Elaine Cunningham (born August 12, 1957 in New York City) is an American

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

and

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

author, especially known for her contributions to the ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...

role playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, eith ...

campaign setting A campaign setting is a setting for a tabletop role-playing game or wargame campaign. Most campaign settings are fictional worlds; however, some are historical or contemporary real-world locations. A '' campaign'' is a series of individual adve ...

Forgotten Realms ''Forgotten Realms'' is a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setti ...

Biography

Cunningham was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and grew up in

New York state New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

and

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

. A voracious reader since childhood, she earned a degree in

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

education with a minor in

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

. She started writing in 1987, after her older son was born. A lifelong fascination with

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

and

mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

led her to the

genre,Elaine Cunningham's website
/ref> and her background in music and history gave her an affinity for

bards In Celtic cultures, a bard is an oral repository and professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's an ...

such as Danilo Thann, created for her first novel, '' Elfshadow'' (1991). Many of her stories focus on

elves An elf (: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda''. In medieval Germanic-speakin ...

, which she attributes to her excessive fondness for

cat The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

s. Cunningham is also the ''New York Times'' bestselling author of '' Dark Journey'', book 10 from the ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

'' ''

New Jedi Order ''Star Wars: The New Jedi Order'' (or ''New Jedi Order'' or ''NJO'') is a series of 19 science fiction novels, published from 1999 to 2003, set in the Star Wars Expanded Universe, ''Star Wars'' Expanded Universe. The series revolves around the ...

'' saga. ''Shadows in the Starlight'' (2006), the second book the ''Changeling Detective'' series, was named to the 2006 ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' list “Ten Best SciFi Novels."SF Signal magazine "Kirkus Best Books of 2006"
/ref>

Personal life

Now a full-time arts administrator, Cunningham continues to write, albeit mostly in the early morning hours. She lives in coastal

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

Bibliography

''Dungeons & Dragons''

* '' Songs & Swords'' (featuring Arilyn, Danilo and Elaith) ** I. '' Elfshadow'' (1991/2000 reprint) ** II. ''Elfsong'' (1994/2000 reprint) ** III. ''Silver Shadows'' (1996/2001 reprint) ** IV. ''Thornhold'' (1998/2001 reprint) ** V. ''The Dream Spheres'' (1999) * ''

Spelljammer ''Spelljammer'' is a campaign setting originally published for the ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' ( 2nd edition) role-playing game, which features a fantastic (as opposed to scientific) outer space environment. Subsequent editions have included ...

anthology novellas'' ** The Cloakmaster Cycle *** ''The Radiant Dragon'' (1992), * '' Starlight and Shadows'' (featuring Liriel, Fyodor, and Gorlist) ** I. '' Daughter of the Drow'' (1995) ** II. '' Tangled Webs'' (1996) ** III. ''Windwalker'' (2003) * '' Evermeet: Island of Elves'' (1998) * '' Counselors & Kings'' (featuring Matteo and Tzigone) ** I. ''The Magehound'' (2000) ** II. ''The Floodgate'' (2001) ** III. ''The Wizardwar'' (2002) * ''City of Splendors: A Novel of Waterdeep'' (With

Ed Greenwood Ed Greenwood (born July 21, 1959) is a Canadian fantasy writer and the creator of the '' Forgotten Realms'' game world. He began writing articles about the Forgotten Realms for ''Dragon'' magazine beginning in 1979, and subsequently sold the rig ...

; 2005) * Forgotten Realms anthology novellas ** ''The Best of the Realms, Book 1'' (2003) *** "Rite of Blood"—''Realms of the Underdark'' (1996) ** ''The Best of the Realms, Book III: The Stories of Elaine Cunningham'' (2007) *** "The Bargain"—''Realms of Valor'' (1993) *** "The More Things Change"—''Realms of Infamy'' (1994) *** "The Direct Approach"—''Realms of Magic'' (1995) *** "Secrets of Blood, Spirits of the Sea"—''Realms of the Arcane'' (1997) *** "The Great Hunt"—''

Dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

'' #246 (1998) *** "Speaking with the Dead"—''Realms of Mystery'' (1998) *** "Stolen Dreams"—''Dragon'' #259 (1999) *** "Fire is Fire"—''Realms of the Deep'' (2000) *** "Possessions"—''Dragon'' #282 (2002) *** "A Little Knowledge"—''Realms of Shadow'' (2002) *** "Gorlist's Dragon"—''Realms of Dragons'' (2004) *** "Games of Chance"—''Dragon'' #335 (2005) *** "The Knights of Samular" *** "Tribute" *** "Answered Prayers"

Other

* Del Rey's ''

books'' ** '' Dark Journey'', Book 12 of the

series (featuring

Jaina Solo The Skywalker family is a fictional legendary human family in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Within the series' fictional universe, the Skywalkers are presented as a bloodline with strong inherent capabilities related to the Force and sometimes lig ...

) * ''The Changeling Detective Agency'' series ** I. ''Shadows in the Darkness'' (2004) ** II. ''Shadows in the Starlight'' (2006) * ''

Pathfinder Pathfinder, Path Finder or Pathfinders may refer to: Aerospace * ''Mars Pathfinder'', a NASA Mars Lander * NASA Pathfinder, a high-altitude, solar-powered uncrewed aircraft * Space Shuttle ''Pathfinder'', a Space Shuttle test simulator Arts and ...

Tales'' series ** ''Winter Witch'' (2010), , with Dave Gross

Quotes

* (''Fro
Candlekeep
web forums''): Ravens and crows will also interact with humans. Occasionally they'll imitate human behavior (such as helping gardeners pull weeds.) Sometimes they're willing to cut a deal. I've got one going with the local "raven mafia." They always gather on trash pickup day, but in exchange for some "protection bread," they'll leave my trash alone and even chase other birds away from it.

References

External links

Elaine Cunningham's website

Interview at Flames Rising
(September 2008) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Elaine 1957 births 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers American fantasy writers American science fiction writers American women novelists American women science fiction and fantasy writers Living people