Heyla, Misty fans!
Many of you know Herald-Mage Master Danya and I from work we have done in other newsletters and fanzines. Some of you know us as pen pals; however, most of you may not know us at all. In this newsletter, I interviewed Danya for you all. (She'll interview me in the next newsletter.) As her friend of a couple of years, I still was surprised at the amount of things I have learned. I know you will be too. Please enjoy the following interview.
Healer Adept Moonstar
I've been married for 12-1/2 years to Dan Malcor, whom I met when I was a freshman and he was a sophomore in high school. We were both raised in Alhambra, California. We got engaged shortly after I finished my freshman year of college. We were married seven years later, when Dan completed his service as a Nuclear Reactor Operator for the US Navy. (Dan now works as a Unix Systems Administrator.) We have a three-year-old son, Joseph, and we are expecting our second child in November. Our family homepage is at http://members.aol.com/drmalcor/index.htm. For more details about me personally, visit http://www.dragonlordsnet.com/author.htm.
I have an A.B. in English with a double minor in History and Comparative Literature from Occidental College. I went to UCLA for my M.A. and my doctorate. The M.A. was in Folklore and Mythology with an emphasis in Narrative and Celtic Studies. The Ph.D. was also in Folklore and Mythology with an emphasis in Medieval Studies and Indo-European Comparative Mythology.
I think there is something very special about Queen's Own. Unlike most fandoms, the club encourages people to learn more about the world in which they live and places a strong emphasis on helping others. I see writers, artists and fans of all ages responding to that and becoming better people as a result of belonging to the organization. I just couldn't stand to see something like that die. So . . . Well, they say "if you want something done, give it to a busy person" <G>. I was certainly busy enough and my own fan club (Dragonlords of Dumnonia, http://www.dragonlordsnet.com) was solvent enough to support two clubs. When you (Moonstar) said you'd be Co-President along with me, I knew this was something we could do, so I went for it.
I started taking the newsletter sometime in the Fall of 1995, and Danya was approved in March of 1996. I think it's very important for fantasy fiction writers in particular to belong to fandoms, so when I shifted careers from being a screenwriter to specializing in fantasy fiction, I joined several fandoms. Queen's Own and my own Dragonlords are the only two I'm still with.
I had a homophobic friend who had received the Last Herald Mage trilogy as a gift and who could not handle it when he realized that Van was turning out to be gay. He knew that I did a lot of work for gay rights and AIDS relief and that I frequently write fiction about characters who are gay, so he gave me the trilogy. I read it . . . and after I threw the last book across the room and stormed about the apartment for the rest of the night, I went out to Barnes & Noble and picked up absolutely everything else I could find that Misty had ever written <G>.
::chuckle:: Not sure if you'll believe me on this one. My recent "pleasure" reading has included The Inscriptions of Roman Britain (at least as much of the set as I've been able to acquire so far), Equus: The Horse in the Roman World, The Roman Cavalry, Daily Life in Ancient Rome, Tacitus, Understanding Roman Inscriptions, Vegetius, The Landscape of Roman Britain, Romans and Britons in North-West England, and Reading the Bible & the Confessions the Presbyterian Way. I also read Tanya Huff and Melanie Rawn <G>; they just haven't come out with anything in the series I'm following recently.
Well, I have a three-year-old, so I haven't been getting to make the choices on this very often. "Veggie Tales" and sound tracks of Disney movies have become the ever-present background music of our lives, though my son is suddenly expressing a deep love of John Williams and Sondheim (Yes, I have a child who runs around humming Darth Vader's theme from Star Wars and singing snatches from Into the Woods.). When I get to make the choice, I love movie soundtracks, songs from musicals, some rock (primarily from the 60s, 70s and 80s; didn't get to listen to much in the 90s)--The Doors are a particular favorite and Morrison's American Prayer, some classical, some country, some folksongs, some filk--I'm a bit eclectic. Singing, I prefer songs from musicals, folksongs, hymns and choir anthems.
Believe it or not, the first (and only) con that I've ever made it to was the Battlestar Galactica 20-Year Reunion in September of 1998.
