A.C. Crispin
(April 5, 1950 - September 6, 2013) Website | Amazon | Facebook | Memory Alpha | Twitter | WikipediaA. C. Crispin’s major original science fiction undertaking is the StarBridge series. These books, now available as Kindle ebooks and in audiobook editions from Audible, center around a school for young diplomats, translators and explorers, both alien and human, located on an asteroid far from Earth. There are seven StarBridge books: StarBridge, Silent Dances, Shadow World, Serpent’s Gift, Silent Songs, Voices of Chaos, and Ancestor’s World.
Ann’s historical fantasy for young adults, TIME HORSE, is now available as an ebook for Kindle. It’s the story of Danielle Tomasky, who is twelve years old and wants nothing in the world but a horse to ride. She finds a horse that turns out to be something extraordinary, and that takes her on a magnificent adventure back to a time that tests every one of Danni’s equestrian skills to their limits.
A. C. wrote prolifically in many different tie-in universes, and was a master at filling in the histories of beloved TV and movie characters. Over the years, she became the unofficial “Queen of Backstory.” Ms. Crispin had a unique talent for writing dialog that captured the essence of those characters. She began publishing in 1983 with the Star Trek novel Yesterday’s Son, written in her spare time while working for the US Census Bureau. Shortly thereafter, Tor Books commissioned her to write what is perhaps still her most widely read work, the 1984 novelization of the television miniseries, V, which sold more than a million copies. She went on to collaborate on two more books in the V series, East Coast Crisis with Howard Weinstein, and Death Tide with Deborah Marshall.
For Star Wars, she wrote the bestselling Han Solo Trilogy: The Paradise Snare, The Hutt Gambit, and Rebel Dawn, which tell the story of Han Solo from his early years right up to the moment he walks into the cantina in Star Wars: A New Hope. She wrote three other bestselling Star Trek novels: Time for Yesterday, The Eyes of the Beholders, and Sarek.
Crispin and noted author Andre Norton wrote two Witch World novels together, Gryphon’s Eyrie and Songsmith. Ann Crispin and Andre Norton were friends for nearly 30 years. Ms. Norton was the first woman to be declared a Grand Master in the field of science fiction and fantasy by Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). Andre Norton’s passing brought increasing demand for her works, but a legal battle has tied up the rights to her collaborations with Ms. Crispin.