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Alaundo
Head Moderator
United Kingdom
5692 Posts |
 Posted - 12 Feb 2004 : 19:03:54
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Well met
This being a collective scroll of any questions the Scribes and visitors of Candlekeep wish to put to a renowned author of the Realms, namely - Dave Gross, whos works include: Black Wolf and Lord of Stormweather from the Sembia Series.
Present your questions herein and check back to see what news may also come forth from the quill of this author.
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Alaundo
Candlekeep Forums Head Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
An Introduction to Candlekeep - by Ed Greenwood
The Candlekeep Compendium - Tomes of Realmslore penned by Scribes of Candlekeep
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CurseLord
Acolyte
35 Posts |
Posted - 24 Feb 2004 : 00:32:45
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Mr. Gross, as Mistress of the Night will be coming out later this year, could you give us any tidbits about the novel or a general summery? 
Also, after Mistress of the Night, do you have any other Forgotten Realms work down the road?
Also, I want to thank you for a great job on Lord of Stormweather, a great end to a great series. |
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VEDSICA
Senior Scribe
USA
466 Posts |
Posted - 24 Feb 2004 : 01:58:05
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| I agree.I liked Lord of Stormweather also.Mr.Gross.Is there any plans to bring back Tamlin in a novel??? |
LIFE,BIRTH,BLOOD,DOOM---THE HOLE IN THE GROUND IS COMING ROUND SOON----BLS |
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 24 Feb 2004 : 04:10:30
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quote:
Originally posted by VEDSICA
I agree.I liked Lord of Stormweather also.Mr.Gross.Is there any plans to bring back Tamlin in a novel???
He makes an appearance in Twilight Falling, the first book in the Erevis Cale trilogy by Paul Kemp. Granted, that's not written by Mr. Gross, but it was nice to see the character again. |
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Dave_Gross
Forgotten Realms Author
Canada
38 Posts |
Posted - 24 Feb 2004 : 15:30:00
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quote:
Originally posted by CurseLord
Mr. Gross, as Mistress of the Night will be coming out later this year, could you give us any tidbits about the novel or a general summery?
Also, after Mistress of the Night, do you have any other Forgotten Realms work down the road?
Thanks for the kind words and the questions. I'll give you a better reply in a few weeks, because I'm absurdly busy at the moment. In brief, Mistress of the Night is about what happens when an excessively violent priestess of Selune, Feena, and an excessively violent swordsman, Radu Malveen, come in on opposite sides of a conflict involving the cult of Shar. It's set in Yhaunn, Sembia.
I'll contribute a story to Realms of the Dragons. That's all I've got planned at the moment, other than a really long nap.
Oh, and Mr. Gross is still my grandfather. Please feel free to call me Dave. |
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Dave_Gross
Forgotten Realms Author
Canada
38 Posts |
Posted - 24 Feb 2004 : 15:34:12
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quote:
Originally posted by VEDSICA
I agree.I liked Lord of Stormweather also.Mr.Gross.Is there any plans to bring back Tamlin in a novel???
No plans at the moment. I once had an idea for a story set a few years after the Sembia series and using many of the characters from those books in a Shogun-sized epic involving noble houses, temples, and other power brokers from all over the country. Tamlin would have been a major player in that story. |
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Lord Rad
Great Reader
United Kingdom
2080 Posts |
Posted - 24 Feb 2004 : 15:49:30
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quote:
Originally posted by Dave_Gross
Thanks for the kind words and the questions. I'll give you a better reply in a few weeks, because I'm absurdly busy at the moment. In brief, Mistress of the Night is about what happens when an excessively violent priestess of Selune, Feena, and an excessively violent swordsman, Radu Malveen, come in on opposite sides of a conflict involving the cult of Shar. It's set in Yhaunn, Sembia.
 Oh my god, a blast from the past!! Radu Malveen and Feena of Sembia-fame?! Wow, now im looking forward to Mistress of Night more than I was already!! Cant wait for this one!! |
Lord Rad
"What? No, I wasn't reading your module. I was just looking at the pictures"
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 24 Feb 2004 : 16:33:01
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quote:
Originally posted by Dave_Gross
No plans at the moment. I once had an idea for a story set a few years after the Sembia series and using many of the characters from those books in a Shogun-sized epic involving noble houses, temples, and other power brokers from all over the country. Tamlin would have been a major player in that story.
Oh, know that sounds very promising. Once had? Did WOTC turn this story idea down?
