A Multi-Center Prospective Evaluation of a Radiofrequency Identification Tag in the Localization of Nonpalpable Breast Lesions
Julie L. Barone, DO1, 2 ; Lawrence E. Goldberger, MD2 ; Jerome S. Schroeder, MD1 ; and Christine Dauphine, MD3
1. Saint Joseph Hospital Breast Care Center 1375 E 19th Ave, Denver, CO 80218 2. Sharp Memorial Hospital and Comprehensive Breast Care of San Diego, 3075 Health Center Drive San Diego CA 92123 3. Harbor-UCLA Medical Center 1000 W. Carson St. Box 25, Torrance, CA 90502
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a radiofrequency identification (RFID) tag in the localization of nonpalpable breast lesions.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Institutional Review Board approval was obtained at each of the two participating institutions prior to initiation of this study at each site. Consecutive adult patients undergoing excision of a nonpalpable breast lesion were approached to participate. Enrolled subjects underwent placement of an RFID tag on the same day as elective operative excision.
The implanted RFID tag is detected utilizing a handheld reader device placed over the skin. The sound emitted from the reader device increases in volume and pitch as the reader approaches the tag.
A hookwire was also placed in the initial patients at each study site and in cases where the RFID tags were placed under stereotactic guidance. The RFID tag was the primary method used by the operating surgeon to localize each lesion during excision, with the hookwire serving as backup in case of tag migration or failed localization. Patient data, including breast size and lesion location (quadrant of the breast, distance to areola, depth from the skin) were collected.
Successful localization and removal of the intended lesion were the primary outcomes measured. Potential complications such as tag migration and postoperative infection were also
recorded in order to assess safety.
Forty-six patients underwent placement of 47 RFID tags, 39 under ultrasound guidance and 8 with stereotactic guidance. Thirty-five patients had breast cancer, and 11 had benign lesions.
In all 47 excisions, the RFID tag was successfully localized by the reader at the level of the skin prior to incision, and the target lesion was visualized within the excised specimen. There were no localization failures and no postoperative infections.
Tag migration did not occur prior to incision, but in 13 cases, the tag slipped out of the lesion as it was being retracted to make the final cut along the deep surface of the specimen. Six cancer patients had positive margins, one of which ultimately underwent mastectomy due to patient choice.
The use of an RFID tag system is an effective and safe method of localization of nonpalpable breast lesions in this investigation. RFID localization of nonpalpable breast tumors for surgical excision may represent an alternative method to hookwire localization.


St. Andrew's Church, Prineville, OR
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Somebody once said that saints are people that the light of Christ shines through. Our tour of the windows this summer has showed us the great many ways the light shines through. These windows ask us to consider, What does your window look like? How does the light shine through you?
Luke is our first window this week. He wrote both the gospel and the Book of Acts. The two were intended as Volume One and Volume Two of one work.
If you read them one after the other, you notice, this is more than the story of Jesus. Luke tells the story of the Holy Spirit, from the Spirit’s first manifestation in Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, to person after person in the Book of Acts. Each outpouring is greater than the last. In fact, everything that Jesus did in the Gospel gets repeated and more so in the Book of Acts.
I saw what you might call a theological reflection on Facebook the other day that carries Luke’s theme one step further. It said, Fueled by the Spirit, look what Paul accomplished for the reign of God. Imagine what we could do. We have the same Spirit – and we have coffee, too! Maybe there’ll be a coffee cup in my window. How about yours?
Luke was Paul’s traveling companion in the last years of his ministry. In the letter to the Colossians, Paul calls Luke the beloved physician. That’s the inspiration for our window. He holds a staff entwined with snakes. Does it look familiar? In the US, it’s used as a symbol for the medical profession. Evidently, the person who chose it got his Greek gods mixed up. This is a caduceus, the symbol for Hermes, the messenger.
Asclepios, the god of healing has only one snake. His staff represents medicine internationally. Anyway, the snake, one or two, represents both medicine and poison, which some of us wish we didn’t understand so well. Never mind. Either way, it works for Luke, physician and messenger.
The snake returns in John’s window, for poison this time. There is a legend that says John was once given a poisoned chalice to drink. He blessed it first, and the poison crawled out in the form of a snake. He then drank unharmed. Me, I like all these legends. We don’t have to take these saints and ourselves so seriously, even if preserved in stained glass.
John’s gospel is different. Matthew, Mark and Luke tell a relatively straight forward sequence of events, punctuated by memorable sayings and stories, easy to repeat and pass on, until the evangelists collect them. But John’s gospel has these full-fledged speeches. They call them discourses on who the Christ is, and what he means in a cosmic sense.
John talks about the Spirit on the night before Jesus died. Jesus said, I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. Luke’s narrative writings give examples of how that worked. Time and again, the disciples thought they knew what the Bible says. But then they had some experience of the Spirit that led them into a deeper truth. So they came to a deeper understanding about what the Bible says.
I think John’s discourses express a different version of the same phenomenon. John was the Beloved Disciple. His relationship with Jesus was intimate, personal. Decades after Jesus’ death, John still writes about him in the present tense, as though Jesus is right beside him, the Spirit of Jesus, while John leans against him still, like at the Last Supper.
Do you have somebody in your life like that? Your mother, your spouse, who’s been gone for years. But you still hear him or her speaking to you, not a memory of something once said, but what that person would be saying right now. That’s what John’s Gospel is, Jesus present to John right when he’s writing, and when we draw that close, right now, leaning on the everlasting arms. We read John at funerals. In our deepest grief, that’s when we hear Jesus speaking to us, I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, though they die, yet shall they live.
Really, you couldn’t find anyone more different from John than Peter. No better argument against cookie cutter Christians than these two, side by side, the beloved disciple and the ya-never-know-what-he’s-gonna-say-next leader of the pack, going with John’s brother James up that mountain to share that vision in today’s gospel.
Peter’s window portrays his struggle, same struggle as many of us, as followers of Jesus, in two symbols, one of his faith and one of his fear.
Peter said, You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. And Jesus answered, You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the powers of hell shall not prevail against it. I give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Peter’s faith is that rock on which the Church is founded. And his faith is the key that opens the kingdom of heaven.
What could prevail against the Church, built on the rock of faith? Not doubt – doubt does not destroy faith. Doubting Thomas is an example of a disciple who used his God-given brain to ask reasonable questions. The faith of Thomas is strong because it is not gullible.
But the opposite of faith is fear. And there’s that rooster, the one that crowed after Peter denied Jesus, because Peter – was afraid. Fear is what brings down the Church, fear to be different, fear to stand up and say, Well, that’s wrong. Or to say instead, This is what I believe. Fear is what denies the Christ.
The Church is weaker today, because for so many centuries, we had nothing to fear. We got flabby. Peter’s faith muscles were like rock, because he faced his fear. He was afraid. But he pulled it together. He came back, stood up to it.
And we can, too.
We come to Andrew. No, Helen, he’s not holding skis. Not golf clubs, either. That’s his cross. He was crucified in Greece on a cross in that shape. He is the patron of Scotland, and that is why the Scottish flag is a white X on a blue field.
Andrew was the first apostle, the very first. How did this whole thing ever get going? Jesus called Andrew, and Andrew brought Peter to Jesus. That’s what Andrew did. When they had 4000 people to feed, Andrew brought the boy with the food to Jesus. When some Gentiles wanted in, Andrew brought them to Jesus. That is what Andrew did.
There is a group called the Brotherhood of St. Andrew. Their sole purpose is to bring people to the deepest possible relationship with Jesus.
You see, there are very few sprung-from-nothing Christians. We all got here because somebody made the introduction. I’m not talking about the person who hauled you off to Sunday School – though without that person, you might not have met the next one. I mean the one who made Jesus real to you, the person that the light of Christ shone through, by their words, by their example, by their relationship with you.
That is the heritage of Andrew. And if names do anything to form character, then that is the heritage of the people of St. Andrew’s, by your words, by your example, by your relationship, to introduce others into a deeper relationship with Jesus. The heritage of the people of St. Andrew’s is to be the windows that the light of Christ shines through.
There are other saints in these windows that I have yet to name. Maybe some of them were Andrew kind of people, that the light of Christ shone through, so that others came to their own relationship with this Jesus, and built this church. Let’s name them now.
James P. Gillis is here, right under St. James. Jan, who’s in the Matthew window? ….
I have asked this question throughout the summer. What does your window look like? Think about that. The artist who created our windows picked an item or two to represent each saint, their occupation, their gift, their weakness, their witness, the way the light of Christ shone through them. What does your window look like? Let’s talk about that later, while we hold our coffee cups.
And then, we will put our coffee cups down and go out that door, with the words of the Epistle to the Hebrews.
Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of of God.
