BLADE OF FLAMES Question & Answer Time!
Since BLADE OF FLAMES is the first book in a new epic fantasy series, it has generated more than the usual amount of questions. For convenience, I will answer them all here.
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1.) Is BLADE OF FLAMES set in the world of Andomhaim/Owyllain from FROSTBORN, SEVENFOLD SWORD, DRAGONTIARNA, DRAGONSKULL, and THE SHIELD WAR?
Answer: Yes, it is set in Owyllain. Specifically in the Year of Our Lord 1588, so eighty-eight years after the end of THE SHIELD WAR.
2.) Is Ridmark the main character?
Answer: No, the main character is named Talembur. I have written 43 books with Ridmark as either the protagonist or one of the protagonists, and across those books Ridmark has gone from being an angry young man to a grandfather, so it was time to do something different. The poor man deserves a break!
3.) Is Talembur secretly Ridmark in disguise?
Answer: No.
4.) Is Talembur secretly [various character theories]?
Answer: No, Talembur is a new character.
5.) Do I need to read any other books before starting BLADE OF FLAMES?
Answer: No. That was one of my intentions in writing it. You can read BLADE OF FLAMES without having read any of the other Andomhaim books, since all the major characters in BLADE OF FLAMES are new, and we’re in a part of Owyllain we’ve never visited before.
6.) Are there any recurring characters in BLADE OF FLAMES?
Answer: Exactly one. Well, two, technically, depending on how you look at it.
7.) Will other recurring characters return in future BLADES OF RUIN books?
Answer: Yes. But we shall have to read and find out after I write them. 
8.) The opening is very similar to FROSTBORN: THE GRAY KNIGHT, isn’t it?
Answer: Yes, for reasons that will become clear. Without any spoilers, let’s say that similarity is a significant plot point.
9.) Is there a dog in this book?
Answer: Yes, people like dogs, so there is a dog in the book.
10.) Does the dog die?!?!?
Answer: He does not.
11.) Seriously, does the dog die?!?!?
Answer: I promise that the dog does not die.
12.) How many BLADES OF RUIN books will there be?
Answer: I am planning for twelve, though that my change if I have a good idea that requires an extra book or if I think I can consolidate it down.
13.) Will there be BLADES OF RUIN audiobooks?
Answer: That is the plan if all goes well. Brad Wills has signed up to narrate the series.
14.) Are you still going to write Rivah books?
Answer: Yes. After I publish CLOAK OF WORLDS, hopefully sometime in October, I will start writing the next Rivah book, ELVEN-ASSASSIN.
15.) Are you still going to write Caina books?
Answer: Eventually. I need some time to think about where they’re going to go next. I’ve done this before – there was a two-year gap between GHOST IN THE SUN, the end of the GHOST NIGHT series, and GHOST IN THE SERPENT, because I wanted to think about what to do next. At this point in my life, I don’t want to have any more than three unfinished series at one time, so we’ll see what I want to do next when either BLADES OF RUIN, CLOAK MAGE, or HALF-ELVEN THIEF are done.
16.) Seriously, Talembur is secretly Ridmark, isn’t he?
Answer: In 1884, retired Civil War general William T. Sherman was approached about running for President. He point-blank refused, famously stating “I will not accept if nominated and will not serve if elected”, though this usually gets paraphrased to “if nominated, I will not run, if elected, I will not serve.” He really meant it, and refused to get involved in politics for the remaining years of his life.
I’m not sure if writers have an equivalent of a Sherman statement, but if there is, this is it: Talembur is a new character and not secretly a character who has appeared before in the Andomhaim/Owyllain books. I cannot be blunter than that.
-JM
