L. E. (Leland Exton) Modesitt Jr. (; born 1943
) is an American
science fiction and
fantasy author who has written over 75 novels. He is best known for the fantasy series ''
The Saga of Recluce''. By 2015 the 18 novels in the ''Recluce'' series had sold nearly three million copies.
By 2019 there were 22 Recluce novels.
In addition to his novels, Modesitt has published technical studies and articles, columns, poetry, and a number of science fiction stories. His first short story, "The Great American Economy", was
published in 1973 in ''
Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact''. In 2008, he published his first collection of short stories, ''Viewpoints Critical: Selected Stories'' (Tor Books, 2008).
Early life
Modesitt was born in
Denver, Colorado. He graduated from
Williams College in Massachusetts and lived in Washington, D.C. for almost 20 years
while working as a political writer.
He has worked as a
Navy pilot,
lifeguard
A lifeguard is a rescuer who supervises the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers, and other water sports participants such as in a swimming pool, water park, beach, spa, river and lake. Lifeguards are trained in swimming and CPR/ AED first a ...
, delivery boy, unpaid radio disc jockey,
real estate agent,
market research analyst, director of research for a
political campaign, legislative assistant for a
Congressman
A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...
, Director of Legislation and Congressional Relations for the
United States Environmental Protection Agency, a consultant on
environmental
A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...
,
regulatory, and communications issues, and a college lecturer and writer in residence.
[Profile on Baen's Universe]
L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
Approach to writing
Modesitt has stated, “When all the research, all the writing group support, all the cheerleading, and all the angst fade away, and they should, the bottom line is simple: As a writer, you first must entertain your readers. To keep them beyond a quick and final read, you have to do more than that, whether it’s to educate them, make them feel, anger them by challenging their preconceptions—or all of that and more. But if you don’t entertain first, none of what else you do matters, because they won’t stay around.”
["The 7 Question Interview with L. E. Modesitt, Jr."]
Bibliography
;Major series
* ''
The Saga of Recluce'' (1991–present)
* ''
Spellsong Cycle'' (1997–2002)
* ''
The Forever Hero
''The Forever Hero'' is a trilogy of science fiction novels by American writer L. E. Modesitt, Jr. These books were some of the first novels L. E. Modesitt ever published. Like most of his early work, the books are characterised by heavy usage of ...
'' (1987–1988)
* ''
The Corean Chronicles
''The Corean Chronicles'' is a fantasy series of books by the author L. E. Modesitt, Jr. As of 2011, it consists of:
*'' Legacies'' (2002)
*''Darknesses'' (2003)
*''Scepters'' (2004)
*''Alector's Choice'' (2005)
*''Cadmian's Choice'' (2006)
*''Soa ...
'' (2002–2011)
* ''
The Imager Portfolio
''The Imager Portfolio'' is a 12 book series of fantasy novels recently completed by American novelist L. E. Modesitt, Jr. The series is published by Tor Books. The first novel, ''Imager'', was first published in 2009; ''Endgames'', the final vol ...
'' (2009–2019)
*''The Grand Illusion'' (2021–present)
Personal life
He met his current wife, Carol A. Modesitt, after moving to
New Hampshire in 1989. Carol works as a professional opera singer and now acts as a professor at
Southern Utah University. They relocated to
Cedar City, Utah
Cedar City is the largest city in Iron County, Utah, United States. It is located south of Salt Lake City, and north of Las Vegas on Interstate 15. It is the home of Southern Utah University, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, the Utah Summer Gam ...
in 1993.
He has been married three times, and has six daughters and two sons.
References
External links
Recluce, The Official L. E. Modesitt, Jr. Fan Site (Formerly Recluce, the Official Modesitt Website)L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
at Tor Books
Official forum
at IBDoF
A bibliographic database is a database of bibliographic records, an organized digital collection of references to published literature, including academic journal, journal and newspaper articles, conference proceedings, reports, government and leg ...
Interview with L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
at SFFWorld.com
*
*
Recluce Wiki
(archived) fictional universes of L. E. Modesitt Jr.
Essay about Antiagon Fire – The Antiagon Fire That Almost Wasn’t
at Upcoming4.me
Essay by L E Modesitt Jr about The One-Eyed Man
at Upcoming4.me
The story behind Cyador's Heirs - Online Essay by L. E. Modesitt
at Upcoming4.me
The Immense Costs and a Shred of Optimism: A Conversation with L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
at Clarkesworld Magazine
Interview with L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
at Boomtron.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Modesitt, L. E., Jr.
1943 births
Living people
20th-century American novelists
21st-century American novelists
American fantasy writers
American male novelists
American science fiction writers
Writers from Denver
Williams College alumni
American male short story writers
20th-century American short story writers
21st-century American short story writers
20th-century American male writers
21st-century American male writers
Novelists from Colorado
People from Cedar City, Utah