Forgotten Realms: The Library

Jean Rabe

Author: Jane Rabe

The Life and Sometimes Interesting Times of Jean Rabe.

A bio, huh? Well, how about -- I was born, and I'm still alive? Concise and to the point. Economy of words and all of that. For the longer version, consider the following:

When I'm not writing or editing, I keep goldfish in a big pond in the backyard, study WWI aviation (and visit aviation museums), read mysteries, participate in fantasy football leagues, craft steins, and pretend to garden. I really make an attempt at the latter, but something about me and plants don't agree. My husband's the real gardener. I sorta push the hoe around and pull weeds. I do pretty well with daisies. In fact, they're all over the backyard, and my husband, Bruce -- a chemist and avid role-player and war-gamer, periodically mows them down with great glee.

I am the author of several fantasy novels, including The Silver Stair, and Dawning of a New Age, Day of the Tempest, and Eve of the Maelstrom, a DragonLance trilogy. My other works include Red Magic, Secret of the Djinn, and Night of the Tiger. I co-authored Maquesta Kar-Thon in the DragonLance line with Tina Daniels. And I've written short stories in the Forgotten Realms, DragonLance, and Star Wars settings and for DAW Books. Lately, I've been able to take WWII and WWI settings and meld them into fantasy tales in my DAW work. For example, this fall I'll have a story out that puts Merlin in the cockpit of a Handley-Paige night bomber in 1918.

I also serve as the editor of MechForce Quarterly, a BattleTech magazine. The magazine is a nice mix of fiction and game material, and I've been working with it since 1995. There's nothing like the clash of 100-ton BattleMechs to give you a change-o-pace from fantasy.

I'm a former newspaper reporter and news bureau chief, having worked in Quincy, Illinois; Evansville, Indiana; and as a stringer for the Rockford Register Star.

I've also penned numerous role-playing game products, the latest being The Forces of Dagnarus for Larry Elmore's Sovereign Stone game. It was a joint project with fellow DragonLance author Janet Pack, and it should be out sometime this year.

What am I working on now? I'm in the midst of another DragonLance trilogy, which I was exceedingly happy to land. The first book is tentatively called Dhamon: The Downfall, and it will be out in the spring of 2000. I also make time for DragonLance short stories and for science-fiction tales for Marty Greenberg's office in Green Bay, Wisconsin. And Janet and I are penning a near-future science-fiction book (in our copious free time).

What else? Let's see... I write articles for On The Lake, a local touristy-magazine. My latest article was about the Women's National Champion Log Roller. I try to cook once in a while. I used to be a truly lousy cook. Now I'm sometimes an adequate one. Just ask my friends who've dined on hot-pink pudding, brick brownies, charred chicken, and broccoli casserole (the latter of which resembled green slime from the AD&D game). Still, I managed quiche! Imagine that. I run a monthly AD&D game, where I sometimes subject the participants to one of my culinary delights. And I'm an avid movie-lover--especially if it has lots of special effects. I like them when they blow up reaaalllll good.

Oh, and I love animals. I have a "bitzer" named Buddie. Essentially a wonderful mutt. She's bits of this and bits of that, weighing around twenty pounds and loving to swim in our goldfish pond. Two parrots also share the house -- one a miniature macaw named Trouble, who likes to talk a lot, the other a sun conure named Rio, who likes to squawk a lot. And don't forget the fish tanks. There are five of them -- though one is currently empty.

There, that's me!

Contacts

Homepage: www.sff.net/people/jeanr/index.html

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The Harpers

The Best of the Realms, Book 1

Realms of Valor

Realms of Magic

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A special 'Thank you' goes to WotC, Inc. I copied the bio from their database.

Created Janury 24, 1998 - last modified October 26, 2003 Copyrights and Contact