Jacqueline Lichtenberg

Jacqueline Lichtenberg is, among many other things, a fan turned pro. She is the creator of the Kraith series of Star Trek The Original Series short stories and novellas and of the professionally published Sime~Gen series. 
Lichtenberg is a co-author of the hugely-influential Star Trek Lives!, a 1975 book that was a gateway to fandom for many fans. 
She got into fandom when she had a letter published in "Amazing" and she was invited to join N3F.
Lichtenberg was one of the hosts of the Writing for Fanzines workshop.
She is also a practicing occultist who has written several books on Tarot cards and astrology.
In 1977, Lichtenberg wrote: 
From a 2020 interview: 
=="I Never Claimed to Be Human"==
Jacqueline Lichtenberg was an early member of the club, Society for Earthbound Vulcans. She used this club and its newsletter, Mind-Meld, as a platform to promote her universe, Kraith.
Lichtenberg stated in "Mind-Meld" that she considered herself Vulcan: "In fact, many people suspect I am Vulcan, and I never claimed to be human." and "It is no secret that I consider myself half-Vulcan & half Darkovan..." are both quotes from her 1974 essay, Why a Human Should Not Desire to Become Vulcan.
==Lichtenberg's Activities as a Fan==
In an undated essay (early to mid-2000s?), Lichtenberg wrote of being a fan: 
===Star Trek===
Lichtenberg was a active fan in Star Trek: TOS and Star Trek: TNG zines, as well as a writer of Trek tie-in pro books. 
She was also a co-writer of Star Trek Lives!, which her survey Strekfan Roster Questionnaire and her list The Strekzine List were utilized.
Lichtenberg was the creator of Star Trek Welcommittee.
Lichtenberg is the creator of Kraith, a Star Trek original universe.
She credits herself with having inspired early Star Trek fanzines to publish fiction, although there were already dozens if not hundreds of Star Trek fanzines running fan fiction by the time the piece she describes appeared -- Spockanalia 4, April 1969. (See List of Star Trek TOS Zines Published While the Show First Aired.) Spockanalia had published fan fiction beginning with the Spencerian farce "Star Drek" by Ruth Berman in issue 1, September 1967.
Trek zines with fiction, poetry, or articles by Lichtenberg:
Archives' Log | Babel | Back Trekkin' | The Best of... (Sarek and Amanda) | Energize! | The Enterprise Papers: Warp One | Eridani Triad | Federation Centennial | The Federation Chronicle | Grup | Impulse | Independent Entity | Interphase | Kraith Creator's Manual | LNSTFCCF Bulletin | Masiform D | NCC-1701 | Off the Beaten Trek | Overload | Pastaklan Vesla | Remote Control | Space-Time Continuum | Spockanalia | Star Trek: That Which Survives | Tetrumbriant | Tricorder Readings | The Voyages
===Darkover and Marion Zimmer Bradley===
Lichtenberg was a major Darkover fan, and a personal friend of Marion Zimmer Bradley. 
In 1974, she wrote in the open letter, Why a Human Should Not Desire to Become Vulcan: 
In an undated essay, Lichtenberg referred to Bradley as "one writer, and very Best Friend, Teacher, Initiator, and Influence." [[Marion Zimmer Bradley's Influence on the Sime~Gen Universe (early to mid 2000s?) 
She was a relentless promoter of Bradley's work in zines, newsletters, and at cons. 
Lichtenberg mentions several times in her own zine Ambrov Zeor as well as Darkover Newsletter that she was working with Bradley on the pro book "Stormqueen!". Lichtenberg also co-wrote the pro book "Thendara House" though she is not credited. Bradley's comments in Holes in My Yard, 1992 
Lichtenberg was also in charge of "Keeper's Tower," the column in Darkover Newsletter that organized and oversaw Darkover Councils.
Darkover Newsletter has many comments and columns by Lichtenberg, and her Darkover fiction appears in Starstone as well as a story co-written with Jean Lorrah that appears in the DAW Darkover Anthology, "The Keeper's Price."
Lichtenberg was also in charge of organizing the Darkover fan clubs called councils. Her own council was called Keeper's Tower.
