This Is The October Open Thread

[merlinscribe]

So Blade of Empire is out on 10/24 and the cover looks like this. It's a striking cover—in a Soviet Brutalist way. (That's supposed to be Runacar, I suspect. Now let's see if the image drives sales the way Marketing hopes it will.)

Greetings from the far side of the autumnal equinox (for those of you in the Northern Hemisphere). It's been a busy summer here in the Enchanted Forest, though none of it has involved responding to emails and other notifications from Tor because they haven't sent any. Most of what I'm learning about the progress toward publication of Blade of Empire has come from your comments. They are greatly appreciated!

I have one other project to deliver before going back to work on Scourge of Fate, but it should be out of the way by the end of the month. George RR Martin is a cautionary tale for modern storytellers, as we are all well aware, and I have no intention of forcing those of you who have been gracious enough to come along with me on Vieliessar and Runacar's epic adventure to languish for years without the rest of the story...

Meanwhile, a question: do you want to see snippets from Scourge as it is written—even if they might contain possible spoilers? Or do you want to go into the third book in the trilogy completely unspoiled?

And now, onto the comments backlog...

Comments

Pronunciation

[randirelarwen]

I have a question about pronunciation. I have been reading your books since I was 17. In the last 5 or 6 years I started reading (listening?) the audio books. I started, of course, with the Obsidian Mountain Trilogy, then read (listened?) to the Dragon Prophecy series, and after Blade of Empire decided to listen (read?) to the Enduring Flame series, since I had not before. I was extremely bothered by the lack of continuity in pronunciation. Particularly as it applies to cities and Vieliessar.
That leads me to three questions. The first is: was this deliberate?
I turned to a group forum I take part in and some chose to believe that this shift in pronunciation is perhaps a deliberate shifting of what might happen over thousands of years.
The second question is: what is the proper pronunciation for the cities and Vieliessar?
My third question is this: do you and/or Misty have any say or decision in who narrates the audio books? I enjoy Kate Rudd's narration of The Dragon Prophecy series, though as Susan Erickson was the first I heard I am partial to her. She did a wonderful job voicing so many different characters. To be honest I am about to lose my mind listening to the Enduring Flame narrator. The pronunciations are so different from the other two series and his portrayal of Tiercel and Harrier comes across as whiny, though he does well on many other parts.

Re: Pronunciation

[merlinscribe]

A question. Since before your sun burned hot in space and before your race was born, I have awaited a question...

(Oh wait. Wrong series.)

To answer your questions as best I may...

1. Since I've never listened to my audiobooks, I can't comment directly, but pronunciation should be consistent within trilogies.

1a. Was the shift in pronunciation deliberate? Yes (if between trilogies): it's one way to show the passage of time. Even the long-lived Elves will change what they call things over time, and humans have much shorter lives, so they do a lot more of it.

2. A guide to the pronunciation of names and places in the Dragon Prophecy Trilogy can be found here: https://merlinscribe.dreamwidth.org/5913.html If there are any specific names not covered here, let me know and I will try to render them for you.

3. Nope! Neither Ms. Lackey nor I have any input on the production of the audiobooks or the selection of their narrators. I'm sorry to hear that Tiercel and Harrier came across as "whiny" for you. They are two of my favorite people and I adored spending time with them.

Re: Pronunciation

[(Anonymous)]

Tee-hee-hee!!! Love your Star Trek reference!

Re: Pronunciation

[merlinscribe]

One never forgets the classics!