Rumours, speculation and hearsay? “Interesting” at least.
The keyword here is the. Lots of folks care about D&D lore, but the official cannon is not sacred. It’s nice to have, but it’s a starting point, a framework, an inspiration.
2 points
No, they’re right. The Forgotten Realms novels have been incredibly popular for decades. Sure they might not be pulling in Brandon Sanderson money, but they were absolutely popular in their own right and were profitable until WotC unceremoniously decided to shut them down right at their peak so soon after the Second Sundering.