Welcome to the Inn
Greetings, friends and fellow companions, and welcome back to the Inn of
the Last Home. I wish the occasion could be better, but we are
gathering arms to defend what is right and just! Learn more about that
below as we send Wizards of the Coast teabags for Raistlin! Meanwhile,
we have more news on the movie soundtrack. Plus new novels.

Grab your hoopaks, my friends. This appears to be one adventure only a
kender could undertake. Step through the Nexus. The portal to
adventure awaits!
Teabags for Hourglass Mage
Calling all Knights of Solamnia, Steel Legionnaires, and Wizards of High
Sorcery! Calling all those who would answer the call for adventure!
We're going to need every one of you. It is time that we make our
voices heard!

Recently, Dragons of the Hourglass Mage has been the center of much
controversy and confusion. I'll start here with a quote from Tracy
Hickman.
An Inconvenient Book
"Well, we wish truth were happier...

Margaret and I have talked about this and are both deeply hurt and
concerned. We don't want our fans or book buyers to be mislead. To
be clear, the book has not been turned in as yet by us.

Further, we were just informed that Wizards of the Coast is not allowing
us to turn in the manuscript -- in other words they don't even want
to read it. We have seen the book being pre-sold as coming out in July
with our names on it, but the plot described is not ours. If we
haven't turned it in and they are refusing now to accept or even
look at the manuscript from us ... we are at a complete loss as to what
to think.

It certainly both puzzling and upsetting.

Tracy Hickman for both myself and Margaret Weis"
Wizards of the Coast's Response
The following was the response from Mike Lescault (aka Gamer Zer0),
community liaison from Wizards of the Coast.

Hi All. I received the following information to pass along. I apologize
for not posting it earlier, but I am still out of the office from D&D
Experience:

Wizards of the Coast planned to release Dragons of the Hourglass Mage in
July 2008, as published in our catalog and posted on Amazon and other
sites for pre-order. Despite our efforts, a manuscript was not
forthcoming. Plans for the book are on hold; we have not recommissioned
it. Today, we communicated this news to our distributor, and we expect
that within the coming week retailers taking pre-orders for this book
will cancel those orders.

We are always disappointed when our business partners don't honor
their obligations to us, but we must move forward to ensure the
continued success of our publishing business.
Tracy's Response
Tracy Hickman responded with the following:

I should like to clear up some misconceptions regarding the current
state of 'Hourglass Mage.'

First is the misconception that the complete manuscript was submitted to
Wizards of the Coast. It was not. We were approaching the publisher to
determine a proper turnover date when we were informed that the book
would not be accepted or even read.

Secondly, while there are a number of statements with which I would take
issue in the above, this is not the proper forum in which to air them.
Our hope in posting was to let you know that the July release book being
sold and pre-sold with our name on it was not written by us. I know you
want answers ... so do we ... and hopefully we'll all get them in time.

On one statement, however, I am in complete agreement: we, too, are
disappointed when our business partners don't honor their obligations to
us and we, too, must move forward to ensure the continued success of our
publishing business.
Teabags for Raistlin
We've seen in recent years where fans have organized to send a
message to various networks to let them know that they want their TV
shows back. Jericho, Dresden Files, and Journeyman have all had
campaigns going to get them back on air, with varying results. In each
case, something important to the theme of the show was sent in, such as
drumsticks for Dresden. Basically, the idea is to send something more
than just a letter in. You send a message within a message. We're
going to do the same.

Folks, we're organizing the Teabags for Raistlin campaign. We want
to see Dragons of the Hourglass Mage, written by Margaret Weis and Tracy
Hickman and produced by Wizards of the Coast. We're going to do
this in a way that is supportive of the novel, it's authors, and the
company. This way we don't make anyone angry, and we make our
point.

Please write a letter to Wizards of the Coast letting them know that you
want to see Dragons of the Hourglass Mage. Tell them how much
you've enjoyed the Lost Chronicles series. Tell them how much you
enjoy Weis and Hickman, and let them know that you want to see this
book! Then add in a teabag. Raistlin was known for drinking tea, so be
sure to send in your teabags as well.

Here is Wizards' contact info:

Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
PO Box 707
Renton, WA 98057

Phone: 425-226-6500
Email: corporateinfo@... <mailto:corporateinfo@...>

So write those letters and let your voices be heard!
Dragonlance Movie Soundtrack
We have heard reports that you can find the movie soundtrack on iTunes,
and it will be available from Amazon on May 13. This is one of the best
parts of the movie, and you won't want to miss out. You can order
the soundtrack through the Nexus:
http://www.dlnexus.com/products/595.aspx
<http://www.dlnexus.com/products/595.aspx>
Novel and Comic News
This is it! The long-awaited conclusion to Margaret Weis' Dark
Disciple trilogy is almost here! Amber and Blood will be released on
Tuesday, May 6. The conclusion will have an effect on the world of
Krynn for years to come. You can order your copy here:
http://www.dlnexus.com/products/562.aspx
<http://www.dlnexus.com/products/562.aspx>

The Sellsword, book one of the Tracy Hickman Presents: The Anvil of Time
series, is out now. This is Cam Banks' premiere Dragonlance novel,
so be sure to support him. This is the story of Vanderjack, one of the
lesser-known characters in the War of the Lance.

Plus, look for the Worlds of Dungeons & Dragons comics. These will
adapt short stories from the various D&D worlds to comic book format.
Issue #1 has a story about Drizzt Do'urden, as well as part one of
the story of Palin's test in The Legacy.
4th Edition is Coming!
4th Edition is slated to be released on June 6. There are lots of
changes in the works, and how we view Dragonlance through the lens of
4th Edition will be very interesting indeed. Keep watching the Nexus
for various conversions.
Until Next Time
My friends, it seems to be a rather unusual time to be a fan of
Dragonlance and Dungeons & Dragons in general. Things are changing, yet
we will weather the storm. So let's do our part, keep reading
Dragonlance, and send those teabags in to Wizards of the Coast.

Long live the Lance!

Trampas Whiteman

"Dragonhelm"

Dragonlance Nexus



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]