Anne McCaffrey's Blog

Dear Ms. McCaffrey:

For many years I have enjoyed your books. I have lived among the dragons and the crystal – both in my mind and in reality – though your worlds have ways of making this world more bearable. Through your books you have been an inspiration for my continued writing efforts. While my s.f. has had few sale, many of my other writings have. I know this is just another fan letter among hordes, but if this note happens to come to your attention, please know that you have made a difference. I only hope that someone, someday, will say the same of my writing.

Sincerely,

Rick Meehan

Thank you, Rick!

All the best,

Annie

Hello, could you please tell me the chronological order of the brainship series, every website that I go to seems to be different from each other. thank you very much for your time.

Dan Crocker

Oh, Dan!

My memory's not so good and those stories were written a loonng time ago.

I'm told that Wikipedia has a listing — and they usually get things right.

As a fan of your work, specifically the Rowan series, I've always wanted to ask if all your books would ever be available as eBooks. Though I own several of your books in paper back I tend to read on the go a lot and like the ease of ebooks.

Thanks for your time.
Chris S.

Chris,

I really don't keep track of that.  That's something my publishers deal with.

Ciao,

Annie

Dear All,

Mum wants me to relay to you how terribly sorry she is to have to cancel this year's apperance at Dragon*con.

What seemed to be indigestion last week has now turned out to be something more serious – some incident with her heart, the full details of which are still to be determined by tests.

Mum very specifically asked me to apologize to those who had hoped to see her there, saying: "Sorry that old age came up and bit me on the a**."

The Directors at Dragon*con have said that she's to rest and get better so she can come next year.

Sincerely,

Todd McCaffrey

Dear Anne McCaffrey,

About 25 years ago, I discovered your book, The Harper Hall of Pern, when I was sixteen. Your beautiful writing entranced me and after all these years I still haven't forgotten Menolly and her story. I recently introduced the book to my own sixteen year old daughter who loves it. I've read your other Pern books since and have enjoyed them all. I realized recently that out of all the books I've read in my life, and specifically all the science fiction and fantasy books, your stories have impacted my writing the most. You have a distinct way of pulling your readers into your fantasy world, and making us care about the characters. I've completed a few fantasy novels of my own and hope to be published one day. I just want to thank you for planting the seed.

If you have any advice for a new writer who wishes to become published, I'd welcome your thoughts. I hope I'm not being too forward in saying this, but I'd love to share my writing with you and see what you think. I hope to one day meet you in person. I wish you well and hope you are recovering from your surgeries.

All the best and with love,

Loretta Torossian

New York, NY

Loretta,

I've been asked this so many times I never have the same answer anymore!

First — keep reading. Writers are readers. Writers are also people who can't not write.

Second, follow Heinlein's rules for getting published:

1. Write it.

2. Finish it.

3. Send it out.

4. Keep sending it out until someone sends you a check.

There are variations on that, but that's basically what works.

Ciao,

Annie

will there be more books to this fantastic series? seems like they were left off in limbo.

thnx!

Tom, I'm glad you liked the series but I really think I've said all I want to say in that universe.

Steve says:

David [Hayter]'s wife, Marisa Cody, just said the following, "You can tell them that not only am I a fan, but I lived those books when I was growing up. I read them so many times, they were falling apart."

That means she has good taste and has a lot of company. It also means David will have extra pressure to do a great job from a fan point of view.

As you can see, we really made sure Pern is in good hands!

I know everyone has been waiting and asking for a long while to see what's going to happen with Pern and film.

Today, Copperheart made a major announcement and I couldn't be more pleased.

David Hayter, of X-Men fame (among many other films) has signed on to write the screenplay and Don Murphy, who has worked on many films including Splice and Transformers, has signed on as an executive producer.

For full details, click here.

Dear All,

I just got off the phone with Bill Fawcett, the multi-talented.  On behalf of Dragon*con, he invited me to attend next year's convention — their 25th!

It turns out that he, Todd, and Gigi have all been working together quietly to see if this would be something that I'd like and if it were possible, from a health standpoint (after all, I'll be 85 by then!).   And while no one can guarantee the future, they all agreed that with precautions, I should be fine — particularly as Gigi will accompany me on the flights there and back.

So, health permitting, I'll be at Dragon*con 2011.  I apologize that I won't be able to do nearly as many appearances as I'd like (oh, to be even 20 years younger!) but I can't think of a convention I'd rather attend in my 85th year!

Ciao,

Annie

Dear All,

I just got off the phone with Bill Fawcett, the multi-talented.  On behalf of Dragon*con, he invited me to attend next year's convention — their 25th!

It turns out that he, Todd, and Gigi have all been working together quietly to see if this would be something that I'd like and if it were possible, from a health standpoint (after all, I'll be 85 by then!).   And while no one can guarantee the future, they all agreed that with precautions, I should be fine — particularly as Gigi will accompany me on the flights there and back.

So, health permitting, I'll be at Dragon*con 2011.  I apologize that I won't be able to do nearly as many appearances as I'd like (oh, to be even 20 years younger!) but I can't think of a convention I'd rather attend in my 85th year!

Ciao,

Annie