Tanith Lee
Tanith Lee
Tanith Leewas a British writer of science fiction, horror, and fantasy. She was the author of over 90 novels and 300 short stories, a children's picture book, and many poems. She also wrote two episodes of the BBC science fiction series Blake's 7. She was the first woman to win the British Fantasy Award best novel award, for her book Death's Master...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth19 September 1947
editor might suggested
An editor suggested to me I might try contemporary horror. At first this didn't appeal-then the idea arrived.
admit basic hope nonsense pleasure stripped teachings
I will admit to a pleasure and sense of hope in what I see as the basic teachings of Christ, stripped of the nonsense that has sometimes been accumulated about them and the embarrassing misunderstanding.
characters die drive follow lead lives plot
There are the characters who die but who you follow after death, and they often lead much more interesting lives after they are dead! So the characters usually drive me along, but occasionally the plot has to come first. It can get sticky.
depths pain vampires
What I like about vampires is what I like about everything I want to write about, the depths and heights, the pain and joy. Life.
bullied deal great learned parents schools traveled
My parents were dancers, and we traveled around a lot, so I went to some very ropy schools where I learned a lot about being bullied and not a great deal about anything else.
heart mind
Locality is, in my case, unimportant. My mind and heart go where they wish.
beginning followed learning words year
Once I could read, I think writing followed very quickly; I was able to put down my words and letters... So there's just over a year between my learning to read and beginning to write.
beautiful believe entirely graham literature produced william
I couldn't believe someone had produced literature that was like an entirely new language, beautiful stuff. Graham Greene, everything. William Golding.
adult books children finally night published start stop stupid taken work
In my 20s some of my work for children was published by Macmillan. However, I was 27 before my adult novel... was taken by DAW Books in the USA. This enabled me finally to stop doing stupid and soul-killing jobs, and start working day and night as a professional writer.
synopsis chains
I hardly ever work from a synopsis -- I find they act like chains.
war writing long
I simply write what I want, wish, long to write.... The state of human life and the god or demon within. The constant internal war that being alive can conjure.
real writing heart
For me, everyone I write of is real. I have little true say in what they want, what they do or end up as (or in). Their acts appall, enchant, disgust or astound me. Their ends fill me with retributive glee, or break my heart. I can only take credit (if I can even take credit for that) in reporting the scenario. This is not a disclaimer. Just a fact.
horse night sky
World's flying like birds; my car's in flight. The city lights are spattered on my windshield like the fragments of the night. And I'm in flight. The sky's a wheel, a merry-go-round of wings and snow and steel, and fire. We'll tread the sky, we'll ride the scarlet horses.
christian teaching sometimes
I am interested in most mythology. Celtic or Christian no more than anything else. I will admit to a pleasure and sense of hope in what I see as the basic teachings of Christ, stripped of the nonsense that has sometimes been accumulated about them and the embarrassing misunderstanding.