Author interview R.A. Salvatore

Author interview with Robert Anthony Salvatore

Author Bio:

R. A. Salvatore is one of fantasy’s most popular authors, with his books frequently appearing on the New York Times bestseller list and more than 10 million copies of his books sold. He is the author of The Bear, The Dame, The Ancient, and The Highwayman as well as Gauntlgrym, The Legend of Drizzt books, including the Dark Elf Trilogy—Homeland, Exile, and Sojourn— and the Demon Wars series, among many others. Salvatore was born in Massachusetts, and earned a B.S. in communications and a B.A. in English from Fitchburg State College. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, Diane, and their three children.

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Hi Robert, welcome over to The Book Plank and for taking your time to answer these few questions for us.

BP: First off, could you tell us a bit about yourself, what are your likes/dislikes and your hobbies?

RAS: Sure. I’m in my mid-50’s but unwilling to slow down. I lift weights, play softball and chase my grandson all over the place.  I love following Boston sports (hold season tickets to Fenway park) and following up a Sunday afternoon Patriots’ game with my weekly gaming group. We’re currently playing DemonWars: Reformation, which has become another thing I truly love to do!

BP: You have been in the writing scene for quite a while now, do you still know when and where you decided that you wanted to become an author?

RAS: I don’t think I ever did. Writing found me as much as the other way around. I fell in love with fantasy fiction while in college, but went to work in finance – inventory control, payroll, service financial analyst. When I ran out of fantasy books to read in the early 80’s (there simply weren’t that many available in my local bookstores), I just sat down and wrote my own. I wasn’t trying to get published and wasn’t even thinking along those lines. I was just having fun creating a story.

Some friends read my work, “Echoes of the Fourth Magic,” and liked it a lot, so I hired my sister to type it and sent it around to the publishers. It wasn’t until I got the rejection letters that I really bore down on it. I don’t like being told that I can’t do something. So I kept writing and in 1987, I sent the book back out. One publisher, TSR, liked it but had no room for it. They asked me to audition for the second book in their new Forgotten Realms setting. I agreed and got the contract. A couple of years later, after “The Halfling’s Gem” hit the New York Times, TSR signed me to a 3-book deal and ROC books picked up my first work. It was time to quit my day job. That was June, 1990.

BP: If you just drop the name Drizzt a lot of people directly know who and what it is, had you first dared to imagine that your books would acquire such a huge fan base and general popularity?

RAS: Of course not. After the initial rejection letters, I just wanted to publish one book to prove people wrong. I had no idea where this would lead. Drizzt wasn’t even in the original outline of “The Crystal Shard.” I don’t know how it happened. I don’t know why it happened. I’m just glad it did.

BP: Does the high popularity of your books put a pressure on your shoulder each time you write a new book?

RAS: Quite the opposite. There are two things I’ve learned about writing. First, it’s personal. Write what’s in your heart, tell a story the way you want it told, and if it works out, great.

And second, I don’t write my books for the people who don’t like them; I write them for the people who do. The only thing I owe anybody is to do the best job I can, and that’s how I live my life. Whether I’m writing a book or playing softball, effort is never in question.

Zero pressure, honestly. I’m walking the road beside these characters, having as much fun as I can in the process, and trying to enjoy the people who are walking the road with me (the readers).

BP: You have a lot of experience in writing books, does writing now come natural to you? How do you setup up to write a new book?

RAS: It depends. When I’m writing the Drizzt books now, it’s more like writing the next season of a television show. I look at where the characters are and ask them what makes the most sense going forward.

When I’m creating a new world, as with my DemonWars books back in the 90’s, I have a lot more prep work to do. I need to create a world that makes sense, with cultures that rhyme with those from our own history. I need social and economic structures that will make sense to readers – the less I make them suspend disbelief, the more I can immerse them in the work. And of course, if I’m introducing many brand new characters, I need to get to know them. That’s usually the fun part.

BP: Most of your books feature in the Forgotten Realms series, but you have also invented your own universe in the DemonWars Saga of the First King, can you tell us a bit about what this series is about?

RAS: DemonWars was created through a seven-book series, beginning with “The Demon Awakens,” way back in 1995. This is my Forgotten Realms, my Middle Earth, my Shanarra. My plan was to tell the huge story of the world, introduce readers to the Abellican Church and the magic system based on gemstones, through the eyes of a few heroes.

After that, I wanted to go back and tell more personal stories, smaller in scale, perhaps, but more like the Drizzt books. The first of those was “The Highwayman,” which remains one of my favorite books of all. It was supposed to be a stand-alone novel, but I fell in love with the character and so went on to write three more. These books are set hundreds of years before the main DemonWars series, when the Abellican Church is in its infancy.

