Kate Elliott is the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

of American

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

and

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

writer Alis A. Rasmussen (born 1958).

Writing

Although Rasmussen's first novels ''The Labyrinth Gate'' (1988) and ''The Highroad'' (1990) (a science fiction trilogy) failed to become bestsellers, additional publishers liked her manuscripts. However, they wanted a fresh name unconnected with the sales figures of the previous books. Starting in 1992 under the new name of Kate Elliott, her sales have flourished. The Crown of Stars series has been featured in the

Science Fiction Book Club Bookspan LLC is a New York–based online bookseller, founded in 2000. Bookspan began as a joint endeavor by Bertelsmann and Time Warner. Bertelsmann took over control in 2007, and a year later, sold its interest to Najafi Companies, an Arizo ...

. Elliott published the first of her ''Jaran'' series in 1992, although she began the first draft in 1980. Heather Massey's review of ''Jaran'' describes it as "a science fiction romance classic", while Todd Richmond in an ''

SF Site SF may refer to: Locations * San Francisco, California, United States * Sidi Fredj, Algeria * South Florida, an urban region in the United States * Suomi Finland, former vehicular country code for Finland In arts and entertainment Genre ...

'' review calls the series "an epic masterpiece". The ''Highroad'' (as Alis Rasmussen) trilogy is set in the same universe as ''Jaran'' as a prequel. The 1996 collaboration between Elliott,

Melanie Rawn Melanie Rawn (born 1954) is an American author of fantasy literature. She received a BA in history from Scripps College and worked as a teacher and editor before becoming a writer. She has been nominated for a Locus award on three occasions: in ...

, and

Jennifer Roberson Jennifer Mitchell Roberson (born October 26, 1953) is an American author of fantasy and historical literature. Personal life Roberson has lived in Arizona since 1957. Though she grew up in Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (my ...

on ''The Golden Key'' was coordinated primarily via

fax machine Fax (short for facsimile), sometimes called telecopying or telefax (the latter short for telefacsimile), is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material (both text and images), normally to a telephone number connected to a printer o ...

. In 2020, Elliott published ''Unconquerable Sun'', the first novel in a gender-bending space opera trilogy based on

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

Personal life

A native of

Junction City, Oregon Junction City is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, it has a population of 6,747. The Junction City area is notable for its Scandinavian heritage, with the city's Scandinavian Festival attracting ...

, Rasmussen moved to

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

to attend

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University is a private college in Oakland, California and part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was ...

. There she became active in the

Society for Creative Anachronism The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) is an international living history group with the aim of studying and recreating mainly Medieval European cultures and their histories before the 17th century. A quip often used within the SCA describes ...

where she pursued

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

sword fighting Swordsmanship or sword fighting refers to the skills and techniques used in combat and training with any type of sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to a ...

. Rasmussen, her archaeologist husband Jay Silverstein, and their three children live in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

Bibliography

As Alis A. Rasmussen

*''The Labyrinth Gate'' (1988) fantasy, *''The Highroad Trilogy'' science fiction *#''A Passage of Stars'', Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy (1990), *#''Revolution's Shore'' (1990), *#''The Price of Ransom'' (1990),

As Kate Elliott

*''The Spiritwalker Trilogy'' fantasy series **''Cold Magic'', Orbit, (2010) **''Cold Fire'', Orbit, (September, 2011) **''Cold Steel'', Orbit, (July 2, 2013) **''The Beatriceid'' (novelette, 2015) *''

Crossroads Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to: * Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...

'' fantasy series **''Spirit Gate'', Tor Books, (2007) **''Shadow Gate'', Tor Books, (2008) **''Traitors' Gate'', Tor Books, (2009) *'' Crown of Stars'' fantasy series **''

King's Dragon ''Crown of Stars'' is a series of epic fantasy novels by American author Alis A. Rasmussen, under the pen-name Kate Elliott. The series consists of seven novels. Novels Novels in the series are: * ''King's Dragon'' (1997) * ''Prince of Dogs'' ...

'', DAW, (1997), finalist for 1997

Nebula Award for Best Novel The Nebula Award for Best Novel is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) for science fiction or fantasy novels. A work of fiction is considered a novel by the organization if it is 40,000 words or longer; a ...

**''Prince of Dogs'', DAW, (1998) **''The Burning Stone'' (1999) **''Child of Flame'' (2000) **''The Gathering Storm'' (2003) **''In the Ruins'' (Aug 2005) **''The Crown of Stars'', DAW, (Feb 2006) *'' The Golden Key ''(1996), a collaboration with

and

;

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy literature, fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year a ...

finalist for Best Novel of 1996 *''The Novels of the Jaran'' science fiction series **''Jaran'' (1992) **''An Earthly Crown'' (1993) **''His Conquering Sword'' (1993) **''The Law of Becoming'' (1994) *''Court of Fives'' young adult fantasy series;

Andre Norton Award The Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction (formerly the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy) is an annual award presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) to the ...

nominee for Best Book of 2016 **''

Court of Fives ''Court of Fives'' is the first high fantasy High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot.Brian Stableford, ''The A to Z of F ...

'', Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, (2015) **''Poisoned Blade'' (2016) **''Buried Heart'' (2017) **''Night Flower'' (novella, 2015) **''Bright Thrones'' (novella, 2017) *''Black Wolves'' fantasy series, sequel to

series **''Black Wolves'', Orbit, (2015) *''Magic the Gathering'' trading card game, fantasy series **''Core Set 2019'' eight-episode short story cycle **''Throne of Eldraine: The Wildered Quest'' (2019) *''The Sun Chronicles'' science fiction adventure series **''Unconquerable Sun'', Tor Books, (2020)

Short stories

* "My Voice Is In My Sword" in ''Weird Tales from Shakespeare'' (1994), reprinted in ''Apex Magazine'' (2015) * "The Memory of Peace" in ''Enchanted Forests'' (1995) * "A Simple Act of Kindness" in ''The Shimmering Door'' (1996) * "With God to Guard Her" in ''Return to Avalon'' (1996) * "The Gates of Joriun" in ''Tarot Fantastic'' (1997) * "Making the World Live Again" in ''Zodiac Fantastic'' (1997) * "Sunseeker" in ''30th Anniversary DAW Books Science Fiction'' (2002) * "Riding the Shore of the River of Death" in ''A Fantasy Medley'' (2009), reprinted in ''Epic: Legends of Fantasy'' (2012) * "Leaf and Branch and Grass and Vine" in ''Fearsome Journeys'' (2013) * "Everything in the World Wants Something" ''in Book Smugglers'' (2017) * "A Compendium of Architecture and the Science of Building" in ''Lightspeed Magazine'' (2018) * "The Tinder Box" at Tor.com (2021) *''The Very Best of Kate Elliott'' (2015) short story collection

References

External links

Official Kate Elliott web site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Kate 1958 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American fantasy writers American science fiction writers American women short story writers American women novelists Writers from California People from Junction City, Oregon Women science fiction and fantasy writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers 21st-century pseudonymous writers Pseudonymous women writers