::chuckle:: This is where I deliver my mini-lecture about how I can't stand to have people tell me they don't have time to something <g>. In addition to helping run QO and raising a three-year-old and maintaining a household (including the gardening), I work as a freelance writer (primarily nonfiction books and articles and fiction short stories these days, though I was a screenwriter for ten years), serve as an elder for St. Mark Presbyterian Church of Newport Beach, serve as Moderator of the Social Justice Ministries Committee for the Los Ranchos Presbytery, serve as Moderator of More Light Presbyterians for Orange County, serve as liaison to the national board of More Light Presbyterians for Orange County, maintain over half a dozen websites (ranging from church-related to personal to professional business sites), run an online writing group, run my own online fan club (Dragonlords), manage the Dragonlords bookstore online, lecture by invitation, sit on a doctoral committee for a student who is working on a degree in mythology, attend local academic conferences, support my local chapter of Log Cabin Republicans, pass around petitions for ballot measures I support and campaign against those I oppose, write letters to local newspapers about various social issues, play the piano, go to movies, participate in a sing-along group in San Diego, entertain family and friends, process about 700 to 800 e-mail messages per day, and probably several dozen other things I've forgotten to mention <G>.
I adore the emphasis on education and social responsibility within the club. I've participate in several other fandoms, and Misty's is quite unique in the way it encourages fans to become involved in the real world and to make a difference with their lives.
Here are the faires we know about that are happening in June. Faires are indexed alphabetically by state. Have any information about any other Ren Faires in your area? Send it to us at Legend@malcor.com
THE THREE BARONS RENAISSANCE FAIR. E-mail: the3barons@aol.com. Website: http://3barons.ak.net. Address: PO Box 233617, Anchorage, AK 99523. Dates and Times: 6/03/00 - 6/11/00, Open/Close: 12:00 PM.
FAIRE OAKS TUDOR FAYRE. E-mail: recreation@fairoakspark.org. Website: http://www.fairoakspark.org. Address: 4150 Temescal, Fair Oaks, CA 95628. Dates and Times: 6/24/00 - 6/25/00, Open/Close: 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM.
RENAISSANCE PLEASURE FAIRE OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. Website: http://www.renfair.com. Address: P.O. Box 9188, San Bernardino, CA 92427, Site Address: Glen Helen Regional Park, 2555 Glen Helen Pkwy., Devore, CA 92428, 1-800-52-FAIRE for advance tickets & general information. Dates include Memorial Day. 3-4 weekend workshops for performing company. Original Renaissance event in the U.S. When: 5/06/00 - 6/25/00, Open/Close: 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM.
VALHALLA RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL. E-mail: sbd97@earthlink.net. Web Site: http://hometown.aol.com/sltcarlson/event/index.htm. Address: 3839 Oak Glen Dr., Santa Rosa, CA 95404. Site Address: Camp Richardsons Resort, 1900 Jameson Beach Road, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150. When: 6/03/00 - 6/11/00, Open/Close: 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM.
COLORADO RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL. E-mail: pfrank@coloradorenaissance.com. Website: http://www.ColoradoRenaissance.com. Address: 409 South Wilcox, Suite #F, Castle Rock, CO 80104-1962. Site Address: General Delivery, Larkspur, CO 80118-9999. Dates and Times: 6/10/00 - 7/30/00, Open/Close: 10:00 AM - 6:30 PM.
GEORGIA RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL. Website: http://www.garenfest.com. Address: P.O. Box 986, Fairburn, GA 30213-0986. When: 4/29/00 - 06/11/00, Open/Close: 10:30 AM - 6:00 PM.
JUBILEE COLLEGE OLDE ENGLISH FAIRE. FAX: 217-785-7937. Address: 11817 Jubilee College Road, Brimfield, IL 61517. Dates and Times: 6/17/00 - 6/18/00, Open/Close: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
RENAISSANCE FAIRE OF THE MIDLANDS. E-mail: vgaevents@aol.com. Website: http://www.faire.org. Address: Vic Gutman & Associates, PO Box 31134, Omaha, NE 68131-0134. Site Address: Iowa Western Community College, 2700 College Road, Council Bluffs, IA. Dates and Times: 6/09/00 - 6/11/00, Open/Close: Friday: 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM, Saturday: 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM, Sunday: 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM.
