Transworld (Mum’s UK publisher) has a nice photomontage of their current crop of her covers. (Click on the image to go to their website.)
Anne McCaffrey Transworld Covers
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Apr 052013
Anne McCaffrey eBooks
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Apr 052013
Good news! At least for those in the UK and the Commonwealth. Here is a list of the eBooks available from Transworld (Mum’s UK publisher). For more information on the many books of hers (and mine) that they publish, click on the list to be transported to Transworld’s website.
Mar 202013
Anne McCaffrey became a major quilter in the last years of her life. Naturally, still hoping to do many more quilts, she had amassed a huge backlog of material which remained after she passed away.
We’re very pleased that we managed to find a home for all the materials. The Irish Countrywoman’s Association (ICA) took the material and, in short order, produced a magnificent quilt.
Anne’s great friend, Maureen Beirne, arranged for Gigi to see the finished quilt and to meet the three ladies who made it. The pattern used here is a Jacob’s Ladder.
Here are some photos:
Quilters Rita Conalty (left) and Terry Newsome (right).
Quilt made by Ladies of the ICA, Mary Kavanagh to left
Quilt from Mum’s fabrics.
Another view of the quilt.
We’re very grateful to the ladies of the ICA and particularly to Maureen Beirne for all their efforts.
Not a Castle but a brilliant home in Ireland
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Feb 142013
Fittingly enough, today — Valentine’s Day — Mum’s house in Ireland has been put on sale.
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Dec 052011
This is the eulogy Alec Johnson, Anne’s eldest son, read in the funeral service held for Anne McCaffrey November 26th, 2011.
For nearly 60 years it’s been my distinct honor to be Anne McCaffrey’s eldest son. And it is with equal measures of joy and sorrow that I accept the honor of addressing you now as we celebrate the life and mourn the passing of the Queen of Science Fiction. I’m joined today by my brother, the author Todd McCaffrey, and my sister, Georgeanne, her husband, Geoffrey, and their son Owen. My daughters Eliza and Amelia couldn’t be here, nor was Todd’s daughter Ceara able to join us. Yet this list is far from being the sum of Anne McCaffrey’s family. Beyond my Mother’s legendary accomplishments as a writer, she was first and foremost a magnificent human being with the largest heart that ever warmed so many in its loving embrace. Her home, Dragonhold, boasts several lovely fireplaces, but it is the hearth erected from her heart, the vast mantle of which includes so many present here and even more unable to join us today.
My mother was like a river to her family and her friends. Many here will recall the zeal with which she approached Christmas when Dragonhold became a veritable warehouse of gift baskets from floor to ceiling, filling room after room. I doubt Santa had any elf more devoted to the Yuletide than Anne McCaffrey.
Yet the greatest gift I ever received from my Mother was her love. With every atom of my being I knew she loved me unconditionally and that gave me the confidence to grow and become the man she was so very proud of. Looking around this room, I know I’m not the only recipient of this gift. I’m sure Derval Diamond and her Daughter Jennifer received it. I know all the Callahan sisters did. Maureen Beirne, Ceara O’Connor, Maryanne McCarty, Margaret Kennedy, and too many others to name here, all knew Anne McCaffrey’s love. And when our family joined the Kennedy clan through Gigi’s marriage to Geoff, our Irish family became delightfully enlarged, extending my Mother’s hearth further still.
One of my earliest memories of family life with my Mother was a time when we were gathered around the television watching “The Wizard of Oz.” Mom loved it as much as we did and I’ve lost count of the number of times we watched it together. I’m reminded of this because of the Tin Man and what the Wizard told him about the heart he longed to possess. “A heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others.” By this measure there is no limit to my Mother’s heart. Since the day she passed and even now as I stand here before you, your love for her comes over me like warm, sweet sunrise. Anne McCaffrey could enjoy no finer legacy than this we all bear witness to today. And what a blessing it is that we are bound together today by mystic chords, spun from our memory of this truly remarkable woman and the love we share with her that not even death can diminish.
Dragon*con Deferred
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Aug 182011
Dear All,
Mum wants me to relay to you how terribly sorry she is to have to cancel this year’s apperance at Dragon*con.
What seemed to be indigestion last week has now turned out to be something more serious – some incident with her heart, the full details of which are still to be determined by tests.
