P. C. Hodgell

P. C. Hodgell
Worldcon 2006 (aka L. A. con IV)
Born	Patricia Christine Hodgell March 16, 1951 (1951-03-16) (age 60) Des Moines, Iowa
Occupation	Novelist, short story writer, teacher
Genres	fantasy, Horror, science fiction, genre fiction, dark fantasy
www.pchodgell.com

Patricia "Pat" Christine Hodgell (b. March 16, 1951, in Des Moines, Iowa) is an American fantasy writer, artist and professor.

Dr. Hodgell holds a master's in English literature and a doctorate in 19th-century English literature, both of which were earned from the University of Minnesota. She completed her Ph.D and subsequent dissertation on Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe between the publication of her first two fantasy novels, God Stalk and Dark of the Moon. She is a graduate of the Clarion and the Milford Writers' Workshops. Hodgell has produced an audio-cassette-based course on science fiction and fantasy for the University of Minnesota. She taught for many years in the English Department at University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh, but retired in 2006 to pursue a full-time writing career. Over the years, P.C. Hodgell was published by several publishing houses. Two of her more recent publishers, Hypatia Press and Meisha Merlin, went out of business, temporarily leaving her without a venue for future works. However, her work has been picked up by Baen, who published the fifth "Jame" novel, Bound in Blood, and has reissued the previous four books as a pair of omnibus editions, The God Stalker Chronicles and Seeker's Bane.^[1] Baen also released the novels as e-books.

The Kencyr books, beginning with Godstalk, focus on the three peoples of the Kencyrath, Highborn (leaders), Kendar (artisans and soldiers) and Arrin-Ken (cat-like judges). They were brought together by the Three-Faced God to oppose the threat of chaos called Perimal Darkling. Jame (Jamethiel), a Highborn, gradually discovers that she is the sister of Torisen Black Lord (Tori), the current Highlord of the Kencyrath. She also suspects, from her connection to the destructive side of the Kencyr deity, that she is one of the Tyr-Ridan, the three who would lead the final battle against Perimal Darkling. Her brother and her cousin Kindrie, a healer, seem likely to be the other two, representing Creation and Preservation, respectively.

Behind this story is another one, the betrayal of the Kencyrath by Gerridon Highlord three thousand years earlier on another world. He and his sister, Jamethiel Dream Weaver, almost destroyed the entire Kencyr host. The survivors of the Fall migrated to the world of Rathillien, on which the action of the novels takes place. Jame discovers that Gerridon had his sister mate with Ganth Gray Lord to produce a new Dream Weaver, who would reap souls to maintain his immortality. Instead he got twins, Jame and Tori, who have their own destinies. Gerridon also fathered Kindrie on Ganth's sister Tieri, whose freedom their father bartered away to restore his evil older son, Greshan, to life.

P.C. Hodgell resides in a nineteenth-century wood-framed house which has been in her family for generations. Both her parents were professional artists. While at the University of Wisconsin, P.C. Hodgell divided her time between teaching and writing, with a strong emphasis on "anything that stirs the imagination." This includes attending science fiction conventions, collecting yarn, knitting, embroidering, and raising cats.

Bibliography

God Stalker Chronicles

1. God Stalk, 1982 (ISBN 978-0425060797)
2. Dark of the Moon, 1985 (ISBN 978-0689311710)
3. Seeker's Mask, 1994 (ISBN 978-0739418871)
4. To Ride a Rathorn, August 2006 (ISBN 978-1592221028)
5. Bound In Blood, March 2010 (ISBN 978-1439133408)
6. Honor's Paradox, December 2011 (ISBN 978-1451637625)

Short story collection

• Blood and Ivory: A Tapestry, 2002: contains some new stories, some previously released (hardcover: ISBN 978-1892065735, paperback: ISBN 978-1892065728)
  • Hearts Of Woven Shadow
  • Lost Knots
  • Among The Dead
  • Child Of Darkness (Hodgell's first ever story, set in an alternate universe when Jame and the Kencyrath arrive in a world—somewhat like ours—following a holocaust)
  • A Matter Of Honor (the story which provided the genesis for God Stalk)
  • Bones
  • Stranger Blood (Hodgell's second story about Jame)
  • A Ballad Of The White Plague (a Sherlock Holmes story)

Omnibus editions

• Chronicles of the Kencyrath, 1987: contains God Stalk and Dark of the Moon (ISBN 978-0450424007)
• Dark of the Gods, 2000: contains God Stalk, Dark of the Moon, and short story Bones (ISBN 978-1892065261)
• Godstalker Chronicles, 2006: contains God Stalk, Dark of the Moon, Seeker's Mask, To Ride a Rathorn, and Blood and Ivory: A Tapestry in Baen ebook formats. [1]
• The God Stalker Chronicles, 2009: contains God Stalk and Dark of the Moon (ISBN 143913295X)
• Seeker's Bane, TBP July 7, 2009 from Baen: contains Seeker's Mask and To Ride a Rathorn (ISBN 1439132976)

Awards and honors

• 1987—Ph.D. in English Literature, University of Minnesota
• Minnesota Fantasy Award
  • 2008—P. C. Hodgell
• Mythopoeic Fantasy Awards
  • 1983 Finalist—God Stalk by P. C. Hodgell
  • 1986 Finalist—Dark of the Moon by P. C. Hodgell
• Locus Award
  • 1981—"Child of Darkness", Nominee for Best Short Story
  • 1983—God Stalk, Nominee for Best First Novel
  • 1986—Dark of the Moon, Nominee for Best Fantasy Novel
• Guest of Honor at Arcana 40 in 2010, a dark fantasy convention held in St. Paul, Minnesota
• Special Guest at Minicon 21 (1986), 24 (1989), and 25 (1990)
• Author Guest of Honor at Capricon 10 (1990)

References

1. ^ Steve Clark's Kencyr Page

External links

• P.C. Hodgell Kencyr Page
• P.C. Hodgell page at In Other Worlds
• Yahoo! group for discussing Hodgell's works
• P.C. Hodgell page at her current publisher
• Another Hodgell page
• UW–Oshkosh biography
• Author's website
• Author's LiveJournal
• Kencyr Wiki at Wikia
• P. C. Hodgell at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

Persondata
Name	Hodgell, P. C.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	March 16, 1951
Place of birth	Des Moines, Iowa
Date of death
Place of death