Lynn Flewelling
Encyclopedia
Lynn Flewelling is a fantasy
fiction
author, best known for two internationally acclaimed fantasy series: the Nightrunner
books and Tamír Triad
.
, United States
, and has since lived on both coasts and traveled around the world, all experiences that are reflected in her writing. She has worked as a teacher, a house painter, a necropsy technician, and a free-lance editor and journalist. She has been married to Douglas Flewelling since 1981, and has two sons. She currently lives in Redlands, California, where she continues to write, and offers lectures and creative writing workshops at the University of Redlands.
Editor's Pick for Best First Novel and a finalist for the Compton Crook Award
. Her novels Traitor's Moon (2000) and Hidden Warrior (2004) were both finalists for the Spectrum Award. Her novels are currently published in 13 countries, and in 2005, the first volume of the Japanese language version of Luck in the Shadows was published. Ms. Flewelling is accessible to readers through her web site, her Live Journal blog, her Yahoo! group, and numerous guest appearances at conventions including Comic-Con and Smith College
's ConBust. Her work has been praised by other notable fantasy authors, including George R. R. Martin
, Orson Scott Card
, Elizabeth Hand, Robin Hobb
, and Katherine Kurtz
. Independent film company Csquared Pictures has acquired film rights to the first three books in the Nightrunner series, but they have not yet started production.
Many readers find particular interest in Flewelling's exploration of LGBT
and transgender
themes. The protagonists of the Nightrunner books are both bisexual: Flewelling has stated their creation was in response to the near-absence of queer characters in the genre and marginalization of existing ones. Her novels have also drawn academic attention: in an upcoming book, Dr. Jes Battis at the University of Regina
uses the master thief-protege relationship in the Nightrunner books and the knight-squire relationship in another fantasy work to explore how queerness manifests in both the historical source material and the contemporary re-imagining in fantasy fiction. By contrast, the Tamir Triad features a protagonist who transforms from one sex and gender to the other, combining elements of psychological drama with ghost story horror.
Tamír Triad
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
author, best known for two internationally acclaimed fantasy series: the Nightrunner
Nightrunner
The Nightrunner Series is a multi-part fantasy series written by Lynn Flewelling. It currently contains six novels and one collection of related short stories.‘Nightrunner’ refers to the occupation of Seregil and Alec, the series’ two main protagonists...
books and Tamír Triad
Tamir Triad
The Tamír Triad is a historical fantasy trilogy written by Lynn Flewelling. It contains three novels, and has a sister series, The Nightrunner Series, which contains five, and is currently on-going. The series contains mythopoeia...
.
Biography
Flewelling grew up in northern MaineMaine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and has since lived on both coasts and traveled around the world, all experiences that are reflected in her writing. She has worked as a teacher, a house painter, a necropsy technician, and a free-lance editor and journalist. She has been married to Douglas Flewelling since 1981, and has two sons. She currently lives in Redlands, California, where she continues to write, and offers lectures and creative writing workshops at the University of Redlands.
Writings
Her first Nightrunner novel, Luck in the Shadows, was a Locus MagazineLocus (magazine)
Locus, subtitled "The Magazine Of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Field", is published monthly in Oakland, California. It reports on the science fiction and fantasy publishing field, including comprehensive listings of all new books published in the genre. It is considered the news organ and trade...
Editor's Pick for Best First Novel and a finalist for the Compton Crook Award
Compton Crook Award
The Compton Crook Award is presented to the best first novel of the year in the field of Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror by the members of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society, Inc, at their annual Baltimore-area science fiction convention, Balticon, held on Memorial Day weekend in the...
. Her novels Traitor's Moon (2000) and Hidden Warrior (2004) were both finalists for the Spectrum Award. Her novels are currently published in 13 countries, and in 2005, the first volume of the Japanese language version of Luck in the Shadows was published. Ms. Flewelling is accessible to readers through her web site, her Live Journal blog, her Yahoo! group, and numerous guest appearances at conventions including Comic-Con and Smith College
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
's ConBust. Her work has been praised by other notable fantasy authors, including George R. R. Martin
George R. R. Martin
George Raymond Richard Martin , sometimes referred to as GRRM, is an American author and screenwriter of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He is best known for A Song of Ice and Fire, his bestselling series of epic fantasy novels that HBO adapted for their dramatic pay-cable series Game of...
, Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
, Elizabeth Hand, Robin Hobb
Robin Hobb
Robin Hobb is the second pen name of novelist Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden who produces primarily fantasy fiction, although she has published some science fiction....