WYBREG VILLAGE RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL. E-mail: pegasus@netins.net. Website: http://www.renaissancefoundation.org. Address: Renaissance Foundation, P.O. Box 40, Bonaparte, IA 52620. When: 5/27/00 - 6/04/00, Open/Close: 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM.
RAVENHEARST MEDIEVAL FANTASY. Website: http://www.ravenhearst.freeservers.com. Address: PO Box 54715, Lexington, KY 40505-4715. Site Address: 845 Lane Allen, Ste. 45, Lexington, KY 40504. Dates and Times: 6/17/00 - 7/02/00, Open/Close: 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM.
HAMLET OF SLATER RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL OF MID MISSOURI. E-mail: melissaa@iland.net. Website: http://home.beseen.com/friends/ladymelissamacleod. Address: Melissa Alexander, 18999 Hwy. CC, Houstonia, MO 65333. Dates and Times: 6/17/00 - 06/18/00, Open/Close: 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM.
MANSFIELD RENAISSANCE FAIRE. E-mail: mansfieldhouse@yahoo.com. Website: http://www.themansfieldhouse.com. Address: PO Box 628, Mansfield, MO 65704, Site Address: 299l Highway A, Mansfield, MO 65704.
When: 6/03/00 - 6/11/00, Open/Close: 10:00 AM 06:00 PM.
NEW JERSEY RENAISSANCE KINGDOM. E-mail: dunn-ley@njkingdom.com. Website: http://www.njkingdom.com. Address: 28 Fordham Rd., Somerset, NJ 08873, Site Address: 345 Davidson Ave., Somerset, NJ 08873-4119. When: 5/20/00 - 6/25/00, Open/Close: 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM.
SCARBOROUGH RENAISSANCE FAIRE. E-mail: TheRenFest@aol.com, Website: http://www.ScarboroughRenFest.com. Address: P.O. Box 538, Waxahachie, TX 75168-0538, Site Address: 2511 FM 66, Waxahachie, TX 75165-5527. When: 4/15/00 - 6/04/00, Open/Close: 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM.
VERMONT RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL. FAX: 802-463-3783. Website: http://www.vtrenfest.com. Address: 89A Atkinson St., Bellows Falls, VT 05101. Site Address: Fort Drummer State Park, Old Guilford Road, Brattleboro, VT 05301. Dates and Times: 6/03/00 - 6/11/00 , Open/Close: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM.
NORTHWEST RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL. FAX: 509-487-2102. Website: http://www.nwrf.net. Address: 6493 Hwy 291, Nine Mile Falls, WA 99206-9528. Dates and Times: 6/17/00 - 7/23/00, Open/Close: 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM.
YE MERRIE GREENWOOD FAIRE. E-mail: eaglcrst@gte.net. Website: http://www.wizkeep.com. Address: 6015 W 20th Ave., Kennewick, WA 99338-1502. Site Address: Howard-Amon Park, Richland, WA 99352. Dates and Times: 6/17/00 - 6/18/00, Open/Close: 9:30 AM - 5:00 PM.
BRISTOL RENAISSANCE FAIRE. E-mail: lmcfeters@recfair.com. Website: http://www.renfair.com. Address: 12550 - 120th Ave., Kenosha, WI 53142-7337. Dates and Times: 6/24/00 - 8/20/00, Open/Close: 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM.
For additional Ren Faire information, visit the Renaissance Faire Homepage at http://www.renfaire.com/.
These are the upcoming cons we know about. (Living in California, that's what I usually get information on.) Have any information about conventions in your area? Send it to us at Legend@malcor.com.
AGAMEMCON: A SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTION. E-mail: orrock@ix.netcom.com. Website: http://www.agamemcon.org. Address: AgamemCon, PMB# 330, 92 Corporate Park, Suite C, Irvine, CA 92606. Site Address: Burbank Airport Hilton, Burbank, CA. Dates: 6/23/00 - 6/25/00.
