Unlike the established, very detailed Realms, I can’t rely on readers knowing anything from previous books. Yet at the same time, I have to do more explaining. I can make big changes during a story, and kill and blast to my heart’s content. When I’m writing in my other settings, such as Falconfar, Castlemourn, Niflheim, or others, I don’t have to hold back. When writing in the shared world setting of the Realms, I’m always mindful of “not breaking the toys,” which means not killing or altering characters other writers and designers might use, and not narrowing down gaming or writing possibilities by making too many definite, clear statements and eliminating people, places, and things. Now that’s the chords-of-doom setup, but the story also has a young and flippant noble, lots of other and more dastardly nobles, deadly slayers, a nearly nude “mask dancer,” an angry ghost, and some infamous thieves. Weak and desperate, hoping to find someone else to take over his cause of “saving the Realms” by spreading use of magic to everyone, high and low, so no one can survive as a tyrant by using magic on others or by brute force of arms if no one has magic, he doesn’t even notice that old, old foes are hunting for him, intending to take revenge by killing him at last. Notably in Cormyr, where his thefts have made the War Wizards fed up with him and determined to destroy him. El still loves The Simbul deeply, and is trying to make and keep her sane by feeding her magic, which he’s stealing wherever he can. Elminster, Storm, and The Simbul have all lost their goddess, their status as Chosen, and something else: Elminster – his eagerness, vitality, a lot of his magic, and his hold on his sanity Storm – almost all of her magic and The Simbul – ALL her sanity. The Spellplague has come to the Realms, and almost a century has passed. Give our readers a brief blurb of this latest offering, and if you will, is there anything different you do when writing in a shared/established Wizards of the Coast setting as compared to something outside the Forgotten Realms? With your latest Elminster novel, ELMINSTER MUST DIE, you've returned to one of the most iconic characters in the Forgotten Realms. I’m going to die someday, and I’ve got SO many tales still to tell! So let’s get this show back on the road! If I’m using a place or characters I’ve used before, what can I do with them that’s new, or at least different? And so on. If I’m collaborating with someone, I want to do it differently than any other collaboration I’ve done. I approach everything as a challenge: I have this much time to get from Here to There, or to create This effect what’s the most fun way to do it? Or, how can I do it involving this character and a mad thinking castle and a drunken dragon, or making sure the fat guy slips on the banana peel in a way that surprises the reader? Right, here we go, and wheeee! You've written 30+ novels, campaign settings, articles.how do you keep it all fresh? Why read something that the writer hasn’t had lots of fun creating for you? Most importantly, I LOVE writing fantasy, sf, and pulp adventure, and I think it shows in the writing. I enjoy writing scenes of defying evil or misplaced authority, and LIVE to describe wild spell battles. I love characters and my tales focus on them, witty dialogue and all. I’ve designed probably THE most detailed fantasy world-setting ever (yes, bigger and deeper than Middle-Earth) and detailed a lot of it, working for forty-some years on it thus far. I’ve written (and published) more than 130 books, so I’m either doing something right or fooling a lot of editors. I’m more humble than braggy by nature, so I’m not going to be very good at this, but here goes. Ed, we want you to leave humility at the door, and tell us and our readers why they should be reading your works. Whenever we have the chance to interview authors, the first thing we like to do is give them a chance to brag little (or a lot). Also check out the text after the interview to find out how to win a SIGNED copy of Ed's new book ELMINSTER MUST DIE Check out the following interview with him and we triple-dog-dare you not to be impressed with this guy. He is also one of the most honest about his own work. Ed, as it turns out, is one of the nicest people we have ever interviewed. You may or may not like what you have read. Really, if you don't know who Ed Greenwood is, you've been living under a rock somewhere.
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