Newbie with an email from Ms Friedman

[fuumasfrog.livejournal.com]

Hi there!
I'm Neko, and  just recently discovered the Coldfire novels and was instantly hooked, so the step into the community was easy!^^
And as a little treat,  I thought you'd like to read was Ms Friedman answered when I wrote her. I wanted to know if she could give me a more detailed description of Damien ...

> Dear Ms Friedman,
>
> I'm sorry to bother you so boldly, but I hope you
> don't mind that much. I'm a huge fan of your Coldfire
> trilogy which I recently discovered. Although I'm no
> native English speaker, I read the first volume in
> only four days; I simply couldn't lay it aside because
> I had to know how the story went on. Your characters a
> so vivid in their feelings, and the story had me chew
> on my fingernails with tension. I've read a lot of
> fantasy and science fantasy novels, but your trilogy
> is one of the best.
> But I stumbled upon a little porblem: you describe
> Gerald's appearance really detailed, but never once I
> could find anything similar about Damien. So, what is
> his eye and hair colour? How does he wear the latter?
> I'd really like to know for a picture I have planned.
> It'd be really happy if you could answer me! Of course
> I will send you the picture when it's finished.
>
> With most heartfelt regards,
>
> Julia Bock from Germany                       (That's me, obviously ^^)


Heya Julia!  Thanks for all the praise!  My next trilogy starting with 
Feast 
of Souls will actually be released in Germany in German the same time 
the 
American edition comes out, next spring, so look for it!

Damien is a large guy, in that husky way that guys can be when they are 
still in good shape: solid. He is described as having light brown skin, 
very 
tanned and weathered from a lot of travelling outdoors.   Dark brown 
hair, 
with the first few gray stray hairs showing up at the end of the 
series, I 
seem to remember. He is 35.  I never described and honestly do not care 
how 
his hair is dressed, save that he does nto seem the kind to put a lot 
of 
time and attention into it.  A little scruffy would be suitable.,  
Other 
details are left up to the reader's imagination.  most readers seem to 
transform him into a 19 year old blond blue-eyed teen-type hero in 
their 
minds, which never ceases to amuse me! His clothing tends towards the 
practical side of things. Feel free to pick an eye color, I don't 
believe I 
specfiied :-)

Celia



(Isn't that sweet? ^^)

Comments

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

Hello here

*squees* and yes, that's exactly my mental picture of Damien. (I usually think of him having light brown eyes)

Feast of Souls will actually be released in Germany in German the same time the American edition comes out, next spring, so look for it!
You Germans are lucky bastards ^^

[fuumasfrog.livejournal.com]

(I usually think of him having light brown eyes)
Well, I started my pic and gave him dark green eyes. That suits him, too.

You Germans are lucky bastards ^^
Oh yes, we are. That is, if the translation is acceptable...

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

*nods* I almost said "or green" but green is something I associate with Andrys in Coldfire ^^

At least you'll have a translation. In France they translated the first volume of Coldfire and that's it. They didn't even finish the serie. It's so unresponsible !

(by the way, what is it with Clamp fans and Coldfire ? O_o)

[fuumasfrog.livejournal.com]

but green is something I associate with Andrys in Coldfire ^^>/I>
Well, I'm still not as far with reading ^^

(by the way, what is it with Clamp fans and Coldfire ? O_o)
Well, Coldfire has some manga appeal or something... but Clamp fans usually like their stories dark and dramatic. ^^

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

Nice to see you here!

Dark hair and a bit on the scruffy side perfectly matches my mental image. Always good to know. *g* He could have turned out to be a redhead instead...

I just hope the translation of the new trilogy will be better than the Coldfire one and that they'll at least get the names right! And that the books won't get split up again (7 volumes for Coldfire was ridiculous).

[alice_montrose]

Hello, and welcome! I'm glad you've decided to join and post this here after all.
A Yamane Ayano fan too, eh? *pets her (long-haired) bishies*

I'll go for the light brown eyes with hints of amber and green... to make him look a bit more exotic. But otherwise, Mrs. Friedman's description matches my mental image. I think no big fan of the trilogy can picture him otherwise, because the clues are there if you read carefully.

We did have quite a discussion about Gerald's hair colour in the past, though. Couldn't decide if it was blond, dark blond, or light brown. *snickers*

[fuumasfrog.livejournal.com]

I think Tarrant was described as light brown in different scenes... but i imagined him blonde, too ^^

[alice_montrose]

I guess it's that colour you cannot identify, between dark blond and light brown. We have a word for it in Romanian, we call it "şaten". But dark blond is what one usually goes with.

[ariss-tenoh.livejournal.com]

Perfect for fics. Thanks^_^

Off Topic

[esda.livejournal.com]

*lacht* Also langsam komm ich mir ja verfolgt vor xDD

Uhm.. ich schulde Dir noch einen Zug bei Viewfinder, oder? x_X; Umzugsstress... ich werde versuchen die Mail auszugraben (meine Güte... wo hab ich die nur? *headdesk*) und endlich zurückzuschreiben, sorry!

Re: Off Topic

[fuumasfrog.livejournal.com]

*ggg* Wieso verfolgt? Ich hab die Bücher ganz ovn alleine gefunden und lese sie jetzt.... ^^
Und lass Dir zeit mit dem Schreiben, eilt ja nicht.

[kusan-38.livejournal.com]

Hi. You know, I never pictured Damien as young and blonde! It seems so strange to me that other people did.

[keeloca.livejournal.com]

I never saw him as a blone, blue-eyed hero type either... I have to admit, though, I did imagine him to have blue or green eyes, for some reason.

Actually Friedman specified Damien’s eye color:

[mariem-1.livejournal.com]

"After a moment he came to her, and crouched down before her so that he was at her level. It was good to look directly into his eyes like that. Brown eyes, so very warm. She could feel their heat on her face" (Jenseny on Damien, WTNF, ch. 29).

Re: Actually Friedman specified Damien’s eye color:

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

And why am I not at all surprised that you know it? ;-)

I have no idea how you do it, but your fact-knowledge absolutely amazes me.

Re: Actually Friedman specified Damien’s eye color:

[alice_montrose]

All hail Mariem, the "Human Coldfire Encyclopedia"! XD

Re: Actually Friedman specified Damien’s eye color:

[fuumasfrog.livejournal.com]

I just read that part ('m still working my way through the books for the first time), but I found it odd that there was no distinct description in the first volume... thus I asked.

Re: Actually Friedman specified Damien’s eye color:

[alice_montrose]

There's some description but it's scattered around so you ahve to piece it together. Which is a good thing, sometimes. Keeps the reader interested and alert. =^_^=