ANIME EXPO. E-mail: reg@anime-expo.org. Website: http://www.anime-expo.org. Site Address: Disneyland Hotel and Convention Center, 1150 West Cerritos Avenue, Anaheim, CA 92802, (714) 778-6600. Dates: 6/30/00 - 7/3/00.
COSTUME COLLEGE. E-mail: DevineDWK@aol.com. Website: http://www.costumecollege.org. Address: Darla Kruger, c/o Costumer's Guild West, P.O. Box 94538, Pasadena CA 91109. Site Address: Airtel Plaza, Van Nuys, CA. Dates: 6/30/00 - 7/4/00.
POLYCON XVIII. E-mail: polycon-info@polycon.punk.net. Website: http://polycon.punk.net. Site Address: Trinity Dorm California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA. Dates: 6/23/00 - 6/25/00.
SLUG-A-THON 22: A GAMING CONVENTION. E-mail: slugathon@slugathon.com. Website: http://www.slugathon.com. Site Address: Santa Clara Convention Center, 5001 Great America Parkway, Santa Clara, CA. Dates: 6/17/00.
For definitions of our fannish jargon, read the 12-page booklet "Pros & Cons: An Introduction to Fandom" written by Elizabeth Barrette. Send $1.00 and a $0.34 stamp (or $1.00 and 2 IRCs) to Queen's Own, P.O. Box 749, Laguna Beach, CA, 92652. Make checks payable to "Linda Malcor" in US funds only.
Note: Arrows OnLine has declared on its AOL message boards that it is no longer affiliated with Queen's Own. We have therefore removed the contact information for Arrows from our local chapter section. Since Arrows is no longer associated with Queen's Own, the organization no longer has permission to use either the Queen's Own name or the Queen's Own handouts for personae.
We have individual handouts for aspiring Heralds, Healers, Bards, Blues, Mercenaries, Tayledras, Shin'a'in, and White Winds Sorcerers/Sorceresses and instructions on how to work for Herald-Mage status if you are already a Herald or for a Kal'enedral if you are already a Shin'a'in. You can find these handouts online at http://www.dragonlordsnet.com/qohandouts.htm.
You need a release form (online at http://www.dragonlordsnet.com/qomlrel2.htm) if you write a story set in Misty's worlds or using any of her characters. You do not need a release for a character sketch, poem or filk. All Misty wants to do is protect her characters and her worlds. Send the release form (you do NOT need to include the story) to Misty c/o High Flight Arts and Letters, P.O. Box 2970, Claremore, OK 74017. Do NOT include the release form with your persona material; send it to Misty.
All personae materials should be sent to the QO address.
The new online version of Queen's Own is off to a great start. We had our first persona approval before the first newsletter went out, and more personae are coming in every day. The private forum on Delphi is active. We've more than doubled our mailing list from the number our first newsletter was sent to. Most members have joined the chatlist, and we've already had over 2750 visitors to our website! Don't forget, if you have and approved persona and have a website, you can join the Queen's Own Webring.
Thanks to everyone who has been sending in information for the newsletter. Please keep it coming. We are trying to make this fan club responsive to you, and that requires your input. Thanks, too, to all of you who are ferreting out former members for us. A special thanks to Eric Dooley for sending copies of many of the newsletters we did not have.
I want to encourage everyone to submit material to the various Mercedes Lackey fanzines, listed above. Zines are chronically short of good material, and if we don't want to see them go under, we have to give them our support. Don't forget that most zines take poetry and filk as well as stories and art! Tip: In interviews that I have done with various big name fantasy writers (Marion Zimmer Bradley, Anne McCaffrey, Tanya Huff, Melanie Rawn and their ilk), every single one of them got their start by publishing in fanzines and taking an active role in fandom. By submitting to zines you learn to write for the audience you hope to sell your short stories and novels to some day, and you build relationships with people who just may go on to become editors at the presses where you are trying to sell your work.
