VANTAGE POINT NEWS

June 1984

Jacqueline Lichtenberg

PO Box 290

Monsey, NY 10952

Debbie Lichtenberg

Endorsed Books

PO Box 290

Monsey, NY 10952

My younger daughter, Debbie (going on 15), has taken over ENDORSED BOOKS as Gail becomes a HS Senior, applying to colleges (know of any good scholarships?), getting her driver's license, and her first job in computers - she wants to be a computer consultant and a film producer. Debbie thinks she may major Business. They both travel to many cons and are always looking for girls their own age to room with.

RENSIME, Doubleday Feb. '84. $11.95 cover, $13.25 from ENDORSED BOOKS, WILL BE OUT FROM DAW Dec. '84, cover price $2.95 / $4.25 from Endorsed Books. The DAW paperback should carry a new, enlarged, redesigned and updated chronology of the S/G universe by Katie Filipowicz.

CHANNEL'S DESTINY by Jean Lorrah and Jacqueline Lichtenberg, sequel to FIRST CHANNEL, IS THE FIRST SIME/GEN FROM DAW, and still on the stands in some place. Cover by Don Maitz. ($2.95 cover price, 4.25 from Endorsed Books.) There will also be an Italian edition of CD out from Fanucci Publishers by June '84 (the first Italian S/G) Jean Lorrah's EMPIRE BOOKS will have the DAW edition, too, for cover price plus a more complex method of calculating shipping. SASE Jean at PO Box 625, Murray, KY 42071.

AMBROV KEON, Jean Lorrah's first solo Sime/Gen (sold to DAW as a pb original), the prequel to HOUSE OF ZEOR, has been turned in to DAW, but not scheduled yet. RENSIME is next, then AK, probably a year later. DAW's policy is to do one S/G a year.

Jean has SOLD A STAR TREK NOVEL, VULCAN ACADEMY MURDERS, and has turned in the manuscript. It's so good, we don't know if Paramount will approve it all. My ST novel proposal was rejected without comment.

Volume II of the Book of the First Lifewave, CITY OF A MILLION LEGENDS (not a S/G, but the sequel to MOLT BROTHER) has been accepted by Berkley, and tentatively scheduled for Jan. '85 with a reprint of MB. We're now accepting SASES for COML. Vol. III of the Book of the First Lifewave, LAST PERSUADERS, is under contract.

Berkley plans to reprint their 4 S/G books, HoZ, Unto, FCh, and Trinrose, but prices and dates have not been announced. I don't even know if they'll get new covers.

CURRENT WORK: I'll be working on the third book in my trilogy for Warner Books, in a new universe based on a cross between Dr. Who and Andre Norton's STAR RANGERS, the DUSHAU TRILOGY: DUSHAU, FARFETCH, OUTREACH, in fall '84. Book I, DUSHAU is tentatively scheduled for Feb. '85, and FARFETCH has been accepted but not scheduled. (we are accepting SASES for notification of price and exact date.)

ZELEROD'S DOOM by Jacqueline Lichtenberg and Jean Lorrah, an original DAW book, the sequel to HOUSE OF ZEOR. It's only half the story we've wanted to tell all these years, so there should still be a sequel to it, SHEN THE TECTON. I'm going to KY to write ZD with Jean from early June to Mid July '84.

YOUR PREFERENCE: The clear winners of the poll taken in the Sept. Vantage Point News on the next S/G novel are the 2 novels bracketing HOUSE OF ZEOR: AMBROV KEON by Jean Lorrah, and ZELEROD'S DOOM by Jacqueline Lichtenberg and Jean Lorrah. Both of these have now been sold to DAW, and AK has been written, and ZD will be next summer. After you've read RENSIME, you may vote again on the next S/G novel you want to see. Label your vote #2 and choose from: I could leap up from RENSIME to the discovery of interstellar flight and nonhumans. Or I could do a sequel to RENSIME (called SIME FROM GEN DIVIDED), the story of Laneff's involvement with Rathor. Or I could do a sequel to TRINROSE (SILENT REPROACH) when Ercy comes back to give Zeor an heir. Or Jean could do the sequel CHANNEL'S DESTINY (COMPANIONS), or I could do the sequel to COMPANIONS (THE FARRIS CHANNEL). The FARRIS CHANNEL is about Zeth's son founding the House of Zeor. Or Jean and I could do the sequel to ZELEROD'S DOOM which involves the open split between Hugh and Klyd into Tecton and Distect, titled SHEN THE TECTON. To vote, send me a separate list of above titles VOTE #2, in order of preference.

