Jody Lynn Nye (born 1957) is an American science fiction writer. She is the author or co-author of approximately forty published novels and more than 100 short stories. She has specialized in science fiction or fantasy action novels and humor. Her humorous series range from contemporary fantasy (The Magic Touch and Mythology 101) to military science fiction (Strong Arm Tactics and a new series beginning with View from the Imperium). About one-third of her novels are collaborations, either as a co-author or as the author of a sequel. She has been an instructor of the Fantasy Writing Workshop at Columbia College Chicago (2007) and she teaches the annual Science Fiction Writing Workshop at DragonCon.
Nye began collaborating with Robert Lynn Asprin on the MythAdventures series in 2003 with the publication of the collection Myth-told Tales and the novel Myth Alliances. Since Asprin's death in 2008 she has continued that humorous fantasy series and she is now also writing sequels to his Dragons, or Griffen McCandles, contemporary fantasy series.
In 2008 she donated her archive to the department of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University Libraries.. Northern Illinois University. Archived 2012-06-03. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
Career Born 1957 in Chicago, Illinois, Nye says that she "always told stories" to her younger brothers, cousins, and friends, and as a junior camp counselor. Her first published writings were technical articles on broadcasting in the magazine "Video Action" during the 1980s. She first wrote fiction for the "Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine game" and the Role-Aids line of game supplements published by Mayfair Games."Frequently Asked Questions" . Jody Lynn Nye. SFF Net (sff.net). Retrieved 2011-07-29.
Late in the eighties Nye wrote six companion books for the Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey and the Magic of Xanth series by Piers Anthony. The first four were "branching-path" gamebooks in the Crossroads Adventure series, two set on Pern and two in Xanth."Publication Series Crossroads Adventure – Bibliography". ISFDB. Then simultaneously November 1989, Ballantine Books published The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern by Nye with McCaffrey and Avon Books published Piers Anthony's Visual Guide to Xanth by Nye and Anthony. Todd Cameron Hamilton and James Clouse were the illustrators for both Guides, as Hamilton had been for Roger Zelazny's Visual Guide to Amber published by Avon one year earlier."Todd Cameron Hamilton". ISFDB."James Clouse". ISFDB.
For the Pern guide, Nye explained in its introduction, her team (without Clouse) had visited McCaffrey two years earlier, for ten days during October 1987. In the living room Nye, editor Bill Fawcett (Nye's husband), illustrator Hamilton, and McCaffrey's son Todd Johnson discussed Pern with its creator and Hamilton sketched under her direction. They produced "a companion volume to her work, intended to help you visualize the setting and background for her chronicles."The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern. Jody Lynn Nye with Anne McCaffrey. New York: Ballantine (Del Rey Books). 1989. .
Before The Dragonlover's Guide was finished, McCaffrey and Nye were working together on a novel, presumably The Death of Sleep (1990) in the Planet Pirates trilogy. In the early 1990s they collaborated in three series based on McCaffrey stories from the 1960s and 1970s. Meanwhile, McCaffrey completed five more Pern books, after which they revised The Dragonlover's Guide."Anne McCaffrey". ISFDB.
Late in the 1990s Nye began work with Robert Asprin to extend the Myth Adventures series he had started in 1978. After his 2008 death she continued to write books they had planned. Meanwhile, three of Nye's book series were "adrift" since Meisha Merlin Publishing went out of business in 2007.
Among other projects, Nye is continuing to write the Myth Adventures series and her military SF/humor series begun with View from the Imperium (2011).
Works
Series Mythology Mythology 101 (1990) Mythology Abroad (1991) Higher Mythology (1993) Advanced Mythology (2001) Applied Mythology (2000) – omnibus edition of books 1–3
MythAdventures Myth-told Tales (2003), by Robert Lynn Asprin and Nye Myth Alliances (2003), Asprin and Nye Myth-taken Identity (2004), Asprin and Nye Class Dis-Mythed (2005), Asprin and Nye Myth-Gotten Gains (2006), Asprin and Nye Myth-Chief (2008), Asprin and Nye Myth-Fortunes (2011), Asprin and Nye Myth-Quoted (2012) (Advertised as Robert Asprin's Myth-Quoted but authored by Nye alone.) Myth-Fits (2016) (Advertised as Robert Asprin's Myth-Fits but authored by Nye alone.) Asprin alone wrote 12 novels in the MythAdventures series that were published from 1978 to 2002.Myth Adventures series. ISFDB. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
Imperium (or Lord Thomas Kinago) View from the Imperium (2011) Fortunes of the Imperium (September 2014) Rhythm of the Imperium (November, 2015)Briefly reviewed by Don Sakers in the April 2016 issue of Analog, pp.105–108.