A word of caution: Misty does not permit any RPGing online. You may RP face-to-face in someone's living room (as you would in a D&D game) or you may LARP (Live Action Role Play), but absolutely no RPGing via e-mail, chatrooms, websites, MUSHes, MOOs, MUCKs or anything else is permitted. Misty's agent and lawyers see these activities as an infringement on the gaming rights to her stories. Such rights routinely go for several thousand dollars for a five-year development period, so unless you are willing to cough up the cash to pay for the rights, stick to writing fan fiction (and send those signed releases to High Flight for the permission to do so!). RPGing is understood to mean any form of dramatization (dialog, narrative about a character's actions, anything that is in story or dramatic format). You may do nonfiction writing about your persona (e.g., "I have a persona with brown hair and brown eyes who is a Herald-Mage in Queen's Own."). But you may not e-mail, post on websites, type in chatrooms or otherwise electronically distribute writing in which you talk as your persona, Companion or anything else. Any use of Misty's settings in an electronic medium is also forbidden. Such writing is considered to be fan fiction and may only be published in approved fanzines and newsletters that have a limited circulation in hardcopy form only.
As fans, I strongly urge you to go to Ren Faires and Conventions (and help work the Faires and Cons, if you can). These are great places to meet other fans, share ideas, and learn about elements that go into many fantasy worlds. They can even supply terrific story ideas (Look at Bedlam's Bard by Mercedes Lackey and Elen Guon and the hilarious movie Galaxy Quest, for example.) Faires and Cons are marvelous opportunities to learn while you are having fun. You can also secure space at some Cons to hold a Queen's Own section where you can LARP as much as you please. (Chapters can also get together in person in a private location to LARP.) Do let us know if you manage to hold such events! We'd love to publish reports of them in the newsletter.
Finally, a plea for patronage <g>. The Queen's Own site is hosted by Dragonlords of Dumnonia (http://www.dragonlordsnet.com), and the Dragonlords Bookstore (http://www.dragonlordsnet.com/bkstore.htm) is the means by which Dragonlords pays for bandwidth, the PO Box, webspace, postage and the zillion other little expenses that go into running a fan club. A portion of every purchase made through the Dragonlords Bookstore goes to help defray these costs. So when you buy books, videos, CDs, etc., please consider doing so through the Dragonlords Bookstore. You'll be helping to support the group that is financially supporting Queen's Own.
The newsletter is routinely posted to the Net. If you are concerned about your address falling into unfriendly hands, don't place a fan message! You may answer fan messages without ever placing one yourself. The editors reserve the right to edit--and shorten!--all messages. (Remember to tell your Post Office about your alternative name if you wish to receive mail addressed to your persona at an addressed where you receive mail under your real name.)
The only "fee" for a fan message is to write to two other people. If your mailbox is empty, don't complain--write letters!
Queen's Own is the official Mercedes Lackey Appreciation Society. Our purpose is to share our enjoyment of Misty's worlds. We are a fan-run not-for-profit organization, not a business. Our address of publication: P.O. Box 749, Laguna Beach, CA 92652 USA. This newsletter is published solely to inform and entertain the club's membership; no infringement of anyone's copyrights is intended.
Newsletters are published on (or near) the first of each month.
Co-Editor/Co-President Herald-Mage Master Danya Winterborn (L.A. Malcor; AOL-IM SN Shashtah; Legend@malcor.com)
Co-Editor/Co-President Healer Adept Moonstar (Kendra Renaud; AOL-IM SN healermoon; healermoon@gmail.com)
The featured artists for the online version of the newsletter are Anthony Barton and Laura Cameron. All drawings in this newsletter are © to the credited artist. All rights reserved. If you would like your art to be featured in the online version of the QO newsletter, send .gifs or .jpgs to Legend@malcor.com or hardcopy to Queen's Own, P.O. Box 749, Laguna Beach, CA 92652.
Mercedes Lackey does not receive mail at the Queen's Own address. Fanmail to Mercedes Lackey and releases for fan fiction should be sent to:
Mercedes Lackey
c/o High Flight Arts and Letters
P.O. Box 2970
Claremore, OK 74017
Zhai'helleva,
Herald-Mage Master Danya Winterborn and
Healer Adept Moonstar
