Ask the Author: Deborah J. Ross
Answered Questions (14)
Deborah J. Ross
First of all, thank you so much for letting me know you enjoyed ARILINN. Music to an author's ears!
To answer your question, I regret to say that the MZB Literary Works Trust, which owns the copyright to Darkover, has decided to stop publishing new works, including anthologies and novels. ARILINN will be the last Darkover novel. I'll be negotiating with the Trust to post out-takes from the stories I worked on in my newsletter. (Sorry, I can't post a sign up link here, but search for my website or blog and you'll find a link.)
Here's the announcement from the MZB Literary Works Trust: en MZB died in September 1999, she had two trusts. One trust was the equivalent of her will and was wound up within a couple of years, leaving the Marion Zimmer Bradley Literary Works Trust (obviously Marion and her lawyer never anticipated having to fit that name into a computer form). The purpose of that Trust was to hold MZB's copyrights and pay out royalties owed to collaborators and past anthology contributors. It was never intended to become a publisher in its own right.
That changed when the company publishing the Sword and Sorceress anthologies went bankrupt. The trust got the rights back and continued the series. As long as we were doing it, we added more Darkover anthologies. We also reprinted most of MZB's backlist. This experience turned out to be useful when Penguin unexpectedly decided not to publish the last two Darkover novels it had under contract. The trust published THE LARAN GAMBIT and ARILINN. Someone recently asked if there were any more Darkover novels after ARILINN. There are not; we have now published everything MZB ever talked about writing. After we hit the button to publish the trade paperback of ARILINN on November 11th, [2025], we are finally done.
We also discovered in April that our remaining staff have reached the age when we are subject to sudden and unexpected hospitalization, and none of us wants to try to run a publishing company from a rehab facility.
To answer your question, I regret to say that the MZB Literary Works Trust, which owns the copyright to Darkover, has decided to stop publishing new works, including anthologies and novels. ARILINN will be the last Darkover novel. I'll be negotiating with the Trust to post out-takes from the stories I worked on in my newsletter. (Sorry, I can't post a sign up link here, but search for my website or blog and you'll find a link.)
Here's the announcement from the MZB Literary Works Trust: en MZB died in September 1999, she had two trusts. One trust was the equivalent of her will and was wound up within a couple of years, leaving the Marion Zimmer Bradley Literary Works Trust (obviously Marion and her lawyer never anticipated having to fit that name into a computer form). The purpose of that Trust was to hold MZB's copyrights and pay out royalties owed to collaborators and past anthology contributors. It was never intended to become a publisher in its own right.
That changed when the company publishing the Sword and Sorceress anthologies went bankrupt. The trust got the rights back and continued the series. As long as we were doing it, we added more Darkover anthologies. We also reprinted most of MZB's backlist. This experience turned out to be useful when Penguin unexpectedly decided not to publish the last two Darkover novels it had under contract. The trust published THE LARAN GAMBIT and ARILINN. Someone recently asked if there were any more Darkover novels after ARILINN. There are not; we have now published everything MZB ever talked about writing. After we hit the button to publish the trade paperback of ARILINN on November 11th, [2025], we are finally done.
We also discovered in April that our remaining staff have reached the age when we are subject to sudden and unexpected hospitalization, and none of us wants to try to run a publishing company from a rehab facility.
Deborah J. Ross
Thanks so much for your question (and apologies for my tardy response!) The last I heard from the Marion Zimmer Bradley Literary Works Trust was that the early novels had been optioned for a mini-series but there has been no progress since the pandemic brought so much production to a screeching halt.
Deborah J. Ross
Arilinn, the next Darkover novel, will be released in November 2024. I'm tackling editorial revisions now. It's going slowly because I drafted it while my family was evacuated from the 2020 wildfires here in CA. As you can imagine, my thoughts were not entirely coherent! (If that sounds confusing, it's because I had both The Laran Gambit and Arilinn in draft form before I started revision the former.)
By the way, thanks so much for your question.
By the way, thanks so much for your question.
Deborah J. Ross
What is an author to do in the face of a negative review?
