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Xar Zarath
Senior Scribe
Malaysia
552 Posts |
 Posted - 14 Jun 2011 : 10:17:37
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To Mr.Byers, first off let me thank you for haunted lands trilogy, it was very,very good i like szass tam, well liches in general but he was a very complicated and a character with depth, thought the ending in unholy, where he suddenly became superman was kind of tragic, for nevron at least i liked him to.(loved the way you dealt with zola sethrakt)
I would like to ask, concerning necromancers, of which i posted a similar question to mr.greenwood, will you be doing a necromancer character in the future, i mean after brotherhoof trilogy of course, a character which i believe could have very good chemistry, his end goal,lichdom. Just asking.
Thanks for answering,
P.S Will szass tam be done by you when bane collects his debt, considering by that time if we survive 2012(lol) it could be 100edition or something. |
Everything ends where it begins. Period.
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jun 2011 : 20:50:30
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Hi, Xar. Glad you enjoyed the trilogy.
I probably will write more about necromancers in the future. There isn't one in the book that comes after The Spectral Blaze, though.
As you note, Szass's debt comes due far in the future. I'd like to think I'll still be around to write that story, but I'm not optimistic. The FR timeline has advanced, I think, only about 150 years since the universe debuted with the gray box set. |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jun 2011 : 03:10:15
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Well, Sage, if you go back through the blog, you'll find another excerpt. Beyond that, well, let me fill you in.
The Impostor will be a self-published ebook series. It's going to be my attempt to do a hero pulp (like Doc Savage or The Shadow) for a modern audience. Or you could say it's my attempt to do my own superhero comic in prose. It's both.
It will be available via Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Sony, etc. for Kindle, Nook, and all the other ereader platforms.
My plan is to publish an issue three or four times a year. Each issue will be around 30,000 to 45,000 words and feature an original cover by my talented artist friend Elaine Polk.
A special preview, The Impostor #0, should be available very soon. (Naturally, I'll announce it here when it is). It will be free, and I hope lots of people will check it out.
And I hope those who enjoy it will buy The Impostor #1, the first regular issue, which will be available shortly thereafter. It will sell for $.99. Not quite "all in color for a dime," but pretty reasonable, I think.
That's the scoop. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jun 2011 : 05:41:51
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quote:
Originally posted by Richard Lee Byers
Well, Sage, if you go back through the blog, you'll find another excerpt. Beyond that, well, let me fill you in.
The Impostor will be a self-published ebook series. It's going to be my attempt to do a hero pulp (like Doc Savage or The Shadow) for a modern audience. Or you could say it's my attempt to do my own superhero comic in prose. It's both.
It will be available via Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Sony, etc. for Kindle, Nook, and all the other ereader platforms.
My plan is to publish an issue three or four times a year. Each issue will be around 30,000 to 45,000 words and feature an original cover by my talented artist friend Elaine Polk.
A special preview, The Impostor #0, should be available very soon. (Naturally, I'll announce it here when it is). It will be free, and I hope lots of people will check it out.
And I hope those who enjoy it will buy The Impostor #1, the first regular issue, which will be available shortly thereafter. It will sell for $.99. Not quite "all in color for a dime," but pretty reasonable, I think.
That's the scoop.
Neat. I like the sound of the concept, and I'm intrigued by how you'll approach the superhero-dynamic for the modern world.
Looking forward to this!  |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
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Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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Tyrant
Senior Scribe
USA
586 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jun 2011 : 05:00:07
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Richard I finally got my copy of The Spectral Blaze from Amazon. After looking over the page listing your other FR works, and recalling that your next book is listed on Amazon already, I have a few questions. Is the title of the next book Rival Blades, as the interior page of Spectral Blaze lists? Or is it The Masked Witches, as Amazon indicates? Both seem to indicate that your next book will still be under the Brotherhood of the Griffon series title. Can you comment at all on an overall release schedule? Any idea if the next three will be as close together as the last three were?
Thanks in advance. |
Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me.
-The Sith Code
Teenage Sith zombies, Tulkh thought-how in the moons of Bogden had it all started? Every so often, the universe must just get bored and decide to really cut loose. -Star Wars: Red Harvest |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jun 2011 : 06:11:40
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Hi, Tyrant. You're one up on me. I'm still waiting for WotC to ship me my author copies of The Spectral Blaze.
