Quote from PsyrenXY >>

Is this for a novel, or the upcoming rulebook related to the recent "Horror Classes" Unearthed Arcana?

Yep, this is a novel-- Dungeons & Dragons Ravenloft: Heir of Strahd, which came out a few weeks ago.

Quote from Spellslamzer >>

Do you have any Ravenloft or general D&D theories or headcanons? And did you write the novel with any of them in mind? Also, I’ve yet to read the book but plan to. Is it meant to be set before or after Curse of Strahd as an adventure?

 When I write an IP, I think of it as history. Like, I'm not sure if Harry Truman was a real guy, but Strahd and Palpatine are REAL to me. Thinking of it this way means that my resource books are like encyclopedias. When I read through Curse of Strahd, everything in that castle is a potential enemy or object. So I guess my main headcanon is that everything in a D&D sourcebook is REAL. Which makes it easier for me to hallucinate the story. I'm not entirely certain of the timing, but I can tell you that it's after Vampire of the Mists, and there is evidence of Jander Sunstar's sojourn in the castle.

Quote from Arenlor >>

I do have a question: What (if any) software does she use for writing?

 I would prefer to use Open Office, but all of my work is for traditional publishers, and they all require me to use Word.

Quote from GhastlyGary >>

What kind of research did you conduct when writing this book? Where there any difficult moments where you experienced "writers block" and how did you overcome that? Also, thank you for the signature card for preordering the book! :)

 I have a knee-high stack of D&D reference books by my feet, plus a Tarokka deck, plus a map of Castle Ravenloft that's been folded and unfolded so many times that it's practically falling apart. I also reread Vampire of the Mists and Dance of the Dead by Christie Golden to reimmerse myself in the world. I don't tend to get writers block; when you're writing IP like this, you have to produce a fairly detailed outline before they'll set you loose to draft, and so I always know what's going to happen next. In my creator-owned worlds, I almost never get writers block after reading a book called Story Genius by Lisa Cron, which is my writing bible. It teaches you how to sync character arc with plot so seamlessly that you can always figure out what will happen next. I write a chapter a day, or thereabouts, 2000-3000 words, then start the next chapter with a few sentences. That way, I always know what comes next because I've already set it up. And thanks for preordering!

Quote from BobMorane >>

Looking forward to it. I haven't thought of any questions yet, but I'll give it some thoughts this weekend. The book was really good. I wrote a review for an online publication that should be published soon. It will please readers whether or not they've experienced Ravenloft before. I enjoyed all the previous Ravenloft books published in the '80s. This one belongs on the shelf with them.

 

 Thanks so much for the kind words! I'm so glad you liked it!

Quote from EICzerofour >>

I loved this book so much and hope to see more books with these characters! What was your inspiration when creating the five main characters? Were any based of PCs from games? Did you fully create all five of them or was it more WOTC creative decisions? (backstories, class, race, etc). 

We started with choosing the setting, and then I put together a variety of 4- and 5-character teams combining ideas offered by the Wizards team with species/roles that I thought would be particularly fun. We all wanted to play with novel combinations and avoid a heavily human party. For example, they wanted a kenku, and I absolutely sunk my teeth into that idea. Looking at the teams I'd created, they told me which ones they liked, and then I did my best to create a balanced party that could actually survive a level 2 fight without a TPK. I did most of the creation with some nudges here and there, I'd say 95% me/5% WOTC. There may have been some Astarion DNA in Chivarion, though. Every party needs a himbo.

Quote from m5byymxvqj >>

Hi Delilah! As a huge Ravenloft fan, I adore how atmospheric and magical you truly made Strahd's house of horrors! 
My question to you, is how were you able to so perfectly make Strahd a sympathetic villian?
You truly toy with the reader in siding with him despite his intentions. Thank you for giving so much thought and love into the handsome devil himself! I hope you get to write more of our favorite Darklord again soon! :) <3

 Thanks so much!

It was really important to me that Strahd remain his classic, cold, cruel, abusive but tragic self. I did not want him to seem too sympathetic, but he needed to play on his own tragedy to forward his agenda. After reading all of Curse of Strahd and Vampire in the Mists and some of I, Strahd, I felt like I had a pretty good handle on him and the ways that he uses people and toys with them. Writing sympathetic but still horrible, murderous monsters is pretty much my bailiwick, which is why I wrote Phasma and Rise of the Red Blade for Star Wars. I don't know what that says about me as a person....

