Thomas Franklin Deitz (January 17, 1952 – April 27, 2009) was an American fantasy

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

, professor, and artist from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. He was best known for authoring the ''David Sullivan'' contemporary fantasy series, though he also authored three other fantasy series and a standalone novel set in the same universe as the ''David Sullivan'' series. He was an assistant professor at

Gainesville State College Gainesville State College was a state college of the University System of Georgia serving northeast Georgia. The Gainesville State College Gainesville Campus, located northeast of Atlanta and southwest of downtown Gainesville in Oakwood, was ...

, where he was named faculty member of the year in 2008, and an adjunct professor at two other colleges. Deitz was awarded the

Phoenix Award The Phoenix Award annually recognizes one English-language children's book published twenty years earlier that did not then win a major literary award. It is named for the mythical bird phoenix that is reborn from its own ashes, signifying the ...

in 2007 for contributions toward Southern science fiction and fantasy fandom. Deitz died on April 27, 2009, of heart failure after having a heart attack in January of the same year.

Biography

Thomas Franklin Deitz was born January 17, 1952, in

. He earned both a

Bachelor A bachelor is a man who is not and has never been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". (). Etymo ...

and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in medieval English from the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

. Deitz won the

in 2007 for lifetime achievement in promoting Southern fandom. This award was given at the annual

DeepSouthCon The DeepSouthCon (DSC) is an annual science fiction convention, which is hosted in different cities in the Southern United States. Site selection is by vote of the membership of a given DSC, for the convention to be held 2 years in the future. DS ...

, a traveling convention in the southeastern United States. In 2007, it was held in

Dickson, Tennessee Dickson is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Located in Dickson County. it is part of the Nashville metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, Dickson's population was 16,058. History Dickson was named for Congressman William Dickson, as wa ...

, as OutsideCon 20. Deitz was an adjunct English faculty member at

, Lanier Tech, and Tri-County Community College, and received a tenure-track appointment as assistant professor in Fall 2008 at Gainesville State College. He was recognized as GSC's adjunct faculty member of the year in 2008. In addition to writing, Deitz's creative outlets included creating murals and fantasy art, participating in drama productions (with minor roles in a number of community and college productions), model automobile collecting, costuming, and other pursuits via 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 ...

. He was a founding member of the SCA's Barony of Bryn Madoc. Deitz died on Monday, April 27, 2009, of heart failure. He had a heart attack in January of that year and was a candidate to receive a

ventricular assist device A ventricular assist device (VAD) is an electromechanical device for assisting cardiac circulation, which is used either to partially or to completely replace the function of a failing heart. The function of a VAD differs from that of an artific ...

(VAD), but had suffered too much damage to his heart for the device to be implanted.

Works

David Sullivan series

#''Windmaster's Bane'' (1986, Avon, ) #''Fireshaper's Doom'' (1987, Avon, ) #''Darkthunder's Way'' (1989, Avon, ) #''Sunshaker's War'' (1990, Avon, ) #''Stoneskin's Revenge'' (1991, Avon, ) #''Ghostcountry's Wrath'' (1995, Avon, ) #''Dreamseeker's Road'' (1995, Avon, ) #''Landslayer's Law'' (1997, Avon, ) #''Warstalker's Track'' (1999, Eos, ) Though not part of this series, Deitz’ ''The Gryphon King'' (1989, Avon, ) is set in the same universe.

Soulsmith Trilogy

#''Soulsmith'' (1991, Avon, ) #''Dreambuilder'' (1992, Avon, ) #''Wordwright'' (1993, Avon, )

A Tale of Eron series

#''Bloodwinter'' (1999, Bantam Spectra, ) #''Springwar'' (2000, Bantam Spectra, ) #''Summerblood'' (2001, Bantam Spectra, ) #''Warautumn'' (2002, Bantam Spectra, )

Thunderbird O'Conner series

#''Above the Lower Sky'' (1994, William Morrow & Co., ) #''The Demons in the Green'' (1996, Avon, )

References

External links

Unofficial bibliography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deitz, Tom 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American fantasy writers American male novelists American science fiction writers University of Georgia alumni Novelists from Georgia (U.S. state) 1952 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers