Month: October 2012

Letter from Michael

Letter from Michael

Good day Todd,

I find myself saddened to just learn of your Mother’s passing last year. I had hoped to add my own praise to the millions of others who had let her know of their adoration, and feel guilty for not having done so over the years.

I first read Dragon Flight around 1970, still have the original paperback, though somewhat tattered. Later, I found The Ship Who Sang as well. Both of them I found engrossing and read them both over and over through the years. I must confess that I am not as avid a reader as I could have been, 20 years in the Navy probably had something to do with that.

But this past year, with the advent of E-Readers, I found a new vitality in reading again. The first books I looked for were naturally the ones that I remembered best. To my amazement, I found that I had missed a great deal over the years, and bought all of the Pern series, heh heh. Frankly, I have now become not only a fan, but can’t seem to stop reading each book continuously! I become immersed so intensely that I really do imagine myself living right along with the characters. No lie, I find that experience quite natural and enjoyable. I suspect that is the goal of every writer, for each reader to appreciate their worlds so deeply.

At any rate, I did wish to voice my appreciation for your Mother, and to you as well. Truthfully, your grasp of the Pern universe is every bit as engrossing as I found “Mum’s”.

As a note, my Mother passed the month before your’s, at 87, so I can appreciate the loss you feel…as well as the pride you must feel as her Son. So, for Anne McCaffery and Marian Black, I say this:

Fly high, Dragonrider! Fly safe…

Thank you for all you have given,

Michael Black

Thanks, Michael, and cheers!

Letter from Beka

Letter from Beka

HI Todd,

I was shocked to discover that I had not heard of your mother’s passing last year and I’m very sad to hear about it. My condolences. I started reading the Pern series with Leesa and F’lar and Dragonflight when I was only 9 years old. I would sneak them out of my parents room where they were kept hidden under the bed. I was a quiet child and a bit of a loner and your mother’s books certainly gave me something to look forward to and to enjoy when I was a bit of an outcast being nearly the only girl my age that enjoyed science fiction/fantasy books and played video games. I have re-read the Pern books many times over the years and always enjoy them. I find them nearly impossible to put down, and will even find myself wishing i could “time” it, hehe , to make up for lost sleep lol. I think I am probably one of the largest fans of Pern, and probably all the more critical because of it, which brings me to a question I have for you. In re-reading the books again recently, I have come across a mention (in Dragonsdawn) that Wind Blossom was Kitti Ping’s granddaughter, but in other books it says that she was Kitti Ping’s daughter. I’m very confused by this, and that it was missed by the editors. Was this deliberate? And did I miss some explanation of this in one of the books? If you could please explain this, I would greatly appreciate it, as it bothers me at times dreadfully. I’m sorry to pick at a small detail but after editing my brother’s University papers and helping to edit other peoples work over the years it has made me a bit of a stickler on details. I do think you are doing a wonderful job of continuing on with your mother’s work regardless of this one little niggling detail and hope to see more of it in the future as I think there are many more characters that could use their story told. Thanks for all the wonderful adventures, and all your hard work. If you ever need an extra proof reader, I’d love to help out.

Thanks again, and good writing to you,
Beka

Hi Beka,

Glad you’ve enjoyed the books! I, too, loved Dragonflight, Dragonquest and all the other books Mum wrote and was more than thrilled when she invited me to write on Pern. She’s stated specifically in her Will that she wants only two people to write on Pern — me and my sister, Georgeanne Kennedy (we call her Gigi). Gigi helped Mum with editing and sorting through much of her last works and has always had a good eye for story — she and Mum had several short stories written in collaboration and I’m really looking forward to what she decides to do on Pern.

As for Kitti Ping and Wind Blossom, the US version of Dragonsdawn shows Wind Blossom as Kitti Ping’s grand-daughter, as you’ve read — but the UK version has it corrected to daughter. Apparently when the UK editors were going through it, they questioned Mum and she changed her mind saying that she could never imagine a grandmother treating a grand-daughter so severely.

At some point, when the US version of Dragonsdawn gets re-issued, we’ll get that change made.

Cheers,
Todd