Lyn McConchie

Lyn McConchie (1946) is a New Zealand writer of speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, and horror fiction), picture books for children, a nonfiction humour series, a number of standalone books and many short stories, articles, poems, opinion pieces, and reviews.

Biography

McConchie was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and attended Freyberg High School in Roslyn. She was crippled in a motorcycle accident in 1977. McConchie has worked in the Justice Department and the Office of Agriculture and Fisheries in Wellington before she began writing professionally in 1990. Since that time she has sold on average one book every eight months. Her first book to appear was Farming Daze, containing humorous true-life stories about her farm and animals.^[1] That first book is still in print, with six more since published in that series. In addition to three Vogel Award-winning collaborations, McConchie wrote three sequels in the Beast Master series that Andre Norton inaugurated in 1959 and four novels in the Witch World universe that Norton created in 1963.^[2][3] McConchie's work has appeared in nine countries to date, and in four languages. Her list of published books stands at 37; she has also published novellas; and her short story list recently passed 300. McConchie also writes consumer/recycling articles for her local newspaper, and specialty articles for magazines in New Zealand and the UK. She has written under the pseudonyms of Jan Bishop and Elizabeth Underwood.^[4] She writes from her home, Farside Farm, on the north island of New Zealand.^[5]

Awards

McConchie has won the Best Novel category in the Sir Julius Vogel Awards for New Zealand science fiction and fantasy six times, including three for novels set in Andre Norton's worlds (by Norton and McConchie):^[2] in 2003, 2005, and 2006 for Beastmaster's Ark, Beastmaster's Circus, and The Duke's Ballad.^[6][7][8][9] At the 2011 Vogels, McConchie won both the Best Novel category with The Questing Road and the Best Young Adult Novel category with Summer of Dreaming. In 2013 she won Best Novel again for her collaborated book 'Queen of Iron Years (with Sharman Horwood) ^[10]

She also won an award for editing in the Vogels' former incarnation as the New Zealand science fiction fan awards in 1990. Her short stories have won The Australian SF Foundation award (for The Third Storey) in 1992, and Muse Medallions (Best Short Story)from the international Cat Writers Association in 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2002. In 2011 her short story, Opener of Doors won a 6th Certificate of Excellence and Muse Medallion. Her short story, Waiting Tables and Time, was a finalist in the Sir Julius Vogel awards (Best Short Story) in 2009, and a Gaylactic Awards shortlister for 2011. In October 2012 her short story, The Domen, (Penumbra eZine May issue) won the international Cat Writers' Association (CWA) Certificate of Excellence, and continued on to win their 2012 Muse Medallion for this work.

Recent Works

Non Fiction Works

• The book Where There's Smoke: The Fire That Changed the Law, co-written with her long-time friend Linnette Horne, appeared in March 2012 from Heritage Press (NZ). It is a non-fiction study of four fires that took place between 1967 and 1971 in Wellington, the investigations of which resulted in a major improvement in National Fire Safety Regulations. The work controversially suggests that one of the fires—which resulted in seven deaths—may have been arson.
• Rustic (And Rusted) Daze, from Avalook Publications, (Australia) is the 7th in a humorous non-fiction series about the author's farm, friends, and animals.

Works involving Sherlock Holmes

• McConchie's collection of fourteen new Sherlock Holmes short stories, Sherlock Holmes: Repeat Business appeared from Wildside Press, in January 2014.

• McConchie's first double volume contained two short new Sherlock Holmes books, Mystery at Foxhunt Hall, and The Case of the Mummified Penguins, this work was published by Wildside Press April 2015. The duo appear under the combined title of Sherlock Holmes: Beastly Mysteries.
• McConchie's Holmes/Watson short story, A Mistress-Missing, appeared in the MX Books triple-volume hardcover anthology of all new Sherlock Holmes/John Watson short stories edited by David Marcum. The anthology, whose sales benefit the preservation of Conan Doyle's old home Undershaw, is the largest collection of Sherlock pastiches.^[11] McConchie's story was recommended for the Edgar Wallace (Short Story) Award.
• McConchie's latest Holmes/Watson book, out in 2016, Sherlock Holmes: Poisonous People comprises two shorter books (A Dreadful Diary, and A Poisoning At The Publisher,) and the book, out in April 2016, is now available for purchase from Wildside, Amazon and other venues.-->
• Meanwhile the author began work on a new Sherlock Holmes double volume in the second half of 2015 and it was completed before Christmas. The double volume Sherlock Holmes: Familiar Crimes (comprising This Awful Fire and Too Many Accidents) was turned into Wildside early in 2016. The book was accepted and revision was completed at the end of August 2016 with a final galley check turned in at the start of November.
• After discussion with the publisher the author began writing several novellas, also Holmes/Watson works, but feature two on-going characters, a freelance secretary, Miss Emily, and her cat, a brown Burmese named Mandalay. Mandalay has a habit of bringing home strange items for his owner, some of which require investigation. In April (2016) the first appeared from Wildside - SHERLOCK HOLMES (in) SOMETHING THE CAT DRAGGED IN. while the second appeared in June - SHERLOCK HOLMES (in) CAT WITH A VESTED INTEREST with September seeing the third, SHERLOCK HOLMES (in) CAT WITH ENOUGH ROPE. They are available from Wildside as e-works. However they will soon be available as a collected book in print and e, and containing as well a long short story, PINNED TO A CRIME.
• In early May (2016) McConchie completed the first draft of a new Holmes double book, titled SHERLOCK HOLMES: STRANGE EVENTS, to comprise The Case of the Vanishing Omnibus, and The Mystery of the Misplaced Mother. The book is currently under publisher preparation as an audio edition.
• In 2015 McConchie also turned in for consideration a second sf/disaster standalone book, Coals & Ash. This has the same plague background, but is set in Australia with different characters. Lethe is currently considering the work and updates will be added if the work is formally contracted.
• Due to the publisher, Cyberwizerd Productions, folding at the end of May 2015, her young adult Four Season's Quartet books were transferred to Avalook Publications. Summer of Dreaming, and Autumn of the Wild Pony, appeared from there as reprints in 2015, with Winter of Waiting, and Spring Of Decisions, as first publication at the same time.

In April 2016 Wildside contracted McConchie's fantasy, 'BASTET'S DAUGHTERS', set in an alternate ancient Egypt. A number of her short stories set in the same universe as this book have appeared since the 1990s, including two in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine, and three in Andre Norton's Catfantastic anthologies. The revision for this has now been completed and it is hoped that the book will be out early in 2017.

References

External links

• Official website
• Lyn McConchie at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Odyssey Con Guests
• ConText Guests