Rod of Asclepius, in public domain
Engraving of The Last Supper by Albrecht Dürer, in public domain
Photos of windows from St. Andrew's Church, Prineville, Oregon, by author


i want to die angry. i don’t want to let the false bliss of beating down domestication swallow me whole—killing me off like too many artists. i don’t want to forget the things that have not been corrected in this world. i don’t want to forget the things that we humans have done to other humans, and that we CONTINUE to do to each other. i don’t want that sleepy complacence that seems to knock singers senseless, that seems to kick painters & writers down the stairwell into irrelevance. i want to remember myself as churning, kicking and screaming, in the only way i knew how to deal with this world—one that i was dragged into against whatever will i could have had at the time. it seems that those that have had a taste of recognition forget what it was like to be nothing—what it was like to have every creative notion evaporate into the air unheard, unread, unobserved, unappreciated—like so many of us do daily—thoughts and ideas crumbling like leftover pieces of foodstuffs that we stopped eating of our own avail, as we who decide our own fate, us who know not the inner slavery of the status quo, of the gods and the states, of the mass appeal, of the crowd pleasing techniques do not—they will not wither. we die in tact. we die very much alone in our own nothingness, but we cease to ever not wanting to involve ourselves more in the mysteries that we encounter in our very absence of domestic bliss. i have been watching my favorite artists die for years. have you? i have been watching them turn to piss. have you? i have stopped caring for them when they become simply another mommy or daddy—another practitioner of the white-picket-fence religion, a cult that seemingly never dies within our protected western walls.
the wisdom to walk in the opposite direction when encountering those who claim that they have wisdom—let me bathe in it. the wisdom to understand that with each passing day i know even less than the day before about this world around me (and hence i am in a perpetual state of ALWAYS BEING INTERESTED in the world outside me and WANTING ALWAYS TO KNOW MORE—to plunge myself deep within the world—to swim amongst the fishes who claim NEVER CERTAINTY and yet always always questioning)—let me bathe in this luke warm natural extravagance. my perturbed nature is not a bitter one, it is one that comes with the witness of brilliant minds gone dead—complacent—willing to surrender themselves to the norms that have killed off their fellow humans—and then to wonder in awe at the pockets of true resistance that can be found every day—people, breathing human lives who WILL NOT SETTLE, and who find in their own discontent, the only real and true human progress. i long to die with them. i long to die if never remembered, as only a flame amongst the fire, that will extinguish this pathetic slumber that comes with that allegiance to a way of being that has been rehearsed and written down, routinely run on the treadmill of mundane
pococurantism—let’s not become on of those wooden movable models whose arms of copper wire, sit and wait to be sold on the commercial market here in this capitalist kingdom of clichés. instead, let us laugh our way into oblivion—each of us classified maniacal & disturbed, wretched & cast out—better crazy than boring.


JONATHAN PAUL ISAACSAuthor of Sci-Fi, Thrillers, Sarcasm
“SIGN UP AND SEE THE GALAXY…”
The Remote Environment Search and Interdiction Teams (RESIT) need your help! Join my newsletter and I’ll send you a FREE copy of Operation Sunburn, a full-length novella set in the Quantum War universe. Join Wyatt, Laramie, and the rest of Havoc company as they investigate an urgent distress signal from a swanky space station resort. But as they quickly learn, all is not as it seems…
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When a Nazi soldier is found dead at her family’s winery, Gabrielle Conti must match wits with SS Captain Hans Tiedemann if she is to save her family from a brutal murder investigation.
Nate Merritt just inherited a derelict Southern mansion and decides to flip it for a quick buck. Too bad he has no skills, and that doesn’t sit well with the ghost who dwells there.
Jason Bourne meets Groundhog day in this fast-paced, hilarious thriller. Time traveler Michael Gantt has to stop a nuclear bomb from wiping out New York City. But is he the one who set it off in the first place?
THE QUANTUM WAR SERIES
A remote colony gone silent. A rescue team sent to help. But who will save the saviors? An action-packed science fiction series in the spirit of Marko Kloos (Frontlines) and James S.A. Corey (The Expanse).
Two unlikely allies may hold the key to saving a planet. That is, if the government doesn’t kill them first. Join Wyatt, Laramie, and Chris as they race against the clock to save humanity in this exciting sequel.
As their strike force regroups, Wyatt uncovers what might be the greatest conspiracy ever known. Little does he realize that Chris and Laramie’s lives just may hinge on an alliance with the very people they’ve been fighting.
Wyatt may finally uncover the truth about constriction. But will it be too late to hold together a fragile alliance and save Juliet? (Coming soon.)
OUTER RIM ROUGH RIDERS
Outer Rim Roughriders
Captain Noah Denson and his crew must juggle two conflicting missions that could ultimately cost them their lives. Perfect for fans of Firefly or Andor.
A desperate getaway takes Noah and his crew to the remote outpost of Sidewinder Station. But all is not what it seems, and they may never be able to leave…
Completing the first story arc, Noah and his team try to finally deliver their holuvian passenger–and end up in a desperate fight for their lives.
PRAISE FOR ESCAPE VELOCITY
Jonathan Isaacs has crafted a superior work of its kind.
Character development is real good. On a comparable level to Kloos.
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An intense, well thought out story with realistic (human) protagonists.
Gripping read right out of the gate. If you want action this is it!
A tremendous book. I’ve read a lot of space opera and this one’s one of the best.
This was a great story teller’s book and I instantly fell deep into the story line and characters.
As a career military officer I was impressed with his grasp of the interpersonal relationships so vital to success.
About The Author
I grew up in Maryland and was a science-fiction nut pretty much from Day One. My favorite movie growing up was Clash of the Titans (the original one, in all of its stop-motion glory). I used to catch frogs in my backyard and press gang them piloting my toy X-wing fighters.
Now I live in Texas and work in the software industry, usually either trying to fix stuff, or at least make it better if it ain’t quite broke. Writing is my escape that takes me back to the simpler times of kiddom. I’d love to take you along for the ride. Join my Readers Group for a free sample, plus receive free stuff along the way. Hope you like it!


It has been experimentally proven that all organisms receive cues from the local EM environment which regulate their metabolic activities. Recent studies of epigenesis suggest that genetic expression is influenced by EMFs, and that the evolution of all organisms has been guided to a certain extent by local EMFs. In this way, organisms may be considered as an expression of the environment. This is far different from many current notions (cultural, medical, and scientific) that organisms are not linked to the environment and therefore one could hope to correct a dysfunction by altering a single component (molecule, cell, organ) and expect normalization.
The model which can be suggested here is that of electromagnetically incorporating an organism into its environment. This can be accomplished by any device that can modify the EM state of an organism (naturally, the majority of concern is on humans) on a general level so that a good balance of adaptability and integrity with the environment can be restored.
Though ‘holism’ is quickly becoming the most over-used and ubiquitous notion in recent years, it is difficult to argue against its importance. Paradoxically, nearly everyone has a different construct of what exactly holism means as perception, cultural values, spiritual beliefs, and knowledge vary from individual to individual. There is an ever growing body of evidence which suggests that electromagnetic fields (EMFs) are not simply a passive aspect of the environment and that the electromagnetic state of an organism contributes to its ‘wholeness’.
While some critics argue that there is no interaction between EMFs and biological systems, enough concern has been raised in the last few years regarding the harmful effects of EMFs that nearly all industrialized nations are currently conducting research and have established certain guidelines for field exposure limits.1 Historically, it has been easier for humans to harm than to heal, and the situation is no different with EMFs. The authors feel it is crucial that an organism be treated as a whole when EMF therapy is employed. The rational for this electromagnetic holism is described below.
The Electromagnetic Environment
It has been experimentally proven that all organisms receive cues from the local EM environment which regulate their metabolic activities. EMFs have also been shown to alter the morphogenesis of Drosophila melanogaster in the same manner as various other environmental changes (e.g., changes in altitude alter the form of certain plant species).4 In this way, organisms can be considered an expression of the local environment with the genetic structure acting as a stabilizing element.
Further evidence that all organisms are derived from the environment comes from Andrew Weil who notes that most synthetic pharmacological substances are only semi-synthetic in that they are nearly always based on a natural compound (the ‘active ingredient’ of a plant or part of a plant) with a slight shift in the structure of the molecule. This is because humans do not generally respond well to purely synthetic substances, and in the case of psychoactive substances, the brain lacks the appropriate neurotransmitter to distinguish the substance and respond.
It may seem like splitting hairs or academic frivolity to argue that life is dependent on the environment, however when dealing with health and disease, disavowing the web-like character of organism and surroundings has lead to many disasters. Few would argue that organisms and machines operate in the same manner, yet very often diagnostic and therapeutic methods are approached in the same manner for both. The notion of the whole within the part has gained acceptance among physicists, and this notion is easily extrapolated to biological systems. In this way, attempting to treat a single component of an organism (cell, tissue, organ, etc.) will likely result in failure as it ignores the effects that the part has had on the whole.
It is one thing to say that EMFs have an effect on organisms, but quite another to distinguish the process enhancing from the process degrading signals. The next section explores the possibilities of healing with EMFs.
Evidence for Healing with EMF
Arguably, Nikola Tesla understood electricity on a more fundamental level than anyone else has before him or since. In the 1930 Tesla and Georges Lakhovsky constructed the Multiple Wave Oscillator: a generator of life-associated frequencies from 750 kHz to 3 MHz and numerous harmonics. He reported several successful applications of the device (some medical reports from the 1930s are quoted in ref. 7) in cancer treatment and various metabolic disorders in plant, animal and human patients.
Among others, Robert O. Becker and Cyril Smith have written popular books which describe the history of bioelectromagnetism as well as their own positive experience in employing EMFs for healing processes. Becker’s work focuses on bone, nerve and tissue regeneration using exogenous stimulation sources and reports success in the mending of bones, which for one reason or another, refused to heal. One of the most stunning accounts is an experiment where a 1 nanoamp battery was implanted in the stump of an amputated rat foreleg and induced histologically completed regeneration.
Smith and his colleagues challenged electrically sensitive patients with various artificially generated frequencies, and the patients produced allergic responses which corresponded to their familiar reactions to chemicals for certain frequencies. Smith has also performed experiments where an allergy patient was brought into close proximity of a sealed vessel containing a know allergen to that patient. Despite the absence of a possible chemical interaction, the patient nonetheless produced an allergic response.
Smith suggests that people with allergies are oversensitive to EMFs and are therefore improperly responding to the EMF of certain substances. The question which arises now is: what are the mechanisms of disturbance and how can an understanding of these mechanisms further the possibilities of correcting pathologies which arise from them? By looking at this question holistically, another factor, that of an organism’s ability to communicate with the environment, needs to be considered.


The appeal of a flexible schedule, being your own boss, and working from home make freelance writing seem like a dream job. Well, it can be.
