Irresistible Forces

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Lois McMaster Bujold was born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1949; she now lives in Mnneapolis. She began reading science fiction at age nine. Romances came later, when in her early twenties she discovered Georgette Heyer. She started writing for professional publication in 1982, a goal achieved in 1986 with the release of her first three science fiction novels. Bujold went on to write the Nebula-winning Falling Free (1988) and many other books featuring her popular character Mles Naismith Vorkosigan, his family, friends, and enemies. The series includes three Hugo Award-winning novels; readers interested in learning more about the far-flung Vorkosigan clan are encouraged to start with the omnibus Cordelia's Honor. Bujold's books have been translated into seventeen languages. In 2001 came a new fantasy, The Curse of Chalion — which won the Mythopoeic Award for Adult Literature. A sequel in the same world, Paladin of Souls, followed in 2003. A fan-run Web site devoted to her work, The Bujold Nexus, may be found at www.dendarii.com.

Mary Jo Putney is a prolific New York Times best-selling novelist with too many book credits to list in full here. Her most recent releases—The Burning Point, The Spiral Path, The Bartered Bride, and Twist of Fate — are all superb reads published to broad commercial success and rave reviews from even the stodgiest of critics. Her rare ability to portray complex, flawed characters with deep emotions makes her one of genre fiction's strongest voices. She's been the recipient of many national awards for her work, including two RITAs, two Romantic Times Career Achievement Awards, and four appearances on the ALA Journal's annual list of the year's top five romances. Booklist says, "It's no wonder that best-seller Putney is a favorite of romance fans. A master storyteller." Visit her Web site at www.maryjoputney.com.

Catherine Asaro grew up near Berkeley, California. She earned her Ph.D. in chemical physics and A.M. in physics from Harvard. A former dancer, she was artistic director for the Mainly Jazz dancers and Harvard University Ballet. A best-selling and critically acclaimed author, Asaro has written many books, including Primary Inversion, The Last Hawk, Spherical Harmonic, and The Phoenix Code. She's famous for her outstanding ability to mix hard science with strong, emotional story lines. The Quantum Rose, a science fiction retelling of Beauty and the Beast, received the 2001 Nebula Award. Her books and novellas have won numerous awards, including the Analog Readers Poll, AnLab the Sapphire, and the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award, and have been nominated for the Hugo. Catherine says she is a walking definition of "absentminded" and has managed to spill coffee in every room of her house, much to the amusement of her daughter, husband, and cats. Her Web site is at www.sff.net/people/asaro.

Once Upon a Time, Deb Stover wanted to be Lois Lane, until she discovered that Clark Kent is a fraud and there is no Superman. Since publication of her first novel in 1995, Deb has received the 1997 and 1999 Pikes Peak Romance Writers' Author of the Year Award, three Dorothy Parker Awards of Excellence, a 1998 Heart of Romance Readers' Choice Award, three Colorado Book Award nominations, eight Romantic Times BookClub nominations, and won more than a dozen other Readers' Choice Awards. Many of her novels have earned the Romantic Times Bookclub's Top Pick rating, and Publishers Weekly called her "clever, original, and quick-witted." Also "contorted," but she tries to ignore that part. For more information, visit www.debstover.com.

The New York Times best-selling author of Devilish, Hazard, and St. Raven, Jo Beverley is one of the most critically acclaimed romance authors writing. She is the author of more than twenty Regency and historical romances and is a member of the Romance Writers of America's Hall of Fame for Regency Romances. Beverley is also on RWA's Honor Roll of best-selling authors, and she has won five RITAs, RWAs premier award. Her science fiction story "The Fruit Picker" was a finalist for the Canadian Casper Award (now the Aurora). Romantic Times calls her "… one of the great names of the genre." Publishers Weekly agrees: "Arguably today's most skillful writer of intelligent historical romance…" Library Journal has praised her "compelling writing style, and strong, well-defined characters…" Her Web site is www.jobev.com.

Jennifer Roberson is an award-winning author who has published twenty-two novels in several different genres, including historical romance and romantic suspense, but she primarily writes fantasy. Her literary agent is on record as saying Jennifer pioneered the romantic fantasy sub-genre beginning in the 1980s with the publication of two critically successful and popular ongoing series, the Chronicles of the Cheysuli and the Sword-Dancer saga. In 1992 Lady of the Forest, the first of two novels featuring Robin Hood and Marian — with an emphasis on Marian's role in the legend — was published to great acclaim. Its equally popular sequel, Lady of Sherwood, followed a few years later. And Roberson turned to her Scottish roots with the publication of Lady of the Glen, a romantic historical about the documented Massacre of Glencoe in the seventeenth-century Highlands.

In 1996 Jennifer collaborated with two other fantasy authors, Melanie Rawn and Kate Elliott, on The Golden Key, a historical fantasy that was a final nominee for 1997's World Fantasy Award. Other awards include Romantic Times' Best New Fantasy Author (1984), and, for Royal Captive (written as Jennifer O'Green), RT's Best New Historical Romance Author/Lifetime Achievement Award (1988). Roberson has also edited the fantasy anthologies Out of Avalon, Return to Avalon, and Highwaymen: Robbers and Rogues. The short story presented here is a sequel of sorts to her Robin/Marian novels, featuring another legendary individual who has inspired many historical, romance, and fantasy novels. Roberson is currently completing the first volume in a new fantasy series, titled Karavans. Her Web site is www.cheysuli.com.