christopher
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My Realms novel, Sandstorm, is now available for ordering. |
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Sandstorm cover
