Dillard, J.M. 1954- (Jeanne M. Dillard, Jeanne Kalogridis)

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Dillard, J.M. 1954- (Jeanne M. Dillard, Jeanne Kalogridis)

PERSONAL:

Born December 17, 1954, in Winter Haven, FL; married, November 11, 1978; husband's name George. Education: Polk Community College, A.A. (with honors), 1974; University of South Florida, B.A. (summa cum laude), 1976, M.A. (cum laude), 1980; further graduate study at Georgetown University, 1982. Hobbies and other interests: Yoga, Buddhism, quilting, reading.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Temple Terrace, FL. Agent—Russ Galen, Scott Meredith Literary Agency, 845 3rd Ave., New York, NY 10022. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer and novelist. American University, Washington, DC, professorial lecturer in English as a second language, 1981-88; freelance writer, 1988—. Worked as a legal secretary.

MEMBER:

Science Fiction Writers of America.

WRITINGS:

SCIENCE FICTION

Mindshadow, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1986.

Demons, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1986.

Bloodthirst, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1987.

War of the Worlds: The Resurrection, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1988.

The Lost Years, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1989.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1989.

Specters, Dell (New York, NY), 1991.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (novelization), Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1992.

The Fugitive, Island (New York, NY), 1993.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Emissary, story by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, screenplay by Michael Piller, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1993.

Star Trek Generations, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1994.

Star Trek, Where No One Has Gone Before: A History in Pictures, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1994.

Star Trek: Recovery, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1995.

Star Trek: First Contact, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1996.

Star Trek Insurrection Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1998.

Star Trek, the Next Generation Sketchbook: The Movies, Generations and First Contact, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1998.

Star Trek: Nemesis (novelization), story by John Logan, Rick Berman, and Brent Spiner, screenplay by John Logan, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 2002.

The Expanse (novelization), Pocket Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Surak's Soul, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Bulletproof Monk (novelization), Pocket Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Resistance, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 2007.

"DIARIES OF THE FAMILY DRACUL" SERIES; NOVELS, UNDER NAME JEANNE KALOGRIDIS

Covenant with the Vampire, Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 1994.

Children of the Vampire, Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 1995.

Lord of the Vampires, Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 1996.

NOVELS, UNDER THE NAME JEANNE KALOGRIDIS

The Burning Times, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2001.

The Borgia Bride, St. Martin's Griffin (New York, NY), 2005.

I, Mona Lisa, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

J.M. Dillard is the pseudonym of author Jeanne Kalogridis. As Dillard, she is a prolific writer of science fiction novels, most set within the Star Trek universe. Kalogridis has written a number of books under her own name as well, including a series of historical novels and the "Diaries of the Family Dracul" series, which adds a new perspective to the ongoing legend of the infamous Count Dracula.

Covenant with the Vampireopens the "Diaries of the Family Dracul" series. The novel is told as a series of diary entries from major characters in the book. Main protagonist Arkady Tsepisch is living in London with his pregnant wife, Mary, but when his father dies, Arkady is called to take over the family's Transylvanian estate. There, he must not only manage the castle and the family's affairs, but also care for his great-granduncle, who is actually the nearly 400-year-old Vlad the Impaler, the original Dracula. Kalogridis "works hard to tighten suspense, dreams up new lore and here and there, especially in erotic passages, [and] strives for fine writing," throughout the book, commented a Publishers Weekly reviewer. In the second book of the series, Children of the Vampire, Arkady has hastily departed the castle of his great-granduncle, Vlad, but cannot evade the curse of vampirism that has been bestowed upon him with a bite, and which has been the dubious legacy of each first-born Tsepisch male for generations. In Amsterdam, Arkady's wife Mary has given him up for dead and marries Doctor Jan Van Helsing. Soon, Mary and Arkady's son, Stefan, finds himself drawn to Vlad's castle, unable to resist the centuries-old role that each first-born son must eventually play. Lord of the Vampires ties up the trilogy and acts as a retelling of the classic novel by Bram Stoker. The story focuses on action in Transylvania and London in 1893, when Vlad, niece Zsuzsanna, her servant Dunya, and the family's undead cousin Countess Elizabeth Bathory continue their quest for new mortals to satisfy their hunger for blood. Unbeknownst to the supernatural family Dracul, however, vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing has arrived in London with a formidable array of weapons, where he waits for Dracula's eventual arrival. With this final installment of the series, "Kalogridis has a firm command of atmosphere, language, and character," remarked a reviewer in Publishers Weekly.

