Katharine Kerr (born 1944, Cleveland, Ohio) is a science fiction and fantasy novelist, best known for her series of Celtic-influenced high fantasy novels set in the fictional land of Deverry.

Biography

Katharine Kerr was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1944 and given the name Nancy Brahtin. She describes her family feeling more like "British-in-exile" than Americans. She describes her inability to spell proper using either the British or American systems as a result of having been taught to read solely with British books. While still a schoolgirl, her family moved to Santa Barbara, California. Katharine was horrified to discover first that no major league baseball teams existed there yet, baseball being a great passions of hers along with reading and cats, and then that beaches were considered more important in Southern California than books.

In 1962, she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, eventually moving to San Francisco itself. She spent time studying at Stanford University but dropped out in the mid-sixties to join in several revolutions. She then worked in several low-paying jobs, including work at a Post Office.

In 1973, she met up with Howard Kerr, an old friend of hers from secondary school. Both shared a love for cats, books and baseball. They were married that same year.

In 1979, a friend gave Katharine her first fantasy-role playing game, which she refers to as "the fatal gift". This gift lead her to a fascination with the gaming and fantasy field. This fascination lead her to write articles for gaming magazines. She spent time as a contributing editor to Dragon magazine and contributed to gaming modules for both TSR, Inc, and Chaosium, Inc.

Katharane now dedicates herself exclusively to fiction and is known for her fiction novels, taking place in the world of Deverry.

Writing Style

Katharine writes in a non-linear style, instead interweaving stories from the past with the present. This emphasizes the importance of the past on the present. While many readers find this very confusing and frustrating, others find it a very refreshing method of story writing and extract further enjoyment from the story as they see a storyline from the past merge and link with a the storyline from the present.

Books

Deverry novels

1. Daggerspell (1986)
2. Darkspell (1987) — later reissued in an "author's definitive edition"
3. The Bristling Wood (1989) — US title; issued in the UK as Dawnspell: The Bristling Wood
4. The Dragon Revenant (1990) — US title; issued in the UK as Dragonspell: The Southern Sea
5. A Time of Exile (1991)
6. A Time of Omens (1992)
7. Days of Blood and Fire (1993) — US title; issued in the UK as A Time of War
8. Days of Air and Darkness (1994) — US title; issued in the UK as A Time of Justice
9. The Red Wyvern (1997)
10. The Black Raven (1998)
11. The Fire Dragon (2000)

Future releases:

1. The Gold Falcon (2005) — Part 1 of the Silver Wyrm
2. The Black Stone (2006 ) — Part 2 of the Silver Wyrm

Pinch

1. Palace (1996) — with Mark Kreighbaum
2. The Eyes of God (1998) - written only by Mark Kreighbaum

Polar City

1. Polar City Blues (1990) — with Kate Daniel
2. Polar City Nightmare (2000) — with Kate Daniel

Science fiction

• Resurrection (1992)
• Freeze Frames (1995)
• Snare (2003)

Other works

• Dawnspell (1989)
• (1990)

External link

• Katharine Kerr's Home Page