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Okay, here we go….just about to start the next book in the Corona world, but I'll try to keep this thread going for a little bit longer.

Sargai: Well, I can predict that you will love the Mouser books. Lieber is wonderful - I'm glad I didn't fail!

Dreyzzyn: It is what it is. Maybe a burial scene in the next one? I mean, when Laethyn gives you an "ouch," you're in deep trouble.

Nanron and BurrowWarden: The tour is ended and I'm exhausted. For this book, I toured the beaches of Hawaii. Didn't sell any, but hey, who cares? Seriously, there is no tour for The Ancient. We did a lot of other promotions instead. Honestly, I don't know how much book tours help a novel these days, and they're grueling and quite expensive for the publisher.

I'll be in LA for Book Expo America in early June, in Anaheim for ALA in early July, then back to San Diego for the ComicCon, and then GenCOn for the big Drizzt 20^th celebration. I'll be on tour in September for two-to-three weeks. That's enough!

Robillard (and everyone else): I've never put anyone in a novel who asked. I'll pretend none of you did….for now. Seriously, you're already in the books, Robillard!

Laethyn: "Most of the time," indeed, and believe me when I say that I appreciate the loyalty and simple respect and friendship that many here showed in those other times. It's been a wonderful ride, a journey I never expected.

Avelyn: It was very much a conscious decision to show a bit of the powrie perspective. They haven't changed at all; it's just that we're seeing more from the powrie perspective. They can laugh, and laugh louder when they kill you. They've got honor, as do most sentient, reasoning beings. That doesn't mean they won't take pleasure in cutting your heart out and rubbing their berets in the blood.

Darius: I didn't change her sex, I promise. I don't see the word "God" as gender specific. This is one of the troubling points I have with a "pantheon" of gods….to me, the idea of worshipping a "god" is to elevate that being to supreme status (see Drizzt's long-ago treatise on finding a name for his religion). So if there are a number of available "gods," then to me that says that there is no "god" among them.

BEAST: "Certain justice"? See, here's where I think we're parting ways on this. I wouldn't lump Drizzt and Alustriel together in any way, shape or form on this matter. Alustriel looks at 10,000, 20,000 entrenched orcs and understands that she cannot go and wage an offensive campaign against them without taking terrible losses. She has, in effect, concluded that the cost would simply be too high. Add to that many other regional rulers who will not join in because they have the buffer that is Mithral Hall protecting them, and Alustriel came to the conclusion that the best option at this time is to let Obould sit. He won't grow much stronger, she believes, and if he moves, better to fight a defensive war.

For Drizzt, the reality of his choices was very limited. As we see in the newest book, he recognizes that Obould, awful as he is, is a lot better than what might follow. Without Alutriel, and Sundabar and Nesme and all the rest, Drizzt knows that Mithral Hall is better off just sitting tight.

You see, it's not faith, but pragmatism. Drizzt has some hope - he dares to hope - but he really can't do anything to change the paradigm anway.

Oh, and regarding the curbing of my quotes, I never saw it anywhere. I was just laying down the general guidelines because I suspected that we'd have many new participants in this thread.

And as for Dreyzzyn's role, you wouldn't believe how many coded messages you can put in a bar code.

Lostonbase: Thanks for saying that - I had to fight tooth and nail to keep that whole scene in the book, as some were afraid it might be too silly. I think it dovetailed perfectly with the opening of The Highwayman.

Aervane: Hot? One word: Kodachrome. (You know they'd never match my sweet imagination….")

I tried using AIM for a while, but I couldn't get anything done (like this message board, for example). My computer time is limited. I have to admit (don't hate me), but I'm not a big Billy Joel fan. Elton John, I like, but he's not my favorite. For songwriting excellence, I stay with Paul Simon.

TedGloss: Since Borders is headquartered there, it's always a possibility.

Rotor Cutter: He has certainly expanded into other roles. I don't think of him as a "ranger," honestly. Classes are for games, not real life. He's just another dope trying to muddle through, like the rest of us.

Onired: First of all, as others have pointed out, writing is a tough gig. You start completely on spec, meaning that you can spend years and years writing and never get published. And even if you do, the odds of making a lot of money (or even a living wage) at it are stacked very much against you. Writing is not Plan A! I cannot stress that enough. If you make it, and that means both luck and talent and timing, writing has many positives and some negatives. Look at Nanron's signature indeed, because it's the truth.

2. The production costs for graphic novels are quite high, thus the cover price. I love what Devil's Due is doing with the books, both Drizzt and DemonWars.

3. It's not up to me where I go. The book chains and independents work it out with the publisher. For me to get to any particular area means that a major independent, or one of the chains (Border's Barnes and Noble, etc.) wants me there. It starts from the store manager, who requests it.

Elric: The Realms, they are a'changing. It'll be interesting to see what that region looks like in the new Realms.

Walin: Definitely my own! When I wrote Luke and company from Star Wars, for example, I spent more time just trying to make them work for George's vision than changing their lives in any way. Using other people's characters makes me feel more like a mechanic than a writer, and the less known about them, the better for me.

Mattro: It used to be Fleetwood Mac, and I still love them. I don't know that I have a favorite now - my favorite CD is a collection of Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Yes, Fleetwood Mac, Nirvana, Til Tuesday, U2, Chili Peppers, the Cranberries, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, REM and Guns and Roses. Now if that isn't eclectic, I don't know what is! To other favorites are George Winston (piano) and John Serrie (space instrumental).

Ehren: All I can say is that the Saga of the First King will move ever southward.

Okay, time to go outline….

Peace,

Bob