I’ve co-authored a few books with Eric Flint and some with Eric and Mercedes Lackey. Eric and I wrote RATS, BATS & VATS books together, (which are a grunt’s eye view of combat against the Magh’ (which is what happens when you let multilingual people write. You get bad multilingual puns no one but the authors understand), where uplifted Elephant-Shrews – big rats with long noses and gene spliced leaf-nosed bats find themselves having to ally with that lower life-form, humans. It’s basically a lot of mayhem, the sort of humor those who are expendable indulge in, alongside of a story about what defines ‘human’ – and lots of explosions and interspecies misunderstandings. That was so much fun we did the PYRAMID SCHEME books together, where a handful of modern Americans (and a South African) find themselves transported into a universe where mythology is real, and Zeus is the kind of dude you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley and Odysseus bears a marked resemblance to a dodgy used car salesman. Our latest effort has been to write sequels to James H. Schmitz classic WITCHES OF KARRES (Eric is the editor of the re-issue of Schmitz’s work from Baen). The most recent on SORCERESS OF KARRES just came out. Look, no kidding, my name isn’t James H anything and my ouija keyboard is on the blink. Of course it is not the same (I’ll even agree it is not as good) as WITCHES, but if you enjoyed that universe as I did it’s a chance to read more (yes. It’s fanfic. By pro authors. What gives you the idea we are any different to other mortals? Just more practiced.)

The first of the sequels WIZARD OF KARRES proved popular and this latest one has also got onto the WSJ sf bestseller list. It’s sf the way it was in the 60′s I guess.

I also co-wrote with Eric and Misty some great big fat alternate history stories set in a renaissance that didn’t happen, where magic still happens and the Mongols still rule Asia Minor. Very useful books for doorstops or that long summer read. I believe they’ve been called entertaining and well-researched.

Then there are a handful of solo books – you can look them up on Amazon if you’re curious (I really don’t like boring people about my work – like most authors I am obsessive, and insomniac (gives you lots of time awake to obsess). The last two – DRAGON’S RING and SAVE THE DRAGONS (not related books at all) have been at least partially about dragons. DRAGON’S RING set in a place remarkably like the Furneux archipelago (a utter co-incidence I assure you. I NEVER write about the places I have been or the silly things I have tried. Well, yes… I did once narrowly escape arrest for climbing a castle wall in Scotland, but that could happen to anyone, and it’s similarity to Benito’s exploits is purest happenstance.) aworld of sea, and mountainous craggy islands, where draagons can be dragons and humans can be dinner… and where Fionn the black dragon is out to destroy the world.

SAVE THE DRAGONS is another project entirely. Getting out of South Africa either involved deserting our cats and dogs, putting them down, or a very long expensive quarantine and transport. My beasties own a huge piece of my heart and I believe in my responsibilty to them… so we chose the latter. We’ve had to sell everything we owned, just about, including our home to do this, but it’s a choice that left me poorer but happier. We also – with the help of some friends – put up the Save the Dragons site http://savethedragons.nu/ on which we’ve sold off chapter-by-chapter instalments of the comic fantasy book to help raise part of the terrifying amount of money it costs to keep a big Old English Sheepdog, a pair of Labbies and 3 beloved moggies together and coming out to Australia. The story is on the site, and so are the first 23 chapters (the last 2 we’re still selling).

Anyway – that’s enough waffle. If you have any questions ask away. (No I don’t know who won the world series in 1949 or what the winning number of Lotto will be. Questions about books, fish, dinner rock climbing and the island will be entertained. The others you’ll have to work out for yourselves.)