J. Robert King

 Lightning Round
To wrap up these Twelve Days of Greenwood, I thought it would be fun to ask Ed a bunch of rapid-fire questions ala Inside the Actor’s Studio. Here are my questions and his responses:
What is your favorite word?
I haven’t got a favorite word, but I like to slip certain words into most of my [...]

 
Favorite Novels and Games
With such a voluminous output—over 30 published novels and 180 published game products—I thought for sure Ed would have a favorite. But Ed is not so much about novels or games, but moments. He enjoys wherever he is and whatever he’s doing. Here’s his response:
I really don’t have a favorite novel. I [...]

Advice to Aspiring Writers
Ed Greenwood is a treasure trove of experience for young, aspiring writers. I asked him to give his advice for what aspiring writers should do—and not do:
Writers should . . .
Read. Read, read, read. Not so you can copy stuff, but so you can experience all sorts of styles of writing, so [...]

 
On the Future of Gaming
The world of gaming has undergone huge transformations over the last fifty years, and the Forgotten Realms has appeared in just about every gaming format that has come into being. I asked Ed what he felt the future of gaming was:
When I was young, wargaming was men moving painted model soldiers [...]

 
On the Future of Novels
Book publishing is undergoing a tremendous transformation as the world goes digital. Some people are predicting the end of the novel (not a new prediction). As an author and as a librarian, Ed has a unique perspective on the state of the industry, which he elaborates here:
The publishing industry certainly is [...]

 
On the Author-Editor Relationship
I edited a number of Ed’s early novels, including Crown of Fire, Elminster: Making of a Mage, and The Temptation of Elminster (once entitled Elminster in Hell), as well as a trimmed-down edition of his first novel, Spellfire. But he’s also worked with many other editors over time. I asked him what [...]

 
On the Virtues of Escapism

“Escapism” is a dirty word for many critics of fantasy, but it is not to Ed. He echoes the sentiments of Tolkien and Lewis, who saw fantasy as a means of “moral recovery” and the release of imagination from its everyday chains. Here’s what Ed had to say:
The hardest element of [...]

 Sex Scenes and Censorship
I asked Ed for a funny story that involved publishing personalities, and he regaled me with this hilarious gem:
Some years back, I collaborated on a semi-secret rescue job, for free, finishing a novel by a prominent male writer who’d died suddenly (so his widow and family could get the royalties from his [...]

Portrait of the Writer as a Young Man
All the years I have known Ed, he has exhibited a kind of free-floating delight, a zest for life that I have always admired. I asked Ed whether this gusto was simply a character trait, or whether it was a conscious decision. Here is Ed’s illuminating response:
Ah, this [...]

On World Building and Storytelling
Ed is both a world builder and a novelist—which are kind of opposite roles. A world builder has to work primarily with setting and situation while a novelist works primarily with story and plot. I asked Ed how he shifts gears from one role to the other:

I don’t find much difficulty [...]