The Worlds of Anne McCaffrey

Wysiwyg Books has overhauled its website, and there are quite a few of Anne’s signed first editions available. You can find them here.

Bryan from Wysiwyg let us know that the signed books are in the best possible condition, and all signed or bookplated books are shipped domestically, in a sturdy box, and packed so that they get to their destination in the condition they started out in. International orders are sent in a Global Priority Flat Rate envelope with as much packaging material as will fit inside, and books can be gift-wrapped and sent Express if so desired.

The titles he listed specifically are: All the Weyrs of Pern, First Fall, Pegasus in Flight, Renegades of Pern, Dragonsdawn, Damia, Crystal Line. All are published between 1988 and 1993. He also has reading copies of those seven titles — that is, books in less than perfect condition but still just fine for reading purposes. He mentioned that their store on eBay has a lot of second hand paperbacks to make it easy for fans to do some one-stop shopping for Anne’s work. It’s getting harder to find the good old stuff!

We hope you’ll check them out and find something you like!

Roland wrote:

Hello Anne,

Some years ago when I was in Ireland we had a long phone conversation about “Springfarm”, where I grew up, and the location for your book “The Lady”. A cousin of mine, who also grew up on the property, and our grandfather, apparently had a paranormal experience there in the 1920s. It involved the sighting of a coach and horses drawing up by the house. I wonder if, during the course of your researches, whether you encountered any reference to such a phenomenon?

Hope all goes well at “Dragonhold”!

Anne’s response:

To reply about Springfarm,

When I was trying to buy and got overbid past what I could financially handle, I never heard anything about phantom, or real, coaches. I did know that another house nearby had a real spook, a former owner, a clergyman who had suicided and in the bedroom could be seen and heard by his relative. The kids living in the house often heard him and would never go upstairs alone after dark.

When I settled up the Kilquade road into the 1st Dragonhold, I did have an experience, not with a ghost exactly, but on a clear night we would hear the odd tones of men speaking quietly around a fire and the stamp of their bridled horses tied up in picket. It sort of amused me, but Todd kept a baseball bat handy. Then one clear night in October, we heard a lot more movement and Todd went out the front door and my Jan (who is Lessa) went out the back, both having heard the same noises and deciding to check. They met halfway behind the house near the stables and they could still hear the noise. Todd decided that what we heard was Cromwell’s soldiers bivouacked below Altador, still in their seige. And sometime later the noises stopped entirely, so the enemies had left… again.

The current Dragonhold was built on so-far calm grounds but I never heard more from the Springfarm folk. So banshees, at any rate!

Anne McCaffrey

We were saddened to hear of Sir Arthur C. Clarke’s recent passing. Anne sends her thoughts:

I met Sir Arthur Clarke at a Nebula Dinner, and found him very agreeable, especially after a drink or two when he began to relax. We have certainly lost one of the leaders of the genre and it will be interesting to see if some of his other ‘prophecies’ work on. He was definitely a great man.

Then there was the time I was checking into the hotel in Brighton for a Worldcon and someone grabbed me in a big hug. I heard Gigi, my daughter, demanding in an outraged tone, “Who is that hugging my mother?” Sir Arthur, of course, one of the highlights of my life, certainly. There were always times at a big con when you yearned to see more familiar faces.

We are certainly better for having him among us as long as we did. I hope the Hosannas were ringing when he knocked at the pearly gates.

Anne

Todd made an entry in honor of Sir Arthur, and Boing Boing has a link to Sir Arthur’s last interview, at IEEE Spectrum.

The response to our signed bookplates offer has been amazing! Thank you for your many, many kind emails and considerate requests.

Unfortunately, as some of you already know, we have been unable to send a signed bookplate to every person who requested one. We hope you all understand that Anne’s signing stamina is limited and we are so glad that we could send out as many as we did!

Because the response has been so incredible, we’ve decided to limit the number of bookplates we send out. From now on we’ll send out 20 signed bookplates each month. You may of course continue to send in requests, and we’ll take the first twenty we receive each month and fill them. Thank you for understanding our situation!

Although it was necessary to limit the bookplates we send out, you should know that we’ve been delighted with the excitement and enthusiasm we’ve received from fans over the signed bookplates. You are all decidedly heart-warming, and we love hearing from you. Thank you from Anne and her family (and the rest of us)!

For those of you also following Todd, he and Random House have set up an online book signing with The Signed Page on January 9th for Dragon Harper. This is a great way to get your hands on a copy signed or personalized by Todd, at cover price, without having a local signing in your area (or traveling to one).

If you’d like more information, here’s a direct link to the Dragon Harper page. Thanks to Shawn Speakman for reminding us!