Hey, everybody. After a lengthy hiatus, I'm back here with a long overdue update to my blog.

Those of you who know me probably realize there is a self-serving reason for my return - I'm trying to build up some buzz before the release of Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil, the third novel in the Darth Bane series. But even though my motives are selfish, at least I'm honest about it. And I hope to give you a couple more updates before the novel comes out on December 8. Let me say that one more time, with emphasis:

Dynasty of Evil in stores on December 8!

With this blog entry, I'm going to bring everyone up to speed with what I've been doing since my last update. (All the way back in February? Damn, time flies.) In another couple weeks I'll have another entry talking in detail about the novel, the characters of Darth Bane and Zannah, and some of the things I thought about while writing their epic confrontation. (Yes, I'm declaring it epic. So make sure to pick up the book!)

So, what have I been up to since February? Well, I finished writing Dynasty of Evil, of course. And I spent a lot of time working as the lead writer on Mass Effect 2 (coming out early 2010). And then I packed up my things, left Edmonton and my office at BioWare, and moved to Austin, Texas.

Why, you ask? Simple - BioWare Austin is working on the new Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO, and I'm now part of the writing team. It's been a lot of fun working on the MMO, and it's been a real challenge trying to bring BioWare style story to a massively multiplayer game. But I can honestly say I think we've pulled it off. When fans see what we've done - when you play the game - you will be amazed.

I'd love to talk more about the game, but obviously I have to keep things under wraps until information is officially released. What I can say is that fans of KOTOR and KOTOR 2 are in for a real treat when they get their hands on this.

Don't worry if you didn't play KOTOR - the game's storyline totally stands on its own. But if you didn't play KOTOR, you should really try to get your hands on a copy. I think it's on Steam for a very reasonable price. (I hope I don't get in trouble for this link. I mean, it's a Star Wars product, right? We'll see.)

One thing I can talk about is the official developer blog for SW:TOR. They just posted my entry, so if you want to know what I'm working on specifically right now, go ahead and check it out. You might also want to poke around the site and learn more about the game; we've got all kinds of teasers, trailers and blogs to check out.

Now, some of you may have heard about an Old Republic novel based on the MMO setting. There is such a book scheduled for release, but I don't know much about it, since I didn't write it. It wasn't that I didn't want to, and the Lucas folks did offer it to me. But the timing just didn't work out. Between the move to the US, finishing up the Bane novel and some other (unannounced) projects I've committed to, I just couldn't meet their deadline.

I realize some of you might be wondering about future projects. Will there be more than one Old Republic novel? Will I be involved? What does this mean for Bane, Zannah and the Sith lineage novels?

Here are my answers: maybe, maybe, hard to say.

I'm not being a jerk with my uninformative replies. (Well, maybe just a little.) I just really don't like to speculate on what's to come; I've found it's much easier to just roll with things as they happen.

So, there it is. A quick update on my status, and a promise of more fascinating Dynasty of Evil and Star Wars related updates to come.

And remember - you can always learn more about what I'm up to by checking out the News section at my website: www.drewkarpyshyn.com - it's all Drew, all the time!

Drew