Kalogridis inaugurates a series of standalone historical novels with The Burning Times, a novel set in fourteenth-century France when Christianity and ancient pagan religions were in brutal conflict during the throes of the Inquisition. Dominican Monk Michele is dedicated to the church and its mission of ridding the world of heretics. As a scribe in the Inquisition, he is assigned to take the confession of an accused nun, Franciscan abbess Marie Francoise. Rather than being convinced of her status as a heretic, Michel is deeply impressed by Marie, and becomes convinced of her holiness. As she relates her story to the increasingly astonished monk, she reveals that her name was originally Sybille, and that she was raised in the old pagan ways of her grandmother, a loving but hedonistic woman who taught her to heal the sick and see the future. Sybille is trained for her future role as the living embodiment of the goddess Diana, and she undergoes a sexual initiation into Diana's cult, known as the "Race." When her grandmother is captured by Inquisitors and burned at the stake, Sybille inherits her powers and flees to the Franciscan abbey, where she hopes to escape the madness of the Inquisition. Sybille assumes the identity of Marie Francoise, and while living at the abbey, is honored for her ability to heal victims of the Black Plague. Eventually, Sybille is found out by the inexorable machinery of the Inquisition, as are the other nuns around her, who are revealed to be female members of the Knights Templar. Sybille struggles to retain her life even as she seeks the man she must unite with in order to continue the Race. In telling her story, both Sybille and Michel will confront issues and situations that will change both of their lives irreversibly and profoundly. "Kalogridis recreates with colorful accuracy the Inquisition, the Black Death, and the Hundred Years' War," noted Linda G. Sinclair in School Library Journal. Library Journal reviewer Jane Baird remarked that "the author presents a fresh and dramatic new view of an old, old story."

In The Borgia Bride, Kalogridis "chronicles with compelling sweep" the life story of the beautiful but determined princess of Naples, Sancha de Aragon, commented a Publishers Weekly reviewer. As the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Calabria, Sancha is used in a power play by her father, betrothing her to Jofre, the younger son of the house of Borgia. She heads to Squillace to rule with Prince Jofre, but is later recalled to Rome by the lecherous Pope Alexander VI, who desires her for her beauty. Sancha dodges the Pope's advances and the ire of sister-in-law Lucrezia, but engages in an affair with her brother-in-law Cesare, the cardinal of Valencia. When Sancha refuses to leave Jofre, furious Cesare strikes out against her and those closest to her, including her brother Alfonso, now married to the poisoner Lucrezia. "Kalogridis spins a dramatic tale from a heady mix of royal power plays and passion," the Publishers Weekly critic noted.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 1, 2001, Nancy Pearl, review of The Burning Times, p. 1451.

Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2006, review of I, Mona Lisa, p. 745.

Library Journal, March 15, 2001, Jane Baird, review of The Burning Times, p. 105.

New York Times Book Review, February 9, 1992, Gerald Jonas, "Science Fiction," review of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, p. 20.

Publishers Weekly, April 12, 1991, Penny Kaganoff, review of Spectres, p. 54; September 12, 1994, review of Covenant with the Vampire, p. 82; September 4, 1995, review of Children of the Vampire, p. 52; October 14, 1996, review of Lord of the Vampires, p. 64; February 12, 2001, review of The Burning Times, p. 182; May 23, 2005, review of The Borgia Bride, p. 60; September 4, 2006, review of I, Mona Lisa, p. 38.

School Library Journal, August, 2001, Linda G. Sinclair, review of The Burning Times, p. 209.