INTERVIEW: Elisabeth Waters and Ann Sharp on Stars of Darkover

STARS OF DARKOVER – not just the glorious night sky over the world of the Bloody Sun, but the authors who have been inspired over the decades by Marion Zimmer Bradley’s favorite world. It will be released on June 3, 2014, to celebrate Marion's 84th birthday.

Elisabeth Waters sold her first short story in 1980 to Marion Zimmer Bradley for The Keeper's Price, the first of the Darkover anthologies. She then went on to sell short stories to a variety of anthologies. Her first novel, a fantasy called Changing Fate, was awarded the 1989 Gryphon Award. She is now working on a sequel to it, in addition to her short story writing and anthology editing. She also worked as a supernumerary with the San Francisco Opera, where she appeared in La Gioconda, Manon Lescaut, Madama Butterfly, Khovanschina, Das Rheingold, Werther, and Idomeneo.

Ann Sharp, who edited The Darkover Newsletter for ten years, is known for her articles on writing. After the DNL was no longer published, she continued to write these articles for Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine. She is also known for her interest in genealogy and is active in the Daughters of the American Revolution, Daughters of Founders and Patriots, the National Society of New England Women, and the Colonial Dames of the 17th Century.

Deborah J. Ross: How did Marion Zimmer Bradley influence your writing career?

Elisabeth Waters and Ann Sharp: We are both graduates of the Marion Zimmer Bradley School of Hack-Writing. Ann says that Marion was the first person to explain simply and clearly the elements of a plot. Great literature does not do this very well. Lisa remembers Marion saying that one editor told her to stop trying to show how beautifully she could write and just tell the story. Obviously Marion provided years of nagging encouragement.

DJR: Tell us about your story in Stars of Darkover.

EW and AS: For many years Ann had a story idea she kept meaning to write. This year, she and Lisa finally teamed up to write the story. (It took both of us.)

 

DJR: What have you written recently? What lies ahead?

AS: Logic puzzles for the MZB newsletter.

EW: I'm still working on my novel Mending Fate as well as "A Wake of Vultures" for Mercedes

Lackey's next Valdemar anthology, which is due out in December 2014.

Deborah J. Ross: What do you see for the future of Darkover?

EW and AS: The imagination boggles. Seriously, we both think Deborah is doing a wonderful job with the novels and we hope to see many more of them.