It can be a career, a business, but it’s not for everybody. Being a successful freelance writer takes hard work and in the beginning, life is really hard.
Just like any small business, it takes time, dedication, and passion. If you answer yes to the questions below, you should be a freelance writer.
Do you actually like writing?
Yea sure, everybody thinks they can write, but can you? And more importantly, do you enjoy it? In order to be successful, in anything (and happy too), you need to like it.
If writing isn’t particularly your thing, there are plenty of other work from home, computer based jobs. Freelance writing isn’t novels and journal writing in the beginning, at least not the type of novels you want to write.
It’s either strange animal domestication or erotica. You have to like writing, because you are going to write a lot of things you have no desire to write. You have to be a decent writer too. You’re not writing flowery poems that are open to interpretation.
For the most part, you are writing business material and nonfiction. If you are passionate about writing and good at it, you should be a freelance writer.
Are you realistic about what being a “new” employee means?
Yes, freelance is working for yourself, but ultimately, you are working for clients. You need to be realistic in meeting client goals.
Also, freelancers need to be realistic in the demands of the trade. It is not easy to get work in the beginning, and the work can be less than favorable.
Are you willing to write things you don’t really want to and for menial money? If you are ready and willing to put in time and work, you may have found your calling.
You also have to be realistic in your time management. Are you good at scheduling and using your time accordingly?
Can you easily adapt? Can you handle curve balls?
Freelancers are jacks of all trades. They have to be able to handle all types of situations and people. You may be asked to write in new styles, as well as use new formatting.
Can you handle the unpredictable? If you can, you should be a freelance writer. It is a great opportunity to learn and grow, that is, if you are receptive to it.
Clients will even ask you to use specific software and websites, like DropBox and WordPress. Are you willing to install and use new programs? The more you can mold and learn, the more successful you will be in this industry.
Are you a self-motivated and disciplined individual?
It is easy to get distracted when you don’t have a nagging boss on your hands, it is also easy to lose time. In order to be a successful freelance writer, you have to be able to prioritize your time and organize.
Long coffee breaks and the beach are tempting, but these distractions will not make you a lucrative writer. If you lack will-power, this is not the field for you. You have to be able to say no to temptation and plan your days accordingly.
Are you bold enough to market yourself?
Businesses thrive off of marketing and advertising. Can you sell yourself? Are you confident enough and willing to do the legwork?
Freelancers need ambition. If you are a go-getter that is not afraid to put yourself out there, you can do this. Freelance writing is not just about writing paid work.
It is about blogging, creating a professional website, cold pitching, and daily checking of websites and job boards. If you are brave and diligent, you have the upper hand, and you can be a prosperous writer.
Do you like learning new things?
The harsh reality is that as a new freelance writer you are not going to write what you want to in the beginning, unless you are very, very fortunate.
That happens too, but for the most part, you’re gonna have to like learning and have some curiosity. This is necessary because you can only write what you know, and you may not know exactly what the client wants or much about the topic.
Researcher is just another hat the freelancer has to wear. Good freelance writers know how to conduct research. A required job trait for a successful freelancer would be being able to have fun with the unknown.
Do you have thick skin?
Satisfying clients doesn’t always come easily. You shouldn’t be a freelance writer if you can’t handle negative feedback or constructive criticism. You will have both. Sometimes, freelancers even have to deal with difficult clients.
Can you handle the scrutiny and pressure? You will face rejection too. You will face all of these things, and they will either break you or make you a better writer. If you can handle the pressure, jump on in!!!!
If you answered yes to these questions, then you should pursue a career in the writing for hire industry. It can be arduous and tedious, but with time and patience, it can prove to be as successful a career as any other.
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The Rain Story, 2017
Illustrations: Florinda Pamungkas
_Should we go out tonight?
_He wants me to come over to his bar.
_No, but that’s why. Can we drop by?
The breeze coming through the balcony doors was refreshing. After yet another night of careless partying, cool and young seduction, we were tired. Ray got up to make some eggs. That was all we ate that summer – sunny side ups with rice and soy sauce. I slowly propped myself up and lit the tip of an incense stick on the table beside me. The smell was comforting. I picked up the dirty dishes and brought them to the sink. The digital clock by the TV read 4:05pm. How did the day pass by so fast?
_Do you want to shower first?
_No, you can go ahead.
The cold water jolted me awake. The hot water gradually advanced through the hose and I was soon embraced by warmth. Showers make me feel so alive. Skinned out of old skin, I felt once again baby brand new. Ray plopped food on the table as I came out of the shower. The house special: eggs on rice with a side of miso soup and pickles. I quickly dried myself and slipped into a cotton dress. We ate huddled around a small round table – incense burning on one end; the smoke embracing two ravenous 17 year olds.
Ray had always been a slow eater. I watched her eat as I took my last bite. She had a pronounced nose, silky skin, and almond-shaped eyes. Her hair was long and frizzy, probably from all the hair dyeing. She was tall and as young as we were, signs of pubescent curves had already reached her. Her breasts were more developed than my own. I have come to realize that a woman’s inclination to compare is an inherited genetic disorder.
_I’ll do the dishes so you can hop in the shower after you’re done eating.
_What time do you want to head out?
_Maybe around 11:30?
_Okay, no heels tonight. My feet are dead.
We watched some comedy on television to kill time. Summer was hitting Tokyo at its fullest and it was making me sweat, compelling me to think if I should shower again. I moved towards the balcony instead, letting the gentle wind cool me off. Summer was always my favorite season; everything about it was perfect, the smell, the humidity, and the sound of the city. I left Tokyo last year in such haste. Betrayed by friends, I decided to uproot myself and finish studies in Malaysia. It was a decision not entirely void of consequences, but it was an honest decision, at the very least.
_Do we still have some black devils?
I lit one. Chocolate flavored cigarettes. I had not known at the time but these were cigarettes that would always remind me of summer 2009.
_Shall we get ready?
We left the apartment at 5 to 12. We had decided to walk and save some money. It would’ve only taken us 20mins if we had opted for the train. But walking cost nothing but an hour of our time. Time was on our side; it had seemed as if we had all the time we would ever need that summer. We had dressed down but our faces were painted thickly with makeup, just like many other girls heading out that night.
_Ouch, are you fucking serious? Watch it when you’re smoking.
_I’m sorry. Are you okay?
Slightly irritated, I walked in silence for the next half hour. Never had I been burnt by a cigarette before. It brought a lingering pain, a feeling that would’ve been synonymous to unrequited love. The city was beautiful at night. It’s silence loud. Turning the corner, we entered a small path. The road was dark aside from the shy light emitting from the house a block away. As if afraid of being bewitched by the night, the other houses seemed to be fast asleep. Suddenly, gripped with a tense fear, I ran up to Ray and grasped her arm.
_It’s a bit dark; I’m scared.
_We’re almost there.
She chuckled. Her laugh was infectious; though rough, it was sincere. We walked a little bit more and came into a big intersection. Instantly, the darkness that had haunted me the past 20 minutes was gone. I wasn’t sure if I could get used to this. The sudden transition from the depths of darkness to blinding luminescent lights. It was confusing. The lights made me feel self-conscious but long intervals of being in the dark made me feel too close to death. Tokyo was becoming impossible to understand.
We went into a bar and bought gin and tonics to loosen up. I had first met Ray in middle school. She came half way into the academic year and I have faint memories of taking the train with her. She wasn’t studious nor particularly popular but she was kind. I had left midway and after my exodus, we never kept in touch. It was only by chance that we had reconnected this summer. I was visiting my father who was living with my grandmother and aunt. The Lehman shock had left my father jobless in Malaysia. His return to Japan to pursue better opportunities was an option nobody in the family was against. Now, consumed with work, my father was never home. Then again, this was nothing new. I had an amiable relationship with my aunt. We were close and so I enjoyed the first week of summer in her company. My grandmother didn’t talk much. The days were long and quiet, the nights went uninterrupted. I was afraid summer would end and I would return to Malaysia with no stories to share.
It had been uneventful till I had gotten in touch with Ray, who was living in a small apartment in the city. It all started with coffee. It always starts with coffee. She had dropped out of high school and was in between different realities. She had gotten into the hostess business and seemed to have collected a number of suitors. Though from what I gathered, she was trying to get out of it but didn’t know how. I was enamored by her stories. Unknowingly, I began visiting her apartment regularly without even going home. Days became weeks. My father must have been concerned though he never showed it.
We left the bar after a couple of drinks. The alcohol had unleashed its control and we were beginning to feel bold. Ray led the way. She had held back telling me about this secret lover of hers. All I knew was that he was older. The street was beginning to crowd as the night opened. Women were veiled in sultry costume that meant to tempt and the men looked-craving to touch. Sex felt present and I was eager to participate.
Ray stopped in front of a slim building sandwiched between a McDonalds and a pharmacy. We entered, heading towards the elevator. She pressed 3. The elevator door opened into a room furnished with rich purple velvet. Fluff pillows decorated the sofa and bronze tables gleamed as it sat heavily on carpeted floors. No lights were on except a dim bulb on the second floor. Ray called out.
_I’m here. Come upstairs.
We went up the bronze spiral staircase. Mixing a drink was a stocky brown man. He must have been in his late 40s. So this was Charlie. The man often left in the dark during our late night conversations. Charlie had soft features, except his nose was outstandingly present. It reminded me of a walrus’ back. I wasn’t particularly impressed by his looks, though he dressed like a king. He donned a navy suit accented with gold buttons. The sleeves tapered, accentuating his body with Vitruvian precision. It must have been tailored. His oxfords were a dark brown, polished and laced symmetrically. His clothes made him look regal but I couldn’t understand why Ray would want him, especially during sex, deprived of all his expensive clothes.
Ray and Charlie shared a kiss. I stared with envy.
