Elaine Cunningham
Encyclopedia
Elaine Cunningham is an American
fantasy
and science fiction
author, especially known for her contributions to the Dungeons & Dragons
role playing game campaign setting
of Forgotten Realms
, including the realms of Evermeet
, Halruaa, Ruathym
and Waterdeep
.
Cunningham started writing when her oldest son was a baby. She has written a number of novels set in the Forgotten Realms. Her first book was titled Elfshadow: "Even though its my first book and admittedly has some rough spots, I think that Elfshadow [1991] remains my favorite." Cunningham grew fond of the book's stars, Arilyn Moonblade, a half-elf
with blood ties to the royal family, and a bard name Danilo Thann. "I’ve written two sequels (Elfsong [1994] and Silver Shadows [1996]) and several short stories... I really enjoy time spent with them." Her 1998 book Evermeet: Island of Elves chronicles the whole history of Evermeet
and featured the return of Arilyn and Danilo: "Evermeet still terrifies me, but I think it turned out to be a good story. It adds a bit more color and dimension to Toril's elves and perhaps suggests a few new ways to think about them."
Amongst Elaine's most popular characters are the half-elf Arilyn Moonblade, the bard Danilo Thann, the quirky drow wizard Liriel Baenre, her companion the Rashemi berserker Fyodor
, and Elaith "The Serpent" Craulnober
(created by Ed Greenwood
).
Elaine is also the New York Times bestselling author of Dark Journey, from the Star Wars
New Jedi Order saga.
Elaine lives in New England with her husband, their two sons, and two eccentric Siamese cats.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
and science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
author, especially known for her contributions to the Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
role playing game campaign setting
Campaign setting
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...
of Forgotten Realms
Forgotten Realms
The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...
, including the realms of Evermeet
Evermeet
Evermeet is an island in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons game, located far west of the continent of Faerûn...
, Halruaa, Ruathym
Ruathym
Ruathym is a location on Faerûn, a fictional continent, the primary setting of the Forgotten Realms, for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.-Description:Ruathym is a kingdom of Faerûn....
and Waterdeep
Waterdeep (city)
Waterdeep is a fictional city-state that forms part of a popular Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game campaign setting called the Forgotten Realms. It is a port city that is located along the western coast of the Faerûn sub-continent...
.
Biography
Elaine Cunningham grew up in New York state and New England. She earned a degree in music, taught Music and History for several years, and then went back to grad school.Cunningham started writing when her oldest son was a baby. She has written a number of novels set in the Forgotten Realms. Her first book was titled Elfshadow: "Even though its my first book and admittedly has some rough spots, I think that Elfshadow [1991] remains my favorite." Cunningham grew fond of the book's stars, Arilyn Moonblade, a half-elf
Half-elf (Dungeons & Dragons)
-Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition :The half-elf appeared as a player character race in the original Player's Handbook . The half-elf also appeared in the original Monster Manual...
with blood ties to the royal family, and a bard name Danilo Thann. "I’ve written two sequels (Elfsong [1994] and Silver Shadows [1996]) and several short stories... I really enjoy time spent with them." Her 1998 book Evermeet: Island of Elves chronicles the whole history of Evermeet
Evermeet
Evermeet is an island in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons game, located far west of the continent of Faerûn...
and featured the return of Arilyn and Danilo: "Evermeet still terrifies me, but I think it turned out to be a good story. It adds a bit more color and dimension to Toril's elves and perhaps suggests a few new ways to think about them."
Amongst Elaine's most popular characters are the half-elf Arilyn Moonblade, the bard Danilo Thann, the quirky drow wizard Liriel Baenre, her companion the Rashemi berserker Fyodor
Fyodor
Gordon Lyon is a network security expert, open source programmer, writer, and a hacker. He authored the open source Nmap Security Scanner and numerous books, web sites, and technical papers focusing on network security...
, and Elaith "The Serpent" Craulnober
Elaith Craulnober
Elaith Craulnober is a fictional character in the Forgotten Realms fantasy campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Elaith is often used by author Elaine Cunningham and has appeared in many of her novels, namely, Elfshadow, Elfsong, Silver Shadows, Dream Spheres, and...
(created by Ed Greenwood
Ed Greenwood
Ed Greenwood is a Canadian writer and editor who created the Forgotten Realms. He invented the Forgotten Realms as a child, as a fantasy world in which to set the stories he imagined, and later used this world as a campaign setting for his own personal Dungeons & Dragons playing group...
).
Elaine is also the New York Times bestselling author of Dark Journey, from the Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
New Jedi Order saga.
Elaine lives in New England with her husband, their two sons, and two eccentric Siamese cats.
Quotes
- (From Candlekeep web forums): Ravens and crows will also interact with humans. Occasionally they'll imitate human behavior (such as helping gardeners pull weeds.) Sometimes they're willing to cut a deal. I've got one going with the local "raven mafia." They always gather on trash pickup day, but in exchange for some "protection bread," they'll leave my trash alone and even chase other birds away from it.
- (From Elaine Cunningham's website, on the subject of author photos): I find this sort of thing unnecessary and irrelevant. It's like that scene from "Wizard of Oz," when the wizard admonishes Dorothy and company, "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!" It's the illusion—in this case, the story—that matters. What difference does it make if an author is male or female, young or old, or for that matter, a Caucasian human or a sentient dolphin?