Quote from Elfsdad >>

Hi Delilah, I loved the book and I was curious about your character creation process for the novel. Did you create Fielle, Alishai (my favorite), Kah, Chivarion, and Rotrog using some form of D&D charactermancer as if you were creating a party to run in Curse of Strahd or did you just use your imagination and create them from whole cloth? Or was it some combination of both approaches. And congratulations on the new Titan Books three-book deal!

 

 Hey, thanks! On both counts!

I worked with the wonderful folks at Wizards to craft a party that could actually survive in Ravenloft but that would definitely have challenges. We all wanted unique characters you might not expect, like a fussy, nerdy orc wizard. They asked for a kenku, and as a big fan of corvids in general, I was really excited to create Kah. Chivarion is one of my favorites, and his dialog cracked me up every time I went through a revision. Alishai is actually based on the tiefling I created to play BG3. And for Murder, I had such a fun time coming up with the most ridiculous pet I could while also having her be a member of the team with her own skills and thoughts. They all had to have reasons to doubt each other... but then come together as a found family.

Quote from CunningSmile >>

Loved the book. Obvious question is how did it feel taking something as well known and well loved as Curse of Strahd and finding a new way to tell the same basic story? And are we going to see more of the Boo Crew?

 I really hope we see more of them--they are an utter joy to write! Part of my approach here was taking a setting we know and love and dropping in a party of characters who do not know what genre they're in. Because none of them know about Ravenloft or the rules therein, they discover it in time with new readers. The book follows the actual castle maps very closely, aside form adding an extra bedroom for Kah and Alishai because... for a castle, Strahd is really not into providing guests with beds! But other than that, I was trying to play with the existing denizens and objects in the castle in new ways and letting my characters make very stupid mistakes that one would make if they thought they were in an adventure comedy and instead had walked into Dracula's castle.

Quote from GroupAccount12 >>

Is the novel based on a game you participated in, community input, or a mix of both? how big was the actual "Curse of Strahd" when writing the novel?

 I used Curse of Strahd as my main source, including all the denizens and objects within the castle, the ways Strahd can be harmed, the rooms and their furnishings--everything! Everything follows the castle map, and a characters uses the Tarokka cards. The novel definitely draws on Strahd's existing history, but the characters are new and arrive in the Domains of Dread in total ignorance, so their adventure is brand new but follows the existing rules of the world/setting.

Quote from flamingmonarch >>

Okay so we have to talk about Murder... Where did this idea come from?! 

At first I was disgusted because all I could think about was the sound of the rough cat tongue on the leathery bat wings but they grew on me and became one of my favorites by the end.

 

Excellent book, chef's kiss, oh and I'll never think about grease or pigskins again the same way ha ha

 Oh thank you so much!

Murder came about because we knew we wanted a pet in the group, and I wanted something that seemed absolutely ridiculous. I love the idea of Tressyms, but Instagram is always showing me Reels of (hairless) Sphinx cats being totally hilarious, so that seemed like a great choice. Describing a character as looking like a plucked turkey delighted me to no end. Of course, when you create something goofy like that, you have to balance out the whimsy with a serious backstory and an actual threat, so life is not all laughter for poor Murder. I loved tying her to a burly Barbarian, who one might not expect to have a soft spot. So, in short, I was trying to be ridiculous and then break your heart.

Quote from ScatterBrainUK >>

I loved this book, the minute the prologue introduced the realm of Barovia I knew we were in good hands. The part about a corpse of a stags ribs being like praying hands sent shivers down my spine.

Was it hard trying to balance the gothic horror aspects of Ravenloft that have a preset environment, its tone and cast of characters with the party characters you created?

Because they feel like the kind of characters players would make for a campaign that fell into ravenloft which is perfect, its what its all about. Their such well written characters and if possible would love more of them in the future, but which was your favourite to write for? Mine is Kah.

And finally if you could write another book set in the Domains of Dread (of which Ravenloft is one), which domain would you like to set it in?

 Oh, no, it was a joy to have such a rich and storied setting for a novel. Any time I needed someone or something to show up and torture the characters, there was already something horrible just waiting in some random room! My favorite to write was Chivarion, especially his dialog and his love for Murder. And if I could write for Ravenloft again (PLEASE PLEASE CAN I), I might go with Dementlieu or Kartakass?