Thanks for the replies to the questions on this thread. |
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Dave_Gross
Forgotten Realms Author
Canada
38 Posts |
Posted - 24 Feb 2004 : 18:54:08
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quote:
Originally posted by SiriusBlack
Oh, know that sounds very promising. Once had? Did WOTC turn this story idea down?
Thanks for the replies to the questions on this thread.
Oh, no--I didn't mean to give that impression. I haven't pitched the idea; I only sketched out a few notes and put them in my "Ideas" folder. I did, however, tell editor Phil Athans the two titles I wanted to call dibs on.
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 25 Feb 2004 : 03:22:23
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quote:
Originally posted by Dave_Gross
Oh, no--I didn't mean to give that impression. I haven't pitched the idea; I only sketched out a few notes and put them in my "Ideas" folder. I did, however, tell editor Phil Athans the two titles I wanted to call dibs on.
You didn't and my apologies. The tense confused me and my mind automatically leaped to the darkest conclusion. Glad to see that it's still a possibility one day in the distant future. Thanks again. |
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Adrian Moonbow
Seeker
Denmark
64 Posts |
Posted - 25 Feb 2004 : 07:55:09
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quote:
Originally posted by Dave_Gross
In brief, Mistress of the Night is about what happens when an excessively violent priestess of Selune, Feena, and an excessively violent swordsman, Radu Malveen, come in on opposite sides of a conflict involving the cult of Shar. It's set in Yhaunn, Sembia.
Wow! From whose side will we walk this story? I really 'liked' Radu, so I hope he will be the protagonist.
quote:
Oh, and Mr. Gross is still my grandfather. Please feel free to call me Dave.
Ah, you authors. You know how hard it is to call someone you admire so much by his first name? So, DAVE, is it a common fetish amongst FR authors to be called their first name? |
"I would have wanted not to die.
I would have wanted never to grow up!"
-Quidam
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Kameron M. Franklin
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
228 Posts |
Posted - 25 Feb 2004 : 18:30:07
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You're welcome to call me "Mr. Franklin." 
Putting the "Mr." in front is not only formal, but very old sounding. Being only 30 myself, I don't like feeling old, even if I am 10 or more years older than most of my future readers. |
"You keep saying that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." --Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride |
Edited by - Kameron M. Franklin on 25 Feb 2004 23:17:18 |
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Shadowlord
Master of Realmslore
USA
1298 Posts |
Posted - 26 Feb 2004 : 05:56:20
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quote:
Originally posted by Dave_Gross
In brief, Mistress of the Night is about what happens when an excessively violent priestess of Selune, Feena, and an excessively violent swordsman, Radu Malveen, come in on opposite sides of a conflict involving the cult of Shar. It's set in Yhaunn, Sembia.
I'll contribute a story to Realms of the Dragons. That's all I've got planned at the moment, other than a really long nap.
Oh, and Mr. Gross is still my grandfather. Please feel free to call me Dave.
Whatever you say, DAVE. Anyways, please refer to the spoiler below.
SPOILER (Highlight Area)
Radu Malveen's face is extra crispy, and char-broiled right now. I always wondered why he didn't get healed by a cleric. I'd like to ask the author his perspective on this. I know that some Realmsian characters are adverse to magical healing. Is Radu among them?
END OF SPOILER |
The Chosen of Vhaeraun
"Nature is governed by certain immutable rules. By virtue of claw and fang, the lion will always triumph over the goat.Given time, the pounding of the sea will wear away the stone. And when dark elves mingle with the lighter races, the offspring invariably take after the dark parent. It is all much the same. That which is greater shall prevail. Our numbers increase steadily, both through birth and conquest. The dark elves are the dominant race, so ordained by the gods." Ka'Narlist of the Ilythiiri. |
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Dave_Gross
Forgotten Realms Author
Canada
38 Posts |
Posted - 26 Feb 2004 : 19:03:19
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quote:
Originally posted by Shadowlord
SPOILER (Highlight Area)
Radu Malveen's face is extra crispy, and char-broiled right now. I always wondered why he didn't get healed by a cleric. I'd like to ask the author his perspective on this. I know that some Realmsian characters are adverse to magical healing. Is Radu among them?
END OF SPOILER
An astute question! And one that is answered in Mistress of the Night. I oughtn't spoil it here.
On the "mister" business, I suppose most people enjoy the formality of a title. If I absolutely must have one, I prefer "Master and Commander."
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Shadowlord
Master of Realmslore
USA
1298 Posts |
Posted - 26 Feb 2004 : 20:20:13
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Oh, too bad. I guess I'll just have to wait.....