BP: The DemonWars Saga of the First King is reissued this February with the first two books, The Highwaymen and The Ancient, combined in an omnibus edition, First Heroes. Did you change anything on the original series with the reissue?

RAS: No, I wouldn’t do that. Books are a snapshot in time, much like an old photo album. These books reflect where I was when I was writing them, both as a writer and as a person, walking this muddled road we call life.

BP: If you would have to sell your First Heroes with a single sentence, how would it go?

RAS: The most unlikely hero you can imagine finds himself in a position to strike a blow against tyranny, but has no idea of why he should do it.

BP: If you would be given the chance to change anything in the reissues or to any of your already published books, would you do so? And if yes which part/book and why?

RAS: I did get that chance once. When my first book, “Echoes of the Fourth Magic,” was being reissued by a new publisher, they asked me if I wanted to do exactly that. “Echoes” was my first book, and it’s full of first-book mistakes. I’m sure of that, and yes, there are many things I would love to change. But as with the answer above, I don’t want to retouch the old photographs. The cracks in the old photos, the blurring, the bad lighting, the off-tint, the black-and-white – all of that combines to lock in a time and place.

BP: If you look at the Saga of the First King series, what has been the most difficult part to write?

RAS: Bransen. He’s an unusual character, a complete underdog, and dealing with a situation far beyond my own life experience. And I knew I had to get him right. The series rises or falls on his infirm shoulders. When I finished it, and the feedback started coming in from people closer to the actuality of Bransen’s life, I knew I had done it right – and that’s the main reason “The Highwayman” remains one of my favorite books, right there. I think it’s important.

BP: Besides the hardest part of the series, which part or parts did you enjoy writing about the most?

RAS: The whole Robin Hood aspect of the reluctant hero, eager rogue. When Bransen finds his place, he knows what he likes, but is then faced with the whole point of it all. It’s quite above him for a long, long time, so he muddles through. Watching his growth was an absolute joy.

BP: You have been involved in a new Forgotten Realms series The Sundering, do you have any other projects besides The Sundering that you wish to pursue in the future? What can we expect from you?

RAS: I’m continuing in the Realms with two books this year (“Night of the Hunter” and “Rise of the King”), and two more next year. I’ve also run a very successful kickstarter for an old-fashioned pen&paper game based on the DemonWars world and the gemstone magic. We’re putting the Core Rule Book for DemonWars: Reformation together now, ready to fulfill the kickstarter orders. I’m very excited about it – the game is a blast.

BP: Everyone enjoys fantasy in their own way, what do you like most about it?

RAS: I like believing that one person can make a difference, and there’s something very comforting about the idea of having things that cannot be explained by science (magic). Fantasy fits both of those.

BP: And just lastly, if you would have to give your top 5 favourite books, which would they be?

RAS: Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” literally (pun intended) changed my life. I’d put that at the top of my list.

James Joyce’s “The Dead” remains the most perfect piece of writing I can imagine. Sometimes I just sit back and read the last four pages out loud…and I am humbled.

After that, in no order, Stephen King’s “Salem’s Lot” remains the most terrifying thing I’ve ever read. That book had me waking up iin the middle of the night certain a vampire as about to “leap down upon my unsuspecting neck!” (with apologies to “Gilligan’s Island”).

Michael Shaara’s “The Killer Angels” remains the best example of a historical novel I’ve ever read. Blew me away – I felt like I was at Gettysburg while reading it, and indeed, when I visited Gettysburg with my family a couple of years later, I could feel the ghosts around me. Brilliant and insightful writing. His son, Jeff, has admirably taken up the mantle, but Michael’s book started it all for me.

And last, but not least, I’ll count two together: Walter Miller’s “A Canticle for Liebowitz” and Umberto Eco’s “The Name of the Rose.” Eco’s work is heavy with prose and thick with description – just the type of bok I generally don’t like to read. But I couldn’t put it down. It hit so many notes that rang true to my Italian Catholic upbringing, with so much insight into human nature and the unending struggles of the Church. Really, I couldn’t put it down.

Miller’s work touched me with such sadness about the human condition, this great gerbil wheel of human folly. It wasn’t cynical, though, because he humanized it so well with truly lovable characters. It’s no accident that one of the monks of DemonWars is named Brother Francis. That’s an homage to Miller and a book I’ll forever consider a favorite.

And now I’ll cheat and throw in Fritz Leiber’s “Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser” books as a bonus. Obviously those books have had a lasting effect on me, and I consider them the best “buddy fantasy” ever written.

BP: Thank you very much for your time Robert and good luck with your future writing!