Dreamland Waking in Dreamland (1998) School of Light (1999) The Grand Tour (2000)
Ireta (or Dinosaur Planet; or Planet Pirates) The Death of Sleep (1990), by Anne McCaffrey and Nye The Planet Pirates (1993), McCaffrey, Elizabeth Moon and Nye – omnibus edition of the 3-volume subseries McCaffrey alone wrote two Dinosaur Planet novels that were published in 1978 and 1984. She and Elizabeth Moon inaugurated the Planet Pirates subseries in a novel that was published a few months before McCaffrey and Nye's.Ireta series. ISFDB. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
Doona Crisis on Doona (1992), McCaffrey and Nye Treaty at Doona (1994), McCaffrey and Nye; also titled Treaty Planet McCaffrey alone wrote one Doona novel that was published in 1969.Doona series. ISFDB. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
Taylor's Ark Taylor's Ark (1993) Medicine Show (1994) The Lady and the Tiger (2003)
The Ship Who Sang (or Brain and Brawn Ship) The Ship Who Won (1994), McCaffrey and Nye The Ship Errant (1996) The Ship Who Saved the Worlds (2003), McCaffrey and Nye – omnibus comprising The Ship who Won and The Ship Errant McCaffrey alone wrote The Ship Who Sang, a collection published in 1969. She wrote three Ship novels in collaboration with three different women that were published in 1992 and 1993.The Ship Who ... series. ISFDB. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
Dragons, or Griffen McCandles Dragons Deal (2010), by Robert Lynn Asprin and Nye Dragons Run (2013) Asprin alone wrote two novels in the Griffen McCandles series, published 2008 and 2009.Griffen McCandles series. ISFDB. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
Crossroads Adventure game books (copyright Bill Fawcett and Associates) Dragonharper (Tor Books, Aug 1987), illus. Todd Cameron Hamilton – set in the world of Pern Encyclopedia of Xanth (1987) – set in the world of Xanth Dragonfire (Tor, Jul 1988), illus. Todd Cameron Hamilton – set in the world of Pern Ghost of a Chance (1988) – set in the world of Xanth Anne McCaffrey inaugurated the long-running Pern series in 1967; Piers Anthony the long-running Xanth series in 1977. ISFDB catalogs the four Crossroads Adventures as novels, the two Guides as reference books, and all six as contributions to the Pern and Xanth series.Dragonriders of Pern series. ISFDB. Retrieved 2014-12-18.Xanth series. ISFDB. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
Novels The Magic Touch (1996) License Invoked (2001), by Robert Lynn Asprin and Nye Strong-Arm Tactics (2005) An Unexpected Apprentice (2007) A Forthcoming Wizard (2009)
Eric Flint's 1632 series 1635: The Weaver's Code (October 2024) with Eric Flint An Exchange of Favours (short story) in the online magazine 1632 & Beyond, Issue #001, September 2023
Anthologies (as editor) Don't Forget Your Spacesuit, Dear (1996); (includes the short story What's the Magic Word?)
Others The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern (Ballantine, 1989), with Anne McCaffrey. Illustrated by Todd Cameron Hamilton and James Clouse. . xi + 178 pages. — Pern geography, society, flora, fauna, etc., including information not in the previously published fiction The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern, second edition (Ballantine, 1997). . xi + 260 pages. Piers Anthony's Visual Guide to Xanth (Harper, 1989), with Piers Anthony. Illustrated by Todd Cameron Hamilton and James Clouse.
