COOK, Paul 1950-

PERSONAL: Born November 12, 1950, in Tucson, AZ. Ethnicity: "White." Education: Northern Arizona University, B.A., 1972; Arizona State University, M.A., 1978; University of Utah, Ph.D., 1981.

ADDRESSES: Home—1108 West Cornell, Tempe, AZ 85283. Office—Department of English, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287. Agent—Richard Curtis, Richard Curtis Associates, Inc., 171 East 74th St., Suite 2, New York, NY 10021. E-mail—pcook@dancris.com.

CAREER: Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, senior lecturer in English, 1987—.

WRITINGS:

SCIENCE FICTION

Duende Meadow, Bantam (New York, NY), 1985.

Halo, Bantam (New York, NY), 1986.

On the Rim of the Mandala, Bantam (New York, NY), 1987.

Fortress on the Sun, Penguin (New York, NY), 1997.

Thinking of You, Xlibris (Philadelphia, PA), 2000.

WORK IN PROGRESS: A novel, The Engines of Dawn.

SIDELIGHTS: Paul Cook once told CA: "I find it difficult to talk about myself and my writing. This is because I've seen too many good people fall victim to the contemplation of their literary immortality to such a degree that their writing is usually its first casualty. It either becomes a reflection of marketplace expediencies or it bows to one of the many specters of political correctness that still haunt our culture. This is true even in the science fiction field, where chest-thumping and ego-yodeling are as loud as in any other field.

"I do know that I am lucky to be publishing at all, given the hundreds of thousands of people trying to get their books into print in any way they can. I am also lucky to have an agent who puts up with my insecurities and an editor who finds my writing worth her time to promote. Writing, though, is something I've always done, and the future has always been my principal focus of interest. When the two come together and produce something—a novel, a short story—that some adult person at a New York publishing house wants to advocate, publish, and distribute to book stores all across the country, then I figure life can't get much better than this. (Actually, it can, but for now I'll settle with what I have and keep my fingers crossed about the rest.)"