Sharon Lee: Adventures in the Liaden Universe. Collaterial Adventures

Conselem — An absurdity

Delm — Head of Clan (Delm Korval, Korval Himself/Herself)

Delmae — Lifemate to the Delm

Denubia — Darling

Dramliza — A wizard. Plural: dramliz (The dramliz)

Dri’at — Left (direction)

Eklykt’i — unreturned

Eldema — First Speaker (most times, the Delm)

Eldema-pernard’i — First-Speaker-In-Trust

Entranzia volecta — Good greetings (High Liaden)

Fa’vya — an aphrodisiac-laced wine sold at Festival

Flaran Cha’menthi — ‘I(/We) Dare’

Galandaria — Confederate? Countryperson?

Ge’shada — Mazeltov; congratulations

Glavda Empri — yo’Lanna’s house

I’gannn brath’a, vyan — Play with the body, rest the mind

se’untor

I’lanta — Right (direction)

llania frrogudon palon — (approx) Young ladies should speak more gently dox

Illanga kilachi — (no translation available)

Indra — Uncle

Jelaza Kazone — The Tree, also Korval’s Own House. Approx. ‘Jela’s Fulfillment’

Lazenia spandok — Son of a bitch ( real approximate)

Megelaar — The Dragon on Korval’s shield

Melant’i — who one is in relation to current circumstances. Also who one is in sum, encompassing all possible persons one might be.

Menfri’at — Liaden karate

Mi rada — Father

Mnsravot — Altarian wine; blue in color.

Nadelm — Delm-to-Be

Nubiath’a — Gift given to end an affair of pleasure

Palesci modassa — Thank you (High Liaden)

Prena’ma — Storyteller

Prethliu — Rumorbroker

Qe’andra — Man of business

Qua’lechi — Exclamation of horror

Relumma — Division of a Liaden year, equaling 96 Standard days. Four relumma equal one year.

Thawla — Mother (Low Liaden; approximately Mommy)

Thawlana — Grandmother

Thodelm — Head of Line

Tra’sna volecta — Good morning (Low Liaden)

Trealla Fantrol — The yos’Galan house.

Valcon Berant’a — Dragon’s Price or Dragon Hoard, the name of Korval’s valley.

Valcon Melad’a — Dragon’s Way, the Delm’s Own ship

van’chela — beloved friend

va’netra — charity case, lame puppy

zerkam’ka — kinslayer

Updated November 16, 2002. From Shadows and Shades.

Standard Year Event/Story

1118 — “Balance of Trade” /Balance of Trade

1123 — “Naratha’s Shadow”

1177 — “Sweet Waters”

1293 — “Phoenix”

1313 — Kareen yos’Phelium born

1320 — Dutiful Passage enters service

Er Thom yos’Galan born

Daav yos’Phelium born

1327 — Anne Davis born

1335 — Aelliana Caylon born

1339 — “Pilot of Korval “

1346 — “Choice of Weapons”

1351 — Pat Rin yos’Phelium born

1357 — Shan yos’Galan born

1359 — Priscilla Delacroix y Mendoza born

Early 1360 — Local Custom

Early 1361 — Scout’s Progress

1362 — Val Con yos’Phelium born

1362 — Nova yos’Galan born

1365 — Miri Robertson born

1365 — Aelliana Caylon dies

1366 — Daav yos’Phelium leaves Liad

1366 — Anthora yos’Galan born

1369 — Ren Zel dea’Judan born

“Veil of The Dancer”

“Heirloom”

1375 — “Matter of Dreams”, “Moonphase”

1380 — “To Cut An Edge”

1382 — Anne Davis dies

1383 — Er Thom yos’Galan dies

Early 1385 — “A Day at the Races”

Early 1385 — “Certain Symmetry”

Late 1385 — Conflict of Honors

Early 1386 — Conflict of Honors

1390 — “Changeling”

Agent of Change

Carpe Diem

1393 — Plan B /”Breath’s Duty”

1393 — I Dare

Editor’s Note:

Most Lee & Miller Lute and Moonhawk stories remain undated in this list. Also not included or dated are several yet unpublished Liaden Universe stories scheduled for the next year.

SHARON LEE AND STEVE MILLER live in the rolling hills of central Maine, where they repaired from Maryland—with cats, books, music, and computers—after selling the first three Liaden Universe novels in the late 1980s.

Before moving to Maine, Steve and Sharon were active in the Baltimore science fiction community for years as fans, short story writers, editors, bookstore owners and art agents. In the mid seventies Clarion West (class of ’73) graduate Steve was the founding Curator of the UMBC Science Fiction Research Collection as well as the Director of Information for the burgeoning Baltimore Science Fiction Society. A well known traveling fan, Steve attended well over 100 conventions during this period.

Since moving they’ve continued to write in the Liaden Universe and six of the novels— Local Custom , Scout’s Progress , Conflict of Honors , Agent of Change , Carpe Diem , and Plan B are now in print, with I Dare set to follow in February 2002, Balance of Trade due in 2003, and two additional Liaden novels coming in the years after that.

The current novels are available individually in electronic format from Embiid as well as in Meisha Merlin trade paper editions; the omnibus Partners in Necessity —containing the first three novels—is also out in hardcover from the Science Fiction Book Club and soon there will be mass market editions of all the novels from Ace.

Along the way, Sharon and Steve were (and are) fortunate in having very supportive readers. In 1995 those readers requested—via an internet mailing list—something Liaden to tide them over. Steve’s experience in chapbook publishing came to the fore and thus he began SRM Publisher. Two Tales of Korval was SRM’s first book and its first print run was expected to be 60—but ended up at 200. Those rapidly sold out as well, and now Two Tales is the SRM Publishing stable’s best seller, with over 3500 copies in print.

As readers continued to ask for more short works, SRM brought out other chapbooks, including a reissue of pre-Liaden fantasy The Naming of Kinzel . Eventually Absolute Magnitude magazine got into the act with Liaden Universe short stories. Editor Warren Lapine accepted the novelette “Balance of Trade” for issue 11 of Absolute Magnitude , snapped up “A Choice of Weapons” for issue number 12 and then took the very popular novella “Changeling” for issue 14. These stories were collected into the fifth and sixth Liaden Universe chapbooks from SRM. “Changeling” has proved very popular and is also available as an Embiid electronic book.

After a stint as Web Librarian at a start-up dot.com, SRM Publisher grew to be Steve’s “day job”—in part because SRM Publisher took over the original Sharon Lee and Steve Miller “Authors of the Liaden Universe” website, expanding it to include an online catalog page as well as a list of congruent authors.

As SRM Publisher grew, Michael Capobianco, then President of SFWA—Science Fiction Writers of America—asked Sharon to become the organization’s first Executive Director, a full time position she held for more than three years, with contracts for Liaden Universe novels set through 2005, Sharon gave up that job last year, running for and winning the SFWA Vice Presidency, which she assumed July 1st of 2001.

Ace Books will be reprinting Lee & Miller’s 7 existing Liaden Universe novels starting in 2002, while Embiid will publish a non-Liaden Lee & Miller SF novel in August of 2002.