He motioned us to the couch and brought us our drinks, bright turquoise in color. The artificial looking fluid seemed like it came from an alien land. I sipped on it, thirsty from our journey here– incredibly sweet and strong. Charlie and Ray conversed as I looked around. I felt lost and misplaced. The overdone interior left me feeling empty. I suppose it’s easy to feel alone in a group of 3. I left for the bathroom.
I came back but Ray and Charlie were gone. I didn’t bother to search or call out, making myself comfortable on the sofa. Disturbed by the only source of light by the bar, I closed my eyes.
My mother had decided against coming back to Japan with me, and I had not made the effort to keep in touch since my return to Tokyo. My father doesn’t talk. Neither does my aunt. We’re just a silent bunch. If anything, we skirt around the problem. But this is typical. This is nothing new. We were never a vocal family. I don’t think I ever knew my parents growing up. My father was a workaholic and an alcoholic. Come to think of it, this was my first summer alone with him. I wasn’t particularly interested in spending a month getting to know him. I just didn’t know how. How do you communicate with a man who is there all your life but was never present?
My father is an architect. He now lives with his sister and mother in the house he grew up in. The house is old with a bushy garden. You’d think there’d be more balance in a Japanese garden complimenting a Japanese house. But it was a mish mash of flora that never looked good together. The apartment I grew up in, the one my father owned, was being rented out to a single mother. It’s weird to think that another set of children will have childhood memories in the same room I grew up in. Especially children I know I will probably never meet.
My aunt never got hitched and stayed home with my grandmother. They both bonded over gardening. Unlike my father, my aunt is gregarious. I never asked but I always wondered why she never got married. She didn’t seem lonely but the independent spirit always brings its share of loneliness. Being an only child, I know.
When I woke up, an hour or two must have passed because Ray was lying across the couch. The place would’ve been pitch black if not for the same dim bulb that led us upstairs. Charlie was standing at the bar; seeing that I had woken, he came over and sat next to me. He whispered something I couldn’t quite understand. Before I could return to sleep, he ran his hands against my inner thighs. I felt hot. My mind began to spin and my feelings were slow to come. I needed water. It must have been the drinks but I had had only two.
I tried closing my eyes-half hoping it was a dream and the other half, hoping with guilt, it would continue. He began to unzip my pants. His hand felt cold over my hairy sex. As he began to prowl down, feelings of shame forced me awake. Suddenly full of panic, I knew this was not how I wanted to lose my body. Embarrassed, I pushed him away and zipped myself, deaf to his coaxing words. He stepped away and I woke Ray up.
_Ray, we gotta leave.
_What time is it?
_Let’s go. Grab your bag.
As we stepped out of the building, the night had seemingly died out. My watch read 4:03AM. A light rain coated the streets. Slowly waking up, we set foot for home.
I no longer keep in touch with Ray. History repeats itself, I suppose. We lost touch as soon as I left. It’s hard to forget. I’m not sure I can, even if I wanted to. Then again, my memory isn’t trustworthy and this is now no more than another story.


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Congratulations to our poetry contest winner!
Thanks to everyone who submitted poems about KHS to help us apply for a $5,000 grant. Congratulations to our winner, Jill Williams! Here is Jill's poem:
Rabbits and horses are but a few,
of the animals our mission it is to renew.
Cats and dogs are lovely creatures
with beautiful eyes and fuzzy features.
At KHS we strive to care for animals' lives, and continue to value community ties.
Our financial health is important to us
for the community's trust must be robust.
Rescue, Rehabilitate and Rehome aren't just words, It's our mission to make our animals' voices heard.


Eclipse: Final Clash of Swords lyrics
With a great clash of thunders Roar at the eve of the eclipse, the
armies of doom, took on the battalions of light...
The carnage was tremendous, as blood the heavens drowned...Eternal
Darkness, would now embrace the world...
The battle of Armageddon rages to decide the fate of the universe...
renewal is finally at hand.


life is for the living
it’s funny how nearly every girl I have committed to or at least tried to committ to has just left me out to dry, I used to get bummed out, want to go be alone, or just go drink until I forgot about what was wrong but fuck that. I want to say thank you because instead of being tied down I have had the greatest opportunities to meet new friends and live a very blessed life that I really want...
frank ocean: could this be earth? →
frankocean: could this be light? does this mean everything’s going to be alright? one look out my window theres trees talking like people. i dreamt of storms, i dreamt of sound i dreamt of gravity, keeping us around i slept in the darkness it was lonely & it was silent. & what is this love? i don’t…
We ate well and cheaply and drank well and cheaply and slept well and warm...– Ernest Hemingway - A Moveable Feast (via akidnamedcudi)


BOOKS Books by Doug Bremner Justice in the Age of Judgment: From Amanda Knox to Kyle Rittenhouse and the Battle for Due Process in the Digital Age by Anne Bremner and Doug Bremner. Published by Skyhorse Publishing and distributed by Simon & Schuster. The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg, by Doug Bremner. Before You Take That Pill: Why the Drug Industry May be Bad for Your Health: Risks and Side Effects You Won’t Find on the Label of Commonly Prescribed Drugs, Vitamins and Supplements by Doug Bremner. Published by Avery/Penguin You Can’t Just Snap Out of It by Doug Bremner A Fresh Look at Greed by Doug Bremner The Fastest Growing Religion on Earth by Doug Bremner Does Stress Damage the Brain? Understanding Trauma-related Disorders from a Mind-Body Perspective by Doug Bremner. Published by WW Norton.


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Well met, Sam, and thanks for the kind words! I’m Canadian (and Ontarian) too, and I’ve done a lot of interviews with the CBC over the years; do you remember which one this might be? I don’t have copies of any of them, I’m afraid, and suspect no copies exist any longer, but who knows? Failing that, of course, feel free to ask me anything here, and check out the videos (which are, come to think of it, a series of short “interview answers without a questioner” from me). And I don’t know about “brilliant,” but I fully intend to go on crafting fantasy for years to come! (Next up starring Elminster: THE HERALD, out this June in hardcover, the last book of The Sundering Saga – – and I’m already working on the next Elminster book! I also have a steampunk novel in the works, THE IRON ASSASSIN, that should come out from Tor when the time is right, and of course a blizzard of Kickstarter short stories and game stuff and the usual Forging the Realms weekly Wizards of the Coast website columns…not to mention Platter of Surprises e-books that you can find right here at theEdVerse, and freebie short stories and columns and . . . whew! It never ends!)
Keep reading, Sam, and I’ll keep writing!
Thank you! Glad you like my stuff, and I think we all have stories we want to tell and we should all have a go at it. Some stories are smash sales hits and some go unnoticed and most land somewhere in between, but it’s the journey not the destination, as many a wise sage has said: write because you want to, because it’s your dream, because it changes you for the better. Storytelling is what humans – – the best humans – – DO. Never stop writing, no matter what success or lack of it comes your way; do it for the dream! (And as you can probably figure out from what I’ve just said, I never intend to stop writing.) Yes, a third Niflheim book would be grand. I don’t have one written yet, but I do Have Plans . . . so expect more somehow, somewhen!
Hi, Otis! Well met! I love to hear that I’ve had a hand in making the life of anyone who games (or otherwise uses their imagination) richer or better or just given them some good fun time with friends. I’d certainly love to chat with you on your podcast, but I doubt I’ll make Dragon-Con this year (it’s not that I don’t want to, it’s that I’m so busy now with game design and my day job and looking after my wife and all of the real-world obligations that seem to grab my every waking moment). But SOME year, you bet! Looking forward to hanging out with you!
Storytelling and worldbuilding are what I live for! Eat, drink, and sleep imagining my way around fantasy worlds (including Professor Tolkien’s Middle Earth). And thank you; I try to be thoughtful and kind hearted, in a world where being so seems rarer and rarer. We only get to do this journey once, so one might as well be good company for everyone else making it that we encounter. After all, if a life isn’t full of friendship and fun, it’s not really worth much . . .
Hey Ed, just sending greetings all the way over from Denmark to reassure you that the influence of your writing does not end at the American shore! I started D&D with the 2nd Edition, and personally got introduced to your Forgotten Realms through Douglas Niles’ Moonshae Triology, and the Elminster Series, and I will say this, even when knowing that books like the Silmarillion and the Fionavar Tapestry exists: Your books has helped me get a visual image of the Realms, and the sense of an atmosphere which I have never experienced in a book since. I realise that not everyone may agree with me, but Elminster has and always will be my favourite character of fiction, and I sincerely hope you never decide to permanently kill him off. It would be like losing a near and dear friend that’s been with you on an age-long journey. Keep up the good work, Ed of Greenwood, and know that you writing has done a lot of good, if not only to this one person!
Thank you very much for the kind words, Lukas! Although I love to write about all sorts of characters, Elminster is a favourite of mine, too, and I have no plans right now to destroy him “forever and for good.” That doesn’t, however, mean I won’t push him into some awful situations (see my recent Sage of Shadowdale trilogy, and THE HERALD, last book of the Sundering Saga, out this June), because watching him cope with crises is great fun for me as a writer, as well as something many readers tell me they enjoy. I think you’ve spotted the key to writing about the Realms, for me: I want to share the full rich setting with my readers, from its rain and dead trees in the forests to the little furry scurrying things, not just the heroes and villains. As it happens, I’m a fan of both Professor Tolkien’s writing and Guy Kay’s, so I’m flattered indeed that you’ve compared me favourably with them. Thank you! (And keep reading; I’m not done yet!!!)
hey ed i just wanted to say you are one of my favorite authors and was wondering when you were coming to wa state (i live in olympia) but would really love to introduce you to my now 3yr old daughter, Tsantress Alustrial Nacacia. not surprising her and her little brother Onyx have their own language
Hi, Shannon! I would love to meet you and your daughter. You have named her wisely and well.
