ROSENBERG, Joel 1954-

PERSONAL: Born May 1, 1954, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; immigrated to the United States, 1955; son of Mervin E. (a physician) and Irene (a housewife; maiden name, Yamron) Rosenberg; married Felicia Gail Herman, October 23, 1978; children: Judy, Rachel. Education: University of Connecticut, 1972-76. Politics: "Idiosyncratic." Religion: Jewish.

ADDRESSES: Offıce—3925 15th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55407. Agent—Richard Curtis, Richard Curtis Associates, Inc., 164 E. 64th St., Ste. 1, New York, NY 10021. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer, certified firearms instructor. Worked variously as a short-order cook, truck driver, aide for the mentally retarded, gambler, bookkeeper, motel desk clerk, gas pumper, and door-to-door encyclopedia salesman.

MEMBER: Science Fiction Writers of America.

WRITINGS:

"THOUSAND WORLDS" SERIES

Ties of Blood and Silver, New American Library (New York, NY), 1984.

Emile and the Dutchman, New American Library (New York, NY), 1985.

Not for Glory, New American Library (New York, NY), 1988.

Hero, Roc (New York, NY), 1990.

"GUARDIANS OF THE FLAME" SERIES

The Sleeping Dragon, New American Library (New York, NY), 1983.

The Sword and the Chain, New American Library (New York, NY), 1984.

The Silver,New American Library (New York, NY), 1985.

The Heir Apparent, New American Library (New York, NY), 1987.

The Warrior Lives, New American Library (New York, NY), 1988.

The Road to Ehvenor, Roc (New York, NY), 1991.

The Road Home, Roc (New York, NY), 1995.

Not Exactly the Three Musketeers, Tor (New York, NY), 1999.

Not Quite Scaramouche, Tor (New York, NY), 2001.

Not Really the Prisoner of Zenda, Tor (New York, NY), 2003.

The Guardians of the Flame (contains The Sleeping Dragon, The Sword and the Chain, and The Silver Crown), Baen Books (Riverdale, NY), 2003.

Legacy, Baen Books (Riverdale, NY), 2004.

To Home and Ehvenor, 2004.

"KEEPERS OF THE HIDDEN WAYS" SERIES

The Fire Duke, Morrow (New York, NY), 1995.

The Silver Stone, Avon Books (New York, NY), 1996.

The Crimson Sky, Eos (New York, NY), 1998.

OTHER

(With Kevin O'Donnell, Jr., Mark J. McGarry, Mary Kittredge, and Ester Friesner-Stutzman) The Electronic Money Machine (nonfiction), Avon (New York, NY), 1984.

D'Shai ("D'Shai" series), Ace (New York, NY) 1991.

Hour of the Octopus ("D'Shai" series), Ace (New York, NY), 1994.

Home Front ("Ernest Hemingway" mystery series), Forge (New York, NY), 2003.

Family Matters ("Ernest Hemingway" mystery series), Forge (New York, NY), 2004.

Paladins, Baen Books (Riverdale, NY), 2004.

Author of Everything You Need to Know about (Legally) Carrying a Handgun in Minnesota; work represented in anthologies, including Perpetual Light and Men of War; contributor to magazines, including Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction,Amazing Stories, Dragon, and Writer's Digest; past contributing editor of Gameplay.

SIDELIGHTS: Joel Rosenberg is the author of a number of successful science fiction and fantasy series, including "Keepers of the Hidden Ways," based on Norse mythology. The first book, The Fire Duke, finds a group of college friends, Ian, Torrie, and Maggie, expert fencers, vacationing in North Dakota with Torrie's family. A wolf lures the males away from the house, enabling agents of the Fire Duke to kidnap the women, and the men use their talent to facilitate their rescue. In the sequel, The Silver Stone, Ian is drawn into a parallel world ruled by Odin, the trickster, who sends him on a mission. The other characters from the first installment attempt to find Ian after passing through a secret passageway in the basement of the North Dakota farmhouse.

Rosenberg's longest series is "Guardians of the Flame." Not Exactly the Three Musketeers is about a trio of characters that experience adventures similar to the original. They are Kethol, a dandy swashbuckler, the giant Durine, and the ugly Pirojil. Other characters from previous books in the series, including the dragon Ellegon, appear here, as well as new ones, like the wizard Erenor and Lady Leria, a noblewoman who needs rescuing. Booklist's Roland Green wrote that "all the old virtues of Rosenberg's first and most enduring creation are here, along with the distinct promise of more to come. Good."