Whatever yousay, Master and Commander..... |
The Chosen of Vhaeraun
"Nature is governed by certain immutable rules. By virtue of claw and fang, the lion will always triumph over the goat.Given time, the pounding of the sea will wear away the stone. And when dark elves mingle with the lighter races, the offspring invariably take after the dark parent. It is all much the same. That which is greater shall prevail. Our numbers increase steadily, both through birth and conquest. The dark elves are the dominant race, so ordained by the gods." Ka'Narlist of the Ilythiiri. |
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Dave_Gross
Forgotten Realms Author
Canada
38 Posts |
Posted - 26 Feb 2004 : 23:15:28
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quote:
Originally posted by Adrian Moonbow
Wow! From whose side will we walk this story? I really 'liked' Radu, so I hope he will be the protagonist.
Both sides, alternately, for most of the story. Then something happens. |
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Shadowlord
Master of Realmslore
USA
1298 Posts |
Posted - 27 Feb 2004 : 04:08:35
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Ah, I do hope that whatever that "something" is, it does not affect Radu that much..... |
The Chosen of Vhaeraun
"Nature is governed by certain immutable rules. By virtue of claw and fang, the lion will always triumph over the goat.Given time, the pounding of the sea will wear away the stone. And when dark elves mingle with the lighter races, the offspring invariably take after the dark parent. It is all much the same. That which is greater shall prevail. Our numbers increase steadily, both through birth and conquest. The dark elves are the dominant race, so ordained by the gods." Ka'Narlist of the Ilythiiri. |
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CurseLord
Acolyte
35 Posts |
Posted - 27 Feb 2004 : 05:14:35
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Thank you very much for answering my questions Mr. Gro....eh Dave. Its hard to get rid of habits of how to refer to people inserted in you since your early youth.
I look foward to Mistress of the Night with more anticipation now. I am also glad that many of the characters from the Sembia series are still be used in new novels. |
Edited by - CurseLord on 27 Feb 2004 05:15:26 |
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 27 Feb 2004 : 16:43:16
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quote:
Originally posted by Dave_Gross
On the "mister" business, I suppose most people enjoy the formality of a title. If I absolutely must have one, I prefer "Master and Commander."
Master and Commander? Hmm, sure you are not writing about Loviatar? |
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Kameron M. Franklin
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
228 Posts |
Posted - 27 Feb 2004 : 18:11:30
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*Suddenly has fears that Mr. Athans has Dave is writing an alternate manuscript for Maiden "just in case" . . .* ;)
Considering the genre that title is associated with, I'd think Umberlee would be more appropriate. |
"You keep saying that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." --Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride |
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stevem
Acolyte
4 Posts |
Posted - 09 May 2004 : 23:41:11
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"Master and Commander" is an old British naval rank. One step below Captain. It is also the title of a truly excellent book by Patrick O'Brein, which kicked off a very good series and has a passing relationship with the movie starring Russell Crowe.
I suspect that Dave was referring to all of the above when selecting his title. Personally, I prefer "Admiral of the Fleet", but then I'm power hungry and greedy. I want a share of all prize money, even if I didn't earn it 
Having said all that, I am looking forward to your new book. The Black Wolf and Lord of Stormweather were the best of the Sembia series. I think they should give Radu and Tal their own series, much like that wanna be Ervis Cale.
Steve Moss |
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Valondil the Ranger
Learned Scribe
USA
109 Posts |
Posted - 28 May 2004 : 00:01:32
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| But, Mister Kameron, Veronica Whitney-Robinson is already writing about Umberlee in the Queen of the Depths. |
--Your humble ranger,
Valondil
Check out my webpage at http://iankappos.blogspot.com/ |
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Lauzoril
Seeker
Finland
71 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jun 2004 : 18:08:01
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Greetings Dave. I greatly enjoyed both of your Sembia books. All the characters were very intriguing. Which reminds me, will Talbot return someday to continue his prowlings as a Black Wolf?
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"Death to the enemies of Bane."
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Dave_Gross
Forgotten Realms Author
Canada
38 Posts |
Posted - 03 Aug 2004 : 05:34:38
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quote:
Originally posted by Lauzoril
Greetings Dave. I greatly enjoyed both of your Sembia books. All the characters were very intriguing. Which reminds me, will Talbot return someday to continue his prowlings as a Black Wolf?
As a matter of fact, yes. Talbot returns in a short story included in Realms of the Dragons, which I believe is to be released in October.
I'm glad you liked the books. Thanks for the kind words.
