The Grey Griffins Series by Derek Benz and J.S. Lewis

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Email: J.S. Lewis | Derek Benz

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MARCH 2008

ROUND TABLE TCG
Nate: I have a few questions about the Round Table Trading Card Game . . .

(1) I'm thinking that I want the type of deck that Harley has (lots of dragons, 2 Bone Crunchers, and 1 Slayer Goblin) with a few hard-to-hit faeries. What do you guys think of that type of deck?

(2) Have you guys played the game yet yourselves?

(3) If so, how do you both style your decks? Like Harley (brute, strong, bruising faeries), Natilia (hard-to-hit faeries), or just a deck of all kinds?

Derek:
(1) Personally, I think Harley's deck is probably the easiest to win with. I mean, he has big monsters and big points. That's hard to beat. But there's not a lot of strategy - it's just pure brute force. So it's probably not the sort of deck that will win a grand championship, where strategy is critical. But it would win most games around town.

(2) We certainly have played! Of course! We invented it. It's a lot of fun.

(3) My deck style relies on a lot of hidden traps and secret powers, as well as several speedy faeries for quick attacks, and some monsters whenever I really need some muscle. Jon's style would be more like Harley's (he really likes big monsters/creatures), but he'd even it out with swarms of faeries and probably some cool enchantments. Definitely, a deck that is well thought out and well-rounded is better at the tournament level (in which Max will play in the future). But it really takes time to know how to use all the cards in just the right way. Big monsters is really the way to go when starting out.

RECOMMENDED READS
Nainoa: What books do you guys read and what are some you'd recommend?

Jon: It has to start with Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy as well as The Hobbit. My favorite YA novel of late has been Eoin Colfer's Half Moon Investigations. However, in terms of quality, the greatest YA book I have ever read is The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman (though I don not agree with his stance on God -- but the story is amazingly well written). I also really enjoy reading abotu history, and I read a lot of books about World War II.

KEEPING MAGIC A SECRET
Gabriel: If there was a magical world, do you think it would be best to keep it a secret?

Derek: That is quite a serious question. And I can see you've put some thought into it. In my experience, it should absolutely stay a secret, except for the few really trustworthy people that you can share it with.

WORLD OF WARCRAFT
Ricky: Do either or both of you guys play World of Warcraft?

Jon: Yes. Absolutely! I started with Warcraft II, which is still one of my all-time favorite games. Unfortunately I didn't like Warcraft III as well, but WOW is a blast! I've had to be careful to not get too lost in the game, though -- it can be very consuming! I am a part of the Horde -- an Orc warrior in fact, and a member of the Red Branch Guild.

SOCCER JERSEYS
Sarah: I would like to know if you will sell the Grey Griffins soccer jereys? I would so buy one! I think that would be cool! I also think you should make the Grey Griffins jackets just like in Grey Griffins Book 3: The Fall of the Templar.

Authors: There was a local soccer club that decided to name themselves the "Grey Griffins". They made a couple extra jerseys for us, but they unfortunately aren't available for retail purchase. However, that doesn't mean they won't be available in the near future. And making thoset jackets would be a great idea, too. We'll see what we can do!

MORE FOR THE GREY GRIFFINS
Patrick: Are you planning to write any other books other than the Grey Griffins?

Authors: TONS! In fact, we're working on many of them right now. We'll be able to make some announcments soon!

NETWORKING
Lisa: I took your advice and am reading Michael Larsen's How to Get a Literary Agent. I'll let you know when I actually have one. The publishing world is a little scary. One of the many important things that I'm taking from the book, is how important networking is. So, I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to have you on my side. :)

Jon: Publishing is NOT scary. Your only fear should be NOT following your dream. Die without regret. And as to networking... Yes! Yes! And a MILLION times, yes!!!!!!

I don't care if we're talking about a Fortune 100 multi-national corporation or a multi-level marketing company -- in business, relationships are the most important currency. When you can get past "pitching" or "selling" people, and get to the point where they trust you as a friend, then everybody wins. And what's really cool is that if you open up your rolodex to people, they'll do the same for you. But your motivation has to be a genuine desire to help people without the expectation of getting something in return. After all, isn't that what makes life special?