I've done an outline of THE FARRIS CHANNEL which we may submit to DAW together with Jean's outline of COMPANIONS when the current backlog of books there is cleared. My agent is also circulating a vampire novel outline I want to write. I'm interested in contacting any professional writers who know astrology.

JEAN LORRAH has sold 2 more SAVAGE EMPIRE books - but these went to Signet. That's what she'll be working on after ZELEROD'S DOOM.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS: I put out an informal news sheet recommending books that have impressed S/G readers. I run this on odd sheets of paper between printouts, so it's a rapidly changing item. Anyone interested, either keep in touch with me, or send an occasional SASE labeled RECOMMENDED READING, or recommend your latest favorite for the rest of us.

REVIEWS: My agent gets reviews from SFC, Locus, PW, the New York Newspapers, and a few major fanzines. If you run across any other reviews of mine or Jean Lorrah's work (good or bad) please do send them to us.

SIME/GEN WELCOMMITTEE. Rayna Daughtry is back! She wants to thank Edna Chavez, ((street address removed), Cypress, CA 90630) who has done such a wonderful job with the S/G Wel. Rayna's address is POB 998-835, El Segundo, CA 90245. If you can't reach her there, contact me. She's eager to hear from luren-fen as well as Jean Lorrah's SAVAGE EMPIRE fen. If you want to meet other fen with your interests, write to Rayna, enclose a Self-Addressed-Stamped-Envelope (SASE) and she'll see you get more info. on S/G fan activities - such as those being planned for the '84 World SF Con in Los Angeles (see below to join). If you don't understand something on this news sheet, do please contact Rayna. I tend to assume you've all been following developments for years. Rayna needs to borrow working copies of all the S/G 'zines -- her files are lost. Anyone who can loan her, please contact her.

GAME: My agent now has the name of a game company interested in creating a S/G game. I don't know if anything concrete will come of this, but if you're interested, SASE me. Mark the envelope S/G game. Those only mildly interested will get the news with the next VPN.

SONGS: The S/G songbook is now available from Kerry Schaefer who is also the creator of Frevven, the nearsighted disjunct channel who wants to pledge Zeor featured in Ambrov Zeor #13. Slowly, more songs are collecting, so there may be a Songbook II. (you will be able to buy just the additional songsheets if you already have Book I). The Songbook I is $2.00 from Kerry Schaefer, POB 39, South Yarmouth, MA 02664. SASE her if you're interested in the second songbook, and another SASE if you'd like a tape of S/G songs. Some fen are interested in trying to produce a tape. Kerry has invented her own sf universe and is writing novels about a trisexual species.

KERRY SCHAEFER: has become progressively more involved. She now has the back issue stock of AZ and is filling orders from her home --so for fast service, order BACK ISSUES of AZ from Kerry. Kerry is also doing the letter column for AZ now, and LoCs may go directly to her if they don't require my answers. She is ALSO doing a special one-shot 'zine on sexuality (of all sorts) in the S/G universe using much of the controversial material Katie's Zeor Forum had no space for. She intends to deal with many issues our general readers found objectionable. She wants to hear from anyone willing to be on a letter comment robin or who has a topic to discuss. And she's collecting SASES from anyone interested in buying a copy of this letterzine - which doesn't have a name yet. (suggestions?)

ALSO ON TAPE: Much of the S/G fanzine material has been taped for the blind and handicapped readers. For info. SASE Terry Terlau, (street address removed), Lexington, KY 40504. She'll send information on how many cassettes to send for copies of the fanzines.

REGISTRAR OF HOUSEHOLDINGS: Register your Householding with Pat Munson-Siter, (street address removed), Ellsworth AFB, SD 57706. This is a listing of fan-invented householdings (used by fans in writing stories, or sometimes as an activity group name) using as much authentic s/g heraldry as possible. If you suddenly can't reach her at this address, send for another Vantage Point News to get her new address. ATTENTION ALL REGISTERED HOUSEHOLDINGS: Pat is culling the list of Householdings. All registered Houses should contact her immediately to stay registered.

KEEPER'S TOWER: Keeper's Tower, as most of you know, was the name under which I was keeping the register of Darkovan Councils. Keeper's Tower is disbanded. The organization of Darkover fan activities is slowly being dissolved. For further information, SASE FRIENDS OF DARKOVER, POB 72, BERKELEY, CA 94701.

