Reimann, Katya 1965–

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REIMANN, Katya 1965–

PERSONAL: Born 1965; daughter of William P. (a sculptor) and Helen (a painter; maiden name, Sadowy) Reimann; children: twin daughters. Education: Yale University, B.A.; Oxford University, M.Phil., 1990, D.Phil., 1995.

ADDRESSES: Home—St. Paul, MN. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Tor Books, 175 5th Ave., 14th Floor, New York, NY 10010. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Novelist. Freelance writer for computer software firms; seasonal fund-raiser for Handel and Haydn Society; also works as a sculptor, tombstone carver, and glass/mirror sandblaster.

AWARDS, HONORS: Finalist for John W. Campbell Award, best new writer of science fiction and fantasy, 1997.

WRITINGS:

FANTASY NOVELS; "CHRONICLES OF TIELMARK" SERIES

Wind from a Foreign Sky, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1996.

A Tremor in the Bitter Earth, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1998.

Prince of Fire and Ashes, Tor Books (New York, NY), 2002.

WORK IN PROGRESS: A contemporary fantasy novel set in Cambridge, MA; a fourth chronicle of Tielmark.

SIDELIGHTS: Wind from a Foreign Sky, the first novel by Katya Reimann, is a tale of adventure, spell casting, and swordplay set in a barbaric, Dark Ages-type world over which twelve gods preside, bestowing strength and enchanted powers on inhabitants of the realm. The first in a series called the "Chronicles of Tielmark," the novel depicts a young apprentice sorceress named Gaultry Blas who must draw upon her own as yet un-awakened powers to save her twin sister from an evil, treasonous chancellor and her country from invasion by a dying empire to the north. Along the way she is aided by a duty-bound warrior with a magic sword.

"With predictable spunk, Gaultry withstands multiple injuries and indignities" on her dangerous, challenging journey, according to a reviewer for Publishers Weekly. Although finding this novel only "a modestly encouraging debut," a reviewer for Kirkus Reviews acknowledged that "the narrative moves with a certain long-legged, coltish charm." Wind from a Foreign Sky "belongs in most fantasy collections," according to a Library Journal reviewer.

In the next installment of the "Chronicles of Tielmark," A Tremor in the Bitter Earth, Gaultry and her sister prevent the assassination of their prince. However, believing the assassin's soul open to redemption, Gaultry prevents his suicide by putting half of her "glamour-soul" into his body to give him strength against the poison he ingests. A changed man, the assassin, Tullier, helps Gaultry when her friend is kidnapped by his kinsmen. As their adventure unfolds, Gaultry and Tullier realize that they have become players in a much larger web of intrigue than they had previously suspected.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Bookwatch, August, 1996, p. 11.

Kirkus Reviews, May 15, 1996, review of Wind from a Foreign Sky, p. 719; May, 1998.

Library Journal, July, 1996, review of Wind from a Foreign Sky, p. 170.

Locus, June, 1996.

Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March, 1997, p. 36.

Publishers Weekly, June 24, 1996, review of Wind from a Foreign Sky, p. 49; June, 1998; June 17, 2002, review of Prince of Fire and Ashes, p. 48.