SHARON LEE AND STEVE MILLER live in the rolling hills of central Maine, where they repaired from Maryland—with cats, books, music, and computers—after selling the first three Liaden Universe novels in the late 1980s.
Before moving to Maine, Steve and Sharon were active in the Baltimore science fiction community for years as fans, short story writers, editors, bookstore owners and art agents. In the mid seventies Clarion West (class of ’73) graduate Steve was the founding Curator of the UMBC Science Fiction Research Collection as well as the Director of Information for the burgeoning Baltimore Science Fiction Society. A well known traveling fan, Steve attended well over 100 conventions during this period.
Since moving they’ve continued to write in the Liaden Universe and six of the novels—Local Custom, Scout’s Progress, Conflict of Honors, Agent of Change, Carpe Diem, and Plan B are now in print, with I Dare set to follow in February 2002, Balance of Trade due in 2003, and two additional Liaden novels coming in the years after that.
The current novels are available individually in electronic format from Embiid as well as in Meisha Merlin trade paper editions; the omnibus Partners in Necessity—containing the first three novels—is also out in hardcover from the Science Fiction Book Club and soon there will be mass market editions of all the novels from Ace.
Along the way, Sharon and Steve were (and are) fortunate in having very supportive readers. In 1995 those readers requested—via an internet mailing list—something Liaden to tide them over. Steve’s experience in chapbook publishing came to the fore and thus he began SRM Publisher. Two Tales of Korval was SRM’s first book and its first print run was expected to be 60—but ended up at 200. Those rapidly sold out as well, and now Two Tales is the SRM Publishing stable’s best seller, with over 3500 copies in print.
As readers continued to ask for more short works, SRM brought out other chapbooks, including a reissue of pre-Liaden fantasy The Naming of Kinzel. Eventually Absolute Magnitude magazine got into the act with Liaden Universe short stories. Editor Warren Lapine accepted the novelette “Balance of Trade” for issue 11 of Absolute Magnitude, snapped up “A Choice of Weapons” for issue number 12 and then took the very popular novella “Changeling” for issue 14. These stories were collected into the fifth and sixth Liaden Universe chapbooks from SRM. “Changeling” has proved very popular and is also available as an Embiid electronic book.
After a stint as Web Librarian at a start-up dot.com, SRM Publisher grew to be Steve’s “day job”—in part because SRM Publisher took over the original Sharon Lee and Steve Miller “Authors of the Liaden Universe” website, expanding it to include an online catalog page as well as a list of congruent authors.
As SRM Publisher grew, Michael Capobianco, then President of SFWA—Science Fiction Writers of America—asked Sharon to become the organization’s first Executive Director, a full time position she held for more than three years, with contracts for Liaden Universe novels set through 2005, Sharon gave up that job last year, running for and winning the SFWA Vice Presidency, which she assumed July 1st of 2001.
Ace Books will be reprinting Lee & Miller’s 7 existing Liaden Universe novels starting in 2002, while Embiid will publish a non-Liaden Lee & Miller SF novel in August of 2002.
As fulltime writers Sharon and Steve are frequently free to attend science fiction conventions and signings around the US and Canada. In the last few years they’ve been guests or participants at libraries, conventions and science fictional events in Schenectady, Chicago, San Jose, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Roanoke, Boston, Burlington, Bangor, and Fredericton (New Brunswick), with upcoming travels to Kansas city, San Jose, Baltimore, and Toronto.
Note: If you’re planning an event and would like the authors to attend you can contact them via email at [email protected] or c/o SRM Publisher, PO Box 179, Unity, ME 04988-0179.
For information on author appearances around North America join our internet news list at [email protected] or visit www.korval.com/liad.htm for the latest Liaden Universe news.
Send your questions or comments about this book to [email protected] or to request information send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to:
SRM Publisher,
PO Box 179, unity, ME 049SS-0179