James D. Macdonald: Difference between revisions

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{{short description|American novelist}}

{{Infobox Writer

| name = James D. Macdonald

{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->

| image =

| name = James D. Macdonald

| imagesize = 250px

| captionimage = DoyleMacDonald.png

| imagesize = 250px

| pseudonym = Robyn Tallis, Nicholas Adams, Victor Appleton, Douglas Morgan, Martin Delrio

| caption = Jim Macdonald and Debra Doyle at Readercon

| birth_date = [[1954]]

| pseudonym = Robyn Tallis, Nicholas Adams, Victor Appleton, Douglas Morgan, Martin Delrio

| birth_place = [[White Plains]], [[New York]]

| birth_name = James Douglas Ignatius Macdonald

| death_date =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1954|2|22}}

| death_place =

| birth_place = [[White Plains]], [[New York]], U.S.

| occupation = Writer

| nationality = USA

| period = 1990s to present

| genre = [[fantasy]], [[science fiction]], [[Mystery fiction|mystery]]

| subject =

| movement =

| imageinfluences =

| debut_works = ''Night of Ghosts and Lightning'' (1989)

| influencesinfluenced =

| influencedsignature =

| website = {{URL|https://madhousemanor.com/}}

| signature =

| website = http://www.sff.net/people/doylemacdonald/

| footnotes =

}}

'''James D. Macdonald''' ([[1954]]- ) is an American author and critic who lives in Maine with his wife and frequent collaborator, [[Debra Doyle|Dr. Debra Doyle]]. He works in several genres, concentrating on [[fantasy]], but also writing [[science fiction]], and [[mystery fiction|mystery]] and media [[tie-in]]s.

[[File:Jim Macdonald does wireless on the go, Boskone 43.jpg|thumb|Jim Macdonald reads at [[Boskone]] 43, 2006]]

'''James D.Douglas Ignatius Macdonald''' ([[born 1954]]- ) is an American author and critic who lives in MaineNew withHampshire. hisHe wifefrequently andcollaborated frequentwith collaborator,his late wife [[Debra Doyle|Dr. Debra Doyle]]. He works in several genres, concentrating on [[fantasy]], but also writing [[science fiction]], and [[mystery fiction|mystery]] and media [[tie-in]]s.<ref name=isfdb>{{isfdb name|471}}</ref>

==Biography==

Macdonald was born in 1954, and raised in [[White Plains]], [[New York]]. He attended the [[University of Rochester]]{{Citation needed|reason=citation needed to prove claim|date=May 2014}}, and went on to serve in the [[US Navy]] for fifteen years.<ref>{{cite web cn| url date=August http://biography.jrank.org/pages/1946/Macdonald-James-D-1954.html | title = James D. Macdonald (1954–) Biography ''(Famous Authors Vol 18)'' | publisher = Jrank.org | site = Brief Biographies2022}}</ref> He has been writing professionally since the early 1990s and has published 35 novels.

==Educational work==

Macdonald is well known for his work in educating aspiring authors, particularly for his advice on avoiding literary scams. Early in his career, he was asked by such an author how much he had paid to have his books published, and in response began a campaign of educating other writers about the problems of [[vanity publishers]]. As part of this campaign, he coined [[''Yog's Law]]'', which states "Money should flow toward the author," which is often quoted by professional authors when giving advice on getting published (such as [[John Scalzi]]<ref>{{cite web | url="http://www.scalzi.com/whatever/003681.html" | title = Amazon Shorts | author = John Scalzi}}</ref>, [[Teresa Nielsen Hayden]]<ref>{{cite web | url="http://www.nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002692.html" | title = Follow the Money | author = Teresa Nielsen Hayden}}</ref>).<ref>{{cite web|

url=http://www.sff.net/people/yog/|

title=Yog Sysop - Yog's Law}}</ref> which states "Money should flow toward the author." This rule is named after "Yog Sysop", a nickname of Macdonald that refers to [[Yog-Sothoth]]. It is often quoted by professional authors such as [[John Scalzi]]<ref name="Scalzi1">{{cite web| url=http://www.scalzi.com/whatever/003681.html|title=Amazon Shorts|first=John|last=Scalzi|date=22 August 2005}}</ref> and [[Teresa Nielsen Hayden]]<ref name="TNH">{{cite web| url=http://www.nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002692.html|title=Follow the Money|first=Teresa|last=Nielsen Hayden|date=1 July 2003}}</ref> when giving advice on finding an agent and getting published.