And I'd also recommend Michael Larsen's How to Write a Book Proposal. It's a great resource!

VLAD DRACULA
Nainoa: So is Vlad Dracula a villain or an allie?

Authors: Absolutely fantastic question... but we can't ruin it for you. Stay tuned! If we keep to the current story arc and don't stray too far (which we tend to do), you just might know the absolute answer by Book 6.

MOVIE DREAMS
Alex: All my life I have wanted to be a director. I had hoped to the honor to direct the movies based on your books. I cannot wait until your next book comes out. I am becoming so anxious to read it.

Jon: Wow. Now that is a compliment! I went to high school very close to the same place that Steven Speilberg did when he lived in Scottsdale, AZ. He used to go out to the airport and use junked airplanes to recreate WWII flying sequences when he was in his early teens. You can totally do it, so just stick with your dreams and you never know what could happen! And thanks for picking the Grey Griffins as your first property. That is super cool!

ADVICE FOR YOUNG WRITERS
Morgan: I am 11 and love the Grey Griffins seris, but I also am a young writer and poet do you have anyy advice for me?

Jon: Tons. Just remember that if you talk to 100 authors, you'll probably get 100 different responses, but I'd start with this list:

Write a little bit every day
Write about what you love
Don't be discouraged EVER -- even if you or someone else doesn't like what you are writing right now -- even I would LOVE to change some of what we wrote in our first books -- the goal is to get better each day
Take notes of EVERYTHING you see -- characters or scens in a movie, TV show or book, interesting names of people you meet, quirky personalities of friends and families, etc. Then you'll NEVER have writer's block, because you can go back and get good material from your note
Don't use too many adverbs or adjectives
Try to mimic your favorite authors -- that doesn't mean copy them -- it just means that you must like their writing for a reason, so when you first begin and are trying to find your own voice (an artsy way of saying "style"), why not start by emulating authors you already like who have honed their own voices.

Hope that helps!

THE SIZE OF ROUND TABLE CARDS
Lyle: How big will the Round Table Trading Cards (TCG) be? In the Round Table Glossary in The Revenge Of The Shadow King it says that oversized cards are used, so I figured they would be about three inches wide and six inches long.

Authors: You are right. The cards that the Grey Griffins first learned are are definitely oversized. Those dimensions were borrowed from the actual historical cards used by actual Templar knights. However, the official tournament cards are standard sized (see traditional TCG sizes).

C.S. LEWIS
Kailiahi: What does "J.S." stand for?
Jarard: Are you anyway related to the famous C.S. Lewis?

Jon: Since both of these questions arrived on the same day, I thought I'd tackle them at the same time... As to what "J.S." stands for, my first name is ?Jon? -- not ?Jonathon? or ?John?, but just plain old ?Jon?. And my middle name is ?Samuel?. I was named after a distant relative named Sam Bass ? who was, strangely enough, a Wild West outlaw. He robbed banks and trains. I just hope he was like Robin Hood and gave it to the poor! You can see a snippet about him by clicking here. Now as to whether or not that I am related to C.S. Lewis, I certainly hope so, but I honestly don?t know for sure. I should hire someone to do a search for me, because that would by WAY cool if I was!

SPIN-OFFS
Wolfbeat&trade: How long are you going to continue the Grey Griffins series? And will there be another series branching off of it?

Authors: We'll keep Grey Griffins stories as long as our hearts are in it, and more importantly, as long as people enjoy the stories. Both seem to be growing stronger, so I hope it lasts a good while. Now as far as coninued Grey Griffins adventures, we've actually discussed the following seven (yes... seven) spin-off series:

The Secret Files of the Grey Griffins (shorter adventures with lots of images)
Comic books/Graphic novels: we're finalizing a contract on this right now with a major publisher
The Natalia Romanov Detective Series
The (Mis)Adventures of Agent Thunderbolt (Ernie)
A prequel in the style of Tolkien about the War of the Jewel of Titania
A series featuring William Caliburn (Max's grandfather) and Iver during the war when they are fighting the Black Wolf Society during the war
A Vlad Dracula trilogy


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