Gifts of Darkover: Behind the Stories

Writers find inspiration in many places: an image, a line of dialog, a character, a question, or the burning desire to know more. Here, in a fascinating peek into the imaginations of talented writers, some of the contributors to Gifts of Darkover share the origins of their stories. (This material appeared previously in individual interviews.) Available in trade paperback and ebook editions at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other venues.

Jane Bigelow (“Healing Pain”): What happens when someone wants the best of both worlds, not just for themselves, but for their people? Taniquel’s father might have lived if the people around him had been able to combine Terran and Darkovan medical knowledge instead of each fearing and discounting the other’s resources. Taniquel also must deal with a question that transcends cultures: How do you rebel effectively against people who genuinely, but mistakenly, believe that they have your best interests at heart? People whom you respect, like, and even love?

Barb Caffrey (“A Problem of Punishment”): How did Fiona's parents meet? What was her father Dominic, who I already knew had been a judge before her, really like? And what had made Gorsali fall in love with him, and he with her? A romantic story of a smart man and an accomplished woman against the background of the Hellers appealed to me, especially since they fell in love prior to the Terranan returning to Darkover and didn't have many role models that would've helped them out. Now, as to why I felt Dominic, a judge, could fall in love with a Renunciate? Dominic has seen it all in his courtroom, and knows how to size up people quickly. Because of that, he has fewer prejudices in certain respects than others, and he has far more respect for the charter of the Renunciates than do most other men because he has far more respect for the legal system. Because of that, I felt he could see her as an equal partner in time...and that way, love could potentially grow (or at least a strong attraction).

Margaret L. Carter (“Hidden Gifts”): The guidelines for Darkover stories often mention “unusual use of laran.” I wanted to do something with one of the most unusual laran phenomena, teleportation, which (I think) is shown in the novels only in the context of matrix work. What experience might make a person unaware of the extent of her power desperate enough to perform such an act on her own? For a protagonist, I chose one of my favorite character types, the “Ugly Duckling” who discovers her “swan” traits only when pushed to her limits. In a way, this story echoes my first Darkover tale, “Her Own Blood” (in Free Amazons Of Darkover), which also features a nedestra heroine discovering her laran.

Ty Nolan on "Climbing to the Moons" in GIFTS OF DARKOVER

On a wondrous planet of telepaths and swordsmen, nonhumans and ancient mysteries, a

technologically advanced, star-faring civilization comes into inevitable conflict with one that has pursued psychic gifts and turned away from weapons of mass destruction. Darkover offers many gifts, asked for and unexpected. Those who come here, ignorant of what they will find, discover gifts outside themselves and within themselves. The door to magic swings both ways, however, and many a visitor leaves the people he encounters equally transformed.

I asked Ty Nolan to talk about his story, writing, and the future of Darkover.

Deborah: Tell us about your introduction to Darkover.

Ty: From the time I learned to read I always had my nose in a book on science fiction or fantasy. One of my prize possessions was a postcard from Issac Asimov. While everyone knew him as a science-fiction writer (and the creator of the Laws of Robotics), he also used to do a monthly column in a magazine and I was in awe of his brilliance.  His ability to knock out a well-written and researched essay was amazing. I wrote to him (I was 10 years old) and told him one day I wanted to be an author and asked him how did he know so much about everything. He wrote back he was not an expert in everything, but he just managed to sound like one.

Then one day I discovered Stormqueen! Which had one of the best covers I had seen at that time. That’s what got me hooked on Darkover. I want to also say Marion Zimmer Bradley (I had the honor of meeting her more than once—my first professional sales were to her) also impressed me with a work completely different from the Darkover or Avalon universes—The Catch Trap. It was the first “gay novel” I had found, and even though I haven’t read it in years, there are still scenes I vividly remember. It’s set in the post WWII era, when love between men was illegal. MZB details the societal pressures they had to deal with on a daily basis. They work together as trapeze artists in a circus.

