The Worlds of Anne McCaffrey

“NOW is the time for all good citizens to come to the aid of the country.” Before it falls apart or makes any more enemies.

When you are casting your vote this November, remember what Great and Envied Americans were. You need a leader this time who has policies so he can effect to repair domestic needs and dealing fairly with our allies. John Edwards has such a domestic policy (read it for yourself on his website). See also that he will effect a program which will repair our own great works of art and commerce before there are more bridges falling into troubled waters.

We need a president who is level-headed with a good history of action in the Senate or Congress: who will not churlishly cast aside treaties entered into by previous leaders because he didn’t believe in their necessity at the time of their promulgation. We need a president who has a good track record in dealing with the everyday problems of running one of the biggest countries in the world.

We need someone who is foresighted, since we have also been plundering our own planet until it’s sliding down into an abyss from which we will not be able to save ourselves without immediate and honest efforts to reduce the the grave problems of pollution. And we don’t have anywhere else to go to!

We need a huge amount of repair to restore the battered Middle Class which is the support of any government and has been bereft of many normal resources and aids, not the least of which is hospital care and medical advice as and when required. We need a strong enough leader to endure the calumny and dispute that will arise for such far-reaching alterations. But America has already abandoned many of the once shining values we should hold dear, and allowed others to be disregarded.

John Edwards has spoken broadly about our national and international problems, and has the fortitude and personality to see his programs not only begun, but rectifying the immense problems anyone will face on taking up the leadership of America. He is definitely my choice for president and I have no political axe to grind — only to see America strong, determined and united, and as proud of everything she does as she used to be.

NOW is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of their country.

Sincerely yours,

Anne McCaffrey
Radcliffe ’47 cum laude, SFWA Grand Master 2005, S-F Hall of Fame 2006,
Recipient of 22 awards for writing, and best seller on the New York Times.

We’ve been getting tons and tons of mail asking about the upcoming Pern film. Some of you haven’t seen the press release, which is here, but you have reminded us that there hasn’t been a lot of public discussion about it since then. Everyone (including us) would like to see a movie of the highest quality brought to the screen, as quickly as possible! We have a great deal of faith in Copperheart Entertainment who, at this moment, are in discussions with talent and financiers.

As soon as we can say more, we most definitely will. We promise!

Cheryl sends us the following:

McCaffrey Quest, an annual trivia challenge sponsored by A Meeting of Minds message board, is going to be held from Nov 9th-11th. The topic this year is Early Pern and Tower & Hive.

Prizes are available for the top 10% of entrants, and the grand prize winner will have a choice between a couple books signed by Anne!

For more details and to enter the contest visit the McCaffrey Quest forum on Meeting of Minds.

Thanks, Cheryl!

Sharon wrote:

Dear Anne McCaffrey:

I have a few questions for you, but first would like to tell you how much I have been enjoying your Pern novels, especially during this last Year or so. I first saw Pern through Menolly’s eyes a number of years ago, and admit to being drawn in right away by the fire lizards. They bear an uncanny resemblance to our Italian Greyhounds! Flighty, intelligent, mischievous, loyal, affectionate, cuddly and a bit knobbly, our dogs even look something like fire lizards without wings. Anyway, last year was a traumatic one in our lives, and Pern was a wonderful place for me to rediscover and visit as a respite from dealing with the fire, death and injury that beset us, one after another, in 2006.

Do you still knit? I have read Stitches in Snow, and also noticed occasional references to knitted garments in the Pern books (I recall that Sharra knit Piemur a pair of cotton socks). I’m a spinner and knitter, and relish the opportunities to listen to several of your books on my MP3 player while I work on various knitting projects or while outside barn-rebuilding or gardening.

I wondered, too, about a couple of times you mentioned Kansas; one of the colonist families was from Kansas, and of course the scene, preserved by Aivas and shared with F’lar and Lessa’s generation, of the colonists singing ‘Home on the Range’ at Landing, was one that I could easily envision. As a proud Kansas native and lifelong resident, those really hit home with me. Do you have any connection with Kansas, or did the song just seem to be appropriate for the occasion?

Thanks for letting me share with you a little bit about how your writing has become a part of my life.

Best wishes always, and warmest regards from Sharon

Anne’s response:

Dear Sharon,

I’ve taken to patchwork quilting, as something to do when the hands are otherwise unworking. I did Arran sweaters until I ran out of bodies to make them for, though my grandson is growing now into the age when a good Arran would delight him. I have a box in the attic full of needles and a marvelous book on Arran patterns which allows me to make new patterns from the instructions.

I quite agree with the likeness to Italian Greyhounds…for fire-lizards though I am more familiar with cats, having four in the house at the moment and two who live on my bed. Maine Coon cats, in fact.

Dragons are not horses but more similar to equines than to saurian or reptilian appearance.

Kansas, well Missouri would be closer, I think…my brother lived in St. Louis most of his adult life and I would visit him. I have also book toured in Kansas and been warned about cyclones, though I never, thank God, even saw one. I suppose the Kansas is a flip remark…”I don’t think we’re in Kansas any more, Toto.” Sorry. But ‘home on the range’ would be as well known to most folk and it seemed appropriate at the time. I have this weird sense of humor which pops up now and then.

I, too, have comfort books when the world starts being eminently unfair to me. The Liaden group by Sharon Lee and Steven Miller. Quite a few novels right now, so one can read through an entire hospital stay and ignore things. As I just did. I’ve had a nasty infection the medics are trying to squash but night now I’m shedding the non-appetite condition so too many antibiotics and can’t eat much. But I know what you mean about getting through bad times in books. Do you read Lilith Saintcrow? She’s well worth finding. She has a series of Dark Protectors, men who are trained to keep the bad guys from killing Lightbringers, i.e. People with parapsych talents. Very good, I also recommend it as well as Bujold.

Nice chatting with you, Ciao now,
Anne McCaffrey

This coming Friday through Sunday, Anne will be attending Eurocon in Copenhagen. Hans has posted some additional information at The Pern Museum and Archives:

In less than a week the 29th Eurocon will start. The yearly European Science Fiction convention is being held in Copenhagen, Denmark from 21-23 September. This years edition is very special to us Anne McCaffrey fans since our favourite author is one of the Guests of Honour. Most of Anne’s program participations take place on Saturday, September 22. The staff of The Pern Museum & Archives and several staff members of the international Anne McCaffrey forum board A Meeting of Minds will attend the convention.

Link. (Currently the second item down the page.)

There are several excellent links in his post, including the entire convention program and Anne’s specific programming, and a couple other items fans will find interesting. Enjoy!