First, find a safe place to let your feelings settle. Don’t pretend it didn’t hurt when it did. The goal is let go of that upset so that you can move forward with the next project, but most of us need a moment or twelve to allow the adrenalin to drain away and to regain our composure. Sympathetic fellow writers can help, but not ones who tell you to get over it before you actually are over it. Let’s face it: having our precious literary offspring shredded hurts.
Second, decide whether there might be something of value to you in the review. You can’t do this while you’re upset, but you might be able to do it once you’re calm. The reviewer might have an axe to grind, but they also might see things you missed. Remember, you view the story through the lens of your intention and your dream for the story, but the reviewer sees only the words on the page. They might catch places where, even with the best editing in the world, the words fall short in capturing the story that played out between your ears. You might conclude, after consideration, that the reviewer was either careless or biased or just didn’t get what you were doing. It’s fine if you never way to read that negative review again. But it should be a conscious decision.
What shouldn’t you do?
Respond, either publicly or privately. Just. Don’t. Do. It.
No matter how hard you want to give that #$%^&* reviewer a piece of your mind, refrain. Even if there’s a crucial piece of information they missed, refrain. Even if they gave the book a terrible review because the book-seller shipped it a day late, refrain. Even if It’s Just Not Fair What They Said, refrain.
First, find a safe place to let your feelings settle. Don’t pretend it didn’t hurt when it did. The goal is let go of that upset so that you can move forward with the next project, but most of us need a moment or twelve to allow the adrenalin to drain away and to regain our composure. Sympathetic fellow writers can help, but not ones who tell you to get over it before you actually are over it. Let’s face it: having our precious literary offspring shredded hurts.
Second, decide whether there might be something of value to you in the review. You can’t do this while you’re upset, but you might be able to do it once you’re calm. The reviewer might have an axe to grind, but they also might see things you missed. Remember, you view the story through the lens of your intention and your dream for the story, but the reviewer sees only the words on the page. They might catch places where, even with the best editing in the world, the words fall short in capturing the story that played out between your ears. You might conclude, after consideration, that the reviewer was either careless or biased or just didn’t get what you were doing. It’s fine if you never way to read that negative review again. But it should be a conscious decision.
What shouldn’t you do?
Respond, either publicly or privately. Just. Don’t. Do. It.
No matter how hard you want to give that #$%^&* reviewer a piece of your mind, refrain. Even if there’s a crucial piece of information they missed, refrain. Even if they gave the book a terrible review because the book-seller shipped it a day late, refrain. Even if It’s Just Not Fair What They Said, refrain.
Deborah J. Ross
The next Darkover novel, The Laran Gambit, will be out in November 2022 (stay tuned for a GR Giveaway!) It takes place about a generation after The Children of Kings. Here's the skinny:
Terran child psychologist Bryn Haslund has her hands full, treating the young victims of the brutal Star Alliance. She’s tried to stay out of politics, leaving that to her charismatic statesman father, Ernst. Now he’s gone missing after delivering a speech in support of the Alliance’s tyrannical leader.
With the Alliance’s secret police hot on her heels, Bryn finally locates her father in the research labs on Alpha, only to find that a mind-control device has been implanted in his brain. Her search for a way to disable the device leads her to Darkover, a Lost Colony world whose inhabitants have developed powerful telepathy.
Can Bryn convince Darkover’s telepaths to help, when they are deeply suspicious of Terrans and would rather remain forgotten? What are these strange new powers she’s developing? And can she restore Ernst’s mind before the Alliance enforcers track them down?
Terran child psychologist Bryn Haslund has her hands full, treating the young victims of the brutal Star Alliance. She’s tried to stay out of politics, leaving that to her charismatic statesman father, Ernst. Now he’s gone missing after delivering a speech in support of the Alliance’s tyrannical leader.
With the Alliance’s secret police hot on her heels, Bryn finally locates her father in the research labs on Alpha, only to find that a mind-control device has been implanted in his brain. Her search for a way to disable the device leads her to Darkover, a Lost Colony world whose inhabitants have developed powerful telepathy.
Can Bryn convince Darkover’s telepaths to help, when they are deeply suspicious of Terrans and would rather remain forgotten? What are these strange new powers she’s developing? And can she restore Ernst’s mind before the Alliance enforcers track them down?
