Sunday's Author: R. A. Salvatore

Robert Anthony Salvatore (born January 20, 1959, Leominster, Massachusetts), who writes under the name R. A. Salvatore, is an American author best known for The DemonWars Saga, his Forgotten Realms novels, in which he created the popular character Drizzt Do'Urden, and Vector Prime, the first novel in the Star Wars: The New Jedi Order series. He has sold more than 15 million copies of his books in the USA alone and twenty-two of his titles have been New York Times best-sellers.

 Biography

Robert Salvatore was born in Leominster, Massachusetts, the youngest of a family of seven. A graduate of Leominster High School, Salvatore has credited his high school English teacher with being instrumental in his development as a writer. During his time at Fitchburg State College, he became interested in fantasy after reading J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, given to him as a Christmas gift. 
 He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications and later a Bachelor of Arts in English. Before taking up writing full time he worked as a bouncer.
He is noted for his intense and descriptive battle scenes which have been attributed to his history as a bouncer.
In 2000, Salvatore's collected papers, including correspondence and unpublished works, were donated to his alma mater Fitchburg State College to create the 'R.A. Salvatore Collection.'

Writing

In 1982 he started writing more seriously, developing a manuscript he titled Echoes of the Fourth Magic. He created the setting of Ynis Aielle for the novel, writing it in longhand by candlelight. In an interview with comic book website Project Fanboy, Salvatore said he landed the deal for his first book when, after finishing the script for Echoes of the Fourth Magic in early 1987, he sent the work to TSR and several other publishers. TSR was looking for an author to write the second book in the The Forgotten Realms line and asked Salvatore to audition. In July 1987, Salvatore won the spot to write the book.^[10] He went on to publish several series of books in the Forgotten Realms campaign world, while lately his popularity surged due to his Demon Wars sagas and his two Star Wars books.
One of his most popular characters is Drizzt Do'Urden, a drow, or dark elf, portrayed against the stereotypes of his race, who defied a nation of evil enemies with his swordsmanship and courage. He abandoned the Underdark, a merciless and barren land of unmarked and limitless tunnels where deadly creatures continually lurk. His journey for freedom leads him to the surface where he faces discrimination at every turn because of his dark heritage. Drizzt stumbles along in a harsh world until he finally comes upon friends who understand the kindness of his heart. Together, they fight for justice against sinister enemies who dare to disrupt the peace of Drizzt's newfound homeland.
In 1999, Salvatore was tasked with writing Vector Prime, the first novel in the Star Wars: The New Jedi Order series. Vector Prime was extremely controversial among Star Wars fans in that its plot called for the death of Chewbacca, making the Wookiee the first major character from the original trilogy (and one of the most popular characters in the franchise) to be permanently killed off in the Expanded Universe novels. Salvatore was ordered by Lucasfilm Ltd. (specifically George Lucas himself) to kill off the character. Many fans thought that Salvatore himself had made this decision, but it was actually Randy Stradley, the then-editor at Dark Horse Comics.
In February 2008, Devil's Due Publishing published Spooks, a comic book about a U.S. government anti-paranormal investigator/task force created by Larry Hama and Salvatore. Hama created the military characters and plots, and Salvatore covered the monster characters.
In 2010, Wizards of the Coast announced a new deal with R.A. Salvatore to write six more Drizzt books, to be released between 2011 and 2016.
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How to Write a Damn Good Fight Scene
   Nothing gets your pulse pounding like a good fight scene. It's better than coffee in the morning, and worse than a Red Bull at night especially if you're trying to get to sleep sometime before dawn. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who would confess to missing more than one lunch bell while engrossed in the middle of a particularly riveting fight scene.

A hallmark of the fantasy tradition, fight scenes are as common as whimsical six-syllable names in fantasy books, and yet, despite their frequency, there's nothing harder to write. So when it came time to write this column, I knew I was going to have to call on the big guns, if I wanted to get it right: R.A. Salvatore. Read the entire interview by Susan J. Morris at shelfari.

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