I am a busy boy these days, and SeaTac is a long and wearying plane ride away (from where I live, in the rural wilds of Ontario, Canada, about halfway between Toronto and Kingston), but I do manage to get to your neck of the woods once and sometimes twice a year. Unfortunately, my visits are usually super-secret (oops ;} ) summits at Wizards of the Coast in Renton, WA, leaving you a still a hefty car drive away. I’ll let you know the next time I’m coming out, though, because last time the summit incorporated a signing and author reading at a lovely Barnes & Noble in the north end of Seattle. We’ll meet some time!
I was wondering if there would be any signed copies of “The Herald” available for sale or if by chance I could mail you a copy with return postage to be signed?
Love all your work!!!
Be safe in all worlds!
Thank you for the kind words and good wishes, George. There are indeed signed copies of THE HERALD available, and you can get them right here, through The Edverse!
Hi, todd! Well, I’m not in charge of book publishing at Wizards of the Coast and sometimes find out things about forthcoming books at the same time as every other reader interested in the Realms, but let me have a stab at answering you . . .
The Sundering Saga is six books, period, all standalones but related. They all tell tales of what happens during the Sundering, but focus on different main characters.
However . . . I know Bob Salvatore is charging ahead with a fantastic storyline he has worked out well into the future, at the rate of two new Realms novels a year, so he will be following the characters he’s already been writing about into new adventures.
Erin Evans is continuing to write about the main characters you’ve seen in her Sundering book, in a book that’s pretty much a direct sequel, and so is Troy Denning. I don’t think Paul Kemp or Richard Lee Byers have any follow-on sequels in the works right now, but I will, yes, be following Elminster into a book that isn’t a direct sequel to THE HERALD, but is pretty much “the next interesting thing that happens to Elminster.”
So the short answer is: The Sundering is a complete “overview” in and of itself, but in two-thirds of the cases, there will be books by the same authors exploring what happens next with their Sundering main characters.
I agree with you: to get back to ten novels a year would indeed be amazing, and I would very much hope we do see other authors stepping into the Realms to tell stories, but I don’t know what lies ahead for the Forgotten Realms® fiction line—and if I did, I couldn’t legally tell you. For my part, I fully intend to go on writing about Elminster and Storm and Amarune and for that matter Mirt and dozens of other Realms characters I want to spotlight more, for as long as I can! I will certainly try to keep them coming!
Thanks for the great friends and the many smiles and even the tears. I love them all.
Yes, indeed, and someday there will be more books set in Darsar, probably even in Aglirta itself.
Much sooner than “someday,” however (in a few months, I think), you’ll be able to read a short story (quite short, I’m afraid) entitled “Where Only Madmen Hide,” in one of the Platters of Surprises e-books I’m making available through this site. It’s set in the immediate aftermath of the disastrous military defeat that sent Hawkril and Craer heading back home to the mainland – – or in other words, days before THE KINGLESS LAND begins. Hope you enjoy it, and yes, rest assured that I plan to revisit that world and tell more fun tales therein!
I am a lover of the Forgotten Realms series, though most of what I have read has been from the works of Mr. Salvatore. I have also tackled some of the more stand-alone series like Threat From the Sea by Mel Odom, The Empyrean Odyssey by Thomas M. Reid, and Blades of the Moonsea by Richard Baker. But due to my OCD about chronological reading, I have been avoiding your works for fear of reading them out of order. Is there somewhere that you could direct me to that has a comprehensive list of how your books fall chronologically, or if not, do you think you could inform me as to where you think I should start? Elminster is what I am most interested in, but I would like to one day read all of your works, and I would hate to ruin any of the stories by knowing who lives and dies by accidentally reading a book that was written at a later time in the storyline. The works that you have written have been far too influential to the world of the Forgotten Realms for me to risk ruining the experience of reading your books.
I made that mistake with Mr. Salvatore’s Legends of Drizzt series in which I started with the Hunter’s Blades Trilogy, not knowing there were several books before. I then made the mistake of reading his works by publishing date, only to discover he wrote the Dark Elf Trilogy as prequels to his other books, which only served to ruin more of the suspense for me. I do not wish to make the same mistakes with your works.
I. HATE. SPOILERS. Even if they are accidental.
If you don’t know of a place where I can see a comprehensive list of your works sorted by storyline chronologically, would it be possible for you to make a list(s) of your works so that I can enjoy them even better than I did Mr. Salvatore’s works? I’m sure that other potential readers would appreciate this as well, and it might be something that you could consider adding to your website.
With the highest respect and greatest anticipation,
Hi, Mason. I applaud your efforts to keep things straight and read things in the order they happened in the Realms.
With that said, some of my books are “complicated.” One example is CORMYR: A Novel, that I co-wrote with Jeff Grubb. It is like a James Michener novel, covering the entire history of that kingdom. It starts with a “present day” crisis, then alternates chapters between present and past, and the “past” chambers start before the kingdom was founded and move up steadily in dating until they reach the “present day” (of the Realms, at the time the book was written) at the end of the novel. Myself, I’d read it when you reach that present-day time, which in the list below appears as “Cormyr: A Novel ends.”
There are also a few things missing from this list (like the Spin A Yarn tales), or of disputed date, but nothing major and spoiler-y, I promise.
The dates are in “DR” or Dalereckoning, and the titles of short stories appear in quotation marks (with the name of the book they appeared in following, in parentheses).
Okay, here we go . . .
Cormyr: A Novel begins.
Elminster: The Making of a Mage begins.
“Not the Most Successful of Feasts” (The Best of the Realms II)
Elminster: The Making of a Mage ends.
Elminster in Myth Drannor begins.
Elminster in Myth Drannor ends.
The Temptation of Elminster begins.
The Temptation of Elminster ends.
“The Whispering Crown” (Realms of the Arcane)
“The Burning Chalice” (Halls of Stormweather) begins.
“Too Many Princes” (Realms of War)
“So High A Price” (Realms of Infamy)
“Elminster at the Magefair” (Realms of Valor)
“The Keeper of Secrets” (Realms of the Dragons)
Swords of Eveningstar
Swords of Dragonfire
The Sword Never Sleeps
Crown of Fire
Hand of Fire
Shadows of Doom
Cloak of Shadows
All Shadows Fled
“A Slow Day In Skullport” (Realms of the Underdark)
“Nothing but Trouble” (The Best of the Realms II)
“The Grinning Ghost of Taverton Hall” (Realms of Mystery)
“The Place Where Guards Snore at their Posts” (Realms of the Deep)
Cormyr: A Novel ends.
Silverfall: Stories of the Seven Sisters
“The Burning Chalice” (Halls of Stormweather) ends.
The City of Splendors: A Waterdeep Novel begins.
The City of Splendors: A Waterdeep Novel ends.
Death of the Dragon
“When Shadows Come Seeking a Throne” (Realms of Shadow)
Elminster in Hell
“Tears so White” (Realms of the Elves)
“The Many Murders of Manshoon” (Realms of the Dead)
Elminster Must Die
Bury Elminster Deep
1487 DR (month of Marpenoth)
Or to look at my Realms books in series:
Crown of Fire (1994)
Hand of Fire (2002)
Shadow of the Avatar Trilogy:
Shadows of Doom (1995)
Cloak of Shadows (1995)
All Shadows Fled (1995)
The Cormyr Saga:
Cormyr: A Novel, with Jeff Grubb (1996)
[[in between is a book written by Troy Denning, without me, entitled Beyond The High Road; Death of the Dragon won’t make much sense if you don’t read it first]]
Death of the Dragon, with Troy Denning (2000)
Elminster: The Making of a Mage (1994)
Elminster in Myth Drannor (1997)
The Temptation of Elminster (1998)
Elminster in Hell (2001)
Elminster’s Daughter (2004)
Elminster Must Die (2010)
Bury Elminster Deep (2011)
Elminster Enraged (2012)
The Sundering Saga:
The Herald (you could also read this just as “the next Elminster book after Elminster Enraged”)
The Harpers series:
Crown of Fire (1994) [yes, the same Shandril book listed above]
Double Diamond Triangle Saga:
The Mercenaries (1998)
The Diamond (1998) [[co-written with Rob King]]
Sembia: Gateway to the Realms Series:
The Burning Chalice, a short story in The Halls of Stormweather (2000)
Knights of Myth Drannor Trilogy:
Swords of Eveningstar (2006)
Swords of Dragonfire (2007)
The Sword Never Sleeps (2009)
Silverfall: Stories of the Seven Sisters (1999)
The City of Splendors: A Waterdeep Novel, with Elaine Cunningham (2005)
Short stories & novellas:
Elminster at the Magefair—Realms of Valor (1993)
So High a Price—Realms of Infamy (1994)
The Eye of the Dragon—Realms of Magic (1995)
A Slow Day in Skullport—Realms of the Underdark (1996)
The Whispering Crown—Realms of the Arcane (1997)
The Place Where Guards Snore at their Posts—Realms of the Deep (2000)
When Shadows Come Seeking a Throne—Realms of Shadow (2002)
The Keeper of Secrets—Realms of the Dragons (2004)
The Best of the Realms II (2005)
Tears so White—Realms of the Elves (2006)
Too Many Princes—Realms of War (2008)
And I just remembered:
Lord of the Underways—Untold Adventures (this tale is dated around 1334 DR, if I recall correctly; don’t quote me on this)
Yuskurl and the Uninvited Guest—Ed Greenwood Presents Waterdeep Book 1 (occurs circa 1479 DR or so; don’t quote me on this one, either)
I hope this is of help, Mason. It will date quickly, of course . . .
I have a few questions for you, but first a little bit of background.
I’m an aspiring writer, but it hasn’t been until recently that I’ve considered ever trying to get something published. I have written a few short stories, and tinkered with some self-rejected ideas in the past. Never have I considered doing something on this scale before, but I’m giving it a shot.