title="Yog Sysop - Yog's Law"}}</ref>

===Atlanta Nights and PublishAmerica===

{{mainMain|Atlanta Nights}}

One target of his campaign is [[PublishAmerica]], a company that claims not to be a vanity publisher but a "traditional publisher" that accepts or rejects books based on their qualiyquality. Macdonald organized a group of professional authors to test whether that company was actually reading any submissions for clarity and realism before accepting them. One day after Macdonald issued a press release announcing that PublishAmerica had accepted a manuscript that was created to be as bad as possible, the company withdrew the offer to publish it.<ref>{{cite web|

url=http://web.archive.org/web/20050217092254/http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire2005/index.php?category=0&id=30389 |

title=SF Authors Sting Publisher|

publisher=SciFi.com |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20050217092254/http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire2005/index.php?category=0&id=30389 |archivedate = 2005-02-17}}</ref><ref name=atlanta>{{cite web | url = http://www.sfwa.org/members/TravisTeatravistea/backstory.htm | title = The Making of ''Atlanta Nights'' |website=Science Fiction Writers of American (SFWA) |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140402205228/http://www.sfwa.org/members/travistea/backstory.htm |archivedate=April 2, 2014 }}</ref>

==Awards and honors==

''Knight's Wyrd'' was awarded the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mythsoc.org/awardwinners.html |title=Complete list of Mythopoeic Award Winners |publisher=Mythopoeic Society |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070206142023/http://mythsoc.org/awardwinners.html |archivedate=2007-02-06 }}</ref> 1992, and named to the New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age list in 1993.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.sff.net/people/doylemacdonald/Kw_head.htm |title = ''Knight's Wyrd'' - Awards, Reviews and Excerpt |url-status = dead |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20060927173106/http://www.sff.net/people/doylemacdonald/Kw_head.htm |archivedate = 2006-09-27 }}</ref> In 1997, he was awarded Best Young-Adult Science Fiction by the ''[[Science Fiction Chronicle]]'' for ''[[Groogleman]]''.{{Citation needed|date=June 2007}}

''Knight's Wyrd'' was awarded the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's literature,<ref>{{cite web|

url=http://www.mythsoc.org/awardwinners.html|

==Select bibliography==

title=Complete list of Mythopoeic Award Winners|

This bibliography is based on Macdonald's entry on the [[Internet Speculative Fiction Database]].<ref name=isfdb/>

publisher=Mythopoeic Society}}</ref> 1992, and named to the New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age list in 1993.<ref>{{cite web|

url=http://www.sff.net/people/doylemacdonald/Kw_head.htm|

title=''Knight's Wyrd'' - Awards, Reviews and Excerpt}}</ref> In 1997, he was awarded Best Young-Adult Science Fiction by the ''[[Science Fiction Chronicle]]'' for ''Groogleman''.{{Fact|date=June 2007}}

==Bibiliography==

===Novels===

* ''The Apocalypse Door'', Tor (New York, NY), 2002. {{ISBN|978-0312869885}}

===Novels with Debra Doyle ===

* (Under pseudonym Robyn Tallis) ''Night of Ghosts and Lightning'' ("Planet Builders" series), Ivy, 1989. {{ISBN|978-0804102025}}

* (Under pseudonym Robyn Tallis) ''Zero-Sum Games'' ("Planet Builders" series), Ivy, 1989. {{ISBN|978-0804102070}}

* (Under pseudonym Nicholas Adams) ''Pep Rally'' ("Horror High"<ref>{{Cite series),web|url=http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?3533|title Harper= (NewSeries: York,Horror NYHigh}}</ref> series), HarperCollins, 1991<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/a/nicholas-adams/|title=Nicholas Adams}}</ref> {{ISBN|978-0061060847}}

