A. R. Morlan (January 3, 1958 – January 4/5, 2016; née, Arlette Renee Morlan, later, Ana Rose Morlan;

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

s Renee M. Charles, Ana Rose Morlan, and Karl-Rene Moore) was an American author of novels and short stories whose works of fiction have appeared in various magazines and

anthologies In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and ge ...

. She wrote in a number of genres, including horror,

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

erotica Erotica is art, literature or photography that deals substantively with subject matter that is erotic, sexually stimulating or sexually arousing. Some critics regard pornography as a type of erotica, but many consider it to be different. Erot ...

, and gay erotica.

Early life

Morlan was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, January 3, 1958. From 1961 to 1969, she lived in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Morlan described a troubled childhood in a 2014 interview. Her mother and maternal grandmother had isolated her and terrorized her. After Morlan's mother lost custody of Arlette, the mother took Arlette to a different state and for fifty years, Arlette was out of contact with her father. Morlan graduated from

Mount Senario College Mount Senario College (MSC or Mt. Senario) was a private non-profit college located in Ladysmith, Wisconsin, in the Diocese of Superior. History Early history The College began in 1930, when summer extension courses were conducted in Ladysmi ...

in Ladysmith, Wisconsin, in 1980.A. R. Morlan
" Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors, Gale, 2016. Gale In Context: Biography, accessed 16 Apr. 2023.

Career

Morlan's first story, "Four Days Before the Snow", was published in 1985. Her story "Yet Another Poisoned Apple for the Princess" appeared in a well-reviewed anthology, ''

The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror ''The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror'' was a reprint anthology published annually by St. Martin's Press from 1988 to 2007. In addition to the short stories, supplemented by a list of honorable mentions, each edition included a number of retrospect ...

'' (1994), alongside works by

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...

, Ellen Datlow, Geoffrey Landis, and

Terri Windling Terri Windling (born December 3, 1958, in Fort Dix, New Jersey) is an American editor, artist, essayist, and the author of books for both children and adults. She has won nine World Fantasy Awards, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, and the Bram St ...

. Her gender-bending short story "The Best Lives of Our Years", published in ''Full Spectrum'' 4, made the nomination list before the cutoff for the 1993 Tiptree Award and has been taught in college courses as an example of revisionary science fiction. Many of Morlan's early stories were set in Ewerton, an imaginary small town in Wisconsin similar to Ladysmith where Morlan attended college and lived.A(rlette) R(enée) Morlan
" St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost & Gothic Writers, Gale, 1998. Gale In Context: Biography. Retrieved April 16, 2023.

Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin Jr., Sidney B. K ...

saw the potential in this setting and in 1991 Morlan published two novels with them, ''The Amulet'' and ''Dark Journey.'' In addition a novella in the same series was released that year by Pulphouse. The novels "confirmed the promise of Morlan's short fiction and demonstrated that — unlike many other writers of finely-crafted short stories — she could extend the sensibility of her work into a sustained narrative crescendo." However, Morlan endured a lot of editorial interference from Bantam with ''Dark Journey'' along with substantial cuts to the text. According to

Brian Stableford Brian Michael Stableford (25 July 1948 – 24 February 2024) was a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who published a hundred novels and over a hundred volumes of translations. His earlier books were published under the name Br ...

, "there is no other book quite like ''Dark Journey''. Unfortunately, the uniqueness of a tour de force is not much help to a publisher's marketing department." Morlan was a finalist for the Tiptree Award in 1998, for "The Hetairai Turncoat", published under the pseudonym Karl-Rene Moore. In the 1990s, she worked for the ''

Writer's Digest ''Writer's Digest'' is an American magazine aimed at beginning and established writers. It contains interviews, market listings, calls for manuscripts, and how-to articles. History ''Writer's Digest'' was first published in December 1920 und ...