I’m aiming to write a fantasy novel, and as such, I’ve been pushing myself to write 2000+ words a day so that I can get it done in a timely manner. The world building has been fairly easy for me, and ideas for the story and character development come rather easily. In fact, the actual writing hasn’t proven to be much of a challenge (except that I’m also trying to balance it with my career as a full-time student). As of tonight, I’ve hit ~10,000 words out of my 100,000 word goal. I started the project last Friday, so I’m right on schedule.
The biggest problem I’ve had so far is finding an appropriate publisher to look at my work. I’d like to keep it within Ontario, or Canada at least. I know you are situated within Ontario, so I feel this may be appropriate. The one company I’ve looked at so far has been Red Deer Press. My questions are thus:
Do you know of any publishers within Ontario or Canada who often accept new writers in the fantasy genre? What about outside of Canada that would accept international submissions?
When in the process of writing would it be ideal to submit a query letter/samples?
Would it be wise to submit queries to multiple publishers at once?
What happens if, down the road, a company offers me an option, but I retroactively breach contract because I’ve given samples to other publishers?
I’d greatly appreciate a response to you, as these are the main things I’m struggling with right now.
With admiration and respect,
Finding a publisher (or the RIGHT publisher) can be difficult for any writer, at any time in their career. Most of the fiction publishers active in Canada publish fantasy from time to time, but I don’t think any of them “often” publish new writers in the fantasy genre except those that are dedicated to fantasy/sf/horror.
Among those, the biggest name in Ontario right now would probably be ChiZine, and if one looks farther afield, to the Prairies, Dragon Moon Press and Edge (though thanks to the presence of Robin Laws in Toronto, and Toronto-area writers he’s published in several Stone Skin Press imprint anthologies, the British publisher Pelgrane Press also has an Ontario presence). They all have websites, so you can try to judge if they’d be a good fit for you. I’ve worked with all of them, they’re all good people, and they all specialize.
If you’re in or near Toronto, ChiZine is “local” and usually publishes dark fantasy and horror; if you attend their reading series down in the Kensington area of Toronto, you can get to meet the publishers and a lot of their writers [park in the Green P parking garage two streets north and east of the venue, and walk].
Dragon Moon publishes at novel length, though their head editor, Gabrielle Harbowy, and I have co-edited When the Hero Comes Home and two sequel anthologies (Hero II and When the Villain Comes Home).
Barring illness or publishing crises, all of them, or their editors, or writers who have published with them (and for that matter with Red Deer, too) usually show up at the established Toronto area conventions like Ad Astra (spring) or SfContario (fall).
And these are just the publishers I notice, with most of my time and energy concentrated on my own work and the daily business of life; I’m sure there are others I’ve missed. Generally speaking, far more publishers these days take an interest in fantasy than did when I started, about fifty years back.
I’m assuming you’re writing in English, and therefore the answer to your international submissions is: lots of publishers, with of course lots of competition for their relatively few open book slots. The leaders in the fantastic fiction field are Tor, the amalgamated Random House (Del Rey) and Penguin, DAW, Baen Books (specializes in military sf), Bantam Spectra, and a myriad of smaller houses, from general publishers like HarperCollins and Simon & Shuster to a wide variety of specialist fantasy and sf houses.
Here’s your problem: not-yet-published writers have a harder road to get in the door than established names. Which is why the “traditional” way, decades ago, was to get short fiction published in the genre magazines, to get noticed, and then try to land a book contract (the largest “survivor” genre magazines are Analog, Isaac Asimov’s SF Mag, and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, but these days there are a host of online magazines like Black Gate, Apex, Clarkesworld, and more).
For a first time writer, I would say: finish your book first. Then look at all of the publishers I’ve mentioned and decide who you think would be the best fit for you (publishes works akin to what you’ve just written, in a manner you like, and with a reach or market presence you like). Check their websites to find out their submissions guidelines, AND FOLLOW THEM (treat them as “laws” rather than “suggestions,” because any variance from a publisher’s preferences is a way of weeding out submissions that don’t follow them). Once you’ve found a publisher that says they’re accepting submissions, type up a cover letter that gives full contact information for you, and send a copy of the manuscript (NOT your only copy of the MS, because you’re not expecting to get it back, but follow whatever instructions the publisher specifies for SASEs or other details of submitting).
To query without including the book is often a waste of time, because the publisher can’t judge a book that doesn’t exist, or isn’t finished yet. If you have a string of fantasy bestsellers under your belt, they know you can write and finish novels that are popular with readers. If you don’t, they can’t know that, so you need to hand them the book to judge for themselves.
And no, at this stage in your career, despite the frustration of waiting (and waiting, and waiting), I don’t think it’s a good idea to submit queries to multiple publishers at once. Precisely because of the possibility of getting a bad reputation at the outset by having to withdraw a book Editor B at Publisher 2 loves because Editor A at Publisher 1 has just made an offer on the same book (the situation you foresaw in your last question).
It’s different if you’re a Big Name without any contractual obligations, and have an agent who can auction your new book among multiple eager publishers; then you let your agent handle matters. (By the time you reach that catbird seat, you’ll be long past needing any advice from me.)
And yes, it IS unfair. Publishing is a different beast than, say, inventing a new and better line of clothing, where it’s expected you the inventor will entertain competing bids and go with the best terms; over the years, publishers have come to assume that writers shouldn’t do that. Trying to change the way the industry works is like trying to legislate the oceans from not having tides; a futile waste of your time. Instead of seething while you wait for publishers to decide if they want your book (or more likely, getting around to reading it, amid the PILES of submissions most of them have coming in), use the waiting time to write your next book.
Then, if they love your first book and want to know if you have something ready to follow it with, if they publish the first one, you can happily say yes.
And best of luck. Writing success comes from hard work, self discipline, a spark of inspiration, a big glob of storytelling flair, and (yes) luck.
Thank you very much for the response, Ed! It was very helpful. I really enjoy the depth that you went into with your explanation. I’m particularly thankful for the publishers you’ve suggested, as well as the rule for one submission at a time.
With much appreciation, Necesse
I Just wanted to say thank you for your immeasurable contributions to Fantasy and therefore my childhood. My Father taught me to play D&D at five years of age, thirteen years ago now, and everyday after until I was twelve I never stopped pestering him to play more. From then on I was hooked on fantasy, and all of my favorite things about it trace back to you and the realms in some way. I know you are a Tolkien lover, who isn’t, and so I think this will interest you. Last Semester at my Branch of Kent State University in Tuscarawas Ohio, I took a class titled “Sophomore Special Topics: J.R.R Tolkien.” I called it Lord of the Rings class and it was one of the most enjoyable classes of my career as a student. I’m considering pursuing a career as a college professor, if i am lucky enough, and If i do get a position in the English department at some university, I am going to push my hardest to teach “Ed Greenwood, Storytelling Incarnate.” Thank you again for all you have done for fantasy and myself in consequence, and I have a few questions for you.
1.) Do you, in your minimal free-time, ever play Magic the Gathering, and if so what is your preferred color?
2.) Who would you recommend as a contemporary fantasy author outside of D&D, as I am caught up on a lot of the D&D Novels. 3.) Lastly, Are you a fan of Michael Moorecock, specifically of Elric of Melnibone?
Thanks Ed, you are an inspiration.
Tim, you’re very welcome! Thank you very much for sharing this with me, because knowing my work or the Realms has made someone’s life brighter is why I do it; it’s the fuel that rekindles my creative fire!
And yes, Professor Tolkien has been an inspiration to me (and right now, I’m awaiting my copy of his translation of Beowulf, just published at long last, though I’d give a lot for a new tale by him set in Middle-Earth).
Herewith, some answers to your questions:
1. I have played M:TG, though I’m not up to date; the endless flood of new editions and the rotating “these cards are legal, these are not” stuff just overwhelmed me, back at a time when I was more than wildly busy doing Realms stuff, and I’ve never caught up. Back in the day (and “the day” for me, when I had the chance to share ideas with the creative who were creating cards for the game, was the time of THE DARK and ANTIQUITIES), I was a fan of blue. (Like Elminster and blue mana mages everywhere, I have this hunger to “know everything.” :} ) But I really didn’t play favorites, and always preferred to try to have an “all-colors” deck in play, though in later years I preferred sealed-deck play (where all players can bring a small sideboard of six to nine cards to the table, but the rest of their deck consists of random cards provided for them, that they just have to make the best of).
2. I have LOTS of fantasy author recommendations. If we include authors now dead but recent/contemporary, John Bellairs wrote the delightfully creepy THE FACE IN THE FROST and Roger Zelazny wrote the “essential” Amber series, Jack of Shadows, and the fun, fun A Night In The Lonesome October. If we stick with the living, don’t miss J.V. Jones and Julian May (the Boreal Moon tale trilogy in particular, but also the fantasy/sf Pliocene Exile), and the VERY Tolkienesque in his early books (he helped edit The Silmarillion) Guy Gavriel Kay: his first books, The Fionavar Trilogy, reads like “Tolkien collides with King Arthur and modern real-world university students,” and I cannot recommend his standalone novels Tigana and A Song For Arbonne highly enough. If you like humorous fantasy, Terry Pratchett is superb, and books such as Wyrd Sisters, Hogfather, and Going Postal are all good “starter” books for getting into his long-running Discworld series. Which brings up the essential thing: likes and dislikes in fantasy, as in comedy, are very personal; your “favorites” list and mine may be very different. I know I could go on listing books for pages and pages, but I’ll stop here for now.
3. I have loved Mike Moorcock’s books, particularly those that tie together into his Eternal Champion saga (and yes, Elric is at the head of that list) since childhood. I enjoyed “Elric adventuring with Moonglum” more than the moments where Elric is facing his kin and his destiny. And fascinated with the possibilities of the sentient soul-drinking sword and its obscure properties and side-effects!