What about the world drew you in?

I’m an American Indian and my family has always been very connected to our culture. The concept that in the future, Colony Ships would sail through space and that many were intended to maintain their cultural heritage was quite striking to me. In the Star Trek Voyager series, there’s a similar idea of Native American colonists, rather than the Celtic influence of Darkover. I grew up hearing our traditional legends and stories. I often felt a strong connection with pre-Christian Celtic culture, which has a lot of parallels to Native American cultures and even some of the legends seem very familiar. That made Darkover even more fun to explore. I’ve also been curious about gender issues, and have taught courses on the subject when I used to be a University Professor. Just so, MZB’s depiction of the Chieri  was so interesting to me I introduced one into my own contribution to Gifts of Darkover, and had my female Main Character aware of her own Chieri heritage.

Barb Caffrey on "A Problem of Punishment" in GIFTS OF DARKOVER

On a wondrous planet of telepaths and swordsmen, nonhumans and ancient mysteries, a

technologically advanced, star-faring civilization comes into inevitable conflict with one that has pursued psychic gifts and turned away from weapons of mass destruction. Darkover offers many gifts, asked for and unexpected. Those who come here, ignorant of what they will find, discover gifts outside themselves and within themselves. The door to magic swings both ways, however, and many a visitor leaves the people he encounters equally transformed.

Gifts of Darkover will be released May 5, 2015, and is now available for pre-order.

Here Barb Caffrey talks about her story, "A Problem of Punishment."

My introduction to Darkover was due to two books I picked up at the same time: The Shattered Chain, and Sharra's Exile. After that, I wanted to read as much about Darkover as I could, because the heroines and heroes appealed to me. They were flawed people doing the best they could amidst immense challenges, but had the additional benefits laran offered, too. I was a bit too young to understand things like the multiple marriages Kennard Alton alluded to or truly understand things like Magdalen/Margali Lorne's bisexuality, but that didn't matter; all that mattered was story.

Over time, though, I have grown to appreciate these other things, because they're a hallmark of what society is all about. (Well, maybe not the multiple marriages quite so much, even though we have a basis for that in many parts of human history. I prefer my relationships to be a bit more one-on-one than that.)

As for the future of Darkover, I believe it remains bright. There are new facets to Darkover being discovered all the time -- especially because of the novels of Deborah J. Ross, which have added much to the discussion. I'm glad to add my small part to that conversation.

I hope to write more about my character Fiona n'ha Gorsali's childhood with her father and mother (Fiona was a very minor player in The Shattered Chain, and I first wrote about her in Stars Of Darkover). I think there's a wealth of information there, and I'm quite interested to figure it out. (The education of the first female judge on Darkover is a story well worth telling!)

Marella Sands on "Stonefell Gift" in GIFTS OF DARKOVER

On a wondrous planet of telepaths and swordsmen, nonhumans and ancient mysteries, a technologically advanced, star-faring civilization comes into inevitable conflict with one that has pursued psychic gifts and turned away from weapons of mass destruction. Darkover offers many gifts, asked for and unexpected. Those who come here, ignorant of what they will find, discover gifts outside themselves and within themselves. The door to magic swings both ways, however, and many a visitor leaves the people he encounters equally transformed.

Gifts of Darkover will be released May 5, 2015, and is now available for pre-order.

Here is Marella Sands on her story, "Stonefell Gift."

What was your introduction to Darkover?

I believe it was the novel Hawkmistress.  I was fascinated with the world and with the magic and started reading all the Darkover novels I could find.  While I liked them, the later time periods didn’t quite capture my imagination as much as the earlier Hundred Kingdoms era. But what I really wanted to read about was even earlier, during the Ages of Chaos. What were the breeding programs? What disasters led them to be abandoned? What were clingfire and bonedust? Who founded the Towers? Stormqueen! assuaged my curiosity a bit, but I wanted more. So when the invitation came to write a story for Gifts of Darkover, I knew instantly what time period I wanted to write about, and what the subject would be.

