Margaret Weis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Margaret Weis
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Margaret Weis at the Lucca Comics & Games convention in 2007
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| Born | March 16, 1948 Independence, Missouri, U.S. |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Education | University of Missouri (BA) |
| Period | 1984–present |
| Genre | Fantasy, science fiction |
| Spouse |
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| Children | 2 |
Margaret Weis (born March 16, 1948) is an American writer. She is famous for her many fantasy and science fiction books. She worked with Tracy Hickman to create the Dragonlance world. This world is used in both books and role-playing games (RPGs).
Margaret Weis also started her own companies, Sovereign Press, Inc and Margaret Weis Productions. These companies create RPGs based on popular TV shows and movies. In 1999, Pyramid magazine called her one of the most important people in gaming fiction. In 2002, she was added to the Origins Hall of Fame for her work on Dragonlance.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Margaret Weis was born on March 16, 1948, in Independence, Missouri. She grew up there and later went to the University of Missouri. While studying, she discovered heroic fantasy books.
She read Tolkien's books in 1966 and loved them. She said she couldn't put them down! She graduated from the University of Missouri in 1970. She earned a degree in creative writing and literature.
Starting Her Career
After college, Margaret Weis got a job as a proofreader. This was at a small publishing company in Kansas City, Missouri. She learned a lot about how books are made and sold. This job helped her become a successful author.
She started by writing books for children. These books were well-researched and librarians liked them. From 1972 to 1983, she worked for Herald Publishing House. She was an advertising director and later a director for their trade division.
Her first book was about the outlaws Frank and Jesse James. She also wrote children's books about computers and robots. She even wrote an adventure book for prisoners who had trouble reading.
Creating Dragonlance
In 1983, Margaret Weis applied for a job at TSR, Inc.. This company made popular games. She was hired as a book editor. She later became an independent author in 1986.
At TSR, she met Tracy Hickman. They worked together on a project called Project Overlord. This project was meant to include a novel and game modules. They ended up writing the novel themselves because they loved the characters so much.
Project Overlord became the famous Dragonlance series. The first book, Dragons of Autumn Twilight, sold millions of copies. It grew into a trilogy of novels called the Dragonlance Chronicles. There were also 15 linked game modules.
Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman wrote the novels first. Then, the game modules were created based on their stories. This made the stories flow better. They also wrote the Dragonlance Legends trilogy in 1986.
Their Dragonlance work included many novels, game guides, and art books. They worked very hard, writing for hours every evening and weekend. Their success allowed them to leave TSR in 1986 and become full-time writers.
Life as an Author
After leaving TSR, Weis and Hickman continued writing together. They wanted to create fantasy worlds that felt real. They aimed for stories where readers could imagine meeting their characters in everyday places.
Margaret Weis said Tracy Hickman was great at building the world. He would decide things like when the moon rises. She would focus on creating the characters and their stories. They helped each other solve tricky plot problems.
They wrote the Darksword trilogy (1986–87) and the seven-book Deathgate Cycle (1988–94). Margaret Weis usually wrote for five hours each morning. She would often rewrite parts from the day before.
She loved living in her fictional worlds while writing. When a book was finished, she sometimes felt sad to leave the characters. She enjoyed hosting fantasy and science fiction conventions. This allowed her to meet her fans.
Margaret Weis wrote the space opera Star of the Guardians novels. She calls this her favorite series. She also helped create a game based on Mag Force 7. Later, she and Hickman wrote the Sovereign Stone novel trilogy.
In 2002, Margaret Weis was honored in the Origins Hall of Fame. This was partly for her huge impact with Dragonlance.
Her Own Publishing Companies
Margaret Weis also became a business owner. She started Sovereign Press, Inc as CEO. This company published the Sovereign Stone role-playing game.
In 2004, she founded Margaret Weis Productions. This company published RPGs based on popular shows. These included Serenity and Battlestar Galactica.
Returning to Dragonlance
Weis and Hickman returned to the Dragonlance world in 1995. They wrote Dragons of Summer Flame. Margaret Weis also wrote a solo novel called The Soulforge. This book was about her favorite character, the wizard Raistlin.
Later, they wrote a new Dragonlance trilogy called War of Souls. The first book was Dragons of a Fallen Sun (2000). In 2002, Wizards of the Coast allowed Sovereign Press to create Dragonlance RPG materials. Weis and others wrote the Dragonlance Campaign Setting (2003).
Between 2004 and 2008, Margaret Weis wrote a solo novel trilogy called The Dark Disciple. She also co-authored The Lost Chronicles trilogy with Tracy Hickman. The first book, Dragons of the Dwarven Depths, came out in 2006.
After a long break, a new Dragonlance novel was released. Dragonlance: Dragons of Deceit came out on August 2, 2022.
Personal Life
Margaret Weis moved to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, in 1983 to work for TSR. She lived in a house that used to be a barn. She enjoys reading classic authors like Charles Dickens and Jane Austen. She also loves Sherlock Holmes stories.
For relaxation, she enjoys cooking. She collects cookbooks from her travels. She also liked to play games at a store she co-owned called Game Guild.
Images for kids
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Margaret Weis at the Lucca convention in October 2005.
See also
In Spanish: Margaret Weis para niños