Hope these answers are interesting and/or helpful. Right, I must rush off to work now!
Here is a question a fan sent in.
— Question —
I’m doubtful this will actually make it past whatever filters and controls you have in place to minimize distractions from fans but I was hoping you could answer a question for me in the unlikely event you get this.
One of my friends is planning on hosting a D&D 3.0-3.5 game based in Forgotten Realms. He intends to set it during the spell plague.
He has stated that if we wish to utilize silver fire from the forgotten realms campaign setting book we would need to find a way to circumvent Mystra. He assures us that this is possible, however I am unable to figure this out. I was hoping you could point me in the right direction or help me with this conundrum.
If not, I understand and thank you for all the great books.
— End-Question —
Hi, Joshua. The Spellplague is brought on by the death of Mystra; she’s killed on her home plane, and that causes magic to go wild in the Realms, many wizards to go mad (their minds burned out) or die or simply lose the ability to wield the Art. Mystra is not “entirely dead and gone,” because she IS the Weave. And the Weave still exists; it’s just totally unreliable (so Weave-based magic, the arcane magic of the wizard spells in the rulebooks, is, too). Elminster and some others are frantically rushing around Toril repairing tears in the Weave, re-anchoring it, and “reweaving” localized areas to stop a general collapse.
Spellfire is the raw energy of the Weave, turned into a ravening flame that can burn through almost all known magical barriers, and that can heal if and only if wielded with great care by someone who knows how to use it correctly for healing (like a welding torch, it can far more easily burn and damage than it can help and heal). Silver fire is the divine fire of Mystra, a sort of clarified “super” variety of spellfire, more intense and more deadly, normally wielded only by the Chosen of Mystra, the goddess herself, and a few select individuals she empowers.
However, during the early Spellplague, the silver fire that was part of Mystra is “freed” and drifting about, so someone not of the above groups could conceivably end up with some of it – – by random accident or by deliberately capturing some of it.
HOW your characters can do this is up to your DM, and how they learn to control the silver fire rather than being a “wild flamethrower” that endangers themselves and those around them is probably going to be trial and error. However, the likely way to harness silver fire is to devise new spells of the characters’ own, by modifying and copying magical wards, fields, and barriers that have survived the damaging onset of the Spellplague.
You might want to share this lore reply with your DM – – but ultimately, it’s up to the DM what will work and what won’t. There ARE powerful spellcasters that do survive the Spellplague more or less unscathed, that you might encounter as NPCs. Such meetings may well, of course, be dangerous. (That’s why adventures are best enjoyed by the adventurous.)
A message from a fan.
From Atrii Redwood:
Im a 14 year olde fanatic of Dungeons and Dragons, and are currently playing 3rd edition. My favorite race is the Drow, and my setting; Forgotten Realms of course.
A: Well met, Atrii! It’s always good to meet new friends of the Realms. Drow your favorite? Watch sharp behind you! “Favorite” to some drow means “preferred target.” ;}
May your adventures in the Realms all end in victories!
Fan question from Liam B.
Q: I was wondering if you were interested in trying to make an Elminister movie. Just a suggestion and, if you wold please reply to me with an email that would be great.
A: Hi, Liam. An Elminster movie would be a great thing, and I’d love to see one, but I’m afraid such things are not up to me. The rights to do Forgotten Realms-related movies reside with TSR, meaning Wizards of the Coast. I know they’re interested in doing Realms things in all sorts of media. Keep your eyes and ears open…you never know when a movie might be given a green light. Thanks for writing in!
hi Ed ! – I’m from Swansea in South Wales in the UK. Do I detect an influence of Welsh culture in your work at all ? I’ve heard you mention Dylan Thomas before and some of those names in the Moonshae Isles look familiar ! Many thanks for all the great stories and imagination ; keep building those theaters in our minds. All the best from Simon.
Hi, Simon! I have Welsh blood (among many other strains in my heritage), and Welsh mythology and cultural heritage has influenced my creative work on the Realms, but the names in the published Moonshae Isles come from TSR designer Doug Niles; his continent got dropped into the Realms in place of my Moonshae Isles back in 1986. Any one of my generation often heard Dylan Thomas reading A Child’s Christmas or Tiger! Tiger! or Under Milk Wood, and as a Canadian, I heard the mellifluous Welsh tones of Canadian literary giant Robertson Davies often, too. Voices of magic…
Well met, and may we meet again,
Greetings Mr. Greenwood.
I was wondering if you could answer a question about my favourite among your creations: Eilistraee, a goddess whom I’ve always held very dear since I read about her.
I know that you introduced her into the Realms under commission by TSR, but I’d be happy to know if she has a place in your campaign and if she was involved in any of the adventures that took place at your table.
Thanks for your time and -of course- for all your work.
I was wondering if you could answer a question about my favorite among your creations: Eilistraee, a goddess whom I’ve always held very dear since I first read about her.
I know that you introduced her into the Realms under commission by TSR, but I’d be happy to know if she has a place in your campaign and if she was involved in any of the adventures that took place at your table.
Thanks for your time and -of course- for your work.
Sorry for double posting, I’ve tried deleting, but it only turned this into a guest post.
Hi, Tommaso. You’re very welcome!
Yes, Eilistraee is part of the “home” Realms campaign and has appeared “onstage” and by dream-vision and manifestation in Realmsplay. At the writing of (the first) DROW OF THE UNDERDARK, I was asked to create a deity for “good” drow for the game, and used the opportunity to make official the Dark Dancer female drow goddess I’d already created for my own use.
And, oh yes: Eilistraee lives!
(Don’t worry about the double post, I’ll have my minion delete it.)
Thank you so much for your answer, it definitely made my day and put a smile on my face.
I have been researching dates in the newest few novels and the new 2 modules (starter set and hoard of the dragon queen) trying to figure out what the current year DR is but its not mentioned in the new modules. the novels seem to point toward a year 1487-8 + care to enlighten?
So marvelous to see and spend time with both of you grand friends this past weekend.
Hi Ed. I was wondering where you will be hanging your hat at Fan Expo?
Finally have my schedule up: http://theedverse.com/content/fan-expo-2014/
Amazing Panel discussion Ed at your previous Fan Expo, I enjoyed every second of it. You’re my idol man, you keep me writting, on my 16th book. Thank you.
Hi, Kyle! Thanks for the praise. I love
those panels, they’re our chance to talk with the people we do it
all for: you and other fans. Keep writing! See you next year!
Thank you for your lovely creations (the realms and the books)… I really enjoyed it since the first time I started to read them in the 80’s… truth to be told the area of realms that always caught my eyes are boarders countries to the other continents in abeir-toril… that’s cuz I love diversity you can find in a single country of the realms…. Countries in realms I’m thinking of is buffer countries to Zakhara: The Utter East countries ( Koniegheim, Doegan, Parsanic, Edenvale, Ulgarth and Thommar) and The Buffer countries to Kara-Tur Semphar, Ra-Khati and Khazari… I always enjoyed reading and playing in those part of the realms.. Sadly the 3rd edition didn’t have much fluff about those parts and nether did 4th edition…. My question is will there be any fluff about those countries in 5th edition?? I love in real life reading a lot of mythology about eastern Europe, Caucasian mythology and meddle east mythology (like Mithra, Anahita, Ishtar, ZORYA or Rostam) and those countries gives me the fantasy version of those places.
Somehow more I read about Semphar I get the feeling that Red Knight and Sharess is the main major religion in there
/With Best Wishes
Worried Good looking C.N alignment Bluflame Efreet who only wants to roam the realms and help the poor people from evil monsters with his extra big two handed curved blade (or burn them with efreet fire) and collect beautiful women as reward (only women no money or magic item) for his help and putting them in his talking intellectual magical flying teleportabel portable birdcage were he can watch them all day long when he is bored (the birdcage harem works as luxury version of the spell Mordenkainen’s magnificent mansion)
Careful with that collection. Even
handsome efreet should set women free!
As for 5th edition, there will
eventually be lore for everywhere, if I can make it happen, the
specific countries you mention included, but it may take a while.
Thus far, things are proceeding on a
story-by-story approach (that is, an adventure like the Lost Mine
of Phandelver in the Starter Set box, or the two-parter that
began with the Hoard of the Dragon Queen book, will have the
adventure, plus more lore about the location and vicinity of the
adventure encounters, and we’ll get to see bits of the Realms that
way). There are multiple stories written and planned into the future,
and how fast things unfold depends on product sales and lots of other
real-world considerations, so hang in there, and we’ll see. Suffice
it to say that no corner of the Realms has been forgotten by me!
No FRCS or general FR update for 5e? Damn, that’s a bummer
Hi Mr. Greenwood,
Wanted to say it was an honor to see you again at Gencon. The autographed picture you signed with Bob Thursday morning is now framed and above my desk at work. Thank you for that, and the days of enjoyment you have given me from the world you invented. I am headed towards The Realms right now, to the town of Voonlar between Shadowdale and Zhentil Keep, just before the time of troubles… for I am an amateur writer. Book number 4 is flowing slowly, but I like how it is emerging on the pages before my eyes, and I am always curious what will appear when I start writing. As for books one through three, I hope you enjoy them. They are bound in red with gold lettering. It made me quite happy when you accepted them as a gift at Gencon. It isn’t easy to write a six book set of 3000 pages… but it is kinda fun. 3 down, 2.5 to go!
Wishing you well,
Wayne ‘Gunner’ Eidemiller
Hi, Wayne! You’re very welcome, and
thank YOU for the books! They’re on the shelf right behind me as I
type this, and I’ve started on the first one; so far, good stuff
that “feels like the Realms” to me! Thanks!
