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Ruin Mist Journals!
November 8, 2002
Ruin Mist Winter Newsletter
October 12, 2002
Ruin Mist Fall Newsletter
October 3, 2002
A Ruin Mist Franchise?
September 12, 2002
Kingdoms and Elves 3 propels sales
August 16, 2002
Sales approach 2 million
August 9, 2002
Ruin Mist Summer Newsletter
July 23, 2002
Ruin Mist books are cultural phenom
July 8, 2002
Who is Robert Stanek?
June 24, 2002
Ruin Mist Feature!
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~~ CONTENTS ~~
~ Message from Robert Stanek
~ Web Update: International Fan Sites
~ Interview with Robert Stanek on the creation of Ruin Mist
~ Feature: Sovereign Rule
~ Contact & Subscriber Information
~ Next Issue
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~ Message from Robert Stanek ~
Dear Readers,
I am pleased to say that I submitted the final manuscript for Kingdom Alliance (Ruin Mist Chronicles, Book 3) to my publisher. Many readers have written to ask me when the book will be published. My publisher at Reagent Press has said March 2003 and also said May 2003.
Officially, the publication date is May 2003. The reason for this change is the second half of the young adult version (The Kingdoms & the Elves of the Reaches IV) will be published first in March 2003. This pub date is hot on the heels of the launch of my adventure thriller, Sovereign Rule.
I am very excited about the upcoming publication of Kingdom Alliance. It has been a long journey, nearly 20 years since I began writing about the world of Ruin Mist. I am very grateful to you and all the other readers who have helped spread the word about my books, and in the process, helped make this dream a reality.
Thank you, Robert Stanek
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~ Web Update ~
Robert Stanek fan sites in the UK, Germany and Japan? Yes, it's true. We've tracked down several international fan sites! The place to find them? Start with http://uptowngirl17.tripod.com/. Becky continues to do an excellent job at tracking the best Ruin Mist fan sites. Thank you, Becky! We'd also like to point out that international book orders can be placed through Amazon: www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.co.jp and www.amazon.de.
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~ Interview with Robert Stanek on the creation of Ruin Mist
Tribune: I learned about your books from [a recent magazine article] talking about Ruin Mist, the fantasy world you created. What do you say to those who are calling you the Tolkien for the new millennium?
Stanek: I'm not a Tolkien Scholar. I don't know enough about Tolkien the man to answer that. The epic story and history written into his books changed my life. That's what I've said for the record. I don't know what others are saying [about my writing].
Tribune: Okay, for the record. I see from your resume that you worked in Intelligence in the military. You were a linguist. Tolkien was a linguist. You are a combat veteran, a very distinguished one. Tolkien's writing was shaped by his love of language and his experiences during World War II. How did those things influence your writing?
Stanek: First, clarification.
Tribune: Okay. Stanek: Tolkien knew Middle English, Latin, Finnish and a half dozen other languages. I've studied, "studied", Spanish, German, Japanese, Korean and Russian.
Tribune: You lived in Germany and Japan.
Stanek: Passable speaker when I lived there, but that was years ago.
Tribune: [Smiles] Okay, I'm rooted back to earth now. It's refreshing that you are so down to earth about all this. Can we get back to how language and war influenced your writing?
Stanek: Well, I started writing about Ruin Mist in '86. I was stationed in Japan then. I learned a lot about eastern cultures and philosophies. I studied the language. Having just come from the Defense Language Institute's intensive Russian Language course, I had an easier time learning Japanese and then Korean. Eastern culture and philosophy is so fascinating. A lot of the language and culture spilled over into my writing, especially the history of Ruin Mist. Ruin Mist has three realms: Over-Earth, Under-Earth and Middle-Earth. A lot of Under-Earth's feudal history comes from ancient Japanese and Korean history.
Tribune: I'm Polish. I see a lot of Slavic influence as well.
Stanek: Definitely. Many philosophies from the Slavs. I am a Slav. My father is Polish-Hungarian. I've borrowed words and word bases, like Kapital and Zashchita. Many others. Ancient Elvish in Ruin Mist has a Slavic base. Hence "Eh tera mir dolzh formus tan!" are the words of power Xith speaks to activate one of the Gates of Uver. Loosely translated, it means "From the earth the gate must form." Contrast that to Tolkien, who might have thought this language too harsh for his romantic notion of elves.