“Stonefell Gift” takes place as the Comyn are starting to exert control and eliminate the breeding programs. Three of them come to Stonefell and discover how tragic the consequences of lethal genes can be.

If I have the opportunity to write again in the world of Darkover, I am sure I will revisit the Ages of Chaos. There must be untold numbers of stories of that time that would lay bare the reasons the Compact was deemed necessary for the survival of everyone on Darkover.

What have you written recently?

I have tried my hand at different things, such as a fiction novel called Snows of Kansas. It’s about a young man who returns home to take care of his dying mother after many years away, only to discover that the truths he always believed about his small town upbringing aren’t very true after all.

And I am shopping around a horror story called Night Shift, With Music, which is set in one of the Munich Leichenhauser (waiting mortuaries), where the citizens of the city left their dead for several days before burying them. They did this because people feared being buried alive and wanted to ensure no one would suffer that fate. Living people could tour a Leichenhaus for a small fee; Mark Twain was one of the more famous people to do so. My story tells of an attendant who falls in love with a visitor to the Leichenhaus, and the consequences to both of them when the object of his love catches the plague.

Diana L. Paxson on "Blood-kin" in GIFTS OF DARKOVER

On a wondrous planet of telepaths and swordsmen, nonhumans and ancient mysteries, a technologically advanced, star-faring civilization comes into inevitable conflict with one that has pursued psychic gifts and turned away from weapons of mass destruction. Darkover offers many gifts, asked for and unexpected. Those who come here, ignorant of what they will find, discover gifts outside themselves and within themselves. The door to magic swings both ways, however, and many a visitor leaves the people he encounters equally transformed. 

Gifts of Darkover will be released May 5, 2015, and is now available for pre-order.

Diana L. Paxson talks with editor Deborah J. Ross about her story, "Blood-kin."

Tell us about your introduction to Darkover. What about the world drew
you in? What do you see as the future of Darkover? Is there another
story you would particularly like to write?

I first heard about the Darkover books when I discovered fandom as a grad student at Berkeley in 1965. That was also when I first met Marion. I invited her to the first tournament of what became the SCA [Society for Creative Anachronism],  but I didn't get to know her or the books well until I married Jon DeCles. As a major in Medieval literature, I really appreciated Darkover's society and I was intrigued by the way she dealt with psychic powers. As Darkover fandom developed in the 70s, and I talked to more fans,  I realized that Marion was using the fantastic setting to explore some important issues, starting with psychic abilities and continuing to explore gay issues and eventually, feminism.

For the future, I think the challenge will be to continue to break new ground while retaining the qualities that attracted us in the first place.

What inspired your story in Gifts of Darkover?

In "Evanda's Mirror" (in Stars of Darkover) I asked what might happen if a transwoman an tried to join the Free Amazons. It seemed like the kind of issue Marion might have tackled if she were writing today. In "Blood-kin" the characters from the first story face the consequences of their actions, as Thendara suffers an Ebola-like plague.

What have you written recently? What lies ahead?

My non-fiction book on possessory trance is coming out in March, and I will have a novelette, "Deor" in S.M. Stirling's Change anthology this June. Some other short stories are in the pipeline, and I am working on a proposal for a historical fantasy about the Seeress Veleda.

Deborah Millitello on "Green Is the Color of Her Eyes So Blue" in GIFTS OF DARKOVER

On a wondrous planet of telepaths and swordsmen, nonhumans and ancient mysteries, a

technologically advanced, star-faring civilization comes into inevitable conflict with one that has pursued psychic gifts and turned away from weapons of mass destruction. Darkover offers many gifts, asked for and unexpected. Those who come here, ignorant of what they will find, discover gifts outside themselves and within themselves. The door to magic swings both ways, however, and many a visitor leaves the people he encounters equally transformed.

