Casil, Amy Sterling 1962- (Robert Sterling)

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CASIL, Amy Sterling 1962-
(Robert Sterling)

PERSONAL:

Born March 10, 1962, in Los Angeles, CA; daughter of Eugene (an owner of a janitor service) and Sterling (an animator and art director; maiden name, Sturtevant) Glasband; married Michael Casil (divorced); children: Meredith Sterling. Education: Scripps College, B.A., 1983; attended Michigan State University, 1984; Chapman University, M.F.A. (with honors), 1999. Religion: American Baptist.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Saddleback College, 20800 Marguerite Parkway, Mission Viejo, CA 92692. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Family Service Association, Redlands, CA, executive director, 1988-97; Chapman University, Orange, CA, instructor in English, 1997-2000; Saddle-back College, Mission Viejo, CA, instructor in English, 2000—. Pierce College, faculty member. Wildside Press, worked in marketing and publicity. Associates of Redlands Bowl, member, 1990-95. Founding member and officer for Volunteer Center of Inland Empire and San Bernardino County Homeless Coalition, 1992-95.

MEMBER:

Science Fiction Writers of America, Soroptimist Club of Redlands (president, 1994).

AWARDS, HONORS:

Winner of Writers of the Future competition, 1999; Nebula Award nomination, Science Fiction Writers of America, 2002, for the short story "To Kiss the Star."

WRITINGS:

Without Absolution (short stories and poetry), Wildside Press (Holicong, PA), 2000.

Imago (science fiction novel), Wildside Press (Holicong, PA), 2002.

Choosing a Career in Aircraft Maintenance (textbook), Rosen Publishing Group (New York, NY), 2002.

B-1 Lancer (nonfiction), Rosen Publishing Group (New York, NY), 2003.

Coping with Terrorism (young adult nonfiction), Rosen Publishing Group (New York, NY), 2003.

Trinity (science fiction novel), Wildside Press (Holicong, PA), 2004.

Author of other nonfiction titles published by Rosen Publishing Group (New York, NY). Contributor of short stories to periodicals, including Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Some writings appear under the pseudonym Robert Sterling.

WORK IN PROGRESS:

Research on the Middle East, early twentieth-century American communism, nineteenth-century romanticism, Russian mysticism, bio-anthropology, the science of complexity, and political disenfranchisement and marginalized populations in the late twentieth century.

SIDELIGHTS:

Amy Sterling Casil told CA: "When I was in college in Claremont, California, I became the first female editor and publisher of the five-college newspaper and served in an internship at the Los Angeles Times Book Review, working for Art Seidenbaum, who was a great mentor. I twice won the Crombie Allen Award, which was the fiction/poetry award at Scripps College. I was a double major—British/American literature and studio art. I did most of the covers for the Collage, which was magazine-style, and started out as the art reviewer. But from age six, I wanted to be a writer. After college I began to work in community service, first as a fund-raiser for the United Way, then for ten years as the director of the Family Service Association in my hometown of Redlands, California. I had attended the Clarion Science Fiction Writers Workshop at Michigan State University in 1984, inspired by a story by Octavia Butler and an article written by Algis Budrys. At that time, I met and became friendly with Budrys and with Harlan Ellison, who were two of the instructors.

"At Clarion, although it was and is a type of 'boot camp' for aspiring science fiction/fantasy writers, I was from a wholly literary background, although steeped in science fiction as a reader since childhood. Like many, I was first inspired by Madeleine L'Engle'sA Wrinkle in Time, which my aunt gave me when I was about ten, and a bit later by Ray Bradbury's books, particularly Dandelion Wine and The Martian Chronicles.

"Painting, writing, and partying my way through college, I did a bit of student leadership as well as professional artwork and layout for political campaigns. After that, I married, went to Clarion, came home, and kept working. I wrote a great deal for the Family Service Association and local newspapers or charitable publications, but nothing for myself.

"When my daughter was small, never having forgotten my dream of being a writer, I started writing again, science fiction, just as I had wanted all along. I eventually entered the master's of fine arts program at Chapman University where, with the help of many friends and even later colleagues, wonderful writers and scholars, received my degree in 1999. My goal was to teach and to write, which is what I do today. I am deeply committed to my students.

"I am a Southern California science fiction writer. I write novels, short fiction, poetry, and I also enjoy the nonfiction books I have written for the opportunities they give for my learning and growth, as well as to help other."