Author Archives: Deborah J. Ross

About Deborah J. Ross

I began writing professionally in 1982 as Deborah Wheeler with Jaydium and Northlight, and short stories in Asimov's, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Realms of Fantasy and Star Wars: Tales from Jabba's Palace. Now under my birth name, Ross, I am continuing the Darkover series of the late Marion Zimmer Bradley, as well as original work, including the fantasy trilogy The Seven-Petaled Shield. I'm a member of Book View Café. I've lived in France, worked for a cardiologist, studied Hebrew, yoga and kung fu, and am active in the local Quaker community.

Community, connection, and solitude

Posted on June 18, 2013 by

Recently, a couple of things have gotten me thinking about this delicate balance between my need for deep inner silence/listening-silence, uninterrupted focused writing time, play-with-others, and the nourishment of a larger community. I think that most of us move back … Continue reading →


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Posted in Community, Culture, Health, Lifestyle, Writing life | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Unsellable Stories?

Posted on June 4, 2013 by

Gabrielle Harbowy, who is both an editor and writer, knows about “unsellable” stories. As an editor, she’s acquired and edited novels that had been rejected so many times, the authors were despondent (and some of these have gone on to … Continue reading →


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Posted in Editing, Publishing, Rants, Writers on Writing | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

WWW Wednesday 7-3-2013

Posted on June 3, 2013 by

It’s WWW Wednesday. This meme is from shouldbereading. • What did you recently finish reading?   • What are you currently reading?   • What do you think you’ll read next?  


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Notes From The Nebula Awards Weekend – the “good parts” version

Posted on May 21, 2013 by

Whenever the Nebula Awards Weekend, that surreal and magical time when the Science Fiction Writers of America wax nostalgic, hopeful, and celebratory, are held on the same coast as the one I live on, I happily attend. I’ve never been … Continue reading →


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Posted in conventions, science fiction | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Music and grief

Posted on May 7, 2013 by

Our elderly and Highly Opinionated tortoiseshell cat, Cleopatra, died recently. She made it to her 20th birthday last month, which astonished us all. Privately, I think she wasn’t about to let the dog outlast her. (Oka, our wonderful German Shepherd … Continue reading →


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Posted in Animals, cats, dogs, Music | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Where Ideas Come From: Negotiating with the Idea Fairy

Posted on April 23, 2013 by

Where do you get your ideas? According to a friend, the Idea Fairy leaves packets of them under our pillows. When I tell people this secret, it’s usually received with smiles. What’s not said, but what working writers all know, … Continue reading →


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Posted in Writers on Writing | Tagged , | 32 Comments

WWW Wednesday 4-10-2013

Posted on April 10, 2013 by

WWW Wednesday. This meme is from shouldbereading. To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions… • What are you currently reading? • What did you recently finish reading? • What do you think you’ll read next? Currently reading: … Continue reading →


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Posted in Books and Reading | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

One World, Many Stories

Posted on April 9, 2013 by

From time to time, I take my pile of newly-read books and post reviews. As I sat down recently to do this, I realized that not a single one of them was a true stand-alone. They were either the first … Continue reading →


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Posted in Book View Cafe publications, Books and Reading, fantasy, New Releases, science fiction, Series, Writers on Writing, Writing Nowadays | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

On Writing a Dry Towns Darkover novel

Posted on March 12, 2013 by

The next Darkover book, The Children of Kings, was released on  March 5, from DAW Books.  I’d like to share some background on the book and why I think it’s special. Marion’s original concept for Darkover centered on the clash … Continue reading →


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Posted in fantasy | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Reaching More Than One Audience

Posted on February 26, 2013 by

I sometimes joke that my work is fiction — “I make it all up” — but that isn’t true. All writers draw to some extent on our own experiences and environments, not to mention what we’ve studied, heard about from … Continue reading →


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Posted in Community, Culture, Faith and Religion, science fiction, steampunk, Writers on Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment