Why Otters?

Winner of the 2003 Otterart Contest
by Michelle Deeming

Aside from pondering otters, Lynn Beaulieu was born on October 20, 1958, in Presque Isle, Maine, which--contrary to common assumption--is not an island, or anywhere near the ocean but deep in the North Maine Woods with lots of lakes, mountains, and potato farms. Her mother's people were from the coast, however, and she spent a great deal of time on Frenchman's Bay. She has travelled the world and found no more beautiful or inspiring place.

She received her undergraduate from the University of Maine at Presque Isle, where she majored in English, minored in History, and received a teaching certificate she had no intention of ever using. She married Douglas Flewelling in 1981. Since then, she has studied literature, veterinary medicine, ancient Greek among other things, and worked as a necropsy technician, a house painter, an office worker, a freelance editor, a freelance journalist (Other Writings), and yes, even as a teacher now and then, an instructor of workshops--on creativity and fiction writing. Her article "the Complete Nobody's Guide to Query Letters" has recently been reprinted as a chapter in Moira Allen's excellent book, Writer's Guide to Queries, Pitches & Proposals.

She is available for lectures and workshops. Contact her at: lbflewelling@roadrunner.com.

Her fantasy novels have received worldwide acclaim and currently appear in twelve languages.

(Photo byRichard Wicka © 2005)

Fiction Bibliography:

"Letter To Alexi" Prisoners of the Night Magazine 1996.

The Nightrunner Series (ongoing):
The White Road Bantam Spectra 2010
Shadows Return, Bantam Spectra 2009
Luck in the Shadows, Bantam Spectra 1996
Stalking Darkness, Bantam Spectra 1997
Traitor's Moon, Bantam Spectra 1999

"Raven's Cut" Assassin Fantastic, 2001 Daw Books

The Tamír Triad (ongoing):
The Bone Doll's Twin, Bantam Spectra 2001
Hidden Warrior, Bantam Spectra 2003
The Oracle's Queen (Bantam Spectra 2006)

Notable Quotes

"A mother, even at the risk of her own life, protects her child, her only child. In the same way should you cultivate love without measure toward all beings. You should cultivate toward the whole world--above, below, around--a heart of love unstinted, unmixed with any sense of differing or opposing interests. You should maintain this mindfulness all the time you are awake. Such a state of heart is the best in the world."

--Majjhima Nikaya

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

--Edmund Burke

I support Amnesty International (www.amnesty.org) and the American Civil Liberties Union (www.aclu.org) and believe these organizations offer solid opportunities for individuals to make a difference. I encourage you to check them out!

I would also like to hang a little online prayer flag for the people and culture of Tibet. Because they have chosen to pursue a nonviolent path of resistance against the brutal oppression and cultural decimation being waged against them by the Chinese government since the 1950s, they are too often overlooked by the world. Something precious is being lost and the political situation is very complex. Worse yet, time is growing short. For more information about this sad situation and what we can do to help, please check out the International Campaign for Tibet.