KRAITH COLLECTED: (Kraith is my fanzine series of STAR TREK stories) Carol Lynn has now married Richard Green, but she is not going to change her name. Her mother is still living at (street address removed), Detroit, MI 48205, will remain the Kraith address for publication until JAN. 1, '84 when it will become (street address removed), Grosse Pointe Park, MI 48230. SASE there for current availability of Kraith Collected (they are still being reprinted regularly as demand indicates). Debbie Goldstein now lives in Nashville, TN, near enough to Jean Lorrah to visit occasionally. Mary Ann Drach is still working on the next major Kraith story - (by the way, if I ever do a professional ST novel, it won't resemble Kraith.)

UNDERSTANDING KRAITH: this dictionary of Kraith terms is a good introduction to the Kraith Series. $1.00 plus postage from Judy Segal, (street address removed), Pawling, NY 12564. Judy keeps the STAR TREK DIRECTORY for STWelcommittee. SASE her for more info. She's also written a STW booklet for new writers called PROTOCOLS. Excellent.

SIME/GEN CONCORDANCE: Katie Filipowicz is snowed under with projects, she is floundering. She's trying to put the S/G Concordance project onto our database, and has made up the forms and entered some data. Zeor Forum #5 is on stencil (100pp! $3.75) and ready to run this month. SASE Katie for an order form or further information on the concordance, at (street address removed), Spring Valley, NY 10977.

AZ LETTERCOL EDITOR & COPYRIGHT AUTHORITY: KERRY SCHAEFER has rashly volunteered for both positions formerly held by Katie. If you are planning to publish a newsletter or 'zine involving any of my universes, or if you want to get a free copy of AZ for a letter-of-comment (LoC), write Kerry, address above.

RATHOR RESEARCH: This is a division we've just formed to make the power of this computer available to you. Katie has acquired the fancy, professional level astrology calculation program and will soon be able to take orders for astrological charts as well as biorhythm charts. We can now provide basic information to the curious who would like to know what their charts look like, or to the semi-professional who wants charts in several House Systems and different methods of calculation. We can do comparison charts to determine compatibility between two people, and progressions to show how your personality matures with age. We will soon have separate order forms available far amateur and professional services. Send a SASE labeled amateur or professional, to Katie Filipowicz, Rathor Research (street address removed), Spring Valley, NY 10977.

KAREN LITMAN has come on hard times health and money wise, and just to top it all off the postawful lost half the current COMPANION IN ZEOR masters. So it will be a while until you see another CZ issue. She is currently retyping most of the 'zine. SASE Karen Litman, (street address removed), Somers Pt., NJ 08244.

ESOTERICON II. MZB and I have been invited back to this con for Jan. '85, Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday Weekend. The con is devoted to serious study of real-world occult disciplines, with workshops, seminars, and panels. The Sheraton Heights Hotel, 650 Terrace Ave, Hasbrouk Hts., NJ 07604. For info. SASE me at Ambrov Zeor, POB 290, Monsey, NY 10952 AND PUT ESOTERICON ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE ENVEL.

CONFERENCE ON THE FANTASTIC (Swanncon), I haven't made plans for this for '85 yet.

I DO NOT INTEND TO GO TO AUSTRALIA for the 1985 Worldcon, and have not yet made plans to go to the Nasfic in Austin, TX.

There's a good chance I'll be at the next DARKOVER convention, but I haven't been contacted yet.

WRITER'S WORKSHOP: Jean Lorrah had great success at the JESSE STUART CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP for '83, with the new 4 day format. Her university is considering an '85 edition, in early June '85, and run over a weekend. Low tuition and cheap dorm room & board make the workshop the bargain of the year. Those interested, SASE Jean Lorrah, PO Box 625, Murray, KY 42371.

LA Con II, the 42nd Worldcon, will be in Anaheim, Calif. Membership rates are going up. For info write LA Con POB 8442 Van Nuys, CA 91409. I believe there will be a S/G gathering.

SCIENCE FICTION WRITERS OF AMERICA SPEAKERS BUREAU: If you know a group that wants to hire an sf writer to lecture, teach, read a latest work, or just speak, contact me at the PO Box 290 address. I head the SFWA Speaker's Bureau.

Watch this newsletter for how to join the '86 Worldcon at the cheapest rates. It will be on the east coast.

TO GET THE NEXT VANTAGE POINT NEWS: send a SASE (Self Addressed Stamped Envelope) to the Endorsed Books address and mark it VPN on the outside. VPN is done only when we run out of stock or when there's enough new news. Note we now have some colored paper. The next issue will be white and after that a color will alternate with white.

Live Long and Prosper,

Jacqueline Lichtenberg