Gifts of Darkover will be released May 5, 2015, and is now available for pre-order.

Deborah Millitello on her story, "Green Is the Color of Her Eyes So Blue"

I read all the Darkover books and was fascinated by the mixture of fantasy and science fiction.  I especially liked the newest book, The Children of Kings, which started me wondering why the Dry Towners didn’t have the psychic power called laran.  What if one of them did have laran?  What if a Dry Towner had laran because she was different from everyone else?

That’s when I thought about my granddaughter Danielle.  She, her brother and sister, mother, aunt, and cousin all have a genetic condition called ectodermal dysplasia.  They have no sweat glands so they can’t tolerate heat.  Their skin is extremely delicate, often cracking and raw on hands and feet.  Hair is brittle and breaks or falls out.  Fingernails and teeth are often deformed.

So what if a Dry Towner had a genetic condition like my granddaughter that let her use laran with the help of a special crystal, similar to the starstone?  What could she use it for?  Two things would be important in a desert land – water and food.  I chose quickly growing food as her ability, and she uses it to feed the poorest people in the Dry Town capital.

Leslie Fish on "Compensation" in GIFTS OF DARKOVER

On a wondrous planet of telepaths and swordsmen, nonhumans and ancient mysteries, a

technologically advanced, star-faring civilization comes into inevitable conflict with one that has pursued psychic gifts and turned away from weapons of mass destruction. Darkover offers many gifts, asked for and unexpected. Those who come here, ignorant of what they will find, discover gifts outside themselves and within themselves. The door to magic swings both ways, however, and many a visitor leaves the people he encounters equally transformed.

Gifts of Darkover will be released May 5, 2015, and is now available for pre-order.

Here Leslie Fish chats with editor Deborah J. Ross about "Compensation."

Tell us about your introduction to Darkover.

I first ran into Darkover on the paperback book-racks of a general school-supply store.  It was the Ace double edition of The Sword of Aldones and The Planet Savers. I read them both in less than a week, and I was hooked for life.

What about the world drew you in?

The fascinating ecology, the number of intelligent species, the politics of a semi-telepathic society, and the characters.  I was already a SciFi fan, and this was excellent SciFi -- red meat!

What do you see as the future of Darkover?

More exploration of the interactions of the various intelligent species, more political entanglements internally and with the rest of the galaxy, and further elaborations of the environment.

Rosemary Edghill on "Learning to Breathe Snow" in GIFTS OF DARKOVER

On a wondrous planet of telepaths and swordsmen, nonhumans and ancient mysteries, a

technologically advanced, star-faring civilization comes into inevitable conflict with one that has pursued psychic gifts and turned away from weapons of mass destruction. Darkover offers many gifts, asked for and unexpected. Those who come here, ignorant of what they will find, discover gifts outside themselves and within themselves. The door to magic swings both ways, however, and many a visitor leaves the people he encounters equally transformed.

Gifts of Darkover will be released May 5, 2015, and is now available for pre-order.

Here Rosemary Edghill chats with editor Deborah J. Ross about "Learning to Breathe Snow." 

Deborah: Tell us about your introduction to Darkover. What about the world drew you in?

Rosemary: I don't even remember the first Darkover book I read, but it was a really long time ago.  Back then, there wasn't much fantasy out there.  The closest you got was the subset of space opera stories called "Sword and Planet"-- think Leigh Brackett, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Anne McCaffrey (whose "Pern" novels totally qualifiy).  I think Marion  Zimmer Bradley's Darkover series was her way of writing fantasy at a time when fantasy was impossible to sell: there's no true magic on Darkover, frex, and the Darkovans are all lost colonists.  So I loved the series for the sense of a huge history and prehistory that it had, and for the swashbuckling adventures.

The other thing about Darkover was that it used to be very fan-friendly, so there was the Darkover Newsletter, and a bunch of Free Amazon groups, and of course all the Darkover fanzines.  I was very much involved in fandom and fanzines, and a friend of mine was both a fanzine publisher and a member of a Free Amazon group.  So that really deepened my interest and involvement with Darkover, long before I sold my first professional work.