Anyway, at one point in time, the next book was going to be called Rival Blades. Then WotC decided they liked The Masked Witches better, so that's the actual title. At least right now it is. You never know, it could in theory change again. Probably not, though.
You're correct that the next book will come out under the Brotherhood of the Griffon banner. Originally Brotherhood of the Griffon was supposed to be the title of a trilogy, but WotC decided that since I'm continuing to write about the same characters, they'd use BotG as the title for the whole series. I anticipate that Books 4-6 will be a trilogy like Books 1-3 are.
I believe Masked Witches is due out in February, 2012 or thereabouts. I'm hazy on the schedule after that, but I think the new books will come out about as quickly as Books 1-3 did. |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
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Tyrant
Senior Scribe
USA
586 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jun 2011 : 18:05:37
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quote:
Originally posted by Richard Lee Byers
Hi, Tyrant. You're one up on me. I'm still waiting for WotC to ship me my author copies of The Spectral Blaze.
Anyway, at one point in time, the next book was going to be called Rival Blades. Then WotC decided they liked The Masked Witches better, so that's the actual title. At least right now it is. You never know, it could in theory change again. Probably not, though.
You're correct that the next book will come out under the Brotherhood of the Griffon banner. Originally Brotherhood of the Griffon was supposed to be the title of a trilogy, but WotC decided that since I'm continuing to write about the same characters, they'd use BotG as the title for the whole series. I anticipate that Books 4-6 will be a trilogy like Books 1-3 are.
I believe Masked Witches is due out in February, 2012 or thereabouts. I'm hazy on the schedule after that, but I think the new books will come out about as quickly as Books 1-3 did.
Thanks for the answers. I was curious about the title differences when I saw it. I thought perhaps it was a case of Amazon posting the title to one of the other 2 books while the inside page had the actual title. The series heading staying the same seemed a little out of character for WotC. They seem to enjoy trilogies, but there are a few non trilogy sets out there. Also, glad to hear the next trilogy might have the fast track release schedule. I'm about 50 pages into your book right now. I'm hoping to have time to read a good chunk of it or finish it this weekend. It's intersting to see where everything is heading so far and I am looking forward to the next 3. |
Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me.
-The Sith Code
Teenage Sith zombies, Tulkh thought-how in the moons of Bogden had it all started? Every so often, the universe must just get bored and decide to really cut loose. -Star Wars: Red Harvest |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jun 2011 : 23:39:58
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Check out a very kind review of my collection The Q Word and Other Stories, courtesy of Stacey Turner. The review is in turn linked to an interview with yours truly.
http://seespotread-spot.blogspot.com/ |
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Elsenrail
Seeker
Poland
72 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jun 2011 : 17:01:59
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I really enjoyed "The Spectral Blaze". Nice battle scenes.
Looking forward to your new trilogy. :)
I hope that Aoth finds some "cool stuff of legends" to enhance his skills. He's obviously a competent wizard, and maybe fighter as well, bu he lacks the firepower to deal with the likes of Tam etc. In 4e Realms I see plenty of space for new heroes to rise, and Aoth has already accomplished a lot. Perhaps he should start his "epic path" - and to finally get to the point: I hope he makes Szass Tam pay for his crimes, although it would be an almost impossible task, but impossible deeds are all the D&D is about. I suppose there are some rebels in Thay, other powers can help. I doubt WotC would allow to reshape the realm a second time, but living folk could have some space to breath, like Alaor and Wizard's Reach, creating some kind of an independent realm opposing the dreaded undead legions of Tam. |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jun 2011 : 18:23:17
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Glad you liked it, Elsenrall.
Aoth is a highly competent combat wizard and fighter, but as you indicate, no match for Szass Tam. He's not losing any sleep over it, though, since he intends to stay the hell away from Szass from now on. In the abstract, he would agree that it would be sweet if SOMEBODY made Szass pay for his misdeeds, but he feels no need to try to be that guy. He's too much of a pragmatist.
