Last week I reviewed “Red Dragon Codex” written by R. D. Henham, assisted by Rebecca Shelley. Rebecca has granted us an exclusive interview here on Families.com today.
Rebecca, you have just completed the novel “Red Dragon Codex,” a companion book to the “Dragonlance” series. How many books will be in this dragon series?
There will be ten books in the series, one for each of color dragon in the “Dragonlance” world. They are meant to go as companion books to the New York Times bestselling “A Practical Guide to Dragons.” “The Bronze Dragon Codex” is coming out this July, followed by the “Black Dragon Codex” in October and the “Brass Dragon Codex” January 2009.
Will you be writing additional books for this series, or is “Red Dragon Codex” the only one so far?
I just turned in the first draft of the “Brass Dragon Codex.” I’ve also turned in an outline for a possible “Gold Dragon Codex,” but Henham has many assistants, and I may or may not get chosen to write it.
You are an assistant to R. D. Henham, scribe for the Great Library of Palanthas. I understand Henham is very busy and has several assistants. Are you in charge of one particular area, or do you serve wherever needed?
The Great Library is a busy place. Since modern technology is not available on the world of Krynn we have to make all our own paper and parchment and everything. It’s a lot of work. I help out wherever I’m needed and count myself very lucky to have been able to write up the wonderful “Red Dragon Codex” and “Brass Dragon Codex” adventures.
The scrolls from which the story of the red dragon were taken were buried somewhere deep within the library, if I understand correctly. How did they come to light?
Oh well, that’s really a very interesting story. I’m not sure that I would say so much that they were buried in the library as that they buried the library. You see, “A Practical Guide to Dragons” was written by a precocious kender named Sindri Suncatcher. He left the manuscript nailed to his mother’s wall, but the kender as a race have different views of private possessions, so the manuscript, after passing through many kender hands, eventually ended up at the Great Library where R. D. Henham discovered it. She immediately wrote to Sindri and asked him to share some of the stories he’s heard about dragons in his many travels.
With great kender exuberance, he flooded Henham’s desk with stories, burying the poor scribe with more work than she could possibly do. She gave her assistants the job of sorting through all of Sindri’s scrolls, finding the best stories, and writing them to share with the world.
Do you have other projects currently in the works?
I have several.
The Smartboys Club is a series of chapter books featuring Monkey, who is a fourth-grade genius, and his friends in the Smartboys Club. In the first book, “Bees in MY Butt,” their school gets taken over by ninjas, and the Smartboys use math, science, history, reading, and sports to free the school and keep from being sent off to the infamous “Gifted Program.” The book includes the Smartboys Secret Notebook that further explores the different areas of genius that they use to win. Ever wonder how a water-blaster works or what causes flatulence? That’s the kind of thing the Smartboys keep in their notebook.
I’m also working on several other middle-grade and YA fantasies as well as a political thriller for older audiences.
Thank you for taking the time to chat with us today, Rebecca. We look forward to all your future projects.
If you’d like to learn more about Rebecca Shelley and R. D. Henham, click here.
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