Sherwood Smith (born May 29, 1951) is an American fantasy and science fiction writer for young adults and adults. Smith is a Nebula Award finalist and a longtime writing group organizer and participant.
Smith's works include the YA novel Crown Duel. Smith also collaborated with Dave Trowbridge in writing the Exordium series and with Andre Norton in writing two of the books in the Solar Queen universe.
Sherwood Smith was born May 28, 1951, in Glendale, California.[2][3] On her website, Smith describes herself as a middle-aged woman who has been married for over thirty years. Besides writing, she taught part-time at an elementary school, though she is now retired.[4] She has "two kids, rescue dogs, and a house full of books."[5]
Smith began making books out of taped paper towels when she was five years old.[2] When she was 8, she started writing about another world, Sartorias-deles, though she soon switched to making comic books of her stories, which she found to be easier. Although she first tried to send out her novels when she was 13, nothing sold. However, some of the novels Smith first wrote as a teen, including Wren to the Rescue, were sold after she learned to rewrite.[5]
In the years it took her to learn to rewrite, Smith "went to college, lived in Europe, came back to get [her] masters in History, worked in Hollywood, got married, started a family and became a teacher."[5] She received her degrees from the University of Southern California (B.A.) in 1973 and the University of California, Santa Barbara (M.A.) in 1977.[3] In 2010 she became a member of Book View Cafe.
Smith has co-written The Change Series with Rachel Manija Brown.
Books written under other pseudonymsedit
Smith has written some of the books in the Planet Builders series as Robyn Tallis. [6] She has also written four books in the Nowhere High series as Jesse Maguire and one book in the Horror High series as Nicholas Adams.[7]
Sartorias-deles is the name of the fictitious world that is the setting for many of the books by Sherwood Smith. It is one of four inhabited planets in the Erhal system.[8] According to Smith, humans first arrived on Sartorias-deles through world gates untold millennia ago. Occasionally, still more humans arrive. However, in non-canon commentaries the author informs readers that most of the early human history on Sartorias-deles has been lost since the so-called Fall of Sartor approximately 4,000 years before the events of the books such as Senrid.[8] Smith does indeed appear to intend these humans be portrayed as having been Terrans prior to their immigration to the Erhal system. For example, in numerous references throughout the stories, they appear to have brought with them several domesticated animal species, including cattle, horses, and dogs, as well as many foods such as coffee, rice, the tomato,[9] and concepts such as the seven-day week.[10]
A Stranger to Command (2008), prequel to Crown Duel telling the story of Shevraeth's training
Crown Duel (1997–1998), previously published in two parts as Crown Duel and Court Duel. Issued in a single volume by Firebird Books in 2002, an e-book in 2010, with additions of scenes from Vidanric's point of view
"Ghost Dancers" (1989), in Things That Go Bump in the Night anthology
"Faith" (1993), in A Wizard's Dozen anthology
"Curing the Bozos" (1994), in Bruce Coville's Book of Aliens anthology
"Echoes of Ancient Danger" (1995), in Orphans of the Night anthology
"I Was A Teen-Age Superhero" (1995) in Starfarer's Dozen anthology
"Daria's Window" (1996), in Sisters in Fantasy II anthology
"What's A Little Fur Among Friends?" (1996), in Bruce Coville's Book of Spinetinglers anthology
"Visions" (1996), in Bruce Coville's Book of Magic anthology
"Illumination" (1996), in Nightmare's Dozen anthology
"And Horses are Born With Eagles' Wings" (1997), in Realms of Fantasy Magazine
"Mastery" (1997), in Wizard Fantastic anthology
"And Now Abideth These Three..." (1998), in Realms of Fantasy Magazine
"Finding the Way" (1999), in Alien Visitors anthology
"Mom and Dad at the Home Front" (2000), in Realms of Fantasy Magazine, Year's Best Fantasy ed. David Hartwell, and New Magics ed. Patrick Nielsen Hayden
"Excerpts from the Diary of a Henchminion" (2000), in Faeries magazine (French)