Carl, Lillian Stewart 1949-

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CARL, Lillian Stewart 1949-

PERSONAL: Born June 22, 1949, in Columbia, MO; daughter of Robert E. (a professor) and Bonnie (a teacher and editor; maiden name, Nance) Stewart; married Harold Paul Carl (a geophysicist), December 12, 1971; children: Alan Stewart, Jared Sullivan. Ethnicity: "White (British-American)." Education: University of Texas—Austin, B.S.Ed., 1971.

ADDRESSES: Home—6458 Briercliff Ct., Fort Worth, TX 76132. Agent—Frances Collin, P.O. Box 33, Wayne, PA 19087.

CAREER: Writer and editor. Forney Engineering Co., Dallas, TX, engineering aide, 1972-74; Brookhaven College, Dallas, history teacher, 1978-81.

MEMBER: Authors Guild, Authors League of America, Science Fiction Writers of America, Novelist, Inc., Sisters in Crime.

WRITINGS:

Sabazel (fantasy novel), Ace Books (New York, NY), 1985.

The Winter King (fantasy novel), Ace Books (New York, NY), 1986.

Shadow Dancers (fantasy novel), Ace Books (New York, NY), 1987.

Wings of Power (fantasy novel), Ace Books (New York, NY), 1989.

Ashes to Ashes (mystery novel), Diamond Books (New York, NY), 1990.

Dust to Dust (mystery novel), Diamond Books (New York, NY), 1991.

Garden of Thorns (mystery novel), Diamond Books (New York, NY), 1992.

Memory and Desire (mystery novel), Wildside Press (Holicong, PA), 2001.

Shadows in Scarlet (mystery novel), Wildside Press (Holicong, PA), 2001.

Time Enough to Die (mystery novel), Wildside Press (Holicong, PA), 2002.

Lucifer's Crown (fantasy novel), Five Star Press (Waterville, ME), 2003.

Work represented in anthologies, including The World's Finest Crime and Mystery III, TOR Books (New York, NY), 2002; Murder Most Catholic, Cumberland House Publishing (Nashville, TN), 2002; and Death by Dickens, Berkley Publishing (New York, NY), 2004. Contributor to recorded seminars, including Writing Exciting, Timberwolf Press (Dallas, TX), 2002. Contributor of short stories and articles to magazines, including Mystery Readers Journal, Novelists' Ink, Empire, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction, Amazing Science Fiction, Borderland, Amazons, Smithsonian, Mystery Scene, and Mostly Murder.

Some of Carl's early writings have been reprinted by Backinprint.com and Fictionwise.com.

SIDELIGHTS: "I write because I love to read," Lillian Stewart Carl once told CA. "I can't remember not being able to read, and I can't remember not writing. Since I enjoy history, mythology, archaeology, and travel-adventure nonfiction, I enjoy novels with interesting historical and geographical backgrounds and issues. And that's what I write.

"My fantasy novels are in a style I've christened 'gonzo mythology.' I juxtapose ancient societies and people who never met in reality, I leaven myth with science, I combine folk tales from different traditions—all in the interest of exploring relationships between people and other people, between people and society, between people and themselves. For my mystery novels I focused on British history and myth and used a contemporary setting. I'm intrigued with the way the twentieth century is interleaved with the past. A human being's psyche is structured the same way 'today,' layered with memory. My plots involve old crimes uncovered and historical puzzles confronted. The characters' lives are interwoven not only with their own pasts, but with the pasts of others. Again, I write about relationships.

"I'm thrilled by the synchronicities that appear in my work. It's not unusual for a magazine to arrive in my mailbox with an article addressing exactly the issue I was writing about that day. I'll get halfway through a story and suddenly realize two disparate plot elements dovetail perfectly. Right after I finished Ashes to Ashes, concerning an American woman named Rebecca working at a replica of a Scottish castle, I visited the real castle only to find an American woman named Rebecca working there."