Green also reviewed the sequel, Not Quite Scaramouche, which he called "a treat," in which Erenor has joined the trio in protecting the House of Cullinane. A Publishers Weekly contributor wrote that the next book in the series, Not Really the Prisoner of Zenda, "darts between aggressive whimsy and deep introspection, sometimes within a single page." The trio has been reduced to one, Pirojil, after Durine is killed, and Kethol changes shape to simulate the exiled Baron Forinel to prevent the takeover of an inheritance by Forinel's half-brother, Miron. Although he has access to the palace and the lovely Lena, he longs to be back in the wood and soldiering. Green said to "expect a thoroughly intelligent piece of fantastic entertainment, and get it!"

Rosenberg tried something new with his "Ernest Hemingway" mystery series. In Home Front, we meet the protagonist, Ernest "Sparky" Hemingway, an aging copy editor who is contacted by Tenisha, the teen daughter of his Vietnam buddy, George "Prez" Washington, who has been killed by gangbangers. Prez left instructions that his daughter should go to Sparky for help in such an event. Sparky leaves his North Dakota town with his pal, Doc Holliday, for Minneapolis and returns with the girl, whose black urban looks make the folks of Homewood sit up and take notice. But the killing continues when four black males are found dead in a car near the town. Booklist's David Pitt noted Rosenberg's use of famous names, which he found to be "tiresome," but felt that Rosenberg "has a sound premise . . . and readers looking for something offbeat may enjoy the story."

In the mid-1980s, Rosenberg commented on the circumstances that led to his writing career: "Part of it is straightforward: Like H. G. Wells, I became a writer out of necessity. Due to an injury, for a long time I was unable to do anything more strenuous than sit at a typewriter keyboard.

"I write because I like eating, having a roof over my head and clothes on my back. But . . . there's quite a bit more to it than that. The field of science fiction was, in more ways than one, my first love; it's always been a faithful one. For more than twenty years, it has been evident to me that the grandest thing one can be is a science fiction writer. Others might aspire to becoming president of the United States, a heart surgeon, Rogerian psychotherapist, oil billionaire, or whatever. That doesn't bother me; I'm perfectly willing to let them have the lesser professions. So, here I am, not only a published science fiction writer, but finding that I can support myself increasingly well by doing what I love best.

"There's an old saying: 'Be careful what you wish for—you may get it.' That's remarkably irrelevant to my life. Each year is better than the preceding. I'm enjoying both the practice and the rewards of my chosen profession more and more all the time. The only negative side to it all is that I've become almost intolerably smug. People who don't like that are invited to hold their hands over their ears so that my chuckling won't bother them.

"It's unlikely that I'm going to restrict myself as a writer, beyond the limitations of my abilities and interests. My primary orientation is toward science fiction. I have worked as a short-order cook, truck driver, mental retardation aide, gambler, bookkeeper, motel desk clerk, gas pumper, and door-to-door encyclopedia salesman. I like writing better. Much better."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 1, 1999, Roland Green, review of Not Exactly the Three Musketeers, p. 966; December 15, 2000, Roland Green, review of Not Quite Scaramouche, p. 794; January 1, 2003, David Pitt, review of Home Front, p. 856; May 15, 2003, Roland Green, review of Not Really the Prisoner of Zenda, p. 1652.

Kirkus Reviews, December 1, 2002, review of Home Front, p. 1738; April 15, 2003, review of Not Really the Prisoner of Zenda, p. 578.

Publishers Weekly, April 10, 1995, review of The Fire Duke, p. 58; August 26, 1996, review of The Silver Stone, p. 81; January 18, 1999, review of Not Exactly the Three Musketeers, p. 333; January 8, 2001, review of Not Quite Scaramouche, p. 52; December 16, 2002, review of The Guardians of the Flame, p. 50; February 10, 2003, review of Home Front, p. 165; May 5, 2003, review of Not Really the Prisoner of Zenda, p. 204.

ONLINE

Fantasy Reviews,http://www.fantasyreviews.com/ (May 24, 2004), Chris Hart, reviews of The Fire Duke and The Silver Stone.

Green Man Review,http://www.greenmanreview.com/ (May 24, 2004), Laurie Thayer, reviews of Not Exactly the Three Musketeers and Not Quite Scaramouche.

Joel Rosenberg Home Page,http://www.ellegon.com/ (May 24, 2004).

Slovotsky's Laws (unofficial fan site), http://www.slovotskys-laws.com/ (May 24, 2004).*