Katharine Kerr

Katharine Kerr (born October 3, 1944) is an American 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; her maiden name is Katharine Nancy Brahtin. She describes her family feeling more like "British-in-exile" than American. She describes her inability to spell properly 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. In 1969, 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-1960s. She then worked in some 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; they were married that same year. In 1979, a friend gave Katharine her first fantasy role-playing game. This gift led her to a fascination with the gaming and fantasy field, which in turn led 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.

The series is written in a non-linear style: the principal narrative is frequently interrupted by flashbacks to events that occurred decades, or even centuries, before. These flashbacks concern the prior incarnations of characters in the principal narrative, and provide insight into the relationships of the characters in their current incarnations.

Kerr has likened the series to a play, breaking the story into several acts:

Act one: Deverry Daggerspell (1986) Darkspell (1987) – later reissued in an "author's definitive edition" The Bristling Wood (1989) – United States title; issued in the United Kingdom as Dawnspell: The Bristling Wood The Dragon Revenant (1990) – US title; issued in the UK as Dragonspell: The Southern Sea

Act two: The Westlands A Time of Exile (1991) A Time of Omens (1992) Days of Blood and Fire (1993) – US title; issued in the UK as A Time of War Days of Air and Darkness (1994) – US title; issued in the UK as A Time of Justice Act three: The Dragon Mage The Red Wyvern (1997) The Black Raven (1998) The Fire Dragon (2000) Act four: The Silver Wyrm The Gold Falcon (2006) – US title; issued in the UK as the fourth book of The Dragon Mage The Spirit Stone (2007) – US title; issued in the UK as the fifth book of The Dragon Mage The Shadow Isle (2008) – US title; issued in the UK as the sixth book of The Dragon Mage The Silver Mage (2009) – US title; issued in the UK as the seventh book of The Dragon Mage Act five: The Justice War Sword of Fire (2020)

Polar City Polar City Blues (1990) Polar City Nightmare (2000) – with Kate Daniel

Nola O'Grady License to Ensorcell (February 2011) Water to Burn (August 2011) Apocalypse to Go (February 2012) Love on the Run (August 2012)

The Pinch Palace (1996) – with Mark Kreighbaum The Eyes of God - by Mark Kreighbaum, sequel to Palace

The Runemaster books Sorcerer's Luck (2013) Sorcerer's Feud (August 2014)

Other novels Resurrection (1992) Freeze Frames (1995) Flickers writing as Kathryn A. Jordan Snare (2003)

Anthologies Weird Tales from Shakespeare – Fanfiction based on Shakespeare's works (1994) – with Martin H. Greenberg Enchanted Forests (1995) – with Martin H. Greenberg The Shimmering Door (1996) – with Martin H. Greenberg (issued in the UK as Sorceries) Sorceries (1997)

Short stories "Cui Bono?" (1994) (collected in Mike Resnick's alternate history anthology Alternate Outlaws)