* (Under pseudonym Victor Appleton) ''Monster Machine'' ("Tom Swift" series), Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1991. {{ISBN|978-0671678272}}

* (Under pseudonym Victor Appleton) ''Aquatech Warriors'' ("Tom Swift" series), Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1991. {{ISBN|978-0671678289}}

* ''Timecrime, Inc.'' ("Robert Silverberg's 'Time Tours'" series), Harper (New York, NY), 1991. {{ISBN|978-0061060144}}

* ''Night of the Living Rat'' ("Daniel Pinkwater's 'Melvinge of the Megaverse'" series), Ace Books (New York, NY), 1992. {{ISBN|978-0441910793}}

* ''Knight's Wyrd,'' Harcourt, Brace (New York, NY), 1992. {{ISBN|978-0152007645}}

* ''Groogleman,'' Harcourt, Brace (New York, NY), 1996. {{ISBN|978-0152002350}}

* ''Requiem for Boone'' (based on the television series Gene Roddenberry's Earth—Final Conflict), Tor (New York, NY), 2000. {{ISBN|978-0312874612}}

* (As Douglas Morgan) ''Tiger Cruise'', Forge (New York, NY), 20012000. {{ISBN|978-0312870423}}

* (As Douglas Morgan) ''What Do You Do with a Drunken Sailor?'' (nonfiction), Swordsmith, 2002. {{ISBN|978-1931013093}}

* ''Land of Mist and Snow'', Eos, 2006. {{ISBN|978-0060819194}}

* ''Lincoln's Sword'', HarperCollins, 2010<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.harpercollins.com/books/Lincolns-Sword/?isbn=9780060819279|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100731160443/http://www.harpercollins.com/books/Lincolns-Sword/?isbn=9780060819279|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 31, 2010|title=Lincoln's Sword|website=Harper Collins Publishers}}</ref> {{ISBN|978-0060819279}}

==="''Circle of Magic"'' series, with Debra Doyle ===

* ''School of Wizardry,'' Troll (Metuchen, NJ), 1990. {{ISBN|978-0816769360}}

* ''Tournament and Tower/The Secret of the Tower,'' Troll (Metuchen, NJ), 1990. {{ISBN|978-0816718290}}

* ''City by the Sea/The Wizard's Statue,'' Troll (Metuchen, NJ), 1990. {{ISBN|978-0816718313}}

* ''The Prince's Players/Danger in the Palace,'' Troll (Metuchen, NJ), 1990. {{ISBN|978-0816718337}}

* ''The Prisoners of Bell Castle/The Wizard's Castle,'' Troll (Metuchen, NJ), 1990. {{ISBN|978-0816718351}}

* ''The High King's Daughter'', Troll (Metuchen, NJ), 1990. {{ISBN|978-0816769971}}

* ''Mystery at the Wizardry School'', Troll (Metuchen NJ), 2003. {{ISBN|978-0340882344}}

* ''Voice of the Ice'', Cloverdale Press, 2003. {{ISBN|978-0733618567}}

==="Mageworld"''Mageworlds'' series, with Debra Doyle===

Written with Debra Doyle, ''Mageworlds'' is a [[space opera]] novel series originally published in the 1990s and re-issued as e-books in 2012.

*# ''The Price of the Stars'', [[Tor Books]] (New York, NY), 1992. {{ISBN|978-0812517040}}

*# ''Starpilot's Grave'', Tor (New York, NY), 1993. {{ISBN|978-0812517057}}

*# ''By Honor Betray'd'', Tor (New York, NY), 1994. {{ISBN|978-0812517064}}

*# ''The Gathering Flame'', Tor (New York, NY), 1995. {{ISBN|978-0812534955}}

*# ''The Long Hunt'', Tor (New York, NY) 1996. {{ISBN|978-0812534962}}

*# ''The Stars Asunder'', Tor (New York, NY) 1999. {{ISBN|978-0312864101}}

*# ''A Working of Stars'', Tor (New York, NY), 2002. {{ISBN|978-0312864118}}

==="''Bad Blood"'' series, with Debra Doyle ===

* ''Bad Blood'', Berkley (New York, NY), 1993.

