Join Aki, Charlie, and Anto as they dive into Jeff LaSala’s epic journey from lifelong Dungeons & Dragons fan to published author for Wizards of the Coast. In this episode, Jeff shares how his passion for roleplaying games and worldbuilding led him to write The Darkwood Mask, a novel set in the dark intrigue of Eberron. We explore his early love of Tolkien, favorite campaign settings, the unique appeal of Eberron, and how writing for an established IP tests a writer’s creativity. Whether you’re a fantasy reader, aspiring author, or tabletop gamer, this episode reveals the behind-the-scenes magic of crafting a D&D tie-in novel.
Keywords: Jeff LaSala, The Darkwood Mask, Eberron, Wizards of the Coast, campaign settings, Keith Baker, Dragonmarked Houses, noir fantasy, tie-in fiction, worldbuilding, conventions and networking in publishing, creative writing challenges, D&D novels, Gamma World, Cards Against Humanity, Exploding Kittens, Spelljammer, Dragonlance, He-Man, Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, Gary Gygax, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, the 1977 animated Hobbit movie, Tolkien, Tor publishing, Macmillan, Peter Jackson, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Silmarillion, The Silmarillion Primer, Rules Lawyers, Power Gamers, Indiana Jones, Maiden of Pain, Loviatar, Greyhawk, The Inquisitives series, detective stories in Eberron, private detectives, Sharn Inquisitive, The Maltese Falcon, pulp fiction, Tower Spit (BS slang), Five Nations sourcebook, City of Towers: Sharn, film noir, hardboiled detective tropes, urban fantasy, DirtyMagickMagazine, James Joyce, George Lucas, Krull, Analog Magazine, and the Lightning Rail.
Enigma by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.
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