Biographical information

The Facts in Brief

Birthdate: March 7, 1945

Hometown: McAllen, Texas (8 miles from Mexico, ~60 miles upriver from the Gulf of Mexico)

Family: Only child of single mother (father remarried, five half-sisters--virtually no contact

Military service: USMC, 1968-1971, at HQMC messing with computers.

Married November 1, 1969 to Richard Sloan Moon (classmate at Rice), then an officer in the Army.

Moved to small town north of Austin in 1979, where we've lived ever since.

One son, Michael, born in November 1983.

Employment: Besides working with computers while in the military, a patchwork of odd jobs including draftsman, sign painter, and tutor (mostly in math and sciences.)

Community activities: EMS volunteer, 1979-1985 (can't recall exactly.) Elected twice to City Council, served a term as Chamber of Commerce president, served on Library Board several terms. Singer in various church and community choirs (presently with the Parish Choir of St. David's Episcopal Church in Austin.) Other church activities have included teaching Sunday School, working with youth group, serving on vestry, etc.

Writing: Started writing stories and poems as a small child; attempted first book (a biography of the family dog) at age six (it was terrible.) Started writing science fiction in high school, but considered writing merely a sideline. First got serious about writing (as in, submitting things and actually getting money...) in my mid-thirties, starting with a column in the county weekly newspaper and going on to ghosting articles for my husband. First fiction sales at age forty: "Bargains" to Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword & Sorceress III and "ABCs in Zero G" to Analog. These both appeared in the summer of 1986; my first novel, Sheepfarmer's Daughter, sold in 1987 and came out in 1988; it won the Compton Crook Award in 1989. In the years since, the total's risen to 18 novels (two as co-author with Anne McCaffrey in her Planet Pirate series), omnibus editions of several series, two short-fiction collections, and several dozen short fiction works appearing in magazines and anthologies, most recently "Judgment" in The Dragon Quintet and "Gifts" in Masters of Fantasy. Remnant Population was a Hugo nominee in 1997, and The Speed of Dark was a finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, and won the Nebula in 2004. Most recent book is Engaging the Enemy; next out will be Command Decision in 2007.

Works have appeared in a number of foreign languages.

Non-writing interests: Horses, space exploration, fencing (Renaissance style: rapier, dagger, etc), restoration ecology, wildlife management, classical music, just about anything but housework.