Deborah J. Ross
The Laran Gambit is on track for a 2022 release, likely toward the end of the year. It's in editorial stage now, and Matthew Stawicki, who did the gorgeous art for The Children of Kings and Thunderlord, is working on a cover painting. For up to date info, you can subscribe to my newsletter. https://deborahjross.us17.list-manage...
Deborah J. Ross
Lisa Waters in part answered this here: https://www.goodreads.com/questions/1...
See her comment about proofreading The Bloody Sun.
Do you remember which short story that was?
See her comment about proofreading The Bloody Sun.
Do you remember which short story that was?
Deborah J. Ross
Check Lisa's answer to this question. I think it covers the same material. Magda Lorne was featured in The Shattered Chain, Thendara House, and City of Sorcery.
https://www.goodreads.com/questions/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/questions/1...
Deborah J. Ross
Hi Victoria -- I'm sorry I haven't gotten back to you with the answers to your questions. I've been buried under deadlines (including getting The Laran Gambit off to the MZB Literary Works Trust, finishing up editing Citadels of Darkover) and some personal crises. I asked Lisa Waters, who was Marion's secretary, about Magda's daughter, and haven't gotten an answer. I have it in my memory that Magda and Jaelle were both involved in the Forbidden Tower circle but maybe the reference is in City of Sorcery and I haven't had time to track it down. Maybe the revised Bloody Sun, not the original?
There are genealogical charts for various Domains at the back of the old Concordance, but that was written in 1979 so doesn't have any more recent books. I do charts for my own Darkover collaborations, in my own scrawl. The Concordance is OP but you may be able to find used copies through abebooks or Powell's.
There are genealogical charts for various Domains at the back of the old Concordance, but that was written in 1979 so doesn't have any more recent books. I do charts for my own Darkover collaborations, in my own scrawl. The Concordance is OP but you may be able to find used copies through abebooks or Powell's.
Deborah J. Ross
Indeed there will! The last two were The Children of Kings and Thunderlord (sequel to Stormqueen). I just turned in the next one, The Laran Gambit, which we hope will come out next year, and have begun work on Arilinn, about the founding of that Tower. I had a confab with my editor at DAW and she's enthusiastic about future novels. Meanwhile, I'm finishing up editing the next anthology, Citadels of Darkover (May 2019).
Deborah J. Ross
This year I'm on the jury for the Philip K. Dick Award for original paperback science fiction. So I'll be buried in submissions! Look for the award nominations early in 2018 to see what we picked.
Deborah J. Ross
From INK DANCE: ESSAYS ON THE WRITING LIFE.
Strategies for Dealing With Writer’s Block
One of the ways I pace myself in my writing day is to pace. I get up, move around the house, make a desultory attempt at some housework, take the dog around the block. If I’m really worked up about how a story isn’t coming together or I’ve written myself into the black hole of all black holes, then I may dive into a cleaning project with a vengeance. Part of what’s going on is I’m so frustrated, I need a constructive outlet for all that energy. I suspect that most of the time, I simply need some corner of the universe where I actually can create order, since the Work In Progress has temporary abdicated that role.
As it usually happens, just when I’ve got my sleeves rolled up, literally or metaphorically, the creative logjam un-jams itself and then I’m presented with a dilemma—do I drop what I’m doing and rush off to the computer (or at least a notepad and pen)? Or do I finish the d@#$%^ed task while I have some momentum? There’s no right answer. I do different things at different times. Most of the time, I can’t tell if the idea that hits me is The Exactly Right Idea or if it’s only an opening sally and if I stay with what I’m doing (vacuuming, scrubbing bathrooms, sweeping the endless piles of oak leaves and acorns, weeding the garden, whatever) that More Will Be Revealed.
