Welcome to the new and improved Official Forum! While many of you are old friends from the original Chat Area (RIP August 22, 1999 - February 6, 2021), I thought it would be nice to have a friendly thread for introductions as lurkers and new fans crawl out of the woodwork.
I’m Janny’s current webmaster, responsible for operating and maintaining Janny and Don’s websites, their Studio Shop, the Paravia Wiki, and this forum. My family of 3 (with another on the way) lives in northern Virginia, USA. By day, I work for a government contractor in the software world. My other interests include PC games and Belgian tripels.
I discovered Curse of the Mistwraith in an airport bookstore somewhere around 1993 – the Empire Trilogy was my gateway drug to get there from Feist town. I’m also a fan of books by Carol Berg / Cate Glass and Paige L. Christie.
Hi. Thanks for all the hard work to get this up and going. Born in Ireland, but lived in various countries in Africa, and now resident in Brighton, UK. I’m a literature & linguistics major, teacher & writer, and have a wide range of interests from science, to culture & politics, music, martial arts and of course, reading, particularly good speculative fiction.
I’m a longtime fan of Janny’s WOLAS series, since I first encountered the Curse of the Mistwraithe on a friend’s bookshelf back in '98. I’ve reread each book several times. The magic-infused cultures she creates is unique in speculative literature, and I appreciate the research that goes into each book, as well as the most beautiful turns of phrase - real writing craft.
Thanks for the work into the new forum, looking forward to it.
I have posted over the years until I could not guess anymore where the story is going. I bought janny’s stories since I discovered daughter of the empire. I recall avoiding my final university exam revision in 1992 to go and read mistress of the empire in a sunny park
War of light and shadows is one of my favourite stories and I have reread many times (before my children were born anyway) over the years…a fun world to explore, understand and relax away from real life from time to time
Hi, from Dallas, Texas. I’ve been a longtime follower of Janny’s (and the chat) thanks to her WOLAS series. I’ve throughly enjoyed work, as well. I’ve done multiple re-reads … and enjoy discovering clues I’ve missed!
I’ve been following all the updating activities for Janny and Don’s websites and this chat. THANK YOU to all involved. Your work is AMAZING!!
Sending best wishes to Janny, Don, and all you on this chat. Stay well and stay safe!
Hello from the Pacific NW. I went by Auna in the old forum and have been a fan of Janny’s for a super long time. I first discovered her via Daughter of the Empire, but I remember seeing the very pretty eye-catching cover for Curse of the Mistwraith. That’s the one with the princes on the cover. I thought it was a standalone for the longest time! Imagine my delight when it turned out to be a super long series! Not only that, but each time I reread the books I glean new clues - something I’ve never had happen with other series. I’m too impatient for the ending to reread it until after I get my ending!
I worked as a software tester until I retired a few years ago. Janny’s writing inspired me to try my own hand at it, now that I’m not working 60+ hours a week. I gotta say, writing is tough work! What keeps drawing me to Janny’s stories is her precision in phrasing that evokes potent imagery.
I love this new forum and hope to see many new faces. Stay safe, ya’ll!
Hello everyone and Happy New Year! I am Joe, a longtime lurker of paravia.com that finally took the plunge and created an account at last. I first read Janny’s work through the Empire series with Raymond Feist, which I really enjoyed. I first read Curse of the Mistwraith in the mid-90s, enjoyed it but somehow forgot about the series. I re-read Mistwraith last year, followed by Ships of Merior and Warhost of Vastmark. The reading of the first three books of WoLaS really kindled my interest in getting through the series, and I already have books 4-6 on hand to start getting through that.
I’m truly impressed with Janny persevering with this series for so long and I look forward to reading the series the first time through leading up to Song of the Mysteries release. Thanks again for creating this forum, I look forward to connecting on here!
Books 4 - 8 are all part of Story Arc III so you may be left wanting more when you reach the end of book 6. Enjoy your first read-through – wish I could do mine again!
Hello! I’m Johan Herrenberg, from Delft, Netherlands. WOLAS has been on my radar for only a few months now. I finished Curse of the Mistwraith last week. Although I am a writer of fiction myself (Dutch), and my own style is concise, poetic and allusive, this did not prepare me for what I encountered in that book. The prose is quite incredible. Sensuous, intellectual, rich, musical, compact, detailed… It took me some getting used to. Janny Wurts is more demanding than Steven Erikson, in my opinion. Perhaps that explains her relative invisibility. High time she gets the credit she deserves. After Curse of the Mistwraith I immediately started The Ships of Merior, and that is simply unputdownable. I feel invested in the world, the story, the characters. And the language remains a miracle. What an achievement!
Imagine my delight when it turned out to be a super long series! Not only that, but each time I reread the books I glean new clues - something I’ve never had happen with other series. I’m too impatient for the ending to reread it until after I get my ending! 