Jim Baen's Universe

Authors | Dave Freer

Dave Freer is an Ichthyologist turned author because he'd heard the spelling requirements were simpler. They lied about that. He lives in a remote part of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, with his wife and chief proof-reader, Barbara, four dogs and four cats, two sons (Paddy and James) and just at the moment no shrews, birds, bats or any other rescued wildlife. He does his best to blame his extraordinary spelling on an Old English Sheepdog nose, or the cat/s on his lap.

His first book -- The Forlorn (Baen) came out in 1999. Since then he has co-authored with Eric Flint (Rats, Bats and Vats 2000, Pyramid Scheme 2001, and The Rat, Bat and the Ugly, 2004) and, with Mercedes Lackey and Eric Flint (Shadow of the Lion 2002, This Rough Magic 2003, Wizard of Karres 2004), and a solo novel (A Mankind Witch 2005) as well as various shorter works. Getting too many to list... He has two more co-authored with Eric in press with Baen (Pyramid Scheme II and Slow Train to Arcturus) and is due to write several more books in the Shadow of the Lion sequence and Pyramid Scheme sequence.

Besides working as a Fisheries Scientist for the Western Cape shark fishery, running a couple of fish farms, he has worked as a commercial diver, and as a relief chef at several luxury game lodges. Yes: he can both cook and change diapers. He spent two years as conscripted soldier along the way, so he can iron too. He says he reached the point of not worrying about being thought macho when he was twenty and climbed his first grade 24. His interests are rock climbing, spiny-lobster diving, flyfishing, fly-tying, wine-tasting and the preparation of food, especially by traditional means -- like catch it, kill it and salt it, and smoke it. He could live off the land just about anywhere except Chicago, and he absolutely denies ever going poaching or knowing any poachers.

His web pages are: http://www.davefreer.com and http://davefreer.livejournal.com/

Thin Ice Full Story From: "ARI, it's not going away. I'm stuck on a ledge on this crater-wall, like a fly in a closed pantry window. In about two hours the sunlight is going to come over that edge, and I'm going to fry. If my air holds out that long."

Candy-Blossom Full Story From: I was going to run. As soon as he . . . it . . . the THING stopped looking at me. Staring a hole through my stupid head with its four eyes. I was going to run like the wind. I shouldn't have come here. Never. I swore to God . . . if I ever got out of here . . .