'' as an instructor for correspondence courses, but with a changing market brought on by technology, she was dropped by this employer. Morlan had "no computer, no Internet, and no cell phone". She also did not have a driver's license. Describing herself as being "totally computer illiterate", she worked on a

typewriter A typewriter is a Machine, mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of Button (control), keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an i ...

and used

carbon paper Carbon paper (originally carbonic paper) consists of sheets of paper that create one or more copies simultaneously with the creation of an original document when inscribed by a typewriter or ballpoint pen. The email term cc which means "carbon ...

to produce a duplicate copy of her writings. By 2000, Morlan had published 93 works of short fiction. Several of her collections were published, such as ''Smothered Dolls'' (2006), ''Ewerton Death Trip'' (2011), and ''Homely in the Cradle and Other Stories'' (2015). She used various

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

s for her science fiction and horror works, including Renee M. Charles and Ana Rose Morlan, eventually changing her legal name to the latter. Her erotica works were published as Renee M. Charles, while her gay erotica publications were under the pseudonym, Karl-Rene Moore. Morlan was influenced by

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin ( ; Kroeber; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author. She is best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the ''Earthsea'' fantas ...

, and Alice Sheldon.

Critical response

described Morlan's fiction as "genuinely discomfiting in a fashion that many horror writers attempt but few achieve." Morlan's story "The Second Most Beautiful Woman in the World" was called by ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' "a genuinely haunting tribute to the spirit of

Georgia O'Keeffe Georgia Totto O'Keeffe (November 15, 1887 March 6, 1986) was an American Modernism, modernist painter and drafter, draftswoman whose career spanned seven decades and whose work remained largely independent of major art movements. Called the "M ...

." ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' described her story "The Hemingway Kittens" as having a '' Twilight Zone'' twist that "serves up a surprising amount of whimsy." In reference to the erotica story "Merle O., Sgt. Bottum, and the Park Fairies" (1998), which plays with themes from ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'', Morlan was described as taking "a charming tack that owes as much to Wambaugh as it does to Shakespeare." The author's biography for this story, published under the named Karl-Rene Moore, uses masculine pronouns.

Personal life

Morlan had

dyslexia Dyslexia (), previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, wri ...

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a Psychological trauma, traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster ...

and

Asperger syndrome Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's syndrome or Asperger's, is a diagnostic label that has historically been used to describe a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and no ...

. She cared for dozens of cats at a time. In mid-2015, she was charged with cashing her mother's

social security Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...

checks dating back to 2011. Morlan was found dead at her home in Ladysmith, Wisconsin, on January 6, 2016, in an apparent suicide, which occurred one or two days before. She was 58.

Selected works

* ''Dark Journey'', Bantam Spectra, 1991, * '' The Amulet'', Bantam Books, 1991, * ''Smothered Dolls'', Overlook Connection Press, 2006, * ''Ewerton Death Trip: A Walk Through the Dark Side of Town'', Borgo Press / Wildside Press, 2011, * ''Rillas and Other Science Fiction Stories'', Borgo Press / Wildside Press, 2012, * ''Of Vampires & Gentlemen: Tales of Erotic Horror'', Borgo Press / Wildside Press, 2012, * ''The Chimera and the Shadowfox Griefer and Other Curious People'', Borgo Press / Wildside Press, 2012, * ''The Fold-O-Rama Wars at the Blue Moon Roach Hotel and Other Colorful Tales of Transformation and Tattoos'', Borgo Press / Wildside Press, 2012 * ''The Hemingway Kittens and Other Feline Fancies and Fantasies'', Borgo Press / Wildside Press, 2013, * ''Homely in the Cradle and Other Stories'', Wildside Press, 2015, * ''The A.R. Morlan Megapack'', Wildside Press, 2015, * ''The Bone-God's Lair and Other Tales of the Famous and the Infamous'', Wildside Press, 2016,

References

External links

Morlan, A R
in ''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (''SFE'') is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo Award, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus and BSFA Award, British SF Awards. Two print editions appea ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Morlan, A. R. 1958 births 2016 suicides 2016 deaths 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American short story writers 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American writers 21st-century pseudonymous writers American erotica writers American horror novelists American science fiction writers LGBTQ erotica Mount Senario College alumni People from Ladysmith, Wisconsin People with Asperger syndrome Autistic writers American writers with disabilities People with post-traumatic stress disorder Pseudonymous women writers Suicides in Wisconsin American women erotica writers Writers from Chicago Writers with dyslexia