Marion Zimmer Bradley writes about Lichtenberg: 
Lichtenberg writes about Bradley: 
===Doctor Who===
Her Dushau books are, in part, Doctor Who fanfic.
==As an Author==
Fan Fiction Policy: Lichtenberg both tolerated and encouraged it via her Kraith universe, her Dushau books, and Sime~Gen zines.
Lichtenberg was a very frequent guest of honor at for-profit conventions and non-profit fan cons.
In 1974, Lichtenberg was one of two Star Trek fans nominated for a Hugo Award. The other nominations, and winner for Best Fan Writer - Susan Wood, Richard E. Geis, Laura Basta, Jacqueline Lichtenberg, and Sandra Miesel. The winner was Susan Wood.
===Fandoms: Kraith and Sime~Gen===
Kraith (Star Trek original shared universe) is by Lichtenberg with contributions from Jean Lorrah among many others. Sime~Gen (original universe) is by Lichtenberg and Jean Lorrah. See those pages for much more. 
"All the work by Jacqueline Lichtenberg and Jean Lorrah revolves around themes of an "exchange of lifeforce." Both of them have written "traditional" vampire novels and stories (not in the Dracula vein), but their major work has been reinventing the vampire archetype in the Sime~Gen series." Lifeforce-L newlstter info 
===Intimate Adventure===
Intimate Adventure is a genre which was created and actively promoted by Jacqueline Lichtenberg. 
Despite robust attempts to make the term into a widely-accepted one in fandom, only Lichtenberg and her associate, Jean Lorrah, appeared to use it. 
A similar term, one which did take on wings of its own, is Paula Smith's term Mary Sue.
See more at Intimate Adventure.
==Guest of Honor Appearances at Conventions==
* Space-Con (1977)
* Schuster Star Trek Conventions/1977 (September) New York City Schuster Star Trek Convention (1977)
* Neo-Star: Cleveland Star Trek Convention (1979)
* WriterCon (2004)
* Shore Leave (1982)
Lichetenberg's attendance at Seacon (1979 Worldcon) was something that sparked some science fiction fans to created the satirical zine, JACKIE!.
==Interviews==
* The Federation Chronicle Mail Interview: Jacqueline Lichtenberg (1972)
*Sehlat's Roar Interview with Jacqueline Lichtenberg (1976)
* A Sime~Gen Interview with Jacqueline Lichtenberg (1976)
* An Interview with Jacqueline Lichtenberg (1978)
* An Interview with Jacqueline Lichtenberg (1980)
* Chat with Jean Lorrah, Jacqueline Lichtenberg, and Anne Phyllis Pinzow (2000)
* News from the Crypt Interview with Jacqueline Lichtenberg (2007)
* (2011)
* and the second part of the interview: (both April 2012)
* (2014)
* ; archive link (2019)
* Living Star Trek: How Two Women Breathed New Life into the Franchise (2020)
* Interview with Jacqueline Lichtenberg and Jean Lorrah by Aya Katz (2021)
==Views on Lichtenberg==
A fan described Lichtenberg in 1978:
==Perceived Ego==
A fan in 1979 wrote that she enjoyed Lichtenberg's zine Ambrov Zeor "except for the overdoing on JL's part sometimes of autoegoboo." from Amy Harlib in Ambrov Zeor #7 
In 1979, Jean Lorrah (Lichtenberg's friend and professional and fannish collaborator) wrote of Lichtenberg in Ambrov Zeor #8 in response to a fan's comments about characters in the Sime~Gen universe: 
In 1974, Cara Sherman wrote an extensive essay about Kraith and said: 
In the mid-2000s, Lichtenberg herself wrote: 
==Views==
===On Slash Fanworks===
Lichtenberg had a complicated relationship with slash fanworks and portrayals of homosexuality.
In 1979, Lichtenberg wrote about same sex relationships and how she did not intend for them to be in her stories, stating she "had thought I had weeded that out of me": 
In 1983, Lichtenberg included her comments in the larger discussion, The Great Gay Channel Controversy. larger discussion. In Lichtenber's essay, there is much discussion of chakras, Judaism, the beliefs of Marion Zimmer Bradley, "Intimacy" with a capital "I", "we need a some hard laboratory data on the nature of gayness"...