I used to believe quite fervently that there were such things as The Exactly Right Idea or The Ultimate Best Piece of Prose. I don’t anymore. I’ve had too many instances where I haven’t written down that idea or have lost that piece of writing (usually through my own idiocy in not backing things up properly/promptly, but from other causes as well), raged and stormed and grieved, and then came up with something even better. Whatever it was to begin with was only a draft, a preliminary to the main event. So in that sense, it doesn’t matter what I do when I feel stuck and how long I do it for. The important thing is that it be an activity that gets my mind working in a different way, preferably one that does not demand all my mental faculties. Working on taxes won’t do it, but washing dishes will.
This reminds me of how I used to write when my children were small. I’d use scraps of time, odds and ends, like the dishwashing I mentioned above, or the brief time before I fell asleep, to “pre-write” the next scene so that it would be so vivid in my mind that when I actually got 10 or 15 minutes to sit down at the typewriter (this was before I had a computer), I’d be primed to write like mad. I used to joke that I couldn’t afford writer’s block, I had so little time. Now I understand that I was using this same “un-sticking” technique before I was actually stuck.
Strategies for Dealing With Writer’s Block
One of the ways I pace myself in my writing day is to pace. I get up, move around the house, make a desultory attempt at some housework, take the dog around the block. If I’m really worked up about how a story isn’t coming together or I’ve written myself into the black hole of all black holes, then I may dive into a cleaning project with a vengeance. Part of what’s going on is I’m so frustrated, I need a constructive outlet for all that energy. I suspect that most of the time, I simply need some corner of the universe where I actually can create order, since the Work In Progress has temporary abdicated that role.
As it usually happens, just when I’ve got my sleeves rolled up, literally or metaphorically, the creative logjam un-jams itself and then I’m presented with a dilemma—do I drop what I’m doing and rush off to the computer (or at least a notepad and pen)? Or do I finish the d@#$%^ed task while I have some momentum? There’s no right answer. I do different things at different times. Most of the time, I can’t tell if the idea that hits me is The Exactly Right Idea or if it’s only an opening sally and if I stay with what I’m doing (vacuuming, scrubbing bathrooms, sweeping the endless piles of oak leaves and acorns, weeding the garden, whatever) that More Will Be Revealed.
I used to believe quite fervently that there were such things as The Exactly Right Idea or The Ultimate Best Piece of Prose. I don’t anymore. I’ve had too many instances where I haven’t written down that idea or have lost that piece of writing (usually through my own idiocy in not backing things up properly/promptly, but from other causes as well), raged and stormed and grieved, and then came up with something even better. Whatever it was to begin with was only a draft, a preliminary to the main event. So in that sense, it doesn’t matter what I do when I feel stuck and how long I do it for. The important thing is that it be an activity that gets my mind working in a different way, preferably one that does not demand all my mental faculties. Working on taxes won’t do it, but washing dishes will.
This reminds me of how I used to write when my children were small. I’d use scraps of time, odds and ends, like the dishwashing I mentioned above, or the brief time before I fell asleep, to “pre-write” the next scene so that it would be so vivid in my mind that when I actually got 10 or 15 minutes to sit down at the typewriter (this was before I had a computer), I’d be primed to write like mad. I used to joke that I couldn’t afford writer’s block, I had so little time. Now I understand that I was using this same “un-sticking” technique before I was actually stuck.
Deborah J. Ross
I'm working on the next Darkover book, The Laran Gambit, in which the tyrannical leader of the Star Alliance tries to cement his power by mechanically-mediated mind control, and only the natural laran talents of Darkover can stand against it.
Deborah J. Ross
Read voraciously, and read the best writing you can lay your hands on.
Pay attention to what lights you up inside.
Study everything besides writing. History, astronomy, human biomechanics, African languages, oceanography, ancient runes, Balinese music, ballet, medicine, fashion design, dog training, walrus training, platypus training, whatever strikes your fancy. Once you have something to write about, something you care passionately about, then pay attention to the craft.
Meanwhile, write every day, even if it’s crap.
Pay attention to what lights you up inside.
Study everything besides writing. History, astronomy, human biomechanics, African languages, oceanography, ancient runes, Balinese music, ballet, medicine, fashion design, dog training, walrus training, platypus training, whatever strikes your fancy. Once you have something to write about, something you care passionately about, then pay attention to the craft.
Meanwhile, write every day, even if it’s crap.
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