Mum very specifically asked me to apologize to those who had hoped to see her there, saying: “Sorry that old age came up and bit me on the a**.”
The Directors at Dragon*con have said that she’s to rest and get better so she can come next year.
Sincerely,
Todd McCaffrey
Additional news from Steve Hoban of Copperheart
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Apr 132011
Steve says:
David [Hayter]’s wife, Marisa Cody, just said the following, “You can tell them that not only am I a fan, but I lived those books when I was growing up. I read them so many times, they were falling apart.”
That means she has good taste and has a lot of company. It also means David will have extra pressure to do a great job from a fan point of view.
As you can see, we really made sure Pern is in good hands!
Apr 122011
I know everyone has been waiting and asking for a long while to see what’s going to happen with Pern and film.
Today, Copperheart made a major announcement and I couldn’t be more pleased.
David Hayter, of X-Men fame (among many other films) has signed on to write the screenplay and Don Murphy, who has worked on many films including Splice and Transformers, has signed on as an executive producer.
For full details, click here.
Dragon*con 2011
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Oct 272010
Dear All,
I just got off the phone with Bill Fawcett, the multi-talented. On behalf of Dragon*con, he invited me to attend next year’s convention — their 25th!
It turns out that he, Todd, and Gigi have all been working together quietly to see if this would be something that I’d like and if it were possible, from a health standpoint (after all, I’ll be 85 by then!). And while no one can guarantee the future, they all agreed that with precautions, I should be fine — particularly as Gigi will accompany me on the flights there and back.
So, health permitting, I’ll be at Dragon*con 2011. I apologize that I won’t be able to do nearly as many appearances as I’d like (oh, to be even 20 years younger!) but I can’t think of a convention I’d rather attend in my 85th year!
Ciao,
Annie
A Letter From Anne
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Dec 172009
Dear All,
I think we can all say that 2009 was a tough year all around. Many notable and much-loved people have left us forever, including Charles N. Brown, the marvelous founder of Locus Magazine, David Eddings, Barbara Bova, and many more. In October my ex-husband, Horace Wright Johnson, succumbed to cancer. Although we’ve been divorced for nearly forty years, the news still came as a sad shock. Fortunately, both my boys, Alec and Todd, were able to be with him shortly before he passed away, as was my granddaughter, Ceara, who met him for the first and last time.
It was also tough year economically for all. Writers are not immune but, through good fortune (and the loyalty of my fans!), we’ve pulled through.
It’s been a tough year for me, too. I particularly disliked having to cancel my plan to travel to the Writers of the Future Awards in August but my hips and knees were causing me too much discomfort. Things, as they often do, got worse and in November I went into hospital because my hip had locked up twice in the space of a week.
The doctors had me, at first, in a huge brace to keep the hip from dislocating but it was unbearable and they decided, with some concern about my age, to operate and rebuild the hip. That operation went well but there were complications (at my tender age of eighty-three, there often are) which they dealt with quickly and then, with my blessing, they replaced my old bum knee, too! And so now I’m not only bionic Annie but re-bionic Annie! I’m still in physiotherapy and it will be a while before I get all the parts moving in the right direction again but there’s a chance, when the dust all settles, that I’ll be fully ambulatory — although I might need a walker for a bit. So.. knock on wood, I’m still a going concern!
As for writing this year, sadly, that takes energy and I just don’t have as much of it as I’d like. However, I’d been reading Todd’s latest — Dragongirl — and I really liked what he was doing with it. So I suggested that perhaps we collaborate on the sequel, Dragonrider. I didn’t have to push too hard nor did he find me a great imposition as my role was mainly one of making suggestions or being a sounding board but even that much was a lot of fun and, I might humbly say, I think the result was well worth the effort. So much so that we moved on to the sequel to *that* — Dragon’s Time — as well and Todd tells me he’ll have the second draft of that to me shortly. And, of course, Annie Scarborough and I have been continuing work together — “Catalyst: A Tale of Barque Cats” will come out from Del Rey in hardcover just at the beginning of the new year. So, while I would dearly love to have the energy to tell a tale all on my own, I really cannot say that I am not ably represented with my collaborations. I grew up in the Great Depression, and I know that for some the hardships of these times seem far worse but I assure you that it will all pass. Hang on, there’s lots worth waiting for!
Ciao, Annie