, and Katherine Kurtz
Katherine Kurtz
Katherine Kurtz is the author of numerous fantasy novels, most notably the Deryni novels. Although born in America, for the past several years, up until just recently, she has lived in a castle in Ireland...
. Independent film company Csquared Pictures has acquired film rights to the first three books in the Nightrunner series, but they have not yet started production.
Many readers find particular interest in Flewelling's exploration of LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
and transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
themes. The protagonists of the Nightrunner books are both bisexual: Flewelling has stated their creation was in response to the near-absence of queer characters in the genre and marginalization of existing ones. Her novels have also drawn academic attention: in an upcoming book, Dr. Jes Battis at the University of Regina
University of Regina
The University of Regina is a public research university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the University of Saskatchewan as a junior college in 1925, and was disaffiliated...
uses the master thief-protege relationship in the Nightrunner books and the knight-squire relationship in another fantasy work to explore how queerness manifests in both the historical source material and the contemporary re-imagining in fantasy fiction. By contrast, the Tamir Triad features a protagonist who transforms from one sex and gender to the other, combining elements of psychological drama with ghost story horror.
The Nightrunner Series
- Luck in the ShadowsLuck in the ShadowsLuck in the Shadows is the first book in Lynn Flewelling's Nightrunner series. Set in a fictional universe, the novel follows the adventures of a complex thief and his apprentice as they are targeted by magical forces and attempt to unravel a political conspiracy. It is followed by Stalking...
(Bantam Spectra, 1996) - Stalking DarknessStalking DarknessStalking Darkness is the second book in Lynn Flewelling's Nightrunner series. It is preceded by Luck in the Shadows and followed by Traitor's Moon, Shadows Return and The White Road....
(Bantam Spectra, 1997) - Traitor's MoonTraitor's MoonTraitor's Moon is the third book in Lynn Flewelling's Nightrunner series. It is preceded by Luck in the Shadows and Stalking Darkness and followed by Shadows Return and The White Road....
(Bantam Spectra, 1999) - Shadows ReturnShadows ReturnShadows Return is the fourth book in Lynn Flewelling's Nightrunner series. It is preceded by Luck in the Shadows, Stalking Darkness and Traitor's Moon and followed by The White Road....
(Bantam Spectra; June 24, 2008) - The White RoadThe White RoadThe White Road is the fifth novel in Lynn Flewelling's Nightrunner series. Set in a fictional universe, the novel follows the adventures of a complex thief and his apprentice. It is preceded by Luck in the Shadows, Stalking Darkness, Traitor's Moon and Shadows Return...
(Bantam Spectra, May, 2010) - Casket of Souls (Bantam Spectra, June 12, 2012)
Tamír TriadTamir TriadThe Tamír Triad is a historical fantasy trilogy written by Lynn Flewelling. It contains three novels, and has a sister series, The Nightrunner Series, which contains five, and is currently on-going. The series contains mythopoeia...
- The Bone Doll's TwinThe Bone Doll's TwinThe Bone Doll's Twin is the title of the first book in author Lynn Flewelling's series of fictional works, Tamir Triad. It is followed by Hidden Warrior and then, lastly by Oracle's Queen.-Plot summary:...
(Bantam Spectra, 2001) - Hidden WarriorHidden WarriorHidden Warrior is the second book in the Tamír Triad by Lynn Flewelling. It is followed by Oracle's Queen.- Plot summary :Following the events in The Bone Doll's Twin, Prince Tobin awakens after the witch Lhel reveals that he was born as a girl, but in view of the king's purge of all possible...
(Bantam Spectra, 2003) - Oracle's QueenOracle's QueenOracle's Queen is the last novel in the The Tamír Triad by Lynn Flewelling, preceded by Hidden Warrior and by The Bone Doll's Twin.-Plot introduction:...
(Bantam Spectra; June, 2006)
Shorts
- "Letter To Alexi" Prisoners of the Night, 1995
- "Raven's Cut" Assassin Fantastic anthology, Martin Greenberg and Alex Potter, ed. DAW books.
- "The Complete Nobody's Guide to Query Letters" Speculations, 1999, reprinted on SFWA website and in The Writer's Guide to Queries, Pitches and Proposals by Moira Allen, Allsworth Press (2001)
- "Perfection" Elemental: The Tsunami Relief Anthology: Stories of Science Fiction and Fantasy, Steven Savile and Alethea Kontis, ed, TOR Books, 2006.
- "Glimpses" (3 Crow Press, September 2010) - A Collection of Nightrunner Short Stories
- "Glimpses 2" (3 Crow Press, October 2011) - A Collection of Nightrunner Short Stories