Deborah: What do you see as the future of Darkover?

Margaret L. Carter on "Hidden Gifts" in GIFTS OF DARKOVER

On a wondrous planet of telepaths and swordsmen, nonhumans and ancient mysteries, a

technologically advanced, star-faring civilization comes into inevitable conflict with one that has pursued psychic gifts and turned away from weapons of mass destruction. Darkover offers many gifts, asked for and unexpected. Those who come here, ignorant of what they will find, discover gifts outside themselves and within themselves. The door to magic swings both ways, however, and many a visitor leaves the people he encounters equally transformed.

Gifts of Darkover will be released May 5, 2015, and is now available for pre-order.

Here Margaret L. Carter answers questions on her story, "Hidden Gifts."

Tell us about your introduction to Darkover. What about the world drew you in?

 The first Darkover book I ever read was The Bloody Sun (the original edition), and I was enthralled by it. At the time, I didn’t know it was part of a series. That novel makes an excellent introduction for a reader because it’s told from the viewpoint of an outsider. (Even though the protagonist spent his childhood on Darkover, he thinks of himself as Terran and is learning about the world almost from scratch.) I love the motif of a character who uncovers buried secrets about his own past and unsuspected truths about his own nature and talents. Later I picked up the first anthology, The Keeper’s Price, which presupposes a lot of knowledge about the setting, but I was intrigued rather than confused. The handling of culture clash in the series fascinated me, and when I read The Shattered Chain, I was completely drawn in.

What inspired your story in Gifts of Darkover?

 The guidelines for Darkover stories often mention “unusual use of laran." I wanted to do something with one of the most unusual laran phenomena, teleportation, which (I think) is shown in the novels only in the context of matrix work. What experience might make a person unaware of the extent of her power desperate enough to perform such an act on her own? For a protagonist, I chose one of my favorite character types, the “Ugly Duckling” who discovers her “swan” traits only when pushed to her limits. In a way, this story echoes my first Darkover tale, "Her Own Blood” (in Free Amazons Of Darkover), which also features a nedestra heroine discovering her laran.

Jane M. H. Bigelow on "Healing Pain" in GIFTS OF DARKOVER

On a wondrous planet of telepaths and swordsmen, nonhumans and ancient mysteries, a technologically advanced, star-faring civilization comes into inevitable conflict with one that has pursued psychic gifts and turned away from weapons of mass destruction. Darkover offers many gifts, asked for and unexpected. Those who come here, ignorant of what they will find, discover gifts outside themselves and within themselves. The door to magic swings both ways, however, and many a visitor leaves the people he encounters equally transformed. Gifts of Darkover will be released May 5, 2015, and is now available for pre-order.

Jane M. H. Bigelow talks about her story, “Healing Pain.”  

So many different things drew me into the world of Darkover that it’s hard to decide what came first. I think I may have started with The Spell Sword; I know I read it early on, and Andrew Carr’s adventures make  a wonderful introduction to the world. The rich detail of Marion Zimmer Bradley’s world, the fascinating paranormal powers that some people there had, the clash of cultures between Darkovan and Terran societies: I loved it all. I first found the books when I was working at a back-office job in a brokerage, and Darkover had the excitement and big questions that my daily life noticeably lacked. Life’s become more interesting since then, but I’m still hooked on Darkover.
That cultural clash inspired my story. What happens when someone wants the best of both worlds, not just for themselves, but for their people? Taniquel’s father might have lived if the people around him had been able to combine Terran and Darkovan medical knowledge instead of each fearing and discounting the other’s resources. Taniquel also must deal with a question that transcends cultures: How do you rebel effectively against people who genuinely, but mistakenly, believe that they have your best interests at heart? People whom you respect, like, and even love?