This is a draft and may be altered over the next few days.  

We met through Star Trek, began collaborating on a Sime~Gen novel at a Star Trek Convention (MediaWest), and finished that novel at the first Shore Leave, in 1978.

Also at that first Shore Leave Jean invented the concept for her own fantasy universe, Savage Empire, and was later joined by Winston Howlett (editor of the famous ST fanzine, Captain Uhura who often won costume contests in the ensemble class).  

Winston had been in on the ground floor of designing Savage Empire.  At that first Shore Leave, he and Jean were talking and it went like this:

Jean and I were at a party at that Shore Leave.
       Jean:"I have an idea for a fantasy series.  It's sort of
sword-and-sorcery..."
       Winston: "The problem with sword-and-sorcery is that it has no Black heroes. They're always sidekicks to some White guy."

       Just before the first book was published, Jean wrote in a fanzine article (about novel-writing) that when Winston said the above, "a little lightbulb went on over my head."

So today, with the reprints immanent, Winston is working on a new Savage Empire novel.  Sign up for lifeforce-l to be sure of being notified when it's available.  

Star Trek is the connecting link threaded through everything we've published together and separately.

Jean wasn't able to attend all the later Shore Leave conventions, but did usually attend MediaWest Con in the Spring, while Jacqueline, who lived in New York used Shore Leave as her very much needed personal indulgence weekend.

Jacqueline writes:

Through most of the late '80's and early '90's, I would spend most of my time at Shore Leave in the dealer's room. I would collect an armload of fanzines, and go back to my room to pack them in my suitcase in the order in which I intended to read them - often for my review column which I'm still doing. Yes, I'm a professional sf/f reviewer who dares to review ST fanzines.

I would spend time in the bar, the Art Show or on the patios just talking-talking-talking. I would go to the parties, meet new friends, delight in the spirit and vitality of this ongoing fandom -- and shop the room-dealers too.

Once I missed a Shore Leave and later was astonished to be told that I had won the Surak Memory Alpha Award which was presented at Shore Leave -- but I hadn't been there as expected, and nobody knew exactly how to get in touch with me. I still have the certificate and wear the medallion proudly.

Recently, Joan Winston began going to Shore Leave with me. She would come to Spring Valley, where I was living then, and we'd drive down together. Then on the way home I'd detour into Manhattan to drop her off. I always told her that she, of all people was worth the bother (adding about an hour and a half to the trip home -- that's some bother, -- but you know? -- that's SOME Joanie!).

Now I've moved to Arizona, and Shore Leave is too expensive a trip for me. I was very sad to have missed it in 2002 … and overjoyed to be invited to provide a note for the program book in 2003. 25th Anniversary!

In 1978, while Jean Lorrah and Jacqueline Lichtenberg were at Jacqueline's house finishing their first Sime~Gen collaboration, out in the world, the Camp David Accords were being crafted. It was three years after Star Trek Lives! was published, an event that captured Jean Lorrah's attention.

"I ran into a copy of Star Trek Lives! and suddenly realized the fandom was still booming. That provided the energy to create and publish the Night of the Twin Moons Universe, which has led to the co-ownership of the Sime~Gen franchise, and as noted above, the creation of the Savage Empire Universe and collaboration with Winston Howlett."

At that first Shore Leave, Jacqueline was still autographing copies of new editions of Star Trek Lives! Her second novel, the Sime~Gen novel Unto Zeor, Forever, had just been published, using some critical input from Jean Lorrah. In 1979 it won the Galaxy Award.

We went on to collaborate on a number of Sime~Gen novels while writing other novels independently.

Jean was able to extend her Star Trek fanzine universe, "Night of the Twin Moons" or "NTM" into professional Trek novels, many of which are still in print as e-books and selling fantastically well on amazon.com.  Search on Jean Lorrah in the amazon box below.  

Jacqueline created the Lifewave Universe, the Dushau trilogy which won a Romantic Times Award for best SF Romance, and a vampire series, as well as a second byline Daniel R. Kerns, while selling a number of short stories.

For more details, see http://www.simegen.com/jl/ 

And here we are 25 years later, and we are co-owners of Sime~Gen Inc. and the simegen.com domain where we also run a writing school and an active reviews section. And we're still collaborators, riding the wave of change to the sf/f field wrought by Star Trek and the internet.

