(shamelessly stolen from http://lizzykaelar.tumblr.com/)
Hello Lizzy Kaelar! This is the first time in a long time I’ve talked to anyone for my blog, so a big thanks for helping me come back! Okay to all the readers, here’s the scenario as I understand it; you’re a model, not a pornstar, so people shouldn’t be looking you up for anything hardcore. You’re married, and can be found online in several places, from your own blog and Twitter to Geek Girls Online. And like the name of that last site implies, you consider yourself a geek. I like that other interviews and your blog posts cover all that basic stuff, because it means I don’t have to spend any time asking dirty, dirty questions. Those pervs will still want to know all about the sex stuff, and fortunately you have it all answered on your Formspring (I know I made sure to read it), but I’m left free to focus on geek stuff! And to be honest, I know waaay more about geek stuff than beautiful naked women stuff. I wanted to focus on one thing in particular — I’ve done with a few other girls, where we find something they love but I’m not too familiar with and I get to learn a bit. So for this interview — on my blog, which usually features insertions and secretions and deviations — I want to learn about…Dragonlance.
There are definitely plenty of ways to find me online. A Google search works really well, among other things. The best way to find me is my blog, though (http://www.LizzyKaelar.com/). It has links to pretty much everything else on it, whether it is social networking sites (ranging from Twitter to forums and pretty much everything in between), modeling profiles, or erotic websites that I’ve modeled on.
I don’t know much about it at all. I think it has some tie-in to Dungeons and Dragons, but that’s it. Actually to start, I’m going to have to talk about something loosely related: That Nicki Minaj song ‘Roman’s Revenge’. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard it (and if you did, much like me maybe thought Nicki was actually MC Chris) but it has the hook “Ruh Ruh Like a Dungeon Dragon.” Have you ever heard the song the like originally came from? A Tribe Called Quest’s ‘Scenario’. Good stuff and features Busta Rhymes, who belts the line out. That’s not even a question, but I like the Tribe song. So anyway, what the hell is Dragonlance about?
I actually had not heard either of the songs in question, but found them both on YouTube when preparing to respond to you here. I’m fairly out of my element with them both, because I am more of a rock person than hip-hop/rap. Funnily enough though, I don’t think the shared line from these two songs actually has anything to do with D&D at all. I read somewhere about how it could mean something about feeling trapped, but having so much potential and strength at the same time, and that seems to fit far more than it being a reference to Dungeons and Dragons.
Dragonlance is an epic fantasy series that takes place on a planet called Krynn. It actually started as a Dungeons and Dragons game between Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman, and a few of their associates. They enjoyed their characters and the story so much that Weis and Hickman started writing a series based on their D&D campaign, which eventually became its own campaign setting in D&D as well. The original trilogy, known as the Chronicles, started with Dragons of Autumn Twilight, and along with the next set of books, known as Legends, are the beginnings of Dragonlance. When you first begin reading the series, you find out that Krynn is a world of dragons, magic, and many different races of people. The Gods have left them, and there are no true clerics left in the world, though there are plenty of charlatans. You follow along the adventures of a group who finds the first new true cleric and help her spread the word that the Gods have returned. There’s actually a lot more to it than just that, but that’s the gist from the beginning, at least. It’s actually a lot more interesting than I probably made it sound!
How many of the Dragonlance books have you actually read? According to my very sloppy research, there are nearly 200 of them that have been printed in the past three decades. I think the longest I’ve ever stayed with a book series is six. Even on a series I enjoy, I get bored reading the same characters and want to branch out to try different things. For comics I don’t have the same problem, and have gleefully read over half of the 50 years of Fantastic Four that’s been put out, but novels I just can’t get into a groove where I want to see the same characters.
Goodness… I’m not exactly sure. A lot, though. I think I’ve read just about all of the books written by Weis and Hickman in the series I think, but I haven’t read much from other authors in the setting. I’ve read the Chronicles and Legends trilogies, The Second Generation and Dragons of Summer Flame, the War of Souls trilogy, the Preludes trilogy, The Soulforge and Brothers in Arms, and a few of the Fifth Age books. There are also a few random books like Tales and I remember one having some recipes in it as well.
The cool thing about Dragonlance is that although there are many books on the Companions (the main group of characters that you meet in Chronicles), there are just as many that don’t involve them and are about different people and events around Krynn. In addition, there are five different time-periods, called Ages, in which to explore.
To be honest, though, I don’t seem to have the same trouble as you. Many of my favorite series are fairly long. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, the Dresden Files and the Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher, Dragonlance (obviously), the Talents, Crystal Singers, and Acorna series by Anne McCaffrey… all of these are fairly large series.
Speaking a bit about comics, have you read any of the Dragonlance books put out recently by Devil’s Due? Between 2003 and 2008, they out 34 issues, 24 of which look to me to be adapting three books. DC also had a series running 34 issues starting in 1988, and a series of five graphic novels between 87 and 91. They were adapted by Roy Thomas, and if they’re half as good as his Conan adaptations for Marvel then that’s certainly something to be checked out!
I have to confess that I really haven’t. I started reading the comics that followed the original Dragonlance trilogy, but never finished it or moved on to any of the others. I remember them being very good, but I guess the fact that they were just picture versions of the books didn’t keep my interest. I’ve already bought all the books and didn’t want to have to re-buy them with images, if that makes any sense.
Have you played any of the DnD treatments of the books? I’m actually not even sure how it ties is. Is it officially something with DnD, or a side-adaptation that is also its own creation?
I have, actually. The first time I ever played D&D was in the Dragonlance campaign setting. From my understanding, the D&D campaign setting came after the Dragonlance books became popular. The setting is an officially sanctioned D&D setting, same as Eberron and Forgotten Realms. I think at some point Wizards of the Coast absorbed TSR, the original publisher of the novels, but I’m not sure if they started coming out with campaign stuff before that or not.
Being a Dungeons and Dragons player yourself, have you gotten a chance to see the positive portrayal it’s gotten on television lately? Last year the British television show The I.T. Crowd had a nice role-playing game heavily featured, and Community just did an episode centered on playing DnD official. The episode was even called Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, something I’m pretty shocked to see on a mainstream, broadcast network. I’m old enough to remember when being a geek wasn’t cool, and I don’t think I’ll ever really get the hang of this cool nerd trend!
My husband loved The I.T. Crowd and has been watching it for a bit, but I haven’t seen the episode in question. I love the fact that there have been positives of it out there, though. I remember that when I was in high school my mother was convinced it was full of satanic rituals. It took a lot of research and finding articles to be able to ease her mind enough to let me play. I haven’t ever watched Community, but I do know that The Big Bang Theory has done some D&D stuff as well, which I think is pretty awesome. I really love that show in general, though.
Thanks for the opportunity to talk a little pop-culture with you Lizzy! I really did go into this with virtually no clue on any of this, and asking a hot girl is infinitely more fun than reading Wikipedia. This was a bit narrow of a talk, so if there’s a message you want to send the readers please do!
No problem and thank you! I hope I was able to tell you a little about one of my favorite series and didn’t get too confusing with it. There is just so much there, that it is hard to be able to explain it properly. I hope to get the chance to talk with you again.
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