Arizona Book Festival


CASFS Authors Biographies

Dennis L. McKiernan
http://home.att.net/~dlmck

Dennis L. Mckiernan was born April 4, 1932, in Moberly, Missouri,where he lived until age eighteen, when he joined the U.S. Air Force, serving four years spanning the Korean War. He received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Missouri in 1958 and an M.S. in the same field from Duke University in 1964. Dennis spent thirty-one years as one of AT&T Bell Laboratories whiz kids in research and development - in anti-ballistic missile defense systems, in software for telephone systems, and in various management think-tank activities - before changing careers to be a full-time writer.
Currently living in Tuscon, Arizona, Dennis began writing novels in 1977 while recuperating from a close encounter of the crunch kind with a 1967 red and black Plymouth Fury (Dennis lost: it ran over him: Plymouth 1, Dennis 0).  Among other hobbies, Dennis enjoys SCUBA diving, dirt-bike riding, and motorcycle touring - all enthusiasms shared by his wife. An internationally bestselling author, his critically acclaimed fantasy novels include Voyage of the Fox Rider, The Eye of the Hunter, Dragondoom, The Silver Call Duology, The Iron Tower Trilogy, the story collection Tales of Mithgar, Eye of the Hunter
and Silver Wolf, Black Falcon  Never one to sit idle too long, Dennis has also written The Vulgmaster (a graphic novel) and several short stories and novelettes which have appeared in various anthologies. He is presently working on his next opus.
 

Adam Niswander
http://www.adam-niswander.com

Adam Niswander is a science fiction (SF), fantasy, horror, young adult, and mystery & thriller writer from Phoenix Arizona. He is the author of: the Shaman Cycle novels - The Charm, The Serpent Slayers, and The Hound Hunters - (Published by Integra Press ; Frank Wagner, Publisher,) as well as The Sand Dwellers, (Published by Fedogan and Bremer, Philip Rahman, Publisher) and The Repository, (Published by Meisha Merlin Publishing, Stephen Pagel, Publisher.) Other hats he has worn include those of book dealer (Adam’s Bookstore on ABE.com), former president (14 terms) of The Central Arizona Speculative Fiction Society (CASFS), CASFS Board, frequent guest at science fiction conventions and member of both SFWA and HWA.

Michael A. Stackpole
http://www.stormwolf.com

N.Y. Times Best Selling Science Fiction & Fantasy Author of Star Wars Novels I, Jedi, Dark Tide: Onslaught, Dark Tide: Ruin, the X-Wing novel series, many Dark Horse Star Wars comics, plus The Dark Glory War, Talion: Revenant, Shadowrun: Wolf & Raven, & Once a Hero, Fortress Draconis, Ghost War (Mechwarrior Dark Age #1) & When Dragons Rage.

He started his career writing role playing games for Flying Buffalo games and in 1997 wrote the Warriors trilogy for the FASA Battletech novel line, giving him his break into the world of novel writing.   Since then, he’s written many novels in the BattleTech universe, the Star Wars universe (including the popular line of Rogue Squadron novels) plus several fantasy novels including the current DragonCrown War fantasy series.
 
Judith Tarr
http://www.sff.net/people/judith-tarr/

John Vornholt
www.vornholt.net

After spending 20 years as a freelance writer (writing mostly non-fiction), John Vornholt turned to book publishing in 1989. Drawing upon the good will generated by an earlier non-fiction book he had written for Simon & Schuster, John secured a contract to write Masks, number seven in the Star Trek: The Next Generation book series.

Masks was the first of the numbered Next Generation books to make the New York Times bestseller list and was reprinted three times in the first month. Although John has only been writing books seriously since 1989, he has written and sold more than 50 books, for both adults and children. He's currently writing a contemporary suspense novel, and the third of a two-book Star Trek: The Next Generation series titled The Genesis Wave. (No, that's not a typo. It is indeed book three of what began as a duology.   He has also written a number of young reader novels including ones based on Dinotopia, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Trek, Sabrina the Teenage Witch & the recent release of The Troll King.

Theatrical rights for his fantasy novel, The Fabulist, have been sold to two young composers in New York, and they're in the process of adapting it as a Broadway musical.

It would be difficult to find a kind of writing John has not done professionally. He started submitting science fiction stories to magazines when he was about thirteen years old. At the age of twenty, he began to write and sell travel articles (the first sale was to Diversion), and he's made hundreds of sales to markets as diverse as The Hollywood Reporter and DEC Professional.

Early in his career, John flirted with playwriting, which resulted in six published plays and several productions in the Los Angeles area. That proved satisfying, but not very lucrative, and, with a partner, he turned to screenwriting in the 1980s. Hollywood was lucrative, but not very satisfying, and John has enjoyed writing books ever since.

He currently lives with his wife and two children in Tucson, Arizona.
 

Michelle M. Welch

Michelle's Web Site

Her first novel, Confidence Game, was published in October 2003. The project grew out of almost fifteen years of work, and it is the fifth novel manuscript she wrote.  The Bright and the Dark is forthcoming from Bantam Spectra in  August 2004. Prior to writing novels, she wrote short stories in a magical-realism style.  She also has a background in music and has played various instruments with several musical groups.