Recently, Jean's collaboration with Lois Wickstrom on a children's book series, about the Loch Ness Monster won an award and the homepage for the Nessie books draws huge numbers of visitors to www.simegen.com

In July 2003, the first Sime~Gen novel, House of Zeor, by Jacqueline Lichtenberg, together with two subsequent Sime~Gen novels, one by Jean Lorrah alone, and one a collaboration between us, is scheduled to be published by Miesha Merlin Publishing Inc. in omnibus format, in hardcover and trade paperback. The contract calls for a new volume every year through 2008 and includes new novels by each of us plus a number of new novellas and short stories.

2003 may also see Jacqueline's Star Trek fan-universe, Kraith -- on CD-rom and perhaps on the web at www.simegen.com -- and if Jean's NTM appears on the web anywhere, it will likewise be at www.simegen.com. We are currently looking for the contributors to Kraith to let them know about our plans.

We're both still deeply involved in television sf on both fan and professional levels. Not only do we follow all the new incarnations of Trek and GR shows, but we marvel at the way ST's success has changed our world.

ST's influence on current events is not always obvious, and may not seem significant to those who don't understand the importance of ST, but Jacqueline finds that influence everywhere and occasionally writes a Guide or List on amazon connecting these dots so you can see the Trek influence behind the novels you love.

Recently, we were asked to contribute articles on Buffy The Vampire Slayer to a book of such articles by established names in Science Fiction. That book will come out in 2003, with Jacqueline's article tracing the connecting lines from earliest Trek to Buffy - and Jean's will be derived from a paper she will give at the Conference On The Fantastic.

We expect ST's influence will continue beyond Buffy which we consider a significant advance in the quality of sf/f on TV. That's going some, because as you know from previous Shore Leaves Jacqueline is a Farscape fan too -- not to mention Forever Knight which you've heard her rave about on panels with Joan Winston.

Jean's most recent award was for her e-book vampire novel, Blood Will Tell, which is now scheduled for hardcover and trade paperback release early in 2003. Like her best selling Vulcan Academy Murders, this one is a mystery, but has added dimensions of vampire romance, police procedural, and a unique addition to the vampire mythos.

Because Jacqueline has a vampire romance novel coming out in late 2003, she has been asked to contribute a cover quote to the biography of Josh Whedon, creator of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, which is also due out in 2003.

Two other Lichtenberg titles are being reprinted in 2003 - Molt Brother and City of a Million Legends. That universe, the Lifewave Universe, has been optioned by a successful playwright, Cherylann Costa, to do a series of one-act plays and perhaps a novel. Cherylann has a book of plays coming out in early 2003 and will be doing a radio-promotional tour for that, and also promoting the Lifewave plays and novels -- and an audio-book style recording of her first Lifewave story.

Starting in 2003 many Lichtenberg short stories will be recorded as audio-book, the first being a series of 3 vampire stories that started with Andre Norton's invitation to contribute a short story to the Witch World anthology. These will be available for free MP3 download on the web.

Jean will have a story in this recording program titled "Witch Fulfillment" first published in an anthology, Hecate's Cauldron edited by another Star Trek contact, Susan Shwartz whose agent at the time was yet another Star Trek fan, Judy Segal, who handled the Star Trek Welcommittee Directory department.

On the side, Jacqueline is involved with a script writer who is working on a docudrama on the first Star Trek Conventions.

With all of this going on, we've noticed a renewed interest in Sime~Gen by those in Hollywood searching for new TV and film properties. That's not news -- it's been going on for over 10 years. If there ever is news of that sort you will find it first through our lifeforce-L newsletter and relevant pages on www.simegen.com.

For more detail see 

Nessie - Lois Wickstrom and Jean Lorrah.

Vampire Romances - Blood Will Tell -- Those of My Blood & Dreamspy 

Audio-Book Releases  

Plays based on Molt Brother and City of a Million Legends - the Lifewave Universe.  

What's New

New Releases

Jacqueline Lichtenberg's Page

Jean Lorrah's Page 

Current Convention Websites and info.

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