RICH.GVT@OFFICE-3@sri-unix.UUCP (10/03/83)
Here is the item from the Oct 83 issue of LOCUS: ROGER ZELAZNY has sold three new "Amber" novels to Avon for a six-figure advance. Neither Zelazny nor Avon editor John Douglas would comment on the exact figure, rumored to be "a quarter million, give or take a hundred thou." "It's a decent amount," was all Zelazny would say. "When I began NINE PRINCES IN AMBER, I thought I could wind it up in one book. Then I saw it needed a sequel. By the time I was into the second book, I thought it might be a trilogy. In the end, it took five books to tell the particular story I felt was there." The "Amber" books have sold between 250,000 and 400,000 copies per volume in Avon paperbacks. Zelazny's bestselling book, LORD OF LIGHT, has sold over 500,000 copies in its Avon edition. The new trilogy is not a continuation of the story in THE COURTS OF CHAOS (the fifth novel). It starts at a later time, involving a different story line but some of the same characters left over from the earlier books. The first of the trilogy is scheduled for delivery next October. "I'm also planning another collaboration with Fred Saberhagen," said Zelazny. At present, he's writing some short stories, including a "Berserker" tale for an anthology of "Berserker" stories edited by Fred Saberhagen but written by others. -Rich Zellich <ZELLICH@OFFICE-3>