Short stories in anthologies
The Fleet, "Bolthole", Ace Books (1988) The Fleet II: Counterattack, "Lab Rats", Ace (1988) The Fleet III: Breakthrough, "Crossing the Line", Ace (1989) The Fleet IV: Sworn Allies, "Full Circle", Ace (1990) The Fleet V: Total War "Change Partners and Dance", Ace (1990) The Fleet VI: Crisis, "The Mosquito", Ace (1991) The War Years I: Far Stars War, "Volunteers", New American Library (1990) The War Years II: Siege of Arista, "Unreality", NAL (1991) The War Years III: Jupiter War, "Gold-digging", NAL (1991) The Crafters, "The Seeing Stone", Ace (1991) The Crafters II: Blessings & Curses, "Miss Crafter's School For Girls", Ace (1992) Halflings, Hobbits, Wee Folk and Warrows; "Moon Shadows", Warner Books (1991) Alternate Presidents edited by Mike Resnick, "The Father of His Country", TOR Books (1992) Space Cats, "Well Worth the Money", Baen Books (1992) Battlestation, "Star Light", Ace (1992) Battlestation II, "Shooting Star", Ace (1993) The Gods of War, "Order in Heaven", Baen (1992) More Whatdunits, "Way Out" (by Bill Fawcett and Nye), TOR (1993) Quest to Riverworld, "If the King Like Not the Comedy", Warner (1993) Alien Pregnant By Elvis! "Psychic Bats 1000 for Accuracy", DAW (1994) Dragon’s Eye, "The Stuff of Legends", Baen (1994) Deals With The Devil, "The Party of the First Part", DAW (1994) Elric, Tales of the White Wolf, "The White Child", White Wolf Publishing (1994) Superheroes, "Theme Music Man", Ace (1995) Excalibur, "Sword Practice"—Warner Aspect (1995) Chicks in Chainmail, "The Growling"—Baen (Sept 1995) The Day The Magic Stopped, "Flicker"—Baen (Oct 1995) Fantastic Alice, "Muchness"—Ace (December 1995) Dante’s Disciples, "The Bridge on the River Styx"—White Wolf (1996) Lammas Night, "Sunflower"—Baen (February 1996) Otherwere, "What? And Give Up Show Business?"—Ace (1996) Future Net, "Souvenirs and Photographs"—DAW (1996) Many Faces of Fantasy, "Sidhe Who Must Be Obeyed" -- World Fantasy Convention (Oct 1996) Space Opera, "Calling Them Home"—DAW (1996) Elf Fantastic, "The Dancing Ring"—DAW (1997) First Contact, "Take Me to Your Leader"—DAW (1997) Acorna, "Pony Girl"—BIG Entertainment (1997) Zodiac Fantastic, "The Billion-Year Boys' Club" – DAW (1997) Wizard Fantastic, "Bird Bones"—DAW (1997) Urban Nightmares, "The Bicycle Messenger From Hell"—Baen (1997) Did You Say ‘Chicks’?, "The Old Fire" – Baen (1998) Alternate Generals, "Queen of the Amazons" – Baen (1998) The Quintessential World of Darkness, "The Muse" -- HarperCollins (1998) Mob Magic, "Power Corrupts" – DAW (1998) Tails From the Pet Shop, "A Cat's Chance" – 11th Hour Productions (1999) Twice Upon a Time, "Spinning A Yarn" – DAW (1999) Chicks and Chained Males, "Don’t Break the Chain!" – Baen (1999) Stardates, "The Stars in Their Courses" – Dreams-Unlimited.com (Dec 1999) Flights of Fantasy, "Eagle's Eye" – DAW (Jan 2000) Perchance to Dream, "The Piper" – DAW (2000) Daughter of Dangerous Dames, "Riddle of the Sphinx" – 11th Hour (May 2000) Such a Pretty Face, "Casting Against Type" – Meisha Merlin Publishing (Jun 2000) 100 Crafty Little Cat Crimes, "Land Rush" – Barnes & Noble (2000) Guardian Angels, "Desperation Gulch" – Cumberland House (2000) Warrior Fantastic, "Conscript" – DAW (2000) Blood and Donuts, "The Haunted Patrol Car" – 11th Hour (2001) Murder Most Romantic, "Night Hawks" – Cumberland (2001) Conjuration 2001 program book, "Shore Excursion" (Jun 2001) The Mutant Files, "Rite of Passage" – DAW (2001) Past Imperfect, "Theory of Relativity" – DAW(2001) Creature Fantastic, "Father Noe’s Bestiary" – DAW (2001) Dracula’s London, "Everything to Order" – Ace (2001)