Page Created: 09/25/10. Last Updated: 08/27/12,
JOSEPHA SHERMAN
Selected Novels:
Buffy, the Vampire Slayer: Deep Water
Buffy, the Vampire Slayer: Visitors
The Chaos Gate
Forging the Ruins
Gleaming Bright
Highlander: The Captive Soul
The Shattered Oath
Son of Darkness
Windleaf
A Strange and Ancient Name
Trickster Tales
Xena: All I Need To Know I Learned from the Warrior Princess
Collaborations:
A Cast of Corbies (with Mercades Lackey)
Castle of Deception (with Mercades Lackey)
Star Trek: Vulcan's Forge (with Susan Shwartz)
Her Home Page is: http://www.sff.net/people/josepha.sherman/.
Her Wikipedia Page is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josepha_Sherman
Josepha Sherman Fan Club: http://josephashermanfanclub.blogspot.com/
MEETING SUMMARY:
Meeting Date: September 13, 1997.
Meeting Site: Saddle River Valley Cultural Center, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.
Official Attendance: 38.
Meeting Program: Talk by Fantasy Writer and Folklorist.
Notes:
Josepha Sherman passed away on August 23, 2012.
Meeting Memories:
Newsletter Account:
The following account is reprinted with permission from THE STARSHIP EXPRESS Copyright 1997 Philip J De Parto:
The September 13, 1997 meeting of the Association almost didn't happen. Philip De Parto blew out a tire in his heavily book-laden car enroute to the Cultural Center before the meeting. This ultimately resulted in guest speaker Josepha Sherman being picked up in the Bronx 2-1/2 hours later than planned. Thanks to Pamela and Helen Webber for roadside assistance.
The booksale was in full progress when we arrived at about 7:50. This was by far our biggest booksale ever, with an additional 18 boxes of books added to our horde over the summer. Most of these were from long time member Joseph Schaumburger who is moving to Florida and had to prune his collection. Thanks, Joe, and to Roy Greenberg who also provided several boxes of books. Although a lot of books were bought, the club is still overstocked. We are always willing to take donations of a book here and there, but anyone planning on supplying more than a few books should speak to Philip De Parto in advance.
The weather was a bit warmer than we would like. Philip De Parto unsuccessfully attempted to organize synchronized breathing to create a breeze for additional ventilation. The meeting was then called to order.
Josepha Sherman is the author of over 20 books and 100 stories. Most of her work is fantasy, but she has also written books of folklore and has recently embarked on writing several media tie-in books. She has also been an editor of adult and young adult fiction at Atheneum, Baen, and Walker and Company.
Many of the questions directed at Ms Sherman concerned her most recent book, VULCAN'S FORGE, a STAR TREK novel co-authored with Susan Shwartz. She had been approached by Pocket Books STAR TREK editor John Ordover about doing a novel, but nothing really clicked until she and Susan were guests at a conference with nothing to do, so they plotted out a proposal for a YA TREK novel. Paramount like the idea, but wanted an adult book, so she and Ms Shwartz quickly added a second plotline concerning Spock as an adult. The book has been well received and they are working on another.
Another recent project has been her not-yet-published HIGHLANDER tie-in-novel. While many books are written out of love, this one was written out of lust. It enabled her to meet the cast of the television show, including heartthrob Adrian Paul.
In response to a question about a fantasy work, she suggested studying and existing culture or religion and using it respectfully. Learn how the group in question viewed life and solved its problems. Whenever possible, use original source accounts, even though they are usually extremely dry, they produce a host of unexpected details.
Before working in the publishing industry, Josepha Sherman worked in museums. Museum people are paid even less than publishing people. She revealed that there is an abandoned tunnel under the Metropolitan Museum of Art that is filled with spiders, slime and statues. She has used it as a setting for a novel.
This in turn led to the subject of urban myths and folklore. Urban myths are those stories which could almost be true. The witness is never the speaker or someone he knows, but always "the friend of a friend." Typical urban myths are the existence of alligators living in the sewers of New York which got there by being flushed down toilets when they were little pets. There is a kernel of truth to this particular myth. Many years ago, an alligator bound for a zoo in Florida made good his escape while the ship was docked in Manhattan. The reptile really did surprise a sewer worker who called animal control to get rid of it.
Someone asked if being a writer had given her a different perspective when editing, and vice versa. Ms Sherman replied that as an editor, she has a lot of sympathy for what writers have to go through. As a writer, she is aware that publishing is a business and that the best way to get published is to behave professionally and turn in professional work
A couple of her asides brought down the house. Editor Jim Frenkel was considering using her on a project connected to the late writer James Blish. When Mr Frenkel asked if she knew anything about the author, Josepha deadpanned, "He's dead, Jim."
She also related the tale of when DAW Books editor Peter Stampfel tried to push off an unwanted writer on her. The author had written an epic fantasy featuring a dog as the lead character, and had printed the submission on blue paper cut out in the silhouette of a dog. When she learned who had sicced this writer on her, she threatened Mr Stampfel and threatened revenge saying, "I'll get you for this--and your little dog, too."
Josepha Sherman concluded the evening by recounting the Bantu folktale of "The Unborn Child" in a light-dimmed Cultural Center to heavy applause.
As always, there were many people who pitched in to make the evening a success. Our thanks to Sharon Roberg who had been drafted to keep an eye on things, to Carol Smith and Nancy Denker for the BABYLON 5 tapes, to Charles Garofalo for the refreshments, to Pat Nash for delivering the VCR, to everyone who pitched in with the set up, transportation, etc. John Upton went above and beyond the call of duty driving Ms Sherman back to the Bronx on his way home to Florham Park.
Five special door prizes were given away after the meeting's halftime recess. These were tee shirts donated to the Association by August guest speaker Steve Youll. They were covers of ANALOG MAGAZINE sporting one of his illustrations. Charles Garofalo, James La Barre, Ken Quintilian, Stephanie Rosen, and Andrea Woodle were the winners.