Of Wizards and Wolves … and Dave
Kevin J. Anderson
Writers draw inspiration from the world around them, from their experiences … even from grief.
This anthology is for our friend and mentor Dave Wolverton, who also wrote as David Farland. He was many things: a brilliant author, close colleague, and an unparalleled and inspirational writing instructor.
Dave passed away unexpectedly in January 2022, just before he would have appeared as a featured speaker and instructor at the twelfth Superstars Writing Seminar. Dave was one of the founders of Superstars in 2010, along with Brandon Sanderson, Eric Flint, Rebecca Moesta, and me. He was passionate about helping new writers, guiding them in their careers and their creativity.
The loss of Dave stunned all attendees of the conference—even as his passing inspired them. We had already established a practice of creating anthologies to raise money to fund scholarships named after another beloved Superstars member, Don Hodge, and editor Lisa Mangum proposed this anthology specifically as a memorial to Dave. Of Wizards and Wolves. For those familiar with Dave’s writing, it was a perfect summation.
And to cap it off, we even have a story by Dave, “Barbarians,” set in his incredible Runelords universe. What could be a better tribute?
But we felt we could do more. We also wanted to expand the scholarship program to create the granddaddy of them all, the David Farland Writing Endowment. The proceeds from this book will fund a special scholarship for an aspiring author to attend the Superstars conference by covering registration, travel, hotel, and food expenses so the recipient can get the full experience of the event.
It was the least we could do for Dave’s memory.
Dave and I grew up together as writers, and we bootstrapped each other’s careers from the very beginning. I first met him shortly after he’d won the grand prize in the Writers of the Future contest in 1987 for his exceptional “On My Way to Paradise,” which he expanded into an equally exceptional novel, published by Bantam Books.
We were two of the first “young Turk” authors selected for the new Star Wars novel line, with my own Jedi Academy trilogy and Dave’s Courtship of Princess Leia, which catapulted our midlist careers onto the New York Times bestseller list. He changed his writing name to David Farland for a fresh start when he launched his imaginative Runelords series, and that was how he became known to another generation of readers.
I learned so much from Dave. Early on, we were both part of a small, somewhat secret group of writers at the same level, eager to learn from one another, exchanging inside information, passing along tips, reviewing contracts. Dave and I were on countless panels at science fiction conventions around the country; we taught workshops together, and we kept teaching each other. I made several career breakthroughs thanks to vital advice Dave gave me.
Every year or two, we would get together with a few like-minded authors to spend days on the Oregon coast or Las Vegas, trying to decode the publishing business. We wanted to know how we could get better, how we could push the envelope and rise higher.
In 2009, Dave stayed with Rebecca and me at our house in Colorado, along with Eric Flint and Brandon Sanderson. We spent days brainstorming the intricacies and vagaries of a writing career. At that time, each one of us was a New York Times bestselling author, and we shared our knowledge and perspectives. After that weekend, realizing that others might want to learn the business side of writing, we all founded the Superstars Writing Seminars. That’s only one of his legacies.
Not just an amazing writer, Dave was also a tireless teacher and mentor. In addition to co-founding Superstars, he served as the Coordinating Judge for the Writers of the Future contest. He created the Apex Writers Group with a burgeoning membership of ambitious, professionally minded writers. He was a guest lecturer at my graduate program in publishing at Western Colorado University. His writing books, especially Million Dollar Outlines, are truly foundational works for anyone who wants to become a successful writer.
He was more than Obi-Wan, more than Yoda. He was Dave, a Jedi Master whose pen was mightier than a lightsaber. Most of all, to me he was a friend.
He was gracious, humble, witty, kind, and absolutely generous with his time, knowledge, and imagination. The extent of his influence was like the gravitational pull of a giant star, while the depth and impact of his loss is like a black hole.
Dave was only sixty-four years old, and we should have had decades more time with him, dozens more books, and hundreds more new students who would forever feel the influence of his heart and mind.
We hope you enjoy these stories inspired by Dave’s legacy.