* ''Hunters' Moon'', Berkley (New York, NY), 1994.

* ''Judgment Night'', Berkley (New York, NY), 1995.

* ''Bad Blood'', Berkley (New York, NY), 1993. {{ISBN|978-0425139530}}

===Under joint pseudonym "Martin Delrio," with Debra Doyle===

* ''MortalHunters' KombatMoon'' (movie novelization), TorBerkley (New York, NY), 19951994. {{ISBN|978-0425143629}}

* ''MidnightJudgment JusticeNight'' ("Spider-Man Super-Thriller" series), Byron PreissBerkley (New York, NY), 19961995. {{ISBN|978-0425147283}}

* ''Global War'' ("Spider-Man Super-Thriller" series), Byron Preiss (New York, NY), 1996.

===Under joint pseudonym "Martin Delrio,", with Debra Doyle ===

* ''Harold R. Foster's Prince Valiant'' (movie novelization), Avon (New York, NY), 1998.

* ''The Loch Ness Monster'' (nonfiction), Rosen Publishing (New York, NY), 2002.

* ''TruthMortal and ShadowsKombat'' (novel;movie "MechWarrior: Dark Age" seriesnovelization), RocTor (New York, NY), 20031995. {{ISBN|978-0812544527}}

* ''Midnight Justice'' (''Spider-Man Super-Thriller'' series), Byron Preiss (New York, NY), 1996. {{ISBN|978-0671568511}}

* ''Global War'' ("''Spider-Man Super-Thriller"'' series), Byron Preiss (New York, NY), 1996. {{ISBN|978-0671007997}}

* ''Harold R. Foster's ''Prince Valiant'' (movie novelization), Avon (New York, NY), 1998. {{ISBN|978-0380794058}}

* ''The Loch Ness Monster'' (nonfiction), Rosen Publishing (New York, NY), 2002. {{ISBN|978-0823935642}}

* ''A Silence in the Heavens'' (novel; ''MechWarrior: Dark Age'' series), Roc (New York, NY), 2003. {{ISBN|978-0451459329}}

* ''Truth and Shadows'' (novel; ''MechWarrior: Dark Age'' series), Roc (New York, NY), 2003. {{ISBN|978-0451459381}}

* ''Service for the Dead'' (novel; ''MechWarrior: Dark Age'' series), Roc (New York, NY), 2003. {{ISBN|978-0451459435}}

=== Short stories ===

* ''Rosemary: Scrambled Eggs on a Blue Plate'', Tor, 1992 (co-written with [[Alan Rodgers]] and collected in [[Mike Resnick]]'s alternate history anthology ''[[Alternate Kennedys]]'')

* ''Now And in the Hour of Death'', Tor, 1992 (co-written with [[Debra Doyle]] and also collected in Mike Resnick's alternate history anthology ''Alternate Kennedys'')

* ''Souvenirs'', Tor, 1992 (co-written with Alan Rodgers and collected in Mike Resnick's alternate history anthology ''[[Alternate Outlaws]]'')

==References==

{{reflist}}

==See also==

*[[Daniel Pinkwater]]

== External links ==

{{Wikiquote}}

* [http://www.sff.net/people/doylemacdonald/ Official web site]

{{Portal|Children and Young Adult Literature}}

* [http://www.travistea.com/ Travis Tea] - author of Atlanta Nights

* {{official website}}

* {{isfdb name|id=James_D._Macdonald|name=James D. MacDonald}}

* {{isfdb name}}

* {{LCAuth|n88267312|James D. MacDonald|20|}} (search pseudonyms too)

* [http://www.travistea.com/ Travis Tea] - collective author of Atlanta Nights

* [http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail1666.html Interview on ''IT Conversations'']

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, James D.}}

[[Category:20th-century American novelists]]

[[Category:21st-century American novelists]]

[[Category:American children's writers]]

[[Category:American fantasy writers]]

[[Category:American male novelists]]

[[Category:American science fiction writers]]

[[Category:Living people]]

[[Category:Writers from White Plains, New York]]

[[Category:Novelists from New York (state)]]

[[Category:1954 births]]

[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]

[[Category:21st-century American male writers]]