Tribune: You mentioned Tolkien, I didn't.
Stanek: Fair, I did. [Smiles]
Tribune: Have you worked on Ruin Mist steadily since '86?
Stanek: No, on and off. I wrote the first part of the history and several of the books in the 80's while stationed in Japan. After that I went to Combat Air School, then to Germany. Things changed after that.
Tribune: The Gulf War?
Stanek: Yeah, that changed a lot of priorities for me. I saw things so differently afterward. The experiences changed my view of everything.
Tribune: You started college. '91 to '96. Earned a bachelor's and a master's degree, both with distinction, while still in the military.
Stanek: You did your homework.
Tribune: [Smiles]
Stanek: You could say I became a little bit obsessed with work. After the Gulf, working practically 24x7 for all those months, it was hard to shift gears. If I wasn't doing something, I'd go stir crazy. I still can't just sit down and relax without making myself do it.
Tribune: Where was Ruin Mist during this time?
Stanek: On my mind frequently, but I didn't have time to write that often. My wife and I had our first child in '92. That changed a lot of things as well. I did manage to complete the realm maps and more of the history.
Tribune: Do you plan on publishing the history as well as the books?
Stanek: I've written a companion volume called Ruin Mist Heroes, Legends and Beyond. That has some of the history, but I don't think I'll ever publish the whole history. Who'd want to see it anyway?
Tribune: About a billion Tolkien fans for starters.
Stanek: You said Tolkien? [Smiles]
Tribune: I did? [Looks at his watch] We've run over. You said you had to finish by 3.
Stanek: Yeah, I really do need to. Is that okay?
Tribune: Next time, then?
Stanek: Sure. I think it'd be fun.
[End]
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~ Feature: Sovereign Rule
Robert Stanek's adventure thriller, Sovereign Rule, officially goes on sales January, 2003. Early interest in film/tv rights suggests there might be a movie. So what's the inside scoop and why's there so much interest?
It's the story, according to Thomas Green, Reagent Press Associate Publisher. "Two years ago when I started working with Robert, he mentioned he was writing an adventure thriller. I was immediately interested. What he has achieved can best be thought of as The Bourne Identity meets A Sum of All Fears. It's got everything the motion pictures based on those books have and more, much more."
Here's a teaser: Between fear and freedom lies the shadowed reality through which Scott Evers must go. If he lets them know that he's afraid for, and therefore cares about, those around him, the powerbrokers will take them away one by one until Scott's the only one left between us and those that want to control us. Scott's desperate to keep his wife and unborn child alive but as Scott's about to find out, the rules of the game have changed and those that control the rules control the game. The weak and rash take power using bombs and terror; the strong and resolute by sovereign rule. Only one man is in a position to take back control, but can Scott Evers unravel the secrets and lies before it's too late? Sovereign Rule: A tautly told and suspenseful thriller from bestselling author Robert Stanek. Packed with twists and turns, this is Stanek at his best.
Here's the early reviews:
"Robert Stanek won acclaim for his action packed stories, believable dialogue, and well-developed characters. Now Stanek delivers the suspense thriller of his career in Sovereign Rule."
"A breakthrough novel from a hell of a storyteller."
"An absorbing, tightly plotted suspense thriller that doesn't disappoint."
"Focused, fast-moving and finely crafted."
"Fresh, fast-paced and full of genuine surprises. Stanek keeps the pages flying. His characters are compelling and likeable."
"Entertaining, a down-to-the wire climax that'll keep you guessing about everyone and everything."
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To learn more about these books, visit http://www.tvpress.com AOL:tvpress.com
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~NEXT ISSUE ~
Upcoming issues will feature:
~ Robert Stanek Military Service Bio & Tribute to Veterans
~ Inhabitants of Ruin Mist Special Feature
~ King's Mate Origins and History, including the "real" rules of play
~ More secrets of the dark elves of Under Earth
~ Kingdom Alliance Preview =================================================
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