Debra Doyle (November 30, 1952 – October 31, 2020) was an American author in multiple related fiction genres, including

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama ...

, and mystery, for

young adults A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...

and adults. Her works were co-written with her husband, James D. Macdonald.

Life and career

Doyle earned a PhD from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universit ...

with a dissertation on Old English poetry. Her first work written with Macdonald was "Bad Blood" in 1988. Their novel ''Knight's Wyrd'' was awarded the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature in 1992 and appeared on the New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age list in 1993. They published two series, ''Mageworlds'' (7 novels) and ''The Wizard Apprentice'' (8 novels), and two alternate history novels, ''Land of Mist and Snow'' and ''Lincoln's Sword''. Doyle and Macdonald also published together under other names. They published their first novel, ''Night of Ghosts and Lightning'', in 1989 under the house name Robyn Tallis; two

Tom Swift Tom Swift is the main character of six series of American juvenile science fiction and adventure novels that emphasize science, invention, and technology. First published in 1910, the series totals more than 100 volumes. The character was ...

novels under the house name Victor Appleton; ''Pep Rally'', ''Blood Brothers'', and ''Vampire’s Kiss'' under the house name Nicholas Adams; and two Spider-Man and three

Battletech ''BattleTech'' is a wargaming and military science fiction franchise launched by FASA Corporation in 1984, acquired by WizKids in 2001, which was in turn acquired by Topps in 2003; and published since 2007 by Catalyst Game Labs. The trademark ...

novels as Martin Delrio. Together Doyle and Macdonald made up part of the core membership of the ''sff.net'' website and ''rec.arts.sff'' newsgroup. Doyle also taught at the Viable Paradise genre writer's workshop on

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the Northeastern United States, located south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes th ...

. She died of

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

on October 31, 2020.

Bibliography

A full list of her contributions and work can be found on the Fantastic Fiction site.

Series

Circle of Magic (with James D Macdonald)

# School of Wizardry (1990) # Tournament and Tower (1990); reissued as Secret of the Tower (2000) # City by the Sea (1990); reissued as The Wizard's Statue (2000) # The Prince's Players (1990); reissued as Danger In The Palace (2000) # The Prisoners of Bell Castle (1990); reissued as The Wizard's Castle (1999) # The High King's Daughter (1990) # Mystery at Wizardry School (2003) # Voice of the Ice (2004)

Tom Swift (Fourth Series) (with James D Macdonald)

* Monster Machine (1991) * Aquatech Warriors (1991)

MageWorlds (with James D Macdonald)

# The Price of the Stars (1992) # Starpilot's Grave (1993) # By Honor Betray'd (1994) # The Gathering Flame (1995) # The Long Hunt (1996) # The Stars Asunder (1999) # A Working of Stars (2002) * A Death in the Working (2004); a Mageworlds short story * On Suivi Point (2005); a Mageworlds novelette

Bad Blood (with James D Macdonald)

# Bad Blood (1993) # Hunter's Moon (1994) # Judgement Night (1995) * Bad Blood: A Short Story (2011)

Peter Crossman (with James D Macdonald)

* The Confessions of Peter Crossman (2010) * The Devil in the Details (2014)

Orville Nesbit (with James D Macdonald)

* Ecdysis (2011)

Novels

* Knight's Wyrd (1992) (with James D Macdonald) * Groogleman (1996) (with James D Macdonald) * Prince Valiant (1998) (with Hal Foster and James D Macdonald) * Land of Mist and Snow (2006) (with James D Macdonald) * Lincoln's Sword (2010) (with James D Macdonald)

Short Stories (selection)

* "Now And in the Hour of Death" (co-written with James D. Macdonald and collected in

Mike Resnick Michael Diamond Resnick (; March 5, 1942 – January 9, 2020) was an American science fiction writer and editor. He won five Hugo awards and a Nebula award, and was the guest of honor at Chicon 7. He was the executive editor of the defunct ma ...

's alternate history anthology ''

Alternate Kennedys ''Alternate Kennedys'' is an alternate history anthology edited by Mike Resnick, published in the United States by Tor Books. There are 26 stories in the anthology, including Resnick's own "Lady in Waiting". The remaining stories by various aut ...

'') * "Witch Garden" co-written with James D. Macdonald (1994) * "Please to See the King" co-written with James D. Macdonald (1995) * "Ecdysis" co-written with James D. Macdonald (1996)

References

External links

* *
Official forum
at

IBDoF A bibliographic database is a database of bibliographic records, an organized digital collection of references to published literature, including journal and newspaper articles, conference proceedings, reports, government and legal publications, p ...

* * (as Debra Doyle; note also listed joint pseudonyms)
Debra Doyle
a
Fantastic Fiction
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doyle, Debra 1952 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American science fiction writers American fantasy writers American women novelists Place of birth missing Women science fiction and fantasy writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers American children's writers