Manuscripts

Identity elements

Reference code

TxAM-CRS C000420-1-6

Name and location of repository

Level of description

Box

Title

Manuscripts

Date(s)

  • 2005 - 2009 (Creation)

Extent

1 box

Name of creator

(1951-)

Biographical history

Stephen Leigh (who writes as Leigh and under the names S.L. Farrell and Matthew Farrell) was born in Cincinnati, OH, on February 27, 1951. With a B.A. in Fine Arts and an M.A. in Creative Writing, Leigh taught creative writing at Northern Kentucky University from 2001 until his retirement in 2020.

Leigh's literary debut was the short story "And Speak of Soft Defiance", published in Eternity SF in 1975; this was the first of some 40 pieces of short fiction Leigh has written. Some of Leigh's short fiction include his December 1976 story "Answer in Cold Stone" (Leigh's first Analog publication), "When We Come Down" (Asimov's, 1978), "Shaping Memory" (Asimov's, 1985), "Evening Shadow" (Asimov's, 1988), "The Bright Seas of Venus (Galaxy's Edge*, 2013), and "Bones of Air, Bones of Stone" (2015).

In addition, Leigh has written numerous stories as an original member of George R.R. Martin's Wild Cards mosaic universe collective of writers. Leigh is responsible for the creation of several notable Wild Cards characters, including Gregg Hartmann/Puppetman, Bloat, Oddity, Gimli, and Steam Wilbur. To date, Leigh (sometimes writing as S.L. Farrell) has written content for eighteen of the Wild Cards books.

Leigh has also enjoyed a successful career as a science fiction and fantasy novelist. His debut novel was 1981's Slow Fall To Dawn, which was nominated for the 1982 Locus Award for Best First Novel. Slow Fall was the first of Leigh's Neweden/Hoorka trilogy, followed by Dance of the Hag (1983) and A Quiet of Stone (1984). He wrote The Secret of the Lona in 1988, the first in the Dr. Bones series (a fantasy series written by various authors, including Leigh's Wild Cards colleague William Wu). Leigh has written 6 novels in AvoNova's Ray Bradbury Presents series (1992-1995): Dinosaur World, Dinosaur Planet, Dinosaur Samurai, Dinosaur Warriors, Dinosaur Empire, and Dinosaur Conquest. His 1998-1999 Mictlan duology includes the novels Dark Water's Embrace and Speaking Stories,

Leigh has also written several popular fantasy series. most of them under the name S.L. Farrell. These include the Cloudmages series (2003-2005), which include Holder of Lightning, Mage of Clouds, and Heir of Stone; the Nessantico Cycle (2008-2010), which includes the novels A Magic of Twilight, A Magic of Nightfall, and A Magic of Dawn; the paranormal fantasy series Sunpath Cycle (2017-2018), which includes A Fading Sun and A Rising Moon. Leigh's standalone SF&F novels include The Bones of God (1981), The Crystal Memory (1987), The Abraxas Marvel Circus (1990), Thunder Rift (2001, as Matthew Farrell, republished in 2010 as The Shape of Silence), and several others. His most recent published novel is 2021's science fiction work Amid the Crown of Stars.

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Scope and content

1-6/1: "Sweeter Far Than Flowing Honey" (2005), typescript draft, undated

1-6/2: '"You", by Anonymous' (2005), typescript, undated

1-6/3: "They Also Serve" (2006), typescript draft, undated

1-6/4: "Transformation" (2007), typescript draft, undated

1-6/5: Nessantico 1 (later retitled A Magic of Twilight, 2008, as S.L. Farrell), 1st draft typescript, pages i - 148, August 2005

1-6/6: Nessantico 1 (later retitled A Magic of Twilight, 2008, as S.L. Farrell), 1st draft typescript, pages 150 - 270, December 2005

1-6/7: Nessantico 1 (later retitled A Magic of Twilight, 2008, as S.L. Farrell), 1st draft typescript, pages 271 - 403, March 2006

1-6/8: Nessantico 1 (later retitled A Magic of Twilight, 2008, as S.L. Farrell), 1st draft typescript, pages 404 - 494, May 2006

1-6/9: Nessantico 1 (later retitled A Magic of Twilight, 2008, as S.L. Farrell), 1st draft typescript, pages 495 - 563, July 2006, with appendix and revision notes

1-6/10: A Magic of Twilight (2008, as S.L. Farrell), Submission draft typescript, parts 1 - 4 (under old title A Magic of the Evening), undated

1-6/11: A Magic of Twilight (2008, as S.L. Farrell), Submission draft typescript, parts 5 - 8 (under old title A Magic of the Evening), undated

1-6/12: A Magic of Twilight (2008, as S.L. Farrell), submission draft typescript, "Skirmishes" - appendix (under old title A Magic of the Evening), undated

1-6/13: A Magic of Twilight (2008, as S.L. Farrell), page proofs, "Beginnings" and "Encounters", September 2007

1-6/14: A Magic of Twilight (2008, as S.L. Farrell), page proofs, "Maneuvers" and "Deceptions", September 2007

1-6/15: A Magic of Twilight (2008, as S.L. Farrell), page proofs, "Parleys" and "War", September 2007

1-6/16: "Masquerade of Heroes" (2008, in Wild Cards: Inside Straight), draft typescript, undated

1-6/17: "The Gods of Every Other Wednesday Night" (2009, as S.L. Farrell), typescript, undated

1-6/18: A Magic of Nightfall (2009, as S.L. Farrell), 1st draft typescript, pages i - 98, April 2007

1-6/19: A Magic of Nightfall (2009, as S.L. Farrell), 1st draft typescript, pages 99 - 147, May 2007

1-6/20: A Magic of Nightfall (2009, as S.L. Farrell), 1st draft typescript, pages 156 - 200, July 2007

1-6/21: A Magic of Nightfall (2009, as S.L. Farrell), 1st draft typescript, pages 201 - 249, August 2007

1-6/22: A Magic of Nightfall (2009, as S.L. Farrell), 1st draft typescript, pages, November 2007

1-6/23: A Magic of Nightfall (2009, as S.L. Farrell), 1st draft typescript, pages 297 - 350, December 2007

1-6/24: A Magic of Nightfall (2009, as S.L. Farrell), 1st draft typescript, pages 351 - 406, January 2008

1-6/25: A Magic of Nightfall (2009, as S.L. Farrell), 1st draft typescript, pages 420 - 480, February 2008

1-6/26: A Magic of Nightfall (2009, as S.L. Farrell), 1st draft typescript, pages 482 - 555, March 2008

1-6/27: A Magic of Nightfall (2009, as S.L. Farrell), 1st draft typescript, pages 556 - 609 (March 2008 - to page 587)

1-6/28: A Magic of Nightfall (2009, as S.L. Farrell), typescript draft, cover - page 108, undated

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