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 03 Aug 2004 : 06:42:42
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quote:
Originally posted by Dave_Gross
As a matter of fact, yes. Talbot returns in a short story included in Realms of the Dragons, which I believe is to be released in October.
I'm looking forward to seeing how he's doing since we last gazed upon him. |
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Feiht
Acolyte
USA
36 Posts |
Posted - 11 Aug 2004 : 18:59:29
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| I'd like to ask as to when Mistress is supposed to be released? Amazon had it originally slated for Aug 31, but now for Nov 30. The WOTC products page says Sept. I was hoping you'd be able to clear this up for us. Thanks. |
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Feiht
Acolyte
USA
36 Posts |
Posted - 14 Aug 2004 : 02:06:57
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| Well, now I just saw on the WOTC that Mistress is slated for December. |
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Valondil the Ranger
Learned Scribe
USA
109 Posts |
Posted - 06 Sep 2004 : 20:58:34
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| Mr. Gross, I really enjoyed your story in Halls of Stormweather. Yours and Mr. Kemp's were the two best. But, now that I'm about to start reading the Sembia Series, I see that you wrote the book about Tamlin instead of Clayton Emery (I hated his story--his writing style was just really simple and not good at all) and so I was wondering why you wrote the Tamlin novel isntead of him? I mean, I'm certain it'll be MUCH better than originally expected since you're writing it and not him. |
--Your humble ranger,
Valondil
Check out my webpage at http://iankappos.blogspot.com/ |
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Dave_Gross
Forgotten Realms Author
Canada
38 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2004 : 16:58:36
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quote:
Originally posted by Valondil the Ranger
Mr. Gross, I really enjoyed your story in Halls of Stormweather. Yours and Mr. Kemp's were the two best. But, now that I'm about to start reading the Sembia Series, I see that you wrote the book about Tamlin instead of Clayton Emery ... and so I was wondering why you wrote the Tamlin novel isntead of him? ...
Thanks for the kind words, Valondil. Clayt had other obligations and could not write the Tamlin novel at the time it came around on the schedule, so Phil Athans and Peter Archer asked me to consider taking it on. After talking it over with them as well as Ed Greenwood and Paul Kemp, I got some fun ideas and decided to go for it. It was a very rewarding experience, in large part because it gave me a great excuse to interact again with the other Sembians.
The same thing happened to me in reverse this year; before I finished Mistress of the Night, the rest of my life exploded with (good) activity, and I couldn't complete it. Phil coaxed Don Bassingthwaite, about whose work I hear only wonderful things, onto the project.
A side effect of this change is that the chapters originally including Radu Malveen are gone. Don removed those and added his own characters--an important step in making the book his own--but kept the other half of the story in place while weaving in his new material. The result, I suspect, having not yet read the completed book, is ultimately more his than mine, and I'm grateful to him for stepping in when I had to step down.
Such has been my book karma.
My next writing apart from Amazing Stories and the occasional review will be for the computer game company Bioware. After figuring out how much free time that job allows me, I'll decide on my next novel. There are three or four outlines sitting in my ideas folder, and I've been leaning toward a big fantasy novel with way, way too many point-of-view characters, even though I know that'd be pretty daunting.
Dave
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Lord Rad
Great Reader
United Kingdom
2080 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2004 : 17:08:19
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quote:
Originally posted by Dave_Gross
A side effect of this change is that the chapters originally including Radu Malveen are gone. Don removed those and added his own characters--an important step in making the book his own--but kept the other half of the story in place while weaving in his new material. The result, I suspect, having not yet read the completed book, is ultimately more his than mine, and I'm grateful to him for stepping in when I had to step down.
NNNNOOOOOOOOooooooooooo!!! Tell me this aint so! Will Radu not feature in the book at all now? I've been looking forward to reading about Radu again for so long  |
Lord Rad
"What? No, I wasn't reading your module. I was just looking at the pictures"
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2004 : 17:32:58
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quote:
Originally posted by Dave_Gross
Such has been my book karma.
Thank you for giving everyone an update on the novel's contents. I'd like to add that both yourself and Don Bassingthwaite have handled the situation with a great deal of class. I know many fans don't care about that, but I always like to see it.
quote:
I'll decide on my next novel. There are three or four outlines sitting in my ideas folder, and I've been leaning toward a big fantasy novel with way, way too many point-of-view characters, even though I know that'd be pretty daunting.
Would this possible big fantasy novel be set in the Realms? Another shared world? Or a world of your own creation?
Thank you for taking the time to reply to our questions.
SB |
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Questions for Dave Gross
