Margaret Weis

Margaret Weis
Margaret Weis at the Lucca convention in October 2005.
Born	(1948-03-16) March 16, 1948 Independence, Missouri
Occupation	Novelist
Nationality	United States of America
Writing period	1984-Present
Genres	Fantasy Fiction
Official website

Margaret Edith Weis (born March 16, 1948 in Independence, Missouri, United States) is a fantasy novelist who, along with Tracy Hickman, is one of the original creators of the Dragonlance game world and has written numerous novels and short stories set in the world of Krynn. She graduated from the University of Missouri–Columbia and now lives in southern Wisconsin in a converted barn. Most recently, she has completed the third novel in the Dragonvarld trilogy for TOR, Master of Dragons. Her second novel in the Dark Disciple series, Amber and Iron, was released to stores on February 1, 2006. She has finished work on the first novel in the Lost Chronicles series with co-author Hickman, entitled Dragons of the Dwarven Depths, which was released in July 2006.

In 1999 Pyramid magazine named Margaret Weis as one of The Millennium's Most Influential Persons "at least in the realm of adventure gaming." The magazine stated that Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis are "basically responsible for the entire gaming fiction genre." Weis was inducted into the Origins Hall of Fame in 2002, recognized in part for "one game line turned literary sensation: Dragonlance."

In addition to her writing career, Margaret serves as the owner and chief officer of two publishing companies, including Sovereign Press, Inc., a game publisher based in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. The company used to own the license to Larry Elmore's Sovereign Stone RPG world, hence the name of the company. It now produces the Dragonlance line of game products, licensed from Wizards of the Coast. Her newest company, Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd, publishes RPG line based on several licenses including Serenity and Battlestar Galactica as well as Ed Greenwood's new solo venture into roleplaying, Castlemourn.

Despite her fame as a fantasy author, she claims not to read fantasy books.

On a personal level, Weis is a mother of two (David (deceased) and Elizabeth (Lizz) Baldwin) from her first marriage. She has also divorced her second husband, Canadian-born author Don Perrin.

Weis is a breast cancer survivor. She was diagnosed in 1993 and underwent successful chemotherapy. She kept herself busy writing The Seventh Gate during her treatment.

Bibliography

Dragonlance

• Chronicles:
  1. Dragons of Autumn Twilight¹ (1984)
  2. Dragons of Winter Night¹ (1985)
  3. Dragons of Spring Dawning¹ (1985)
  4. Dragons of Summer Flame¹ (1996)

• Legends:
  1. Time of the Twins¹ (1986)
  2. War of the Twins¹ (1986)
  3. Test of the Twins¹ (1986)

• The Second Generation¹ (1995)

• Kang's Regiment:
  1. The Doom Brigade² (1996)
  2. Draconian Measures² (2000)

• The Raistlin Chronicles:
  1. The Soulforge (1998)
  2. Brothers in Arms² (1999)

• The War of Souls:
  1. Dragons of a Fallen Sun¹ (2000) (Winner of the 2000 Origins Award for Best Game-Related Novel )
  2. Dragons of a Lost Star¹ (2001)
  3. Dragons of a Vanished Moon¹ (2002)

• The Dark Disciple:
  1. Amber and Ashes (2004)
  2. Amber and Iron (2006)
  3. Amber and Blood (Estimated May 2008 by Waterstones and the US firm Mr. Paperback)

• The Lost Chronicles:
  1. Dragons of the Dwarven Depths¹ (2006)
  2. Dragons of the Highlord Skies¹ (2007)
  3. Dragons of the Hourglass Mage¹ (On hold until issues between Wizards of the Coast and Weis & Hickman are resolved)

¹ (co-author Tracy Hickman)
² (co-author Don Perrin)

Endless Quest

1. The Endless Catacombs (1984)

Darksword

(co-author Tracy Hickman)

1. Forging the Darksword (1987)
2. Doom of the Darksword (1988)
3. Triumph of the Darksword (1988)
4. Legacy of the Darksword (1997)

Rose of the Prophet

(co-author Tracy Hickman)

1. The Will of the Wanderer (1988)
2. Paladin of the Night (1989)
3. The Prophet of Akhran (1989)

Star of the Guardians

1. The Lost King (1990)
2. King's Test (1991)
3. King's Sacrifice (1991)
4. Ghost Legion (1993)

The Death Gate Cycle

(co-author Tracy Hickman)

1. Dragon Wing (1990)
2. Elven Star (1991)
3. Fire Sea (1992)
4. Serpent Mage (1993)
5. The Hand of Chaos (1993)
6. Into the Labyrinth (1994)
7. The Seventh Gate (1995)

Mag Force 7

(co-author Don Perrin)

1. The Knights of the Black Earth (1995)
2. Robot Blues (1996)
3. Hung Out (1997)

Starshield

(co-author Tracy Hickman)

1. Starshield: Sentinels (1996)
2. Nightsword (1998)

Dragon's Disciple

(co-author David Baldwin, her son)

1. Dark Heart (1998)

Sovereign Stone

(co-author Tracy Hickman)

1. Well of Darkness (2000)
2. Guardians of the Lost (2001)
3. Journey into the Void (2003)

Dragonvarld

1. Mistress of Dragons (2003)
2. The Dragon's Son (2004)
3. Master of Dragons (2005)

Trivia

• In the Dragons of Autumn Twilight (1984), Margaret includes allusions to A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, one of her favorites stories. References include But there was something disquieting about him—secret, silent, self-contained, and solitary as an oysterand The fate of mankind is my business, turning the quote from meaning good to meaning harm.

• To describe a scene in Dragons of Winter Night (1985) where dragons attacked the city of Tarsis, Margaret Weis studied World War II films of the bombing of London.

• When Jeff Grubb first met her, she had an autographed picture of Darth Vader on her desk.

• In Dragons of Winter Night (1985), Margaret references Othello by William Shakespeare, with the phrase "No, you're wrong, Tanis. I sent him away."

External links

• Margaret Weis's homepage
• Margaret Weis at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Official Margaret Weis podcast

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