THE DYING KINGDOM
THE DYING KINGDOM is my return to the DragonLance world. (After my previous, Origins Award-nominated The Dragon Isles.) Whether it's a triumphant return or not, I guess it's up to the fans and readers to decide.
The book is the second in a new line of young adult novels set in the original time period of the DragonLance books. It's set right after the original War Of The Lance (before the Twins series.)
THE DYING KINGDOM is the second book in the series. It would probably be helpful to have read the first book, but I've tried to make the story accessible to new readers. Some wise person once said that "every book is someone's first book." I got some "proof" of that when my son decided to start The Two Towers before reading The Fellowship of the Ring. Not the choice I would have made, but it makes my point.
So, whether you've read the first book or not, you can still enjoy THE DYING KINGDOM. The story has a kind of strange origin. I'd originally pitched it for the series, but the then editor decided I should combine it with another story idea. Before I actually wrote the tale, the editors changed again, and the new editor asked me to cut out all the "second" storyline. Which made me happy, because that's the way I'd intended the story to begin with. :-)
TDK is heavy on mood and character development, as well as being filled with my usual cinematic action. There are some nice twists as well, and hopefully I'll keep folks guessing until the last pages. Despite it being a YA book, I've tried to make it exciting and interesting for all ages. I have this pet theory that a well-written kids book and a well-written adult book aren't much different in terms of prose (at least, with my fast-paced, lean style), though they often differ in content. Feel free to drop me a line and tell me how you like it. (Or any of my other books.)
I did an interview with WOTC for this book. Hopefully I'll have a link up to that page soon.
For now, you can read the full Q&A session on which the interview was based by clicking here. I spent a lot of time answering various queries about the book, and there's a lot of info there that fans might find interesting.
The book cover above is merely a prototype. I'll put up the actual cover as soon as I'm able.