====Fan Comments Regarding Lichtenberg and Her Views on Slash and on Homosexuality====
A fan in 1993 wrote bluntly: 
Another fan wrote: 
===Regarding Concrit: "The Negative Value of Positive Input" ===
In 1993, Lichtenberg addressed fans in Information for Would-be S/G Writers about writing fanfic. It displays her views on concrit for fan writers, the "payment" for zines, thin and thick skins, egos, "real writers," and her views on the purposes of amateur fiction.
This attitude echoes and was in part shaped by Lichtenberg's apprenticeship with Marion Zimmer Bradley, but it's not unique to them. See also Marion Zimmer Bradley as a Mentor to Other Fan Writers, Dianne Sylvan's Vampires Saved My Soul...after Marion Zimmer Bradley tried to kill it, and Lichtenberg's Marion Zimmer Bradley's Influence on the Sime~Gen Universe.
===Regarding Male and Female Protagonists===
In 1979, Lichtenberg responded to a fan who had expressed a need to read fantasy and science fiction works with women protagonists, that most of the Zeor books had primarily male leads, and the few women tended to be damsels in distress: "But what I am most tired of is reading books by women writers about men. I want to read books with female protagonists." 
This same fan also expressed revulsion toward settings such as Darkover where "men are on top" and where men talk about having the right to sleep with women. Lichtenberg's response: "Good heavens, it's not that different from here-and-now," but added that she'd addressed this in the story "Channel's Exemption".
===General Topics===
There was a lengthy exchange between Lichtenberg and Octavia Butler in May 1979. The topic was concrit, the use of created curse words, the use of overly cute characters, and more. See A Companion in Zeor for more.
An excerpt by Lichtenberg: 
==Gallery==
File:Kraithlichtenberg.jpg|1977 illo of Jacqueline Lichtenberg, artist: Joni Wagner from Kraith Collected #5
File:jandart.jpg| "Gee Moaven presented Jacqueline Lichtenberg with this ink drawing of a character from the Kraith Series, Spock's half-sister. Many fans protested adding a half-sibling to Spock's family -- interestingly enough Spock acquired a half-brother in one of the films, decades later." Kraith Photos Fans pictured from left to right: unknown male fan, Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Gee Moaven, Winston A. Howlett
File:jandg.jpg|undated photo, "Jacqueline Lichtenberg and Gene Roddenberry at the Star Trek convention where fans first held an Affirmation of the Continuity -- he didn't attend!" Kraith Photos 
FirstAffirmationJLAndHalClement.jpg|Lichtenberg and Hal Clement at an unknown Star Trek convention
File:jbandw.jpg|Jacqueline Lichtenberg holding the Kraith just presented by a fan. In the background is Debbie Goldstein, who with Carol Lynn edited all the volumes of Kraith Collected
File:j1980s.jpg| Lichtenberg in the late 1980's
File:jsalute.jpg|Jacqueline Lichtenberg holding the Kraith made by a fan and giving the Vulcan Salute
===Other Photos===
* , (undated photos -- possibly 2003, from simegen.com, Awards Page)
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** Kraith Affirmation, late 1980s?; [ Wayback
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==Meta/Further Reading==
* Open Letter from Jacqueline Lichtenberg to Ted White (1970)
* "How Did I Get Myself Into This?" BEING THE TRUE STORIES OF HOW SEVERAL MEMBERS OF THE HOUSEHOLDING MET JL... (1978)
* Three Letters on the Subject of Homosexuality in the Sime/Gen Universe by Lichtenberg (1979)
* Alien Romances Lichtenberg's blog, not updated since 2010. "A by-invitation group blog for busy authors of SFR, Futuristic, or Paranormal romances in which at least one protagonist is an alien, or of alien ancestry."
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* Lichtenberg at the first Darkover Grand Council Meeting in 1978: . Click on the second photo.
==Notes==
==References==
Category:Industry Category:Science Fiction Authors
Category:Professional Authors
Category:Fanwriters