That said, though, Aoth is finding out that it seems to be his lot in life to end up in dicey situations with some of the major players in the Realms, so I wouldn't be too surprised if he eventually ends up dealing with Szass again whether he wants to or not. |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jun 2011 : 18:29:30
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quote:
Originally posted by Elsenrail
I suppose there are some rebels in Thay, other powers can help. I doubt WotC would allow to reshape the realm a second time, but living folk could have some space to breath, like Alaor and Wizard's Reach, creating some kind of an independent realm opposing the dreaded undead legions of Tam.
Agreed. I favor the reinstatement of the Zulkirate. The more evil leaders, the merrier. |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Tyrant
Senior Scribe
USA
586 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jun 2011 : 23:05:49
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Well I finished The Spectral Blaze last night. I liked the book and I thought it was a nice conclusion to this trilogy. The characters are yet again very well written. It was nice to see Brimstone in action again, with plenty of questions at the end that I will go ahead and assume won't be 100% answered. The references to the previous campaign is a nice reminder of a defining moment in all their lives, while not being overdone. I did have a question or two though, if you don't mind.
1) Did Aoth retrieve his spear after the big final battle? I don't recall there being anything indicating one way or the other.
1a) If he didn't (or if he did, then if he were to lose it at some future point), is it easily replaceable? Is it something that could be remade easily, or would it be hard to replace since they now live in a post-Spellplague world?
1b) Has he had the same weapon this whole time?
2) Has he had the warhammer that he used in place of the spear this whole time and I have forgotten about an earlier use of it, or is it a recent addition?
3) Given Jhesrhi's condition at the end of the book, what would be the consequences of someone touching her now? How severe would it be, I mean.
4) I understand given the nature of the ending, and that this involves a book written by another author, that you would be reluctant to answer this question but I will give it a shot. Are the events in this trilogy in any way connected to the events in The God Catcher?
Thanks in advance and I look forward to the next outing for Aoth and company. I am interested to see where everyone's lives go after the shakeups and additions. |
Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me.
-The Sith Code
Teenage Sith zombies, Tulkh thought-how in the moons of Bogden had it all started? Every so often, the universe must just get bored and decide to really cut loose. -Star Wars: Red Harvest |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jun 2011 : 00:50:30
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Hi, Tyrant. Glad you liked the book.
Aoth did retrieve his spear. It is the one he's had the whole time, and he's put a lot of time and work into enchanting the heck out of it. But he could make a new one if he needed to.
We can assume he made or acquired the warhammer more recently than the spear. I don't believe I ever mentioned it before. But it's logical for him to have backup magical weapons in addition to the spear.
If someone touched Jhesrhi and she wasn't making a conscious effort to turn down the heat, the person would end up with second- or maybe even third-degree burns very quickly.
Honestly, I haven't read The God Catcher, so if there's a connection between it and my trilogy, it wasn't established on my end. I can't speak to what another author's intentions may have been. |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jun 2011 : 00:52:11
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There's a guest blog from author and editor Gabrielle Harbowy on my site. Her subject is "Is Getting Published Really a Crapshoot?"
http://rleebyers.livejournal.com/ |
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Tyrant
Senior Scribe
USA
586 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jun 2011 : 01:28:34
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| Thanks again for the response. I ask about The God Catcher because the characters in that book find themselves in the midst of a game of Xorvintaal. I thought perhaps given Brimstone's dialogue at the end of your book that the two incidents might be connected to a larger game. I also thought that I had read Erin had to collate the vocabulary for another author so I just assumed there might be a connection. |
Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me.
-The Sith Code
Teenage Sith zombies, Tulkh thought-how in the moons of Bogden had it all started? Every so often, the universe must just get bored and decide to really cut loose. -Star Wars: Red Harvest |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 27 Jun 2011 : 03:28:02
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Great review, Richard. Just a comment about Abin Sur. I guess among them all, he was the one who was completely fearless, and so no amount of fear-leeching energy from Parallax could affect him. |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jul 2011 : 08:00:05
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That's really cool, Richard. |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jul 2011 : 17:18:29
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Check out a kind note about my new superhero series from author James Reasoner. And while you're there, browse around the rest of his excellent blog Rough Edges.
http://www.jamesreasoner.blogspot.com/ |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jul 2011 : 00:00:34
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Just in case anybody's interested, my fantasy and horror ebook collection The Q Word and Other Stories is now on sale for a mere $.99. If you want it, why not grab it now and save two bucks? You can get it here:
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/rleebyers |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
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Questions for Richard Lee Byers
