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SHADOWBANE: September 27

Monday, September 26th, 2011

SHADOWBANE releases tomorrow!

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Shadowbane-Forgotten-Realms-Novel-ebook/dp/B004ZZKRLS/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shadowbane-erik-scott-de-bie/1102955200

One negative “review” so far, but it’s a non-customer complaining about the format. I’m very sympathetic toward that stance, though I don’t feel Amazon is the appropriate place to express your discontent. Anyone with this feeling, I encourage you to write to Wizards, not blast my writing online, please.

ALSO (and here’s the big win):

Just in case you’re itching to check in with Kalen, I highly encourage you to read ”Chosen of the Sword,” a little novella that I wrote–completely for free–about the period between DOWNSHADOW and SHADOWBANE. And yes, you’re reading the page count right: 85 free pages of free Erik Scott de Bie Forgotten Realms writing, completely for free.

(Did I mention free?)

There’s also an updated version of my “Last Legend of Gedrin Shadowbane” story up there on the WotC site as well. It has a few changes from the original, though I don’t think anything super noticeable. Just a few reveals I found appropriate to the continuing series! :)

Cheers

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Twitter Duel (Sept 27): Shadowbane vs. Rath

Wednesday, September 14th, 2011

For those of you looking forward to my upcoming novel SHADOWBANE, have read my previous novel DOWNSHADOW, or are just looking for some rock ‘em, sock ‘em fantasy action, have I got a treat for you:

Forgotten Realms Twitter Duel: Kalen “Shadowbane” Dren vs. Arrath “Rath” Vir

That’s right–the dwarf monk/assassin Rath has broken out of his imprisonment in Waterdeep and is gunning for the Lost Heir of Neverwinter–though his real target is the one man who could defeat him, Kalen Dren. He lures Shadowbane to the rough-and-tumble city of Neverwinter for a epic duel that will rock the Realms and your world.

The format will be twitter posts, so 140 characters at a time. There will be two twitter accounts posting rapid-fire tweets back and forth for the fight: @erikscottdebie and @ArrathVir

Follow both to track the action, or check out hashtag #shadowbane for a full transcript.

Also, feel free to weigh in with some suggestions: unexpected hazards, terrain breakage, random quirks of fate, reinforcements, etc. You’ll see posts from both Shadowbane and Rath, who will trade turns not unlike a D&D game. That’s where the similarity ends, however, and what you’ll get is a hardcore duel straight out of one of my novels . . . because I’m the one writing it!

For those not on Twitter or otherwise occupied, a transcript will appear on Facebook the following day.

Canonically, this fits between DOWNSHADOW and SHADOWBANE and *before* my novella, “Chosen of the Sword,” which should be appearing on the WotC site any day now.

See any/all of you there & then!

Cheers

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Free Fiction Fridays!

Friday, September 9th, 2011

Hey all,

I’m posting up some free fiction of mine to read on this lovely Friday. Specifically:

Chapter 7 of the Worldwalkers campaign summaries

(And check chapters 1-6, linked on this page!)

Not really new fiction, but check the Shadowbane sample chapter!

Cheers

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Names: the Eternal Struggle

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

A quick post prompted by an email query: How do you name your fantasy characters?

Stealing names from historical figures, movies, books, etc., is pretty awesome, though you don’t want to go too literal or pick someone too high profile (don’t name someone “Neo” or “Eddard Stark” or “Sookie” and you should be ok). I took the name “Shadowbane” from a 3.5 D&D product (not from the CRPG, actually!).

Also, foreign words that mean something appropriate to the character (like “Arya” from Ghostwalker, which means basically “strength” in sanskrit) are a good way to go.

My favorite technique, however, is to find a word that I think incapsulates the character, then switch around a few letters until it becomes a cool name. Kvothe from Pat Rothfuss’s Name of the Wind is a great example: it reflects the word “quothe,” which reflects the character’s capacity as a story-teller. That’s initially how I created “Arya,” actually, which comes from “aria,” which is a musical term (a beautiful interlude that relieves the darker scene). Its meaning in sanskrit is just a bonus.

See also names like “Fayne,” the deceptive/illusionist warlock in Downshadow. Or Rath, the dwarf assassin in same.

Cheers

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Shadowbane: On e-readers everywhere next month

Tuesday, August 16th, 2011

My next novel SHADOWBANE (slated for a September 6 release, if Amazon is to be believed) is an e-book only release. If you see it listed on Barnes and Noble or Amazon as “unavailable,” you’re probably looking at the Mass Market Paperback. There are no plans to produce such a thing at this time, though who knows in the future?

If you want to continue reading the story that my last book DOWNSHADOW began, then grab an e-reader and get ready, because Kalen Dren, Champion of a Dead God, is about to rock your fantasy world.

Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Shadowbane-Forgotten-Realms-Novel-ebook/dp/B004ZZKRLS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1313520560&sr=8-3

Barnes and Noble Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shadowbane-erik-scott-de-bie/1102955200

Here’s the WotC product page about it (this says an October release date): http://wizards.com/dnd/Product.aspx?x=dnd/products/frnovel/335130000

Here’s the sample chapter for Shadowbane: http://wizards.com/dnd/Product.aspx?x=dnd/products/frnovel/335130000

Cheers,
Erik Scott de Bie

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Guardian of the Realms

Tuesday, June 28th, 2011

You know, when Matt James read my novel Downshadow, he got so excited he had to run around like a kid in a candy store at GenCon, and show his brother Brian R. James the parts about Helm.

This reaction is NOTHING compared to what will happen when he reads the last few lines of chapter 30 of my next novel Shadowbane, which is of course the sequel. :)

Cheers

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Teasers about Shadowbane

Monday, April 11th, 2011

So the cover’s up online at Amazon, but I’ve also been able to use the Author Connect feature at Amazon to produce a product description and words about my inspirations for my next novel, Shadowbane. Go check it out!

http://www.amazon.com/Shadowbane-Forgotten-Erik-Scott-Bie/dp/0786958553/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1302538933&sr=8-1

Cheers

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The Writer’s Gearshift

Wednesday, April 6th, 2011

Currently, I’m switching gears a little from my ongoing work on my latest work in progress (about a fifth of the way through), so that I can address not one but TWO emails requesting revisions to completed manuscripts that are in the publishing pipeline.

(One of them is Shadowbane, one of them is my independent fantasy novel, Shadow of the Winter King. Yes, yes, they both have shadow in the title. I’m over it!)

These requests arrived literally within 12 hours of each other, and I have no choice but to do both. That’s just the way of it, sometimes. :)

Just in case you thought it was all glamorous, "ooh, write what you love!" all the time, nope, sometimes it’s hard work refining and polishing. Not to imply that I don’t love them–I wouldn’t have spent all this time on them if I didn’t. Rather, this is just what needs to be done to get you the best story you can have.

Until this new WiP, I haven’t done any new *writing* for a while, having been working on these two books for several months now. I’m *almost* done with them, however, and then I can get back to my next novel.

Cheers

P.S. Oh BTW–since you’ve read this far, you deserve a slight reward. Working title on my WIP: "Eye of Justice," a Forgotten Realms novel.

Maybe I’ll keep it, maybe I won’t, but that’s my extremely unofficial title for the moment. Please don’t repost that–I wouldn’t want to start any incorrect rumors, and I might well come up with a title I like better. You never know. :)

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