Voonlar before the Time of Troubles: a
peaceful, prosperous rural community, caravans coming through, the
wizard Perendra keeping to herself off in her house to one side, the
temples rebuilding to get grander, the Zhent spies and agents very
much undercover . . .
I wish you well with Book 4. Please
keep me posted!
Arg… I had much of that correct, but not all. I must have 40 forgotten realms novels, and I did not remember Voonlar. I was hoping I had a small blank slate location to write about, but I am apparently mistaken. The Forgotten Realms Campaign Settings book was my base for the town, and I try not to write in detail about places other writers have already worked to avoid conflicts. I also don’t control other Writers characters, other than barely mentioning the famous characters of the Realms (which is a necessity). Is this background and the wizard Perendra from a published work I can research?
I have the roads, trade, farms and temples correct. The town is ruled by a elected Bron who is secretly controlled by the Zhents. Voonlar is in Zhent territory so they have to keep Zhentil Keep happy.
However, I have the town guarded by mercenaries, while mercs and dark adventurers bound for Myth Drannor make the town somewhat less than peaceful. The temple of Bane has a lot of influence. Harper agents seek information and try to disrupt support going to Zhentil Keep to delay a growing Zhent army. Taxes are heavy to support the mercenary guards, and much of the food grown goes to the Zhents to support a growing force that will invade with the arrival of Bane. I was unaware of Perendra.
Is this a story I can read? Perhaps the chapters I have written can be salvaged if I knew the other writer’s story. In retrospect, I probably should have created another small hamlet and destroyed it later to avoid conflicts with other writers and history.
Ed, I wish you a wonderful weekend! It’s starting to get cold here in Ohio.
Ah, Elfsong… I researched the name Perendra and recognize that novel. I will get the book, for it is one of the few I do not own. From the storyline, I may yet have a chance if Voonlar is not dwelled upon deeply. Elaine Cunningham is a writer I respect, and I do not wish to conflict with her tale.
In my own story (trying not to spoil anything), there is a community of pacifists that worship Chauntea just outside of Voonlar. This is the story of the dark cleric without a name and his secretive sister. These are the types of clerics that no one would ever play, for they hate violence and use only staffs and lassos to preserve all Life. (not all worshipers of Life do this, but they do.) One day, Chauntea is striding over the world, casting out seeds when Myrkul sneaks in and fills her seed bag with bone shards. Chauntea accidentally plants a small army of undead around Voonlar. When she realizes what she has done, Chauntea is outraged and raises a peaceful young man into a war cleric with the expressed purpose of fighting the undead. It is the training of a pacifist warrior cleric… Life verse Death… a study of extremism. This is the story I struggle to complete.
Goodnight Ed, see you in the Realms : )
Hi Mr. Greenwood,
Where can I learn more about Harmel Artru?
Right here. :} What did you want to know, specifically?
I said, in a lore reply at Candlekeep back in 2006, that in 1375 DR he was very likely the best swordsman in the Realms, and in that post I wrote that he was a “darkly handsome, agile, glib-tongued and lady-charming merchant seacaptain (and sometime pirate), who sails The Winsome Lady independent caravel out of Saerloon (and a secret base somewhere in the Pirate Isles).” That’s literally all that’s been revealed about him thus far, and I assume you’ve read all of that already if you know the name Harmel Artru at all, so…what else would you like me to tell you? I’m happy to spill lore details!
Hi again Mr. Greenwood. I am grateful for your reply,
I have a friend that saw your post a while back and would love to duel Harmel Artru. Could you give me some details about his fighting style, weapon of choice, clothing, etc? Enough information for me build a 5e D&D encounter. =D
Hi, Diego! If expecting trouble, Harmel usually wears light fighting leathers (leather armor that includes magical bracers that improve his armor class), plus a metal codpiece and a metal buckler (very small circular metal shield with a sharpened edge all around, that he’s adept at throwing [like a Frisbee]).
He has daggers sheathed on the insides of both boots (outer surfaces of his legs) and up both sleeves, on the insides of his forearms, and primarily fights with a longsword he carries scabbarded across his back (“swings” on a baldric for easy drawing).
His fighting style can best be described as “dancing, leaping acrobatic;” he seldom stands in one place for long, and is always turning so his peripheral vision can take in who might be approaching from behind/below/above him. He’s an expert at throwing his daggers, and at “kicking up into the air” chairs and other handy items he can use to trip, trammel, or or confuse opponents, and to deflect attacks coming at him.
He is lightning fast, has very good balance, and is always calm in battle, thinking ahead and anticipating consequences.
Dear Mr. Greenwood
I have been writing for a large chunk of my life and hope to make it into a career one day. Having recently been let go from my job in retail I was wondering what sort of work or life experience could help me build a resume worthy of one day writing for the Forgotten Realms.
Thank you for your time and for creating such a wonderful place for me to visit.
Rodney, I literally don’t know how to become a writer for the Forgotten Realms, these days. Everything has changed from the day when I started creating the Realms, fifty years back, and from when TSR (a company that no longer exists) started publishing Realmslore in 1979. All I can suggest is: design 5e D&D adventures for your own players, look for ways to participate in the Organized Play program, design for other game systems where you can get published, establish a reputation as a good writer who beats their deadlines and is good to work with, and watch the Wizards of the Coast job postings (and apply!). Becoming an experienced designer is worth it as a goal in itself, whether you ever get a professional chance to play in the Realms or not! And – – good luck!
Since the new approach to detailing the FR is of the ”story by story” type, may I ask if you have written any new lore on how Eilistraee and her followers are faring in the present Realms, and if we are going to see it anytime soon?
Hi, Tommaso. I have written new lore about the Dark Dancer recently, but I’m afraid how and when you’ll see it is up to Wizards of the Coast, and I can’t legally reveal more. I would not expect to see it as part of this or the next story, if that helps.
Thanks for your reply, Mr. Greenwood, and -of course- thanks for the new lore about Eilistraee. I hope to see it as soon as possible.
Best wishes of good holiday,
I hope all is well with you, I’d just like to say that I recently watched the footage of you at Fanexpo this year and I was really interested when you mentioned that you had pitched a game to Dragon involving shiping lanes on the Sword Coast in the realms and players had the option to turn pirate on each other.
I know in the interview you explained that Dragon shot the idea down but I really loved the idea and I’d love to replicate something like it with my players, do you by chance have the rules for the game anywhere and if you should would you be so kind as to share them with me.
Hello, Grand Archmage
My name is Dallas Cook and I am a fledgling writer. I have an idea that’s been writing me for the last few months but I feel the need to get your permission, seeing how you created the Forgotten Realms. It involves treating the multiple universes, such as Albeir-Toril and Earth as two ‘electrons’ in a much larger, multi-dimensional ‘atom.’ In the ‘atom,’ the elemental planes of fire, water, earth, air and the various godly and hellish dimensions are depicted to be communal, e.g. the ‘protons and neutrons’ that serve as the drawing source for most of the various powers in the multiverse. Due to the largely unstable nature of this ‘atom,’ various time and space nodes are popping up on random worlds, granting free access to any being fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to be caught in one to any other dimension/plane.
In the spotlight of this book is the son of two Chosen of Mystra who combined their gifts to create a ‘Nexus,’ a small, neutral plane that provides a focus to travel between dimensions safely, when entering and exiting the nexus, it shields them from the chaotic nature of what I’m calling ‘The Between.’ The son was killed while the two Chosen and their son were on an ambassadorial mission, all very hush-hush of course, to a different plane. Feeling responsible, the only goddess of that dimension resurrected him, tasking him with guarding a sacred forest. As a the child of two Chosen and the slight influence of The Between, Mystra’s gifts to his parents manifested strangely within him, giving him the power to become incorporeal at will. However, this change makes him more susceptible from magic and he can be blasted into wisps if a strong enough destructive spell is cast at his essence.
While traversing through the Elemental Plane of Fire, he was holding onto a fire elemental named Vix, who was then summoned by a Luskani Tower wizard. Azuarl, the name of the son, is pulled through without the protection usually given by the Nexus and it starts the cascade of events shown above. The summons rips a hole in the dimensional fabric and dimensions begin collapsing.
This story will have almost no lasting effect on the Forgotten Realms as a whole, due to the end of the series being wrapped together with a memory-wiping surge of magic that only the few directly connected to the events were able to resist. It will set aright’s the things that went wrong. (Including an EXTREMELY surprised blue dragon, with passengers, slamming into a Silverymoon tower at high speed, an overconfident mage wetting his fancy new robes, and quite a few accidentally torched pairs of fine leather boots.)
Thanks for reading!
P.S. Some very fine baddies come waltzing back into the spotlight, due to the space/time rifts, “Warp Nodes.” Anticipate seeing: The Ghost King, Ebonsoul, Matron Baenre and perhaps a crazed lich or seven… *winks conspiratorially*


Brownsburg Santa- From $35
Well Hello-ho-ho! I’m Brownsburg Santa, and it seems like I’ve been in the red suit all my life. In reality, it’s been 8 or 9 years, and the more I have researched St. Nicholas of Myra, the more passionate I have become. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always loved Christmas — the joy, the music, visiting with young and old, and especially the cookies, but it’s all the better know I know the real history of Nicholas! I would love to visit with your young ones, and I can read “A Visit from St Nicholas” (a story 200 years old this very Christmas!) from my own point of view.


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Thank you! You’re too sweet
It’s so depressing that people have to take week breaks from me. Like I’m that bad of a person. I can’t be handled. All I was doing was trying. I’ve been NOTHING but honest yet I’m still lying. I hate myself and I want to die. I really do. I’m so over this depressing ass life I live. I can’t even change it no matter how hard I try, apparently.
I think I’m going to write a book called “‘Four Hours Is Definitely Enough Sleep’ And Other Lies I Tell Myself”